At the End of the Day
by Still Lost in Translation
Summary: Filling in the gaps after the credits roll. Picking up where 4.17 #FindKaylaWeber left off, after a horrible couple of days Sharon was in need of a little TLC (Update: Chapter 38: With Sharon unable to sleep, Andy does his best to keep her entertained until morning. Takes place at the end of White Lies Part Two 5x12)
1. Chapter 1

A little something about this story: I like to finish stories in my head. I do it all the time. Whether I'm walking the dog, brushing my teeth, on the train or in a meeting that really should have been an email instead, I finish stories in my head. Major Crimes has kept me occupied a lot recently and out of all the scenarios I have come up with, I like this one the best so wrote it down.

It contains a few spoilers relating to the case if you haven't seen 4.17 and picks up where that episode left off. In my head, this is what happened next. There is more to come if people like it.

As usual, I don't own any of these characters etc etc.

 **At the End of the Day**

A mist had hung over the division all day. The death of a child always left a bad atmosphere but the events that followed had a detrimental effect on everyone connected with the case. No one had expected Jim Weber to kill his wife any more than they expected Kyla's death to go down as an accidental overdose but that didn't help. They all blamed themselves for not preventing a murder, no one more than Sharon. If they had acted sooner or not encouraged the Webers to leave PAB the night before then maybe Lori would be alive and Jim would not be facing prison. Regardless of how they felt, murder is murder, a deal had been made and Hobbs had come and gone but the paperwork, the murder book and the air of regret remained.

Sharon had spent most of the afternoon alone in her office with her head in her hands staring at a piece of paper on her desk. Provenza had been in earlier to offer the benefit of his wisdom and experience because, and it was easy to forget, when it came to murder Sharon was merely a rookie. As Andy hovered around outside the closed door they'd spoken about how none of them could have anticipated the case would end in murder. Sharon didn't care. She always felt that they could have done more but so did everyone else in the division. If she'd only sent them to the Weber house an hour earlier she thought.

By now the working day was almost over as Julio and Provenza cleared the murder board of photographs, Mike filed away his paperwork, Amy scanned her computer screen and Buzz catalogued the footage he'd taken that morning. The only person not working, other than Sharon, was Andy who sat at his desk and went from staring at his computer screen to staring into space to glancing over his shoulder at Sharon to see if she was okay. He had brought her a cup of tea an hour earlier but with Taylor stalking the halls Sharon had given Andy the nod to keep things on a completely professional basis despite desperately needing a hug. Sharon had closed her blinds shortly after which was a rare occurrence unless she needed to break some bad news in private but Andy was quick to open them just enough so that he could keep a watchful eye on her.

Provenza looked at a photo of Jim Weber that he'd removed from the murder board. As he looked up he could just about see Sharon with head in hands as she continued to mentally beat herself up and knew his kind words earlier in the day had little effect. Although their relationship was rocky at best in the beginning Provenza now considered Sharon to be a friend which had nothing to do with her relationship with Andy, although that had forced them closer together especially during Andy's surgery, and had everything to do with mutual respect over work and more importantly Rusty.

Over time Provenza had come to accept Andy's relationship with Sharon. "Sharon? Why oh why couldn't Andy call her 'Captain' at work?" he thought. Provenza was secretly delighted that his friend was now in a steady relationship like he himself was. After years of them getting each other into trouble with members of the opposite sex they had, finally, somewhat matured after Provenza's brief one week stint as head of Major Crimes. And yet he still worried. Contrary to what people assumed his reservations about their relationship had nothing to do with his initial loathing towards his commanding officer. He worried about his friend. He worried a lot. If anyone asked he told them that his objection was because of work and how their relationship would affect the balance of the division. This was in some part true. Despite his initial reluctance Provenza now liked the way Sharon ran the division. He even liked the deal making process after he'd seen it in action a few times and he loved being useful. He loved coming into work every day and working side by side with his friend. If Andy and Sharon didn't work out that would be gone. A cloud would hang over them. He'd already had to deal with Gabriel and Daniels. He couldn't cope with a similar situation with Andy and Sharon. Would Andy even stay on if they broke up? Would he retire? But Provenza's main concern about their relationship was all about Andy. He knew he loved Sharon long before he asked him to tell her in the hospital. Provenza thought it probably started not long after she went to Nicole's wedding with him. By taking the plunge and dating her properly Andy was opening himself up to heartbreak. A heartbroken Andy, maybe even a heartbroken retired Andy, was likely to relapse and turn to drink and pills to numb the pain. Provenza had already seen Andy hit rock bottom and bounce, he was not eager to see him do it again not that he expected Sharon to break his heart. The moment he saw Sharon's face as Andy was wheeled away for surgery, he knew she loved him too. Despite all of this his fears remained.

At this moment in time Provenza knew that Sharon was in desperate need of some TLC and Andy was the one to provide it but since Sharon had already declined inviting her personal life into the office an hour earlier, he knew some encouragement was in order.

"For God's sake Flynn! Just get your ass in there and take your girlfriend home will you."

Provenza's outburst not only made Andy jump (along with everyone else in earshot) but also had him question if his occasional to frequent glances over his shoulder in Sharon's direction had become that obvious. He looked up from this desk to see everyone staring at him.

"Well go on then" Mike added as he put the final file in the box on his desk. "We're pretty much done here anyway."

Andy still didn't move. Had he and Sharon still just been friends he would have been in her office checking on her several times already because Taylor's opinion wouldn't matter but things had changed. There was a strict arrangement at work between Sharon and Andy. From the very beginning Sharon had made it clear that if things were going to work between them romantically then, apart from taking things very slowly, it couldn't effect their work at all so from the moment Andy put his shield on to the moment he took it off, the goal was that from the outside it would be hard to tell anything was going on between them at all except for the odd smile and embrace when no one was looking. At least that's what they thought. Provenza's constant eye rolls in their direction were only matched in frequency by the eyes and smiles they kept giving each other without realising they were doing it.

Despite his numerous protests and cries of "I don't want to hear this!" over the last five months Andy had told Provenza pretty much everything about his relationship with Sharon so he knew that things were progressing slowly and to "break the rules" (and he knew full well just how much his Captain loved the rules) Andy needed a little push. "If the Captain gives you any trouble tell her your supervising officer was giving you an order."

Andy wasn't going to argue. He smoothed down his waistcoat as he stood up before turning to face Sharon's office. She was still sitting hunched over her desk with her head in her hands. He knocked on her door before entering and closing it behind him. Sharon immediately looked up and smiled.

"Hi."

"Hi." Sharon sounded tired and distressed. When she spoke she reminded Andy of when he woke up in the hospital and found Sharon looking at him. On both occasions despite the smile on her face the tone of her "Hi" portrayed her true feelings.

Andy walked around the side of her desk and crouched down beside her before reaching across and taking her hand. Feeling a bit freer now that Taylor was gone and the day was drawing to a close Sharon smiled again and rubbed her thumb across the top of Andy's hand. It was a lovely smile but it did nothing to hide the distress that Sharon was currently feeling. Andy had seen her upset before by the horrors they had to clean up but this was different. They all felt that they could have avoided a murder that day but Sharon took personal responsibility for it regardless that it wasn't her fault.

"So we're nearly all done out there. As my supervising officer Provenza is insisting that I leave early, take my girlfriend home and get her something to eat" said Andy as he rested his head on her desk and looked up at her. Sharon couldn't help but smile, he looked adorable.

"Does he? And what about the rules about this sort of thing during work hours?" 

"Well it's already late and I think on this one occasion it'd be okay to bend them slightly in order to take care of someone who has had a really crappy day. What do you think?" 

Andy wasn't going to wait for a response. He stood up and retrieved Sharon's jacket and bag from the table where they had been unceremoniously dumped earlier in the day. Andy stretched out his hand towards Sharon and waited for her to take it. On this one occasion maybe it wouldn't hurt Sharon thought as she smiled, took Andy's hand and joined him. Andy held open her jacket as she slipped into it before he pulled her hair out from under the collar and repositioned it back on her shoulders. Seizing the initiative Andy took Sharon's hand once more and led her from the office and to his desk. Sharon immediately felt everyone's eyes on her as she stood in the murder room holding her Lieutenant's hand.

Andy let go as he picked up his jacket and pulled it on. Sharon felt uncomfortable just standing next to him as she felt several sets of eyes burning holes in the top of her head as she looked at her feet. The whole division knew that they were together, if not the whole building, but there had been very little evidence of it thus far. Everyone had seen them hold hands at Mariana's funeral and their feelings towards each other became crystal clear after Andy's accident but that had been it so as a result any sign of affection between the two of them drew attention which made Sharon feel like an animal in a zoo. Their relationship was particularly fascinating and somewhat baffling to Mike, Julio and Buzz who were amazed that their straight laced, by the book Captain was now dating their friend who they had spent the last 11 years watching as he tried to get the phone number of every stripper, dancer and woman under the age of 35 who had crossed his path, whether they were wanted for murder or not.

As Andy adjusted his collar the silence was broken by a loud and deliberate cough coming from the direction of Provenza. It caught everyone's attention as they turned to look at him. His bulging eyes and gesture were unmistakeable as the rest of the team realised they needed to stop staring at the Captain and get on with what they were doing. As the focus of the room moved Sharon looked up and smiled at Provenza who quickly went back to wiping the murder board clean as if he hadn't opened his mouth or even noticed Sharon was in the same room.

With his jacket on Andy once again took hold of Sharon's hand. She squeezed it tightly as she overcompensated for how uncomfortable she felt with everyone staring at them. She was also uncomfortable because she suddenly no longer felt in charge. In that building her word was gospel to the people around her, she made the decisions, she lead but now Andy had hold of her and was leading her out of the room and towards the elevators. It was….it was wonderful she thought.

"Goodnight guys" said Andy rather casually.

A murmuring of "Goodnights" filled the room before Provenza spoke. "Have a good night Captain. Flynn."

"Goodnight Lieutenant" said Sharon as she smiled at Provenza as thank you for taking charge and allowing her to leave early.

Provenza poked his head around the corner and watched them leave down the corridor. Once they were out of sight he returned to wiping clean the murder board. He paused before turning to face the room and smiling.

"Do you think they text each other in the morning to make sure they're colour coordinated or do you think it's just a coincidence?" Provenza pondered to no one in particular before sitting down and putting his feet on his desk.

Mike and Julio laughed to themselves but Amy looked more surprised. "You've noticed that Lieutenant?" she said unable to hide her genuine surprise. "Well this may shock you to learn Sykes but I am a detective. I notice everything."

Mike looked up. "Except for dead bodies in bathtubs over your shoulder" said Mike unable to hide the largest of smiles.

Julio and Buzz immediately started laughing. It was the perfect light relief after an awful couple of days although Provenza begged to differ.

As Sharon and Andy made their way towards the elevators her grip on Andy's hand loosened as she began to relax away from everyone's prying eyes. Physically and emotionally exhausted Sharon yawned before resting her head on Andy's shoulder as they waited for the elevator. The elevator doors opened as it suddenly dawned on Sharon that her car keys were currently nestled on top of the Philip Stroh file in the top drawer of her desk. "Car keys!" she blurted out as she turned to go back to her office. Before Sharon could take a step anywhere Andy pulled her gently into the elevator and pressed the button for the garage. "Don't worry about it" he said. "I'm driving you home tonight."

"What do I do in the morning?"

"I'll come by and pick you up."

Sharon was too tired to argue, not that she wanted to. When the rule book had been established it was decided that while Sharon was the Boss at work, everything else was up for discussion. This however was something new. Something different. Sharon had never needed to be taken care of, she married Jack after all. Even if she was the type of person that needed that kind of attention she was never going to get it from a selfish drunken gambling addict. She'd told Andy earlier in the year, before the "Date," that she didn't need him to look out of her, she had been doing it for herself for years but on this occasion she liked Andy taking charge. During his recovery Andy had grown tired quickly of being her patient and felt emasculated by it at times. He found it hard to assert himself and be the boyfriend he desperately wanted to be when he couldn't even bend over to put his socks on let alone cross his legs (which he still didn't quite understand). This sudden assertiveness by Andy was something that he and their burgeoning romance desperately needed.

When they reached the garage Andy led Sharon to his car and opened the door for her. Sharon slid into the passenger seat and put her seatbelt on. Seconds later Andy sat down beside her. Andy took out his phone and placed it on his lap before turning to face Sharon. They sat in silence for a moment as Sharon was convinced he was about to say something. Andy remained silent before leaning over and kissing her gently on the lips.

Andy started the car and drove to the exit. He opened his window to speak to the officer manning the barrier.

"Goodnight Lieutenant." 

"Goodnight Jim. I'm driving the Captain home this evening so we're leaving her car here. Okay?" 

"No problem. Goodnight Captain." 

"Goodnight."

As they left the garage Andy took his phone from his lap and dialled. Sharon couldn't imagine who he was phoning but was interested to listen in especially after she saw Andy hit the speaker button. The phone rang three times.

"Hello?"

It was Rusty. Sharon looked quizzically at Andy who never took his eyes off the road.

"Hi Rusty" Andy said as he changed lanes.

"Hi Lieutenant."

"Have you eaten?"

"No not yet. I was waiting for Sharon."

"I'm driving her home now. It's been a bit of a crappy day so I think we should order some take out."

"Okay."

Rusty's voice sounded strained and tired. Since Rusty had been informed he was going to have to testify at Slider's sentencing hearing he hadn't slept well and it had got worse during the hearing itself. It was not that Rusty felt sorry for Slider it was more his objection to capital punishment and therefore wanted nothing to do with the sentencing. Sharon had tried to speak to him but had struggled to make a dent in how he felt. Prior to listening to Slider earlier in the day with Rusty Sharon had spoken to Provenza and Buzz in case Rusty may seek them out for reassurance and advice but it was clear from his voice that if he had spoken to them, whatever they said hadn't worked.

"Rusty are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Tired? You sound it."

"A bit. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Yeah Sharon told me. I need you to listen to me Rusty. Are you listening?"

Sharon wasn't sure what Andy was going to say and wondered if she should make her presence known on this call. Other than to tell Andy that Rusty hadn't been sleeping she hadn't gone into detail with him about how Rusty felt. Rusty had always been closer to Provenza out of all the men in his life and after his initial reluctance about her and Andy's relationship Sharon was keen to not force Andy into every aspect of Rusty's life before he was ready.

"I'm listening."

"Whatever happens with Slider, whatever sentence he gets, it isn't your fault. It has nothing to do with you okay?"

"Yeah I know that I..."

"No kid, listen to me. It is not your fault. You have done nothing wrong. It all falls on Slider. The evidence pointed to him. There was an eye witness. You've seen the interview footage, he even confessed to it. He was convicted by a jury of his peers and through all of that he has not shown one ounce of remorse. The only thing he has done is feel sorry for himself. He even blamed Mariana for what's happening to him at his sentencing. He has had every opportunity to help himself and show that he regrets taking her life and he hasn't done it. What happens to him now is down to him and nothing to do with you. I need you to remember that Rusty."

As Sharon listened to her boyfriend talk to her son she couldn't help but feel emotional. She hadn't asked him to speak to him. She had barely mentioned it. This conversation had come from Andy's deep concern for Rusty after hearing his voice on the end of the phone. Sharon couldn't help but think of Jack briefly. For years she struggled to get his interest in his own children and yet here was Andy taking the time to reassure his girlfriend's adopted son. It was also the longest Sharon had heard Andy talk about Slider without using the words "Dirt bag" at least once so that was a considerable improvement.

"It's one thing to say that Andy but it's another thing to believe it."

"Rusty you did a good thing in befriending him in the way that you did and telling his story. It gave him every opportunity to say he regretted the mistakes he made. He didn't. He is not worth losing sleep over."

"Okay. Thanks Andy."

"No problem kid. What do you want to eat tonight? Your choice."

"Chinese?"

"Deal. Leave it ten minutes and then phone and order. We should be back before it arrives."

Sharon couldn't take her eyes off Andy as he spoke to Rusty. Her heart ached for him. She loved him more than she would ever be able to express in words which was currently the problem, she couldn't find a way to say it to him. As she sat there listening to Andy talk to Rusty she felt a fire build in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure if she was about to be violent ill or scream or have an alien burst of her chest. She took a deep breath.

"What do you guys want?" asked Rusty as a menu could be heard rustling over the phone.

"I'll have the mixed vegetables in black bean sauce. Sharon?"

Sharon currently felt like she was going to explode and was surprised when she managed to squeak out "My usual."

"Sharon wants the duck in plum sauce" said Andy without any hesitation.

Sharon didn't hear the next part of Andy and Rusty's conversation. Andy had known her usual from a place they'd ordered from once together a couple of months ago? She felt ridiculous but began to well up. As always it was the little things that mattered to Sharon. Although a grand gesture was nice she always preferred it when Andy unexpectedly brought her a cup of tea on a slow day and stroked her fingers as he passed her the cup. She liked that she would occasionally find a flower in the top drawer of her desk when she opened it. She liked that she'd never opened a door when she was with Andy because he was always such a gentleman. She liked that when Andy was staying with her during his recovery that he'd be waiting for her at the end of a long day with her big slippers (especially as she knew he had to use a pair of tongs to retrieve them since he couldn't simply bend over and pick them up). And now she adored that Andy had remembered her favourite meal from a place that she didn't like that much but Rusty did. That fire in the pit of her stomach began to grow again and she worried she might burst.

"If the traffic is bad I'll ring you in ten."

"Okay. Bye Lieutenant."

"Wait Rusty. Set the board up. I'll play you for who clears away after dinner."

Andy hung up his phone and put it back in his jacket pocket. He turned to Sharon and smiled. Sharon looked tenser than she did when they left the office, the exact opposite effect that Andy had hoped to achieve. He reached out and took her hand, gently stroking it.

"Are you okay?" Andy said glancing at Sharon as he tried to keep his attention on the road.

Sharon didn't say anything for a moment. She'd been desperately trying to calm down and not throw up in Andy's lap as the fire in her stomach seemed to be rising through her body and out of control. Then suddenly, without realising she was going to, she spoke.

"I love you."

The moment the words fell from Sharon's lips she tried desperately to suck them back in. A million thoughts flashed through her mind in a matter of seconds, each more mortifying than the next. She'd wanted to say those words to Andy for such a long time but had been somewhat reluctant in case he didn't feel the same way she did. Plus she'd also secretly hoped that Andy would be the one to say it first. As Andy was wheeled away from her in the hospital corridor she felt livid with herself that she hadn't said those three little words when she'd had the chance. After those same words failed to materialise from her lips as she sat holding Andy's hand as he came round from the anaesthesia Sharon had given herself a deadline of one month to say it to him but that time had come and gone with the closest she got being an unfortunate incident when she blurted out "I love Yoohoo" over dinner which only served to confuse Andy and make him keep some in his refrigerator. And why had she suddenly said it now? All Andy had done was take her home, phone and reassure her son and know her favourite meal at a take-out. Oh God he knew her favourite! Did Jack even know what colour her eyes were? It was doubtful. Why had she chosen this moment? Why in a car? In a car? Was she crazy she thought? Was there anywhere less romantic? Why didn't she confess her love in an abattoir or in the morgue? Or over a decapitated corpse at a crime scene with Provenza rolling his eyes at them? Sharon was desperately hoping that the ground was going to open up and swallow her when she became aware that Andy was rather frantically trying to get her attention.

"Sharon, I….." 

"Andy don't. I'm sorry. I…."

"Sharon…." 

"I'm just feeling a bit….."

Sharon started to fidget in her seat like she was sitting on a bed of needles. 

"Sharon…." 

"No Andy really you don't have to, I was…." 

"Sharon…." 

"Is it hot in here? I think I was…." 

"SHARON!" 

Andy had never raised his voice to Sharon before, well not outside of the office. When she worked at FID Andy had shouted. A lot. Sharon had become convinced that was his default volume setting. Since she had taken over Major Crimes he had been known to lose his temper when the deal making process had fallen short of his high expectations with Hobbs usually taking the brunt of it. Plenty of suspects had also met Andy's wrath as he seemed to try to set new records for how many times he could yell "Idiot" at someone. On this occasion Andy's outburst was enough to make Sharon fall silent and temporarily sit still as she looked at him stunned. 

"Sorry. Sharon….I….What I mean is…" Andy sighed. "Just read this." 

Andy put his hand into his jacket pocket and produced a folded piece of paper. It was creased and a little torn and bent on the edges. It had clearly been in his pocket for a while. He stared at it for a moment before offering it to Sharon like he was offering his heart on a platter which in essence he was. Sharon took the paper and looked at its ragged edges confused. 

"What is this?"

"Read it."

Andy removed his cell phone from his pocket, turned on the flashlight and gave it to Sharon. She opened the paper and flattened it on her leg before lifting it closer to her eyes and aiming the light at it. The light hitting it made it glow yellow as Andy kept taking a sneaking look at Sharon from the corner of his eye while also trying to not drive them off the road.

Sharon's mind was racing. What was this? Was this some sort of break up tactic should things get too serious? Was it a tattered note from the hospital? Was the clot still there? Seeing her name at the top Sharon took a deep breath and started to read.

"Dear Sharon.

Oh Captain, my Captain!

I write this from my bed at St Leos and if you're reading it, it means I didn't make it out of surgery. I've been a fool of late in a couple of ways. First up is not telling anyone that my meds were making me dizzy. If I had I would probably be sitting with you and my less annoyingly positioned clot on your couch rather than in this bed with Provenza trying to finish me off by writing DNR on everything (By the way if the plug was pulled prematurely, blame him).

Second and more importantly is never having told you how I feel. I love you Sharon. You're the love of my life. The first time I saw you I stopped breathing and then of course I found out you were married and you opened a file on me five inches thick. I didn't want to leave this place without having told you how I felt. I should have told you this in person but you make me nervous. You always have. I can't help it like I can't help loving you. I'm sorry I never told you and I'm sorry I'm not there now but I'm not sorry that I got to spend the last months of my life with the woman I love. Remember that and remember that I love you and always will.

All my love

Andy"

A few blank lines ran across the centre of the paper before the letter continued.

"Rusty,

I need you to do two things for me. Firstly I need you to take care of Sharon for me. She acts like everything is water off a duck's back but she needs to be taken care of from time to time and since I'm no longer here that's your job.

Secondly, carry on young man, carry on. You have come a long way in a very short period of time and Provenza and I and the rest of the squad could not be prouder of you. You are an extraordinary young man. You're a credit to Sharon but most of all to yourself. Kindness is a virtue that is extremely undervalued in this world but it what makes you the person I would have been proud to call my son.

Take care of yourself and Sharon. 

Love Andy"

As Sharon stared at the paper it was Andy's turn to feel hot under the collar. He was shocked. Sharon loved him. He hoped she did but as ample opportunities to say so came and went he felt less confident about it which made him more nervous about saying it to her first. Now she'd said it. Under the circumstances Andy was relieved that the shock of it all hadn't made him drive the car into a telephone pole. Now that he knew, now that she had said it first there was no need to keep his feelings to himself anymore. He had no choice but to give her the letter. Simply saying "I love you too" may have seemed like he was being polite, only saying it because she'd said it. Giving her the letter would let Sharon know he wasn't simply responding to her declaration but had been feeling this way for a long time. But what was taking so long? Sharon wasn't a slow reader. Was she reading it again? Was his writing illegible? Had she changed her mind after learning how he felt? She had sort of blurted out those words. What if she'd been trying to say something else and misspoke? Was it another random declaration of love for Yoohoo? Sharon had to have been reading it for ten minutes by now. Or longer. "I could have watched Lawrence of Arabia in this time" he thought as he pulled at his tie to loosen it. Was it getting warmer in here? It's December, should it be this hot? What was taking so long? Why did he give her that letter? He should have burned it or eaten it or done anything else he could think of with it except give it to her. Life would have been so much simpler if he hadn't woken up after surgery. Provenza could have given her the letter and he wouldn't have to deal with the rejection. Why would she reject him? She told him she loved him. Oh God she loved him. She said it. She did didn't she? Did she now regret it? What was taking so long?

As his mind raced Andy's right hand had made its way up to his ear and was now rubbing his lobe frantically. Between the silence, driving the car, rubbing his ear and grabbing a sneaking look at Sharon every chance he could by the time Sharon finally spoke it made him jump out of his skin.

"Andy stop the car!" blurted Sharon in a tone that was as loud as it was akin to her Darth Raydor persona.

"Sorry?"

"Stop the car!"

"Why?"

"Andy pull over!"

"Okay, okay!"

As Andy searched for a place to pull over he became concerned. Sharon looked frantic, like a caged animal and Andy was worried that she might climb out of the window and jump from the moving car if he didn't pull over soon. Thankfully they were approaching a small strip mall and Andy was able to pull over and park in the virtually empty lot. As the car began to slow down Sharon began to claw at the door handle making Andy slam on the brakes. The car had barely stopped when Sharon took off her seat belt and opened her door. She leapt out of the car and the now petrified Andy did likewise.

The moment Sharon was out of the car she felt liberated and raced around the front to meet Andy. Confused by what was going on Andy had not made it as far as they met by the driver's side headlight. Sharon stopped in front of Andy and looked at him. Silence and calm fell between them for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Andy said unable to hide his worry as he continued to rub his ear.

Sharon didn't speak, instead she suddenly grabbed Andy and kissed him. Andy was surprised and slightly taken aback but soon returned the kiss with equal passion. Sharon wrapped her arms around Andy's shoulders and clung to him as he did likewise. They didn't care if anyone was watching and they had no intention of stopping. The need for air was ignored as Sharon's hands made their way under Andy's jacket and she pressed herself up against him harder than she remembered was possible. After what seemed like an eternity for them both the kiss ended. They stared at each other for a moment as their caught their breaths.

"Why didn't you give me this before?"

Sharon held the letter in her hand tightly under Andy's jacket with no intention of letting it or Andy go in the foreseeable future.

"For the same reason as why I never said it to you, I was afraid. I wasn't sure that you felt the same and I was worried about losing you. I was happy to stay as we were and be with you than to say it and risk scaring you off."

Sharon smiled at him and kissed him again.

"Can you tell me now?"

Andy paused for a moment and stared into Sharon's eyes.

"I love you Sharon. You're the love of my life."

Sharon smiled at him. "I love you too."

Sharon wrapped her arms around Andy even tighter and pressed her head into the crook of his neck. They stayed like that for a while as they gently swayed as if dancing to Puccini that only they could hear in the glow from the car headlight. Strangers drove by and stared at them wondering what was going on. Were they consoling each other? Had they just had an accident? Sharon and Andy didn't notice. They didn't care. There was currently no one else in the world except them.

Eventually Sharon looked up at Andy. "Let's go home" she said before he kissed her.

"Okay."

Andy took Sharon's hand and led her to the passenger seat. For the second time in less than half an hour he helped her into the car and shut the door. Andy walked around the front of the car as he failed to control the smiled that sprung across his face. He got in the car and then paused. He looked across to Sharon. She no longer looked restless. She looked beautiful. She looked relaxed. She looked content.

"Did you really stop breathing?"

"I started again otherwise I would have died."

They both laughed to each other before Andy leant across and kissed her once more. Sharon ran her hands through his hair before Andy pulled back and put his seatbelt on. Andy put his hand on the keys in the ignition before stopping and picking up his phone from the dash where Sharon had abandoned it prior to getting out of the car. He tapped at the screen before holding it to his ear and smiling at Sharon.

"Hi Rusty. We've hit some traffic. Best wait another ten minutes before you order dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you very much for all the kind reviews, follows and favourites in response to the first chapter. They are all very much appreciated. This chapter, I'm afraid, is even longer and wordier than the last. Any typos come from having read it over so many times I no longer see them because I know what it's supposed to say._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up about 10 minutes after the last one ended._

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Two**

"Andy I have to."

"No you don't."

As Sharon and Andy stepped out of the elevator on Sharon's floor the debate continued. In one hand Sharon had Andy's hand which she held tightly, in the other she had his letter which she held even tighter. This discussion, for it wasn't really an argument, had been going on for about ten minutes now. Sharon knew she was going to win because of the beaming smile on Andy's face, it was more a matter of when he'd crumble to her wishes. As Andy drove them the rest of the way to Sharon's condo from the strip mall where she had made him pull over after receiving his letter, not much was said between them for the first ten minutes. Andy kept a solitary hand on the steering wheel as his other held Sharon's hand. Sharon sat completely relaxed, almost glowing as she never took her eyes off Andy, tracing every single inch of his face with her eyes. Both wore infectious smiles on their faces as Andy took every opportunity he could to steal a glance at Sharon. Then Sharon said it. "I'm going to have to show Rusty what you wrote him." Sharon wasn't sure but she thought she actually heard Andy's eyes roll in response. As they pulled into the parking garage Sharon was busy listing all the reasons Rusty deserved to know how Andy felt. Andy responded each time with the word "No" but in a way that gave Sharon hope there was some wriggle room if only she could find it.

"Andy you wrote this about Rusty, to Rusty. You wouldn't have written it if you didn't want him to see it."

"Yes but only after I was dead. I'm not saying he won't ever be able to read it, you just need to wait until I'm dead first. Then you can give it to him."

"I've read my part, it's only fair that Rusty gets to read his part."

"I'm just not comfortable…"

Sharon stopped dead in the hallway and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him as he responded in kind. It was clear that Andy didn't want his vulnerability, which he had laid out on paper and offered up to her, exposed to anyone else. Apart from learning just how much Andy loved her, that letter also served to show Sharon how worried he was when he was waiting for his surgery. He hadn't expressed this fear to her or to Rusty as far as she knew. For a man who based his self-worth on his career, on being a tough guy, allowing people to know about his emotions and his fears was always going to be something he avoided.

"Fine. Give Rusty the letter. Frame it and glue it to the fridge if you want" Andy said throwing his hands up in the air before sliding one around Sharon's waist as they set off down the hallway again.

Sharon smiled. It had become clear very early on in their relationship that if Sharon kissed Andy in a certain way he would pretty much agree to anything she wanted. At this point Andy was still oblivious to this flaw in his defences and treasured each kiss from Sharon rather than question any potential motive behind them. Little did Sharon know that she was also prone to giving in on an argument if Andy rubbed her feet, a fact that Andy was fully aware of.

As they walked down the hallway they looked relaxed for the first time in weeks. The clot had gone and Andy was better. Although he wasn't quite fit enough to go out in the field yet the worry and stress that both Andy and Sharon felt because of his health had evaporated. Despite the grumbling he did about being chained to his desk and the fact that he had taken to rubbing his ear frantically every time Provenza called him a "Desk Monkey" Andy secretly liked being confined to the office. Even though they tried valiantly to keep their relationship away from work they both enjoyed it when it was just the two of them alone in her office talking over the case. By working side by side more often it created a continuity to the closeness they experienced while Andy was staying in Sharon's condo. Regardless of the closeness they shared during that time they both had a huge weight on their shoulders as they waited patiently for some sort of clear and unambiguous sign from the other that now was the right time to say "I love you." Now they'd finally said it, in maybe not the way that either had imagined or planned, they were more relaxed around each other than they'd ever been. All that was left was that final hurdle. The big one. That elephant in the room: sex. As Sharon watched Andy in the car suppress his desire to scream "Knucklehead!" at a driver that cut him up she had decided that tonight was going to be the night. By blurting out her declaration of love twenty minutes earlier she had moved their relationship along, now if only she could find a way to ask him to stay the night. In the immediate future however, Sharon wanted to push all thoughts of sex out of her mind until Rusty was asleep at least. The last thing she wanted was to suddenly blurt it out in front of Rusty like she did with her declaration of love in the car. All three of them may need to speak to Doctor Joe if that happened.

Sharon retrieved her door keys from her purse and handed them to Andy. Andy put the key in the lock as Sharon leaned up against the wall next to the door and once again looked at the letter in her hand. She smiled. Sharon couldn't remember the last time she was given a love letter, let alone a love letter of this significance. She had told Taylor that they were dating in the "old fashioned" sense of the word, which they had been, but she hadn't expected Andy to go as old fashioned as to actually write her a love letter. She was so happy she could burst. As Sharon smiled at the paper in her hand Andy let go of the keys, leaving them dangling in the lock and moved to stand in front of her, placing his hands on the wall either side of her head before leaning in close. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling from the spotlights that ran along the ceiling in the hallway. Andy leant in closer still. "One for the road?" he said before kissing her to the point that it made Sharon's knees weak.

Andy broke off the kiss as Sharon remained against the wall with her eyes closed. When she finally opened them Andy was smiling at her. "You'll have to keep your hands to self now Captain, your son's home" he said before winking at her and returning his attention to unlocking the door.

Sharon smiled at him before pinching him gently behind his knee. "Just open the door."

Andy opened the door and held it open for Sharon to walk through first. Rusty was sitting on the couch but immediately stood up the moment he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey" said Rusty as he walked over to greet Sharon and Andy closed the front door.

Sharon wrapped Rusty in a hug so large it was as if she hadn't seen him for a year. Rusty briefly closed his eyes as he hugged back, savouring the warmth and the reassurance. They both needed it. Rusty had been having a rough couple of days as had Sharon, with the exception of the last half an hour which had made her as happy as she'd ever been.

"Are you okay?" asked Sharon as she rubbed her hand up Rusty's back.

"I'm fine. I saw your case on the news. I'm sorry about what happened."

"Me too" replied Sharon as she released Rusty.

Behind them Andy had been busy removing his badge, gun and cuffs and placing them on the table by the front door before waiting for Sharon and Rusty's quiet moment together to end.

"Is the food on its way?" asked Andy with a look in his eyes that suggested he would eat Rusty if he stayed still long enough as he removed his wallet from his pocket.

"It'll be about twenty minutes Lieutenant" replied Rusty before he made his way back to the chair by the couch and the chess board he had started to set up at Andy's earlier request.

"The money is on top of my badge" Andy added before removing Sharon's jacket and purse for her and placing them on the floor by the couch. As he removed her jacket Andy briefly tried to gently steal the letter from Sharon's grasp but to no avail. Whether Andy liked it or not Rusty was going to read his letter before the night was over, if he didn't know that before the look on Sharon's face made it abundantly clear. Not that Andy was really against it. Sharon was right in as much as if Andy didn't want Rusty to read it, he wouldn't have written it…but he had assumed he would be dead at this point. There was no denying that Andy felt vulnerable when he wrote that letter. He was afraid and he wanted the people he loved to know that he loved them. Sharing that vulnerability and fear and love with Sharon was one thing, sharing it with Rusty was a different proposition entirely.

Adopting the same attitude that led Sharon out of the office earlier Andy took Sharon's hand and led her to the couch. Sharon followed obediently and obliged when Andy told her to "Sit." Andy crouched down next to Sharon and simply said "Feet." Sharon lifted up her left foot before Andy removed her shoe. The same was done with the right before Andy stood up, collected up Sharon's shoes, purse and jacket and disappeared down the hall towards her bedroom.

"If you want the salad tongs Lieutenant just shout" called Rusty with a rather large smile on his face. Rusty had particularly enjoyed the various ways that Andy got around his inability to bend over or raise his arms while he recovered. The salad tongs sticking out of Andy's back pocket so he could pick up Sharon's slippers were a particular favourite, especially when he forgot they were in there and sat on them. On those occasions Andy used words that he normally reserved only for most idiotic and obnoxious suspects.

Sharon smiled as she watched Andy go before her attention was attracted to Rusty who was staring at the ragged looking piece of paper in her hand. Before Sharon could speak Andy appeared again carrying Sharon's slippers and the cardigan she liked to wrap herself in at the end of a long day.

Andy placed Sharon's cardigan on her lap before standing between her and the coffee table. He once again commanded "Feet." Sharon lifted her right foot and Andy put her slipper on. As she lifted her left foot she smiled pleadingly at Andy. Andy suppressed a smile in return and continued to put her slippers on.

"Please?" asked Sharon as she placed her hand on Andy's.

"Okay."

Sharon mouthed "Thank you" to him before Andy quickly moved to the refrigerator. He opened the door and looked inside. As he scanned the shelves he smiled. It was filled to the brim with various bottles and cartons of fruit juice, all for Andy. There was more fruit juice in that fridge than at an average grocery store. It was a signal to Andy, not that he needed one after the events of the last half an hour, that Sharon wanted him there more and more even if she still struggled to find the words to say it to him. He reached in and pulled out an opened bottle of white wine and put it on the counter.

"You know for someone who loves Yoohoo so much you never have any in your fridge" said Andy still completely unaware that Sharon's declaration two weeks earlier was actually an aborted "I love you" attempt.

Rusty looked completely bemused at Sharon. In response she smiled and shook her head at him letting him know it was better if he didn't ask. As Andy retrieved a wine glass from the cupboard Sharon put her cardigan on before leaning forward to talk to Rusty.

"Rusty I've got something that we want…."

Andy coughed loudly to signal his protest.

"Sorry. I've got something that _I_ want you to read." Sharon looked at the letter in her hand as Rusty looked between Sharon and Andy concerned.

"Is it a threat?" asked Rusty as his whole body began to tense up. He tried not to but every piece of mail that Rusty had received since Wade Weller had caused him certain levels of anxiety before he opened them.

"No. No. Nothing like that" Sharon said as she shuffled forward in her seat. Meanwhile Andy was setting a new record behind her for how long it took to fill a wine glass. "Andy has given me a letter that he wrote the night before his surgery. He wrote part of it to you and I think you should read it." As Sharon ran the paper through her fingers she felt like she could almost hear Andy cringe behind her.

Rusty looked over to Andy confused. "Andy wrote me a letter while he was in hospital?"

"I wrote Sharon a letter the night before my surgery but there is a section at the bottom addressed to you" Andy interjected before he opened the fridge door again and hid behind it.

"I think you should read it" said Sharon softly as she handed it to Rusty and let go of it for the first time since Andy gave it to her.

Rusty took the letter and opened it carefully. He could see from the edges of the paper that it was already in a pretty tattered condition which made him wonder where it had been stashed since Andy's operation. It was also clear from how Sharon had been gripping it from the moment she walked through the door to now that she treasured it and every single word contained within it dearly. Rusty sat back in his chair and nervously looked at the words.

As Rusty's eyes scanned the paper Sharon stood up, gently stroked his arm and then made her way to the kitchen where Andy was still all but hiding in the fridge. The fact that Andy was embarrassed and awkward about allowing his sensitive side to show made him look even more sensitive and just down right adorable to Sharon. She approached Andy from behind and wrapped her arms around his chest. She pressed the side of her head on his back as she looked at Rusty.

"Thank you."

"For what?" asked Andy as he turned around in Sharon's arms and placed his hands on her waist.

"For everything."

Andy leaned down and kissed Sharon on the cheek which was all he was prepared to do with Rusty in the room as he continued to strive to make the young man in his life not only comfortable but start to like him as a potential member of his family. As soon as Sharon broke off their embrace Andy retrieved her wine from off the counter and gave it to her. Andy then put his head back in the fridge and removed a can of soda. He moved to look at Rusty who was still staring at the letter with an expression on his face that Andy found hard to read.

"Hey kid, catch!" said Andy as the can of soda flew from his hand and towards Rusty. Rusty was slow to react but managed to catch it before placing it on the table and returning back to his position of leaning back in his chair reading.

Sharon leant against the counter sipping her wine while she watched Rusty as his eyes darted along each line. Silence fell across the room for a moment before it was rudely interrupted by the sound of Andy's cell phone ringing. Andy retrieved his phone from his pocket and frowned at the screen before tapping it and placing it to his ear. Sharon turned around to face him with a questioning look on her face. "Please for the love of God don't let this be Lieutenant Provenza" she thought.

After Andy answered the phone he didn't speak for a moment, just listened as he slowly paced up and down the kitchen with his hand buried in his pocket.

"I know! I know! Something else came up….No I'm fine….Honestly I'm fine….I'm at Sharon's condo with her and Rusty and everything is fine. I'll go to West Hollywood tomorrow and I'll see you next week…Okay. Bye."

Andy hung up his phone and returned it to his jacket pocket before selecting a bottle of cranberry juice from the fridge and opening it.

"Who was that?" asked Sharon as she fetched Andy a glass from the cupboard.

"My sponsor."

"What's wrong?" Sharon stopped dead in her tracks concerned. In truth she had never worried about Andy when it came to alcohol and drugs. She knew he had been clean and sober for many years before they were close. Since they had been dating she grew even more confident in his sobriety especially after his accident and the resolve he showed in avoiding all opiates even though they would have helped him greatly in the short term.

"Nothing I just missed my meeting tonight."

"You should have gone. Why didn't you tell me?"

Sharon gently slapped Andy on the arm before cuddling up against him. Andy put his arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

"Because tonight you are more important than my sobriety."

"Andy nothing is more important than your sobriety."

"Sharon it's not a big deal. If my Captain gives me permission I'll leave early and catch a meeting tomorrow and I can pick up my chip next week."

"What chip?"

"My twenty year chip."

"Andy!" As she shouted his name Sharon put her glass on the counter, removed Andy's arm from around her waist and stood in front of him. The look on her face put Andy in mind of Darth Raydor for a moment which made him smile.

"What?" said Andy innocently as he began to laugh at the look on her face, the look that caused more than one murderer to confess without any expectation of a deal.

"Is this not something you should be sharing with your girlfriend?"

"You see enough of my flaws without sharing in milestones from past ones."

Sharon didn't respond. Instead she intensified her glare before Andy took a step closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Sharon wasn't going to be won over that easily however and folded her arms defiantly.

"Look you and the kid have dealt with enough of this crap in your lives, you don't need mine as well" Andy stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes I do. It's what's known as being in a relationship" replied Sharon as her expression softened and she ran her hands up the lapels of his jacket.

"Okay. You're right. I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Yes you should because I'm very very proud" Sharon said before she lifted her head upwards and kissed Andy gently on the lips.

Before either of them had chance to move they were startled by the sound of Rusty clearing his throat behind them. They turned to see Rusty standing at the edge of the kitchen with the letter in hand. Rusty didn't like anyone to see him cry but it was clear that he currently felt emotional. Andy and Rusty stared at each other for a moment as both waited to see if the other was going to speak first.

It was no exaggeration to say that Andy and Rusty had a somewhat complicated relationship. When it came to Sharon and Rusty to describe Andy as being patient was an understatement. He had been willing to wait for Sharon to be ready before their relationship moved forward. He was more than willing. The longer he waited for her the more he just loved spending every second he could with her and as a result the more he loved her. With each second that he spent with her, that he held her, he couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life doing anything else. With Rusty however Andy took being patient to a whole new level. Andy was no idiot, he knew Rusty. He knew Rusty's past. He knew the problems that Rusty had with men. So he took every dirty look, every roll of the eye, every sigh with a massive pinch of salt and hoped that one day he would come around and accept him as Sharon's boyfriend. In truth things had got easier with Rusty over the last couple of months, Andy's accident took care of that, but even so there was massive room for improvement. The purpose of that letter however had nothing to do with Andy trying to make Rusty like him. As far as Andy was concerned when he wrote it, he would be dead by the time Rusty ever got to see it and Andy would no longer be looking for his approval and acceptance. Everything he wrote in it was true. He cared about Rusty and was proud of him and now Rusty knew it.

Rusty took a step closer to Andy and held the letter out for him to take. Andy reached out to take it but was beaten to it by Sharon. She smiled at Andy before attaching it to the fridge door with a magnet like a painting a child had just brought home from kindergarten.

"Andy….I…" It was clear Rusty was struggling to find the words.

"Do you want a glass for your soda?" asked Andy.

Rusty paused for a moment before he smiled.

"Sure."

Andy retrieved a glass from the cupboard and handed it to Rusty before holding out his hand. Rusty took Andy's hand and shook it. They stayed like that for a second before letting go. Sharon beamed as she looked at them. This was definitely a step in the right direction.

With his glass in hand Rusty returned to the chess board. Like Sharon half an hour earlier, Rusty had been surprised by the content of that yellow and tattered piece of paper. Rusty's first emotion was guilt. He felt guilty about how resistant he'd been about accepting Andy into his life with more often than not acting like a moody teenager towards him. The main way this manifested itself was in how Rusty addressed Andy. At the beginning, despite Sharon's encouragement, Rusty refused to call Andy anything other than "Lieutenant." Despite his best efforts the more time Sharon had him in their home the more Rusty did come to care about Andy and that was clear when occasionally he would call him "Andy" but this usually came at moments of worry like when Andy collapsed in the bathroom or when he was checking that Andy wasn't dead during one of his afternoon naps. After Andy's surgery the switch back to "Lieutenant" returned although it wasn't used as frequently. Both Sharon and Andy took this as an indication that Rusty was slowly coming round to the idea of them being together.

Since he and Sharon had been dating Andy had taken everything Rusty had thrown at him without a word of complaint but not only that, despite how Rusty had acted the letter revealed that Andy liked, even loved him. The words Andy had used to describe him in that letter, the way Andy said he was proud of him, it filled Rusty with regret for not embracing him as a member of the family earlier. Other than Sharon and Provenza no one had ever said they were proud of him before. The only letters he'd ever received were of a threatening nature so this was a whole new territory for him. He couldn't help but read the whole thing so he now knew just how much Andy loved Sharon as well as how much he cared for him. No man had ever cared for Rusty outside of Major Crimes. The truth was Rusty had always had complicated relationships with men. First there was the never ending line of violent and usually drug addled boyfriends that his Mom had. At no point did Rusty ever feel safe and relaxed around them. Not one of them could be classed as anything approaching a father figure. Then there was Gary. How do you trust men again after you're repeatedly beaten and abandoned at the zoo by your Mom under the encouragement of a lowlife? That led to the foster homes and the abuse that came with them. Next up was Daniel. Rusty's gut reaction from years of experience told him not to trust him but he tried. He let his guard down and tried to embrace him as his father. Then he hit him proving Rusty right once again that he simply couldn't trust men. Finally there were the men Rusty met on the street. He didn't like to think about it. He made sure he never had to speak about it. He was a boy. He was just a boy. The men of Major Crimes had helped. Rusty had become close to all of them especially Provenza and Buzz. Rusty had even liked Andy when he was just Sharon's friend and a member of the division. He appreciated his help and his experience with his mother when it came to drugs and sobriety because Andy had been there. Rusty appreciated the way Andy arranged for his mother to get the ill-fated bus ride to Los Angeles and for never once mentioning the way he ran away from him at the bus station. But the moment Andy became Sharon's boyfriend his attitude changed. The word "boyfriend" created problems because it came with so much history and baggage and it was going to take more than a couple of years' worth of therapy sessions with Doctor Joe to correct it and mend the years of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of all the men in his life.

With how resistant Rusty had been in the past Sharon was more than grateful to witness that hand shake between her two boys. The way Rusty blinked furiously like he did when he was feeling upset let Sharon know that huge steps had been taken. As Rusty sat back down she smiled at Andy before mouthing "Thank you" to him once again and kissing him on the cheek. Sharon turned towards the refrigerator and ran her fingers down the letter that was now stuck to it. She wasn't going to leave it there but for now it would do. When she turned back around Andy was standing with his juice in one hand and the other outstretched towards her. Sharon took his hand before they walked towards the couch. Andy sat closest to the door and to Rusty while Sharon sat beside him. Rusty moved the lamp off the end table and replaced it with the chess board so Andy could play without having to move. Andy put his glass on the coffee table which left him free to wrap his right arm around Sharon's shoulders and play chess with his left. Sharon watched them as they quietly moved their pieces about the board and she cuddled up to Andy. The night had been perfect so far, could she pluck up the courage to make it even better?

Dinner arrived and was devoured as the chess battled continued. With progress slow because of their meal Rusty cleared away the plates and food cartons. Andy took this as a sign that Rusty was forfeiting the game but with everything that had happened that night and because he was so tired Rusty had completely forgotten their wager.

With the events of the last few days Rusty had been in bed for a couple of hours by the time 11 o'clock came and had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion the moment his head hit the pillow. Prior to this he couldn't remember the last time he slept soundly. He was worried about the trial, about the confusion with Gus, then being called by Monroe to testify at Slider's sentencing hearing and now the verdict. It was all too much and both Sharon and Andy had encouraged him to get an early night and to try and put it out of his mind. As a result, although not the intended goal, Sharon and Andy were afforded some much needed alone time.

Since Rusty went to bed Andy and Sharon hadn't moved from the couch. They both knew that any real public displays of affection made Rusty feel uncomfortable so they were kept to a minimum, although were gradually increasing, in his presence. Cuddling and holding hands was okay as long as Rusty could see all four hands at the same time which made Sharon think she was in a love scene in a Hollywood movie from the 50s where at least one foot had to be in contact with the floor at all times. With Rusty in bed Sharon was free to snuggle up to Andy as much as she liked. His arm was still around her shoulders pulling her close to him. She had her face almost buried into his neck as he held her hand with his other hand. They hadn't spoken in a while and they didn't need to. They were both savouring the silence and each other's company. Regardless of the comfortable position they found themselves in it was now getting very late. Andy was content to stay there for as long as Sharon needed him as he lay his head on the back of the couch and rested his eyes. Sharon desperately wanted to ask him to stay but was struggling to find the words.

Sharon wasn't a prude by any stretch of the imagination but she was an immensely private, sometimes even shy person so making this kind of move especially for the first time with someone, someone she loved, was difficult. Her mind raced as she thought of the best way to broach the subject. Throughout their relationship Sharon had been the one to initiate everything. At the very beginning Sharon told Andy she wanted to take things slowly while they made sure their relationship wasn't going to affect work or completely destroy the friendship she valued so much, this inadvertently made a rod for her own back. Initially Andy's frustration was obvious but he was first and foremost a gentleman when it came to Sharon and simply said to her "I'll wait for you." Unbeknown to Andy had he made a move right there and then their relationship would have moved ahead at light speed as those four little words made Sharon's knees weak. Since then Andy hadn't done anything that Sharon hadn't done first. She was the first one to hold hands (two days before they informed Chief Taylor they were dating), she was the first one to kiss him (a proper kiss that is, their first gentle kiss came at an awkward moment during a Dodgers game very early on when the Kiss Cam focused in on them) and now she was the first one to declare their love out loud. It was abundantly clear that she was going to have to be the one to initiate things getting physical between them. This was at once both frustrating but also deeply satisfying for Sharon as Andy continued to be the gentleman she fell in love with and wasn't about to rush her into anything regardless of how he might feel.

When it came to Andy Sharon was not keen on discussing her relationship. Two reasons accounted for this. Firstly the world and his wife knew all about her marriage to Jack and had an opinion on it and she was keen to not repeat that. Secondly she was a very private person and only wanted to share what she had with Andy, with Andy himself. The only person she really spoke to was Emily who, much to Sharon's surprise, was beyond ecstatic that her mother had a boyfriend. Long before Andy injured himself the first question that Emily would ask on the phone was "How's your silver fox?" Emily squealed with delight when Sharon told her they were going out on that first proper date and when it came to their third date Emily insisted that Sharon "Wax everything!" until she informed her that they were taking it slow and hadn't even kissed yet.

Over time Sharon became accustomed to confiding in Emily about all things Andy Flynn so when she finally felt the time was right to get physical with Andy she asked Emily for advice. Emily's initial suggestion was that her mother should give Andy a look that let him know that she wanted sex. Despite Sharon's best efforts Andy thought she had something wrong with her eye and tried to book her an appointment with an optometrist. Another look she gave him after dinner at his place had him question if the salad had gone off. The closest they had got after that involved Andy's couch, Sharon's relief that Andy had finally moved to "second base" under his own volition and a horrifically timed phone call from Provenza informing Andy that four people had been shot and dumped in the trunk of a car outside the hospital and his attendance was required. A day later Andy had his accident and although it wasn't on his list of don'ts from the doctor it was safe to assume that since he couldn't cross his legs, everything else was out of the question on medical grounds so Sharon put her seduction plans on hold. Now he was better and he'd moved back home it was time to put her plan into action once again.

Meanwhile Andy was completely oblivious to how Sharon felt despite the fact that he felt exactly the same way. He missed every smouldering look, every kiss that would normally have led to more and every hint because he assumed, when Sharon was ready, she would tell him. The word "patience" had become his mantra and if he was honest with himself he was so frightened of ruining his relationship with Sharon, of pushing her into something that she wasn't ready for and losing her altogether that he was determined to keep his hands to himself (and usually buried deep in his pockets) unless he received a blatantly obvious invitation (preferably both a written and oral invitation).

Sharon sat breathing in the intoxicating scent of Andy's aftershave and worried. Was she going to be able to finally do this? The circumstances were less than perfect. She was simply exhausted and Rusty was asleep a few feet away but as Sharon had recently found out to her cost before Andy's accident, if you wait for the stars to align perfectly life has a habit of getting in the way. As Sharon played out possible ice breakers in her head, which ranged from just asking him if he wanted to stay the night to leaping on him and removing his pants in one quick motion, she sighed. Andy took this as a hint so opened his eyes and looked at his watch.

"It's getting late. I should be going."

Andy stood up and retrieved his jacket from the back of the dining chair he had sat on during dinner before putting it on and taking his car keys out of his pocket. Sharon jumped up and joined him as she searched for the right words.

"I'll be by in the morning to pick you up" Andy said as he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

Sharon tried to seize the initiative and slipped her arms around his waist, "He wasn't going to get away so easily" she thought, and kissed him back. This wasn't the gentle peck he had just given her. This was longer and deeper. This was a kiss like she'd given him on his couch that encouraged him to move to second base all those weeks ago. Maybe he might take the hint she thought. Please God let him take the hint. The kiss ended and they stared at each other for a moment.

"So 7:30?" Andy asked.

Sharon looked at Andy's tie and started to run it through her fingers. If she was going to do this looking Andy in the eye was not the best option. Those eyes, those beautiful eyes may make her even more nervous and back out.

"Or you could just stay here tonight."

Sharon had no option left but to jump in with both feet. She desperately wanted him to stay. She'd put off telling him she loved him out of fear just as he had apparently done but now was the time to do exactly what she wanted.

"That would be nice but Rusty is already in bed. I wouldn't want to take his bed again anyway and I don't think my back could handle the couch."

"Andy I'm asking you to spend the night."

Sharon paused for a moment.

"With me."

Sharon's embarrassment level was reaching its maximum so she was relieved when Andy began to smile at her. The fact that Andy was also rubbing his ear lobe made her somewhat confused but at this particular moment in time she didn't really care.

"I was hoping that's what you meant but I was trying to act like a gentleman."

Sharon's relief was palpable as she leaned in and kissed him again. For a moment the world around them had vanished until Sharon was jarred back to reality by the sound of Andy's car keys hitting the table as he dropped them. She became aware that her hands had made their way under Andy's jacket just as Andy's hands were now running through her hair.

As glorious as this was Sharon suddenly remembered that her son was asleep in his room and could potentially come out at any moment in search of a glass of water. She broke off the kiss and smiled at Andy.

"I just need to lock the door."

"Right. Right." The words fell from Andy's mouth although he'd no idea what he'd actually said such was his surprise. For all he knew he'd just muttered "Banana unicorn" in response to Sharon.

In comparison after her initial nervousness about asking Andy to stay, Sharon had suddenly come over completely confident while Andy's head was swimming. Things had escalated quickly and their relationship was at a stage a million miles away from where it was just a few hours earlier. He was nervous. Andy Flynn was nervous. This was an unusual sensation for him. He'd never been nervous with a woman before but then again he'd never been presented with the opportunity to sleep with the love of his life for the first time before either. It was true that Andy had been known as a charmer and a ladies man in the past, unfairly he felt because, and there were plenty of witnesses to back him up on this, half the trouble he got into involved Provenza. For example the flight attendants, Andy was firmly of the opinion that was all Provenza's idea. Or maybe it was his idea, it was hard for him to remember all these years later. Regardless Provenza was the one who'd been married five times and yet he was the one with the reputation. Andy had wanted this for a long time but had been determined to be patient, not force the issue and wait for Sharon to be ready because, after all, he was in love with her long before he plucked up the courage to ask her out on that first proper date.

Sharon kissed him once again but before she even contemplated untwining herself from Andy's arms and attend to the door a thought suddenly dawned on him.

"Okay I've got a pill to take while you lock the door."

Sharon at once tensed up. Her hands were now removed from their previous home of under Andy's jacket where they were attempting to untuck his shirt from his pants and were now attending to his jacket lapels as she patted him in a, she hoped, reassuring manner.

"Oh right. Okay. That's fine. Okay. Nothing to be ashamed of..."

Sharon was relieved that Andy could be honest with her about such a personal matter but felt embarrassed and was eager to not make Andy feel bad about needing any extra "assistance" after all neither of them were spring chickens anymore. Andy did not feel this way. He was horrified. If he was nervous before, he was positively petrified now, that was until he took a deep breath.

Andy smiled and shook his head.

"My blood pressure pill. The pill you presented to me on a plate every day I stayed here before and after my surgery. I have to take it with a glass of water before bed. Remember?"

Sharon immediately buried her face into Andy's chest absolutely mortified. Thankfully Andy started to laugh and laugh hysterically at that. Relieved Sharon joined him in laughter but found it hard to remove her face from his shirt front. Andy kissed the top of her head and began to relax.

"I keep them in my jacket pocket in case we have to work late. If I don't take it now I might forget but thanks for the vote of confidence" Andy said jokingly with a huge smile on his face.

Sharon once again buried her face in his chest laughing before kissing him long and hard on the lips.

"I'm so sorry. You take your blood pressure pill and I'll lock the door and remove my foot from my mouth."

As Sharon walked to the front door and Andy to the kitchen they both laughed from a mixture of the misunderstanding and nerves. Sharon turned the latch on the door locking it before seeing Andy's badge, cuffs and gun sitting on the table next to it. She ran her finger across his badge and smiled. She liked that they had a regular spot in her home. It showed that Andy was not only comfortable there but also that, of late, he was coming straight over to her condo from work rather than going home first so he could spend more time with her. Sharon turned the light off by the door before turning towards the kitchen.

As Sharon started to walk she stopped dead. Her eyes widened until they were the size of saucers. Just as quickly she went from feeling confident and composed to so nervous that wetting herself was a possibility. Sleeping with Andy had seemed like such a good idea 30 seconds ago. But that was it, sleeping with Andy. Yes this was the Andy that she loved and wanted desperately but it was also her friend Andy. Her very good friend. After she had attended The Nutcracker with his family two years ago they had been out together at least once a week ever since. She almost considered him to be her best friend before he asked her out on their first official date. But he wasn't only her friend. He was her Lieutenant. Was she really about to sleep with her Lieutenant? Was she about to be naked in front of her Lieutenant? Oh God! She was about to get naked. She hadn't let anyone see her naked for a long time, Doctors aside. It had been a long time since she'd done anything really. It wasn't so long ago that she'd forgotten what to do but there had been one...no two Presidential elections since then. Had it really been that long? She was about to sleep with her friend, her Lieutenant but that was the point. Andy was her Lieutenant, he was her closest friend but he was also the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Sharon took a deep breath and took those few remaining steps back to the kitchen.

As Sharon turned the corner Andy was standing in front of the sink drinking slowly from a large glass of water. In truth Andy didn't need to take his pill right now but he had been surprised by the turn the night had taken and wanted a moment to compose himself.

Overcome by nerves Sharon leaned up against the refrigerator, her newly received love letter temporarily stuck to it with a magnet behind her, as she watched Andy. His nervousness was not obvious on the outside, quite the opposite. As Sharon watched him she thought he looked tall and strong and handsome. Everything Andy wanted to appear as following his recovery from his surgery. Sharon's nerves increased as she watched him. Her hands trembling she put them behind her back and held on to the handle of the refrigerator for support. Andy continued to drink, not taking his eyes off Sharon for a moment. His gaze made Sharon's nervousness increase further as she broke their constant eye contact and looked at a fixed spot on the ceiling between them.

Andy finished his water and put his glass in the dishwasher before turning back to face Sharon. Her focus was fixed on the ceiling as she gently bit her bottom lip. Suddenly the tables were turned and Andy was relaxed, filled with confidence and seized control. Andy slowly walked over to Sharon and put his hand under her chin to lower her head and look into her eyes. Andy's touch made Sharon let out a sigh which made it abundantly clear just how nervous she suddenly felt.

"What's wrong? You're trembling."

"I'm nervous. It's you know...been a while."

"Look Sharon we don't have to if you..."

"No Andy. I love you. I've wanted you for so long. I was trying to find the right way to phrase it when you had an argument with a moving car. After that since you couldn't even cross your legs safely I didn't want to kill you."

Andy laughed. "Kill me? That's some ego."

"Andy it's not ego. Two Doctors advised against lifting your arms above your head. Trust me, I would have killed you. Then you moved out and I was waiting for life to go back to normal and for the dust to settle and..."

"And now it has. Don't worry. They say it's like riding a bicyclist. Once you know, you never forget."

Andy kissed her as she laughed once more.

"Bicyclist?"

"You know what I mean."

Sharon released the fridge handle and took Andy's hand in hers.

"This way."


	3. Chapter 3

_Once again thank you for your kind reviews, follows and favourites in response to my last chapter. I have tried to edit it down but sadly once again this chapter is even longer than the last one. So make yourself a cup of tea, find yourself a comfy chair and I hope you enjoy chapter three._

 _I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up about five hours after the last one finished at around 4:00am._

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Three**

"Oh God!" Andy cried. His screams were as loud as they were long as they escaped from Sharon's bedroom and reverberated around every corner of the darkened, silent condo for all to hear. Forget Rusty, this noise was loud enough to wake the dead.

Sharon was instantly startled awake. "What's the matter?" In a panic she immediately put the bedside lamp on at the second attempt and rolled back over to face Andy. He was lying flat on his back with his hand over his left eye, his deep gulps of air causing the t-shirt he'd wore under his shirt that day to rise and fall rapidly.

Sharon put her hand behind her and groped around on the nightstand looking for her glasses. When they didn't immediately come to hand Sharon rolled over to find them looking first on the nightstand, where she found nothing but one of Andy's shoes, and then on the floor and under her dress where it had been discarded a few hours earlier. A tap on the shoulder made Sharon roll back over to face Andy who held her glasses in his free hand.

"They were on the lamp" Andy said as he gestured towards the lamp sitting on the nightstand next to the right hand side of the bed he was currently occupying.

For the life of her, Sharon had no idea how they had ended up dangling from a lampshade across the room but remembered being somewhat distracted when she took them off so was grateful that under the circumstances they were still in one piece. Sharon took her glasses and put them on as Andy remained flat on his back with his hand over his eye.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Andy people don't scream in the middle of the night for nothing."

Andy removed his hand to reveal that the area under his left eye was already turning a lovely shade of purple and starting to swell. Sharon's gasp was audible.

"Oh my God! How did that happen?"

"I…er…hit it on something."

"On what?"

"Your elbow."

"I elbowed you?"

"A little bit."

Sharon's hands immediately flew up to her face and covered her mouth with horror. "Andy I am so sorry!" she said as she sat up to inspect the damage further. Sharon was mortified. The first time she invites Andy into her bed and she ends up giving him a black eye and not in a good way.

"Don't worry about it." Andy sat up and began poking his eye gingerly with his finger.

"I am going to worry about it. I can't believe this has happened. I've had this bed to myself for so long I guess I forgot you were there" Sharon said sheepishly. Sharon suddenly felt beyond horrified. After the greatest first night she'd ever spent with a man she had fallen asleep in his arms as he spooned up behind her, how on earth could she forget that he was there? As Andy held her and she could feel his shallow breaths on the back of her neck she felt happier than she'd ever been so how had this happened? It had never happened before. She'd never forgotten Jack was lying next to her but then his drunken snores were pretty hard to block out no matter how hard she tried. Sharon took it as a sign that she was currently completely comfortable and content with Andy lying there next to her. But still why didn't she ever elbow Jack? At least he deserved it. Oh God did he deserve it.

"I could always come to bed in a hockey mask" Andy said smiling before taking Sharon's hand.

"Try a Zorro mask and you'll have my attention." Sharon leaned in close and kissed Andy first very carefully on his swelling eye and then on the lips. "Let me get your some ice to put on it" she said as she removed the covers from her legs.

"No you stay. I'll go. I could use a glass of water" Andy replied before getting out of bed. Andy walked around to Sharon's side and pulled the covers back over his guilty partner before stopping and removing them again. He stared at her for a moment and smiled. Before going to sleep Sharon had slipped Andy's shirt on to wear in bed. She claimed it was for convenience as it was lying right there and her usual pair of pyjamas were in a drawer across the room but the truth was the smell of his aftershave was intoxicating and she loved falling asleep wrapped both in his arms and in his shirt.

"There is nothing sexier in this world than the sight of a beautiful woman in nothing but your shirt." Andy bent over and gave Sharon a long, lingering kiss.

Andy replaced the covers over her before he walked to the bedroom door. As he placed his hand on the door handle he turned back to face Sharon. "You were right by the way."

"What do you mean?"

Andy smiled. "You would have killed me." 

The smile on Sharon's face could not have been any bigger. As Andy left the room she slipped down the bed again and put his pillow over her face. His aftershave lingered on it like he was still in the room. At this moment, had she been an adolescent girl Sharon would have squealed with delight and jumped up and down on her bed.

As soon as Andy was out of the room he put his hand back over his eye and the true extent of the pain showed on his face. Andy would never tell Sharon but she hadn't simply rolled over and caught him with a stray elbow, this was a full bodied blow like she was practising for a wrestling bout. As Andy entered the kitchen and hopped across the cold floor he turned on the light and retrieved some ice from the freezer. Andy placed the ice in a kitchen towel and held it carefully over his eye. As he turned around to make his way back to Sharon's bedroom he was startled to see Rusty standing by the sofa.

"God Lieutenant what happened?"

It was hard to tell which one was more surprised to see the other. They had bumped into each other many times during the night when Andy was occupying Rusty's bed with Rusty on the couch but this was different. Andy had clearly spent the evening thus far in Sharon's bedroom, in Sharon's bed. This was going to be an uncomfortable conversation and they both knew it. Rusty knew Andy was going to stay over eventually, he was actually expecting it after reading his letter and it wasn't like he had never experienced this with his biological mother but never with Sharon. Sharon having a boyfriend had been weird from the very beginning even though he'd pushed for that very coupling in that exact place with Nicole some 12 months ago. Now here they were, in the kitchen, in the middle of night and they were both only wearing baggy boxer shorts and t-shirts. It was awkward.

Andy immediately recognised Rusty's discomfort after he opted to call him "Lieutenant" rather than "Andy" like he had done in the hours after reading his letter. Under the circumstances Andy didn't blame him for being a bit more formal. Andy quickly contemplated making out that he'd slept on the couch and had fallen off, hitting his eye on the coffee table but that was simply delaying the inevitable and he really didn't want to lie to Rusty.

"Sharon rolled over in her sleep and clocked me with her elbow." Andy removed the ice to reveal the damage. Rusty grimaced before suppressing a smile as he took a step closer.

"Sharon did that with an elbow?"

"I guess he's not used to having anyone sleeping next to her anymore."

The moment those words left Andy's mouth the awkwardness increased. Andy looked to the heavens for help as every part of Rusty tensed up. If it was possible Rusty even clenched his hair. Rusty wanted Sharon to be happy and if being with Andy made her happy so be it but he really didn't want to think about what might go on behind closed doors.

Rusty looked at his feet as Andy attempted to take a step closer to him. They stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Andy sighed causing Rusty to lift his head up and look at him. Andy had no choice really, he had to address the elephant in the room.

"This is pretty awkward huh?" Andy said as he sat down at the table. The chess board they had been playing with earlier sat in front of him mid match with his car keys having thankfully landed on a vacant area.

"A little" Rusty replied. "It's not like I never thought...I mean...Yeah. Awkward."

"Is it okay though?"

Rusty paused for a moment before leaning against the couch and folding his arms defiantly in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Andy. Andy smiled. Sharon and Rusty might not be related by blood but he had certainly picked up her "Darth Raydor" glare. 

"Do you really love her?" 

"So we're having that conversation huh kid?" 

Rusty didn't move and seemed to make a conscious effort to keep his mouth as closed as humanly possible should any words try and sneak out. This was his turn to take the lead in an interrogation and since Ricky and Emily weren't there it was up to him to find Andy's true intentions and, if need be, defend Sharon's honour. Not that Ricky or Emily seemed particularly inclined to question Andy. In fact they were both pleased that their mother was so happy and couldn't understand Rusty's initial hostility especially as he was in a similar position once, on the edge of a family and being welcomed in. But Ricky and Emily didn't have the same experience as Rusty when it came to mothers and their boyfriends. Ricky was pleased that his mother was happy and kept telling Rusty to cut him a break because, no matter what had gone on in the past, Andy was a solid guy now and clearly made her very happy. Emily was simply ecstatic to the point that Rusty become alarmed. After hearing one Skype conversation too many about Andy between Sharon and Emily, Rusty opted to pop his headphones in whenever he heard Sharon's laptop ring. Thankfully, but still unfortunately, this came after he had overheard one piece of advice from Emily which meant Rusty understood why Sharon was suddenly pulling strange faces at herself in her bedroom mirror. Again as a means of blocking out images he really didn't want, Rusty took to coughing loudly to announce his presence and avoid seeing Sharon practice her "I want sex" eyes again (which if he was honest put Rusty in mind of a constipated crab so it made perfect sense that it hadn't worked on Andy and he was yet to stay the night).

Andy looked at the young man glaring at him and broadened his smiled. Andy sometimes forgot that Rusty was the "man of the house" and in essence Andy was invading his territory, no more so than tonight. Andy actually admired Rusty for how protective he was over his adopted mother so knew this conversation had to happen sooner rather than later and it might as well be now.

"Yes Rusty. I love her. It might not mean so much to you right now, you're still young, but she's the love of my life. Okay?"

Rusty paused for a moment as he searched for his next question.

"Are you going to marry her?"

Andy was slightly taken aback by Rusty's line of questioning which was as equally personal as it was straight forward and to the point. Marry Sharon? Andy had certainly thought about it. He'd thought about it more than perhaps a man in his sixties should be thinking about marriage, in fact he was bordering on teenage girl territory. He'd thought about marrying Sharon even before they were dating. He'd marry her tomorrow if it was an option but Sharon was determined to take everything slowly so Andy knew all he could do was wait and keep the ring he had squirreled away in his nightstand fairly close to hand just in case. 

"I hope so. One day if she'll have me."

"Are you ever going to drink again?"

Andy sighed. This was a question he simply didn't know the answer to. "I don't know Rusty. I'm an alcoholic. I will always be an alcoholic. I don't want a drink right now. I hope I won't want a drink tomorrow but if I do I'll work my steps, I'll go to an extra meeting and try to suppress that urge. And if I ever do want a drink I just need to remind myself that I now have two really spectacular reasons to stay sober. All I can promise you is that I'll do my best for you, for Sharon, for my kids, for Provenza and myself."

Rusty continued to narrow his eyes at Andy before his expression softened. "Okay."

"So is this okay with you?"

Rusty hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to sound enthusiastic but he also didn't want to sound angry or upset. "It's fine" Rusty finally said.

"What are you doing up at this time anyway? Did I wake you?"

"No. I just couldn't sleep."

"For any particular reason?"

"No."

"You don't need to lie to me kid."

Rusty sat down at the table next to Andy and began to run one of the bishops from the chess set through his fingers. As he searched for the words Rusty eyed Andy's keys on the board and looked at both them and Andy suspiciously. Andy picked up the keys and placed them on the table without offering the slightest explanation.

"I just feel awful. I feel bad about the sentencing and my part in it and then there's Gus and I told him he'd be better away from me and I just..."

"Hold your horses there son." Andy took the ice off his eye and placed his hand on Rusty's shoulder. Rusty instinctively flinched slightly. Their relationship had changed. He was now properly his Mom's boyfriend and from experience that came with hitting. Not for one moment did Rusty expect such treatment from Andy but his programmed response was hard to avoid. Slightly embarrassed by this reaction Rusty smiled and replaced his bishop back on the board. Andy immediately took the hint and moved his rook to continue the game where they'd left off.

"So this is about Gus?" Andy asked casually.

"Did you move any of these pieces after I went to bed?"

"Nice try kid."

Rusty sighed. "I've never really been on like a proper date before."

Andy took the ice off his eye again and put it on the table. This conversation was going to be a bigger challenge that he initially thought. He hadn't been prepared for a conversation about dating with Rusty. In truth he hadn't been prepared for anything that had happened to him in the last ten hours. When he walked into the kitchen minutes earlier he contemplated stabbing himself with a fork to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Dating can be hard especially asking someone out on that first date" Andy said with a grin.

Rusty didn't respond with the exception of raising his eyebrows knowingly. He remembered well being asked by Sharon to go out with Andy and his family and act as a buffer. He had enjoyed that awkward conversation in the kitchen when it became clear that neither Sharon nor Andy had realised that they were actually dating and he knew full well that the only reason Andy wasn't already living with them was because it had taken him so long to ask Sharon out properly although he'd never say that to either of them.

"I was scared to death the first time I asked Sharon out to dinner."

Rusty laughed to himself. "Why? You'd been out to dinner every week for over a year before that." Before that night, if Rusty was honest other than the introduction of hand holding and the odd kiss and cuddle not much had changed since Sharon and Andy started dating. They saw each other just as frequently and Andy was as permanent a fixture in Rusty's life as he was before. The only real change was in how he looked at Andy and vice versa. Andy now slotted into the mould of potential future step father which is why he felt so awkward around him given his history with potential future step fathers.

"Because it was a proper date. What if she'd said no? I would have lost my friend. Imagine how awkward it would have been at work."

"I never really thought of that."

"I did. Why do you think it took me so long to ask?" Andy smiled to himself as he thought about how far he and Sharon had come since the day he asked her to Serve.

When Andy told Provenza he was finally going to ask Sharon out on a proper date, without any pretext, without any family members or the rest of the division present as buffers but on an honest-to-God date, he had expected more of a response from his partner. He had expected eye rolls, hostility, being called an idiot or perhaps even being locked in the trunk of a squad car until he changed his mind. Instead all Provenza said was "Okay." Provenza was naturally concerned because, like Flynn, he had no idea if the Captain would even say yes. Provenza was actually concerned for both of them. He now considered the Captain to be a friend as much as he did Flynn. He didn't want to see either of them get hurt and indeed Flynn and the Captain dating could risk the balance of the whole division but they could also be really happy together like he was with Patrice. Provenza had mused to himself after the aborted Dodgers game that it was probably about time Flynn finally asked her out so since he was determined to jam his fork in the toaster regardless of the consequences Provenza saw no reason to put any other road blocks in his path but be there to pick up the pieces if it all went horribly wrong. Plus they were also in the middle of trying to solve a triple homicide and since Flynn appeared calm but had clearly been over thinking it and was talking a little quicker than usual he thought it was best to just let him get on with it.

Andy had thought telling Provenza of his plans was going to be the hard part. He was wrong. Asking Sharon out on a date when Andy was staring at himself in a mirror in his bathroom was easy, doing it in person with Sharon in the same room was a different proposition entirely. Once Andy had made the decision that he was going to ask Sharon out he felt relaxed and excited. This was the best possible decision he could make for himself he thought. This was going to make him happy because if he was honest with himself, he was already in love with her and had been for some time. For three days Andy practiced what he was going to say. He did it in front of a mirror, in the car, in the men's room, in the line at the coffee shop and even to a pigeon that landed on his driveway all in order to get it perfect and leave little room for misinterpretation. All the while he felt confident, confident Sharon would say yes and this would be the start of a new life for him. Then the doubts set in. What if she said no? What would he do then? Options ranged from the rational to the extreme, from dusting himself down and moving on to moving to Europe and getting a sex change. The longer he waited to ask the more doubts set in, the more doubts that set in the longer it took to ask. Andy was trapped in a vicious cycle until finally he took a deep breath and decided that today was the day. Today was the day he was going to change his life for the better. So he told his closest friend of his plans, got himself psyched up and ready to ask the question and then Provenza warned him off. Andy had been too distracted by his potential dinner date to realise that the case wasn't over and they really where in the big fat middle of something.

That extra night to dwell on it did nothing for Andy's nerves. When he arrived at PAB the next morning and saw Sharon the relaxed shoulders of the bathroom mirror had vanished and he was suddenly so nervous it made his eye twitch. Throughout the day as the division battled to put Twizz and Big Hazard behind bars Andy battled to keep both his nerves and his eye twitch to himself. To his credit Andy was largely successful apart from an unfortunate incident in the break room prior to the squad rolling out to arrest Big Hazard and place the moving truck outside Twizz's house when Mike thought he was winking at him as he handed him a cup of coffee.

After his attempt to get Sharon out of the Electronics Room and talk to her in her office was thwarted by Rusty, Andy went and hid in the men's room for five minutes while he tried to compose himself again. Alone with just the mirror Andy once again practiced what he was going to say. "I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tomorrow, you know like a _date_ " he said to himself with all the emphasis on the word "date." It was so easy when he was alone. At least he thought he was alone. As he stared at his reflection he heard a toilet flush before the stall door behind him opened and a young uniformed officer stepped out and smiled at him. "I'd love to Lieutenant but I'm already married" he said before washing his hands and walking out the door. Andy crouched down and covered his eyes with his hands as he desperately tried to suppress a scream before Mike chose that exact moment to enter the men's room. Upon seeing him Mike immediately stopped dead and stared at him confused. The last thing he expected to see upon entering the men's room at work was Andy in a ball with his hands over his eyes so to say he was worried by his colleague's strange behaviour was an understatement. Since Mike had already been concerned that Andy was winking at him earlier in the day Andy stood up, straightened his tie in the mirror and walked out of the men's room without saying a word as he rubbed his ear lobe frantically. Later Andy saw Mike talking to Provenza in a secluded corner of the murder room and gesturing in his direction. He wasn't sure what Provenza told him but it was enough to prevent some sort of intervention from taking place.

That evening as Andy waited alone in the murder room for Sharon to come out of her office he felt his blood pressure begin to rise. Andy could see Rusty through the glass and wondered if he should wait until tomorrow but then he heard Sharon's door open and close and shot to his feet to grab his chance. His heart started pounding in his chest and he worried he might be about to faint again until he saw her. With Sharon standing in front of him he instantly relaxed. His shoulder's loosened, the blood was no longer thundering past his ears and the words flowed from his mouth like water. The effect that his Captain had on him was better than any drug or any drink.

Thankfully he was still at work so an ice breaker was at hand for Andy without having to search for one. "Uh, here's a list of Twizz's known associates, if we still need them." Andy handed Sharon the file and suddenly became very aware of his hands. He had no idea what to do with them.

"Oh, well, we may. Once he's locked up and he trusts he's safe, he may want to trade some of his fellow Monsters for luxury items."

"Yeah. Like eggs and hamburgers." Andy suddenly felt very nervous and as usual that meant his default fall-back position was humour. He smiled with nerves as much as with what he'd just said. Then Sharon smiled back. That beautiful smile that made her eyes sparkle and his heart pound. It was now or never. "Uh, listen, you know, since it's calmed down here, uh, what do you say to dinner tomorrow? At Serve." As the words spilled from Andy's lips he tried valiantly to work the word "date" into the conversation but it didn't put in an appearance. He needed to make things clear. "It's new, it's, uh, nearby, and people say, uh, well people say it's one of the most romantic places in Los Angeles." It wasn't what Andy had in mind. It wasn't what he had practiced saying a hundred times in the mirror but from the look in Sharon's eyes the word "romantic" had done the trick and his intentions were fully understood.

"R-romantic?" Sharon was shocked. Five seconds ago she was finishing a regular working day like any other and planning on taking Rusty out for burgers and now suddenly Andy Flynn was asking her out on a date. A proper date. He was wasn't he? He had just described Serve as "romantic" hadn't he? Sharon felt her pulse quicken.

"Well, that's, that's how it's described." Other than surprise Andy struggled to read anything else from Sharon's face. Less than a second past but it seemed like an hour to Andy as he waited for Sharon's answer. Potentially this was all about to go spectacularly wrong. Forget the "I told you so" from Provenza, how would he ever be able to go out with her as a friend again. Andy's ear lobe was calling him but he was determined to keep that trademark Andy Flynn cool and calm exterior while underneath he was anything but.

Sharon couldn't believe it. He was, Andy Flynn was asking her out on a date. Finally! But how to respond? According to Rusty and Nicole, and probably Lieutenant Provenza for all she knew, they had been dating for over a year anyway. When the "misunderstanding" with Nicole occurred (and for the sake of Andy she called it a misunderstanding rather than Andy deliberately misleading her) she spent a lot of time thinking about Andy. Had they been dating without her realising it? Probably. They did spend an awful lot of time together outside of the office. They went out at least once a week and she loved it. She loved every second she spent with him. He was always so charming, so funny and she did find him handsome. She found him handsome even when he was shouting and glaring at her when she worked at FID. But did she want to try and take this next step with him? With Andy Flynn? With her Lieutenant? Sharon looked at those eyes and that smile and knew her answer. Of course she wanted to go on a date with him but quickly thought its best not to appear too eager at this particular moment in time. It was time for Sharon to play it cool, calm, maybe slightly aloof.

"Oh, I see. Uh, um, uh. Fine." Sharon could kick herself. That was maybe a tad more aloof than she was aiming for.

Andy's face was a picture and it didn't go unnoticed by Sharon. He looked stunned. He hoped she'd say yes but if he was a betting man he wouldn't have put money on it. She'd said yes, well technically "fine" but that meant the same thing. He wanted to climb on the roof and scream for the whole of LA to hear but instead he could only muster a ridiculous look on his face which made him look like he'd checked out without his baggage. Meanwhile that ridiculous look filled Sharon with confidence but this situation could now potentially get a little awkward so she was looking for a quick getaway.

"Where's Hobbs?"

Thankfully Andy's brain kicked back into gear and he was able to find the words. "She's in Interview One I think."

As Sharon walked away she couldn't help but smile and feel good about herself. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been asked out on a date and she'd been asked by someone she knew so well, someone she liked. The word "romantic" ran through her mind and spilled onto her lips. A romantic evening with Andy Flynn. Then it hit her. She was going on a first date for the first time in longer than she cared to admit and it was tomorrow. A new dress was needed. Without doubt but when would she find the time to go out? She needed new shoes. She definitely needed to get her hair done. She also needed to tell Taylor. They weren't breaking any rules but she needed to inform him if she was going to do everything by the book. There was no rush though. At this point she didn't even know if this…this…whatever this was was going to work. There was no point telling Taylor until she knew for sure or the rest of the division for that matter. Had Andy already told them? Did the rest of the division know of Andy's plans? Was she going to have several pairs of eyes staring at her as she left to go and get ready for her "romantic" dinner with Andy? By the time Sharon had finished running everything through her mind several times she had walked past Interview One and was standing in the elevator with Taylor who was wondering why she hadn't pressed a floor button and was instead staring into space with a beaming smile on her face. Taylor cleared his throat to get her attention and wake Sharon from her trance. The noise made Sharon jump out of her skin. She had no idea how she ended up in the elevator let alone that Taylor was standing behind her. Extremely flustered Sharon managed to sneak out a "Sorry Chief" before scuttling out of the elevator and back towards Interview One and Hobbs.

Meanwhile Andy was fixed to the spot in the murder room with a ridiculous smile on his face. She had said yes. He was going out on a date with Sharon. He stood there in a blissful daze until he also became aware of a voice in his ear.

"Are you okay Lieutenant?" Rusty asked as his puzzled expression was matched in intensity only by Andy's smile.

"Absolutely wonderful." Andy said as he sat back down at his desk.

The following day, the day of the date was a tense one. Provenza was off for a few days leave which meant Andy was temporarily second in command. Thankfully the day had been a relatively quiet one with no new case needing their attention meaning it was a paperwork day. Even so Andy marshalled the division like it was some sort of military boot camp to ensure the working day was wrapped up on time and they wouldn't have to cancel the date. On the whole he felt fairly relaxed with the exception of when the phone rang, causing him to tense up and say a quick prayer in his head begging that this call was not a fresh case. Sharon was equally flustered. She had faked a dentist appointment at lunchtime so she could sneak out and buy a new outfit. She bought herself a beautiful pale purple dress which cost a fortune but she wanted to make an effort and she wanted Andy to know she had. Other than her kids, Sharon hadn't told anyone she was going out on a date with her Lieutenant and she assumed he hadn't told anyone either other than Lieutenant Provenza. By the time she had put her tea cup in the refrigerator and took the milk carton into her office, Sharon realised that she was nervous and so spent the rest of the day with the blinds to her office closed so she wouldn't be distracted by her forthcoming dinner companion.

As 7 o'clock arrived they were both extremely nervous. Sharon had already drunk a glass of wine to deal with her nerves and when Andy arrived at her door his nerves were so overwhelming that he waited outside a full ten minutes before plucking up the courage to knock. Under the circumstances he felt his nervousness was fully justified. Andy had realised in the days leading up to asking Sharon out that this was it. Regardless of whether this relationship ended in marriage or after just one dinner, this was the last first date he was ever going to go on. He loved Sharon and if dating her didn't work out he simply couldn't imagine life with anyone else.

Throughout the evening both Sharon and Andy were relieved to discover that conversation remained easy, they were close friends after all, but the nerves they both felt were never far from the surface. This manifested itself in different ways. As Sharon stepped out of Andy's car at the restaurant she looked down and noticed, much to her horror, that she'd left her condo in two different shoes. Andy never said a word about them which left Sharon wondering if he simply hadn't noticed or if he was being a gentleman. It was hard to imagine how Andy hadn't noticed since, even though they were a fairly similar colour, Sharon's left shoe had a significantly bigger heel than the right and made her walk with a limp like a glamorous pirate. Although Sharon tried valiantly to walk normally many other patrons of the restaurant assumed she must have been born on the side of a hill. Little did Sharon know but Andy was far too preoccupied by how she looked in her dress to notice what she had on her feet. She could have gone out to dinner in large fluffy yellow duck slippers and he wouldn't have noticed. That dress was certainly worth every penny she paid for it and had the desired effect on her dinner date. Andy's nerves were a little more obvious as when he leaned forward to tell Sharon she looked "Indescribably beautiful" he accidentally set his menu on fire on the candle on the table. Thankfully a conveniently positioned aquarium adjacent to the table enabled the fire to be extinguished without much fuss but the fish and the maître d' were less than pleased.

They made a rule early on that all work talk was off the table but in the end they didn't need to talk about work. They talked about travel, movies, their kids, the ridiculous hat that Provenza insists on wearing to every crime scene and work never came into it. It was the main advantage of going out on a date with a friend, they already knew each other and it felt easy. Conversation continued to flow throughout the evening but it was tinged with an awkwardness as they adjusted to looking at each other in a different way, as a date rather than a friend or a colleague.

As they drove back to Sharon's condo they chatted about who they had told they were having dinner together. Andy was delighted to hear that Sharon had told all her children that this was a romantic date rather than dinner with a friend. He took it as a sign that she was as serious about him as he was about her. If she saw no future then surely it wasn't worth telling them. Andy confessed that he had told Provenza but that came as no surprise to Sharon. What was surprising was that she didn't see Lieutenant Provenza hiding behind a menu during dinner armed with a Taser to get the "Wicked Witch" away from his partner. This made Sharon wonder whether Andy had chosen this week in particular, the week when Lieutenant Provenza was on leave, to take her out so that he wasn't there to stop them.

When the car came to a stop in Sharon's parking garage Andy turned the engine off and they sat for a few moments in silence. On every other first date he'd been on this is when Andy would lean across and get that first kiss out of the way but because Sharon was his commanding officer and his friend he thought better of it and simply smiled at her instead.

"Thank you Andy I've had a wonderful time" Sharon said as she returned his smile.

"My pleasure. Thank you for saying yes." Andy paused for a moment as he tried to build up the courage to ask his burning question. Finally he spoke. "Would you like to do it again some time?"

Andy smiled hopefully as Sharon ran the strap on her purse through her fingers nervously.

"In what capacity? As dinner with a friend or as dinner with a date?" Sharon asked knowing the answer but just wanting to make sure she was on the same page as Andy.

"A date."

"I'd love to." Sharon answered immediately with a magnificent smile. However Sharon's smile did not last as she looked to the roof of the car while biting her bottom lip. Andy looked at her concerned before Sharon took a deep breath and turned slightly to face him. "Listen Andy I need to say something now before this, whatever this is or has the potential to become, goes any further."

"Okay" Andy replied although he was currently anything but okay as his mind raced trying to work out what exactly Sharon was going to say to him.

"If this is going to work then I need to take things slowly."

"Slowly?"

"Very slowly" Sharon added with a weak smile.

"May I ask why?"

"Andy there are many factors to consider here not least of which is that I'm your Captain."

"Why does that matter? If you're worried about Taylor we're not actually breaking any rules..."

Sharon cut him off. "I know but I need to make sure that this, that us, won't get in the way of work. I've seen too many officers rush into things without thinking it through first and it end in disaster both personally and professionally. I don't want that for you. I don't want that for either of us. Then you're my friend. I value our friendship more than anything. I don't want to lose that. There's also Rusty to consider. I just want to make sure, absolutely sure that this is going to work before we go too far."

Andy sighed, his frustration clear. He hadn't expected this potential relationship to move quickly because Sharon was right, things could get awkward at work. Dating his superior officer was always going to be complicated, not least dating his friend but he had hoped their relationship, if it worked, would move along at a regular pace and not very slowly as Sharon requested.

"Sharon how will we know if we don't move..."

Sharon put her hands up to emphasise her point. "Andy I'm sorry but this isn't up for discussion. We either take things slowly or we stop this now. Is that okay?"

As she watched Andy's face process this information Sharon felt bad about her request but she wasn't going to change her mind. She liked Andy. She liked him a lot. She loved spending time with him both inside and outside of work. She valued his friendship and was desperate to not lose that because they moved too quickly. As the steering wheel creaked under Andy's hand as he twisted it Sharon hoped that he would understand and that he was the man she thought he was.

Andy smiled. "I'll wait for you."

"Really?" asked Sharon, her relief palpable.

"If there's any woman in this world worth waiting for it's you."

Sharon was delighted to hear Andy agree to her terms but his words had made her knees weak and her pulse race. As she stared into his eyes she feared that if Andy were to kiss her right now the debate would be over and she would have little resistance to his charms. She wanted him. She wanted him right there and then. That was the first time she'd ever admitted that to herself. It was the first time she'd ever let herself think it. He was her subordinate, her friend. Any desire she might have for him was buried deep down and she'd done all she could to ignore it but it was always in the back of her mind. Ever since Nicole and Rusty teased them for dating without knowing it she had tried desperately not to think of him like that. Aside from a vivid dream that involved Andy, a rainy afternoon and a car battery Sharon had managed to ignore any attraction she had to him until now. Sharon blushed and broke off their eye contact, choosing a small crack on the wall of the garage to focus on instead. "Thank you."

"But just so we're clear this is it. This is your sole irrational demand for our entire relationship, however long that might be" Andy said very matter-of-factly with a smile on his face.

"Okay. Then what's your irrational demand?" Sharon asked as she leant back in her seat and turned to face Andy once again.

"What's the rush? I plan to have years to use it." Andy smiled as Sharon blushed once more. "While we're discussing potential relationship parameters you may be the boss at work but after this everything else from now on is up for discussion right?"

Sharon laughed. "It's a deal."

"And we all know how much you like those. So Friday night? Dinner?"

"I'd love to."

"I'll make us a reservation." The car fell silent for a moment before Andy spoke again. "Does taking things very slowly allow me the pleasure of walking you to your door?"

"I think so."

Andy took his seat belt off, climbed out the car and ran around to the passenger side to open the door for Sharon. They were silent as they rode the elevator back up to Sharon's floor. As they walked to her door there was no physical contact between them with the exception of the slightest unintentional touch of their fingers as they moved. There was electricity in that touch. They both felt it. It may take time but this relationship was going to work and they both knew it.

The next working day arrived and what Sharon feared most came to fruition. She saw Andy differently. He was no longer just her colleague and friend, he was the man she was dating and couldn't help but break into a smile when she looked at him. Her immediate response to this was to start calling him "Lieutenant" and insisted that he call her "Captain" again when they were at work thus creating a barrier between the Lieutenant she knew at work and Andy her date. This lasted just over a week before they were back to calling each other Sharon and Andy again not that she let it bother her. Those few days had proven without a doubt that she could work side by side with someone and then have dinner with them without it effecting work. Now if only she could stop smiling at him when she was supposed to be doing paperwork.

For those first few weeks they hardly lay a finger on each other. In truth they had more physical contact on the day Sharon took over Major Crimes than they did during those first ten dates. The first time Sharon took Andy's hand in hers they were walking along the sunset kissed beach at Santa Monica after a lovely meal at an out of the way restaurant Andy had discovered. The moment Sharon felt Andy's hand in hers she knew that's where it belonged and mentally kicked herself for the time it had taken to entwine her fingers with his. It all felt so natural between them as the sand caressed the soles of their feet and Sharon rested her head on Andy's shoulder. As they meandered along the shoreline Andy saw the benefit of taking things slowly as each small but significant step they took seemed all the more wonderful, more meaningful and definitely worth the wait. They finally told Taylor they were dating two days later. At this point their relationship had encompassed three weeks, ten dates, many adjustments of Andy's tie in place of a kiss and now a solitary holding of hands so Sharon's statement that they were dating in the "old fashioned sense of the word" couldn't have been more accurate. It may have been old fashioned, they may have acted like they had a chaperone with them, they may have touched only once but the continued presence of the magnificent smiles on their faces every time they looked at each other whether at work or not truly showed the world and each other just how they felt. The first hug followed that evening with the first kiss coming a week later at the Dodgers. When that first proper kiss came it was certainly worth the wait. They had been dating for nearly three months and as Andy walked Sharon to her door following dinner and a movie he was anticipating his much cherish embrace and gentle kiss on the lips from his companion. It arrived on cue but as they remained in each other's arms Sharon stared into his eyes and said "I think we can do better than that." What proceeded was a kiss so long and passionate that Andy could only speak in vowels for the 30 seconds that followed such was his surprise. With Rusty out for the evening Sharon invited Andy in for a coffee which he gladly accepted once he was able to access his vocabulary again. That evening ended with another kiss as Andy left that let him know their relationship was taking another huge step forward. 

As Rusty placed his head on the table to survey the board a thought dawned on him. "What are we playing for now? I cleared away after dinner" he said with a certain amount of annoyance for forgetting their earlier wager.

"Breakfast?" Andy suggested.

"Deal."

Andy put out his hand for Rusty to shake. Rusty took it but unlike a few moments earlier this contact between them came without any flinching or awkwardness. In fact Rusty forcefully shook Andy's hand and held it for longer than usually expected as it acted as some sort of apology for his earlier reaction.

The game of chess continued in silence for a moment as Andy searched for any advice he could offer Rusty about the wide world of dating. If there was one thing Andy had experience in it was dating and yet he felt a little out of his depth for a couple of reasons. To begin with Rusty was gay and Andy knew next to nothing about dating men. The only things he could suggest in terms of where to take a date were based on things that he liked, anything else he'd have to speak to Morales or Sharon about. This was also the first time he'd ever had this sort of conversation. He had been divorced for a couple of years and had an extremely rocky relationship with his children by the time it came for them to seek dating advice. Andy had taken massive strides as a father over the last couple of years especially with Nicole and that was all down to Sharon's influence and the way she made people look at him but he still had a long way to go. Rusty presented Andy with a chance to be the father that he always wanted to be. Andy and Rusty were starting off with a relatively blank slate. Rusty's reluctance had nothing to do with Andy as a person. Rusty liked him he just didn't like him being Sharon's boyfriend at first. That laid the foundation for Andy to be able to offer Rusty advice and like Provenza be the father figures that Rusty had never had prior to that night in Griffith Park.

"I'm not going to lie to you Rusty and say dating will be easy but if you like Gus then it's worth the risk" Andy finally said as he put the ice back on his eye.

"So I should just ask him? Just like that?"

"As the last couple of months have proven you never know what's around the corner. I could easily have died before I ever got the chance to tell Sharon how I felt. Life is a gift and you've got to grab every chance you can to make yourself happy before it's all over."

"But what if it doesn't work?" The fear in Rusty's voice was real. It was the same fear that Andy had felt prior to asking Sharon the question.

"But what if it does? I can't promise it will work, it probably won't. Some people marry their first loves, some people have to wait until they're sixty-six but if you don't try you'll never know."

Having heard two voices coming from the kitchen Sharon had got out of bed and put her robe on. She currently lurked out of sight by the doorway listening to her two boys as they played chess.

Rusty smiled briefly as he knew Andy was speaking from experience before his smile faded and he looked anxious. "It's just….I guess I'm just scared."

"That's natural. Taking chances is scary but the payoff makes it all worthwhile. Take things slowly and see what happens. Dating is supposed to be fun. You go out, have some laughs and see where it goes. If it doesn't work you move on. You're young. The perfect guy is out there for you Rusty but if you don't take a risk every once in a while you'll never find him."

"I think I already have" Rusty said as the smile returned to his face.

"Then ask him out. He's a good guy. You're already ahead of most couples on a first date because you already know each other."

"Like you and Sharon."

"Like me and Sharon. It can make things better even easier when you're already friends. The only thing to fear here Rusty is not taking a chance and living to regret it." As Andy spoke he suddenly caught sight of Sharon standing on the edge of the living room from the corner of his eye. He briefly panicked about how long she'd been standing there. Had she overheard his response to Rusty's question about marriage? Not that it really mattered. Andy's feelings and intentions were pretty clear to Sharon when he called her "the love of his life" on the side of the road a few hours earlier. With Sharon listening in on their conversation Andy decided to take advantage of the situation.

"I don't know about you Rusty but I think some sort of intervention is required. This whole angel thing has gotten a little out of hand" Andy said as his eyes and nod of the head made it abundantly clear to Rusty (and Sharon for that matter) that they were being listened to.

Rusty smiled and cleared his throat. "Absolutely. Every year there are more of them. With their creepy little..."

"Excuse me!" Sharon blurted as she walked across the room to join them and put her hand on Rusty's shoulder.

"Oh hello I didn't see you there" Andy said casually in a manner that fooled no one as Rusty laughed loudly.

"I'm sure. What are you playing for now?"

"Loser makes breakfast" Rusty replied as he removed Andy's bishop from the board.

Sharon gently patted Rusty on the back and gestured towards his bedroom. "Which will be in a couple of hours so I think it's time you went back to bed."

"Okay. I only came to get a glass of water anyway" said Rusty as he got up and made his way over to the kitchen. As Rusty helped himself to a glass from the cupboard and began to fill it with tap water Sharon looked at Andy a little worriedly and then back to Rusty before slowly, gently and very deliberately walking over to him as if she was literally treading on eggshells. She should have told him she thought. She should have told him that Andy was going to be spending the night although how could she have when by the time Rusty went to bed she hadn't asked Andy if he even wanted to. Still Sharon felt that she should have warned Rusty rather than letting him discover him in the kitchen in the middle of the night in this underwear.

"Rusty, is everything okay? Is this...is this okay?" Sharon asked as she turned and gestured towards Andy.

Rusty took a large gulp of water before answering. "It's fine. Really." He looked towards Andy before turning back to Sharon and smiling. "Have you ever considered a second career as an Ultimate Fighter?"

Andy laughed before Sharon shot the pair of them both a trademark death glare. They were ganging up on her, making jokes. They were getting along. It was lovely. Sharon couldn't help but smile. "Oddly enough no" she said as she once again grimaced as she looked at the damage she had caused to Andy's eye.

"At least this time Andy got a black eye without breaking a floor tile" Rusty said between gulps of water. The moment the words left Rusty's mouth Sharon shot him a glare like a state secret had been revealed. Sharon slowly turned to face Andy.

"Without breaking what?" Andy asked as he stood up and joined Sharon and Rusty by the kitchen counter.

"You cracked a floor tile with your face when you fell" Rusty replied quickly as if it was almost an accomplishment and Andy should feel proud.

"You never told me."

"There were more important issues at hand in the immediate aftermath" Sharon said as she gently stroked the small mark that remained by Andy's eye from the impact with the floor. "Then I covered it with the bath mat."

"But anytime you'd like to fix it, there's no need to ask first. Goodnight Mom. Night Andy" Rusty said gleefully before heading back down the hall to his bedroom.

"Night kid." As the sound of Rusty's door closing echoed up the hallway Andy turned to Sharon who was still staring after Rusty with a concerned expression on her face. "What's the matter?"

"I should have warned him" Sharon said as she placed a hand on his chest while still staring at the space that Rusty had just vacated.

"About what?"

"I should have given Rusty some sort of advance notice that my boyfriend was spending the night." Sharon turned to face Andy in time to see that his face was shining back at her. "What?" she asked as she wondered what she'd said that was so amusing.

The size of Andy's smile increased further. "Nothing. That's just the first time you've ever called me your boyfriend" he said as he took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her.

When it came to defining their relationship Andy was right, Sharon had never called him her boyfriend before. She'd never called him anything before. When he was lying in his hospital bed and the Doctor mistakenly called Andy her husband, Sharon could hardly string a sentence together and said "Oh, um, I-I'm, we're not…" and it was Provenza who said she was his girlfriend. In an evening of big firsts, the first time they'd said "I love you," the first time they'd slept together, it was also the first time he'd been called her boyfriend and although it was nowhere near as significant in the grand scheme of things it filled his heart with joy.

Sharon smiled and ran her arms around Andy until her hands settled in the small of his back. "And what were you two talking about?"

"You know, this and that. Guy stuff" Andy replied casually.

"Guy stuff?"

"Yep."

"Anything to worry about?"

"No but you might want to see if he'll talk to you about Gus tomorrow. You know more about dating guys than I do."

"Thank you for talking to him" Sharon said before planting a soft kiss to his lips.

"My pleasure. How long were you standing there exactly?"

"Not long. Why? What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing but our guy stuff involved Rusty wanting to know what my intentions are."

The look on Sharon's face was pure surprise but quickly turned into a smile. She hadn't expected Rusty to question Andy's intentions like he was her father but realised that with his history it was probably to be expected. "Oh really? And what are they?"

"All honourable I assure you."

"Pity" Sharon said before kissing him once again and taking his hand and leading him back into her bedroom but unlike the first time she did this a few hours earlier there was not a single trace of nervousness about either of them. Once back inside Sharon's bedroom with the door closed and locked Sharon began to lead Andy back to bed before Andy suddenly stopped dead. He looked at Sharon with an expression of the upmost seriousness and thought. For a split second Sharon was worried about what he was going to say. Regardless of what had happened between them that evening and everything that Andy had written in his letter she remained feeling insecure when it came to men and love, another parting gift from her ex-husband.

Andy suddenly smiled. "Okay. We didn't discuss this earlier because you were too busy ripping my clothes off..."

"Hey!" Sharon smacked him on the arm as the smile returned to her face.

"Which side of the bed do you want to sleep on?" Andy asked as he stared at the bed with great thought on his face. When they had fallen asleep earlier there was no discussion about sides, they had simply just curled up together and went to sleep but this was actually a big decision Andy thought. This is where he was going to sleep for the rest of his life.

"I always used to sleep on the right with Jack but I've settled in the middle of the bed over the last few years" Sharon said as she surveyed her nightstands either side of the bed to see if she favoured one with odds and ends, like her phone, more than the other. In truth in her latter years with Jack one of them usually slept on the couch most nights. With Jack being drunk more often than not he would either collapse on the bed leaving little room for Sharon, not that she wanted to sleep anywhere near him when he was like that, or he would arrive home when Sharon was already in bed and would find the bedroom door locked.

"So do you want the right?"

"No. I think I'm going to stick with the left. It's time for a change to go with a fresh start. Is that okay with you?"

"As long as you're next to me I don't care where I sleep" said Andy with a grin. Sharon kissed him once again before she took her robe off and draped it over a chair in the corner of the room and they made their way around to their now chosen sides of the bed and climbed in. Andy sat up as he continued to ice his eye while Sharon snuggled up next to him and placed her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. Andy placed his free arm around her shoulders as silence fell on the room for a moment.

"Can I ask you a question?" Andy said as he looked down at Sharon.

"Anything."

"Did you think I carried that sort of medication around with me just in case I got lucky?" Andy said jokingly. "I'm not Provenza you know."

Sharon sat up straight and put her hands in the air. "Hold it right there! There are certain things I don't wish to know about Lieutenant Provenza thank you very much."

"Believe me there are certain things I wish I didn't know about Provenza."

Sharon narrowed her eyes as she thought before turning to look at Andy. "This doesn't have anything to do with those flight attendants does it?" Andy's eyes widened as he slunk down in bed a little. Sharon smiled at him. "I'll take that as a yes."

"How do you know about that?"

"Please Andy. Two Lieutenants from the most elite division in the LAPD get involved with drug runners and one stumbles across a body and handles the murder weapon. You don't think that kind of information would have come across my desk."

Andy's free hand flew up and covered his eyes. "Oh God!"

"If it makes you feel any better the whole building knew" Sharon said smiling.

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" Andy asked as Sharon laughed. Andy took the ice off his eye and poked it with his finger before facing the culprit. "How does it look?"

"Let me see." Sharon removed the covers from her legs before climbing on top of Andy's lap and straddling him. Despite how intimate their relationship had become over the last few hours everything was still so new and Sharon's actions took Andy completely by surprise.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked as he put his towel full of ice on the nightstand.

"Looking at your eye." Sharon moved to within an inch of Andy's face and very gently began to apply pressure to the swelling with the softness she was blessed with to see if she had perhaps cracked the bone. If she was honest with herself, her elbow actually hurt so realised how much damage she'd inflicted to Andy. Andy did his best not to flinch from the pain as he debated what to do with his hands in this situation. He instinctively wanted to place them on Sharon's hips and that area of bare flesh he could see peeking out at him at the bottom of his shirt but despite everything that had happened he was still nervous about taking things too far. As Sharon continued to look at his eye and Andy stared into hers since they were the only thing he could see as she was so close, he relaxed and concluded that placing his hands on her hips was the least intimate thing he'd done recently. He slowly moved his hands along Sharon's legs until they came to rest on her hips. The hand that had been holding the ice was cold and Sharon flinched slightly from Andy's touch before she smiled and he adjusted it slightly to make sure his shirt was between the coldness and Sharon's bare flesh.

"I don't think it's broken" Sharon said as she continued to do her best and examine his face.

"This is not how the nurses at St Leo's looked at my eye."

"Are you complaining?"

"Never." Andy paused for a moment as he continued to stare into Sharon's eyes as she stopped pressing the swollen area and moved back a little while still sitting on him. "Did I really break the floor tile?"

"Yes. You have a very hard head."

"Not as hard as your elbow" Andy said with a smile.

"I know. I'm so sorry" Sharon said as she put her hands on either side of Andy's face and kissed him.

"Don't be."

"Shame. I was about to find a different way to apologise" Sharon said as she took her glasses off and put them back on the lampshade where Andy found them.


	4. Chapter 4

_Once again thank you so much for your continued support, reviews, follows and favourites. This will be my last update for a while. I've scrambled to get this chapter finished before I go on holiday tomorrow. Chapters five, six and seven are in the works and taking shape but they won't put in an appearance until mid-June at the earliest._

 _In the meantime whether your review is 100 words or 1 word, positive, negative or indifferent I really appreciate them so please keep them coming. At the very least let me know where I'm going right or going wrong._

 _I'm afraid to say this chapter is even longer than the last but I couldn't stop writing so you'll definitely need a spare hour (minimum) and a cup of tea to read it._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up about four hours after the last one ended at around 8:00am. I hope you enjoy it._

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Four**

Andy was woken by the sensation of soft lips pressing against his. He stirred slightly but didn't open his eyes.

"Andy."

Andy opened his eyes to see Sharon dressed for work and looming over him with a large cup of coffee. He smiled. This was a sight for sore, and in one case very sore, eyes.

"Good morning again" said Sharon softly as she learned forward and kissed him again. Andy's hand instinctively found its way into Sharon's hair as he ensured that the kiss lasted longer than she had originally planned as she battled not to spill the coffee.

The world was currently blurred and bright to Andy which made his head pound. He had a headache but more than that his eye hurt. It hurt a lot. More than he was willing to admit to Sharon. It was on occasions like this that Andy grew mad at himself. Anybody else would be able to take some strong painkillers and get on with their day but he couldn't and it was all his fault for serious mistakes in the past. At this point he wasn't sure how he'd managed to shower and dress an hour earlier.

Sharon had woken Andy about two hours beforehand by gently stroking his cheek with her finger tips. She hadn't intended to wake him in all honesty but was pleased to see him stir and open his eyes. It afforded her the opportunity to do something she hadn't done in a long time, to make love in the morning and it was glorious. After Sharon had separated from Jack she had succumb to his charms more times than she cared to admit. Usually by the time morning came she was always so annoyed with herself that she was more focused on kicking Jack out than allowing him to lay another hand on her. All other dalliances in that time were few and far between and never involved actually spending the night. The last time she'd experienced this kind of passion in the morning she hadn't yet given birth to Emily and it wasn't anything like this.

The freedom that she felt that morning as she ravished Andy once more was the complete opposite to how she felt the night before. As Sharon led Andy into her bedroom for the first time and closed and locked the door behind her, her nerves multiplied exponentially. Sharon had never rushed into a physical relationship with any man because she saw it as such a big step. In Sharon's mind to offer herself up to someone was the biggest and most important thing she could do. In her opinion that connection, both physically and emotionally, should not be taken lightly or be made in haste so as a result she always took her time. Not that Jack believed this for a minute and even before he was a drinker called Sharon repressed and frigid because she made him wait and blamed her attitude on her Mother and Grandmother. In truth Sharon's Mother had told her nearly every day of her life as she was growing up to "Keep your knees together and your hand on your Moo-Moo!" and her Grandmother often regaled her with stories of how she took a knitting needle to bed with her on her wedding night. After Sharon heard that she had a whole new level of respect for her Grandfather and wondered how her Mother even had the chance to be conceived in the first place. Regardless of the root cause of Sharon's cautious behaviour she always made the men in her life wait to make sure but she'd made Andy wait longer than any of them because he was so important to her as her friend and colleague. She didn't want to lose him if things didn't work out romantically because she'd rushed into bed with him. Then she fell in love with him and the longer she made him wait the more she built it up in her head and the more nervous she became. She also worried about how Andy might have built it up in his mind as he waited. She worried about his potentially high expectations of her and didn't want to disappoint him. Little did she know that Andy felt exactly the same way. He was also nervous. He was also worried about any expectations Sharon might have about him. In the end neither of them needed to worry. The previous night had been wonderful. It had been everything they had hoped it would be and more. As she lay in Andy's arms Sharon thought she'd got no right to feel this way. She was a few years away from retirement, they both were, they weren't a couple of teenagers but that's just how she felt even though she didn't look it. In fact Sharon had always been reasonably proud of her body for her age. Sure she didn't look like she used to when she was 20 but who does? She'd also had two children since then but even so everything had remained in pretty much the right place even though it may not be quite as good as it used to be. Andy was equally nervous in this regard. When he was in the academy he could have done his washing on his stomach but these days his abdominal muscles were in hiding beneath several decades worth of hotdogs and as Provenza once correctly pointed out, it would take more than a cleanse to find them again. Regardless of how Sharon felt about her body, no one looked at her like Andy did and it made her feel beautiful, even sexy at times and, more importantly, confident. Once the initial "seeing each other naked for the first time" issue was out of the way and as hoped Andy had called her "Beautiful" (not that he needed to, the look on his face told Sharon all she needed to know) she soon calmed down, began to enjoy herself and did everything she'd wanted to do with him for months. The only interruption in a perfect evening came when, after the final piece of clothing was removed and discarded, Sharon suddenly stopped and asked whether it might not be a bad idea to check Andy's blood pressure, just to be on the safe side. Andy immediately and correctly pointed out that medically what he was about to do was very beneficial for his blood pressure. When that failed to appease Sharon, Andy questioned where she thought she was going to get a blood pressure monitor from while completely naked at close to midnight even in Los Angeles. As Sharon searched for an answer Andy soon found a way to distract her and that was that. Once her nerves of the previous night had gone after that first time and she felt free.

As silly as it may sound the most pleasing thing for Sharon about her first night with Andy was that he took his socks off. This was a big deal to Sharon. She had many discussions with friends and family at the start of her relationship with Jack about how he always left his socks on when they had sex and it annoyed the hell out of her. No scratch that, it annoyed the crap out of her and that was not a word she used often. Jack flat out refused to ever take them off and the longer they were married the more he kept insisting that he wore them because Sharon had cold feet to go with her often frosty heart and it became just another way that he would intentionally hurt her. Sharon could understand someone wearing socks in bed to sleep if they were cold but why would anyone in their right mind refuse to take their socks off when they were having sex? In the big book of seduction and foreplay coming to bed in nothing but a pair of socks ranked alongside coming to bed in nothing but a woolly hat and mittens in the list of unsexy images. Every guy before Jack and every guy after Jack took their socks off even Weird Harry as he came to be known amongst Sharon's friends (Ten years into her separation from Jack, Sharon wasted 12 dates on a lawyer friend of a friend who as it turned out did take his socks off in bed but irritatingly made some sort of sex noise that sounded like a horse. There are many things that a woman will tolerate in the pursuit of happiness but neighing in the bedroom is not one of them). She felt ridiculous but Sharon became so self-conscious about the temperature of her feet that as Andy finally cuddled up next to her in bed she had to ask him. Andy was beyond puzzled. He had dated a lot of women and all of them younger than Sharon. The questions they usually asked included "Do I look fat?" and "Does my bum look big in this?" Andy learned at an early age that the answer to both questions was "No." He also discovered that taking a step back and having a look at the woman asking the question before answering as a joke was not even remotely funny and not a good idea after he had a shoe thrown at his head. The other women in his life had also asked questions like "Oh my God don't you just want to die every time you eat a carb?" and "Is A Farewell to Arms like a diet book?" He'd never ever been asked a question about foot temperature before. Underneath that calm confident exterior Sharon was the most adorably quirky and insecure woman he'd ever met. Andy knew that the majority of Sharon's eccentricities and insecurities had been caused by Jack, that fraction of a man. If he didn't find every single quirk absolutely adorable because it made her the person she was and the person he loved Andy would have punched Jack's lights out months ago. Andy told Sharon that there wasn't a single cold thing about her but as it turned out he was a "need my feet and legs sticking out of the bed" type of person so it wouldn't matter if Sharon's feet were cold or not. He liked the cold and if her feet were cold (which they weren't) he was her perfect match.

"What time is it?" Andy sat up and rubbed his none scarlet eye. He'd been lying at the foot of the bed with his arms stretched out taking advantage of all the empty space. After Sharon had left him alone in the shower (with the ensuite and the shower being the only place in the condo they were relatively sure Rusty wouldn't hear any noise emanating from) he had showered and dressed and had fallen fast asleep waiting for Sharon to finish in the bathroom soon after he had finished tying his shoelaces. He was simply exhausted. Returning to work had actually been more tiring than he cared to admit and it had been slowly building up over the last two weeks. It wasn't just not going to work and the gym during the weeks following his accident that caused his lethargy, Andy couldn't do anything and five weeks of doing nothing had certainly taken its toll on him. Not being able to bend over, run, cross your legs or raise your arms eliminates an awful lot of activities. Add to that when he did move he moved slowly to avoid feeling dizzy from his medication. With Sharon and Patrice on his case sometimes even getting himself a glass of water was out of the question. It was no wonder then that Andy started referring to both ladies as his "Rottweilers" when Rusty allowed him to make a sandwich on his own. As a result if it didn't involve sitting and sitting still at that, Andy didn't do it. The most immediate cause of his tiredness however was Sharon. Sharon had kept him awake most of the night. He started the night being kept awake because they simply could not keep their hands off each other but he ended the night being woken and flinching every time Sharon moved in case she accidentally hit him again. Add to that the 4am interrogation by Rusty, the resumption of play at the chess board and the inventive and incredibly pleasurable way that Sharon apologised to him for elbowing him in eye after they both climbed back into bed and it meant that Andy had only had about two hours sleep and he could barely keep his eyes open. However despite his tiredness a smile remained permanently fixed to his face. Without doubt Andy's patience over the last few months had paid off and as it turned out he was completely right, Sharon really was worth waiting for.

"It's 8 o'clock."

Andy suddenly shot to his feet and looked around the room a little disorientated.

"Andy don't worry" Sharon said as she held out the cup of coffee. "If you arrive at the same time as the Captain then you're not late. Sit down and drink this." Sharon had deliberately left Andy asleep after she had finished getting ready for work because she could see just how tired he was and knew why. Despite his best efforts to hide it she knew he was tired after returning back to work before they arrived at her condo and he also accidentally woke her every time she moved in the night because his defensive flinching to protect his eye was so extreme. For months Sharon had been so very careful not to allow her personal life to affect her professional life but concluded that unless he received a call about a new case (not that he was currently allowed to roll out with the rest of the division anyway) it would be okay on this one occasion to allow him to catch up on sleep and make up an excuse that the rest of the division would believe. Besides it gave her the opportunity to spend an hour alone with Rusty to make sure that he really was okay with Andy spending the night. Rusty had seemed a little uncomfortable about discussing it but was okay with it as long as she was happy.

Andy sat down next to Sharon and sipped his coffee as he waited for his eyes to fully adjust and open from the lack of sleep. Sharon looked at his tired face for a moment before taking his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. They sat for a moment in silence until Andy turned and kissed the top of Sharon's head.

"I lied to Taylor" said Andy is a rare moment of confession.

"When?" replied Sharon confused and surprised.

"There's no way I can go back to being your very good friend."

Sharon smiled before kissing him and then returned her head to his shoulder. They once again returned to sitting in silence as they enjoyed a final quiet moment alone before work.

"How are you feeling?" Andy asked between mouthfuls of coffee.

"Happy. Ridiculously happy. What about you?"

"Likewise."

"How's your eye?"

"It'll be fine."

"It looks a little better. I can't believe I've broken my beautiful boy."

Andy's heart danced when he heard those words. He'd never really had a pet name before. In the beginning his ex-wife used to call him "Honey" but that didn't last and quickly turned into "Bastard" and other four letter words the longer they were together. He'd also spent too much time with women who called him "Baby" and "Cutie Pie" which made me feel about five years old, not that they were much older truth be told. The first time Sharon called him her "beautiful boy" it came out of the blue. Sharon had rushed into her office after Andy had appeared to collapse again following his accident. Whilst Julio and Amy waited downstairs for the paramedics to show them the way, Provenza, Buzz and Mike remained in the murder room to give Andy and Sharon a bit of space. Sharon sat on the edge of her desk as she made sure he stayed upright in his chair and conscious. Despite the clear need for further assistance Andy insisted that he didn't need to go back to the hospital and he just needed to lie down. Sharon took his hand and simply said "Andy, the paramedics are on their way. They _are_ going to take you back to the hospital just to make sure because I can't go losing my beautiful boy after I've only just found him." There was no further argument from Andy after that. The only good thing about his stay in the hospital was that Sharon would enter his room with a massive smile on her face each day and ask "How's my beautiful boy this morning?" before kissing him hello. In terms of age Andy was as far away from being a boy as Provenza was from being a drag queen but he liked it. He liked it a lot. As for Sharon, she had been called every pet name under the sun when Jack was making one of his frequent apologies and as a result she hated them. She did however like it when Andy called her "Captain" and "Boss" outside of the office. She more than liked it.

"It'd be nice if you could go a couple of weeks without getting injured" Sharon said as she gently stroked the purple patch under his eye.

"I take it you'd rather no one at work discovered how I got this?"

Sharon didn't want to admit it but she thought she was likely to die from embarrassment if anyone at work had found out what she'd done. Everyone knew they were together and Sharon was perfectly happy about that but she didn't like being gossiped about. For starters for people to have that kind of conversation about her, even though the black eye occurred perfectly innocently while they were sleeping, would undermine her authority within the division she thought. More personally though she hated people discussing her behind her back. She'd experienced far too much of that in her life. Firstly because of Jack and the frequent discussions of friends, family and colleagues wondering why on earth she chose to stay with him for so long as he continued to disrespect her in every single way imaginable. Secondly was a career spent working in IA. She was proud of her work and of her record, she had made the LAPD, and as a result the city, a better and safer place but had taken down too many officers with friends who were not above discussing and even abusing her loudly when her back was turned.

"Would you hate me if I said yes?"

Andy laughed before polishing off his coffee. "I'll tell them I was tired and disorientated in the middle of the night and walked into my bathroom cabinet."

"Thank you." Sharon kissed him. "Again I'm so sorry" she said kissing him again.

"I think I know how you can make it up to me." Andy raised his eyebrow and smiled.

"I bet you do." Andy leaned in towards Sharon but she was quick to move out of the way and stand before him with her hand stretched out. "It'll have to be a rain check because if we're going to get you home and reunite you with a change of clothes and be in work before Provenza calls Robby Oderno and they organise a search party we'd better get moving."

Andy took Sharon's hand and stood up. "Whatever you say Captain, you're the boss."

They left Sharon's bedroom hand in hand. In the kitchen Rusty was busy chopping up a mixture of fruit and putting it in a bowl. He looked up at Sharon and Andy and couldn't help but smile. Although he was uncomfortable at the thought of Andy sleeping in Sharon's bed, and all that entails, the fact that the first time he had he'd been practically assaulted by an errant elbow was enough to amuse him greatly.

Sharon took the cup off Andy and made her way over to the dishwasher. As she passed the fridge she gently placed her hand on the love letter now proudly attached to it, albeit temporarily, and straightened it slightly. Groggily Andy wandered towards the table to examine the chess board.

Andy picked up his car keys and put them in his pocket. "Have you moved..."

Rusty cut him off quickly. "No. You're still the same five moves from defeat that you were in the night."

"We'll see kid. We'll see."

"What exactly are we playing for now? I cleaned up last night. I've made you breakfast" Rusty said as he put the last of the chopped up fruit into the bowl.

"Then your forfeit has already been made." Andy smiled at Rusty before moving one of his chess pieces and blocking Rusty's eye line to the board so he couldn't see the move he'd just made.

"Andy I am not losing this game" Rusty said with a smile before he headed off in the direction of his bedroom.

Sharon leant against the kitchen counter and beamed as her two boys finished once again facing off verbally over the chess board. Whatever Andy had said to him last night had certainly worked because Rusty seemed a lot happier all morning. She also liked the way they seemed to be ganging up on her during the night over her perfectly reasonable and rational Christmas angel obsession. They were getting along. Finally. The biggest surprise of the morning involved Rusty and came when Andy, just before he stepped foot in the shower, received a text from Rusty which read "Look outside." When Sharon opened her bedroom door Rusty had placed a new toothbrush, a razor and some shaving cream in a neat stack against the wall opposite all for Andy. Although a small gesture as gestures go it was hugely significant in Andy and Rusty's relationship. Andy had really tried with Rusty but nothing seemed to work. Even taking in Gus for the night and hunting for Paloma off the books was greeted with suspicion by Rusty, not that Andy did those things for Rusty. He did them because they were the right thing to do but Rusty didn't see it that way. If he was honest, no Andy didn't like Rusty when he first came into contact with him but then neither did anyone else at Major Crimes but over time they all warmed up to him and him to them. Since they had been dating for the most part Andy had bitten his tongue when he disagreed with Rusty for the sake of harmony and as an attempt for him to accept him being in his life more permanently. Rusty however had remained fairly frosty right up to the moment when he offered Andy his bedroom. It had become clear to Rusty at that point that Sharon loved Andy and to fight their relationship would only seem mean spirited and childish. For the sake of Sharon he had to at least attempt to accept Andy because after all he wasn't a bad guy and she could and had done a lot worse. In many ways, Sharon thought, Andy's accident was the best thing that could have happened. The worry and the stress aside it pushed herself closer to Andy emotionally earlier than she was perhaps ready for but it also hurried Rusty and Andy into a similar position. Bizarrely they had bonded over Slider. In fact if it wasn't for Andy's advice Rusty probably would have given up before getting so much as a single useable word out of him. Then there were the daily games of chess that, like last night, more often than not had some sort of cleaning or cooking wager attached to them. Sharon didn't actually like gambling which was no real surprise after all her years with Jack but didn't mind the wagers between Andy and Rusty as there was no money attached and as a result she had far less cooking and cleaning to do (Rusty usually ended up doing them anyway even if he won because Andy was physically unable to as he recovered. Little did Andy know that Rusty had a list of all the jobs he had done to use at an opportune moment). Sharon's personal favourite moment between the two of them happened two days before Andy moved out. She had come home from work and discovered Rusty leading Andy in an aerobics session in front of the TV as he built his stamina back up prior to going back to work. Neither saw Sharon open the door as she filmed her boys and desperately tried to suppress her laughter. In Rusty's head they looked like extras from an Eric Prydz music video. Sharon thought they both looked like they'd borrowed their bodies for the weekend and hadn't figured out how they worked yet. Andy didn't think anything, he was so worn out he just wanted to crawl into a ball and die.

"Would you like another coffee for the road?" Sharon asked as she retrieved a pair of travel mugs from the cupboard and put them next to the coffee pot.

"Desperately. I'd better call Provenza and let him know we're going to be late." Andy removed his phone from his jacket pocket and squinted at it.

"I'll do it. It might sound better coming from me. He won't question his Captain." Sharon smiled before Andy put his phone back in his pocket.

"Oh he will, you just won't know about it. What are you going to tell him? I take it you won't say we're late because I was asleep at the foot of your bed."

"I'll tell him you drove here to get me but then your car wouldn't start and we're waiting for the Auto Club to arrive."

Andy smiled. "Wow, who knew you had such a talent for lying?"

Sharon crossed the floor to Andy and kissed him long and hard on the lips. "It's about time you found out after all I discovered last night what your talent is." Sharon immediately blushed. The moment the words left her mouth she regretted it. She meant it but she regretted it. Andy had talents he couldn't list on a CV or boast about but talents that Sharon was planning to continue to take full advantage of. Sharon however was lacking in one talent in particular, no matter how hard she tried she just wasn't very good at...what you might call particularly sexy flirting. It didn't come naturally to her. She could flirt with the best of them but the moment it got slightly sexual she got tongue tied and embarrassed. Andy was too busy laughing at her reaction to repay the compliment, that would have to wait until later. Andy smiled at her reaction and returned her kiss. When it ended Sharon ran her hands over her pockets looking for her cell phone. "I left my phone next to my bed" Sharon said as she quickly headed off to retrieve it.

As Sharon was about to enter her bedroom she passed Rusty heading back to the kitchen with his laptop. Rusty approached Andy as he remained by the kitchen counter smiling in the direction that Sharon had left. Rusty shook his head. The Lieutenant that used to intimidate him when he first met him had turned into a lovesick idiot before his eyes. Whether Rusty liked it or not, this guy was eventually going to become his stepfather that was clear, so it was time he just accepted it and learned to love him too. When Andy saw Rusty shaking his head at him he reigned in his smile and walked the few steps into the kitchen to fill the travel mugs full of coffee. As he walked there was a sudden very noticeable limp in the way that he moved. This did not go unnoticed by Rusty who looked at him puzzled.

"Are you limping?"

Andy quickly lowered his hands to get Rusty to lower to voice. "A little bit."

"Why?" Rusty asked quietly before a massive smile spread across his face. "Did Sharon hit you somewhere else?" Rusty raised his elbows and nodded towards Andy's more personal and sensitive area.

Andy paused for a moment while he filled the mugs with coffee. "More like kicked" he finally said quietly as he looked at Rusty from the corner of his eye. Rusty immediately burst out laughing. He laughed loud and he laughed long as Andy glared back at him. "Okay Rusty keep the noise down" Andy said as he peered out of the kitchen to make sure Sharon wasn't listening to him.

Out of all the women that Andy had shared a bed with, and that number was significantly higher than he was willing to admit to Sharon, he had never slept next to such a restless sleeper as Sharon. Throughout the night Andy battled to keep Sharon still by holding her as tight as he could in his arms. Andy was in heaven, it was sheer bliss to fall asleep as he held the woman he loved but like an eel with a Houdini complex she always managed to wriggle free and ended up hitting him. Unlike the original blow to the eye which came out of the blue, for the sake of Sharon's feelings he managed to supress a cry when she punched him in his ear with a left hook Mike Tyson would be proud of. In truth it shocked Andy. Yes Sharon was incredibly fit (and now he'd finally seen her naked he knew just how fit she really was) because she ran and went to the gym but she was still a tiny woman. Where had this strength that made his ear ring for an hour come from? The third time she caught him she kicked him straight in the crotch. Still Andy never let out a peep but on that occasion it was more because the pain had simply taken his breath away rather than him trying to be quiet to spare her feelings. In the battle of the sexes Andy admitted that the worst pain a person could experience probably was child birth but for a man it was a kick to the balls. Sharon had kicked him so hard he thought he was going to be sick if he didn't die first. By the time the pain from all areas of his body had finally subsided and he had fallen back to sleep Andy was perched right on the edge of the bed. No more than ten minutes later Sharon woke him by tracing her finger tips across his face. It was a wonderful way to wake up and what followed was equally wonderful but he was now beyond desperate for some sleep.

"Does she know?" Rusty asked as he sat down at the table with his breakfast and his laptop.

"No and I'd like it to stay that way."

"How many times did she hit you?"

Before Andy could answer Sharon appeared again talking on her cell phone. With Sharon now in the room Andy found it hard to answer since she was facing him as Rusty never took his eyes off Andy as he waited patiently.

"We're just waiting for the Auto Club" Sharon said as she joined Andy in the kitchen. "Yes…..We'll be there as soon as possible…Call me if you get rolled out before we get in." Sharon suddenly turned her back on Andy and he was able to quickly hold three fingers in the air so Rusty could see. Rusty immediately burst out laughing again. "Thank you…Bye Lieutenant." Sharon hung up her phone before turning to face Rusty. "What are you laughing at?"

Before Rusty could speak Andy butted in. "Nothing, he's just a weird kid. I'll get the coffee." Andy glared at Rusty as Sharon looked between the two of them and smiled. Now they were joking and keeping secrets from her. Their relationship had suddenly progressed with the same rapid speed hers had with Andy. What a difference a day makes.

As Andy retrieved the travel mugs full of coffee Sharon grabbed a fork and the bowl of fruit. "And here's your breakfast."

Sharon exchanged the fruit for a coffee from Andy before he slowly made his way towards the front door. "I thought it'd be easier to eat in the car and at your desk" Rusty said in reference to the fruit as he devoured a pancake.

"Thanks kid."

Sharon walked over to Rusty and kissed him on the top of his head. "Okay I'll see you later. Have a good day."

Sharon made her way over to the front door before she grabbed her purse and jacket from the rack and Andy battled with his hands full of coffee and fruit to open the door without dropping them. Once it was open he took a solitary step outside before he heard Sharon cough to get his attention. He turned around to face her.

"Andy, are you forgetting something?" Sharon said as she nodded towards his gun, badge and cuffs which were still nestled on the table next to the door where he had left them the night before. Andy nodded as he yawned before looking for somewhere to put his breakfast down so he could finally finish getting dressed. Sharon stopped him by putting her hand on his chest. "I'll do it."

Andy smiled as he lowered his hands and his breakfast to his sides. Sharon put her coffee and purse on the floor before she picked up his gun and slipped it into the waist band of his pants on his right hip before clipping it into place. Sharon dragged her fingertips as she moved so that the ends lightly caressed Andy's waist. She picked up his badge and slotted it into position on Andy's other hip. Andy continued to smile at her as she finished dressing him. The size of his smile made Sharon keep glancing up at him as her hands made their way from one hip to the other. Finally Sharon picked up Andy's cuffs. She slid her hands around his waist into what was almost an embrace and under his jacket until they were in the small of his back. Sharon fumbled around for a moment as she battled to slot them in place without actually being able to see what she was doing. Andy continued to smile at her until he said "Thank you."

"You're welcome. It's not like I haven't helped you get dressed in the morning before" she said as she planted a gentle kiss on his lips.

"At least this time it wasn't my socks."

"Thank God. It was easier to put Ricky's socks on when he was having a temper tantrum than yours." Sharon smiled as Rusty laughed loudly once again.

Andy peered around Sharon to look at Rusty. "What's so funny kid?"

Rusty was right to laugh. It was no exaggeration on Sharon's part. Putting a pair of socks on Andy's feet following his accident was worse than putting socks on a baby when they were kicking and screaming. For the most part this was because Andy was frustrated that he needed it done in the first place. He could get himself dressed easily enough (although pulling up a pair of pants is a challenge when you can't bend over) with the exception of his shoes and socks. No matter how hard he tried each method he employed involved some degree of bending over, crossing of legs or stretching all of which we're no nos in the opinion of his doctor. Andy hated the fact that he had to ask his girlfriend to put his socks and shoes on. He felt emasculated by it and added to his desperation to get better and move out of Sharon's condo even though he adored living with her.

"Ready?" Sharon asked as she straightened Andy's tie one last time.

Sharon was forever straightening Andy's tie whether it needed doing or not. She could actually trace her whole relationship with Andy through his ties. It was no lie to say that Sharon liked men's ties. She liked smartly dressed men and a good tie and no one dressed more smartly or had better taste in ties than Andy Flynn. It was the first thing that attracted him to her, that man could wear a suit.

It all started the day she went to Nicole's wedding with him. Andy's behaviour in the weeks leading up to the wedding had been...unusual. He had been angry, erratic and the problems with his blood pressure hadn't helped at all. Sharon had never seen him in such a state before. Sharon had hoped that her presence and support might be enough to calm him down but by the time they reached the church Andy was flapping so much she worried that he might be about to take off. They waited patiently on the steps outside the church for Nicole and her stepfather to arrive so that Andy could accompany them down the aisle as per her request. Since Sharon knew no one there apart from Andy she opted to stay with him outside until the last minute although it quickly became apparent that he needed at least one ally by his side at all times as a procession of dirty looks and whispering paraded in front of them and into the church, all from his ex-wife's side of the family. That's where it happened. The first time Andy's ex-wife saw Sharon and Andy together her eyes nearly came out of her head. She arrived a couple of minutes before the bride in a beautiful Rolls Royce with the bridesmaids. It was abundantly clear that she hadn't expected Andy to have the courage to show up, she was nearly right in that. If he did dare to show his face he'd probably turn up drunk and make a scene. He'd come stag or with Provenza. But he'd brought a woman. Not his usual sort of woman either. She wasn't blonde and she wasn't under the age of 30. She was beautiful yes but also the same age as Andy. He'd been behaving so erratically and irrationally in their weekly wedding meetings she thought that he had to be drinking again but not today, he was sober and he looked good. He looked really good. As Sharon looked at her as she glared at Andy the look on her face was unmistakable. It screamed "How dare you get your life together!" If looks could kill then within five minutes of meeting Andy's ex both he and Sharon would have been on Morales' table was tags on their toes. She was of course polite for the sake of her daughter on her wedding day but she continued to shoot daggers at the both of them with her eyes all day. As the bridesmaids waited by the entrance to the church and Andy's ex vanished inside to take up her position Andy shuddered and looked to the heavens. He was clearly very stressed and teetering on the edge. Since he had fainted in the murder room a couple of weeks prior Sharon was determined to keep her Lieutenant as calm as possible for his sake as much as for his daughter. Andy was filled to the brim with nervous energy and began to pace up and down on the grass as they waited until Sharon grabbed hold of his hand, ran a hand up his arm and to his shoulder. He stopped as she smiled at him.

"Just breathe" she said as she started to take deep breaths to encourage him. "Everything is going to be fine. Nicole wants you here. She wants you to walk her down the aisle. That's all that matters."

Andy took a couple of deep breaths as he rubbed his ear. "Thank you." Andy's shoulders visibly relaxed.

At that moment the final wedding car adorned with pale purple ribbons to match the colour of the bridesmaid dresses pulled up outside. Andy instantly spied his daughter and her stepfather and smiled. He turned back to Sharon.

"How do I look?" he asked nervously.

"Perfect" Sharon replied as she straightened his tie a little. He always did look perfectly dressed she thought. He could spend the night asleep in a dumpster (and probably had done in his drinking days) and he'd still come out perfectly dressed.

Andy bounded down the steps from the church to greet his daughter. Even though they loathed the very sight of each other very graciously Nicole's stepfather took a step back and allowed Andy the honour of helping her out of the car which was only fair since he had helped her in at the other end. Sharon stared at the modern day family scene in front of her and smiled. Nicole looked beautiful and Andy beamed as he drank her in with his eyes before kissing her on the cheek. As Nicole took Andy's arm in her right and her stepfather's in her left and began to ascend the steps Sharon suddenly became aware that she was still standing outside and quickly darted into the church to take up her position. Sharon wasn't sure where to sit when she got into the church. She would obviously sit on the bride's side and assumed Andy would sit up front but since no one there knew her from Adam she opted to sit at the back and out of the way. It was with great surprise then that after Andy had walked Nicole up the aisle he found her and sat with her at the back. Sharon wasn't sure whether he simply felt unwanted up front (which was a distinct possibility judging by how people looked at him) or if he just wanted her support. Regardless she wanted to be there for her colleague, dare she say friend, and gently took his hand as the service took place. Andy quickly turned his head and smiled at her before returning his attention back to his daughter.

As discussed in her office that morning, when Andy introduced Sharon to members of the wedding party he called her "my friend Sharon." This however did not stop the speculation and Sharon was able, without much trouble, to interpret the looks and whispers as people assumed there was more to their relationship than met the eye. In fact Sharon overheard a lot during the reception. Throughout the day there were a number of barbed comments about Andy which were often loud enough to make it clear that the orator wanted Sharon to hear them (There was also one comment in particular aimed at Sharon herself about the size of her backside which she did well to bite her tongue about. This comment however came from a woman who wore a pillbox hat and looked like a Bulldog chewing a wasp who turned out to be Andy's former sister-in-law. Sharon rationalised it by reminding herself that this woman knew nothing about her and clearly knew nothing about the man that Andy had become). Sharon liked Andy. Now that she headed Major Crimes they got on rather well and she was pleased to join him and support him as a friend. In fact she was pleased to call every member of Major Crimes her friend, well perhaps not Lieutenant Provenza. Lieutenant Provenza needed a bit more time before he would allow Sharon to call him that. If she was honest out of all of them Sharon had a soft spot for Andy Flynn which was as much of a surprise to her as it was to him given how often they'd done battle in the past. But Sharon was a married woman and didn't have any romantic feelings towards Andy whatsoever, despite the fact that she found him quite handsome and always had done. Not that she felt like a married woman much of the time but still it was important to her to act like one as much as possible. That's not to say there hadn't been men since Jack, she wasn't a Nun after all but there was nothing serious enough to warrant considering a divorce or to be seen out in public with them amongst family and friends. Although she had made it clear to Andy that she was attending this wedding purely as his friend and not as a date such were the character assassinations filling her ears especially as Andy had the courage to attend in the first place that she was determined to do all she could to defend and support him in a way that may be perceived by others to be more than friendship. Sharon had no idea what had gone on in the past between Andy and his family. All she knew was that the problems had been caused by Andy's addiction and as a result his relationship with them all was rocky to say the least. In that regard it mirrored her own life except Andy was smart enough to get a divorce and not have a long lingering separation like she had with Jack. In thinking about Jack it came to show Sharon just how he differed from Andy and why Andy deserved her support on this important day for him. No matter what had gone on and the wobbles he'd experienced in the days prior to the wedding, at least Andy was there. Andy had walked into a room full of people who hated him (and from what she'd heard some of them hated him a lot) to be there for his daughter. Sharon hoped Jack was capable of similar courage but doubted it. In fact it was her biggest fear, that Jack wouldn't repair the damage with Ricky and Emily and wouldn't be at their weddings one day. Emily deserved to have her father walk her down the aisle although Jack didn't necessarily deserve that honour, but his children shouldn't suffer further because of his failings. It was clear to Sharon that Andy was determined to not let his children suffer and desperately wanted to repair the damage and be there for them. That was a quality that Sharon found very attractive and she hoped that her presence and support would emphasise that point to Andy's family.

Throughout the reception at the hotel Sharon had witnessed Andy try his best to mingle but he found himself more at home with Nicole's new family than he did with his former family. Andy had no relatives of his own, other than his children, in attendance. Sharon was desperate to find out why but since this was already a tough experience for Andy she didn't want to push it. Sharon meant no disrespect in this but such was the behaviour of some members of Nicole's family she hoped that her own family would treat Jack better in a similar situation. As a result of the atmosphere in the room Andy and Sharon sat on a table with some of Nicole's new in-laws and enjoyed each other's company. They weren't alone by any stretch of the imagination. Nicole's new stepsons took an instant liking to Andy and spent a great deal of the evening battling over who got to sit on his lap. Sharon had no idea that Andy was so good with children but they simply adored him. To the great displeasure of Andy's ex-wife (who looked like she'd eaten bad seafood) both boys were quite happy sitting on Andy and Sharon's laps eating their food and clapping along to the music from the band. Despite his best efforts Sharon got more words out of Andy's son than he did over the course of the day, clearly there was a lot of work still to be done there. Nicole on the other hand tried her best to spend time with her father but since it was her wedding day she had bigger fish to fry and had to mingle with the other eighty plus people in that room so that left Andy and Sharon to talk amongst themselves.

As the late afternoon turned into evening Andy was intent on avoiding conflict for the sake of his daughter and sat with Sharon out of the way as the dance floor filled up. Sharon had spotted Andy's foot tapping away to the music and finally resolved that she wasn't going to stand for this any longer. Andy didn't deserve to be sat in the corner. It didn't matter what had happened in the past, he was now a good man and she should know, she'd investigated him enough times before really getting to know him. He should be front and centre and she was the person to help him do that. Sharon stood up suddenly and smoothed her dress down before standing in front of Andy.

"I think it's time you showed me what moves you've got" she said as she held her hand out for him to take.

"Honestly Sharon I'd love to but for the sake of harmony I think its best that I stay here."

Sharon's hands moved to her hips before she let out an exasperated sigh. "Do I have to give you an order Lieutenant?"

Andy smiled before slowly pulling himself to his feet. Without warning Sharon suddenly grabbed his tie and led him to the dance floor by it like he was a dog on a leash. This act did not go unnoticed by the occupants of the dance floor, especially Nicole and more importantly Andy's ex-wife, neither did the beaming smile on Andy's face as he had no choice but to follow Sharon.

Sharon had deliberately picked a slow song with which to enter the dance floor as she wasn't a confident dancer. She loved dance especially ballet but since Jack had said to her, albeit when he was drunk, "Good God woman you look like you're having a seizure" she had shied away from anything other than a simple slow dance. Sharon marched Andy to the middle of the dance floor before letting go of his tie and once again straightening it. She smiled at him before taking one hand in hers and placing the other on his back. It had nothing to do with the dozens of pairs of eyes burning a hole in him and everything to do with the woman with her arms around him being his Captain which caused Andy to suddenly become nervous. They were gently swaying for a full minute before Andy's remaining hand finally came to rest on Sharon's back. The band that Nicole had selected was an old fashioned swing band so the stream of classic Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald tunes filled their ears and kept their feet moving. It had been a long time since Sharon had danced with anyone and she suddenly realised that she missed being held in a man's arms from time to time.

"Thank you for this Sharon."

"You're welcome. I've had a lovely time."

"Hold your horses we still haven't made it out alive yet."

Sharon laughed and rubbed her hand up his back for reassurance. "You have a beautiful family Andy. Your children are wonderful. You should be proud."

"I wish I could take some of the credit."

"You've had more of an influence than you think. They'll come round. It'll take time but it's one step at a time."

"That sounds like the voice of experience."

"At least you try Andy."

"Jack isn't a trier?"

"He tries my patience if that counts?"

They both laughed as they continued to sway gently to the music before Nicole and her husband slowly danced towards them.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" Nicole asked Sharon.

"Not at all." Sharon made way for Nicole to take her place in Andy's arms. As they danced a few steps away Sharon leapt at the chance of dancing with a young man and took Andy's new son-in-law up on his offer to dance. As they swayed to the music Sharon couldn't take her eyes off Andy. It was a wonderful sight. She'd never seen anyone look so blissfully content and hoped one day she would see her own daughter dance like that with her father on her wedding day. In hindsight it occurred to Sharon that she played a rather large role in the "misunderstanding" that followed with Nicole. Andy certainly had mislead her into thinking they were in a relationship when they weren't but her actions at the wedding definitely contributed to putting the thought in Nicole's head to begin with. Sharon of course had no intention of admitting this to Andy anytime soon.

The next significant incident with Andy's tie occurred on the evening when she first attended The Nutcracker with his family. Once again Andy had been behaving erratically in the days prior to him asking her to attend but at the time Sharon had no idea that he was about to ask her to join him. Although Lieutenant Provenza assured her that Andy was okay and he was just being an idiot she still worried. She assumed his behaviour had something to do with the pressure of Christmas time and being with his family since he was still on uneasy ground with them (something she could easily relate to because of Jack). But still Sharon was concerned about him especially after he mentioned speaking to a therapist. Could Andy be depressed? Were things worse than she realised? Sharon really wasn't sure. All she did know was that Andy wasn't being completely truthful about what was going on when he invited her to join him and doubted whether she'd ever get to the bottom of what was actually happening. Sharon soon put it all out of her mind and after a lovely meal alone with Andy and a fabulous production of The Nutcracker (Nicole's step sons were absolutely adorable as they danced about on stage as mini Sugar Plum Fairies) they headed back to Nicole's for a nightcap. Despite it being way past their bedtime the boys were on an adrenaline and sugar high following their performance and had zero intention of going to bed when they arrived home. To begin with their new Grandpa Andy was in attendance and since they'd done nothing but talk about him since the wedding they wanted him to play with them. Apart from ballet they were currently obsessed with pirates and before the coffee had been brewed both Sharon and Andy had plastic swords thrust into their hands and were set to do battle over some cursed gold bullion. After a ten minute discussion/argument between the boys it was decided that girls could be pirates after all so Sharon was allowed to keep her sword but she needed a bandana to move her hair out of the way so she didn't look "like a girly". Since they didn't have one they suggested that Grandpa Andy should give up his tie. Eager to please the boys Andy relinquished his tie and tied it around Sharon's head. In truth she looked more like a hippie than a pirate but the boys were happy and Andy couldn't hide his smile.

By the time Andy drove Sharon home she was so used to having his tie around her head that she forgot it was there. After Andy walked Sharon to her door he was suddenly lost for words so was relieved when Sharon spoke first.

"Thank you Andy I've had a lovely time."

"No thank you. Thank you for helping me have a perfect evening with my family."

"It's been my pleasure but don't you think it's about time you told me what's really going on here?"

"What do you mean?" Andy smiled nervously.

"Andy." Sharon wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Ask me again sometime."

Since it was clear that Andy wasn't going to be forthcoming they bid each other a fond farewell until the morning and Sharon went inside. It was only why Rusty looked at Sharon like she had suddenly sprouted wings that she realised Andy's tie was still tied around her head. By that time it was too late and Andy was already in his car and heading out of the parking garage. The following morning arrived and Sharon really hadn't anticipated that returning a colleague's neck tie was going to cause such an uproar.

Sharon had forgotten all about it when she arrived at PAB so it remained in her purse for a full hour before she suddenly remembered. Sadly her announcement of "Andy I have your tie in my purse" was loud enough for the whole division to hear and to temporarily freeze like deer caught in headlights. Work continued with the exception of Provenza and with the benefit of hindsight Sharon now understood why his mouth dropped open like a cartoon character. The moment Sharon handed Andy his tie, thanked him once again for the lovely evening and vanished into her office, Provenza shot out of his chair, grabbed hold of Andy's arm and dragged him into the corridor.

Provenza could not believe his eyes. He had done everything possible the day before to stop Flynn from making a fool of himself with the Captain, sorry with "Sharon." It now occurred to him that he should have sedated him and locked him in an interview room until the morning and this would have been avoided. The moment Flynn stood up in the murder room and made his little speech he knew there was trouble ahead but all he could do was remain at his desk with his head in his hands.

Once in the corridor Provenza set his eyes to 'glare.' "Okay I'm going to get straight to the point. Flynn, did you sleep with the Captain last night?!" Provenza had meant to say it quietly but it came out at a volume that would have silenced a riot and caused the remaining members of the division (with the exception of Sharon) to poke their heads around the corner like the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White to make sure they didn't miss the answer.

"What? No! After the ballet we went back to Nicole's and we were playing with the kids" Andy replied defensively as the rest of the division disappointedly made their way back to their desks.

"Then why did she have your tie?"

"We were playing pirates."

Provenza suddenly turned the colour of scarlet. All that was missing was the steam coming out of his ears. "I knew it! I knew I should have stopped you before this ended in a sordid sex game with the Captain! Ye Gods Flynn what were you thinking?!"

"With the kids! We were playing pirates with the kids! Jesus Provenza get your mind out of the gutter."

As Andy made his way back to his desk with a face like thunder Provenza followed him in a cold sweat. Sharon couldn't help but notice the commotion going on beyond her closed door. Something was definitely going on with Andy. All she could hope was he'd be comfortable enough one day to share his problem with her.

He did eventually share his "problem" with her the next time she came to be involved with his tie. Well he didn't so much share as he was forced into confessing all to her. To say Sharon was mortified that Nicole and Rusty thought she was dating Andy when she quite clearly wasn't was an understatement. Regardless of how she felt suddenly everything made perfect sense. His erratic behaviour before she went out with his family the previous Christmas had nothing to do with Andy being depressed and everything to do with Andy misleading them into thinking they were dating. As much as she wanted to throttle him she also understood why he did it and she had contributed to the problem with her behaviour towards Andy at the wedding. Being in a relationship, even though he wasn't, did make Andy seem more stable to Nicole and it didn't really cause much harm but Sharon made sure she took full advantage of her buffer and kept Rusty between the two of them at all times during that second performance of The Nutcracker. At least that was the plan. No matter how hard she tried Sharon always seemed to end up standing alone with Andy chatting away. During the intermission as they mingled in the lobby of the theatre having a quick drink Sharon and Andy unintentionally stood apart from everyone else. Nicole smiled as she watched them. Their eyes were locked together, they smiled at each other, they laughed and Sharon constantly had her hand on her father's tie. Nicole was sure Sharon thought she was straightening it for Andy's benefit but from her angle it looked like she was playing with it. Nicole couldn't take her eyes off them. They may claim that they weren't dating (and that was probably true at that current moment in time) but the way they interacted with each other was so intimate that Nicole was convinced that this time next year she would be buying a Christmas card addressed to "My Father and his Girlfriend."

Spring forward just over seven months and Sharon once again had hold of Andy's tie. Sharon was delighted when Andy volunteered to take Buzz out on his first ride-along. She was positively ecstatic when she saw Andy walking towards her in his uniform. This was not the first time she had seen him in it but this was the first time she'd seen him in it when he didn't loathe every fibre of her being. When he saw her he stopped as they locked eyes and he smiled before twirling on the spot to show off. There was no possibility of Sharon hiding her smile as she looked him up and down. He looked good. He looked more than good. He looked so good Sharon almost set her sleeve on fire as she lit the sparklers on Buzz's cake. She suddenly felt a little hot under the collar and that was not caused by the giant sparklers. At this stage of their "not dating but possibly dating" relationship they continued to be intimate with each other without actually being intimate which meant that Sharon once again found Andy's tie in her hand. As she played with it, pulling it out from his tie clip and pulling it back again, and told Andy to not tease Buzz he smiled at her and for the first time she admitted to herself that she wanted him, she wanted their not dates to be dates from now on. Sharon quickly buried that thought at the back of her mind as Andy turned his attention to Buzz and their impending night patrolling the streets. Little did Sharon know that Andy had already decided he was going to ask her out on a proper date and in just over a week's time she would be sitting down with him at Serve admittedly in odd shoes.

In the first few weeks they were dating Sharon played with and straightened Andy's tie in a way that became a substitute for the first kiss that still eluded them as they took things slowly. She would straighten it when he picked her up and she would play with it as they were saying goodnight. They both knew what it meant so when Andy picked Sharon up to take her to a Dodgers game he arrived at her door with a tie in his pocket so he wouldn't miss out. As Sharon opened the door he was busy tying it around his Dodgers polo shirt. She laughed when she saw him and helped him finish tying it as she said hello. Andy had planned to take it off again as soon as he got into the car but despite looking ridiculous, left it on so she would again straighten it as they said goodbye. A few hours later as the Kiss Cam landed on them at Dodger Stadium and their faces were plastered on the Jumbotron their first kiss came. It was so perfectly sweet, innocent and chaste but it opened the flood gates and made Sharon straightening his tie a little redundant. However Sharon continued to do it especially when Rusty was in the same room. While he struggled to accept Andy as Sharon's boyfriend they did everything they could to accommodate him and not make him feel uncomfortable so instead of a kiss Sharon would straightened Andy's tie in his presence unless they were saying hello or goodbye and then nothing kept their lips apart.

The next time Sharon held Andy's tie it was a much more stressful affair. Sharon held Andy's hand as his gurney was wheeled through the doors of the Emergency Room and to a cubicle. After the EMTs left they were alone for a few minutes as they waited for a doctor. Andy was still struggling with the pain in his ribs and Sharon felt helpless. She held his hand tightly as he closed his eyes and every breath began to hurt more than the last as the last of the anaesthetic wore off. Beads of sweat formed on Andy's forehead as he writhed in agony. Sharon expected him to be given another full examination soon, she was going to insist on it, so gently took off his tie and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. She wrapped his tie around her hand like it was a bandage and took his hand once more.

"Andy please take the opiates."

"I can't. I'll be fine."

"This is not fine. Do it for me. Please."

"That's precisely why I won't take them, for you."

Sharon bent down and gently kissed him on his forehead but before she had chance to continue her protest the same doctor who had examined Andy earlier entered the cubicle.

"Mr Flynn, back again?" he said as he pulled the curtain behind him.

"I'm fine" Andy replied although his voice suggested he was anything but.

"I'll be the judge of that. Let's have another look at you and then you're going home, going to bed and you're following my instructions to the letter. Got it?"

Sharon smiled. This Doctor was clearly not going to take any nonsense from Andy. As he was examined once again Sharon sat down outside in a small waiting area. Andy's tie remained wrapped around her hand as she stared into space and her mind raced. Life had suddenly changed. In the past she had never really worried about rolling out her division. Obviously bad things had happened during her three and a half years heading Major Crimes, you might say they were unavoidable. Despite this Sharon blamed herself when anything went wrong. She blamed herself for weeks over the beating that Amy took. Then Julio was shot on her watch. Sharon rationalised it by reminding herself that at the end of the day this was their job, they were an elite division and they knew what they were doing. There was no one better in the LAPD, perhaps the country but still these things happen. Then it hit her. She wasn't just rolling out her division anymore, she was rolling out her boyfriend and putting him directly in harm's way. She had sent them to pick up Molly Pace. She had sent Andy there. She gave the order that led to this happening, to him getting injured. He fell from a moving car. A moving car for crying out loud. He could have died. She gave the order that could have led to his death. Sharon felt cold. Her hands trembled as she continued to play with the end of Andy's tie. It wasn't her fault that Andy got hurt but it was her order that placed Andy there in the first place. Sharon had never experienced mixed emotions like this before. This is what she feared most when she started dating a subordinate, that her relationship would affect her decision making, that it would make her cautious. Sharon knew she had to do everything she could to ignore this fear because work would suffer and she could not allow that. She would not allow that, ever. She had to roll Andy out with the rest of the division regardless, she knew that. Throughout her relationship thus far she had been determined to not let it seep into the office so she'd have to bury any fear and any worry she had about him and act like Andy was any other member of the division. Except he wasn't. In that moment Sharon suddenly realised that she loved him. She had fallen in love with Andy. Without looking for it or even expecting it, it had happened, she was in love. At her age. For the second time in her life. No one was more surprised than Sharon that she felt this way. Go back three years and she wasn't even sure she was capable of feeling this way again let alone love a man who had been a nemesis for several years. Her heart ached as she sat there and thought about him and worried. Andy would be okay, she knew that. He was in pain and he was banged up but it was nothing life threatening. It was typical Andy Flynn to think he could come into work hours after falling from a moving car and be okay. Sharon's heart sank for a moment. It may have been idiotic for Andy to come straight back to work but thank God he did. If he hadn't he could have collapsed at home. Alone. He could have hit his head. It could have been hours until they found him. As it was Sharon was in the next room and keeping an eye on him. What happened could have been so much worse. Sharon tried not to think about it. He would be fine. He would. Some rest was all Andy needed and a pain management plan and he would be fine. But she still worried. She loved him. This was it. She was going to worry about Andy Flynn for the rest of their lives.

Sharon took out her phone and dialled. She wanted Rusty to know. He had already seen that Andy had been injured but she wanted him to know that he was back in hospital. She wanted him there to hold his hand while Andy was being treated and she wanted him to know that regardless of any protests either Andy or Rusty might have, Andy was coming home with them and staying there until he was better.

"Hi Sharon. How's Andy?"

"That's why I'm calling. I'm at the hospital with him now."

"God! Is he okay?" Rusty's concern was genuine. Yes he didn't like that Sharon and Andy were dating because he had such a chequered history with his mother's boyfriends but he didn't wish the guy any harm. Plus it was obvious that Sharon liked him. She liked him a lot so Rusty battled (and it was a battle even though he was a good guy) to be nicer to him.

"He'll be fine. He felt unwell in my office so the paramedics have brought him back for another check-up." Sharon tried desperately to stay calm but there were wobbles and cracks in her speech. It was clear to Rusty even on the other end of a phone just how upset and worried she was.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Please. Can you drive to St Leos and come and collect us? I came in the ambulance with Andy so my car is still at PAB."

"Of course. I'm on my way. Anything else?"

"No...just...Andy is going to be staying with us for a few days while he recovers. Is that okay?" Sharon asked cautiously. She phrased it as a question but there was no way on earth she was going to allow Andy to sleep anywhere else in the near future.

Rusty's response was immediate. "Sure. He can have my bed. I'll sleep on the couch." It was clear to Rusty at this point that Sharon had moved on and she probably loved Andy. Whatever reservations he had he needed to put them to one side for Sharon and the first step towards doing that was offering his bed to Andy in his time of need. Besides it would keep Andy out of Sharon's bed and regardless about how Sharon might feel about it Rusty certainly wasn't ready for that yet.

"Are you sure?" Sharon was surprised by Rusty's offer. This was definitely a step in the right direction but she'd have time to think and appreciate that later. Right now she could only focus on one thing and that was Andy.

"He fell from a moving car, I'm not going to make him sleep on the couch."

"Thank you Rusty. Thank you."

"I'll see you soon."

"Okay. I love you" Sharon said in almost a whisper as her voice broke.

"Love you too."

Sharon hung up her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. She held Andy's tie to her nose. It smelled of him, of his aftershave. That man practically bathed in his aftershave. It was a good job Sharon loved the smell. He would be fine. She knew he would be fine. This was purely a pain problem and the shock. This had only just happened. The accident was only a few hours ago. He would be fine. Everything would be fine.

Only it wasn't fine. There was a clot and then Andy passed out in the bathroom because of his medication. The next time she held his tie in her hand her stress levels were increased further. The first night that Andy spent in hospital Sharon didn't arrive home until the middle of the night as she battled to close the case and be with him. A deal would be made the next day with Hobbs but she didn't need to be there for that meaning she could spend Thanksgiving at the hospital. Much to her surprise Rusty was sleeping on the couch when she entered the condo. Rusty would later tell her that his bed was currently Andy's bed and he didn't feel right sleeping in it when he was in hospital. After she repositioned Rusty's blanket to cover his feet up again Sharon found herself in his bedroom, sitting on his bed with one of Andy's shirts on her lap. Wrapped around her hand was one of Andy's ties (a tie he'd insisted on bringing with him no matter how many times Sharon told him he wouldn't be doing any work while he recovered) as Sharon held Andy's shirt to her face and inhaled his scent that lingered on it. She tried not to worry but that only made her worry more. The clot was now in a more dangerous position and his surgery was urgent. She could lose him. She tried not to think about it but Sharon was a hope for the best but prepare for the worst type of person so the possibility of losing Andy was never far from her mind. Rusty was equally worried and had woken up as she opened his bedroom door. Seeing the light coming from his room Rusty had made his way down the hallway and watched Sharon as she sat on his bed. Since the adoption Rusty had slipped between calling Sharon "Mom" and "Sharon" naturally without ever really knowing what was going to come out of his mouth. On rare occasions though he would put some thought into it depending on the situation. Today was definitely a "Mom" day.

"He's going to be okay Mom."

Sharon looked up and smiled. "I know."

Despite the positive response the tone in which she said it and the tears that were battling to stay hidden told Rusty all he needed to know. Rusty sat down next to Sharon and put his arm around her shoulders. Sharon responded by placing her head on his shoulder. Today had been a long day and Thanksgiving was going to be even longer but at least at the end of it Sharon would have something to be thankful for, she'd still have Andy.

As he recovered Andy had no need for a tie until the day he returned to work. On that morning Sharon ensured the rest of the division were in work early to welcome him back. Amy had tied some "Welcome Back" balloons to his chair while Julio, Mike and Buzz provided a round of coffee and pastries from Andy's favourite place. Since Sharon had taken his friend in and cared for him after his accident (it didn't matter that it was expected as his girlfriend) Provenza decided he was going to buy a cake. Sharon had hoped for something that said "Welcome Back Andy," what she saw as Provenza lifted the lid off the box was a cake with a picture of a tombstone and the words "Glad You Didn't Die Flynn" written in blue frosting. Just as Sharon was contemplating murder Andy arrived. Hugs and handshakes were shared amongst the squad (Amy had even bought him a scented candle as a welcome home present) with the exception of Sharon. They hadn't actually seen each other for nearly two days. Sharon had dropped him home on the Saturday morning and helped him settle back in but had then left him to his own devices over the weekend as he gained his much longed for independence back. They had spoken on the phone during the day and before going to bed they had Skyped one another, both shocked by how quickly they got used to wishing each other goodnight in person and how they missed it now they were suddenly apart but this was their first reunion in the flesh. Sharon desperately wanted to wrap her arms around him in a bear hug and welcome him back but she was back to being his Captain. Once again his tie came into play and she took hold of it and straightened it. Once again it was a substitute for a kiss, once again they both knew what it meant and it was more than enough.

Then finally there was last night. After Sharon had led Andy into her bedroom for the very first time she remained with her back pressed against the door as her nerves continued to take hold. Andy smiled before slowly walking towards her. His hands slipped gently around her waist as he tentatively moved his head closer and kissed her on the lips. Sharon remained pressed against the door as one hand gripped the door handle tightly and the other ran up and down Andy's back under his jacket and tugged at the bottom of his shirt. Sharon let out a nervous sigh as Andy's lips left hers and made their way down to her neck. Finally Sharon decided that these nerves were not going to get the better of her any longer and released the door handle, ran her hands up to Andy's shoulders to remove his jacket before taking hold of his tie like she did at Nicole's wedding and led him to her bed with it.

Sharon finished straightening Andy's tie before gently running her fingers down the side of his face. She smiled at him before kissing him gently on the lips. "Perfect."

Sharon bent down and picked her purse and coffee up from the floor and turned back towards Rusty. "Bye Rusty."

"See you later kid" Andy added as he stood to one side to allow Sharon to walk out the door first, as always.

"Bye guys" Rusty called, never taking his eyes off his laptop screen.

Andy followed Sharon out the door before catching the bottom of it with his foot, dragging it towards him and allowing it to shut behind him without using his hands. As they walked down the hallway to the elevator Andy yawned once more. It was a big yawn almost like he'd dislocated his jaw. Once at the elevator Sharon pushed the button to call it as Andy yawned yet again.

"Excuse me" he said as he covered his mouth with his forearm.

"Are you okay to drive? You look exhausted." Sharon rubbed her hand up and down Andy's arm.

"And whose fault is that?" Andy smiled and Sharon simply couldn't resist him. She didn't want to resist him. She grabbed his tie once more and pulled him towards her. She kissed him until they were disturbed by a loud and deliberate cough emanating from the direction of the elevator. Sharon broke away from Andy to see her neighbour, a rather petit but very angry, no seething looking woman, standing in the elevator and desperate to get out except her path was blocked by two people acting like teenagers.

"Excuse me" she said in a tone that one only usually heard when a principle was about to let rip on a troublesome teenager.

"Sorry" Sharon said sheepishly as she moved out of the way and allowed her neighbour to exit.

The woman glared at Sharon before looking Andy up and down and then finally exiting the elevator and scuttling down the hallway. This was Mrs Rose. Her name suggested a gentile and fragrant woman. She was not. She was the devil in high heels and a girdle. She didn't like Sharon. She didn't like Sharon at all. In her mind despite the fact that Sharon was "some sort of law enforcement" she was a troublemaker. It all started the day she brought that boy home. That stray. Who brings a boy home and keeps him? Then there was all the extra security in the building. Police officers swarming all over the place like locusts. It didn't make you feel safe. All for that boy. Now she had a boyfriend. At her age! Always kissing him in the hallway. Did she not have a home to do that in? It was unseemly. This was an apartment building not a brothel. Mrs Rose disappeared into her condo and slammed the door. The noise echoed up the hallway as Andy couldn't help but laugh.

Sharon covered her eyes with embarrassment. She knew he neighbour didn't like her and this latest incident was hardly going to improve matters. Andy smiled at her as he allowed her into the elevator first. Sharon pressed the button for the parking garage before the door closed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drop you at the office?" Andy asked.

"No it's fine. I'll come with you."

"Okay."

The remainder of the elevator ride past in silence until the doors opened in the garage. They stepped out and walked towards Andy's car which was parked in Sharon's spot since her car was still at PAB. As Andy moved he tried desperately not to limp so Sharon wouldn't discovered the other damage she'd caused in the night.

"I thought you kept a bag full of clothes in the trunk of your car" Sharon queried.

"I used to but I used the bag when I moved in with you and haven't replaced it since I've been the 'Desk Monkey'" Andy said with an air of annoyance that he still wasn't allowed to leave PAB with the rest of the division.

Sharon began to bite her bottom lip as she nervously broached the subject currently occupying her mind. "You should. You should do it this morning. You could keep some extra clothes in it...and a toothbrush...and anything else you might need should you not make it home at night...like tonight for instance." She smiled at him and blushed slightly.

As they reached Andy's car he placed his coffee and bowl of fruit on the roof before moving to the passenger side door to open it for Sharon. "Are you propositioning me Captain?"

Sharon smiled at him as he opened the door for her. "I may be. What would your response be if I were?" Sharon leant up against the car as Andy rested his arm on the top of the open door.

"Well let's look at the facts. Last night you mauled me, attacked me, gave me a black eye, I was interrogated by your son before you mauled me again and I hardly got a wink of sleep. Why would I possibly want to do anything else?"


	5. Chapter 5

_Once again thank you so much for your kind reviews for the last chapter. I usually like to reply to each one but I was out of the country and turning 36 on a rollercoaster at the time so please don't think they weren't important to me._

 _I've managed to get this chapter finished a lot quicker than I thought and I also have chapters six and seven being worked on, after that I'm not quite sure. Yet again it's another long one so a cup of tea and an hour to read it might be in order._

 _If you enjoy it let me know. If you don't enjoy it let me know. Either way it's nice to know that someone is reading. Feel free to leave a review or send me a message via Twitter at DHPLover._

 _As usual I don't own these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up about ten minutes after chapter four left off._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Five**

Traffic was heavy that morning. Every which way they turned they were met by a long line of brake lights. Sharon glanced at her watch and tried not to worry about it. She hated being late. She avoided it all costs. Since Rusty had come into her life, a young man who had been abandoned and to whom being late was a major issue, she had become even more obsessive about being punctual. She was never late for work. Never. Not even when she broke her ankle as a rookie and had her leg in plaster. As she allowed Andy to sleep completely spark out at the foot of her bed for an extra hour that morning she weighed up her options and the potential ramifications of her decisions. She could wake him and although by the time they had gone back to his house to get a change of clothes they would still be late but only by a few minutes. On the flip side of the coin it was quite obvious that her boyfriend needed sleep. She had deliberately kept him awake and entertained during the first half of the night but gathered he hadn't slept much after she hit him not that she blamed him. She also knew that returning to work had taken a toll on him physically and that had completely worn him out. So as a girlfriend she thought her boyfriend needed an extra hour. Then the Captain side of her brain kicked into gear that couldn't stand to be late but also justified that her gently snoring Lieutenant needed a power nap because what use would he be at work without it. They were an elite unit and Lieutenant Flynn was an integral part of it, how would he be able to do his job if he was only capable of speaking in vowels and kept falling asleep at his desk leaving puddles of drool in electronics. Sharon questioned whether she should have taken Andy up on his offer to be dropped off at PAB before he went home but how would that look to everyone else? If her Lieutenant strolled in an hour later than everyone else people may think it was favouritism because he was also her boyfriend. Sharon sighed and mentally kicked herself for being ridiculous since Lieutenant Provenza left work in the middle of day during an active case to buy a ham four weeks ago. In comparison Andy arriving a little late on one occasion is nothing. She tried not to worry about the ticking clock and instead focused on Andy and making sure he stayed awake while behind the wheel.

As she turned to face him she grew a little mad at herself. They had been driving along in complete silence as the last remnants of their conversation lingered in Andy's mind and spread to his face. He looked tired but he also suddenly looked tense and a little bit worried and the black eye didn't help matters. Sharon knew instantly what she said was bothering him because his steering wheel creaked under his hands as he turned it and Andy's face screamed concentration as he was clearly working something out in his mind. As she looked at him Sharon became a bit upset with herself that she'd managed to cause Andy stress by asking a simple and perfectly innocent question especially as the morning had been so wonderful up until that point. Sharon smiled at him and put her hand on his shoulder as he drove, squeezing it gently to get his attention.

"What's wrong?" Sharon asked even though she knew the answer. She raised her finger and slowly stroked his earlobe. In the years that she'd known him and the months they'd been dating she had never actually got to the bottom of why Andy would tug on his earlobe when he was (she assumed although she'd never received confirmation) stressed. In fact she found it rather amusing, completely adorable and made his moods often easy to read. On this occasion she thought it best to rub it herself since she had made him feel this way in the first place although she wasn't entirely sure why she was actually doing it.

"I'm nervous" he said as the beaming smile from the last twelve hours thankfully returned to his face.

"Nervous?"

"Yes."

"Andy Flynn nervous?" Sharon smiled back as she leant back in her seat and looked at him quizzically. Her hand left his earlobe briefly and grabbed a forkful of fruit from the bowl that she had balanced between their seats. She ate a piece of melon before popping a strawberry into Andy's mouth and returning her hand to his ear.

"Yes. Why? Does that surprise you?" he asked as he chewed. Andy had actually been nervous a lot since he started dating Sharon for all manner of reasons with the main one being his desperate desire to not screw their relationship up. Not only was he a big bag of nerves he was also suddenly confessing his nerves to anyone who would listen, something he'd never done before. He told Provenza he was nervous about telling Sharon he loved her, the sort of conversation he usually avoided with his friend. Last night he'd told Sharon he was nervous about every single aspect of their relationship and now this. Andy worried Sharon must think he was some sort of emotional, nervous wreck when he'd worked so hard to maintain the opposite persona in his professional life.

"Yes and it makes you completely adorable." Sharon stopped rubbing his ear and ran her hand down the side of his face.

"Adorable?" Andy's tone immediately suggested that he wasn't a fan of that word. He liked it even less when someone was using to describe him, even Sharon.

Sharon laughed. "Yes. What's wrong with adorable?"

"It's not what every man dreams of being called. You make me sound like a new born kitten." Andy sat up in his seat as if trying to appear bigger, manlier and anything but adorable.

"But you have no objection to me calling you my 'beautiful boy'."

"That's different."

Sharon laughed as Andy smiled at her. "Why are you nervous?"

"It's a big deal."

"It's not like you've never done it before" Sharon reasoned.

"I know but it's the first time I've ever felt this way about the woman involved" Andy said quietly and rather sheepishly for him.

Sharon looked at him surprised before she folded her arms and turned to face him like she was about to interview a suspect. Without realising it she was suddenly in full Darth Raydor interrogation mode. "Really? You didn't like Lieutenant Provenza's other wives?"

Andy shuddered. "Even Provenza didn't like his other wives. When this is your third time being someone's best man there's some pressure to keep the material fresh. And Patrice is a nice lady. She's helped me…well us, out a lot recently and I don't want to say anything that'll lead to him sleeping on the couch or worse sleeping with me."

Andy had given his best man's speech a lot of thought since Provenza told him he was going to propose to Patrice. If anything the timing of it was a nice distraction as Andy tried not to worry about his health and in the two weeks that followed tried to keep his mind occupied as he lay in his hospital bed and imagined he had all manner of illnesses and diseases. Andy took his job as best man seriously, he always had done and thanks to Provenza he'd had a lot of practice. The last time he was Provenza's best man he accidentally (Provenza would say on purpose but that's still open to frequent debate) revealed an incident that happened at the bachelor party in his best man's speech which lead to Provenza spending his wedding night sleeping in Andy's bed with Andy. Provenza refused to sleep on the couch because he blamed Andy. Likewise Andy also refused to sleep on the couch because he didn't think it was his fault. As a result two grown men fought over the covers and bitched at each other all night while the new Mrs Provenza slept alone in a King size bed in the honeymoon suite at the Radisson and Andy's date Mindy went home disgusted as she didn't "do threesomes anymore" and had clearly misunderstood the situation she found herself in. It wasn't even Provenza's fault as far as he was concerned. Andy had organised the bachelor party. Andy had hired the strippers. Andy had handcuffed Provenza to one stripper in particular called 'Candi' and lost the key. Andy was the one that removed his shirt and sprayed him with whipped cream for Candi to remove in unusual and frankly unhygienic ways and Andy was the one that took the photo. Admittedly Andy wasn't the one that blew up the photo and produced it during his best man's speech in front of his overly jealous and extremely prudish new wife but still it wouldn't have happened at all if Andy hadn't organised it in the first place.

Sharon looked confused. "Why would he end up sleeping with you?"

Andy screwed up his face as he realised he was going to have to confess all. He sighed before glancing at Sharon only to be met with Darth Raydor looking back at him. He immediately smiled. "The last time things got a little out of hand. Strippers were involved and handcuffs and a photo and he slept in my bed on his wedding night but it wasn't my fault" he quickly pointed out.

Sharon shook her head and tried to suppress a smile. "I'm sure. Probably best to keep things simple because if Lieutenant Provenza is sharing your bed on his wedding night I certainly won't be."

"Oh he's not so bad. He's just a big cuddly teddy bear."

"Regardless, no!"

"Don't worry it's doubtful he'll even have a bachelor party this time but if he does you have my word it'll be a perfectly sedate affair and we'll all be in bed by ten" Andy said as he crossed his heart with his right hand before taking Sharon's hand in it.

Silence fell in the car as Sharon traced her finger on the back of Andy's hand. She looked up from their entwined fingers in her lap and smiled at him. "What was your bachelor party like?"

Andy glanced at Sharon again. His mouth opened like he was about to speak before closing it again and pausing, this served only to make Sharon think he look like a goldfish and expect the worst. "Erm...not good."

"Why what happened?"

"I have no idea."

"Really?"

"Really." As they stopped at a set of lights Andy looked at Sharon and saw she wasn't buying what he was saying despite it being the truth. "I guess I was already a pretty heavy drinker back then even before it became a problem. All I remember is waking up in Tijuana with a black eye, no pants or money and no clue as to where any of my so called friends were."

Sharon desperately tried not to laugh. "I see and how did that go over."

"Since it was the morning of our wedding not well. I think she'd rather I hadn't turned up at all than have a black eye on our wedding photos."

"At least this time you know how you got your black eye."

"And you can be 100% sure the way I got this one was a lot more fun as well." Andy raised Sharon's hand to his mouth and planted a soft kiss on the back of it as he maintained his eye focus on the road and LA traffic. "So how about you? Did you get wild at your bachelorette party? Did you go to a book club? Did you stay out past nine?" Andy's smiled beamed as he teased her and waited for a reaction.

"I'll have you know I have a wild side."

"I know. I've seen it" Andy said as he winked at her.

"Yes I did have a bachelorette party. If you must know it also got a little out of hand" Sharon proclaimed proudly.

"Was a drink spilled?"

"Just because you're driving don't think I won't pinch the back of your knees" Sharon said as she moved her hand towards Andy's knee causing him to flinch slightly. Sharon had discovered while he was living at her condo that this was his weak spot. If kissing him in a certain way meant she could get him to agree to practically anything then pinching the area behind his knee was worse than tickling him around his neck. It drove him mad and had him running for cover while simultaneously making him putty in her hands. "If you must know I also spent an hour handcuffed to a stripper" Sharon added matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Andy was genuinely surprised. He teased Sharon a lot about her obsession with the rule book but he knew full well that was only one part of her personality. Sharon was fun, she was funny, and she was often spontaneous and constantly surprised him. This however was a shock. Even on her last night of freedom (she hoped at the time) the thought of Sharon allowing herself to be handcuffed to a stripper took him completely by surprise.

"Yes. He thought it would be a good idea to try to sell us some cocaine after he'd finished his act so I arrested him."

Andy's mouth dropped open before he laughed hysterically. "You arrested your own stripper at your bachelorette party?"

"You bet I did." Sharon sounded beyond proud. "I was a police officer what else was I supposed to do?"

"You had your cuffs in your purse?"

"Always" Sharon replied as they were as common an item to find in her purse like money or keys.

Andy continued to laugh which made Sharon smile. "Only you would think to arrest a half-naked..."

Sharon butted in. "Oh he was completely naked." Sharon smiled as she thought about that night. Whether he tried to sell them drugs or not that particular part time 'fireman' had a body to die for. "In hindsight I should have allowed him to get dressed before I cuffed him. Thankfully his pants were as easy to Velcro back on his as they were to remove."

Andy continued to laugh. "Oh how I would have loved to have seen that. Okay, only you would think to arrest a _naked_ stripper at your own bachelorette party."

Sharon looked thoughtful for a moment. "Really? What does that say about me?"

"God I love you." With Sharon's hand still clasped in his, Andy once again brought it to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back of it. Before their hands were returned to Sharon's lap she brought them to her own mouth as if passing the kiss from his lips to her hand and then finally to her lips.

"Likewise. But back to Lieutenant Provenza and toasting his nuptials."

Andy's face again tensed up slightly as the thought of planning his speech occupied his mind. "Yeah well anyway since I ruined the proposal I want to make sure I get my speech right."

"I still can't believe you told her. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't apart from thinking about you." Andy smiled as he quickly gazed at Sharon before returning his attention back to the road.

Sharon laughed again. "Did they like you?"

"Who?"

"Lieutenant Provenza's ex-wives? "

Andy grinned. "Psycho, Grumpy, Stabby, Grumpy again and Drinky? No they didn't like me. I think loathe with every fibre of their being may be a more appropriate way to explain their feelings towards me."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"Sharon aka Stabby threw a knife at my head."

"What did you do?"

"Ducked."

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "No what did you do to make her throw a knife at you?"

"Nothing" Andy said innocently although the smile on his face told Sharon a different story.

"Andy women don't just throw knives at their husband's friends without good reason" Sharon reasoned as her mind raced and she tried to guess what he might have done to deserve a deadly weapon being thrown at his head. As Andy sat in silence with the smile on his face that Sharon had gone from loathing to finding the sexiest thing on earth she realised that, knowing Andy as well as she did, there was a list of things as long as a piece of string that he was likely to have done to provoke the former Mrs Provenza.

"I may have suggested that her eyebrow wax made her look like a dolphin suppressing a fart" Andy said casually.

"Andy!" Sharon let go of his hand as hers flew up to her face and covered her mouth in horror.

"What? She did. Ask Provenza." Andy laughed. "She was crazy and she looked it. Why else do you think he divorced her other than they couldn't stand the sight of each other and he slept with the babysitter."

"No wonder she threw a knife at you." Sharon popped another piece of fruit in his mouth before she took Andy's hand again. "Why didn't the others like you?"

Andy raised his eyebrows before winking. "Apparently I'm a trouble maker."

"That doesn't surprise me." Sharon had witnessed for herself how Andy had almost 'grown up' over recent years but she knew she had got herself a trouble maker, one might even say a Bad Boy, and she found it quite a turn on, even at their age when both of them really should know better.

"What makes you say that? When's the last time I was in trouble?" Andy asked innocently.

"Admittedly you and Lieutenant Provenza have both matured finally over the last couple of years after you spent years getting each other into trouble but still." Sharon shook her head and smiled.

"You don't know the half of it."

"Oh you'd be surprised what I know Lieutenant." Sharon narrowed her eyes at him and smiled. They drove along in silence for a moment before the broadest and filthiest looking smile this world has ever seen erupted onto Andy's face. Sharon couldn't help but notice. She knew full well what he was thinking about. It was the same smile that was plastered all over his face the night before when Sharon climbed out of bed in nothing but a smile and slipped Andy's shirt on. "Okay stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Smiling like the cat that's got the cream." As she said it Sharon tried hard to hide her own smile.

"I'm not allowed to smile at you?" The smile remained fixed to his face and the glint in his eye suggested it wasn't going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

"Yes but not like that when we're at work." As if to make the point Sharon took Andy's hand and repositioned it back on the steering wheel as she tried to alter herself into Captain mode.

"We're not at work. We're in my car."

"The deal was from the moment you put your badge on until the moment you take it off I am your Captain and not your girlfriend."

"Well technically you put my badge on me this morning." Andy winked at Sharon once more but was only greeted with Darth Raydor in return. This only served to make Andy smile more. "Can I just point out _Captain_ that while I still had my badge on last night you told me you loved me and practically assaulted me on the side of the road." With his point made Andy looked victorious as he had finally won a debate with the mistress of the rule book.

"That's different."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your Captain that's why." Sharon smiled as Andy frowned at her. "I don't make the rules Lieutenant I just follow them."

"So as Captain you can do what you like but as your Lieutenant I'm not allowed to even smile at you?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't seem fair does it?"

Sharon's smile now matched Andy's. "I know but those are the rules."

Andy remained silent for a moment while his glances at Sharon became more frequent. "I need to read this rule book sometime."

Sharon adjusted the hem of her dress as she casually said "I'll have to get Buzz to tape that."

"What?"

"Andy Flynn reading a rule book. There's a first time for everything I suppose." Sharon smirked and tried to stop herself from laughing.

Andy's mouth dropped over with fake and exaggerated shock. It was true that Andy had somewhat stomped all over the rules in the past. Despite their record he and Provenza had done rather well recently and hadn't officially been in trouble for a long time. This was mainly because of Sharon. When Sharon first took over Major Crimes Andy made a conscious effort to toe the line in order to keep his new Captain happy and keep his job since he was already on shaky ground with her what with her frequent investigations into him in the past. He didn't want to start off life with a new commanding officer with a black mark against his name since she already had a pretty negative opinion of him. Very soon though he toed the line because he simply didn't want to upset or annoy Sharon or make her look at him in a bad light. They continued to drive in silence for a moment. Eventually Sharon's hand made its way back up Andy's arm and started to play with his ear once again. Andy tried not to react or smile as he continue to play act offended.

"What are you thinking about?" Sharon asked to break the silence.

Andy braked as the car came to a stop in front of the lights at an intersection. Despite being at a standstill Andy kept looking forward as his offended play acting continued. He looked up for a moment as if contemplating something really quite important. "The sexual harassment suit I'm going to file against my Captain later."

Sharon shuffled across in her seat as far as her seatbelt would allow and placed a hand either side of Andy's face before turning him to face her and staring into his eyes. "Well then I might as well get my money's worth" she said before kissing him on the lips. Andy's hands left the steering wheeled and found their way into her hair as he responded in kind. Suddenly and rather rudely they were interrupted by the sound of a car horn behind them as the lights had turned from red to green and they were now blocking traffic. Andy sighed and put his hands back on the steering wheel before setting off again.

"I love you" Sharon said as she shuffled back in her seat.

"I love you too." Andy winked at her again as that filthy looking smile returned to his face.

As Sharon leant back in her seat she again looked at Andy and couldn't help but compare how she currently felt to how she felt in that same car the night before. The events of the day had meant she was tense and anxious when she climbed in. She was even more tense and anxious during the ten seconds (which seemed like an hour) that followed after she told Andy she loved him for the first time and waited for his response. In comparison during this car ride she was completely relaxed (other than worrying about her tardiness at work). So was Andy. As he drove Sharon could see how lose his shoulders were and the smile on his face was unmistakable. It was actually a relief that the last 24 hours were out of the way. Yes she'd been preparing herself for this next step for a long time. In truth she prepared Rusty with her "Overnight guest" conversation long before she mentally prepared herself for that step. In hindsight that's probably why she didn't push it and force the situation when it became abundantly clear that Andy hadn't noticed how blatantly she was coming on to him prior to his accident. If she was really ready at that point to take that next step then surely she would have just hitched up her skirt and thrown herself at him. Regardless that was never Sharon's style but as her frustrations built and Andy remained oblivious to her advances it was surely an option. The more she thought about it the more she realised that she probably wasn't ready then which only served to annoy and irritate her about how idiotic she had been. By dragging her feet she had missed out on so much life with Andy and why? For what? What had she been waiting for? The whole situation seemed ridiculous now that they'd finally confessed their love and slept together. The last twelve hours had been so utterly wonderful she had no idea why she'd put it off for so long. Sharon would forever be thankful for Lieutenant Provenza insisting on Andy taking her home and that car ride. That car ride that changed everything.

If she thought about it her life had been one long line of significant car journeys before last night. A lot of them involved Jack. The first time she slept with Jack it was regrettably in the back of his car. She'd wanted her first time with him to be special but after months of keeping him at arm's length, like she did with Andy, his frustrations reached fever pitch and she gave in after he parked his car by the beach after a not so romantic meal where Sharon was convinced Jack may have been hitting on the waitress. Sharon instantly regretted it, not getting physical with Jack but where they did it. Apart from anything it was painful. Although it may seem roomy and a good idea it really wasn't. Having sex on the backseat of a 1964 Pontiac GTO is a complicated, restricted and painful affair. Granted there are no seat belts to stick in your back but try hitting your head on the arm rest several times while your foot bangs on a closed window and see how comfortable and erotic you find it.

Jack had an obsession with that car. Sharon was pretty sure Emily was conceived in the back of it but before that Jack chose it as the perfect place to propose. It wasn't that Jack wasn't romantic, he was, he was very romantic especially at the beginning of their relationship and Sharon was perfectly wooed by him. It's just when the important events in their lives came around romance seemed to go out of the window (and was presumably saved for whatever blonde he happened to be screwing that week) and Jack's decision making came into question. Jack later told her that hadn't planned to propose in the car but he "Simply couldn't wait any longer." At the time those words made Sharon's knees weak but as their separation turned from months into years and she sat down with a glass of wine to ponder where her marriage went so disastrously wrong, she concluded that it was probably just a line to cover for an affair he was having. The proposal came as they drove home from his parent's house after a horrendous meal. Her in-laws had a dreadful marriage and didn't care who knew it and who they screamed at each other in front of. It was an awkward evening and left a bitter taste in the mouth as Jack drove her home. After witnessing a prime example of why you should avoid marriage at all costs Jack suddenly produced a ring from his jacket and simply said "Marry me?" Sharon had said yes before she'd even processed the question she'd been asked. They again found themselves at the beach in the backseat of that car some thirty minutes later as they made love for the first time as a newly engaged couple.

It wasn't just that Pontiac that stood out in her mind as far as significant car journeys were concerned. Sharon's second night as a patrol officer was very nearly her last day on earth and one she never forgot about especially when she rolled out her division. Her first day had been...well boring. It had been boring. She had been so excited about it in the build-up but it quickly became the most boring day of her life. Nothing had happened. She didn't even need to speak to someone about curbing their dog. Suddenly LA was a quiet, happy place and they didn't get called to a single shout. All they did was drive the streets. It was a complete freak of nature and something that never happened again. With nothing to do Sharon and her new partner Gary Abernathy (an officer of some experience and even more attitude who was not at all impressed he had been partnered with an overly enthusiastic young woman with a penchant for the rule book) sat in the car in silence. It was hell. On their second night they'd seen a little more action and Sharon was finally introduced to the world of being a police officer. Her partner described it as a typical evening until they stopped for dinner at the Mongolian Barbecue Gary insisted on eating at. Before they could get out of the patrol car fire from an automatic rifle sprayed their vehicle like rain drops in an autumn shower. Both were thankfully unhurt and Sharon produced her weapon for the first time but didn't discharge it as they pursued but ultimately lost the gunman whose motives to this day remain a mystery. As the dust settled, the adrenaline faded and the investigation into what happened started everyone saw the damage that gun man had caused. Much to everyone's shock and horror and then thankful prayers Sharon came within an inch of losing her life. As car journeys go they don't come more significant than that.

Then there was the night Ricky was born. Sharon had given Jack plenty of warning throughout that Saturday morning that she thought Ricky was on his way which all came before he left the house. He maintained he was only going to the grocery store to get some milk for the morning and wouldn't be gone more than ten minutes. At that point Sharon was only having twinges and if she did give birth that day, their new-born was hardly going to arrive in the next ten minutes unless Sharon had suddenly developed a birthing canal like a water slide. Ten minutes came and went with no sign of Jack but with plenty of signs that Ricky was definitely in a hurry to put in an appearance. One hour became two, two quickly became three, then four then five and Sharon was in labour alone in the house with the exception of a screaming toddler and her husband MIA. Jack had let her down in the past and he'd cheating on her more times than she cared to admit but Sharon was certain he wouldn't let her down again, not when she was on the verge of giving birth to their second child and waited for him to return. Seven hours later and with her contractions four minutes apart Jack fell through the door drunk off his ass and with more obscenities falling out of his mouth than apologies. His excuse was that he needed a drink to get him through all the screaming he was about to be forced to listen to, as if pushing a human being out of her clacker was going to be a day in the park for his wife. Then apparently Jack simply lost track of time and, Sharon assumed, found himself on top of a stranger in a car. There was no time for an ambulance like there was no time to yell at him or time for the tears that were desperate to fall from her eyes. Instead Sharon scooped up Emily, managed to step over Jack where he lay on the floor by the front door and drove herself to the hospital. It was more touch and go than she ever told her friends and family with Sharon's cries of labour matched by the frightened Emily in the back of the car as Sharon strained to lift herself up off her seat while still driving since she could no longer sit as Ricky began to crown. Five more minutes and Ricky would have been born in the footwell of the car on the streets of Los Angeles leading to the hospital. When he was eventually let into her room some 24 hours later Jack wept at the sight of his beautiful but incredibly angry wife cradling their son and naturally apologised but Sharon had already made up her mind. For the sake of her children she would attempt to make things work with their father but she no longer loved him and more importantly she no longer trusted him. It was the beginning of the end in what was a long road to their eventual divorce but in the end Jack took the decision out of her hands when he once again packed his bags and left two months later.

Then there was Andy. Uncomfortable car journeys had so far plagued their friendship and now relationship. The first time Sharon was alone in the car with Andy Flynn he was driving them to Nicole's wedding. He was beyond nervous and agitated and his constant fidgeting in his seat like he was sitting on a bed of fire ants left Sharon feeling worn out just watching him. She had known Andy for a few years now but didn't exactly know him well. Regardless she had never seen him like this and knew this stressed and agitated behaviour was out of character. If she'd had some Valium to hand she would have forced him to pull over and rammed it down his throat regardless of the potential consequences to his sobriety. As Sharon racked her brain as to what to say to him before he drove them off the road Andy's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed hers, clasping it tightly. The look on his face as he continued to drive suggested that he hadn't actually realised that he'd just grabbed his Captain's hand without warning. Sharon was slightly taken aback by his actions as he kept his eyes on the road but it only came to show just how tense he was.

Sharon placed her remaining free hand on her diaphragm and started to take deep breaths. "Just breathe in and breathe out. Slowly. Deep breaths." She made sure her breathing was audible so as to encourage Andy to copy her.

"Are you leading me in a Lamaze class?" Andy asked between large gulps of air.

"If it helps."

"Breathing is not going to solve the problem." Andy's face tensed up once again making him look a lot older than he was.

"Okay then tell me what the problem is."

"They all hate me. I'm about to walk into a room full of people who would quite comfortably ram a red hot poker up my…"

Sharon butted in before Andy had chance to complete the charming image and action with his hand. "I think I get the picture but not everyone in there will hate you." Andy rolled his eyes and wanted to interject. "Just listen to me. You've got me for starters. That's one." Sharon smiled at Andy and squeezed his hand that was currently still wrapped around her own. This only served to make Andy realise that he had grabbed hold of his Captain's hand without noticing what he'd done in the first place. Andy suddenly let go and returned his hand to the wheel before smiling at her. "Then there's your daughter…"

"Nicole."

"Then there's Nicole. She wouldn't have invited you if she hated you. She wouldn't have asked you to walk her up the aisle if she hated you. That's two."

"I wish my son was number three. I'm not sure how he'll react when he sees I've come."

"Let me ask, what does your ex-wife and her family expect you to do?"

"Not to show up" Andy said honestly. No one expected him to come. Even Nicole was on the fence about it despite her pleading with him to attend. Now that he'd made the decision to go Andy desperately hoped that no one would ever find out just how close he came to not being there. Andy also worried what would have happened if he hadn't gone. He would undoubtedly of regretted it the moment it was too late. Would that regret have made him turn to the bottle? It didn't bare thinking about.

"Exactly so you'll already surprise them by walking in there with your head held high and taking everything they've got to throw at you on the chin for your daughter because she asked you to."

Andy's shoulders started to relax a little. "You're right. You're right."

"Oh I know I am." Sharon smiled at him and was relieved when it was returned. Andy had a lovely smile she thought, when he was smirking at her.

"Thank you Captain."

"Sharon."

"Sorry, Sharon. Thank you _Sharon_."

"You're welcome Andy."

That car journey served to put in place the first building blocks in the foundation of what would be the most important friendship that either of them would ever have because it ultimately lead to them becoming the love of each other's lives.

The next significant incident came the second time that she saw The Nutcracker with Andy and his family. Still pondering the conversation with Nicole and Rusty in the kitchen and with Rusty's "Several times a month" comment regarding how often she was _not_ dating Andy ringing in her ears Sharon (and to a much lesser extent Andy) were horrified when Rusty quickly jumped in Nicole's car and drove off to the theatre leaving Sharon and Andy standing in the parking garage and staring at their tail lights. This left them to drive to the theatre together, completely alone and with that conversation hanging off their shoulders like gaudy Christmas tree decorations that make the branches bow. Although neither said a word about it as they stared after them they both knew that their children had done this deliberately as a way to push them together even though they couldn't make it any clearer that they weren't dating. And they weren't. Sharon was positive about that. Sharon didn't care what Rusty said or what Nicole thought, they were not dating. They weren't. They were not dating. Except were they? Sharon mind continued to play through the conversation until she noticed Andy clearing his throat. She turned to see him standing by his car and patiently holding the passenger side door open. Sharon thanked him and climbed into the car before wishing she was anywhere in the world but where she currently sat. As Andy sat down next to her and started the car the air filled with the smell of his aftershave. Sharon closed her eyes and inhaled. He always smelt so good. She suddenly thought to herself whether they were dating or not, which they weren't, why would she want to be anywhere else but next to this wonderful man, her friend Andy?

They had been driving in silence for five minutes before Andy spoke. "What are you thinking about?" His sudden words breaking through the silence made Sharon jump out of her skin. It was almost like she'd forgotten he was there despite the fact he was driving and he was the only thing currently occupying her mind.

"I'm just glad that we've got that all straightened out now with Nicole. There's no need to feel awkward or uncomfortable anymore. Everything is out in the open and clear and understood and we all know where we stand and what's going on and that's fine and perfect and we all know and that's great." The way that Sharon rambled let them both know that she still felt nothing but awkward and uncomfortable about the situation.

"Good. Great. Thanks" was all that Andy could reply with. Andy wanted to kick himself. What was he thanking her for? What Sharon had just said barely made sense let alone warranted a thank you. Andy wished he'd been honest with Nicole from the very beginning. If he had then this friendship that meant so much to him might not be in jeopardy because of a simple misunderstanding. Silence fell in the car again until Andy asked "Are we okay?"

Sharon smiled at him. "Of course we are." Andy returned her smile before turning the radio on to fill any potential uncomfortable silences that might follow.

The rest of the journey was filled with the occasional smile at each other as the radio concealed the silence (rather awkwardly at times especially when a song by Texas came on and neither of them could ignore the lyric _'I don't want a lover, I just need a friend'_ ) and they both ran through the conversation from the kitchen through their minds. They were both thinking the same thing. Had they been dating? It was certainly what Andy wanted (even though Sharon's ferment denial moments ago was a clear indication, he thought, that she didn't) although he wasn't ready to admit that and kept denying it to Provenza whenever he brought it up and that was a lot more often than it should be considering Provenza objected to their friendship in the first place. Andy assumed this was because Provenza was worried he would end up falling for her and get his heart broken. Andy had no intention of falling in love with his Captain, although he did like her. He liked her a lot. More than he thought was possible a few years ago when she was investigating him. He enjoyed every moment he spent with her both inside and outside of work and besides he was so worried about screwing up his friendship with this amazing woman he wouldn't even contemplate asking her out properly. Meanwhile Sharon had become concerned about her repeated denials. Suddenly a line from Hamlet sprung into her mind and she kept thinking _'The lady doth protest too much, methinks.'_ As Sharon tried to convince herself that she was only protesting because what was being said was untrue Andy smiled at her and she didn't want to think about it anymore, she just wanted to have a lovely evening with her friend Andy….as long as they kept their distance from each other with Rusty acting as a buffer so no one else would get the wrong idea about them.

Sharon also thought about the car journey to Mariana's funeral. It was a highly emotional affair. Gus was sitting behind her in the car and was naturally distraught. Rusty was just as upset. For as happy as he was that he'd been able to find out who Alice really was, find a member of her family and be able to help lay her to rest properly the fact that he was unable to help Mariana in any other way, any other way that really mattered haunted him. Both Sharon and Andy kept reminding him that he had helped her in the best way he could. He had found someone who loved her, someone who was now able to stand by her side and say goodbye. Despite the emotion running through the car Sharon's mind was fixed on the man in the driver's seat and what she was about to do with him. By now Sharon had been dating Andy for a couple of months and their relationship, although progressing slowly, was getting very serious which is where her dilemma came in. She was about to attend a funeral, the funeral for a child who had been murdered, it was upsetting. Her natural instinct on such an occasion would be to grab hold of her boyfriend's hand for reassurance and support but given the situation it could be classed as work and she was still so desperate to avoid her relationship making its way into the workplace. All of her division would be present to stare at them, to gawp. If she did take Andy's hand in the cemetery it would almost be their 'coming out' in front of the rest of the squad. They all knew they were dating but so far there had been very little evidence of it. Their relationship was so carefully managed at work that there was hardly a smile aimed at each other. Even though their relationship was hidden at work it wasn't a secret by any means and Sharon was fine with everyone knowing but just how they knew was another thing entirely. As per the rule book Sharon had made Andy join her when she told Chief Taylor they were dating but he was the only person, other than her children, that she'd told. Likewise she knew that Andy had only told one person, Lieutenant Provenza, and yet everyone in the building knew. It was a massive surprise to her that at least one of those men, one of those grumpy old stalwarts of the LAPD was a gossipy fish wife. As much as she worried about the work/love clash she wanted Andy's support. She wanted to take his hand. As she heard Gus let out a sigh laden with grief she made up her mind, she was going to take Andy's hand and didn't care who could be looking or judging because if she was going to support Gus and Rusty, she needed Andy there to support her.

The next important journey wasn't in a car but in an ambulance. Despite Andy's protests the EMTs insisted on taking him back to the hospital to be checked over after he nearly collapsed in Sharon's office. Sharon held Andy's hand as his gurney was wheeled towards the waiting ambulance. Lieutenant Provenza was following closely behind and as Sharon followed Andy into the back of the ambulance she barely registered his request to phone him with news as soon as she knew anything. The EMTs had stressed that they didn't think it was serious but it was better to be safe than sorry, that however did nothing to allay Sharon's fears as she held his hand while they rattled through the streets. Sharon had been worried about Andy all day and she hadn't even laid eyes on him. Lieutenant Provenza had insisted he was fine just a little 'banged up' but Sharon was always going to worry and question this until she saw him for herself. When she did see him he truly looked awful. Sharon had always thought that Andy had a boyish quality to his face especially when he smiled but as he sat in her office and explained what the doctor had told him he looked every one of his 66 years and then some. As he lay in front of her with one hand across his ribs as he attempted to take as shallow a breath as possible to limit the pain Sharon regretted not leaving PAB immediately and going to the hospital to see him. Had Andy not been her Lieutenant, had it just been her boyfriend who found himself in hospital she would have automatically left work immediately to be with him. In by trying to keep her boyfriend away from work she had inadvertently neglected him. She couldn't help but think that if she'd gone to the hospital earlier she could have taken him home, taken care of him and this horrible journey in the ambulance could have been avoided.

If that ride to the hospital was stressful it was nothing compared to the next time Sharon found herself travelling there. Since Andy had told her about his clot Sharon had walked the earth with the Sword of Damocles hanging above her head. She constantly hoped for the best but prepared herself for the worst as each day ticked by and Andy seemed fine on the surface. Despite how he appeared for the first week Sharon would panic when her phone rang in case it was bad news from Rusty or Patrice. As Andy continued to seem perfectly normal she foolishly began to relax so when Lieutenant Provenza pulled her out of Interview One and immediately handed her the jacket and phone he was holding her heart sank through the floor before he'd even opened his mouth. Sharon was thankful for the suggestion of a patrolman to take her to the hospital. As her mind raced she probably would have struggled to keep her car on the road. All she knew was that Andy had 'a little accident.' That in itself didn't sound bad but the speed in which they'd pulled her out from interviewing a suspect and bundled her into the elevator meant she knew it was serious. Sharon's emotions ran wild as she sat in the back of the car. Her desire for professionalism meant the tears and very uncharacteristic blind panic that were trying to burst forth were buried so as not to appear too emotional in front of a junior officer. The patrolman, with full knowledge of what was happening, remained silent as his siren and flashing lights ensured they would arrive at the hospital long before Sharon would have if she'd driven herself. The sound of the siren did nothing to block out the fears that were plaguing her. Had the blood clot moved to his brain? Had he had a stroke? Was he brain dead? Was Andy even still alive? Each thought that crossed Sharon's mind was more horrible and soul destroying than the next. That car journey seemed to take an eternity as Sharon headed blindly into an uncertain future with unknown horrors awaiting her at St Leo's.

Then finally there was last night and the car journey that changed their relationship forever. As they pulled up outside Andy's house Sharon sighed contently but was alarmed to see that Andy suddenly looked anxious and was fidgeting in his seat. Andy climbed out of the car and Sharon observed him staring at his house like a dark and terrible secret laid within. This was not the first time she had been to his house. She'd been there at lot. It was a lovely home and unless he was keeping a dead body wrapped up on his couch or had a secret wife and kids Sharon was perplexed as to why he seemed nervous about going inside. She joined him by the porch and took his hand.

The moment Andy opened the front door the smell hit Sharon. It hit her like a mallet to the face and completely took her breath away. As she entered the threshold and Andy closed the door behind them he wafted the smell from beneath his own nose while Sharon dropped her purse quickly on his couch and her hand flew up to her face and covered her nose and mouth. What Andy had been anxious about was suddenly very very obvious.

"Oh my God! Andy what the hell is that smell?" Sharon said as she tried not to wretch. In the past Sharon had always been rather proud of the way she handled gruesome crime scenes. She was even prouder of herself after she saw the fuss that DDA Rios made at the sight of the slightest speck of blood or wretched odour. Sharon had a strong constitution and although she didn't particularly want to handle the contents of someone's stomach, vile smells didn't really bother her, she'd had plenty of practice with two children and well, Jack. This however was something else. This smell had taken on a life of its own. It was so strong she could almost see it like the thin layer of smog that hung over LA most days.

"Milk" Andy said rather embarrassedly as he blinked frantically as if he too was effected by this gargantuan odour.

"Milk?"

Andy ran his hand up and down the back of his neck and he prepared to explain. "Yeah well remember after you came with me to pick up some clothes and stuff I needed while I stayed at your place? Well I left a carton of milk on the kitchen counter…in the sun…for nearly five weeks."

Sharon surveyed the room and saw car air fresheners hanging from every handle and corner in an attempt to mask the smell. "It didn't smell like this when I brought you home again" she said in disbelief.

"It was undisturbed at that point. I moved it to throw it away and it exploded. Some of it went behind the fridge and the back of the kitchen cabinets…and on the ceiling. The weekend I came home I didn't have the energy to do anything about it. Since then between work and the gym to get my stamina back and my meetings and spending time with you I just haven't had time to clean it or air the place out. Why did you think I've insisted on coming over to your condo ever since?"

Andy looked genuinely embarrassed that he was not only currently living like this, although only for a few hours a day what with work, but that he'd brought the woman he loved into it. It then suddenly dawned on Sharon why Andy had asked her not once but twice if she'd rather he dropped her at PAB before he went home to get a change of clothes. As Sharon looked around Andy's living room she wanted to laugh but feared that would only make her inhale this monstrosity more. Andy had the cleanest home she'd ever been in especially for a man. Like how he dressed everything was always immaculate so she knew that this smell of the damned was not caused by him being lazy or opting to live in his own filth. In fact the way he took care of his home made Sharon think this must be killing him. "I never really thought about it" she said holding her nostrils closed. Sharon noticed the scented candle that Amy had bought him after he returned to work untouched on the coffee table. Instead it had a car air freshener hanging off it. "Car air fresheners? Really? You're such a guy." She smiled at him before running her hand down his chest while continuing to scan the room. "It's smelt like this for two weeks?"

"Pretty much. It actually smells better than it did. The place just needs airing out but with work and spending my evenings with you I've hardly been here since."

"Well you can't stay here now."

"What do you mean?" Andy asked confused.

"I can't leave you here with this smell" Sharon explained. "It's inhumane. Bring enough clothes and stay with me until Saturday and I'll come over with you and we'll air it out and give it a clean together. Because believe me Andy I am not sleeping here while it smells like this." Andy's face suddenly erupted into that same filthy smile from the car. "There's that smile again" she said as she ran her free hand around his waist.

"Sorry. I was just wondering when you were planning on sleeping here?" Andy asked as he snaked his hands around Sharon's waist and locked his fingers together behind her back.

"Before I smelt the place I was thinking Saturday night. Just picture it, a whole Saturday night, alone with no Rusty to do whatever we want wherever we want…" As she spoke Sharon released her nose and let her hands wander up Andy's lapels. She gradually moved closer and closer to him as their lips came together but never actually touched until she suddenly pulled away and said "But only as long as we can exorcise the place unless of course you had any other plans."

"None whatsoever."

Andy closed the gap between them and kissed her as Sharon's hands made their way under his jacket. Sadly with her mouth otherwise occupied she was forced to breathe through her nose. With one nose full of air being too many Sharon suddenly broke off the kiss. "I'm sorry Andy but it really smells" she said covering her nose again.

Andy took Sharon's hand and began to lead her down the corridor. "Come this way. It's not as bad in the bedroom." Sharon stopped dead in her tracks and smiled at him. "What?"

"Have other women fallen for that line?"

"Not many no. Seriously it doesn't smell in there."

"I believe you. Thousands wouldn't." Sharon followed Andy obediently, rolling her eyes as she went, into his bedroom before he shut the door behind them. Sharon moved her hand away from her nose and looked at Andy surprised. "Oh wait it doesn't smell as bad in here."

"I told you" he said proudly.

Sharon sat down on the edge of his bed, something that she'd never done before and yet did it without a second thought. "There are easier ways to get me in your bedroom you know."

"Believe me there aren't. I've tried" Andy replied as he leant up against his wardrobe and faced her.

"When?"

"The night before my accident but then we got rolled out. Before that I was waiting for some sort of sign that you were ready."

"I gave you plenty of signs."

"When?" Andy asked truly puzzled and in complete disbelief that he could have missed such a thing. Sharon stood up, smoothed her dress down and slowly walked towards him. When she was close enough to feel his breath on her cheek she once again used Emily's suggestion of 'Give him a look that lets him know you want sex' and gave him, she thought anyway, a devastatingly sultry look. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good either. She looked more like she was squinting while trying to remember if she'd left the oven on then trying to get someone into bed. Andy looked at her confused. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"These are my come to bed eyes" Sharon said with a husk to her voice. Andy immediately started laughing and laughing hard at that. Sharon's mouth dropped open before she slapped him on his arm. "Don't laugh at me. What is wrong with this look?" Sharon pushed Andy out of the way to look in the full length mirror on the door of his wardrobe as she continued to look 'sultry.'

"Sharon I love you but you look like you're having an absent seizure." Sharon's response was to once again smack him playfully on his arm. "Ow! You're always beating me. You've become so aggressive since you've had your wicked way and deflowered me" Andy said as he stood behind Sharon and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Deflowered you?" she asked amused as she turned around to face him.

"Yes I'd been living like a monk over the last few years until you got your grubby little paws on me last night."

Sharon laughed before she kissed him. "And I suppose I forced you into it as well."

"Well you are a good negotiator and I am easily manipulated."

"Go on then show me your 'come to bed eyes'."

"No" Andy said as he let go of Sharon's waist and took several steps away from her.

"Why?"

Andy looked at his watch. "We're already late."

Sharon laughed again. "You think they're that good?"

"Oh I know they are" Andy whispered as he winked at her.

"I think I can resist you."

Andy shrugged his shoulders before slowly but deliberately closing the gap between them again. He placed his hand under her chin to raise her eyes to meet his and then he did it. He produced a look that was pure unadulterated sex and had her thinking all manner of inappropriate things. He smouldered. The son of a bitch actually smouldered. This was a look that would have made any woman, anywhere fall gladly straight into his arms. Sharon suddenly became aware this was probably why he'd had so much success with the opposite sex over the years. Hell he could probably have seduced a string of heterosexual men with it. She felt hypnotised, like she was looking into the spinning eyes of Kaa from _The Jungle Book_ and was prepared to do absolutely anything he asked. If Andy had used these eyes on her months ago there would have been no 'old fashioned' dating, she would have climbed on him like a cat with a brand new scratching post. Sharon had been in a similar position before. Jack was able to produce a gravelly growl to his voice which did him a great boon with women. Her better judgement notwithstanding Sharon fell for it every time up until the fifth year of their separation but it was nowhere near as good. This look, this smoulder that Sharon foresaw getting her into all sorts of trouble in the future, it took her breath away and before she even realised what she was doing she grabbed him and her lips collided with his in a frenzy of passion. As kisses go this was a doozy. It later made her think of Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara and that kiss before he carried her up that beautiful staircase in _Gone With the Wind_ and of Milton and Karen rolling in the surf in _From Here to Eternity_. This was a famous movie kiss. Sharon actually felt her knees buckle and was only held upright by Andy's arms which had made their way around her waist once again without her noticing. When the kiss finally ended she remained for a moment with her eyes closed. When she eventually opened them Andy was grinning at her. That grin! It was the same grin she'd wanted to knock off his face five years ago but now made her heart flutter.

"I did warn you" Andy said as his grin turned into a self-satisfied smile.

Sharon had no response other than to pinch him behind his knee and say "Go and get changed."

Andy leant forward and planted another quick kiss on her lips before opening the wardrobe door. Hanging on the inside of both doors were additional suits and shirts which were apart from the ones hanging on the rack and had clearly been selected in advance for the next couple of days to save time. He selected the grey suit hanging on the right hand door and turned around to discover Sharon lying on her side on his bed, on what was now her selected side to sleep on, looking at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked smiling.

"Just checking I've picked the right side of the bed." Sharon pushed down on the mattress with her hand to check the firmness while Andy put his new suit on the end of the bed before he kicked off his shoes and removed his tie.

"And have you?" he asked removing his jacket and throwing it on a chair behind him.

"Definitely. It has by far the best view." Sharon smiled at Andy while he removed his gun, badge and cuffs and place them on the nightstand. He then removed his suspenders from his shoulders and started to unbutton his shirt until he looked up and suddenly stopped undressing as Sharon continued to stare at him.

"Would you like popcorn and a pair of opera glasses?"

"No I'm fine thank you."

"Are you just going to lie there and watch me get undressed?" Andy removed his shirt and tossed it on the chair before pulling his t-shirt from his pants.

"That was my plan yes. I'd put a dollar in the waist of your pants but I left my purse on your couch."

"Only a dollar?" Andy asked feigning offence.

"I'd need to see you dance before I went any higher."

Andy took the two short steps to his bed before climbing on it and then climbing on top of Sharon. She smiled at him and put her hands under his arms and onto his back as he hovered above her. "Now that I've put out I'm just a piece of meat to you aren't I?" Andy said. Sharon pulled him down and towards her until he was completely lying on top of her and proceeded to pick up the kiss they'd stopped just moments ago. As Andy's lips left hers and started to make their way down her neck Sharon opened her eyes, remembered how late they were and came to her senses.

"Andy" she said as she rubbed his back as if saying his name alone was not enough to currently get his undivided attention.

"Yes?" he said between kisses on her neck.

"Go and get changed." Andy looked up as Sharon smiled and showed him her watch.

"Yes Captain."

Andy planted one more kiss on Sharon's lips before climbing off the bed and picking up his suit. As he stood up it was crystal clear to Sharon that he was sucking in his stomach like he'd suddenly become self-conscious about the size of his belly now that he was the only one undressing and currently being ogled.

"Are you holding in your stomach?"

"Possibly. I'll be back." Andy disappeared with his suit into the bathroom before suddenly reappearing. "No snooping Raydor" he said jokingly as he pointed a finger at her.

"Are you really going into the bathroom?"

"Yes. Your ogling has made me self-conscious" he said playfully before ducking back into the bathroom.

Sharon laughed to herself. "Andy?"

"Yes" he answered as he poked his head around the door.

"By the way, I love you too."

That filthy smile appeared on his face again before he vanished back into the bathroom. Sharon sat there for a moment before taking her cell phone out of her pocket and tapping the screen. She placed it to her ear as she waited for an answer.

"Lieutenant Provenza. Just an update. The Autoclub are here and sorted the problem and we should be leaving within the next five minutes...I don't know a gasket of some sort...You'll have to ask Andy...Okay. Thank you. Goodbye Lieutenant."

Sharon rolled her eyes before putting her cell back in her pocket.

"A gasket?" Andy called from the bathroom.

"I don't know I panicked."

As Sharon sat there she looked around Andy's bedroom properly for the first time. She'd been in there before, many times in fact but had never really looked around. The only bathroom in the house was the ensuite so she'd passed through on her way to the facilities every time she'd been over for dinner but that meant that timing was everything. She couldn't be in there too long because Andy would either correctly guess that she was snooping and having a good look around or worse think she was doing more than 'Spending a penny' as her Grandmother used to call it. Andy was neat. He was exceptionally neat and tidy and his bedroom was as pristine as the rest of his house. After he opened his wardrobe Sharon was pleased to see that, like she did, Andy kept several days' worth of clothes picked out and ready if they were needed after not much sleep.

There were two things that really surprised Sharon as she surveyed the room she now anticipated spending a lot more time in. Firstly it wasn't really what she expected. She knew Andy and had known him a long time. That meant she knew his reputation. Andy was a ladies man or at least he used to be. Andy claimed and from what she'd seen Sharon truly believed it when he said he hadn't been on a date since before she became his commanding officer. Even so Sharon had expected Andy's bedroom to be a typical woman trap complete with all the trimmings but it wasn't. It was tastefully decorated, there were no black satin sheets or mirrors where they really didn't belong, it was just a regular bedroom. The second thing to surprise her was the photo frame that sat next to his bed. It was a beautiful silver frame with ornate flowers adorning the edges. Behind the glass was a photo of the pair of them. Andy had his arm around her shoulders as they looked at each other. It was taken at the back end of the summer by Ricky who noticed them looking adoringly at each other at a 'get to know each other' barbecue in Andy's back yard. Sharon had seen the photo on Ricky's phone as he showed Emily but had no idea that Andy had got Ricky to send him a copy of it let alone kept it in a frame next to his bed. In truth Sharon also had a couple of framed photos of the two of them in her bedroom but for some reason she didn't expect it from Andy. In the end she put it down to being unsure, until last night, just how he actually felt about her.

Other than to pick up some clothes and essentials and then to drop him back home again once he was well enough to live alone Sharon hadn't been in Andy's house since the night before his accident. That had been a frustrating affair. They came so close to finally sleeping together only for Andy's cell to shrilly interrupt them. Then of course he became a human speed bump the day after and sex was the last thing on either of their minds. Prior to that Andy just didn't seem to take the hint. Sharon now admitted to herself that perhaps her 'Come to bed eyes' weren't quite as good as she thought they were, in fact she looked like she'd had expired Botox following a mild stroke but she gave Andy plenty of other signals to suggest she was ready. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to try and seduce someone and they don't notice or worse think you may have a serious eye problem? As Sharon did everything but oil herself up and launch herself at him from a canon she began to wonder if Andy hadn't taken the hint because he simply wasn't interested in her like that and was afraid to end things because she was his Captain. Of course that now seemed ridiculous after Andy had given her his letter and then seen her naked and looked at her with his tongue hanging out like a dog looking at joint of roast beef on the kitchen counter. Initially Sharon avoided Andy's place because she worried about feeling under pressure there like how Jack finally pressured her. Not that Andy ever did pressure her. In fact he did nothing to pick up the pace in their relationship whatsoever, which was the problem. He was the perfect gentleman when she was so desperately hoping that he would try just once to take advantage of her. In the weeks before his accident Sharon started to spend more time at Andy's so that without Rusty, she would have more opportunities to pounce on him uninterrupted. And yet despite her best efforts still nothing happened until suddenly Andy spontaneously and surprisingly made a move of his own while they were watching a movie. It wasn't even a particularly sexy movie either. It was no _9 1/2 Weeks_ or _Last Tango in Paris_ or even _Basic Instinct_ or _The Postman Always Rings Twice_ , it was _The China Syndrome_ of all things. Had Sharon known that nuclear power and cover ups were such a turn on for Andy she would have selected that film much much earlier. In truth it had nothing to do with the film which, although brilliant, is as sexy as a four day old burrito stuck to the sole of your shoe. Andy had hardly noticed the TV was on. His sudden move had everything to do with the way Sharon's blouse was gaping at the top revealing the slightest glimpse of skin that Andy had never seen before. Andy had been so patient, he was happy to wait in fact, but he couldn't control himself any longer and had to see if Sharon was ready to move things forward. As buttons were undone for the first time and Andy's hands and lips moved across previously unexplored flesh on his couch Sharon couldn't help but moan and thank the Lord for Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas and that nuclear accident when suddenly...his cell rang and that was that until last night.

Andy emerged from the bathroom clad in his new suit and immediately went to Sharon so that she could straighten his tie for him. Sharon obliged as always before he quickly opened his wardrobe again and moved a black gym bag and a pair of sneakers from the bottom and placed them on his bed. "Thursday and Friday" he said as he removed the next two suits complete with shirt and tie hanging up and draped them over the foot of his bed.

Sharon joined him and opened the gym bag ready to pack for him. Andy removed a shirt and his black leather jacket from his wardrobe and handed them to Sharon. As Sharon folded his clothes and put them in the bag Andy fetched a pair of jeans from one drawer and a couple of white t-shirts and a pair of pyjama bottoms from another. The next drawer he opened amused Sharon greatly. It was filled to the brim with suspenders. Andy had more pairs of suspenders than Sharon had ever owned pairs of shoes. Sharon loved his suspenders. She loved twanging them when he misbehaved and the back of his knees were out of reach.

"Robe?" Sharon asked.

"Bathroom door."

Sharon headed into the bathroom and came back with his robe while Andy filled the bag. As Sharon stuffed the robe in the remaining space Andy moved to his nightstand and opened the drawer. Andy pulled out some socks and underwear but that's not what caught Sharon's eye, the small, very new looking ring box did that. Andy closed the drawer again without a second thought but it was too late, Sharon had already seen it. In a slight daze Sharon took the socks and boxers from Andy and put them in the bag as he went back into the bathroom. As soon as he was out of the room Sharon's eyes widened. For so long she wasn't sure she was on the same page as Andy and it now turned out that far from being on the same page he had not only finished the book but was apparently ready to start the next. As Andy entered the bedroom again with his wash bag and put it in the gym bag Sharon wondered if he'd done it deliberately. Did he do it in order to gage her reaction and see where she was in terms of moving forward in their relationship? In reality Andy had forgotten it was there and had no idea Sharon had seen it so when he saw her eyes as wide as saucers he smiled at her.

"Are you trying your 'sex eyes' again?" he asked as he zipped up the bag.

"No I was just..." Sharon had no idea how to finish that sentence since she was really not ready to discuss what she'd seen lurking with his socks so opted to change the subject instead. "Have you got everything you need?"

"I think so" he said as he scanned the room.

"Toothbrush? Razor? Pills?"

"Which sort?" Andy asked with a smile.

"You're never going to let that go are you?" she said returning his smile. However Sharon's smile soon faded, not because of the presence of a ring box in the room but as she looked at the area under his left eye which now had a deep purple and almost black hew to it.

"What's the matter?"

Sharon gently stroked the bruise with her thumb. "I'm starting to think I should have put some makeup on your eye to cover it up. Make it a little less obvious that I've beaten you in my sleep."

"Don't worry. They won't think twice about it. They probably won't even notice."

"Are you sure?" Sharon asked completely uncertain.

Andy smiled again. "Trust me."

Famous last words.


	6. Chapter 6

_Firstly I'd like to thank everyone who read my last chapter (which has become my favourite) and GrammyIda, Maxi97, MCTVFan, Sue Baker and the three guests who left me reviews for it. Once again I really appreciate it. Thank you also to Kara Mobus for getting in touch via Twitter. Thank you for your feedback._

 _If you read this chapter please review or get in touch via Twitter at DHPLover as it's the only way I know if someone is really reading it. It takes up a lot of time committing each chapter to paper (especially when I should be at work) and then reading it and rereading it. If I know people are reading it then it makes it all worthwhile._

 _I'm not overly thrilled with how this chapter has turned out but since the dialogue for it was written long before I posted my first chapter I've decided to just post it so I can forget about it and stop tweaking it. Chapter seven is on its way, maybe next week, and chapters eight and nine are also in the works._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up about 30 minutes after the last one ended and once again it's long!_

 _Enjoy…_

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Six**

As he sat at his desk and perused his never ending pile of paperwork Provenza sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair before bringing them to rest on his forehead and his elbows on his desk. He was starting the day worried. He didn't like to start the day worried but let's face it who does? To be perfectly honest Louie Provenza only liked to start, continue and end his day lying in bed next to Patrice with possibly a Dodgers game and a hot dog with his buddy thrown in the mix for good measure. It had been an unusual morning thus far. The Captain and Flynn were both late. There was nothing alarming about that on the surface of it although it was certainly out of character especially for the Captain he thought. The Captain was so punctual she seemed to show up half an hour before she was needed and that was when she wasn't working at FID. It was top of the list of the many things that annoyed Provenza about her in the very early days. The rest of the list he'd subsequently tried to ignore since it became clear whether he liked it or not she was going to be his partner's girlfriend. When Provenza left PAB the night before he saw the Captain's car sitting in its regular spot in the parking garage so knew Flynn had followed his "For God's sake, get your ass in there and take your girlfriend home" order to the letter, if only all of his other orders were followed so precisely he thought as he looked towards Amy. So clearly that's why they were travelling in together he told himself. Again that was not unusual for them. Since they had been dating, or rather admitting that they were dating, they would sometimes leave in Flynn's car if they were going to the movies or out to dinner straight from work and he would pick her up and drive her into work the next day. But even so something just didn't feel right and no matter what he did Provenza just couldn't put his finger on what. Flynn's car had broken down. No surprise there. If anyone had experience with Flynn and his crappy cars it was Provenza. Some days he wondered not only how he and Flynn had got to their destination on time but in one piece such were the terrifying death traps he drove. The first time Provenza stepped foot into one of Flynn's cars he seemed to be driving something akin to a bumper car at a fairground except bumper cars have more safety features and a higher top speed. Provenza frowned as he remembered that Flynn had a fairly new car, well new for Flynn anyway. That was actually the first time that Provenza realised his friend was in trouble, when he bought a new car. After Nicole's wedding and the ballet he was almost dragged to in the Captain's place, Flynn had rushed out and bought a new car like he was embarrassed to be driving the Captain around in his old crappy one. Not that he could blame him. Piles of scrap metal with a firework and a squirrel on a treadmill for an engine would get him around town quicker and more safely than any car Andy Flynn had owned up until that point. Around the same time came the word that caused Provenza the most concern: 'Sharon.' She was no longer the Captain, she was 'Sharon.' In all fairness Provenza himself had addressed her as 'Sharon' on more than one occasion but that was only in a quiet moment when his Captain desperately needed some support and reassurance over Rusty or her inexperience in dealing with homicides. Flynn suddenly called her 'Sharon' every time he spoke about her to him which became a lot considering she was their commanding officer and they used to loathe the very sight of each other. Their baseball chatter was halved as Flynn insisted on regaling Provenza in tales of 'What Sharon and I did Friday night' and 'Sharon said the funniest thing yesterday.' 'Sharon, Sharon, Sharon!' Ye Gods every other word that came out of his mouth was Sharon or had something to do with her. It was frightening. It was also nauseating. So when Flynn told him he was finally going to ask her out on a date Provenza was more relieved than Flynn was when the Captain said yes because then he might finally shut the hell up about her. No such luck. If anything he now spoke about her even more but with a goony expression on his face. But why had the Captain phoned him to tell him they would be late and not Flynn? And twice at that. There was something about it that just didn't sit right. Surely he should have heard the engine running in the background since they'd just repaired and started his car but it was silent. A gasket? Why would that stop Flynn's car from starting? Where was Flynn? It was his car, he would be the one driving so why didn't he call? With how Flynn's health had been lately Provenza didn't like it, he didn't like it at all. The Captain was definitely covering for something, the problem was he didn't know what.

Despite the clearly odd and uncharacteristic behaviour from both Flynn and the Captain, Provenza was surprised to see the rest of the division with their heads down working away in silence like everything was normal. Surely the tardiness of their Captain warranted at least a passing comment from one of them. Just as Provenza was contemplating taking Mike into the break room and voicing his concerns to him the sound of footsteps could be heard coming towards him. Provenza looked up expecting to see Flynn coming around the corner only to see Chief Taylor staring at the Captain's office and clearly looking for her.

"Good morning. Where's your Captain?" Taylor asked as he scanned the room to see if she was lurking elsewhere. "I wanted to give her a heads up as a courtesy."

"Where indeed?" Provenza growled as he looked at his watch and then at Mike and Julio to see if they showed any signs of concern but still none were forthcoming. "Flynn was supposed to be driving her into work but apparently his car wouldn't start. They're on their way."

Taylor's eyes again scanned the room before he settled on his watch as he tapped his foot on the ground and he made up his mind what to do. "I see. Well I'll just wait here for her." Then he committed the ultimate sin, the big one, he sat on the edge of Provenza's desk.

Sitting next to him Julio and Amy spotted this faux pas immediately and glanced at each other with wide smiles of anticipation while waiting for Provenza's usual over the top reaction which bordered on his gun being drawn while the air was littered with obscenities. They both dropped their pens and got comfortable, ready to watch the floor show, all they were missing was a tub of popcorn and a beer. At first Mike and Buzz were ignorant to what was going on until they were alerted by the sound of Provenza's chair hurtling quickly backwards and banging into the murder board as if he had just been assaulted by a large mallet to the face. Buzz smiled like the Cheshire Cat as Provenza's eyes bulged at this affront to his territory. Provenza loathed people sitting on his desk. To him it ranked right alongside sleeping with his wife on the list of crimes punishable by death. Given the chance Provenza would gladly glue thumbtacks to the edge of it should anyone dare to move their posterior anywhere near it but over time he had mellowed (slightly and he could not stress that enough) and come to allow his Captain to occasionally rest on it as day turned into night on a tough and exhausting case. This was perhaps a reaction to the newly found closeness they had shared following her fledgling intimate relationship with his friend and his spell in hospital but he'd never openly admit it.

Provenza looked at Mike and gestured towards Taylor like someone had just dumped a dead elephant on his desk and he wanted some sort of advice on how to deal with it. Mike could only smile before covering his mouth and looking away so he didn't laugh. Provenza slowly wheeled his chair back into place and cleared his throat loudly as he attempted to pull his paperwork out from underneath Taylor's backside. "You know Flynn's desk is free" he said as the piece of paper he was tugging on ripped and left a portion under Taylor's right cheek.

Julio buried his face in his arms to muffle his laughter before Taylor turned and looked down at Provenza and he folded his arms. Taylor knew full well what he was doing but as Assistant Chief simply didn't care and would sit wherever he wanted and if that pissed Provenza off all the better. "Have you got a problem Lieutenant?"

"Yes. There's someone sitting on my desk."

An unmistakeable "Ha!" from Mike reverberated around the murder room as Julio, Amy and Buzz tried desperately and largely unsuccessfully to suppress their laughter. Before Taylor could react the distinctive clip clop sound of Sharon's shoes followed by Andy's familiar plod could be heard coming towards them. As a matter of principle as his mini turf war continued Taylor didn't stand as he waited for them to appear from around the corner. The sound of the footsteps caught everyone's attention and made them look up as they prepared to greet their Captain like they did every day although not usually this late in the morning. Sharon appeared first moving at a fair speed, carrying her purse and coffee followed closely by Andy who was carrying the still fairly full bowl of fruit and moving a lot slower as he tried valiantly not to limp from Sharon's very hard kick to the groin in the middle of the night. "Good morning. Good morning. Sorry I'm late" Sharon announced as she walked straight towards her office.

"Morning Captain. I..." Taylor noticed Andy's eye almost immediately and stopped. He remained seated on Provenza's desk but grimaced at the damage. "Good God Lieutenant what happened to your eye?"

All work ceased as everyone's attention was immediately drawn to Andy's face as he made his way slowly (again to avoid limping) over to his desk. Provenza's face immediately registered the concern he had been secretly feeling all morning. He knew something didn't feel right when the Captain called him, Flynn's eye confirmed his suspicions and was he limping as well? And what was he holding?

Taylor's words made Sharon freeze with her hand on the handle to her office door as she closed her eyes and hoped she hadn't heard what she thought she had. She knew they would notice. How could they not notice? If Andy had walked into PAB wearing clown shoes and a unicorn horn it would have been less obvious than his blatant injury to his face. Andy's 'Don't worry. They won't think twice about it. They probably won't even notice' ran through Sharon's mind as she called him an 'Idiot!' under her breath. Idiot? She briefly smiled to herself. Andy was starting to rub off on her as much as she was rubbing off on him. She slowly entered her office and put her coffee and purse on her desk before moving to hover by the door to hear Andy's response.

Sharon had asked Andy to lie about his black eye for one simple reason: she was embarrassed. She was more than embarrassed, she was mortified. Her actions in the middle of the night had left her feeling horrified not only that she'd hurt him to such a degree but that she'd forgotten he was lying there next to her. She still couldn't quite believe it. If she lived to be a hundred she'd never understand how she could forget he was in her bed. Even in her deepest sleep she would surely feel the presence of the man she was fairly confident was the love of her life with his arms wrapped around her for the first time. She briefly wondered what she was going to do that night (should a case not prevent them from going home) when they went to bed so that she could be sure Andy could sleep relatively unmolested. Straitjackets and handcuffs immediately sprung to mind but she didn't want to give Andy the wrong impression. To add to her embarrassment Sharon knew that everyone would find it funny and while she was okay with Rusty laughing and likewise Emily and Ricky when they found out as for her division as their commanding officer she wasn't comfortable with them laughing at her even if it was all good natured and in a loving way. Sharon also really didn't want her relationship discussed in public. She'd experienced far too much of that while she was married to Jack. Jack had slept around. He'd slept around a lot and everyone knew it. Everyone discussed it. Sharon was more than done having her personal life dissected in public. With all the effort she'd put into not allowing her relationship with Andy to make it into that room letting them know what she'd done would surely open it up into a public forum once more. Sharon was also a little worried by how much people knew as well. In truth Sharon had only spoken to Emily and on occasion Angela Hobbs about the speed of her relationship with Andy. Likewise she assumed Andy had only told Provenza, again she wasn't particularly delighted about that notion but as he was his best friend it was naturally unavoidable. Still Sharon wasn't sure how many people knew they hadn't yet slept together before last night. She knew from experience that PAB had a grapevine Ernest and Julio Gallo would be proud of. Only two people in that building knew she was dating Andy and yet within two weeks it was common knowledge and she was called 'Future Captain Flynn' from a Sargent in Narcotics after they'd only been on a handful of, albeit successful, dates. Sharon wasn't sure if they also all knew how slowly they were taking things. If they discovered that she'd elbowed Andy in the night then it wouldn't take a detective to work out they'd slept together for the first time and Sharon hated people thinking of her like that. Talking about her sex life with Emily or Angela was one thing, having every member of her division thinking about it even if they didn't mention it was another mortifying thing altogether. Sharon wasn't a prude or repressed, she really wasn't, it was just that she hated people having that sort of conversation about her. At the end of the day no matter how toe curlingly good it was (and between Sharon, you and the gate post it was, it really really was) it was a private and personal matter between the two of them and absolutely not for discussion in the work place because frankly, it wasn't anyone else's business.

If he was honest Andy was also fairly keen to keep the cause of his black eye secret but that was for another reason entirely. He expected a hard time if they believed the 'bathroom cabinet' yarn he was about to spin them but that would be a drop in the ocean compared to what they'd say if they knew the truth. Despite the pain he was in he found the whole situation funny himself and if it had happened to anyone else, if Provenza had received a black eye from Patrice or Cathy had inadvertently punched Mike in the middle of the night he would have been first in line to make fun of them. As such Andy was keen to avoid it for his sake as much as Sharon's.

Andy sat down on the edge of his desk and looked as casual as possible in an attempt to make this conversation end quickly without further need for questioning. "My eye? Oh that?" he said as he pretended it wasn't throbbing and hurt every time he blinked or pulled any sort of facial expression at all. "I walked into my bathroom cabinet in the night." Andy shrugged and tried his best to look dismissive. Sadly it didn't work. Despite his best efforts Andy looked tired and in pain and everyone with half a brain knew it.

Silence fell over the room as they all stared at Andy for a moment before Provenza asked "You walked into your cabinet?" The suspicion in his voice hung off every word.

"Yeah" Andy said as Sharon quietly and slowly sat down at her desk and hoped that would be the end of it. Again silence fell over the room. Julio briefly looked at Mike and was greeted with a confused shrug of the shoulders in return as both started to question if there was more to this story than met the eye, no pun intended.

"You left it open?" Taylor queried.

"I guess."

Provenza stood up and looked at the bowl in Andy's hands. "What are you holding?"

"It's a bowl of fruit" Andy said holding it up for Provenza to see before putting another forkful into his mouth.

Provenza and Taylor looked at each other for a moment. Their facial expressions were matched as deep suspicion started to run through the room. Not only were they both late but Andy had quite clearly hit something a lot harder than a cabinet door to cause that much damage. Then there was the fruit. Andy had been (annoyingly in the opinion of Provenza) eating healthily for some years now so that wasn't a surprise but if his car truly had broken down when he arrived to pick up Sharon, why didn't he eat it while he was waiting for it to be repaired rather than at work? Taylor and Provenza simultaneously stood up and began to walk towards Andy ready to continue their interrogation in much closer quarters.

"Okay what's going on here?" Provenza suddenly sounded as concerned as he did when he picked Andy up off the road following his fall from the car. Provenza wouldn't pay much attention if Julio or Mike had walked in there with the same injury and lame ass story other than to make fun at their expense but Andy had been seriously injured recently and that made it a very big deal indeed.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked innocently as he sat down at his desk and tried to look busy by shuffling the papers in front of him. Meanwhile over his shoulder Sharon was millimetres away from sitting with her head in her hands and screaming into her purse. This is the problem when you try to hide things from detectives. They're overly inquisitive and can smell a lie 100 yards away. Sharon briefly wished she'd picked another profession.

"You have a black eye and you're carrying a bowl of fruit. What happened?" Provenza asked as he stood in front of Andy's desk so he had to look at him.

"I just told you..."

"Captain?" Taylor called as he poked his head into Sharon's office, not that he needed to, there was no escaping what was currently going on in the murder room as it became the sole focus for everyone in earshot.

"Yes?" she replied as she pretended she hadn't heard what was going on.

"Well?" Taylor demanded.

Provenza focused on his Captain through the glass and gave her a quizzical look. "What happened?"

Sharon closed her eyes for a moment before slowly lifting herself from her chair and walking towards her door. Sharon had tried to prepare herself for this conversation as they pulled into the parking garage should Andy's 'bathroom cabinet' excuse not pass muster but she suddenly felt lost for words. Andy was being put on the spot and it was all her fault. She was the one that hit him and she was the one that wanted it kept secret. Sharon briefly looked at Andy for advice but he remained with his back towards her and focused on the paperwork on his desk like he was trying desperately to keep her out of it. As she looked around the room every pair of eyes focused in on her waiting for a response. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid.

Sharon leant up against her doorframe and folded her arms. "Why are you asking me? If Andy says he hit his eye on the bathroom cabinet then that's what happened." Sharon was satisfied with her response but it was clear Taylor and Provenza weren't. Sharon rarely spoke so quickly and never at such a high frequency. They had both heard her in enough interrogations to know that. Sharon Raydor was as cool and calm as they come. The person who answered that question may look like Sharon Raydor but it certainly didn't sound like her. At this moment Provenza would have put money on her hiding what was really going on.

Provenza stared at Sharon for a moment before turning his attention back to Andy. "Is it your prostate?" he asked as he pointed in that general area.

"Is what my prostate?" Andy asked confused.

"The thing that's wrong with you. You had to get up in the middle of the night and then hurt yourself."

Andy slumped back in his seat. "Jesus Provenza I'm in my 60s! Can either of you get through the whole night without having to get up and go to the bathroom at least once?" he asked as he looked at Provenza and Taylor. Julio could be heard laughing quietly in the background as the interrogators looked at each other.

"Well no" Taylor answered as he put his hands in his pockets.

Provenza shrugged his shoulders before looking at his feet. "Not this decade no."

"Exactly. My prostate is fine but thanks for asking. There is nothing wrong with me except I went to the bathroom in the dark and hit my head on the cabinet above my sink. Okay?" Andy's head was beginning to pound. He hadn't experienced this kind of interrogation since he was at school. He and a couple of friends had been picked up by the head Nun, Sister Mary Francis (a woman who was as mean as she was angry), and were accused of scratching "Balls!" into one of pews in the chapel. To this day Andy denied that it was him mainly because what he wrote was much much worse. Andy moved his focus back to his paperwork again as he looked at his interrogators out of the corner of his eye to see if they were giving up.

Taylor and Provenza looked at each other again. Despite the perfectly plausible explanation being laid in front of them they both felt that something wasn't quite right. Andy was irritable and cranky even for him. Then Sharon just stood there. She said she believed him but the tone to her voice was...nervous? Provenza's mind raced. What the hell was going on? They were definitely hiding something. Is this why they were both late arriving at work?

"Have you taken him to the hospital?" Provenza asked as he moved closer to his Captain like his closer proximity would mean she were more likely to be truthful and confirm his suspicions.

Sharon looked bemused. "Why would I..."

Taylor butted in. "Is that where you've been this morning? At the hospital?"

"My car wouldn't start" Andy explained as he tried desperately to not sound annoyed by Taylor's persistent badgering.

Provenza looked at both of them and then at the bowl on Andy's desk. "Then why the fruit?"

"Provenza it's just breakfast" Andy explained as his blood pressure began to rise. He had been so sure as he stood in his bedroom that morning that there were more important matters at hand than a black eye. Had he known this sort of interrogation was coming his way he would have let Sharon paint his face up like a clown to cover it and spare her the embarrassment she was so desperate to avoid.

Taylor narrowed his eyes as he thought for a moment. "How big is your bathroom cabinet?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question" Taylor demanded.

"It's a regular cabinet that sits on the wall above the sink." Andy swivelled around in his seat so that he could now see Sharon since despite his best efforts she had been roped into this interrogation. As he stared at her Andy couldn't decide if she looked panicked or was coming on to him. Given the situation he concluded it was obviously the former but again noted that she really needed to work on her 'sex eyes' or he'd never know what mood she was in. Andy tried his best not to smile.

Taylor looked at Provenza for a moment before his line of questioning continued. "It stretches beyond the sink so you could hit it?"

Andy looked lost for words for a moment and he tried to think of a believable excuse. No his cabinet wasn't that big so how had his hit it? "I may have stumbled and fallen into it" he said again as casually as possible. The moment the words left his mouth he knew it was a mistake. His reaction was confirmed by Sharon who screwed up her face and hid her eyes. Stumbled implied he may have been dizzy. If anything, Andy thought, he'd just made the matter worse.

"Stumbled?" Taylor asked as Buzz sat on his desk to get a better view as his concern grew along with the rest of the division.

"Yes stumbled. Should we take this into Interview One? Since when has an accident prone thirty seconds required such scrutiny?"

Provenza wagged his finger at Andy with a look of genuine concern on his face. "Since you recently recovered from a concussion, a blood clot and medication that was making you dizzy Flynn."

Taylor waved his arms in the air as if he was signalling he was about to have the final word on the subject. "Something here just doesn't add up. Captain when I said I had no problem with this relationship I meant it but that comes to an end if it has a detrimental effect on this division. There can be no lying to me. If you're making allowances for your boyfriend, if he's having dizzy spells which make him unfit for duty and you're covering for him..."

Sharon couldn't help but butt in. "Of course not!" she exclaimed offended before she stood next to Andy as she tried to present a united front. Sharon was mortified. When she informed Chief Taylor of her relationship with Andy she made a point of stating that the good order and discipline of her division would not be affected by her dating a subordinate. And she had been true to her word. She had done everything possible to keep her relationship out of that building. The only time she broke that rule was when he was hurt (and no one would expect her to act any differently under the circumstances, in fact most thought that her behaviour at the time was rather restrained) and last night when she allowed Andy to take her hand and leave before the rest of the division. To imply that Sharon would cover for Andy if he was unfit for duty was not only insulting to her but insulting to Andy that he would allow her to do it. Sharon now regretted not being honest from the beginning. Surely five minutes of embarrassment which would be quickly forgotten would be better than this interrogation which was quickly becoming a character assassination. Sharon was angry, her blood was boiling. At this point she didn't think the situation could get any worse. She was wrong.

"Good morning everyone."

Sharon closed her eyes tight after she saw Jack Raydor suited and booted walking into the murder room and towards her with that smug smile on his face. "Oh God!" she cried before her hand covered her eyes. Mike, Julio, Amy and Buzz looked like deer caught in headlights. They went from staring at the commotion at Andy's desk to Jack and then back again.

As Sharon and Andy looked at Jack they all but had steam coming out of their ears. The last encounter either of them had with Jack had not been a good one. Firstly Andy was still pissed that Jack had blabbed to the division about his blood clot. He was going to tell them eventually, logically he had to because after all how would they explain where he was for several weeks while he recovered? Andy obviously just wanted to tell them on his terms, when he was ready. He didn't blame Emily for what happened, far from it. He knew from experience that with a divorce kids tend to tell their parents what the other one was up to without any malice intended. He knew his kids had told his ex-wife what was going on in his life (although he really wished they hadn't) on the rare occasions he saw them after they broke up and likewise they told him what their mother was doing. That just left Jack. The only reason he said what he did was because he had lost his battle with Sharon and he wanted to hurt her and Andy and cause trouble, it was as simple as that.

As for Sharon she was really not ready to see Jack again. She was still livid about his announcement in the murder room but she was also seething about his "trading up" comment the day before. How dare he! After everything he had put Sharon through throughout their marriage, the Unabomber was trading up compared to Jack. Andy was ten times the man Jack ever was and after being in a similar position to Jack had done everything possible to turn his life around, be a good man and make amends to his children. Sharon and more importantly Emily and Ricky never knew if Jack was going to be sober from one moment to the next. Sharon tried not to let Jack's comments and actions bother her but at a time of huge stress and worry as Andy's condition got more serious and she contemplated the possibility that she may lose him altogether she let it eat away at her. At the time Sharon was too busy answering the questions of the division and Taylor to tell Jack what she thought of him the last time she saw him but at least she'd got to tell him to 'Go to hell' the day before. She wanted to say a lot more to him but she cursed so infrequently and Jack knew that so she was determined to not let it show that he bothered her.

As much as Sharon and Andy currently loathed Jack, Provenza probably hated him most of all and he had never been married to or wronged by the son of the bitch. "What are you doing here?" Provenza asked annoyed that firstly he had walked in there like he owned the place and secondly that he was interrupting what was quickly becoming a serious matter and stressing out both Flynn and the Captain.

Taylor put up his hand to silence both Jack and Provenza. "One moment Jack. Captain your explanation if you'd be so kind" he said as he turned his attention firmly back to Sharon whose sudden wide eyes were fairly hard to ignore. Sharon quickly realised that they hadn't told Rusty of their little story that morning. He knew the truth. With how the morning had gone so far with no one buying Andy's tale and now Jack walking in, what were the odds of Rusty putting in an appearance on his morning off and spilling the beans?

Jack noticed immediately that he had walked into the middle of something and wanted to rub his hands together with glee. Then he saw Andy's eye and his smile became even broader. "Andy, nice shiner. Has she caught you running around on her already?"

Andy stood up suddenly. "Do you want to watch your mouth buddy" he said while pointing a finger at Jack as he anger levels rose to the brink of becoming out of control.

Provenza quickly moved behind Andy and put his hands on his shoulders to ease him back into his chair. "Flynn calm down you don't want to faint again. Eat your fruit. Jack back off."

Andy threw his hands up in exasperation. As his anger built about the situation and now Jack he failed to notice that after Provenza had forced him back into his seat he had proceeded to start rubbing his earlobe for him. "How many more times? I haven't fainted! I walked into my bathroom cabinet!" Andy again reiterated as he suddenly noticed someone rubbing his ear. He smiled briefly until it dawned on him that to his dismay Sharon was standing on his opposite side with her arms folded. "What the hell are you doing? Provenza get your hand off my ear." Andy swatted Provenza's hand away before Provenza took a step back.

Undeterred Taylor pressed on. "Captain, you've covered for him once before..."

Sharon immediately interjected before the chance to offend her grew ever greater. "I have not covered for him before!" she said defiantly. "Andy was officially signed off sick by a doctor and immediately reported to his supervising officer Lieutenant Provenza before he spoke to me about it in any capacity. The whole procedure was completely above board and by the book. After that I simply followed the request of an officer under my command on sick leave who didn't want the rest of the division finding out about it until he was ready."

"'Not covered for him before'?" Taylor asked as he rose his eyebrows. "So that implies that you are covering for him now?" Sharon and Andy looked at each other as both struggled to find the words that would end this nightmare of their own making. Taylor frowned and put his hands on his hips. "I want you both in my office in an hour where I want the truth and a plan of action of where we go from here."

Sharon covered her eyes with her hands as her head began to pound. Things had quickly spiralled out of control. In by trying to save her just a little bit of embarrassment Andy had inadvertently made the whole division, and more importantly Taylor, mistrustful of their relationship at work. Sharon was simply beside herself that Chief Taylor would even contemplate for a second that she would cover for Andy and allow him to work if he was unfit. Sharon sighed. It was a sigh of resignation. Short of setting her hair on fire to create a diversion she had only one option left, to tell the truth. "Okay, okay, fine! I rolled over in bed in the middle of the night and accidentally elbowed Andy in the eye. I was embarrassed so he lied for me. Okay? Everyone happy now?" Sharon sat down on the edge of Andy's desk with a thud as her hands covered her face mortified beyond belief. Almost simultaneously Andy's face landed in his hands as he shook his head and sighed with exasperation that despite his best efforts it had all been for nothing. Not only did everyone know the truth, they'd discovered it in a highly embarrassing fashion. As they both covered their eyes they thought maybe if they stayed like that long enough everyone would go away and the last few minutes wouldn't have happened. No such luck.

The murder room was silent well silent to everyone except Sharon and Andy who currently could hear nothing apart from the sound of blood thundering past their ears. The only other noise was the biting of lips as the rest of the division tried valiantly to stop themselves from laughing. Oh how they wanted to laugh but of course they never would, not at a commanding officer and not at this commanding officer in particular. A Captain they had far too much love, admiration and respect for. Instead Mike, Julio, Amy and Buzz shared looks of great amusement and surprise with each other. They were more than surprised. They were gobsmacked. They wouldn't have been more surprised if Hitler had just walked into the room wearing a dress and singing _'I'm So Pretty'_ from _West Side Story_. Apart from their Captain making a very loud and very surreal confession about her private life in front of the entire division it was also what she was confessing to that caught them off guard. Andy was a big guy and in contrast Sharon was so slight, the fact that she was capable of inflicted this much damage (without a beanbag gun) in her sleep and accidentally batter Andy was a source of great surprise but also huge levels of amusement.

"You did this?" Taylor finally asked with a bemused look on his face, an expression shared by Provenza, as he pointed at Andy's eye.

"Yes" came the long drawn out muffled cry from Sharon as her hands still covered her face. Andy nodded his head but didn't look up to avoid any potential smirks of mirth heading his way.

"Then what about the fruit?" asked Provenza who had been far more concerned with the breakfast food of choice from his friend and what that meant rather than the injury he had obtained.

"Provenza it's just a bowl of fruit! I slept through breakfast which is why we were late and a bowl of fruit is a lot easier to eat in the car and at my desk than bacon and eggs!" cried Andy as his blood pressure began to rise further. Sharon's hands were now permanently fixed over her eyes as Taylor and Provenza looked at each other. Meanwhile Jack lingered in the background as his smug smile began to fade slightly and he processed the ramifications of the story he was hearing.

"Well if you'd just said that in the first place we wouldn't have had this discussion" Provenza said quickly as he shrugged and scurried back to his desk away from the scene of the crime and sat down. As he settled back into his seat and slowly started to rock back and forth he was hit by three different emotions at once. First was guilt. Provenza felt awful as he watched his Captain sit with her head in her hands with the rest of the division smiling and trying not to laugh. He knew they wanted to laugh at the situation and Andy although he was certain Sharon would think they were laughing at her. Provenza then realised he was the only person in that room that knew Andy and Sharon had been taking their relationship slowly and very slowly at that. Therefore he knew that Sharon's revelation about how Andy came to be battered and bruised meant that they must have finally slept together. In truth he really didn't want to know and he'd told Andy on many occasions that he didn't want to know about his Captain's sex life or lack thereof but still he knew. As far as everyone else was concerned this elbow to the face happened during one night out of many. Oh how little they knew. Provenza also knew that Sharon was an intensely private person and had done everything short of transferring Andy out of Major Crimes to keep their relationship out of work hours. This fabrication about the bathroom cabinet clearly indicated that they didn't want anyone to know what had happened because they (well Sharon at any rate) were so desperate to keep their personal lives private and away from that building. He deeply regretted his part in this misunderstanding and wished he could start over and simply take Andy at his word but it was too late for that, the cat was more than out of the bag. The cat had escaped, climbed into the washer dryer and spent its nine lives on a thrill ride during the spin cycle. Secondly Provenza felt happy but he didn't want anyone to know. He knew they loved each other. Andy had told him as much in the hospital and Sharon's face as he was wheeled away confirmed her feelings without her ever explicitly expressing them to him. That his two friends (and in private he was willing to declare Sharon as his friend) might have finally declared their love and moved their relationship forward after all this time pleased him…but he still didn't want to think about it, at all. For the meantime poking his mind's eye out would have to wait because thirdly and most overwhelming he was greatly amused. Oh joy of joys! Christmas had officially come early for Louie Provenza. The first night Andy had finally slept with the Captain and she's given him a substantial black eye? It was too good to be true. This was the sort of incident that dreams are made of. Provenza was bursting to laugh in Andy's face, wag his finger and tell him "That's what you get for sleeping with the Captain" but knew it would have to wait to a more appropriate moment...like in five minutes time when he could drag him into the break room alone.

Taylor tried not to smile at Sharon's overly embarrassed reaction as he began to backtrack. "Right. Okay. Fine. Now that's all straightened out I'll get out of your hair."

"Did you want anything specific Chief?" Sharon asked as she looked up for the first time extremely unamused.

Taylor straightened his tie while he took a step closer to Sharon as if what he was about to say was a state secret. "It was just a heads up to let you know I had a meeting with Jack this morning and he might be wandering the halls but that seems a little redundant now" he said in as lower register as he was capable.

"Chief that is the understatement of the century" she replied as she stared at her ex-husband with piercing eyes.

Taylor turned to face Jack. "And how good of you Jack to be early."

Jack simply smiled at Sharon. "What a serendipitous event indeed. Who doesn't enjoy an early morning show?" he said loudly and he gestured towards Sharon and Andy with his briefcase.

"Don't you have a meeting?" Andy asked with more than a touch of venom in his voice as he rose out of his seat once more. Sharon immediately put her hand on his shoulder and subtly shook her head. The last thing she needed was Andy to get into a slanging match with Jack on top of everything else that had happened in the last five minutes. Andy looked Sharon in the eyes and as if by magic started to calm down and returned to his seat. He smiled at her and put another forkful of fruit into his mouth before leaning back in his seat and blocking Jack from his line of sight.

Sensing the agitation in the room Taylor was eager to forget this conversation had ever happened and get Jack into his office before he antagonised them further. He put his hand on Jack's shoulder and tried to gently encourage him towards the door. "Yes. Indeed. Jack if you'd like to follow me." Taylor signalled for Jack to follow him and made his way out of Major Crimes.

Jack just stood there for a moment in silence and looked around the room smiling. No one smiled back. "This is when I bid you all adieu. Nice to see you again Andy. Sharon." Jack smiled again and looked smug as he followed Taylor but despite the smile on his face his eyes gave away his true feelings. He was crushed, completely crushed. Regardless of how he had treated her he loved Sharon, he always had done but by his own admission he just didn't love her enough to stay sober, stop gambling and be faithful to her. He didn't love anyone that much, only himself. Deep down he had always hoped they would get back together, the length of their separation and fleeting passion filled encounters over the years had sought to that. Actually forget that, he didn't hope, he assumed. Jack assumed that one day he would win her back. Jack had a way with women but more importantly he had a way with Sharon. Given the right circumstances and appropriate gravelly growl to his voice he could make her putty in his hands and he was convinced that wouldn't happen if she didn't still love him too. Deep down in that frozen heart of hers she had to still love him too. She had to. You don't have two children and as many happy memories (although Sharon would certainly beg to differ about the latter) as they did without having a love that was incapable of withering and dying because of a few youthful indiscretions. When Jack told Rusty two years ago that he knew Sharon would check up on what he'd said to Ricky and Emily on the phone because she was 'Crazy about me' he meant it. He genuinely thought that one day Sharon would come running back into his arms under her own volition. His hopes were never dashed because any dating Sharon did was kept private and more times than she liked to admit she had fallen back into bed with him. He became her bad habit, like someone trying to give up smoking only Jack did far more damage to Sharon than a lifetime of cigarettes ever could. Even after their divorce Jack still maintained hope especially as she divorced him over adopting Rusty and not because of anyone she was dating. But now she truly had moved on. When Emily first told him Sharon had started dating Andy Flynn he couldn't believe his ears. Jack had assumed that if Sharon did start dating again she would at least trade up a little but he was so similar to Andy it was like Sharon was replacing him with a carbon copy. That's what hurt the most. But Sharon took her relationships slowly, Jack knew that from personal experience and Emily frequently (and unintentionally) informed on Sharon to her father so Jack knew that once again she was dragging her feet. After Andy's accident Emily had let it slip that Andy was sleeping in Rusty's bedroom so Jack knew they weren't yet sleeping together. If they had slept together then surely Andy would have shared her bed while he recovered so she could keep an eye on his since he needed round the clock supervision rather than putting him at risk during the night and putting Rusty out. The fact that they hadn't been intimate at that point wasn't a surprise to Jack but once again it gave him hope that it wasn't as serious as he initially feared and he still might be able to win her back. Now just a few weeks later they clearly had slept together which meant it was more than serious. It probably meant that she loved him. Jack had dated since the divorce. He'd dated a lot. He was never short of company in truth. He was currently seeing a beautiful young lady from the South of France but there was just one problem with her, she wasn't Sharon.

As Jack's footsteps faded into the background Provenza wheeled his chair past Amy to make sure he had really gone. Satisfied that both Taylor and Jack had departed he pushed himself back to his desk before surveying the room. It was like he was at a child's birthday party and everyone was currently taking part in a game of musical statues. The murder room remained silent with no one really sure what to say. Sharon put her head back in her hands while Andy put his head on his desk. Not only was Sharon embarrassed that everyone now knew she'd assaulted Andy in her sleep but they'd also caught them both in a lie and forced a very public trial and confession. In the great scheme of things it was no big deal but Sharon just needed a moment to stop being mortified and hoped by the time she looked up everyone would be back hard at work and not staring at her.

While the rest of the squad tried not to stare Provenza continued to rock back and forth in his chair until he suddenly said "I'll be honest Captain that could have gone worse."

Sharon and Andy both immediately looked at him gobsmacked. "How?" Sharon asked bemused although she greatly appreciated his support in the matter.

Provenza shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. I was just trying to be nice." Provenza picked up his pen and returned his attention back to his paperwork.

Mike and Julio laughed before Andy said "Why break the habit of a lifetime?"

Sharon's head returned to her hands as the sound of high heels walking her way could be heard. Sharon didn't look up but closed her eyes instead. "Good morning everyone." Angela said as she headed straight for Sharon's office. Once again like spotting Jesus riding a dinosaur in the corner of the room her attention was immediately drawn to Andy's face and her mouth dropped open. "Oh my God Lieutenant what happened?"

Suddenly Sharon stood up. "I did it. I did it. I elbowed him in the eye in the middle of the night" she said as she gestured wildly. "I rolled over in bed and forgot he was there. Is everyone happy now?" Sharon thumped back down on Andy's desk again and put her head in one hand while the other pressed flat onto his desk.

Andrea looked stunned, not by what Sharon had said although that certainly warranted more details in private (and potentially juicy details at that if she could wangle them out her notoriously private friend), but how she said it. "Have I missed something?" Andrea said as she looked about the room with a bewildered expression on her face.

Again the murder room fell silent. It wasn't their place for the rest of the division to say anything and Sharon and Andy were currently too busy waiting for the ground to swallow them up to answer. With Sharon's hand pressed flat on the desk Andy slowly moved his towards it and gently rubbed her fingers. Sharon briefly thought about moving her hand away but it seemed a little redundant at this point. Sharon moved Andy's fingers off her own before intertwining them together tightly and sighing. As she laced their hands together at work, in front of the rest of the division the world did not end. Sharon then finally realised that as long as it wasn't more than a peck on the lips and as long as it didn't happen in an interview room or in electronics or when they were actually working a case, who cares? Sharon looked towards the ceiling for a moment. In was the tiniest gesture but she saw this small contact between their fingers as a major step forward.

As the silence continued Amy looked ready to burst. She currently felt conflicted. She desperately wanted to laugh at Andy. Like the rest of the division Andy had been merciless in the fun he'd poked at her following the revelation that she was dating Cooper. Amy was also positive Andy had telephoned the florist as well to find out who her mystery date was before she told them about Cooper. Now Andy had been assaulted in the middle of the night by his girlfriend. If it hadn't been for the fact that his girlfriend was also her Captain she would have been laughing long and laughing loud in his face. She also desperately wanted to put her arm around her Captain, the woman she wanted so badly to call her friend, and tell her it was no big deal. With the first option ruled out (until Andy was able to roll out with them again at least) she opted for the second. Without warning Amy suddenly stood up and walked towards Sharon. "You know Captain it's really nothing to be embarrassed about..."

"Sykes" Provenza said quickly.

"Yes?" she answered as she turned to face him.

"Sit down" Provenza said with bulging eyes as he gestured towards her desk.

"Sure thing Lieutenant." Amy moved quickly back to her desk, sat down and immediately started working again.

Sharon glanced at Provenza from the corner of her eye and met his. He smiled at her as best Provenza can smile. Sharon returned it grateful for his continued support. Andrea again looked about the room for some indication of what she'd just walked into. Finally Sharon sighed, looked at her and said "Can I help you Andrea?"

"We have a meeting. Trial prep?" Andrea held her bag and a stack of files in the air. "I'm actually late."

Sharon quickly did a double take before leaping off Andy's desk and heading into her office a little flustered. Sharon sat down behind her desk with Andrea following closely behind still looking confused before she closed the door and she sat down. As the door closed behind him Andy let out another frustrated sigh before he picked up another forkful of fruit and wiggled his mouse to make his computer screen come on. Andy looked up to survey the room and much to his surprise there weren't several pairs of eyes staring at him and laughing. Maybe that truly was the end of the discussion. Everybody looked hard at work but looks can be deceiving.

Once again silence fell over the room until "So your girlfriend elbowed you huh?" Provenza spoke like he was asking about the weather with all the emphasis on the word 'girlfriend' rather than 'Captain' while not taking his eyes off the paperwork on his desk for a second.

Andy looked up and saw everyone with their eyes down at their desks put with huge smiles on their faces. It was in this moment that he realised what was going on. The real interrogation was about to start but for the sake of their Captain everyone acted like they were working. Andy remained silent for a moment before quietly uttering "Three times."

"Holy crap!" Mike exclaimed as Julio could be heard sniggering. Andy glared at them both.

"Does she know she did it three times?" Buzz asked as he moved to the printer and retrieved a piece of paper. Before Andy could answer the familiar sound of Provenza's jar of nickels was heard rattling. As Buzz dropped his money in the jar Andy said "No and if anyone blabs they'll find my foot up their ass." Everyone smiled and tried to suppress their laughter as they continued to pretend they were working.

"Well that's what you get for dating the Captain" said Provenza jokingly before a grape flew across the room from Andy's direction and hit him on the head. Again a ripple of laughter echoed around the room as they kept their heads down should their Captain be looking their way.

"Each time in the face?" Amy asked.

Andy again paused before confessing. "No. First the eye. Then the ear. Then...well we should both be thankful that we're too old for any more children."

By now Mike was on the verge of tears he was laughing so much. Likewise Provenza had his head in his hands as he shook violently like a paint mixer and tried to hide his laughter. "If your girlfriend does this to you when she loves you Sir, don't ever piss her off" Julio said looking up for the first time. Once again it became clear that they were all speaking carefully (except Provenza) and making sure they referenced his 'girlfriend' rather than their 'Captain.'

Andy began to relax a little. "It's like sleeping next to a fish on a trawler deck" he said with genuine disbelief in his voice as he shook his head.

"I know that feeling. Sometimes it can take time to find your sleeping grove" Mike said as again he kept his eyes down so Sharon wouldn't know they were discussing her. "Cathy spent the first three months kicking me out of bed."

"Why what did you do?" asked Provenza looking up for the first time before eating the grape that had bounced off his head and landed by his bobble head.

"By accident. She was a kicker" added Mike as he proceeded to thrash his legs about like a toddler having a tantrum on a department store floor to demonstrate.

"Maria wanted whatever piece of the mattress I was lying on. I used to sleep at the end of the bed" said Julio with a beaming smile on his face. "I was more like her dog than her boyfriend in the beginning." Amy smiled at him as his dreamy smile quickly gave way to sorrow before he turned his attention back to Andy.

Suddenly Buzz piped up. "When I was in college..."

"Please Don Juan, spare us the details" Provenza said before Buzz had chance to go any further with his story. If he had been allowed to finish Buzz was going to tell them about his girlfriend at college. Her name was Sally and she suffered with night terrors, extreme night terrors. This was something she neglected to tell Buzz about before she shared a bed with him. Buzz woke up and thought a possessed Linda Blair lay next to him although he believed that people actually suffering from demonic possession surely didn't thrash that much. For nearly eight hours straight Buzz was punched, kicked and screamed at to the extent that he was pressed up against the wall all night to get away from her. He was never certain but Buzz was convinced he saw an imprint of himself on that wall the next morning as he left.

By now the pretend work had stopped as the conversation had moved away from Sharon and Andy and become more focused on the rest of the division. Amy began to swivel back and forth in her chair like an excited school girl. "Coop and I have never had a problem" she said with a superior smile on her face.

Provenza, Andy, Mike and Julio all looked at her amused before laughing. "According to you. I bet Cooper tells a different story" said Andy as everyone except Amy nodded in agreement. And Andy was right. Coop had never said a word to Amy about it but she liked to sleep with her arm and hand across his face. Although someone else's hand on your face while you sleep may not be a big deal it was no coincidence that Coop had multiple dreams about the 'Face Hugger' from _Alien_ in that time.

"It's always the women Sykes. One day you all woke up and decided the bed was your domain and us men should be grateful for whatever corner of the mattress we are permitted to sleep on" proclaimed Provenza as he leant back in his chair with his hands on his head.

"And Provenza's not just saying that because he's spent five marriages sleeping on the couch" Andy added before Provenza nodded in agreement.

All at once the division returned to work but Andy couldn't help but noticed the huge smiles across their faces as each one in their own way looked desperate to say something to him. Andy leant back in his chair and sighed. 'Might as well get it out of the way' he thought. "Come on then, let it out."

Provenza continued to look at the paperwork on his desk as he said "So Flynn...are you pressing charges?"

Mike swivelled around in his chair to face Andy and smiled. "Do you want us to take your girlfriend into Interview One? Read her her rights?"

Laughter again erupted in the room as Andy smiled in a very unimpressed manner. "Very funny. Are you done?"

"I think you have a good case. She did confess" Provenza added as he once again leant back to rock back and forth in his chair with his hands on his head.

"In a room full of LAPD detectives as well" Amy added.

Again laughter reverberated around the room as Julio's hand shot up in the air in characteristic fashion. "We'll all testify on your behalf. Well maybe not Sykes but the rest of us have known you longer Sir." Julio smiled at Amy before getting a glare in return.

Seizing his chance Buzz joined in. "We can get FID down here if you'd like."

Andy leant forward and pointed his finger at every member of the division. "Don't you guys dare say anything like this in front of Sharon."

Provenza immediately looked offended and threw his hands into the air. "What do you take us for? She's our Captain!"

Andy smiled with relief until Mike spoke up. "Besides we've seen the damage she can do." Again everyone laughed with even Andy's face erupting into a smile.

Indeed none of them would ever dare say anything to or in front of Sharon and it was for one simple reason: She was their Captain. She was and always would be their Captain. The way they spoke and interacted with her confirmed the respect they had for her. Julio moved her seat for her, Mike offered chairs, Buzz opened doors and Provenza...well Provenza tried his best to be civil as much as possible. It was all for their Captain who they respected...unlike Andy who had they respect for but was also one of the team and there to be made fun of it the occasion arose like everyone else in the division.

The laughter petered out in the room as everyone returned to work. Then suddenly "Have you thought of going to bed in a helmet?" Buzz asked again with a smile.

"A football helmet. The grill will protect your face" Mike pointed out.

Julio again raised his hand before he said "Or a hockey mask."

"But what about his other 'sensitive areas'?" Amy said as she not so subtly pointed towards Andy's crotch behind her hand.

"Hockey pads" Julio answered.

"Or one of those large inflatable sumo wrestler costumes!" Amy said bouncing up and down in her seat as if it was the best idea she'd ever had.

Provenza immediately started laughing. "I'm sure your girlfriend would love that! Nothing screams sexy like a 300 lb. inflatable man sliding into your bed."

"In all seriousness though Lieutenant there are support groups available you know. You're not alone" Buzz managed to say before laughing.

For a brief moment Provenza stopped himself from shaking with laughter to say "Sure there are lots of domestic abuse organisations. One of them is bound to take you in."

Then Mike provided the icing on the cake. "We're doing an abused spouse storyline on Badge this season. Maybe you should come on board as a technical advisor." And with that there wasn't a dry eye in the room as Provenza, Mike, Julio, Amy and Buzz fell about laughing. In truth it was more audible than it was visible as they all buried their faces in this hands and arms and tried to protect their Captain's feelings.

Andy just stared at them completely unimpressed and plotted laxatives in the coffee pot the next time they were rolled out without him. "You're all enjoying this aren't you?"

Provenza stood up and took a bow before sitting back down. "Oh I've been waiting for a moment like this for years" he said with an extremely large smile.

To Andy the laughter went on for an eternity. He wasn't so much bothered for himself, he fully expected it and he had dished out more than what he was currently receiving over the years. He just hoped that Andrea had Sharon suitably occupied so she didn't see them laughing even though they were laughing at him and not her. Eventually as the laughter subsided Amy wiped a tear away from her eye and asked "Have you taken anything Lieutenant?"

Andy gingerly pressed his eye with his finger. "No. Just iced it."

Amy opened her drawer and produced a box of paracetamol before throwing it on Andy's desk. "Here you go."

"Thanks Sykes" Andy said as he picked up the box. He then flipped it over and read the contents on the back. Once he'd read it and reread it he threw it across the room. "Provenza."

Provenza caught the box and like Andy proceeded to read the back. When he was done he said "Yep. Mike" before throwing the tiny box to Mike.

Like the gentleman before him Mike looked at the box on all sides before throwing it back to Andy. "All good."

This had become the ritual in the office when it came to Andy Flynn and painkillers. Andy trusted his own eyes but had got into the habit of asking Provenza to double check for opiates before he took anything. Again Provenza was also confident but liked Mike to have the last word because of his years at medical school. Andy removed two tablets from the box and a bottle of water from his desk drawer. By now everyone was back at work and after Andy had taken his tablets he looked up and said "You couldn't all just accept that I walked into a door?"

Provenza looked up. "Reserve Officer Watson aside we're an elite division of detectives Flynn, so no." Buzz glared at Provenza as Mike laughed quietly once more.

Andy sighed and looked over his shoulder to make sure Sharon was busy. As hoped she was staring intently at a file on her desk as Andrea spoke at length. Andy stood up with his bowl of fruit and knocked on the glass to Sharon's office. Sharon looked up as Andy pointed at her and then at the bowl of fruit in his hand. Sharon smiled before gesturing for him to come in. Andy opened the door and immediately felt Andrea's eyes on him and a smile on her face. He never saw her though. His eyes were fixed on Sharon as he tried not to smile. Andy placed the bowl of fruit on her desk and headed back to the door.

"Thank you Lieutenant" Sharon said as she tried not to look him in the eye before returning her attention to her file. As she studied the open paper she plucked a strawberry from the bowl and tucked in.

"Captain. Hobbs." Andy closed the door behind him and returned to his desk.

The moment Andy was out of the room Andrea smiled again and stared at Sharon but said nothing. Sensing she was being watched Sharon glanced up. "Lieutenant?" Andrea asked with more than a note of surprise to her voice.

"We're at work Andrea" Sharon said as her attention again moved to the file on her desk.

"I see" Andrea said as she continued to smile. She paused. "I take it that the circumstances surrounding that black eye mean things have finally progressed between the two of you?" she said quickly desperate to know the details as she leant forward.

"How does this relate to my impending court appearance?" Sharon glared at her from over the top of her glasses.

"It doesn't. I was just being nosy." Andrea again fell silent for a moment as she shuffled further forward in her chair. "So how was it? That good?"

"I am not discussing this" Sharon said calmly and returned her attention to the file on her desk. Andrea sat back in her seat and looked a little disappointed but if she was honest didn't expect any other response from Sharon even if they were off duty. Several bottles of wine would be needed to wheedle this information out of her. Andrea's smile returned when Sharon let out a very big, very loud yawn. Almost simultaneously she noticed Andy did exactly the same thing. Andrea coughed to stop herself from laughing as Sharon again peered at her from over the top of her glasses like a school principle preparing to chastise an unruly student. Once again Sharon's attention was drawn back to the open file on her desk but only briefly. Despite the attention she was giving the piece of paper before her, which she had been staring at for a good ten minutes now, nothing on it was sinking into her brain no matter how many times she read it. She was currently preoccupied. Too preoccupied. There was one thing on her mind and one thing only: Andy Flynn. He was all she could think about. His hands running up her body. His lips making their way down her neck. Whether her desk was strong enough to hold the both of them. Sharon immediately widen her eyes and blinked several times before shaking her head and tried to disperse that mental image. For some time she had been worried this would happen after she'd slept with him for the first time. She was desperate to avoid it, to avoid being distracted by him and seeing him differently once they'd kicked things up a gear and thus effecting her work. The first thing she needed to do was start calling him 'Lieutenant' again while at work. She needed that barrier. If anything was going to separate Andy from her Lieutenant that would be it except for the last 14 hours she'd found it so incredibly sexy every time Andy had called her 'Captain.' So a return to 'Captain' was out, maybe switching to 'Ma'am' like Julio would solve the problem. Then Sharon remembered something Andy said to her at precisely 4:57am and realised that 'Ma'am' was out too. Again Sharon shook her head and tried to concentrate before quickly concluding that if she couldn't focus on work soon then shutting the blinds and blocking him from her view would be her only recourse. As she tried to reread the ten lines on that page before Andrea started to wonder what was taking so long there was a loud knock on the door. Before she had chance to look up and answer Provenza was in her office holding his jacket.

"Forgive the interruption Captain. We've been called to a triple homicide in the hills" he said as he put his jacket on and nearly taking Andrea's head off in the process.

"Thank you Lieutenant. Keep me updated."

"Will do Captain."

Provenza left Sharon's office closing the door behind him. Sharon turned to see everyone except Andy leaping to their feet, grabbing what they needed and heading for the door. Andy on the other hand slowly plodded his way towards the printer. She knew it killed him to be confined to the office but at the end of the day it wasn't her decision to make. It was all down to his doctor and when she said it was okay for him to return to active duty she would gladly sign the paperwork despite her fears that he may get injured again.

As Sharon watched Andy she suddenly heard "Now will you tell me?" Sharon glared at Andrea once more before swivelling in her chair to face away from the window and Andy and reread that same piece of paper for the eighth time but this time hoping she would register what it said.

Andy waited by the printer as he watched the murder room empty. "Stay safe guys" he said as they filtered out.

"You too Lieutenant" Julio responded as he smiled and left. 'I walked right into the one' Andy thought to himself.

Unusually for him Provenza seemed to be dragging his feet before leaving. He signalled to Amy to wait for him outside before he slowly made his way over to Andy who was still waiting for his paperwork to finish printing. Provenza moved so that his back was facing his Captain and she would therefore be blocked from seeing what he was doing or saying. He buried his hands in his pockets and quietly said "I take it the circumstances of how you got that black eye might have been a result of that letter you had me hold on to?" Provenza really didn't want the details but he wanted to know. He wanted to know if his friend was happy.

Andy didn't respond instead he collected his paperwork from the printer before slotting a nickel into the jar on Provenza's desk as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye. It was enough for Provenza, he knew. The fact that Andy had suddenly gone quiet told Provenza all he needed to know. For both of them a serious relationship was a big deal and the more serious it became the quieter they became about it. Picking up a blonde half their age in a bar on a Friday night was something to brag and to share stories about. Finding the love of your life was something you kept to yourself. They were both the same in this regard. Andy had no idea that Provenza was dating Patrice until she arrived in the murder room prior to their aborted trip to Laguna Beach. Provenza only got chatty when he tried to sabotage his own relationship as it got serious.

Provenza gave Andy a small smile. "Does she feel the same?" he asked quietly.

Andy remained silent but put another nickel in the jar as the faintest smile appeared on his face. Provenza smiled in return and moved to stand in front of him. Making sure his Captain wouldn't be able to see Provenza put out his hand. Andy took it gladly and shook it as the biggest smile erupted on his face that Provenza had ever seen.

Provenza rolled his eyes. "Ye Gods!" was all he would muster as he left the murder room.


	7. Chapter 7

_Thank you so much for the surprising and frankly overwhelming response to my last chapter. I didn't like it, apparent a lot of you did. Thank you monketytoez17, leveragus, ClemsonTiger, Sirabella, MCTVFan, GrammyIda, Maxi97, Sue Baker, Darlene Graczyk, joyaganguly, PatryTrusky, rrharr87 and the two Guests for your very kind reviews. Thanks froggy62 for not only reading and reviewing it once but twice! Also thanks to Anna9999, VMLOV83 and rrharr87 for favouriting my twaddle and for MAGirl2007, theoofoof and villanuevan1937 for following along. Finally thanks to mismatchedsocks and CorineMaitlandW for getting in touch via Twitter._

 _All reviews are greatly received no matter if they are good, bad or indifferent. If you read it please review so I know I'm not wasting my time when I really should be at work instead. Alternatively you can get in touch with me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _When I finished the first draft of this chapter it was by far my favourite, especially the second half, but by the time I finished tinkering with it, it was well over 20,000 words. I decided this was too long so opted to split it in two, right down the middle and then add to it (which you'll notice by the final line that there is clearly more to come). I've now been left with two chapters which are both over 14,000 words long. I was going to wait until Friday to post this chapter but there's a chance there might be a slight overlap with tonight's episode so I'll post it now (potential errors as a result and all!). Chapter eight, which is my favourite thing I've ever written (and I wrote a lot at university), will be posted next Friday._

 _Like I said it's another long one so get comfy. This chapter picks up about four hours after the last one ended._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Seven**

After the start that it had it had been a relatively quiet day on the whole for Major Crimes. The triple homicide that the division rolled out to in the Hills that morning turned out to be a double murder suicide involving a father and two young children which although horrific for everyone connected with the case and with Amy and Julio struggling in particular at a quite horrendous and grisly crime scene it didn't require the kind of attention and leg work other cases sought. As per Chief Taylor's instructions it was soon passed down the chain and paperwork once again became the sole focus for the rest of the day as they waited patiently for their next roll out. Sharon was kept up to date by Provenza while the division was at the scene and had quickly concluded that the squad was going to require handling with kid gloves upon their return. With lunchtime fast approaching as her team returned to base Sharon asked Andy to order in a couple of pizzas as a distraction and a boost following what they'd just witnessed. With shoulders slunk down as one by one they plodded back into the murder room, the mood was lifted slightly as the food from their Captain was greatly received and gobbled down with Sharon joining them during their meal. Sharon hovered with her slice in the middle of the murder room as one topic of conversation occupied them: Provenza's latest upcoming wedding.

Amy grabbed a slice of pizza and sat down at her desk. "How many is this now?" she asked Provenza before taking a huge bite.

"Weddings or wives?" Andy questioned as Mike and Julio immediately laughed. Provenza had more weddings then they'd had vacations combined.

"There's a difference?" Amy asked.

"He's not known as the Henry VIII of the LAPD for no reason Sykes" Andy added as Sharon turned towards him to smile and hide her laughter from Provenza.

Provenza glared at Andy before turning to Amy and smiling proudly like it was his life's crowning achievement. "Fifth wife. Sixth marriage."

Amy's eyes widened. She knew the number was fairly high and that Provenza had been married a couple of times before but six weddings? Six? The grumpiest man she'd ever met was about to be married for the sixth time and none of them, not even one, were mail order brides? "That's….surprising" she finally said hoping it didn't sound offensive.

Buzz was quick to respond to Amy. "What that he would get married six times or that one woman would make the same mistake twice?"

Provenza shot daggers at Buzz as laughter reverberated around the room. "Captain does he have to be here?" he asked as he nodded towards Buzz. "I mean anyone can hold a camera."

"You can't" Buzz retorted.

Sharon laughed as she finally gravitated towards Andy's desk and sat down on the edge of it. Andy was quick to stand, offer Sharon his chair and take up the spot she previously occupied on the edge. Andy was nothing if not chivalrous and it was as close as they had currently come during the course of their relationship to actually having lunch together while at work. As they switched places no one battered an eyelid at this sudden mixture of business and personal in the work place. It was suddenly as normal a sight as their Captain giving Andy an order. It was almost as if the events of the morning, as awkward and embarrassing as they were, had enabled everyone, Sharon and Andy in particular, to relax about the situation. Work hadn't been and wouldn't ever be affected so there was no need to hide it especially during those rare moments at work when they could sit together and enjoy each other's company amongst the group.

"So what are you going for this time?" Mike asked.

Provenza leant back in his seat and raised his hands in the air. "I want to go big this time. Flowers, doves, swing band, kids dressed as angels, the whole nine yards."

Silence descended on the murder room as amused and surprised expressions were exchanged. "Kids dressed as angels?" Andy finally asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah" Provenza said proudly.

"You don't think that's a little….weird?" Andy asked. The looks on the faces of the rest of the division confirmed Andy's point. A man who had entered his 70s wanting children dressed as angels running around at his wedding and his sixth at that? No matter where you're from or what language you speak, that's weird.

"Is Patrice on board with this big wedding idea?" Sharon asked quickly before her second in command could burn holes in his (and her) partner with his eyes.

"No" Provenza replied grumpily as he wiped his mouth. "If she gets her way we'll be doing it over the road in my lunch hour." The room was suddenly filled with laughter as Provenza looked around confused. "What's so funny?"

"Knowing you like we do, we'd all just assume it was the other way around" Buzz explained.

"It's not that surprising when you think about it really" Sharon offered as she moved Andy's chair forward so she was now sitting level with him on his desk and facing the room. "I imagine Patrice's family still aren't particularly thrilled that she's marrying the man who helped arrest her Granddaughter." Sharon was right and no one could blame Patrice's family for their reservations really because it was certainly a stumbling block but if Patrice could see past it and love the man who was just doing his job and the right thing after all, why couldn't they?

Julio's hand shot up before he swivelled around in his chair to face Provenza. "If I were you Sir I'd just be grateful she agreed to marry you in the first place."

A loud "Ha!" from Mike was ignored as Provenza focused on Julio. "And just for that you are uninvited" Provenza announced as he crossed a line off an imaginary list on the palm of his hand with his finger. Julio could do nothing but smile and laugh.

"Do you get reward points or some sort of frequent flyer miles for every wedding you have?" Buzz asked expecting a similar response.

Provenza smiled. "Oh look Sanchez you'll have company on my wedding day."

Already uninvited Buzz saw no reason to stop now besides which he was having far too much fun at Provenza's expense. "Is there a wedding planner in Los Angeles you haven't used yet?" he asked. Everyone immediately laughed but sadly for Sharon she laughed the longest and the loudest as everyone's attention was immediately drawn to her. Andy's smile beamed at her as Provenza's eyes bulged.

"Captain? You think that was funny?" Provenza asked a little perturbed.

Sharon covered her mouth with her hand as she battled not to laugh as she chewed. "Of course not Lieutenant. My lip just twitched slightly." Andy grinned from ear to ear as Sharon tried to compose herself while being put on the spot by his partner.

"Twitched?" he questioned as Sharon fought to control her laughter unlike everyone else who enjoyed it when their Captain found a moment to be relaxed and casual with them. "Well maybe you and your twitch will enjoy spending the day with Sanchez and Buzz and not at my wedding." Julio and Buzz smiled at her as she joined their club.

Andy leant down to Sharon and winked before he quite loudly told her "Don't worry you can be my plus one."

Provenza's response was immediate. "Oh Flynn, Flynn, Flynn! Siding with the enemy. You're also uninvited" he proclaimed loudly as he again crossed a line off his imaginary list.

"You're uninviting your best man?" Andy asked with pretend offence and disbelief.

Provenza wagged his finger. "With the speech you gave last time you were lucky you made the list in the first place. I am not spending another one of my wedding nights in bed with you!" Andy had hoped that Provenza had forgiven him in the intervening years but evidentially not. Provenza had not forgiven nor forgotten that night but then neither had Andy for that matter. It was pretty hard to forget the night you shared a bed with your partner and woke up to find him spooning up behind you with his arm draped around your midriff and blissfully humming in your ear. Andy immediately shouted 'Provenza! What the hell are you doing?!' and pushed him out of bed with his arms and legs flailing but that was not until after Provenza stirred slightly, called him 'My little sex pot' and kissed Andy on the back of the neck before both of them remembered where they were and that they were in fact in bed with each other. As Provenza picked himself up off the floor and frantically rubbed his lips with the back of his hand to get any remaining trace of Andy off them he made it abundantly clear that they were never going to speak of this again. And indeed they hadn't but that didn't erase the memory or stop Andy from flinching every time Provenza stood behind him just in case there was a repeat performance.

Incredibly amused expressions were shared between the rest of the division. This was a story they were not aware of before now. "Why did you share a bed with Lieutenant Flynn on your wedding night?" Julio asked as he laughed. Julio like the rest of the division, bar Amy, had seen some of the antics that Provenza and Flynn had got up to in the past in particular with members of the opposite sex. He knew the trouble they frequently found themselves in (often unintentionally) but even so this was a surprise.

Provenza scowled at Andy as he smiled back almost taunting him. If looks could kill Andy would shortly be having a tag fitted to his toe and be making an appointment to see Dr Morales. After hearing that exact story on her way to work that very morning Sharon shook her head at Julio before Provenza could say anymore and said "Don't ask."

Provenza all but had steam coming out of his ears as he looked between Andy and Sharon and back again like he was watching a game of tennis at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. "You told the Captain?!" Provenza was apoplectic in his response. In truth it was more of an act than serious fury but still he couldn't believe one of his more embarrassing secrets had been shared with his commanding officer.

Andy shrugged his shoulders with a rather blasé attitude and smiled. "Sure I did. She's my girlfriend. I tell her everything." Sharon immediately blushed as Andy used the word 'girlfriend' at work in front of the squad. She didn't know why but she suddenly felt ten foot tall. Meanwhile Provenza currently felt like he wanted to die and take Flynn with him.

"You told her I kissed your neck?!" Provenza shouted as he stood up and slammed his fists onto his desk. He was truly mad by this point but not as mad as he was about to be with himself.

The murder room was filled with uncontrollable laughter as Provenza gave Andy a withering look. Sharon hid her face in Andy's back so Provenza wouldn't see her shaking with laughter as Andy looked to the heavens. "No I didn't tell her that but you just did you knucklehead."

Provenza looked aghast as he sat back down in his chair. He pulled his napkin from his shirt front and covered his face with it as he waited for lightening to hit him and end his suffering once and for all. By this point Mike was crying with laughter. He was shocked that for all the years he'd known both of them he'd never heard this story. "You kissed his neck? Why?" he asked as he removed his glasses and wiped his eyes.

"I forgot where I was! It was my wedding night! Ye Gods!" Provenza shouted from behind his hands.

Andy simpered at Sharon before grinning at Provenza. "Provenza if it's any consolation you were a very gentle and generous lover." Again laughter erupted around the room as Provenza continued to hide his face.

Sharon continued to violently laugh into the side of Andy's jacket. She would normally keep quiet in situations such as this but simply couldn't help herself. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand Sharon said "I had no idea you were my competition Lieutenant."

The only sound was laughter as Provenza plotted the death of everyone in his line of sight. He was never going to live this down. 'Kissed Andy Flynn's Neck' would probably be chiselled on his tombstone. "Time to change the subject" he announced with great authority.

"Like you were so quick to change the subject this morning?" Andy stated quite rightly.

"That's different. It's not every day you discover Rocky is your commanding officer."

Again laughter reverberated around the room but it was a lot quieter as they battled not to make their Captain feel awkward. By this point however even Sharon could afford a small smile at her 4am assault on Andy but she'd still rather the conversation didn't go any further while at PAB.

Sensing just the slightest shift in awkwardness in the room Mike was quick to change the subject and cleared his throat. "What exactly do I need to say to get my name crossed off?" he asked Provenza hopefully.

Provenza narrowed his eyes before smiling. "Just for that you're now top of my list and it's written in permanent ink." Provenza's words made Mike's head land on his desk with a thud. "Have you got anything to say Sykes?"

Amy swivelled back and forth in her chair and smiled. "Not me Lieutenant. I'm really looking forward to it."

General chit chat (including Amy's Christmas plans with Chuck and how Mike and Cathy were dealing with their 'tuition shock' now that all of their boys were in college at the same time) filled the room for the rest of the meal as everyone battled to not laugh at the sulking Provenza who couldn't quite believe that everyone now knew one of his more embarrassing moments. With lunch over and everyone except Mike and Amy crossed off the list of invitees to the wedding Sharon went back to her office. She had closed the blinds earlier that morning shortly after Hobbs left so that she could get some work done without any distractions and by distractions she meant specifically staring at Andy and the ever prominent memory of what she'd recently discovered he could do with his tongue. Four times during the day she was overheard muttering 'Work, work, work!' to herself as she tried to concentrate and not think about the man seated just a few feet away from her. Sharon was determined to not let this new change in her relationship with Andy effect work so if she had to keep her blinds closed and talk to herself like she was a sandwich short of a picnic then so be it, whatever worked.

The main highlight of the working day came much later and again involved Provenza who was quickly having a day to forget when he elected to shred some personal files he had brought to PAB from home. No one would have thought much of it had Provenza not made a point of telling Julio and Amy that it was 'None of your business' when they enquired what he had in that large box that needed to be destroyed so thoroughly. The commotion naturally caught Andy's attention and following the abuse he had taken most of the day about his black eye he took it upon himself to discover what Provenza was really up to. Provenza's defensive manoeuvres to stop Andy from reading the document being eviscerated ultimately ended with his tie getting caught in the shredder. His nose was inches from the sharp teeth in the box mounted on his desk before he relented and let Buzz cut his tie for him but only after Buzz was added back onto the list of those invited to the wedding.

As the clock ticked around to 6pm Major Crimes started to empty for the evening. Julio, Amy and Buzz were the first to leave while Mike was preoccupied with a job he'd started that related to Badge of Justice and Provenza dragged his feet because Patrice had invited a friend over for the evening. A friend who insisted on calling him 'Louie Pouie' and who (he thought although Andy had told him he was crazy on multiple occasions) kept touching him in inappropriate places on his body whenever Patrice left the room. Andy was all set to leave and go to his meeting but desperately wanted some clarification first from Sharon before he left. He swivelled around in his chair and saw Sharon sitting behind her desk with her head down writing something in an open file. She had opened her blinds about an hour earlier after finally being able to concentrate following a third cup of tea in an hour and some very stern words with herself about 'professionalism' in the bathroom mirror (a conversation that was more than necessary with herself after Andy spent the hour after lunch with a toothpick hanging out of his mouth and if it wasn't the damn sexiest thing she'd ever laid eyes on). Andy rose from his seat and quietly tapped on the window to get her attention. Sharon looked up and smiled and immediately gestured for him to come in. Andy entered and closed the door behind him.

"Hey" he said as he put his hands deep in his pockets. This was an immediate and obvious indication to Sharon that he felt a little nervous and uncomfortable.

"Hey yourself. Are you leaving?"

Andy hovered by the vacant chairs in front of Sharon's desk. "Yeah I was just about to head off to my meeting but I wanted a quick word first."

"Sounds serious." Sharon moved to the front of her desk and sat on the edge, careful to avoid the Christmas stars adorning it.

"No not really. I just wanted to make sure it's still okay for me to stay with you tonight." Again Andy sounded slightly nervous. Sharon had no idea why. It wasn't like anything had changed during the course of the day but it was obvious this slight nervousness was a result of Andy being kept at arm's length and on the back foot throughout their relationship thus far. Andy just wasn't sure of himself with Sharon and wasn't prepared to take anything for granted.

"Of course it is" Sharon said with a tone full of warmth as she took Andy's hand and stroked the back of it with her thumb. "Can you wait a minute and we can walk down together?"

Now reassured Andy's filthy smile instantly erupted onto his face. Sharon tried desperately to ignore it since they were still at work but it was always going to be a mammoth task. She sighed to herself. This man was going to cause her trouble and she loved it. "It's a date" he said squeezing her hand and leaving her office.

Andy returned to his desk to retrieve his jacket and car keys. While Sharon finished clearing her desk for the evening Andy made his way over to Provenza and killed the time. A couple of minutes later Sharon emerged from her office and for the second night running she and Andy left the murder room hand in hand and headed to the parking garage. They would leave together but ultimately head off in different directions as Andy went to his meeting and Sharon went to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner.

Regardless of the fact they were leaving separately Andy still held her hand as he walked Sharon to her car, an opportunity he never missed. After she unlocked it with the key fob Andy immediately opened the door for her with a smile, trapping himself between the door, the wall of the garage and her car. Andy waited behind the open door as Sharon moved into the gap. With the door between them she leant in and closed the divide between their lips, her hands cupping his face as Andy kept his on the top of the door.

When they pulled apart they smiled at each other, their lips now temporarily satisfied with this brief contact after spending all day apart. "Provenza was right, today could have gone a lot worse" Andy said with a smirk. He was glad the day was over not least because it meant he would soon be heading off to spend the evening with Sharon. On the whole it had been a rough day and Andy had taken his fair share of abuse and taunting until Provenza thankfully distracted everyone with his surprise confession about his last wedding night.

Sharon shook her head before placing it on his shoulder. "Next time let me put make up on it."

"There's going to be a next time?" Andy asked as he hid behind the door and laughed. As he stood back up Sharon grabbed hold of his tie and pulled him towards her as their lips met again.

As Sharon pulled away and held Andy's tie Darth Raydor put in an appearance despite the twinkle in her eyes. "It depends if you step out of line or not."

"Yes ma'am" Andy said, saluting her before kissing her once more on the lips.

Sharon sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I never know what to say at this point. Have a nice meeting?" she asked with an uncertain smile.

Andy frowned and shook his head. His AA meetings weren't nice. Sometimes they were downright horrific as he listened to others share their stories. His meetings were something that he had to attend and get through to stay sober and wanted Sharon to stay as far from as possible. "How about 'I'll see you later'?" he suggested.

"Fine" Sharon said with a glow before quickly kissing him once more. "I'll see you later." Sharon climbed into her car before Andy shut the door behind her.

Andy waved through the glass before setting off to his own car parked a couple of rows behind. As he approached his car Andy could see a brown paper bag sitting on the hood. He immediately looked around to see if there was anyone else in the vicinity as he eyed this object with vast quantities of suspicion. Ordinarily a brown paper bag on the hood of your car is no threat but Andy was a detective and there were far too many people in the world who might be looking in his direction for retribution and he still had the scars to prove it. Instinctively his hand gravitated to the gun on his hip as he cautiously approached this dubious item. Closer proximity allowed Andy to catch sight of a Post-It Note positioned at the top of the bag which simply read 'Thought you might need this. Julio.' Andy's hand released his gun before he peered into the bag and smiled. Laughing to himself Andy picked up the bag and climbed into his car.

Although she set off before Andy, Sharon soon found herself driving behind him as they left PAB. A few minutes later with Andy wanting to turn left and Sharon heading straight on their cars came to a stop side by side at a set of lights at an intersection. As they waited Sharon turned to smile at Andy and hoped to see his beautiful smile flashing back at her but his head was hanging down as he appeared to be looking at something in his lap. Sharon quickly pondered what on earth he could be doing. She hoped he knew they were currently side by side because she'd seen far too many men do far too many unseemly and vile things while their cars were stationary at a set of lights over the years. The picking of noses being top of the list of horrors. The picking of teeth and then eating what they found. Then there was the time she was on patrol early on in her career and saw a man actually vomit into his own lap at a set of lights. She naturally pulled him over immediately and not surprisingly he was three times over the legal limit, a fact that was indisputable even before he vomited on her shoes and wet himself. Sharon was just about to look away in case she saw a side of Andy she really didn't want to see when her cell phone started to ring. Sharon pulled it from her pocket and smiled as 'Andy' flashed up on the screen. The first time she really admitted to herself that she was in this relationship for the long haul and she desperately wanted it to work came after their third date when she arrived home after a perfect meal in Westwood, went into her contacts on her phone and switched his name from 'Lieutenant Flynn' to 'Andy' (although several days later Gavin got hold of her cell and changed it to 'Andy with the Big Feet'). Sharon popped her earbud in her ear and swiped to answer her cell.

"Hello" she said with a smile as she turned to face him.

Andy grinned back as he opted for the speakerphone and held his phone up to his mouth. "Do you have anything you'd like to blurt out today?"

Sharon looked around at the buildings by the intersection and realised that they were probably in the exact spot they were just 24 hours earlier when she suddenly blurted out her first 'I love you' to Andy. Sharon laughed. "Yes. I do actually."

"What?"

"Your lights on green."

No sooner were the words out of Sharon's mouth then several car horns started to blast from behind as Andy blocked the road. Sharon laughed as Andy turned the corner and disappeared down the street. When Sharon stopped laughing Andy brought his phone closer to his mouth and said "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you later" Sharon replied before hanging up her phone and driving off herself.

Seconds after Andy had hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket it started ringing again. He took it out expecting to see Sharon's name written across his screen so was surprised to see the name 'Nicole' staring back at him. He smiled as he swiped to answer, put it on speaker and brought it up to his face.

"Hey Dad" came the familiar voice from his daughter with a tone a million miles away from how she addressed him just five years ago.

"Hi sweetheart. How are you?"

"I'm good Dad. I'm good. Are you okay to talk? I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Since she had called him in the summer of 2013 and heard 'Ye Gods Flynn you've just kicked the head' being screamed in the background Nicole always felt the need to ask that question immediately before going any further.

"No I'm just driving to a meeting."

The change in tone of Nicole's voice was instant. She was immediately worried and she let it show. Since he became sober she had made it her business to know exactly when her father went to an AA meeting, even more so after she started to see him more after her wedding and meeting Sharon. "Why? What's wrong? I thought you went on Tuesdays."

"Nothing's wrong" Andy said quickly. "I skipped it last night because Sharon had a crappy day and I wanted to take her home and get her something to eat."

"Ow Dad. That's so sweet." Andy could sense the 'adorable' word on the horizon. He assumed it was an age thing. When he was dating his ex-wife he was never called 'adorable' but now suddenly in his 60s that's all anyone ever called him when they referenced him and his new lady love. "You pair are so adorable!" Andy rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. "Actually Sharon is why I'm calling."

"Okay" Andy said puzzled. His immediate worry was that Nicole wanted another private chat with Sharon like she did a little over twelve months ago. Although this time he certainly wasn't misleading Nicole about what was going on between them the idea of his daughter and his girlfriend having a private chat about him was enough to put him on edge.

"You are really together now aren't you? This isn't another 'misunderstanding' is it?"

Andy rolled his eyes again but fell short of banging his head on his steering wheel out of sheer frustration. How long would it take for him to live that down? "Yes we're together."

"Really?" Nicole asked tentatively.

"Do you want to call her and ask if you don't trust me?" Andy said with huge amounts of irritation in his voice, something he desperately tried to avoid when speaking to his children.

"No Dad it's not that I don't trust you I just wanted to check in case I put my foot in it" Nicole said quickly as she backtracked. "I was calling to invite you over for Christmas dinner and obviously if they have no other plans Sharon and Rusty as well. We'd love to have the three of you here."

Andy smiled from ear to ear. This would be the third year in a row that he would be invited around to spend Christmas with his family. Ten years ago this was something he could only dream of as he was restricted to drive by 'Hellos' and a microwave dinner for one alone or worse two day old pizza with an incredibly grumpy Provenza. "That sounds wonderful sweetheart but I'll need to check with Sharon first." If he was honest he'd not actually thought about what was going to happen at Christmas. He'd hoped he'd be spending it with Sharon but he really wasn't sure what her plans were and if she was intending to spend it with her children, he didn't want to interfere.

"Of course, of course. I know it's a little short notice. Ask her and let me know. If she's already made arrangements don't worry about it and we can find another day to see each other over the holidays. Maybe come over for drinks one night? Anyway, ask her and let me know. Well I'll leave you to your meeting. I love you Dad."

"I love you too."

"Bye."

"Bye sweetheart."

Andy hung up his phone and slid it back into his pocket. As he returned both hands to his steering wheel he rested his head back and smiled. Nicole's invitation was the icing on the cake following the best 24 hours of his life. He was heading to a meeting that he knew would be full of people struggling and yet here he was on top of the world. Even the saddest 'qualification' would struggle to bring him down from cloud nine at the moment. At least he could contribute today with one simple and candid statement: the programme works. One day at a time. That's it, one day at a time and that's exactly how he had taken his life since he hit rock bottom and bounced (several times at that). One day at a time and now look at him, the happiest he'd ever been in his life.

With Andy at his meeting Sharon went straight to the grocery store to get the three of them something to eat upon his return. Sharon didn't cook usually. It was a very rare sight so much so that Rusty once asked why she bothered to own an oven at all (with the answer being Christmas cookies obviously). More often than not (in some part because of her irregular and unpredictable working hours) she and Rusty would either head out to eat or order in. Andy on the other hand loved to cook and she enjoyed more and more going to his house and have him cook something from scratch. On this particular night though Sharon wanted to make an effort and have something that she'd cooked ready for Andy when he returned from his meeting. If Rusty was at home when Andy came over for dinner Sharon had to walk a tightrope of dietary requirements. Andy was an occasional vegetarian out of choice mainly for health reasons with him sticking to it more often than not but he would sometimes eat meat. For example he was desperate to get his hands on the turkey the division had brought him in the hospital on Thanksgiving and when he missed out on it Sharon cooked another a week later when he returned to her condo for his recovery. When Andy finally got his hands on that beautifully cooked turkey he made a noise that Sharon had never heard him make before and wouldn't hear again until she finally invited him into her bedroom. Aside from turkey during the holidays, since he'd adopted his healthier lifestyle Andy had fallen into the habit of devouring meat whenever he felt a little run down. Rusty on the other hand was all about food he could eat with his hands and that meant specifically burgers and pizza and not 'Andy's weird goat pellets' (it was tofu mince and delicious by the way). To appease both the men in her life Sharon opted to cook them some burgers with a pack of turkey burgers and a pack of tofu burgers for Andy to choose from although she was going to try very hard to push him towards a regular old hamburger considering how run down he currently was. When she arrived home Sharon got everything ready bar cooking the actual burgers as she waited for Andy to arrive and make his choice.

Before long there was a knock on the door and with Sharon busy slicing the tomatoes Rusty jumped up from the couch to answer. It was a sign of how their relationship had improved over the last couple of months because for once Rusty was actually pleased Andy would be joining them even though a large part of that was because they still had a chess match to finish and he had the perfect forfeit lined up for Andy to do when he inevitably beat him. When Rusty opened the door he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Andy's eye (which he thought actually looked a little better than that morning) but that soon subsided when he noticed the large black gym bag in his hand and suits hanging over his shoulder as he battled to avoid crushing a bunch of red roses under his arm. To Rusty it looked like Andy was moving in, without warning, without it even being discussed with him first. In truth he realised it wasn't his decision to make but Rusty hoped he and Sharon had the kind of relationship where he would at least be part of the discussion before any decisions were made. But here Andy was, with several days' worth of clothes. It was as sudden as his mother moving Gary into their tiny apartment. That happened without warning and the consequences were all too severe as a result. In her haste to get home and get dinner started Sharon had simply neglected to inform Rusty that Andy would be staying for a couple of days until they had chance to clean his kitchen so you could safely enter without gagging. There was no malice or hidden motives in Sharon's actions. It was simply an oversight but Rusty's history made it hard to see any positives in the sight he saw before him.

"Hey" Rusty finally said as he held the door open.

"Hey kid" Andy replied as he struggled through the door. Placing his badge, gun and cuffs in their home on the table by the front door before quickly dumping his bag and suits by the couch, Andy put the roses behind his back.

Rusty stared after Andy decidedly unimpressed before allowing the door to slam. He felt childish as the noise vibrated through his body but he really didn't care at that moment in time. Rusty slumped down on the couch with his laptop as Andy made his way to the kitchen. Sharon looked up and beamed as he walked towards her. "For you" Andy simply said as he produced the flowers from behind his back.

Sharon kissed him quickly on the lips, again with Rusty in the room that was far as they were ever going to go. Rusty felt uncomfortable if they were too affectionate in his presence with good reason to be fair and since he had struggled to accept the idea of Sharon having a boyfriend in the first place they did everything they could to accommodate his feelings. There were exceptions to this rule however but they were rare to say the least. In fact without realising it Sharon and Andy had several levels to their displays of affection. At the bottom of the pile was how they behaved at work when Taylor was in the vicinity. On those occasions Sharon would hardly look Andy in the eye for fear of Taylor catching her and making a big deal of it. Although by Taylor's own admission they weren't breaking any rules and neither needed to transfer to a different division Sharon was not prepared to let the thought cross through Taylor's mind, a fact that was even more prominent after how he had leapt on the situation and questioned them that very morning. To Sharon it was vitally important that Andy not be forced into transferring. Aside from missing him if they were no longer able to work side by side day after day, she valued his presence in Major Crimes and the division would be a much poorer place without him. Following that was how they conducted themselves at work without Taylor breathing down their necks. Decorum and professionalism were the buzzwords as they did their best to act like their only relationship was Captain and Lieutenant unless the day was drawing to a close or a quiet couple of minutes presented themselves while they were alone. People may think that working with a partner is all romantic interludes or regular sex on a desk with the blinds closed but anyone who has ever worked with a spouse knows it's more 'Wait until we get home I'm busy' than 'Take me now big boy' regardless of age and occupation. Then there was how they behaved in front of Provenza. Provenza had many reservations about any potential dating his Captain might do with his partner but they slowly faded over the years and he was pleased in the end when they finally started to date. Even so Provenza didn't want to see it. After years of watching Andy moon over Sharon he'd had more than his fill. After a very slow start they were now always more affectionate with each other in front of Rusty but still that was restricted to the odd kiss, cuddle and holding of hands until he was completely accepting of Andy in his life. In reality other than being extra mindful of themselves Sharon and Andy behaved no differently in front of Rusty than any other new couple did in front of their children. Well any other new couple except Sharon Beck and whatever drunk she happened to bring home that day. More often than not the blatant fumbling on the couch while Rusty watched the television was interrupted by the cry of 'Rusty go to your room.' Rusty would then spend the rest of the day in his room with his fingers in his ears and a pillow on his head. With that kind of history it was no wonder Rusty felt uncomfortable and anxious when faced with affectionate behaviour. It was yet another issue Doctor Joe might need to discuss with him. In public Sharon and Andy pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable in regards to PDA. More recently kisses were longer, constant physical contact was the norm and Sharon often found herself with a handful of Andy's rear end as they walked along the beach or from the valet to a restaurant. But when they were alone, after five months of their relationship slowly simmering it had now come to the boil and was suddenly no holds barred.

As expected the majority of their displays of affection had been kept well out of sight of Rusty but on one occasion in particular as Andy prepared to leave the hospital for the final time it was completely unavoidable. While Rusty helped Andy pack his bag at the hospital in preparation for returning to Sharon's condo his facial expressions screamed volumes about the situation. He was delighted that Andy was better and that the anxious feeling he had been experiencing in the pit of his stomach when he was left in charge of monitoring him had gone but still he was less than happy. Watching his now Mom and her boyfriend make eyes at each other as they openly flirted made him incredibly uncomfortable. It wasn't that he thought Sharon should be denied a sex life but she was his Mom now and no one wants to think about their Mom having sex let alone a teenager, well maybe Norman Bates but no one else, no one normal at least. When Sharon sat him down and had the 'overnight guest' conversation with him he felt bad afterwards. He had given Sharon the completely wrong impression. He was happy for her. He wanted her to be happy and if Andy Flynn made her happy so be it (he's not the type of guy he would ever have picked but beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all) but just the thought of them together made him want to run to Doctor Joe for extra therapy sessions and seek advice on how to block out unwanted mental images. At that moment in time though Sharon and Andy hardly noticed Rusty was in the room let alone that he felt uncomfortable. Sharon was beyond thrilled that Andy was coming home and after a fight coming home with her. It wasn't just that he was out of danger and on the road to being completely healthy again it was that she'd missed him. She'd missed him a lot. It shocked her how used she'd become to having him in her home 24/7 and what a massive hole he left when he wasn't there.

With Rusty's deliberate and loud extending of Andy's case handle enough to brake the gaze between the two of them as 'Till death do them part' hung in the air and their lips were just about to come together and remind them it was time to go Sharon stood up and held out her hand for Andy.

"I don't need help" Andy said as he stood up without assistance albeit a little slowly. He hoped he didn't sound brusk but rather independent, manly and in control of his destiny once more. From this point on he was determined to ensure Sharon no longer saw him as her patient but rather her boyfriend again.

"I know" Sharon said as she grabbed his hand regardless and pulled him towards her. "I just wanted to hold it as I finally leave this place for the last time with you." As Andy smiled Rusty was quick to leave the room with Andy's bag and head off to the elevator to avoid the end of the conversation and any inevitable public displays of affection. Andy lowered his head and kissed Sharon very deeply on the lips as he let his free hand get lost in her hair. Sharon hummed quietly as they broke apart. Her smile glowed at him. "Let's go home" she said as she picked up the paperwork she had been working on for the hospital and led Andy from the room.

As they stepped foot into the corridor Rusty was nowhere to be seen but they both knew he'd be waiting for them by the elevator and fiddling with his phone. They slowly walked hand in hand down the long hall and to the nurses' station.

"All done?" asked the nurse as she took the clipboard off Sharon. "Take good care of him" she ordered with a smile. A twinge of awkwardness hung in the air as Andy looked between Sharon and this overly friendly nurse. The day after Andy's surgery was the first time he'd come into contact with this particular nurse during his current stay but it was not the first time they had met. Her name was Barbra and she was now in her 30s, blonde and had a body that looked like it had been carved out of marble, in other words exactly Andy Flynn's type or his former type before Sharon at any rate. The first time they met was the last time he was in hospital and came no more than five minutes after Chief Johnson told him 'You take care, and keep your hands off the nurses.' The moment she walked into his room his eyes lit up and the charm flowed, 30 stitches or no 30 stitches. In truth Barbra openly admitted she had a bit of a 'Florence Nightingale Complex' and fell in love with every patient with a smile and even an ounce of charm, something that Andy of course had in spades. She had agreed to go out on a date with him before she'd even had chance to check his vitals for his chart. They dated for about three weeks before Andy started to get better and she moved onto the next patient with a sad story and a black eye. Andy nearly suffered a heart attack when she walked into his room to once again check on his vitals. For the first thirty seconds he wondered if he was hallucinating and perhaps he'd been slipped some opiates into his IV after all. Barbra instantly recognised Andy and once again was immediately looking for love in all the wrong places. After she sat on the edge of his bed and asked him 'Why did we even break up anyway?' Andy shot her down gently and told Sharon all about it when she came to visit him later that afternoon. Andy felt he had no choice but to tell Sharon since they had dated and had in fact slept together before they broke up because he didn't want Sharon to think he was hiding things from her should it crop up in conversation somehow. In hindsight Andy could have phrased it better. His 'I may have slept with my nurse' had Sharon's heart sinking to the floor and her fist balling up to punch him before Andy quickly added 'It was nearly six years ago.' As Sharon calmed down she felt a little silly since Andy was recovering from surgery, still had a concussion and was dizzy if he even moved his head half an inch so could hardly raise an eyebrow much less anything else. Andy had never seen Sharon act jealous before as she made sure she had hold of Andy's hand every time Nurse Barbra put in an appearance when she was there like she was marking her territory. This was the first time (she was aware of anyway) that Sharon had bumped into one of Andy's former conquests. With Andy's reputation more than apparent to her Sharon had expected something like this to happen eventually and probably on more than one occasion but not when Andy was in such a prone position and in need of assistance to even go to the bathroom without falling over.

"Oh I plan to" Sharon replied as she squeezed Andy's hand and smiled up at him.

"Goodbye Andy. Despite the circumstances it's been lovely to see you again" Barbra said as she fluttered her eyelashes at him and ran a hand up to his shoulder.

Andy could sense Sharon's eyes narrowing next to him as Barbra laid a hand on him. He tried not to react even though a smile was bursting to spread across his face. "You too. Please don't take this the wrong way but considering where we keep meeting I hope I never see you again."

Barbra laughed before Sharon tightened her grip on Andy's hand. As Barbra removed her hand from Andy's shoulder Sharon's tinge of jealously morphed instantly into overwhelming gratitude. She turned to Barbra and with complete sincerity said "Thank you so much for everything."

"You're welcome. Bye"

"Bye" Andy said as he turned and led Sharon away and down the corridor.

As they slowly (for although Andy was steady on his feet once more and able to leave his speed was hardly going to break any records) walked hand in hand towards the elevator and the waiting Rusty, Andy kept glancing at Sharon and smiling. Sharon ignored him for as long as possible before relenting and asking the question she already knew the answer to. "What are you smirking at?" she asked hiding her own smile.

Andy brought Sharon's hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "Your eyes have never looked a more beautiful shade of green." Andy laughed to himself.

Sharon shook her head and took a chunk out of her bottom lip so she didn't laugh. "Oh shut up before I drop you off at the convalescence centre." Andy laughed again before letting go of her hand in favour of running it around her waist and pulling her close instead. He made no attempt to hide it, Andy loved that Sharon was a little bit jealous of Barbra. He more than loved it. To him it cemented his belief that Sharon might actually love him too although she'd currently not said as much but then again neither had he for that matter. Still he couldn't interpret her jealously in any other way and although he didn't want her to feel insecure about their relationship and his fidelity the prospect that she might love him too filled his heart with joy.

When they arrived at the elevator Rusty called it and kept his eyes on his phone the whole ride down so that he wouldn't have to witness the arms wrapped around each other and the loved up eyes from the suddenly incredibly affectionate couple he lived with. Stepping outside the hospital Andy took a deep breath of fresh air for the first time in ten days, well Los Angeles fresh but when you've been cooped up for nearly two weeks any lung full of fresh air will do even if it has a brown tinge.

Once in the car Rusty again focused on his phone in the back seat. Yes Sharon was driving but even so each stop light and tailback afforded the opportunity for hands or lips to come into contact with each other. Rusty couldn't blame them really, they had just been through a lot together and survived and to ask them to cut it out would simply be churlish but he didn't want a ringside seat for it even though he'd witnessed worse in his lifetime.

Since Andy had been surviving (and it really was surviving) on hospital food he was to choose what they were going to order in for dinner with Rusty holding a selection of takeout menus in the back of the car so the order could be placed on their way home. Andy was currently craving anything with a bit of flavour and specifically nothing with lumps (the powered potato and eggs served at the hospital were the stuff of nightmares). In the end he opted for Chinese and Rusty placed the order in the back of the car when they were close enough home to beat the food there.

Stepping out of the car Sharon immediately grabbed Andy's hand as they made their way to the elevator. Once in Sharon's condo Rusty was quick to head off to his, and now once again Andy's, bedroom. "I'll put your bag in my room" he said as he wheeled it behind him.

"I can do that kid" Andy replied as he made an attempt to grab the handle.

Rusty was quick to evade him and headed off to his room. "No it's fine. I got it."

Andy sighed. They'd only just walked through the door and he already felt mothered. But it wasn't just that, his letter to Sharon was in that bag. Provenza had been to see him the day before and while Sharon vanished from his room to get them all a cup of coffee, he had returned his letter. Andy wanted it back but not right there and then for fear that Sharon may stumble across it but Provenza was insistent. He didn't want the responsibility of holding on to it anymore. By the time Provenza had forced the letter into Andy's hand Sharon had returned with the coffee. What proceeded was an Abbott and Costello style farce as they each took it in turns to distract Sharon while the other one tried to hide the letter. At one point Andy made such a high pitched noise as Provenza inexplicably hid the letter in Sharon's purse that she was ready to start CPR on him herself while screaming for help. Sharon knew better than to question her two Lieutenants when they were acting oddly so chose to ignore whatever they were up to. When Sharon left him for the evening the debate began about where Andy could hide it away from prying eyes. If Sharon insisted on helping him unpack it could be discovered at any moment. After ruling out eating it because he wanted Sharon to have it eventually after all, Andy buried it at the bottom of his wash bag and beneath his toothbrush, far from view.

While the battle of the bag was taking place Sharon was hanging up her jacket by the door. As Andy stared after Rusty Sharon walked up behind him and ran her arms around his waist. Andy's hands landed on hers as he smiled before Sharon stood on her tiptoes to kiss the back of his neck and told him "You sit."

Again Andy sighed. He was thankful for everything Sharon had done but he had grown tired of being seen as an invalid especially by her. He removed Sharon's hands from his waist and turned around. "Sharon enough. I appreciate everything you've done for me, both you and Rusty." Andy sat on the back of the couch as Sharon folded her arms. "Hell I probably wouldn't even still be here without the kid but it's enough already. I'm fine. Really, I'm fine. Can't I go back to being your boyfriend and stop being your patient?"

With her arms still crossed and a slight glare to her eyes Sharon paused for a moment. "Have you finished?" She sounded less than impressed like a mother who had been waiting patiently for her child to stop having a tantrum on the grocery store floor.

"Yes." Andy sighed again as he prepared himself for a lecture on how it was either being mothered by Sharon or a spell in a convalescent home.

"Can I speak now?"

Andy laughed. "Like I could ever stop you."

Sharon closed the gap between them and ran her hands around his neck. "Rusty is taking care of your bag. The food is on its way and I want you to sit because for two weeks I've been unable to curl up with you on that couch and I've missed you. I'm not mothering you. I'm not treating you as a patient. There is nothing left to do tonight. I'm asking you to sit so I can sidle up next to you and stay there for the rest of the evening with your arm around me. Now is that okay with you?" Her eyes sparkled before Andy answered by crashing his lips against hers. Andy's arms immediately wrapped themselves around her as his fairly uncharacteristic manspreading enabled her to move into the gap as he pulled her closer. Their lips remained locked together as Rusty came out of his bedroom, saw them, spun around on the spot and vanished into his room again shaking his head. The noise of his door shutting was enough to break Sharon and Andy apart. They held each other nose to nose as they both smiled. They had not kissed like that since Andy's couch the night before his accident. Andy wasn't 100% yet but he was getting there and life was slowly returning to what they had before he became a human speed bump. A few more weeks and Sharon felt sure she'd be able to put her seduction plans back in motion. "Well?" Sharon finally asked.

"Perfect" Andy responded.

Sharon kissed his once more. "Good. Now shut up and sit down."

"Yes ma'am" Andy said as he moved and sat down on the couch and waited for Sharon to join him.

Sharon stepped into the kitchen and poured her and Andy a glass of water. After putting them on the coffee table she sat on the couch and slid as close to Andy as humanly possible. With his arm around her shoulder Sharon cuddled up and made herself at home for the rest of the evening. Ordinarily when Rusty would join them although they would stay cuddled up together that would be it. On this occasion however even after Rusty put in an appearance and made his presence known by coughing loudly as he walked down the hall, kisses were a common occurrence as they hardly took their eyes off each other and Sharon enjoyed having Andy back, healthy and ready to pick up life before it was so rudely interrupted.

The following day life went back to normal and the status quo resumed. Sharon kissed Andy good morning and goodbye before she left for work. She kissed him hello and goodnight when she returned but that was it as they once again became very mindful of how they acted in front of Rusty.

"Thank you. They're beautiful" Sharon said as she took the flowers before chastely pushing her lips to Andy's once more. It didn't matter how chaste a kiss it was the coming together of the lips still made a noise, a noise Rusty was more than aware of. By now he was used to Sharon kissing her boyfriend but combined with Andy arriving with a bag it was more than enough to make him feel venerable like he did with his Mom and her boyfriends. Rusty sighed and made his presence in the room abundantly clear. The volume of his sigh was enough to catch Sharon's attention. She quickly gestured towards her bedroom and Andy nodded as he took the hint.

"I'll just get this stuff out of the way" Andy said picking up his bag and suits and disappearing down the hallway.

Sharon retrieved a vase from the cupboard next to the sink and filled it with water before dropping her flowers in it. She placed the vase on the dining table before double checking that Andy had gone. She then moved behind the couch and put her hands on the back, looking down at Rusty slumped in a heap and asked "Everything okay Rusty?"

"Fine" came the curt response.

Sharon knew there was more to Rusty's current mood even though she wasn't quite sure what but she was prepared to wait until he was ready to divulge his problem before pushing him further.

With dinner options selected (Sharon was able to nudge Andy towards the meat option since he himself admitted he was feeling a little run down) the three of them sat down at the table to eat. What followed was...unusual. The food was delicious but conversation was stunted as Andy nearly fell asleep at the table four times. Throughout Rusty limited any verbal response to a single word where possible and hardly looked at Andy at all. Although Andy was far too tired to pay it much attention Sharon noticed immediately. Without warning Andy and Rusty's relationship had moved back several stages with seemingly no obvious cause. Such progress had been made before last night that Sharon truly thought Rusty had turned a corner in the way he saw Andy but at this point they seemed to have gone back to square one.

By nine o'clock Rusty was busy tapping away at this laptop at the dining table in silence with a face like thunder, meanwhile Sharon and Andy were cuddled up on the couch in front of the TV. In the glow from the Christmas tree lights while Sharon watched _It's A Wonderful Life_ , Andy had his arm around her shoulders and his head leaning back on the top of the couch fast asleep. He had fallen asleep almost as soon as he had sat down. Every now and then he would snore quietly causing Sharon to look at him and smile.

Suddenly as George was choosing to save the Building and Loan rather than going on his honeymoon Andy blurted out "Beavers and ducks" as his head snapped up and he looked around the room slightly disoriented as to where he actually was. Staring back at him Sharon and Rusty laughed. "What? What's so funny?" he asked.

"You just said 'Beavers and ducks'" Rusty called from the table as he continued to laugh, his mood and attitude lifting momentarily.

"When?" Andy asked confused and still half asleep. He turned to see Rusty laughing before fixing his attention on Sharon as his eyes struggled to focus.

Sharon smiled and took his hand in hers. "Right before you woke up."

"I wasn't asleep" Andy said defiantly before he let out a long and loud yawn that fooled no one.

"Of course you weren't." Sharon laughed before running her hand down the side of his face. "Andy you're exhausted. Please go to bed. Please. Go on. Get some sleep."

Andy immediately stood up with the help of Sharon who slid her hand to his rear end and pushed. He wasn't going to argue since he could easily fall asleep on a clothes line. "Yes Captain. You coming?" he asked.

"No I'm going to watch the end of the movie first." Although Sharon would have loved to have joined him, indeed she was desperate to, the fact that Rusty was still up and currently upset about something made that impossible. Add to that it was all too clear that Andy desperately needed to get some uninterrupted sleep and the only way he was going to get that was if he went to bed alone and when she did join him tried incredibly hard to not deliberately wake him and kiss every square inch of his body or to accidentally punch him. "Go, get some sleep. I'll be in during the next set of commercials to find my pyjamas so I don't wake you when I come to bed."

"You sure?" Andy asked.

"Yes. Please, get some rest."

"Okay. Goodnight." Andy leant down and kissed Sharon quickly a couple of times on the lips. "Goodnight kid" he said waving a hand in Rusty's general direction.

"Goodnight Lieutenant." Sharon instantly caught it, Andy was back to being called 'Lieutenant' again. As Andy made his way towards Sharon's bedroom Rusty asked quietly "Is he okay?" showing his concern despite the contradictory attitude he had displayed all evening.

Sharon looked after Andy. "He didn't get much sleep after I hit him and I think returning to work has been a lot more tiring than he's letting on" she said quietly although it clearly wasn't quiet enough.

"No it isn't!" came the cry from Andy before he vanished into Sharon's bedroom.

"Go to sleep" Sharon shouted as she laughed. When she heard her bedroom door close she turned around on the couch to face Rusty. "He spent four weeks either confined to bed or sitting watching the television. It's taking some time to build his stamina back up but he'll get there."

"Is there anything I can do?" Rusty asked as he recalled the endless laughter from Sharon when she caught him leading Andy in an aerobics session the day before he moved out.

"Not really Rusty but thank you for asking." Sharon smiled at Rusty but it wasn't returned. Again Sharon thought about pressing Rusty on what was wrong but from past experience knew that was never a good idea. Rusty would only get defensive and bottle things up more. He had to decide to tell her when he was ready what was currently occupying his mind and with that Sharon returned her attention back to the movie.

Ten minutes later the film stopped for a commercial break and Sharon was quick to her feet to find everything she needed to get ready for bed and move it so she wouldn't wake Andy later. As she opened her bedroom door she definitely did not expect to see the sight that lay before her. Andy was lying propped up on top of her bed in a white t-shirt and charcoal pyjama bottoms with his arms crossed and an old fashioned hockey mask covering his face. He had clearly been waiting for her. Sharon tried desperately not to laugh while she lingered by the door as they stared at each other in silence. "I suppose you think this is funny" she said eventually.

"A little bit" Andy nodded.

"Rusty. Come here" Sharon called as they remained staring at each other. Rusty slowly plodded towards the door, the speed he was travelling showing his reluctance to see whatever he was being called for. When he arrived at Sharon's open bedroom door Rusty made sure he only looked at Sharon until she pointed towards her bed. Rusty hesitantly turned to see Andy and immediately started laughing. "Don't encourage him" Sharon said as she playfully smacked Rusty on the arm.

"Are you wearing pads as well?" Rusty asked before heading back to the living room.

"Why would you wear pads?" Sharon looked bemused as she glanced at Rusty on his way back to the living room before turning her attention firmly back to Andy.

"Thanks a lot kid" Andy shouted. He paused for a moment as he removed his hockey mask from his face but left it on his head. Sharon stared at him from the doorway waiting for an answer. Andy searched for the words that would cause the least distress. "You may have hit me a couple of other times as well."

"May have?"

"Yeah."

"Andy I am so sorry!" Sharon immediately climbed on the bed and snuggled up next to him by putting her head on his chest and her arm around his waist. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to upset you. I'm fine. Nothing's broken. No damage done. Don't lose any sleep over it" he said kissing her on the top of her head and trying to sound as casual as possible.

"That's easier said than done. I'm worried I'll do it again tonight."

"Then I'll just have fight you off again" he said before kissing her on the top of her head once more. "Or keep my mask on, either way."

Sharon removed the hockey mask from Andy's head. "Where did you get it from?"

"Julio left it on the hood of my car. He's just looking out for my welfare" Andy said jokingly.

Sharon leant across Andy and placed the mask on the nightstand before returning to her position of snuggling up next to him. Andy rested his head on the headboard and closed his eyes as they held each other for a few moments in silence.

"This is nice" Sharon said quietly as she joined him in closing her eyes. The room fell silent once more before Sharon sighed and opened her eyes. Her attention was immediately drawn to a rather large red and gold Christmas angel sitting on her dresser across the room but facing away from her. "Did you turn my angel around?"

Andy opened his eyes and gave it a concerned look. "It was staring at me. I don't like things watching me while I sleep."

"It didn't bother you this morning." Sharon ran her finger tips down the side of his face like she did that morning as he woke up.

"That's different." Andy kissed Sharon on the top of her head. "If that thing touches my cheek and kisses me I'm shooting it."

Sharon laughed. "My Mother bought me that for Emily's first Christmas. I love that angel but I suppose it does have a slight..."

Andy quickly butted in. "Village of the Damned quality?"

Sharon gently slapped his chest. "I was going to say slightly sinister face."

Andy laughed. "Slightly?" he said surprised. "It looks like Provenza after he's bumped into his coven of ex-wives." Andy was right, it had a face direct from a nightmare with eyes that seemed to follow you around the room. Andy foresaw it accidentally hiding in a cupboard before he returned home on Saturday morning.

Sharon rolled her eyes before climbing off the bed. "I thought you were tired."

Andy pulled the covers out from under his legs and pulled them on top of himself as he slid down the bed. "I am. I was just waiting to be tucked in." Andy winked as a devilish grin spread across his face.

Sharon leant down and kissed him on the lips. "Go to sleep" she said as she stared into his eyes from a few inches away. Before she had chance to move Andy's hand vanished into her hair and brought their lips together again. Losing her balance Sharon had no choice but to fall on top of him in a heap enabling Andy to wrap his arms around her. Sharon didn't fight him, she didn't want to but when their lips finally came apart she simply said "Go to sleep" again before standing up. Sharon folded her arms and smiled at him. "Have you taken your pill?"

"Not tonight I'm really too tired" Andy said stifling a laugh.

Sharon shook her head and tried not to laugh with him as he grinned like a fool at her. Andy rolled onto his left hand side and kicked his feet out from underneath the covers making himself comfortable as Sharon moved to her dresser and retrieved her pyjamas from the top drawer. After gathering a few odds and ends from the top of her dresser that she needed before bed Sharon made her way to the ensuite. Before she could open the door she heard "I've left my shirt out for you, you know for convenience." Sharon smiled.

"Go to sleep" she said again.

Sharon went into the bathroom and put her pyjamas on the counter next to the sink before fetching her toothbrush from the cabinet. To save time and minimise noise she would make later Sharon removed the tops off everything she needed before even putting the toothpaste on her toothbrush. She was in the bathroom no longer than two or three minutes but when she stepped foot back into her bedroom Andy was still lying on his left hand side but now quietly snoring away. Sharon could see how tired he was from how many times his face nearly ended up on his plate during dinner but honestly hadn't expected for Andy to nod off so quickly. She smiled at him, running her hand through his hair before turning off the lamp on the nightstand and slowly creeping out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

When she walked back into the living room she was surprised to see that Rusty had abandoned his laptop and the dining table and was now sitting on the couch hugging a cushion and staring into space. It was now a waiting game as she prepared to handle whatever problem Rusty was currently dwelling on. Sharon sat down next to him and temporarily turned her attention back to the television while she waited for him to speak. It was abundantly clear that all was not well inside the head of Rusty Beck and it didn't take Sharon long to find out why. "Is Andy living here now?" Rusty asked within a couple of seconds of Sharon sitting back down.

Realisation hit Sharon. She hadn't warned him that Andy would be staying the night and had now forgotten to tell him he would be staying for a couple of days. Sharon felt awful. It was no wonder that he looked a little anxious if he thought she'd made that type of big decision without talking to him first especially in light of how he had been treated in the past. "No. No. Trust me Rusty I'm really not ready for that step yet, at all. This is just a temporary measure until he can find the time to clean his kitchen and air his house out. Seriously Rusty you should have smelt his house it..."

Rusty couldn't wait for Sharon to finish. "Do you want me to move out?"

Sharon was shocked but more than that she was upset. She was upset with herself. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Rusty to ever ask her that question. She recalled a conversation they had during his first month of emergency care where Rusty requested plenty of warning before he had to move on but she hoped she'd never made him feel unwanted or unwelcome in his own home. Life had obviously changed for the both of them recently. She had been dating Andy for a while now but this change in their relationship from the last 24 hours had suddenly been sprung on Rusty and it was clear he wasn't ready. In truth it had been sprung on all of them. It was a long time coming but neither Sharon nor Andy were expecting it as they left PAB the night before. Sharon had the overnight guest conversation with Rusty months ago (a conversation she now admitted she was a bit hasty in having after all they'd only been dating properly for just over a week and she really wasn't ready to take that step in the immediate or even distant future) but for one reason or another, mainly her nerves, they hadn't taken it any further so that awkward conversation was for nothing. She wished she'd taken their relationship forward back then, apart from what they'd missed out on and where they could be right now it would have saved stress while he was injured. At that time Sharon hadn't been ready to invite Andy into her bed and although she wanted to be close to him because she loved him and because she was worried and wanted to keep an eye on him, the first time she invited Andy into her bed shouldn't be when he was so seriously injured. Though maybe she would have got more sleep if she had. Had Andy been lying next to her during those weeks she could have checked he was okay and still breathing without having to set a silent alarm and sneaking out of her bedroom every hour, a fact that Rusty was fully aware of but Andy's quiet snores made it clear he wasn't.

Sharon's face drained of colour as she realised what must be going through Rusty's mind. "Rusty. No. Never. Why would you even think..."

Again Rusty couldn't wait for Sharon to finish. "But you two are so..."

Now it was Sharon's turn to butt in as she put her hand up to stop him speaking. "Rusty listen to me. I'm fully aware of what has happened to you in the past with your Mom's boyfriends and what that meant for you but I am not your Mom."

"Yes you are" came the simple reply.

Sharon smiled as she tried not to cry at Rusty's words. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it while she tried to compose herself. "I am not Sharon Beck" she said finally. "I love Andy. I love him more than you can possibly imagine but you and Ricky and Emily will always come first. You're my son Rusty. I hope you know by now that nothing is more important to me than my children and never forget that includes you. You are my son. I hope I never have to choose but as much as I love Andy my children will always come first. Always. But if Andy does eventually move in here permanently or we buy somewhere new together nothing will happen until I have spoken with you about it first. No decisions will be made until we're all happy with it and if it does happen that will still be your home. It will always be your home even when you're ready one day to move out on your own. Your room in our home, that's yours, mine and one day Andy's, will always be there for you. Andy being here doesn't change that. It doesn't change anything other than we have someone new in our lives."

Rusty plastered a smile on his face. "Another new Dad." Rusty was telling a joke but the weak smile on his face showed Sharon his worry. Andy was yet another alcoholic being thrust upon him in the role of 'Father.' Yes he had been sober for a long time but with Rusty's experience he knew better than to completely relax around anyone with a history of addiction. It wasn't just that he was an alcoholic, he was a man. Men coming into his Mom's life meant he was pushed out and not just pushed out but abused and abandoned. The last boyfriend his mother had hit him and left him at a zoo, it's hard to come away from that with any trust for father figures no matter how nice they are. With Sharon he knew this was never going to happen, she wouldn't allow it to happen and Andy really didn't seem the type but Rusty still felt uncertain about him, the situation and his future. Sharon realised this needed to be addressed and it needed to be addressed now.

"Rusty, Andy is here to be my..." Sharon paused for a moment as she struggled to finish the sentence and find the appropriate word.

"What? Boyfriend?" Rusty asked with a faint smile.

Sharon covered her eyes with embarrassment. "Yes but that seems like such a juvenile word given my age and who it refers to."

Rusty laughed. "You call him a 'boy' all the time." Sharon was forever calling Andy her 'Beautiful boy' when she thought they were alone. On occasion Rusty would overhear her as the urge to roll his eyes out of his head and retch became overwhelming.

"That's different."

Again Rusty laughed. "Mom whether he's 16 or 66 he's still your boyfriend. Get used to it" Rusty stated very matter-of-factly.

"Okay." Sharon smiled before turning serious again. "Andy is here to be my _boyfriend_ , but that's it. He isn't looking to be your father unless that's what you want." Rusty looked at his feet before Sharon squeezed his hand again to make him look her in the eye. "It has to be what you want whether that's in the future or never. Regardless whether you like it or not Andy will love you like a son for the rest of his life. I can't promise he'll never drink again or that everything will work out between us but trust me he will never raise a hand to you. He will never try to get rid of you. He will never hurt you. The only thing he will do, like me and Emily and Ricky, is love you."

"I know but it's just..."

Sharon put her hand up again to stop him. "You don't need to explain, I understand and so does Andy. All that I ask is that you continue to try, take it one day at a time with Andy and see what happens. That's all."

"That I can do" Rusty said with a weak smile as he nodded.

"Thank you." They slowly both turned their attention back to the television before Sharon finally cautiously said "Andy tells me you were talking about Gus last night."

Rusty suddenly had a face that could turn milk sour. He was not happy at all. "Blabber mouth!"

"He didn't go into detail. He just wanted to make me aware in case you wanted to talk to me about it" Sharon said as she tried to calm him down. "Do you?"

"Sharon if it's okay with you I think I'm fine." Rusty awkwardly adjusted himself in his seat and Sharon knew instantly not to push the subject any further. If Rusty was going to decide to ask Gus out he was going to do it all on his own no matter what she felt about the situation like he had done with Jeff.

"Good. I just wanted to check."

"What else did Andy tell you?" Rusty asked a little nervously.

"He told me you'd interrogated him" Sharon said as casually as possible.

Rusty smiled. It was the largest smile Sharon had seen on his face for a while. "Did he say what about?"

"No."

"Well..."

Again Sharon stopped Rusty from going any further. "Anything you discuss with Andy is between you and Andy. It has nothing to do with me unless you want to tell me."

Rusty again smiled to himself. He really didn't want Sharon to know what he'd asked Andy because to him it was a private man to man conversation. Rusty had to question Andy's intentions as he felt the need to look out for her and protect her. Rusty couldn't protect his Mom from the vile men of this world but he could certainly protect Sharon. Still Andy had given all the right answers to his questions and Rusty believed him but what Andy told him was information Andy needed to share with Sharon himself. It wasn't Rusty's place to divulge it. "Then its best kept between me and Andy."

"That's fine. Not a problem." Sharon paused for a moment. "Only just answer me this, did you enjoy interrogating him? Do you put him on the spot?"

"Yes" Rusty laughed as he recalled Andy's slightly stunned reaction to his 4am line of questioning.

"I thought you might" Sharon said as she joined him in laughing.

"Are you happy?" Rusty asked sincerely after a few seconds of silence.

"Incredibly."

"Good. As long as you're happy I will gladly put up with Andy Flynn although I really could have done without finding him in here in the middle of the night in his underwear."

Sharon laughed. She remembered well the face Rusty pulled when she discussed the possibility of Andy staying the night with her in the condo. After he asked if one morning he was going to discover Andy in the kitchen in his robe she made a mental note to not let that happen. Then in the end it was worse. It was the middle of the night and he was in his underwear. But at least Rusty saw the funny side of it and that, that was definitely progress. "Noted. Thank you Rusty."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Anything."

"Why does George Bailey not existing make it stop snowing?" he asked pointing at the television.

Sharon laughed and put her arm around Rusty's shoulders. "I have no idea. I love this movie."

"I had noticed since we watch it like clockwork every year and the tears always arrive on cue."

As their attention went back to the television to see Clarence save George and earn his wings Sharon rested her head on Rusty's shoulder. This was the first time that Rusty had really opened up to her about Andy. His feelings over the last five months had been crystal clear from his attitude but he'd never actually spoken a word about him. Sharon was no fool, she anticipated everything Rusty said and how he felt and why but changing his attitude when it was so ingrained in his personality following years of mistreatment at the hands of the men in his life was going to be difficult. Sharon was confident though that they would get there in the end, that Rusty could accept a man as a father figure without fear or worry but it would take time and that was something that both Sharon and Andy were more than happy to give him.

With the movie over Rusty quickly went to bed with his shoulders visibly lighter than they were at the start of the evening. Sharon stayed up a little longer to clean up the final remnants of dinner and to prepare lunch for the following day. As usual she made herself and Rusty a sandwich and put them in brown paper bags along with a piece of fruit and into the fridge. Then the dilemma hit her. To make Andy a sandwich or not make Andy a sandwich, that was the question. It irritated her how she had taken to overanalysing absolutely everything when it came to Andy Flynn. It was just a sandwich for crying out loud! But from experience while he was recovering Sharon knew Andy loathed to be mothered and looked after. Surely this was a natural, nice act, preparing him lunch since he was staying a few days wasn't it? By the time Sharon made herself an extra sandwich and put it in her own bag to offer him tomorrow like she had made one extra by accident, two slices of bread and salad had never faced such scrutiny and debate. With the kitchen clean and lunch ready for tomorrow Sharon switched off the lights, locked the front door and made her way to her bedroom and her (hopefully) dead to the world boyfriend.


	8. Chapter 8

_Thank you to the handful of you who read and reviewed the last chapter. As always your comments are very much appreciated. However since reader interest in this story seems to be dwindling this will be my last update for a while as I try to think of a more interesting storyline._

 _If you read it please review so I know I haven't wasted my time or alternatively I'm on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _As I said in my A/N at the beginning of Chapter Seven, I split that chapter in two because of length. As a result this is nothing more than 14,000 words of pure fluff with a flashback but I'm proud of it. It takes place seconds after the last chapter ended._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day – Chapter Eight**

Stealth like Sharon tiptoed into her darkened bedroom and silently closed and locked the door behind her. She turned to see Andy still lying on his left hand side sound asleep and snoring quietly. She smiled. At that moment in time Andy's faint snores didn't bother Sharon, in fact she loved it. She loved being reminded that he was there (hopefully it would remind her to the extent that she didn't hit him again). How long this would last was another matter entirely but right now Sharon was more than happy to look at Andy through rose tinted glasses and enjoy the warm glow from this new 'honeymoon period' they currently found themselves in. She moved slowly and quietly towards the ensuite so as not to wake him. Sharon had a lot of experience when it came to sneaking around without waking someone up. Ricky was a ridiculously light sleeper. Ricky could be woken up by the sound of a fly passing wind in the next room. It became so bad that Sharon used to hold her breath when she popped her head in his room to check on him as a baby. As a result she had perfected skills like a ninja and could effortlessly glide across the floor (a useful talent when she could sneak up on the likes of Provenza in her early days at Major Crimes when he would be openly bad mouthing her or ignoring a direct order) but given how tired Andy currently was she took extra care not to make any noise and disturb him even though it was pretty clear a nuclear explosion would currently fail to register with him. With her pyjamas and everything she needed for her nightly ritual stowed in the bathroom already Sharon avoided every creaking floorboard and made her way to the bathroom door.

Sharon entered her bathroom and closed the door as quietly as possible. She then discovered her first problem. It was black. Pitch black. With no natural light in there it was like she was in a coal mine on the dark side of the moon and she couldn't see a hand in front of her face. Ordinarily Sharon would obviously just put the bathroom light on but was worried that in doing so the glow under the door might wake up Andy. Thankfully her cell phone was to hand and she was able to pop the flashlight on to illuminate the sink. As she took a step forward she noticed that the cabinet door above her sink had opened and she was only a few inches from hitting it. Oh the irony! Sharon closed the cabinet and put her cell down next to the sink so the light was shining up at her as she proceeded to remove her makeup. As she looked at herself in the mirror, illuminated from beneath at a really unflattering angle in a darkened room with makeup smeared all over her face she thought she looked like an extra from a horror film. If Andy were to wake up now she would truly frighten the hell out of him and send him running for the hills she thought. With her makeup removed and with a hint of Whistler's Mother about her appearance Sharon turned on the tap and immediately turned it off again. Her mouth dropped open. How could water make that much noise? Sharon couldn't believe it. Was the water in the whole of Los Angeles County particularly loud at that moment? Were there shards of metal in the water supply? In the silent enclosed bathroom it sounded like Niagara Falls hitting a porcelain symbol. Sharon smiled to herself. She'd honestly never tried to be this quiet because of a man asleep in her bed before. When Jack was asleep and hungover in bed Sharon did everything bar playing the drums in the bathroom to make sure she woke him and guarantee he suffered as much as possible. Sharon slowly turned the tap back on but held her hands under the faucet so that the water silently hit her skin and then dribbled into the sink. Once the sink was full as quietly as possible Sharon washed before she encountered her next problem, brushing her teeth. Sharon only had an electric toothbrush and it was noisy. Very noisy. She needed a new one but had yet to remember to pick one up. She briefly considered skipping her teeth just this once but then the potential horror of morning dog breath hit her. She knew Andy would never say anything but still that was not happening. She had plans for Andy in the morning after he had a decent amount of sleep and extreme morning breath would surely put the nut crackers on them. Suddenly she had a great idea and grabbed her toothbrush before climbing in the shower and closing the door. Andy had concluded that morning that the shower in the ensuite was probably the only sound proof area in the entire condo, a conclusion she took full advantage of moments later when she joined him in there and not to wash his hair. Sharon's smile illuminated the room as she thought about that long languid shower and said a quick 'Thank you God' for the purchase of the incredibly efficient traction decal stickers she had bought and applied to the floor just three weeks earlier because without them there would have been no way of believably explaining away two naked 60 plus year olds in the shower with a fractured hip and a broken pelvis without sex coming into the equation. Sharon switched her toothbrush on and the noise was instant. That tiny toothbrush sounded like a jackhammer in such an enclosed space. 'If Andy walks in here now he's going to think I've taken leave of my senses' she thought as she pondered the ridiculousness of the situation. She quickly brushed her teeth before climbing back out of the shower and putting on her peach satin pyjamas. With her clothes stowed away in the hamper she turned off the flashlight on her phone and got ready to sneak into bed without waking Andy.

As Sharon entered her bedroom again and closed the bathroom door behind her she was relieved to see that Andy was still asleep, in fact he hadn't moved a muscle. Although his snoring had subsided his deep slow breaths were enough to indicate that he was still out for the count, his big feet hanging out of the bed in the cooler air and making her smile. The moon shining through the blinds and illuminating the room was just enough to enable Sharon to easily walk around the bed without banging into anything. After plugging in her cell on the nightstand to charge it Sharon slowly pulled back the covers on her side and very gently sat down on the edge of the bed. After checking behind her to see that Andy was still undisturbed and with the urge to run her fingers through his hair and down the side of his face becoming overwhelming she removed her glasses and placed them next to her cell on the nightstand. Looking at her glasses as they sat in their regular spot she smiled and again wondered how they ended up on the lamp shade across the room the night before and why Andy's shoe was in their place for that matter. Sharon then rolled up the legs of her pyjama bottoms to level with her knees for although she liked full length pyjamas they irritated her while she was in bed. Very carefully Sharon lay down and pulled the covers over herself. She looked at Andy's peaceful face for a moment and smiled, she could watch him sleep forever, and just watching him rest in her bed was one of the greatest sights she'd ever seen. As Andy's deep slow breaths continued she softly rolled onto her side facing away from him. She sighed to herself. It was a sigh of complete and utter contentment. He may currently be dead to the world but it was wonderful to have a man in her bed once more. A man she loved.

Sharon closed her eyes and smiled to herself. Stillness fell on the room as she waited to drift off to sleep until suddenly Andy slipped both of his arms around Sharon's waist and pulled her towards his chest. "You're awake?" she said in disbelief as all of her hard work in being quiet had apparently gone to waste. Andy didn't say a word but instead planted a kiss on the only area of flesh available to him, Sharon's shoulder. "I've just brushed my teeth in the shower."

Andy yawned. "That buzzing was your toothbrush? I thought I had competition for a moment." Andy tried not to laugh as he waited for Sharon to smack him or at least make a dart for the back of his knee.

"Hey!" As predicted Sharon quickly flung her arm behind her and pinched the area behind Andy's right knee. He immediately flinched and squeezed her a little tighter.

"Ow! Maybe Provenza was right. I should have phoned an abusive partner crisis helpline. You're always hitting me" he said before his lips came into contact with her shoulder again.

Sharon turned around in Andy's arms before placing her hands around his waist and pulling herself closer to him again. Andy's eyes remained closed as he attempted (and it was only an attempt) to go back to sleep while they held each other nose to nose. Sharon never took her eyes off his face as she lay in his arms and slowly rubbed his back for a few minutes.

"Thank you" Sharon finally said quietly before kissing him gently on his lips.

"For what?"

"For this. For everything. For not rushing me. For being a gentleman. For waiting."

Andy opened his eyes and smiled. "There are some things in this world worth waiting for and you Sharon Raydor are definitely top of the list." He closed his eyes again before giving Sharon a long lingering kiss. After their lips parted Andy buried his head further into his pillow with his eyes closed tight as Sharon continued to stare at him from less than an inch away.

Sensing he was being watched and that Sharon was clearly in the mood to talk Andy opened his eyes, a mischievous grin on his face. "Taylor called me into his office this afternoon" he said followed by a deep long contented sigh.

Sharon's face immediately tensed up as she worried. "Really? Why? What did he want?" she asked concerned. Despite the fact that the confusion and the suspicion from the morning had been cleared up in fairly good humour with Taylor, Sharon was always on edge in case he thought it best for Andy to transfer out of Major Crimes.

"He wanted to apologise for this morning." Andy closed his eyes again and paused before a large smile exploded onto his face. "Then he asked if I wanted to press charges against my attacker."

"No he didn't." Sharon shook her head and smiled.

"He did" Andy claimed as he tried not to laugh. "He was concerned for my welfare since my commanding officer molested me, beat me and then asked me to lie about it in front of the whole division." Sharon darted for the back of his knee and pinched him once more. "Ow!" Andy cried before laughing.

Andy yawned again before they both settled back down and the room fell silent. Sharon moved her hand from Andy's back and started to gently stroke his black eye with her finger tips. "Did I really hit you more than once?"

"A little bit." Andy nodded.

Sharon sighed. "How's your eye?" she asked as she continued to gently trace her fingers along it as if she had some sort of healing power like ET.

"It's fine. Really" Andy said before kissing Sharon again, his eyes remaining closed. "Don't worry about it" he added although he knew Sharon would do nothing else until all traces of it had gone. Sharon lifted her head up and planted the gentlest kiss imaginable on his black eye. As she pulled away Andy opened his eyes and smiled. "You also punched me in my ear" he said as he pointed towards it. Sharon rolled her eyes before smiling. She then moved her lips to Andy's ear and lightly kissed it before sucking and nibbling on his earlobe, something that she had discovered that morning he had a particular penchant for.

Before returning her head to her pillow Sharon asked "Anywhere else?" She was not prepared for Andy's answer.

Andy smiled again as he anticipated the reaction he was about to get. "You also kicked me in the groin."

Without thinking Sharon moved her head to locate and kiss this third injury better then she finally processed what Andy said. She smiled at him and shook her head before returning it to her pillow. "Very funny."

"You did. Really, really hard. I saw my life flash before my eyes. At least I think it was my life. Was I ever a showgirl in Vegas?" Andy said as he battled to make Sharon laugh and not feel too bad about the situation since he had decided to confess all to her. He had felt a bit like a punching bag in the night but each bruise was more than worth it.

After entering a charity poker tournament it had become clear that Andy had a 'tell' when he bluffed or lied. Little did he know that Sharon had been fully aware of this 'tell' for a couple of years. This tell had been incredibly useful when she was working at FID and she knew instantly when he was lying to her, now they were dating it was even handier. However on this particular occasion Sharon didn't need it because the look on Andy's face was more than enough to convince her that he was telling the truth as she covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes widened with horror. "Oh Andy I'm so sorry. Did I really?" Despite her best efforts she couldn't help but smile and laugh a little bit regardless of how mortified she felt yet again.

"Like you were kicking a field goal" he added before kissing the end of her nose.

Sharon's hand returned to Andy's back. She held him tightly as he responded in kind. "I am so so sorry. Why didn't you tell me? Or wake me up?"

"At that point only dolphins and dogs would have heard the noises I was making. Seriously Sharon don't worry about it. I'm fine." Andy closed the gap between them again and kissed her lips twice before settling back down. They remained nose to nose as he closed his eyes again, not expecting to go back to sleep but more just resting them.

Sharon continued to stare at him guiltily. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be."

Sharon closed her eyes tightly and screwed up her face as if expecting the worst. "What did they say today about your eye?"

"They made fun of me" Andy said simply. Sharon didn't utter a word but the way she tensed up in his arms meant Andy knew instinctively that something was wrong. He opened his eyes and planted another soft kiss on her lips. "What's wrong?"

"This was what I was worried about."

Andy sighed and rubbed his hand up Sharon's back. "Sharon they didn't mention their Captain and they were laughing at me not you. They made fun of the fact that their friend Andy got elbowed in his sleep by his girlfriend. They're not just your colleagues they're your friends. Accept that they know the difference between Sharon and Andy and Captain Raydor and Lieutenant Flynn and know when it's appropriate to make fun of one and not the other." Andy closed his eyes again while his hand continued to rub her back.

"You're right. You're right." Sharon smiled faintly but it soon dissipated. "What did they say? No don't tell me, I don't want to know" she said quickly.

Although his eyes remained closed Andy grinned and tried not to laugh. "Let's just say they're all going to be very careful not to piss you off now they know the damage you can do even without a beanbag gun." They remained silent for a moment before Andy asked "What were you and Hobbs talking about?"

"Trial prep."

Andy opened one eye. "Really?" he asked surprised.

Sharon frowned. "Andy how long have you known me? Of course. You know I want to keep our relationship away from work."

Andy opened his eyes once more and returned to rubbing his hands up and down her back. "I know but the way she spoke to me when she came out of your office had me wondering."

"Why? What did she say?" Sharon asked a little surprised. Sharon had told Andrea nothing about her first night with Andy and this was despite the fact that Andrea had called her twice, once just after lunch and once on her drive home to try to wheedle some details out of her. Sharon knew she'd crumble and tell her eventually especially if she teamed up with Gavin and if a bottle of wine or two was involved and although it wasn't like her at all there were details about what went on with Andy that were crying out to be shared with a girlfriend. Instantly falling into the perfect groove and having that kind of toe curling, earth shattering, illegal in 29 States type of sex at the first attempt with the love of her life needed to be quietly bragged about but for now she didn't want to share Andy with anyone.

"It's not what she said but more how she said it." Andy's eyes twinkled before he put on the most feminine and sultry voice he could muster and said "Bye Lieutenant." Andy then battered his eyelashes but rather than looking ladylike he looked like he was being attacked by a giant moth.

Sharon laughed uncontrollably. "Andrea Hobbs has never sounded like that a day in her life."

"She did this morning. It made me wonder how much she knew."

"Well..." Sharon paused.

"What?" Andy asked as he raised his head off the pillow slightly. He didn't mind in the slightest but if Andrea Hobbs knew him 'intimately' even with second hand information he wanted to know.

Sharon bit her lip while she decided what to say. "She knows we were taking things slowly and I may have sort her advice prior to your accident on how to make my advances clear to you since you were a bit slow on the uptake." Sharon closed her eyes to avoid seeing Andy's reaction.

"May have?"

"Definitely did" she said opening her eyes again while she grimaced.

Andy chucked. "She gave you advice on your sex eyes?" Andy proceeded to cross his eyes and stick his tongue out as he did his best impression of Sharon's 'come to bed eyes.'

Sharon's mouth dropped open before she smacked him on his arm. "I did not look like that! It was more like this." Sharon once again gave him her sultry stare only to have Andy start laughing uncontrollably. "Stop laughing at me! Stop it! Andy Flynn you are about thirty seconds from sleeping on the couch."

"Really?" Andy asked as he pulled Sharon even closer to him.

"No. Never. I don't want you anywhere but here" Sharon said quietly before kissing him and wrapping her left leg over his.

Andy smiled again. "Good because I have no intention of going anywhere" he replied returning the kiss.

Again quiet fell over the room as they held each other nose to nose with Andy's eyes closed and Sharon studying every single part of his face. "Did you tell Lieutenant Provenza?" Sharon finally asked.

"No but it's safe to say he worked it out after your outburst in the murder room. You see he also knew we were taking things slowly."

Sharon ran her hand through his hair. "I'm shocked he didn't burst in here last night and drag you out by your ankle before I had chance to ensnare you in my lair and swallow your whole."

Andy laughed. "Your lair?" he asked before closing the small gap between them to press his lips against hers once more.

"I'm sure he thinks I keep the heads of officers who have crossed me on my nightstand."

"He thinks you keep something but not their heads" Andy replied laughing before shutting his eyes once more.

Sharon returned to just watching Andy as he lay in front of her. Despite closing his eyes Andy had no intention or expectation of going back to sleep anytime soon as Sharon was clearly in a talkative mood and he was more than happy to indulge her. They had only spent one night together but Andy was already fully aware that Sharon liked a lot of pillow talk before she was ready to go to sleep. As for Sharon she had tried so hard not to wake Andy but now that he was, she was going to take full advantage. She narrowed her eyes as she thought for a moment. "Can I ask you a question?"

"No your feet aren't cold" Andy answered immediately without opening his eyes. They had gone over this in the night and one conversation about foot temperature every 24 hours was more than enough.

"Not that." Sharon suddenly sounded timid. "That letter you wrote me, where were you keeping it? If you didn't wake up was I going to stumble across it in your bedside cabinet at the hospital while I collected your clothes or….?"

"Provenza had it" he said while remaining with his eyes closed.

"Lieutenant Provenza?" Sharon sounded genuinely surprised. Despite how he had helped and been there for her over the last couple of months, she was fully aware that Provenza had never exactly encouraged their relationship so far.

Andy started to rub his hand up Sharon's back again. This was a tough subject for him to talk about. Firstly he didn't like raking up his nerves and emotions from before his surgery. If truth be told he was terrified. He was terrified of never waking up but equally terrified of not having the courage to tell Sharon exactly how he felt. As he lay in his bed he had a knot in his stomach as those three little words begged to be released but struggled to break free, something that was made more difficult by Rusty's appreciated but somewhat restrictive ever presence in his hospital room. Secondly although she'd never told him as much, he assumed it was as equally hard for Sharon watching him be wheeled away to be operated on and that may also conjure up upsetting and stressful memories that she'd rather forget. "While he was helping me fill out my paperwork I asked him if he'd tell you how I felt if I didn't wake up. He made me write it down and held on to it for me."

Sharon smiled. "Really?"

"Yes. See he does like you."

"Oh I know he does really. He held my hand in the hospital from the moment you were wheeled away for surgery to the moment the Doctor told us you were coming round from the anaesthetic."

Now is was Andy's turn to look surprised. "You never told me that. Did he really?"

"Yes. He never let it go." Sharon smiled. Given how their relationship started (much like how she started off with Andy but with ultimately a vastly different outcome compared to her second in command) she was now pleased and proud to call Provenza her friend. It was unlikely that she would ever hear those words emanating from Provenza's direction any time in the future but his actions often spoke volumes. He cared. It was clear he cared. He cared because they were now on the same side. He cared because he now admired her and liked the way she ran the division. He cared because he now admitted he was wrong in the past and she clearly did know what she was doing. He cared because of how she had taken in and loved Rusty. He cared because his friend loved her. "I'm not sure whether he was my rock while you were under or I was his." Andy smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear before he pushed their lips together again in a long sweet kiss. The look on Sharon's face suggested she needed it. There were times when Andy forgot just how hard it was for everyone else while he was asleep and being 'repaired.' No matter how worried he was about not waking up, at least he slept through the whole thing, Sharon on the other hand was wide awake during every single excruciating second.

After Andy was wheeled away down the corridor and out of sight on his way to the operating room Sharon stood rooted to the spot and staring at the space he had just vacated while holding Andrea's hand tightly. She was terrified. She really was. Was that the last time she was ever going to see him? They all knew his surgery was imminent but they were given no warning by Dr Liu that it was going to happen that day and so suddenly at that. She hadn't even been afforded the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to him, to press her lips to his one final time. Then it hit it. She was suddenly so angry with herself she could scream. Why hadn't she told him she loved him? There was a very real chance that she'd just spoken to him for the very last time and all she could say was 'I'll wait for you.' A scene from _An Affair to Remember_ went through her mind and the line from Deborah Kerr ' _All I could say was 'Hello'._ ' It didn't matter that Andy hadn't said it first although it certainly looked as if he was just about to before Sharon was fairly rudely asked to leave the room as they began to prep him for surgery. All that mattered was she had the opportunity to tell him how she felt, regardless of whether he felt the same, but didn't take it. Why wasn't she braver? Why hadn't she just thrown caution to the wind and told him? Why? If he didn't wake up she would forever regret not taking that chance and letting him know how she felt, not letting him know that she loved him.

As Sharon continued to stare into space and mentally kick herself for her ridiculously foolish and timid behaviour looks were exchanged between Andrea and the concerned gathering behind them as they wondered what on earth they could possibly to say to their Captain. At that moment in time no amount of kind words or reassurance or platitudes were going to offer any comfort to her. They simply didn't know what was going to happen and all they could do was hope for the best and be there for Sharon when she needed them. Since they were currently cluttering up and blocking the corridor it was suggested by a nurse that they should head with their food into the waiting room. As everyone headed off Sharon remained where she stood the last time she saw him completely oblivious as to what was going on around her. After her quiet calls of 'Sharon' failed to register Andrea squeezed her hand to get her attention. Broken from her daze Sharon turned to see that she was now alone with the exception of Andrea and Provenza who hovered with a look of deep concern on his face both for his friend and for his Captain.

"We're moving into the waiting room" Andrea said quietly as she pointed in the direction of the door everyone had filtered through.

Sharon nodded. "You don't need to stay" she said as she returned her attention back to the corner Andy was pushed around mere moments ago.

"Yes I do." Andrea smiled and squeezed her hand once more. Like everyone else who had come to visit Andy that afternoon, wild horses wouldn't be able to drag her away.

Sharon brought her free hand to her mouth as she looked slightly disorientated. "I'm just going…." She said as her words trailed off and pointed towards Andy's now empty room.

Andrea released her hand as Sharon put her hands in the pockets of her cardigan and slowly walked back into Andy's room. Andrea and Provenza glanced at each other and smiled weakly. Neither were sure what to do or what to say. Provenza straightened his tie and closed the gap between the two of them before very slowly resting his hand on Andrea's shoulder. They weren't normally anything approaching friends, more often than not they were barely civil as they clashed over what was and wasn't enough evidence to make a deal with a suspect but today they were. Today they had to be.

"You go. I'll stay here and wait for the Captain" Provenza said.

Andrea nodded and patted him on the back before joining everyone else in the waiting room. Provenza leant against the wall opposite Andy's room and waited for a moment as the need for giving Sharon some space and wanting to be supportive collided. The corridor was quiet. Not a single person passed by as Provenza patiently waited. He checked his watch which served as a mental note of when Andy left them before putting his head against the wall and closing his eyes. He sighed. It was going to be a long day. He needed to call Patrice and tell her what was going on and to ask her to join him and help him get through it. To be there for him so he could be there for his Captain, for Flynn.

Deciding that it had been long enough Provenza slowly entered Andy's room. He found his Captain sitting on the remaining bed with her hands in her lap and staring expressionless at the vacant space where Andy's bed had been until just a few minutes ago. He cleared his throat to announce his presence but Sharon didn't move as she continued to be lost in her thoughts. Provenza looked about the room for what he didn't know before electing to sit next to Sharon on the edge of the bed. Sharon still didn't move.

"He's going to be okay Captain." Sharon looked up. In situations such as this she had become accustomed to hearing her Lieutenant call her 'Sharon' (even though she would never dare dream about calling him 'Louie,' not ever) but not today. It was almost as if Provenza had made the conscious decision not to so as not to add more worry onto her shoulders. He didn't need to call her 'Sharon' because it was all going to be okay. It was no big deal. It was like Andy had gone for nothing more than having his teeth cleaned or a haircut.

"I wish I had your confidence" Sharon finally said as she battled to keep her emotions in check. No one would blame her for shedding a tear or two out of worry but she really didn't want to. She wanted to hold herself together for as long as possible.

"I've known him longer than you have Captain and let me tell you this, Andy Flynn is far too stubborn to give up now. Especially, especially as he has something to live for." Provenza gestured towards Sharon in case she missed his point and smiled and was relieved to see it returned. "He'll be back as grumpy as ever and irritating the crap out of us before we know it" he added. He didn't know if he believed it himself but his Captain didn't need to know that at this moment in time.

"Thank you Lieutenant."

Then suddenly, without realising he was going to do it, Provenza turned to face his Captain, brought his arms around her back and enveloped her in a hug. Sharon was too grateful for the support to let the shock at his actions appear on her face. This was the first time they'd ever hugged, they'd never even come close before but this certainly would not be the last embrace the two of them would share before the day was over.

Provenza gently rubbed his Captain's back before they broke apart. He then took her firmly by the hand and gave her no choice but to follow him. Sharon dabbed her eye with her sleeve as she let Provenza lead her from Andy's room and down the corridor to the waiting room and re-join the group. When the door was opened Sharon was surprised to see that it was full to the rafters and full of people she knew. No one had left. Suddenly Thanksgiving was cancelled. The speed at which they'd opted to operate and whisked Andy away had let them all know, if they weren't already aware from Morales' reaction at least, just how serious the situation was. Then there was Sharon. Every man and woman in that corridor took one look at Sharon's face as Andy was wheeled past her and realised that she loved him. They were no longer dealing with two colleagues who had been dating for a couple of months, they were dealing with two colleagues who were clearly in love with each other. Regardless of what plans they may have had or what family were in town visiting, Sharon needed them, she needed their support and they weren't going anywhere.

To pass the time as they waited the well-wishers talked amongst themselves about anything and everything while devouring the meal they had brought for Andy that was everyone except Sharon and Provenza. Since he had taken it in Andy's room Louie Provenza had not let go of his Captain's hand even for a second. When they entered the waiting room they sat down together next to the door and that's where they remained, waiting and clutching each other's hand like it was some sort of life line. As time ticked by Patrice, after successfully getting her relatives to leave their house at the fourth attempt, arrived to offer her support and expertise in explaining medical matters should the need arise. When she entered the room she greeted her fiancé and Sharon with a kiss on the cheek but neither moved from their seat or let go of the other's hand. Provenza knew people would think his actions were out of character, especially since he and his Captain had battled to get along in the past, and he expected some comment from Julio and Mike at a later date over it but at that moment in time he really didn't care. Avoiding jokes at his expense was the furthest thing from his mind. Provenza knew he had to look after Sharon for Andy. It's what friends do and he knew that if the shoe was on the other foot that Andy would be sitting in his position and holding Patrice's hand while telling her not to worry.

Time dragged that afternoon. Provenza would look at his watch and then ten minutes later instead of time standing still it appeared like time had actually gone backwards. Andy's surgery was supposed to take no longer than two to three hours, that's what they were told anyway but they had been waiting for five long and worrying hours until suddenly his next of kin was summoned into the corridor by a male nurse with zero expression on his face. The waiting room instantly fell silent as all eyes, filled with apprehension, moved towards Sharon and Provenza.

"That's us" Provenza said as he stood. Sharon squeezed his hand tightly as he helped her to her feet and to the door.

As his girlfriend and medical power of attorney, Sharon and Provenza followed the nurse into the hallway outside the waiting room to speak to Dr Liu. They remained as before clutching each other's hands, supporting one another as best they could as they waited patiently in that empty corridor for news on Andy's condition. And that's where the mix up occurred. When Dr Liu told the nurse to fetch his next of kin so she could speak to them it was also with a message that Andy had made it through surgery okay and he was now in recovery. She may have mistakenly thought Andy was a bit deaf (and possibly a tad stupid for not telling anyone how dizzy his pills were making him) but Dr Liu was no idiot and knew from personal experience that there is nothing worse in this world than being asked to wait in a corridor without a scrap of information to speak to a consultant while awaiting news of a loved one in surgery. Sadly this piece of news was not passed along so when she said 'We need a plan of action of what to do next' what she meant was 'A plan of action in regards to pain management because of Andy's history of addiction' for example was there any wiggle room in his stance about taking no opiates whatsoever but what Sharon and Provenza heard was 'A plan of action because he was in a coma or worse brain dead.' Neither said a word but they both immediately leapt to the same conclusion, Andy was gone. As Dr Liu looked at Andy's chart for a moment while mentally listing the pain treatment options available for someone with his addiction issues, Sharon went completely numb. No thoughts ran through her mind. No emotions. As she stood there clutching Provenza's hand she was nothing more than an empty shell as her life crashed down around her. In comparison Provenza had no time to feel numb. He felt racked with guilt over his handling of Andy's medical forms and the big DNRs written from top to bottom as Andy's letter to Sharon burned a hole in his pocket. The looks on their faces let Dr Liu know quite quickly that there had been a communication breakdown. When the mix up was corrected the tears instantly flowed from Sharon before she was scooped up in Provenza's arms as they embraced for several minutes, swaying gently as he rubbed her back and whispered 'He's fine, he's fine' repeatedly in her ear. Apologies were made from both Dr Liu and the nurse and it was quickly agreed that Sharon would be able to go and sit with Andy in recovery as he woke up, not something they normally liked but under the circumstances it was the least they could do. Little did they know that while this had been going on several pairs of eyes had been watching them from the propped open door to the waiting room. Sharon's tears combined with the prolonged embrace between her and Provenza instantly led to everyone believing that Andy had died in surgery. In the four weeks that followed no one had told Andy that for a few minutes, a few very long minutes, they all thought he was dead. Andy had enough to worry about and focus on trying to get better without focusing in on how everyone else had coped during his surgery. As Sharon was led away to be with Andy as he woke up and Provenza went back to the waiting room to share the good news they let go of each other for the first time in over five hours. Neither had spoken of it since and neither intended to but if Andy's health crisis did anything, it was to bring the most unlikely of friends closer together.

The look on Sharon's face was unmistakable. Andy knew instantly she was thinking about that day, the day of his surgery. He smiled as he continued to rub her back and offer the reassurance she looked like she quite clearly needed as he tried to change the subject. "The last time I was in the hospital Provenza bought me an 'It's a Girl!' balloon but this is better." Sharon laughed. "Speaking of which let me ask you a question. What was in that file on me?"

The change in subject did the trick and the smile thankfully returned to Sharon's face as she shook her head. "Oh I'm not going to tell you that."

"Why not?"

"I think it's best if we don't dig up old investigations and frictions shall we say." Sharon grinned.

"Okay." Andy closed his eyes again as Sharon's smile got wider and wider.

Andy was fully prepared to leave the subject there because Sharon was right it probably wasn't a good idea to rake up how much they once disliked each other (the frequency with which he used to call her 'The Wicked Witch' now caused him to cringe and mentally chastise himself) but Sharon just had to take it that one step too far. "I'll just say this it's a good job I didn't include every time you called a suspect an 'Idiot' or a 'Moron' or I would have run out of ink and paper very very quickly." Sharon found it very hard not to laugh.

Andy smiled before propping himself up on his elbow and kissing her very slowly on the lips. That was it now, he had to know and he knew exactly how to squirrel the information out of her. "What did it say?" he asked before kissing her again and slowly manoeuvring her onto her back.

Sharon knew instantly what Andy was doing and was determined not to fall for it no matter how good it may feel. "No I'm not telling you" Sharon said before Andy kissed her again but this time it was longer and deeper as he shifted himself on top of her. "That won't work" Sharon added as their lips came apart before he wrapped her in an even tighter embrace and crashed his lips against hers once more. When they finally broke apart Sharon couldn't help but let out a small whimper as her resistance began to falter. Sharon fanned her face with her hand to cool down and regain her composure as Andy grinned. "That won't work either" Sharon finally said defiantly although Andy could sense she was beginning to cave. Andy smiled as he felt tiny goose bumps appear on her skin as he let his hands wander up and down her body and he continued to plant one kiss after another on Sharon's lips. "That might work" she finally said as her hands ran through his hair and she slowly started to lose herself in the moment.

Andy moved his lips to Sharon's neck and proceeded to trace kisses up and down it as he said "Tell me what was in that file."

Sharon smiled as she enjoyed the sensation of Andy's lips caressing her skin but she remained undeterred in her stance. "I'm sorry but I cannot discuss Lieutenant Flynn's package with my boyfriend."

Andy stopped and looked at her with a quizzical smile. "Package?"

Before Sharon could answer Andy returned his attention and his lips back to her neck before she suddenly pushed him off her. "That's enough of that. New rule. No work talk in the bedroom." She ran her arms back around him before he did likewise as they settled once more into the position of holding each other nose to nose with legs entwined.

"This rule book keeps getting bigger and bigger by the day. What happened to everything being a discussion?" Andy asked.

"Fine, would you like to discuss work in bed while we could be doing other things?" Sharon smiled at him. It was a smile that was a lot more obvious than her so called 'sex eyes' she'd been using on him to no avail.

"See now that's why you're the Captain and I'm still a Lieutenant" Andy said before again joining their lips together in a prolonged embrace.

Again quiet fell on the moonlit bedroom as Andy's eyes closed. "Did you ever want to go any higher in the LAPD?" Sharon asked.

"Isn't this work talk?"

"No this is personal. The moment a corpse comes into it it's work."

Andy thought for a moment as he looked at her again. "Maybe when I was younger but with my history it has never been likely. Besides the higher you go the less it becomes about actual police work and the victim and the more it becomes about pushing paperwork and running everything by legal. And I'm happy where I am. We do good work. I get to come to work every day with my buddy and the Captain! Wow! You should see her legs!"

"Stop it!" Sharon said as if Andy was talking about a completely different woman and she was defending her honour.

"What?" Andy asked as he laughed. "I can't compliment my Captain on her legs?" As he spoke his foot went up and down her calves while Sharon did her best not to react.

"Not unless you'd like another month of sensitivity training." Sharon fought hard not to smile at him but failed miserably.

Andy's mouth dropped open. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me Lieutenant. Try me." Sharon's eyes sparkled before she kissed him. With her lips occupied her hand travelled south, leaving Andy's back and coming to rest on his backside, squeezing it as their mouths came apart.

"Lieutenant?" Andy asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Yes. Lieutenant."

"Well Captain since I'm currently your Lieutenant should you have your hand there?" Andy lifted his head and looked over his shoulder to see her hand splayed on his rear end.

"It's the main benefit of being your Captain, I can do what I like." Sharon again squeezed his cheek before locking her lips against his as she laughed.

"I should have let Julio cuff you and drag you into Interview One. Set your little FID friends lose on you" Andy sneered.

Sharon laughed as she oozed confidence. A confidence Andy currently found the sexiest thing on earth. "Yes, my little FID friends. And never forget that they are my friends. They'd take one look at who I assaulted and the size of your package and immediately be on my side."

"That seems decidedly unfair" Andy said with a pout.

Sharon ran her hand through his hair and down the side of his face. "Maybe but there are fringe benefits to dating your Captain my beautiful boy."

"That there most certainly are" he agreed as he brought their lips together.

"But if that's not satisfactory you can always transfer." Sharon smirked. "I hear San Diego is nice."

Andy gasped before narrowing his eyes. "That's been your plan all along hasn't it? Remove the troublemakers from the LAPD by seducing them, beating them and getting them to transfer?"

Sharon let out her best villainous cackle. "For a detective it took you long enough to work out." Their lips met again before Sharon casually announced "Once you pack your bags I'm moving onto your partner in crime."

Andy laughed. "Well then thank you for starting with me."

"You're welcome."

"Although just to warn you Provenza is dug into that place like a tick plus I put out a lot earlier than he will."

"And you should know." They both laughed. "I had no idea he was my direct competition."

"What can I say? Grumpy old guys just do it for me but his legs aren't a patch on yours."

"I'm glad to hear it" Sharon said with a grin before offering the most chaste and gentle kiss imaginable. "I love you."

"I love you too." Andy pulled her even closer to himself. "I've never been in a better place than I am right now. I'm as happy and content as a man can be." Sharon's smile beamed before she crashed their lips together. When they finally broke apart again Andy returned her smile before closing his eyes once more. As she returned to watching him rest Sharon slipped her hand under his t-shirt and started to run her fingers slowly and gently up and down his chest and through his chest hair. As her hand moved Andy's smile got bigger and bigger.

"Have you ever waxed your chest?" Sharon asked as she continued to run her hand around his upper body.

Andy opened one eye and looked at her. He then closed it again and paused. "Once" he finally said.

Sharon immediately smiled. "What was her name?"

"What makes you think a woman was involved?"

"Andy why do men ever do anything stupid? It's always a woman."

Andy again paused. "Tiffany."

"Tiffany?" Sharon asked without any hint of surprise to her voice.

"With a 'Ph'" Andy explained.

"'Ph'?"

Andy opened his eyes and sighed. "Yeah. At the beginning of her name." Sharon looked at him puzzled as her hand continued to travel up and down his torso under his t-shirt. "I don't know, she thought it made her sound classy."

"How would that make her sound like Lassie?" Sharon asked utterly bemused.

"Classy, not Lassie" Andy said before they both fell about laughing. Trying to hide her embarrassment Sharon buried her face in Andy's chest as he kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes again.

As Sharon returned her head back to her pillow she thought for a moment. 'Phiffany'? How would that even work? She was desperate to roll her eyes but wouldn't in case Andy happened to open his eyes at that precise moment and catch her. It was a sign of how Andy had changed over the last few years that he now acknowledged himself that the women he used to chase after were a tad ridiculous. Sharon was more than aware that she was not the type of woman Andy had gone for in the past. It was one of the things that made her most nervous as she prepared to get physical with him for the first time. Physically she was not what he was accustomed to. For the whole of his life, even in his marriage, Andy had his hands full with perky women more than half her age and here she was in her early-60s, nearing retirement and with breasts that had a mind of their own first thing in the morning if they'd been left to their own devices for too long. For one brief soul destroying second Sharon realised that Andy had probably never seen a woman her age naked before (other than on Dr Morales' table). Then again Sharon had never seen anyone Andy's age naked before (because it regrettably had been a while before last light) but that really didn't matter to her especially when every single wrinkle, blemish, stretch mark and pucker of her own would be on display. That thought made Sharon want to fit black out curtains on her windows and remove the lightbulbs in the bedroom so he'd never be able to see her properly no matter how proud she was of maintaining her figure. Add to that exiting the room backwards so he never caught sight of the potential naked horror show that was her backside in all its glory. As she thought about sleeping with him for the first time Sharon suddenly wished she'd spent the last ten years doing some sort of buttock clenches at her desk to prepare her for this moment. It was even more apparent that Andy had no experience whatsoever when it came to mature (Oh how Sharon hated the word 'mature.' It made her feel like a slab of smelly old cheese with mould developing around the edges) women just 24 hours earlier. Neither had anticipated how events would unfold as they left PAB in his car so neither were prepared, Andy especially. After they moved things into the bedroom the first interruption came when Sharon tried to take Andy's blood pressure seconds after he removed her bra but the second interruption came when Andy suddenly stopped as their relationship was just about to reach the point of no return and admitted he hadn't expected this to happen and therefore had no protection with him. Sharon had to laugh and reminded him about that little thing known as the 'menopause.' It really wasn't the sexiest or most romantic subject to discuss when you were literally seconds away from making love with someone for the first time but it made them both laugh to the extent they were worried about waking up Rusty. At the time the blood from his brain was required elsewhere but Andy was mortified when it finally kicked back into gear, of course he knew but in the heat of the moment, feeling particularly overwhelmed he had simply forgotten. When he looked at Sharon he didn't see a woman older than anyone else he'd ever been with (give or take a couple of years they were basically the same age anyway), or compared her to anyone from his past, he simply saw the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on and the love of his life. When it came down to it they were both in uncharted territory with each other. Neither had dated someone like they were now, both were nervous and both had a habit of putting their foot in it. Firstly Sharon with her expectation in the kitchen that Andy might need a little 'extra help' to perform in the bedroom given his age (a pill which Sharon thankfully discovered he really didn't need at all which was fortunate since Andy still had the libido you'd normally associate with someone a third of his age) and secondly Andy with his question about contraception. In fairness Andy's mistake was a lot more flattering than Sharon's but Andy still found it very funny and didn't plan on letting her forget it anytime soon.

"And how was it?" Sharon asked as she turned her attention back to Andy's chest as her hand continued to caress it.

Andy's eyes went wide as Sharon bit her lip and tried not to laugh. "The most painful experience in the world. I felt like my chest was on fire" he said as he grimaced and remembered the agony which was so bad he had to bite down on a rolled up towel to stop him from screaming since Phiffany was in the next room having her own wax on a far more intimate area and he didn't want to come across to her as a bit of a wimp.

"Waxing doesn't hurt that much." Sharon rolled her eyes.

"Maybe not to you with your perfect little legs but I've got a woollen sweater under here." Sharon immediately started laughing and although she tried desperately hard to avoid it, she snorted as she laughed. A very loud snort. Andy smiled and looked surprised as Sharon's hand flew out from underneath his t-shirt and covered her nose. "What the hell was that?" Andy asked amused.

"Nothing" Sharon said shaking her head. She had been known to snort when she laughed quite often especially when she was feeling particularly relaxed mainly with her children but had thus far managed to avoid doing it in front of Andy. It was her dirty little secret from him. Some people avoided passing any sort of gas in front of their partners but for Sharon the most important thing to keep secret was her snort when she laughed. She was always slightly embarrassed when she did it and was really not ready for Andy to hear it yet.

"Did you just snort?" Andy laughed as he lifted his head off the pillow.

"No. Never. Just forget you ever heard that." Sharon briefly put her hand over Andy's ear then mouth to stop him from hearing and speaking before running it under his t-shirt again.

"I'll try but it's going to be hard" Andy said returning his head back to his pillow.

Sharon quickly changed the subject back to Andy's chest. "You have no idea about waxing pain. Do you not think a waxing strip coming at your bikini line is painful?" That filthy looking smile returned to Andy's face once more. "Stop smiling" Sharon told him before kissing him.

"I can say without any fear of contradiction none of it is as painful as having this chest waxed."

"Best not have a pain conversation with a person who has pushed two humans out of her body" Sharon said matter-of-factly.

Andy smiled. "Especially when you consider the size of Ricky's head."

Sharon's mouth dropped open as she slapped him on his chest. "You did not just call my baby a little circus freak."

"No I think that was you. I just said he had a big head."

"I'm calling him." Sharon feigned going to grab her phone before Andy held her even tighter to stop her.

"Don't tell him. I still need his approval."

"Actually I don't think you do. Emily and Ricky are both very happy for me." Sharon smiled before she kissed him once more as her hand wondered down from his chest to his stomach. She opened her eyes while their lips were still locked before pulling apart and smiling at him. "Are you holding in your stomach again?"

"No. Yes."

Sharon kept her hand on his stomach as her fingers continued to gently caress it. Without meaning to sound like a Disney character Sharon playfully said "Let it go" as she sighed and letting him know how ridiculous she thought he was being. Andy rolled his eyes before letting his stomach go. Andy wasn't fat by any means. He was fit, he went to the gym several times a week but still he had a bit of a belly that clearly currently bothered him a lot more than it bothered Sharon. In truth Sharon really couldn't care less, she loved every single inch of him, belly and all. "There much better. Comfortable?"

"Ridiculously" Andy confirmed while Sharon's hand continued to move up and down his body.

"So tell me about Tiffany."

"Nothing to tell. My endless scratching sort of ended things."

"Scratching?" Sharon looked confused.

"As it grew back. It itches like crazy. The Chief thought I was turning into a gorilla the way I kept rubbing myself up my desk and the doorframe at work." Andy closed his eyes again before suddenly opening them wide. "Why? You're not asking me to wax it are you?"

"No. No. Of course not. I'd never really thought about it before but I think it's kind of sexy. Let's me know there's a real man in my bed." Sharon kissed him again.

"Real man?" Andy questioned with a smirk before he returned the kiss.

"Jack used to shave his chest. It was a vanity thing. It made him look like a hairless cat." They both laughed as Sharon continued to rub her fingers over his torso from his chest and down to the waistband of his pyjamas as very much a signal of her intentions. "So if I were to ask you to do it what would you say?" Anticipating his reaction Sharon chomped on her lip to stop herself from smiling.

Andy smiled and sighed. "Sharon, my Captain, my best friend, love of my life, there are so many things in this world that I'll do for you but I won't do that."

Sharon laughed. "When did you turn into Meatloaf?" She kissed him again which started very gently but quickly became a little deeper. At the same time Andy's hand moved from Sharon's back where he had been holding her and slowly moved to her hip. It then quickly made its way under her pyjama top and up her bare back as he caressed her skin with his fingertips but just as quickly returned to its original position as if nothing had happened. Sharon broke off the kiss and looked at him puzzled. "What was that?"

"Nothing" Andy said as he closed his eyes and acted like he was going to sleep.

"Andrew Flynn are you still nervous with me?"

"Don't call me 'Andrew.' You remind me of the Nuns at school." Sharon remained silent waiting for an answer. Andy opened one eye before closing it again. "Maybe."

"Why? I thought it had passed last night after it took you five minutes to place your hands on my hips despite the fact I was sitting on your lap wearing nothing but your shirt at the time and we'd just, you know." Sharon's hand continued to make itself at home under Andy's t-shirt and on his chest showing the complete contrast in how comfortable they currently felt with each other.

Andy opened his eyes and smiled weakly as if slightly embarrassed. "Sharon regardless of everything that's happened in the last 24 hours this part is still so new and throughout I've tried so hard to be patient and a gentleman..."

Sharon interrupted him. "Which was greatly appreciated but we've moved on from that now."

"But you're still my Captain and I'm still unsure of where I stand and what you're ready for." Andy didn't wish the labour the point but the last 24 hours had taken him completely by surprise and after being locked in a patient holding pattern for so many months where he was limited to kissing and hand holding he now found it difficult to move on from that and free himself up with Sharon regardless of the position he was currently lying in. In that 24 hours their relationship had moved further than it had in the previous five months and yet Andy was still unprepared to be anything other than a gentleman and would rather wait for Sharon to take the lead in their relationship rather than risk ruining what he currently had.

Sharon kissed him once again. "Yes I'm your Captain but only when you have your badge on. The rest of the time I'm Sharon, and Andy I'm ready for everything. Okay. Rule of thumb, as long as I'm not really mad at you which at this present moment in time seems highly unlikely but you never know and as long as the situation is appropriate, we're not at work and Rusty isn't in the room you can put your hand where ever and do whatever you like. So is there something you want to do?"

Sharon smiled at him and looked towards her side where Andy's hand had previously found itself. Andy returned her smile before he slowly slipped his hand back under her pyjama top and gently started to stroke her bare back and side with his fingertips. He then leant in and kissed her once more. As their lips latched together Sharon moved her hand from his chest and round to his back. Hands wandered as their lips remained locked but whereas all other kisses during this current session of pillow talk had in the main been fairly playful and quick, this was longer and deeper and heading for something a lot more. Andy's hand moved slowly up her side and to her breast until suddenly Sharon laughed. Andy pulled away and looked at her confused. "In less than 24 hours have my moves somehow become funny to you?" he asked with a perplexed smile.

"No. I'm sorry. Andy, sweetheart it's not you" Sharon said as she kissed him to emphasis her point.

"What's so funny?"

"This" she said as she moved back to her previous position and continued to rub her hand over his chest.

"What?" he asked as he pulled her as close as possible once more.

"This, everything. How did this happen? You hated me. You loathed everything about me."

"Wait a minute, I didn't hate you" Andy said as he pulled her even closer still. It was a lie. Andy did hate her all those years ago but even so despite his loathing for her thought she had the sexiest smile and best pair of legs he'd ever seen, especially for a Captain.

"Oh yes you did." Sharon smiled. "There's this guy that I investigated time and time again who to say disliked me is an understatement and often the feeling was mutual."

"Thank you" he said jokingly before planting another kiss on her lips.

"And now that same guy he's in my bed with his arms wrapped around me and I love him. How did that happen?" Sharon's smiled beamed.

Andy thought for a moment while his hand ran under Sharon's top again and found a home on her back. He focused in on her eyes as his fingers stroked her back. "You offered to come to Nicole's wedding with me and I realised you weren't the devil in female form. You are in fact the most incredible woman I've ever met." Sharon laughed but was soon silenced as their lips came together.

"The devil?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"With cloven hooves and everything." Andy paused for a moment before shyly asking "Do you regret it?"

"A little." Andy immediately frowned as he lifted his head off the pillow to get a better look at Sharon's face. Judging by the fact he was lying comfortably in her bed with her hands all over him Andy didn't think he had too much to worry about but still was a little alarmed by Sharon's statement. Sharon's reaction to Andy's concerned face was immediate. "No not like that." Sharon's hand started moving up and down his chest again almost as if she was reassuring him. "I regret dragging my feet. Why did I make us wait five months to do this? Why didn't we go on a proper date twelve months ago? We've missed out on so much."

Andy shook his head. "But you're missing the point. We haven't missed out, we've got everything still to come. Maybe it had to be like this. We had to be enemies before we could be friends and we had to be friends before this could happen. Plus if this had happened twelve months ago we wouldn't currently be in this honeymoon stage. You'd have discovered things about me that piss you off and I'd be sleeping on the couch."

Sharon smiled before pressing their lips together. "Never." Andy removed his hand from Sharon's back to push a strand of hair that had fallen across her nose out of the way. As his hand found its way back home to the small of back he kissed her once more.

"We may be behind where we could be but everything that could happen will happen. We will move in together. We will get married" Andy stated very matter-of-factly as he grinned.

"Will we?" Sharon asked. She hoped it didn't show but she suddenly felt uncomfortable and nervous as she recalled the box she saw that morning in Andy's bedroom. She questioned whether he was testing the water so to speak. Testing whether she was anywhere close to saying 'Yes' if he were to ask her that question.

"Yes. You'll crumble eventually and ask me." Andy smiled confidently.

"I'll ask you?" Sharon relaxed almost instantly. Maybe Andy was seeing how the land lies, maybe he wasn't. All that mattered in that moment in time was, no matter how jokingly he said it, Andy was still prepared to wait for Sharon rather than pushing her into anything. Yes Sharon had seen a ring box hidden in his drawer but perhaps it was there because Andy was channelling his inner boy scout and just being prepared rather than getting ready to pop the question any time soon.

"That's my prediction yes." Andy again grinned.

"Based on what may I ask?"

"The way you ogled me while I was getting changed this morning."

"I didn't ogle you" Sharon protested but she was fooling no one. She definitely ogled him. She all but took her cell phone out and videoed him that morning as he got undressed. It was ogling of the highest order.

Andy closed his eyes but his smile remained fixed to his face. "Oh yes you did. I've been ogled before. I know what it feels like." Andy paused but he could sense Sharon was about to refute his claims so quickly continued. "Then you did it again at PAB this morning."

Sharon's hand once again flew out from underneath his t-shirt and covered her mouth as realisation struck. "I did do it at PAB." Andy's smile grew as Sharon confessed. "You dropped a pen and when you bent over to pick it up I ogled you" she admitted a little proudly as her hand migrated under his t-shirt and to his chest again.

"I know" Andy responded rather smugly. "I knew you were looking at me so I dropped it on purpose."

"What?" Sharon questioned loudly as she slapped his chest.

"Calm down we were alone in the office with nothing but paperwork." Andy knew Sharon would be less than impressed with his deliberate provoking of her with 'Professionalism' being the buzzword between them at PAB but after Hobbs left he could feel her eyes following him around the empty murder room so saw no harm in playing to his audience while they were completely alone.

"I had to shut my blinds to stop looking at you" Sharon admitted quietly.

"I did notice." Andy winked. "It wasn't so easy for me today either you know."

"How so?" Sharon was surprised. On the surface Andy had acted like nothing had changed between them whatsoever during the course of the day. She found it incredibly annoying if she was honest. How could she, the Queen of the Rulebook, the woman so focused on maintaining order and discipline within her division regardless of romantic entanglements be so distracted by him all day and yet that smug little bad boy showed no flicker of interrupted concentration? The fact that she had distracted him became a huge confidence boost for her not that she needed one with how he looked at her but still it was nice all the same.

"I used your shower gel this morning" Andy said. "Mango and passion fruit. That's all I could smell all day like a constant reminder of you following me around."

"You do smell good. Very feminine. You're lucky Lieutenant Provenza didn't try to make another move on you." Sharon laughed as Andy closed the gap between them again and kissed her on her forehead before settling back into his comfortable position.

"It was harder than I thought it would be" Sharon said honestly with a pensive expression on her face.

"What?"

"Today. Work."

"How so?" Andy asked pushing her hair behind her ear once more.

"I struggled to do my job today." Despite the serious look on Sharon's face it didn't stop the huge smile spreading across Andy's. "Don't smile Andy I'm being serious." Andy relaxed his face as he listened. "What we do is too important to allow myself to become distracted."

Again Andy smiled as he tried to make Sharon feel better. "Sharon it was just one day. A day where you did paperwork."

Sharon sighed. She knew it would be different for her compared with Andy. They both took their work seriously and they worked hard (not really something that could be said about Andy ten years ago but he had certainly improved along with Provenza over recent years) but as Captain Sharon didn't feel her concentration should be allowed to flicker for even a second. She was above the rest of the division and whereas they could joke and relax amongst themselves from time to time Sharon needed to be focused during every second of every day she wore her badge. "That's not the point. If my concentration lapses and things get missed, the consequences are..."

Andy cut her off sensing this was going to be an issue and wanting to help. "What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing. This is my problem. As much as I like working with my boyfriend I can't have him there, I need my Lieutenant at work. I need to only see you as my Lieutenant and I didn't today." Sharon looked slightly embarrassed. It was not like her to be distracted like this and after everything she'd done so far to shut her 'girlfriend' mode off at work it irritated her.

Andy smiled again. "It's just one day. Tomorrow will be better. I know you, put an active case in front of you and 'Andy' won't be given a second thought as you bark orders at your Lieutenant" he said.

"I don't bark orders!" Sharon said with mock rage.

"Of course you don't, Darth Raydor." Andy couldn't help but laugh.

Sharon's mouth dropped over. "What did you just call me?"

Andy planted another kiss on her lips. "Nothing. Nothing at all" he said innocently with his smile telling another story. "After yesterday you were entitled to a slow day of distractions. Tomorrow will be better, you'll see and if it's still a problem I'll have to keep my animal magnetism under control." Andy's mouth dropped open as Sharon began to laugh uncontrollably. "And what may I ask is so funny?"

"Animal magnetism?" she replied while still tittering to herself.

"Yes!" Andy exclaimed while laughing himself. Silence and stillness fell on the bedroom for a few moments. As he lay with Sharon in his arms and vice versa Andy had the feeling he was still being watched. He opened one eye and saw Sharon staring at him with the most beautiful smile on her face. Andy closed his eye again. "What are you doing?"

"I'm watching you sleep. Watching you sleep may be my new favourite hobby."

"I thought that was beating me up."

"That too." Sharon laughed.

"So basically I'm your new favourite hobby."

"Absolutely." Sharon kissed his lips and his bruised eye. As she pulled away and settled back on her pillow she saw that gigantic filthy smile spread across Andy's face once more. She tried not to smile back. "You're doing it again. Stop it."

"Stop what?" Andy asked innocently but he knew full well what Sharon was talking about.

"That smile."

"How is this different from my regular smile?" he asked with an innocence that fooled no one.

Sharon brought both of her hands to Andy's face before putting her thumbs on either side of his mouth. She pulled the corners of his mouth down. "This is Andy Flynn day to day scowl." Sharon moved his mouth to create a small smirk. "This is Lieutenant Provenza has spilled his coffee in his lap." She then moved his mouth into a regular smile. "This is the beautiful smile I fell in love with." Sharon increased his smile and opened his mouth creating a quite idiotic and frankly gooney expression. "This is the smile you had when I agreed to go to Serve with you." Finally she closed his mouth and stretched his smile as wide as she could. "And this is how you've looked for the last 24 hours like the cat that got the cream." As Sharon took her hands away from his face Andy's smile increased further. She rolled her eyes before putting her hand back under his t-shirt again.

"Well I've got bad news for you" Andy said before joining their lips once more. "I am the cat. I have got the cream and this smile is going to be around for as long as you are." Sharon returned the kiss as she battled to stop her smile matching Andy's.

Sharon sighed. This was an argument she wasn't going to win. In truth she didn't want to. She knew Andy would never smile at her like that at work and it was a good job since it was so blatant and distracting. But that smile, it was glorious and it made her feel beyond desirable when he looked at her with it. "Okay then I'll just have to learn to ignore it at work."

"And stop ogling me at work" Andy was quick to add.

"And stop ogling you at work" Sharon repeated before kissing him again. A few more silent moments were filled as Sharon continued to study his face. "I've missed this. Having someone to snuggle up to and talk to in bed."

Andy's smiled. "This is quickly going to become the best part of my day." Again their lips came together as the duration of each kiss started to get longer and more intense. After they broke apart a thought suddenly dawned on Andy as he rubbed his face. "Before I forget Nicole called me while I was driving to my meeting."

"Did she?" Sharon smiled. The frequency of the calls between Andy and Nicole had been steadily increasing over the last eighteen months. Sharon knew that the cause of this was down to Nicole thinking they were dating and therefore seeing Andy as a more stable person to have in her life. Whether it was based on a lie in the beginning or not she was pleased that she'd played a very small part in bringing them closer together.

"I think she was checking up on me now that I've gone back to work."

"She's worried about you. We all are. She just wants to make sure that you're feeling okay." Despite having him in her line of sight all day every day at work currently, Sharon still worried about Andy as she also knew Provenza did. They both knew that he was better, the clot had gone and he was out of danger but while he still battled his blood pressure combined with his tiredness they were always on alert in case he may pass out again and having him collapse in her arms twice in one lifetime was more than enough.

"I'm fine now. Really. I feel great. A little tired but great."

"I can vouch for that." Sharon smiled and winked at him before kissing him.

"She also wanted to know if you and Rusty wanted to go over to her house for Christmas dinner with me. I said I'd ask you. I know it is a little short notice and I don't know what your plans are for Christmas..."

Sharon was quick to interrupt Andy's nervous rambling. "Andy did you honestly think I wasn't going to spend Christmas with you?" she asked surprised.

Andy shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to assume."

"Assume. Andy please assume." Sharon removed her hand from under his t-shirt and ran it through his hair. "I think that's a wonderful idea. We are one big family now and I'd love to spend Christmas with you, Nicole and the children."

Andy smiled but it quickly faded. "Do you think Rusty will be okay?" he asked nervously.

"He'll be fine." Although she said it Sharon wasn't one hundred percent sure she believed it herself. Her discussion with Rusty in the living room an hour earlier proved once again that despite what he had read in Andy's letter he was still struggling to fully accept Andy in his life. But Rusty said all the right things, he wanted Sharon to be happy and was more than willing to try because he loved her. It was just going to take time. Like her relationship with Andy it was one tiny baby step at a time.

"I'll call her tomorrow and tell her to expect us. Maybe at Christmas I can finally convince her that we are really dating now."

"She still doesn't believe you?"

"She does but doubts linger."

Sharon's hand vanished under his t-shirt again as she continued to trace her fingers across his chest. "And whose fault is that?" she asked with a kiss.

"I know, I know." Andy nodded his head before closing his eyes once more. Sharon's hand slowed so that she didn't disturb him too much but it remained on his chest. Again the room fell silent.

"Rusty asked me if you'd moved in" she finally said. Now this was Sharon's turn to test the water. She wasn't ready for that to happen yet and wouldn't be for a while and made sure Rusty was clear about that but now she also needed to make sure Andy was on the same page.

Andy opened one eye before closing it again. "What did you tell him?"

Sharon was nervous about how Andy was going to react to what she was about to say but she needed him to hear it. At this point she had no intention of leading him on and wanted everything to be out in the open. "That I'm really not ready for that yet. I'm sorry Andy if you..."

"Hold it right there" Andy said quickly. Sharon looked at him with pure apprehension on her face. Andy's response was to smile and kiss her gently. "I'm as happy to take this as slow as you want. I always have been. Just because this has happened and was probably a little long overdue doesn't mean I expect us to slam our feet on the gas." Sharon relaxed and the smile returned to her face. "Sometimes I'll stay here, sometimes you'll stay at mine. As long as I've got you that's all that matters and I'll gladly go at any pace you want. I never want to rush you into anything."

Sharon's hand moved to Andy's back as she held him tightly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. It's what you do when you love someone." Andy closed his eyes again before he said "So what did you say to Rusty?"

"I told him you'd only moved in until your house smells better than the morgue again."

"It's not that bad."

"You're in denial. You've gone nose blind." Sharon paused as she bit her lip. "He asked if we wanted him to move out."

Andy sighed and opened his eyes. "God damn Sharon Beck! That woman has got so much to answer for. The damage she's done."

"I know. I know."

"Do you want me to leave?" Andy tried his best to sit up.

"No. No. Goodness no." Sharon pulled Andy back down again. As Andy's hand slid under her top again and settled on her hip Sharon wrapped her leg over his to ensure he didn't go anywhere. "Leaving isn't the solution. Time and reassurance is what he needs. The more that you're here the more hopefully he'll be comfortable with the situation and relax."

"Good because I'm pretty comfortable and relaxed here myself." Andy adjusted himself to close the gap between them even more before their lips met again.

Sharon smiled and ran her leg up and down his. "That makes two of us" she added before they kissed once more. Her hand then shifted position as the back of it slowly caressed Andy's stomach while her thumb slipped into the waist band of his pyjama bottoms and hinting at her attentions now that he was fully awake.

"Do you want me to speak with him?" Andy asked. If he was honest Andy really didn't want that conversation. If truth be told they both struggled to strike up conversations with each other without Sharon past the basic pleasantries and Rusty's Vlog. In fact loving Sharon was the only thing they had in common and since they were such drastically different people they simply had nothing to talk about yet. They tried with each other but like the middle of the night it was awkward. Although Rusty had certainly opened up to him the previous night and their conversations were slowly starting to get more personal as Rusty relaxed around him they weren't yet at a place where things didn't get awkward quickly before Rusty usually scurried off to his bedroom. Andy tried to make him relax by being as casual and good humoured himself but still they struggled. In the last 24 hours personal conversations had been somewhat unavoidable but with how uncomfortable Rusty was with him, he didn't want to make it any worse.

"No I don't want to make him feel awkward about it but if you could continue to be patient with him just a little bit longer. I know you have been and I really appreciate everything..."

"Sharon when it comes to that kid I will never run out of patience. I know we didn't exactly get along in the beginning and I freely admit I did everything I could to try and get rid of him and back to his Mom but that afternoon when we waited for her to arrive on the bus I spent time with him. I saw how excited he was. Then I saw the look on his face when she didn't get off that bus. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy let alone a kid that had already had to do some pretty awful things to fend for himself and survive."

Sharon looked at Andy with pure unadulterated love in her eyes as her hand moved back into his hair. "Why couldn't Gary have been more like you?"

"The zoo dirt bag?"

"The very same."

"Well if Gary was like me you wouldn't have Rusty."

"I would gladly give him up in a heartbeat if it meant he hadn't been through what he'd been through" Sharon said honestly.

"Which makes you the wonderful woman you are. Not many people would have taken in such a troublesome kid, let alone love him and make him part of your family. In fact I don't know a single other person who would have done that."

"Not many men would take on a woman with a son with so much baggage" she said returning the compliment.

"Then they're idiots because look what I've got" Andy said she he gestured towards the woman in his arms. Again their lips met before Andy closed his eyes. Sharon continued to watch him. After a few moments of silence something caught Sharon's eye and made her laugh to herself.

"Your nostrils flare when you're asleep, did you know that?"

"No. I've been told the same thing happens when I lie."

"I know." Sharon tried desperately not to laugh.

Andy's eyes shot open and he frowned. "How do you know?"

"I worked in IA and FID. You don't think I'd investigate someone so often without picking up their tells to know when they're lying to me do you?"

Andy looked equal parts shocked and amused. "I'm going to get nothing by you am I?"

"No. Were you planning on lying to me?"

"Not anymore" Andy replied with a grin.

"Your nostrils just flared!" Sharon said pointing at his nose.

"I'll just have to find a way to distract you then." Andy winked before joining their lips together in a long, deep kiss. "Keep your attention off my nose" he added before kissing her once more and slowly moving Sharon onto her back and hovering above her.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

"It depends" Andy responded before their lips met. "Are you going to try and take my blood pressure again?"

"I didn't take it this morning" Sharon said proudly before pulling Andy down towards her and returning his kiss.

"No but you checked my pulse this morning."

"You noticed that?" Sharon asked horrified.

Andy lifted himself off Sharon and hovered above her again. "Sharon when your girlfriend stops doing what you were doing and grabs hold of your wrist instead and starts counting it's hard not to notice."

Sharon smiled. "I was just making sure you weren't going to drop dead on me." Sharon wrapped her legs around Andy's hips and pulled him back down towards her.

"I'm not going to drop dead on you but if I do, what a way to go." Andy's smile was removed as their lips collided again and Sharon's hands moved beneath his t-shirt and along his back.

"For you maybe. I'll be the one explaining to Provenza and your kids what you were doing when you died."

Andy laughed. "What I would give to be a fly on the wall during that conversation." Andy's hands moved and slowly started to unbutton Sharon's pyjama top from the top down. As each button opened Andy planted a soft kiss on the area of skin beneath it as his lips moved gradually tracing a line from her neck to her navel.

Sharon quietly hummed to herself. "What happened to nervous Andy?"

"He's dead" Andy proclaimed in between kisses.

Sharon ran her hands through his hair, closed her eyes and smiled as Andy's lips moved further and further south along her body. "I thought you were exhausted."

With her top now completely unbuttoned and her body exposed to the air Andy brought his face up to be level with Sharon once more. "Power nap" he said with a grin.

Sharon put a hand on both sides of his face and brought it down to hers again. Unable to keep their lips apart any longer Sharon's speech was punctuated by kisses. "Thank" kiss "the" kiss "Lord" kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

_Once again thank you for all the lovely reviews. They're very much appreciated and all notes and suggestions have been taken on board._

 _I've been asked if I will write anything relating to season five: My intention is the fill in as many gaps between episodes as humanly possible with some sections being longer than others (obviously this first one has been a long one) but to give you an idea Chapter Ten will follow episode 4x18 but my follow up to 5x04 won't be until Chapter Twenty-Seven if people are still reading at that point._

 _I won't lie, this chapter is pure fluff. I needed to get two conversations between Andy and Provenza written in order to set up Chapter Eleven (you'll know what I mean when you read it and even with only the dialogue written at this stage I absolutely LOVE Chapter Eleven). The rest of this chapter is nothing more than mildly amusing nonsense and twaddle which I hope at the very least will make people smile in an increasingly grim world._

 _Once again it's a long one, the longest to date so you'll need at least one cup of tea to read it all. As always I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Nine**

Over the following two evenings Sharon and Andy fell into an easy if not completely comfortable pattern. They would leave PAB at the same time but drive to Sharon's condo separately (primarily in case Sharon needed her car should she be required at a crime scene since Andy was still not currently permitted to be in the field on medical grounds something he grumbled about constantly). They would wait for each other in the parking garage and travel up in the elevator hand in hand, remove their badges side by side and look like they'd been cohabiting together forever. Dinner would be ordered in and Rusty would wipe the floor with Andy in a game of chess (games that Sharon was now convinced Andy was throwing deliberately in order to get Rusty on his side, a tactic that seemed to be working) before everyone headed off to bed. Sharon was relieved with how quickly everything seemed to fall into place but it was no surprise since technically it wasn't the first time they'd 'lived together' except this time they obviously shared a bed. In that regard too things settled down into a comfortable pattern. The sex was simply earth shattering (a relief since both of them had experienced how it can sometimes be difficult to click and find that perfect groove early on in a new relationship) but it wasn't just that, after beating him black and blue during the first night they had shared a bed together, Sharon only succeeded in punching him once over the following three nights, admittedly it was a punch to the stomach that was so hard he spent the rest of the night lying on the floor (where Sharon eventually joined him when she woke and discovered him missing) but like with everything else between them it was a baby step in the right direction. In a small way the turnaround in Sharon's nocturnal violence had a lot to do with how tightly Andy held her as they slept so that she couldn't swing her arms freely at him. In other ways it was because she quickly got used to him lying next to her, relaxed and stopped being so restless.

As they became more and more comfortable around each other the little intimacies that people take for granted became easy, intimacies they missed out on when Andy stayed there previously. Sharon enjoyed getting dressed together in the morning. Andy zipping up her dress before she put her jacket on. Her pulling his suspenders over his shoulders so she could twang them. She liked that she could now brush her teeth while he was in the shower and the inevitable cry of 'Stop ogling me Raydor!' from behind the glass when she had stopped brushing and started blatantly just staring at him with a filthy smirk. Sharon knew however that this was all part of a 'Honeymoon period' and things had the potential to change and then the real work within their relationship would begin but for now she was happy to just enjoy it.

The only variation to the pattern they slotted into came on the Friday night when Andy left PAB early with a mystery errand to run. He arrived at Sharon's condo shortly before she did with a bag from a hardware store. That evening with the help of Rusty he fixed the floor tile in the bathroom he had inadvertently cracked with his head which ultimately led to his blood clot being removed. Sharon tried to give them space to bond but couldn't help but keep an eye on them and smile as she watched her boys work together. What was most surprising was that it was Rusty's idea to help after he asked Andy to teach him a 'Man skill.' A 'Man skill' that if he was honest, Andy was pretty hopeless at. As much as it was a lovely opportunity for the two of them to do something together it inevitably ended in chaos as when they stood back to admire their handiwork three hours later (after calling Julio twice and watching several YouTube videos on how to do the job since neither were completely sure) they noticed that they'd inexplicably installed the new tile upside down. The debate as to whose fault it was lasted the rest of the evening and into Saturday morning with Sharon bearing the brunt of the blame for being 'a distraction.'

By the time Saturday morning arrived Sharon felt conflicted. They had already decided the previous Wednesday that on Saturday they would go back to Andy's so that they could clean and fumigate his kitchen to enable him to move back home. On one hand she was going to miss Andy like crazy because in by taking their relationship up a gear she didn't want to be apart from him for a second but then she also felt they were racing ahead with themselves and probably needed to apply the brake pedal since they'd been practically spending 24/7 together since Tuesday. Despite her desire to cool things between them for a couple of days Sharon still had full intention of spending Saturday night at Andy's so that they could spend some time together without Rusty down the hall.

That morning as they left Sharon's condo Andy eyed with suspicion the two very large bags she put in the trunk of his car. He expected one bag because she was staying the night after all but when his question of 'Are you moving in?' was met with a glare back he decided to wait to discover what was lurking within. As they pulled up on Andy's driveway he switched off the engine and bounded out of the car so he could race around to the other side and hold open Sharon's door for her. On this occasion however he didn't make it very far. The moment Andy closed his car door he was suddenly pushed up against it by a tiny woman in her late 80s. This was Mrs Williams, Andy's neighbour and a woman Sharon immediately couldn't help but compare to the teapot from _Beauty and the Beast_ even though she was wearing a long black cape like an over the hill superhero.

"Lieutenant Flynn! There you are! Oh! What happened to your eye?" Mrs Williams purred as she pressed Andy against his car and ran her hands up his chest. By now Sharon had climbed out of the car and watched from the trunk as a huge smile erupted on her face as Andy reacted like he was being assaulted by a cougar, which in a small way he was.

"I er…walked into a door" he replied glancing at Sharon. By now Andy's eye looked a hundred times better than it did Wednesday morning with the swelling now gone and the colour fading just as quickly but it was still noticeable if you looked closely enough.

Mrs Williams never took her eyes off Andy as she looked up at him and continued to press her hands on his chest as her cape flapped in the breeze. "I was getting concerned about you. You've not been in the hospital again I hope?"

With nowhere else to back pedal as he pressed himself up against his car Andy lifted himself up onto his tiptoes in an attempt to get away. "No, no. Just spending a few days with my girlfriend. Have you met Sharon?" he asked indicating her.

Mrs Williams turned to look at Sharon. Her eyes quickly scanning her from top to bottom like a piece of meat with a look of absolute disgust. She was not impressed. Her piercing eyes making Sharon feel like she was having a 'Walking naked through the park' dream and being intensely judged. Sharon took a step forward to introduce herself. "Hello…"

Instantly Sharon was cut off as Mrs Williams snapped her head back towards Andy and continued to paw at him like a cat with a brand new scratching post. "I'm so pleased you're okay Lieutenant. I was really beginning to worry. You know if you give me a key I could check up on you when I don't see you for a few days. Just to make sure you're all fine and dandy."

By now an imprint of Andy's body was beginning to be embedded in the car he was pressing himself against it so hard. His discomfort was obvious to everyone with the exception of the woman causing it, a fact that made Sharon have to cover her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. "I know Mrs Williams but my hours are so irregular that…."

"I could come over and cook you something from time to time. We don't want you wasting away now do we?" Mrs Williams added while patting him on his stomach.

"Oh there's little chance of that" Andy replied as he sucked his stomach in and away from her. As the words left his mouth Sharon had to turn around to stop herself from laughing. When she started dating Andy she had been warned by half the people in the LAPD that it was a bad idea because he was a womaniser and in truth she had seen some of it herself and experienced it first-hand. She knew Andy was very good with the ladies and he'd been very good with her, his wooing of her had been perfect in fact and she'd go so far as to say he'd completely swept her off her feet once he'd finally plucked up the courage to ask her out properly. However this was the first time she had ever seen him uncomfortable around a member of the opposite sex and since it had taken a tiny woman in her 80s with an unusual dress sense to achieve it Sharon thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

"A strapping young man like yourself needs some good food in his belly if he's to be off fighting crime all night long. You really are so brave."

"Oh yes, I'm just like Batman" Andy said as Sharon erupted into uncontrollable laughter. "What are you laughing at?" he asked as he turned towards her.

Sharon turned around and wiped her eyes. "Nothing, nothing." Despite her words Andy knew better and her shoulders shaking violently as she laughed to herself was a dead giveaway.

Continuing to act like Sharon wasn't there Mrs Williams continued. "I have a lightbulb that I need changing and my smoke alarm needs testing if you have the time later Lieutenant" she stated with a flutter of her eyelashes.

"Of course. I'll be by this afternoon." As Andy smiled he grabbed her hands and tried to wrestle them off his body before they left a mark.

"Oh good. I'll get you a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade standing by for my lovely handyman. I'll see you later." Mrs Williams patted Andy on the cheek before giving Sharon one more filthy look and scuttling off towards her house.

"Bye Mrs Williams" Andy called after her as Sharon slowly made her way to him and ran her arm around his waist. "She wants me" he said rather proudly.

"I had noticed." Sharon laughed. "Would you like me to leave you both alone?"

"She'd eat me for breakfast. She may be 80, arthritic and as mad as a box of frogs but she pinches really, really hard. I have the bruises to prove it" Andy said as he briefly rubbed his hand across his backside indicating where his admirer had previously left her mark.

"And here I thought you liked women who roughed you up."

"Only you. Only you."

Andy brought Sharon towards him before capturing her lips. As they pulled apart neither could fail to notice that Mrs Williams was still standing on her porch and giving Sharon a death glare. "She really hates me" Sharon said burying her face into Andy's shoulder while trying not to laugh.

"Well you've got your hands all over her slice of man meat." Sharon again laughed as Andy kissed her on the top of her head before moving to the trunk of the car and opening it. "The next time you come here in your car check your exhaust pipe for dead squirrels before you leave" he joked. Andy looked in the trunk at the overly large bags filling it. "What's in these bags? You're only here for 24 hours you know."

Sharon smiled. "Yes I know but I thought it might be a good idea to leave a few clothes here should I not make it home from time to time."

"Really?" Andy asked as his filthy smile spread across his face.

"Yes" Sharon responded before grabbing his chin and planting a quick kiss on his lips. "Wipe that grin off your face."

"Well stop putting it there." Andy grabbed all the bags and closed the trunk. As they made their way to the front door Andy pretended to struggle under the weight from the luggage he carried. "This is all clothes?"

"And cleaning equipment."

"I have plenty of kitchen cleaner."

"I mean something you can wear."

Another huge smile spread across Andy's face as he dropped the bags by his front door and looked for his keys in his pocket. "Have you got yourself a French maid's outfit in there?"

"In your dreams, more like something a lot more practical." Sharon bent down and unzipped the bag before producing a yellow hazmat suit.

"You have a hazmat suit?" Andy asked with the disbelief in his tone evident.

"I'm not going in there without one." Sharon continued to root around in the bag before picking up a small tube of vapour rub. She opened the tube and rubbed a small amount under her nose to mask the smell she was about to do battle with.

"What is that? Did you get that from the morgue?"

"Do you want some?"

"No!" Andy opened his front door and immediately slammed it shut again. "Yes! It may have got stronger."

There was no doubt that the smell had got worse since Wednesday. They both put that down to the house being shut up tight for a few days. Once inside every single window and door was opened to try to air the place out as best they could. If it did nothing else perhaps the smell would prevent Mrs Williams from just walking in since the front door was wide open (no such luck). In all honesty Sharon had brought the hazmat suit as a joke but opted to put it on anyway since the only apron Andy had in the house featured the body of a woman in a bikini and she was not prepared to wear it no matter what face he pulled at her. Since there was no time like the present they got underway with the task at hand so they could have as much time as possible to relax in the afternoon. While Andy pulled his refrigerator out from between the cabinets so they could reach the mouldy milk explosion behind it Sharon began to fill a bowl with warm soapy water to tackle the mess.

With the fridge pulled out Andy looked behind it to inspect the damage. "Oh my God!" he cried with genuine surprise and shock in his voice. It was immediately enough to make Sharon freeze.

"What?" she asked while turning off the faucet.

Andy's head disappeared behind the fridge again. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed. Sharon didn't curse, at all. The worst Andy had ever heard her say was 'crap' when she became particularly frustrated with the evasive behaviour of a couple of teenagers (although in the past Jack had heard her use a variety of four letter words to describe him and no one could blame her for that). As such Andy had also taken to curbing his language when he was around her so when he did curse around her, Sharon knew it was serious.

Sharon removed her rubber gloves and held them like a potential weapon. "What? What? Andy you're freaking me out" she said as she edged closer to see what the problem was.

"There's a rat."

As soon as the words left Andy's mouth Sharon pulled out a chair and used it as a stepping stone to leap onto the kitchen table. "What? Where?" she asked with a fear in her voice Andy hadn't heard since she opened up to him one evening following Philip Stroh's sudden return to the free world.

It was universally acknowledged that Sharon was 'as tough as nails,' intimidatingly so some might say. She was fierce. She could more than handle herself both at work and in her personal life and wasn't afraid of anything, well almost anything. Sharon could take down suspects with a shot between the eyes with a beanbag gun from twenty feet away. She once chased down and handcuffed a Neo Nazi four times her size, albeit with a little knee to the crotch to help get him under control but still it was mighty impressive. When it came to creepy crawlies she was also fearless. She would gladly pick up a spider with her bare hands and take it outside without any fear or any fuss (a very good job since Jack was terrified of spiders and sometimes shrieked louder than a middle aged woman after bumping into a sorority sister for the first time in twenty years). You could cover her in bugs to torture her and she'd say 'Is that it?' before yawning. Likewise she had no problem with snakes. As a rookie she was called to a playground because a group of children were being terrorised by a 10 foot boa constrictor that had escaped from a neighbouring house and were seeking shelter on top of the jungle gym. Although it was far too heavy for her to move alone, while waiting for Animal Control Sharon stepped over the snake and one by one collected the children and gave them back to their thankful parents who were hiding behind a car. But then there were rats. She hated them and not without good reason. Less than a month before her transfer to IA Sharon and her partner arrived at a house with the unmistakeable stench of decaying flesh emanating from the floorboards. Since Sharon was the smallest out of the two of them she was volunteered to crawl under the house to survey the scene which is where she found a body and about fifty rats. Squeezing in the small gap to get under the house was no problem but there was no way to turn around and she soon found herself stuck tight and in need of rescue. Two hours later when the floorboards were finally removed Sharon was released but not until she'd had to endure not only the smell from the corpse but also the rats who had taken a keen interest in her and spent the better part of an hour climbing on her face and nibbling on her ears.

Andy's surprise was obvious as he stared at Sharon standing on top of his kitchen table with a look of sheer panic on her face. He had never seen her like this. Sharon was normally unflappable but she was currently flapping so much they'd need to lower her to half-mast on Memorial Day. "What are you doing up there?"

"Not getting the plague. What do you mean there's a rat?"

"There's either a large dead rat or a small dead bear behind my fridge" Andy explained as he tried to hide his smile with his hand, beyond amused by Sharon's reaction.

"How?"

Andy looked behind the fridge again. "It looks like it's gnawed a hole in the wall where the pipes come in."

"Well what's it doing?"

"Not a lot. It's dead."

"How did it die?"

"I don't know. Do you want me to call Kendall?"

Sharon folded her arms and glared at Andy completely unimpressed. "Andy that's not..."

"It just moved!" Andy suddenly shouted.

The kitchen table clanged as Sharon jumped on the spot as if she could get further away from it should it be about to lunge at her. "Really?!"

Andy laughed as he walked towards Sharon and put his hand out for her to take. "No! Come down please. It's fine. I may not be Morales but I think I can tell it's definitely dead and been dead for a while."

"I'm not getting down until it's gone" Sharon stated while smacking Andy's hand away from her.

"I can't believe this. The former Queen of the Rat Squad frightened of a little rat." Andy laughed.

"Andy that's not funny" Sharon replied as Darth Raydor put in an appearance. She liked to laugh. When she was with Andy she laughed a lot as the both seemed to play off each other but this, this was not funny. Rats were never funny. Ever!

"It's a little funny." Andy stood on the chair and leant up to plant a kiss on Sharon's lips as an apology as much as an attempt to coax her down from the table. "It must have come in, ate the milk and died." Andy climbed back down and moved behind the fridge again. "Well that explains why the smell has taken on a life of its own since Wednesday." He crouched down. "The heat from the back of the fridge has cooked it slightly."

"Cooked?"

"Like fried chicken. It's stuck to the back of the fridge."

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to pry it loose."

"Not with your hand. Use some salad tongs and an oven mitt." Andy stood up and frowned. This was the first time he'd ever seen Sharon act irrational about anything. He moved to the other side of the kitchen and retrieved a pair of salad tongs from a drawer before picking up a tatty looking oven mitt and disappearing behind the fridge again.

"I can't get it off the back of the fridge. Wow! This thing is huge. Look at it."

"No!"

Andy stood back up and beckoned Sharon towards him. "Sharon come here."

"No!" came the defiant answer once more as Sharon shuffled back on the table a little more.

"Sharon…."

"Seriously Andy if you maintain any hope of ever seeing me naked again you will not bring that thing anywhere near me."

Andy immediately smiled. "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a promise, I guarantee you that!" Sharon said as her eyes sparkled.

Andy disappeared behind the fridge again before shouting "Here catch!"

Sharon immediately screamed and flinched as Andy started to laugh uncontrollably as he leant up the kitchen counter. "Andy!" she shouted loudly.

Sharon continued to glare at Andy as he laughed until he was silenced by the sound of a familiar voice coming from the front door. "Flynn! Captain! Are you both okay?" came the unmistakeable dulcet tones from Provenza.

"In here!" Andy called. A second or two later Provenza slowly entered the kitchen in his sunhat with his glasses on and gun drawn while taking aim as he scanned the room for intruders and the cause of his Captain's loud and incredibly uncharacteristic screams.

"Lieutenant! Thank God!" Sharon said in hope that she may now have an ally against Andy and his sense of humour.

"What's going on? I heard screaming and your door was wide open and what in God's name is that smell?" Provenza stood by the table and looked about the room confused. The last thing he expected to see when he approached Andy's door was to discover his Captain standing on the table in a hazmat suit and shouting.

"Don't ask" Andy said flatly before moving away from Provenza's aim.

"There's a rat behind the fridge." As she spoke Sharon moved forward to the edge of the table but made sure she stayed behind Provenza like she was using him as a human shield.

Provenza's eyes bulged. "A rat? You brought the Captain to a house full of rats?!"

Sharon looked down at her second in command and couldn't help but smile. She suddenly felt so special. The way he spoke it was almost as if Provenza was protecting her from both Andy and the rat. Considering she questioned whether he would actually hit the break on his car if he saw her in the middle of the road during the first few months of their working relationship, she was delighted by how they had come together.

"Not on purpose. I've been staying at Sharon's for a few days. It must have come in while I wasn't here." Andy bent down like he was about to pick the rat up. "Here let me show you…."

Sharon immediately grabbed Provenza by the shoulders and pulled him towards her to make sure he stayed between her and the rodent. "Andy I am serious! If that thing comes anywhere near me I will never have sex with you again."

Provenza could not have looked more uncomfortable if he tried. He was pleased for Andy and Sharon, he really was, but he just didn't want to hear about it. He especially didn't want to hear about their sex life (or anyone else's for that matter) while standing in his partner's kitchen with his Captain using him as a human shield with her hands all over him. As Sharon grabbed him even tighter and her arms wrapped around the top of his head Provenza awkwardly said "Captain I already have one hat, I don't need another."

"Sorry Lieutenant" Sharon said as she released him to allow him to take a step away before removing his hat. He smoothed his hair down while glancing at his Captain as he edged further away from her and any further defensive mauling of him she may be tempted to do.

Andy continued to laugh at Sharon's surprising behaviour. "Sharon calm down! It's welded to the fridge. I can't throw it anywhere." Andy turned to see Provenza with his gun still un-holstered and pointing uncomfortably in his direction. "Provenza will you put that gun away before you shoot me. Why are you armed anyway?"

Provenza put his gun away and stuffed his hat in his pocket. "Patrice wanted me to deliver a Christmas card to her sister."

Andy and Sharon stole a quick glance at each other while they tried not to laugh. Neither were surprised that Provenza delivered Christmas cards while holding a gun. The closest he got to the 'Christmas spirit' other than his choice in ties was drowning himself in a trough of eggnog.

"And you need a gun for that?" Andy asked knowing the answer was obviously in the affirmative.

Provenza spoke quickly as he felt the need to explain himself. "I feel better going over there armed, yes. Her family don't exactly like me."

"Still?" Sharon asked in disbelief.

"They loathe me, positively loathe me and they have dogs. Lots of dogs." Provenza shuddered at the thought.

Andy smirked. "What type of dogs?"

Provenza shrugged and looked a little sheepish like a secret laid within. "What's the difference? If it has teeth, it has teeth."

Andy glanced past Provenza and mouthed the word 'Chihuahua' at Sharon causing her to stifle her laugh with her hand as Provenza looked between them with venom. Yes it was a Chihuahua or rather four Chihuahuas. Four very angry and potentially controlled by the devil Chihuahuas.

It was no exaggeration to say that Patrice's family did not like Louie Provenza, not one little bit. A couple of reasons accounted for this sense of loathing towards the perfectly affable Provenza once you got to know him. The important thing to remember was it wasn't because he was a police officer. Patrice's first husband was a cop and they loved him, they bordered on worshiping the ground he walked on and he deserved it, Patrick was a wonderful man so Provenza had a lot to live up to. Leaving his ever present and often intimidating scowl to one side for a moment, first up was the obvious stumbling block between them: Keisha. There was no denying that Keisha was a murderer, clearly not in her right mind at the time of her arrest and deserved to be punished for taking Toby's life, but it was the manner of her arrest that bothered her family. Provenza had told her she was dying in order to get her to confess and then the icing on the cake came when he got Patrice to help him in the ruse! How do you like a man after that? That's low! You don't lie to someone like that, convince them that they are dying even if she had murdered someone. When it came to Provenza they didn't care that Patrice loved him, the manner of how Keisha was tricked into confessing, how he lied to her, that was the problem and there was no coming back from that, ever. However although the main root cause that was not the only reason they disliked him.

It was no understatement that Provenza did not make a good first impression. He struggled to make a good second, third or even fourth impression. It was one of the many things about him which made it difficult to imagine how he had been married so many times. He was grumpy, sarcastic and more than a tad hostile and rude if you rubbed him up the wrong way and that was if he liked you. You could easily label him as one of the grumpiest people you could ever meet unless of course you got to know him. As Patrice had discovered, and fairly quickly at that since he turned on his abundance of charm almost immediately after meeting her in the hospital, he was funny, sweet, loving, incredibly caring and a gentle soul at heart but again only if he liked you. Fortunately for Patrice he loved her, and after four previous wives, five marriages and one near miss she was without a shadow of a doubt the love of his life and despite the guilt she felt over moving on from the loss of her first husband the feeling was more than mutual.

Patrice's sister, Grace, loved dogs. She loved all kinds of dogs but was particularly fond of small dogs. Dogs she could pick up and carry. Dogs she could dress up in little outfits. Chihuahuas to be exact. She had four Chihuahuas and like everyone else in the family (Patrice aside) they hated Louie Provenza with a passion, well three out of the four at least. The first time Patrice took her then boyfriend to her sister's house for a 'get to know each other' barbecue things started badly and progressively got worse the longer they were there. Her family had assured Patrice ahead of time that they would try with Provenza and give him a chance for her sake if nothing else, the same could not be said for the dogs. When they arrived at Grace's house and walked through the gate all seemed quiet….for the first five seconds. Suddenly from out of nowhere Provenza's ankles were set upon by three tiny dogs each wearing a different outfit to make them look like a member of the Village People. Immediately the Construction Worker, the Police Officer and the Sailor lunged at him, barking and nipping his ankles until they had him pinned up the wall of the house and fearing for everything sensitive within biting range. Much to Provenza's surprise they could jump pretty high and had him fearing for his 'crown jewels' so opted to cover them with the bowl of potato salad he was carrying as their contribution to the meal. Meanwhile the Native American Chihuahua had other plans for Provenza and watched from afar as he tried to get them away from him without punting them into the next street while Patrice couldn't stop laughing.

The three chief attackers were finally called off by the sound of Grace shouting 'Babies come here.' The Native American on the other hand maintained a watchful eye on Provenza and plotted. Apologies were offered and they made their way through the house and to the back yard. As promised everyone was civil towards Provenza but hardly welcoming. Conversation was difficult as on the whole they struggled to bond with a man whose demeanour and tone were hard to assess when you first come into contact with him. Provenza did his best but was facing an uphill battle as he received glances that bordered from mild contempt to (in the case of Grace's friend who hated all men and Provenza was no different) like they'd just licked urine from a nettle leaf. As a reaction Provenza could quite easily have got drunk and ran his mouth off but when it came to women, especially when he had marriage in mind (not forgetting this was a fairly regular occurrence for him) he was always the perfect gentleman and always out to impress. When the food was ready the potato salad was not surprisingly left untouched as word quickly got around the party about its previous close proximity to Provenza's crotch.

As he ate his dinner alone (Patrice was talking to her sister and no one else seemed inclined to make much of an effort) at a fold up table Provenza felt more than a little hot under the collar as Patrice's relatives sized him up and glared at him from afar but that wasn't the main problem. Sitting on the table three of the Chihuahuas sat growing at him with overwhelming fury as the tiny tool belt around the Construction Worker clanged as its raging owner shook as he bared his teeth. Provenza however really didn't care because at the same time underneath the table his left shoe and leg where being repeatedly sexually assaulted by the little Native American Chihuahua who had taken a shine to him like no other creature before him. This dog had been giving him the eye all afternoon and had decided to strike in the relative privacy of beneath the table. Despite frequent flicks of his foot the dog hung on for dear life as Provenza's shoe came within five minutes of becoming a National Enquirer headline and miraculously getting pregnant. Eventually after having more than enough Provenza tried one more forceful flick (thankfully no one could see under the table) but succeeded only in flicking his shoe off, across the garden and landing on the plate of his future brother in law sending a burger flying into his face. He instantly apologised and explained to Patrice, not that he really needed to since the dog had not had its fill of some good Provenza foot loving and was still going to town on his ankle, but that only served to make him the butt of their jokes for the rest of the afternoon and every other subsequent meeting.

Provenza didn't like dogs before that barbecue, he liked them even less after. Andy had asked him when they rolled out to the murder of Christa Cook 'Why do you hate dogs all of a sudden?' Provenza had thought briefly about telling him about his Chihuahua hell but knew better. It would be the perfect excuse for everyone to make fun of him for the rest of his life so left the conversation at 'Oh, it's not all of a sudden.' He did however immediately change his cologne just in case that contributed to his sudden sex appeal to the short and the fury.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Andy asked.

Provenza sighed as his hand went into his pocket and produced a small envelope containing a card. "Patrice wanted me to give you this. Since you're better now and Patrice has got to know you both a little more over the last few months she thought it would be a good idea to invite you both over to our house for drinks on Wednesday night." He paused, his discomfort evident. "I mean if you want to. You may have other plans. I'm not forcing you" he said rapidly and some might say almost pleadingly as he handed Sharon the invitation.

Andy and Sharon stared at each other with mouths open in complete and utter shock. Provenza was inviting them over for drinks? A double date even? Sharon closed her mouth and smiled gratefully while Andy couldn't help but show his shock. In that moment he felt like someone who had just been told the world was round for the first time.

"Drinks?" Andy asked.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Drinks?"

Provenza rolled his eyes. "Yes! Drinks! Am I speaking in Greek?"

Andy still couldn't hide his surprise. "With you? And Patrice? Us?"

"Yes! Drinks with you and the Captain. Are you having a stroke Flynn?" Provenza shouted with exasperation.

With Andy still looking and sounding like he was a sandwich short of a picnic Sharon opted to answer for them. "That sounds wonderful Lieutenant. We'd love to."

"Well good" Provenza said as optimistic as he could muster.

"This is Patrice's idea?" Andy asked.

"Obviously but I'm on board with it" Provenza said as he adjusted the collar of his shirt. It was all too clear, although his words suggested one thing, his body language told a different story. He had two problems with it. Two very big problems. Firstly was Sharon. Now it was obvious to everyone that they made each other happy and Provenza was always adamant that he had no problem with Andy dating the Captain but therein lied the problem. Sharon was his Captain and there was no escaping that. Both Andy and Sharon were to be admired for how they were able to separate their work life from their personal life. They had the ability to almost flick a switch and look at each other like colleagues rather than lovers without taking a beat. Provenza simply could not do that. He didn't have that switch. No matter how hard he tried Sharon and his Captain were always going to be the same person. His reaction was no slight on Sharon, he would have felt the same if it was Johnson, Taylor or Pope. Louie Provenza was just not comfortable with his commanding officers and his home life mingling especially within his own four walls. Then there was the second problem, Andy. When Provenza was serious about a woman he kept them distanced as much as possible from his friends for fear they may say something that got him into trouble. He kept Andy as far away from Lauren for as long as possible and likewise he wouldn't have met Patrice as early as he did if they hadn't been working on Christmas Eve. Since then he had tried so hard to keep Andy away from Patrice in case anything slipped out and ended his relationship. Obviously that had to come to an end when Andy got injured and just to prove Provenza's point Andy blabbed to Patrice about the proposal. Provenza was desperate for his Captain to not hear the details of his personal life, he was equally desperate to not allow the love of his life to hear anything of a personal nature from his past either.

Sharon smiled. "We'll be there. Thank you Lieutenant."

Andy went to speak, to make a joke at Provenza's expense but Sharon gave him a sharp look to make him think better of it. Instead he looked behind the fridge again and then back to Provenza. "Since you're here you can give me a hand."

"Why does it smell so bad?" Provenza asked as he joined Andy by his fridge.

"Because of an eight week old milk explosion down the back of the fridge which has attracted a dead rat" Andy replied.

"Ye Gods Flynn do you ever clean?"

As Provenza inspected the mess behind the fridge and up the wall Andy retrieved a garbage bag from the counter. "I haven't had time. I've either been at work or staying at Sharon's. Here hold the bag open."

Provenza took the bag and shook it open. "Is it welded to the back of the fridge? I can smell burnt hair."

"I thought that was your cologne" Andy said quickly as Sharon laughed.

"Why is it so hot?"

"Fridges give off a lot of heat."

"Not like this. It's like being in the desert back here."

"Do you want to stop complaining?" Andy said as he brandished the salad tongs in Provenza's direction, tufts of burnt hair stuck to them and all.

"Oh I'm sorry. Was I complaining?" Provenza asked with sarcasm evident. "I only came here to drop off a card not to wrestle vermin into a trash bag. Have you never thought of spending any money and buying new appliances?"

"You're telling me to spend money? The cheapest guy on earth?" Andy said gobsmacked.

Sharon rolled her eyes. Andy and Provenza bickered more than an old married couple in desperate need of a divorce. "Do you think you could save this argument until after the rat is out of here?"

Andy and Provenza both stared at her before disappearing again behind the fridge. "Queen of the rat squad bothered by a rat" Provenza commented in anything but a whisper.

"That's what I said." Andy crouched down and clasped the rat in the salad tongs and tried once again to pry it lose. With the exception of the plastic coating on the tongs starting to melt from the excessive heat from the fridge, nothing happened. "I can't move it. Jeez this fella is really stuck."

Provenza stood back up and leaned up the fridge. "If I were you I'd just knock this place down and start again." As Andy again strained to pry it lose Provenza looked at his watch. "Would you mind hurrying up? I do have other places to be you know."

Andy dropped the tongs with an air of resignation. "It won't budge."

"Do you want me to shoot it off?" Provenza asked as his hand gravitated to his gun.

"No one is shooting a dead rat in this kitchen Lieutenant" Sharon stated in her most terrifying Darth Raydor tone.

Provenza raised his eyebrows as he gave Sharon a 'Who do you think you are?' look akin to the one he gave her when she first showed up at a crime scene as his Captain. "You know you're not the Captain here. We're off duty. If I want to shoot a dead rat in Flynn's kitchen, I'll shoot a dead rat in Flynn's kitchen."

Andy took a chunk out of his hand as he tried to stop laughing as Sharon glared at Provenza in silence. Seconds past as Sharon's piercing eyes made Provenza adjust his collar from the discomfort. Finally she spoke. "Really Lieutenant? Really?" she said calmly with ice hanging off every syllable. Sharon's words made Provenza take a step backwards while Andy shook violently with laughter.

"Does she boss you around like this all the time?" Provenza asked Andy.

"How do you think I got this?" Andy replied pointing to his black eye. He returned his attention back to his infestation for one final attempt before giving up. "It won't budge."

Provenza covered his eyes with his hand. "My morning started off so well. I've had to deal with dogs, a woman with a cape outside grabbed my ass and now here we are two grown men trying to pry a dead rat off the back of the refrigerator. Give those here" he said while snatching the salad tongs from Andy. Provenza crouched down and positioned himself alongside the fridge careful not to put his shoes in any of the mess from the original spillage. Clasping the rat in the salad tongs he started to tug at it.

"It's not going to move" Andy said as he watched Provenza's face turn red as he tried to pull it lose.

"I've got it. I've got it!" Provenza cried as it finally came lose. Sadly the force of his sudden movement meant that he immediately fell backwards with his legs kicking out. He landed flat on his back with his shoes covered in the grime from the floor and with a deceased rat in his hand. "Perfect! Well this day keeps getting better and better."

Five minutes later with the rat now safely disposed of in the garbage can and Andy finally able to coax Sharon down from the table like a fireman rescuing a cat from a tree the attention turned to Provenza's shoes. Provenza wanted to wash them in the sink but neither Andy nor Sharon were too keen on the smell being washed down the sink where it may linger further. Provenza flat out refused to get in his car with them in that state so there was only one other option.

As Provenza stood on Andy's drive he chuntered to himself while Andy sprayed his shoes with the garden hose with a massive smile on his face. Provenza sensibly had been just about to take them off when Andy started hosing them down while they remained on his feet leaving him with little choice but to just stand there and get soaked. With the water splashing up on his pants Provenza screamed "Aim at my shoes Flynn! My shoes!"

"I am aiming at your shoes."

With the last of the mess hosed off and washed down the driveway to the gutter Provenza looked down at his feet and let out an exasperated sigh. "I can't drive home in wet shoes and pants."

"Take your shoes off to drive home" Andy said with little sympathy.

"Have we met before? You seem to have mistaken me for some sort of hippie."

Suddenly Andy had an idea. Ten minutes later Andy stood with Provenza by his car only now Provenza was wearing a pair of Andy's sweatpants and a pair of his sneakers. With their height difference obvious Provenza's feet were nearly covered by the extra material and with Andy's feet being a couple of sizes bigger than his, he looked and felt a bit like a clown.

"I look ridiculous" Provenza said as he looked at his feet.

"Admit it you've been trying to get into my pants since your last wedding night" Andy joked and expecting a serious reaction.

"Will you stop saying things like that! We had an agreement. A gentleman's agreement! You swore there and then that we would never discuss it again" Provenza bellowed.

"Hey I only told Sharon, you're the one that told everyone else."

"Ye Gods don't remind me" Provenza said as he looked to the heavens before moving a little closer towards Andy. "Speaking of which listen Flynn before I go we need to organise some sort of safe word before Wednesday night" he said in hushed tones.

Andy looked confused and more than a tad disturbed. "Safe word?"

"Yeah before one of us gets the other one into trouble." Andy still looked confused as Provenza moved closer to explain. "Look there are certain things Patrice doesn't know about me and I'd very much like to keep it that way. Presumably there are certain things you'd rather the Captain didn't find out about you either."

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know like that detour to Barstow and the ping pong ball springs to mind" Provenza said loudly.

Andy immediately waved his hands to get Provenza to quieten down again now that they were finally on the same page. "Why would that even come up in general conversation?" Andy asked with a certain amount of horror.

"I don't know it might just slip out."

"Then make sure it doesn't!" Andy said with venom.

"But if while we're talking we head towards a dangerous area and by 'dangerous area' I mean anything that gets me kicked out of my bed and sleeping on the couch for the following week we need a safe word so the other can help change the subject" Provenza explained.

"You've thought way too much about this?"

"Have I? Have I? Really?" Provenza asked wildly. "You'd rather walk into my house completely unprepared and risk the chance of never..." he paused while he thought of an appropriate phrase that wouldn't conjure up any unwanted images. "Let's just say never getting another black eye again?"

Andy thought for a moment as realisation spread across his face. "You've got a point here."

"Despite my youthful complexion I was in fact not born yesterday and when it comes to ruining relationships by putting my foot in it I have something of a record so trust me, we need a plan. The first thing you need to keep in mind is I don't talk about the other Mrs Provenzas in front of Patrice."

Andy smiled at the idea of such a huge percentage of the population of LA being off limits. "Why? Is she jealous?"

"No but we just don't mention them" Provenza replied without any need for further clarification. "This is the first time that we've both been in serious relationships at the same time so let's not screw it up by being stupid." While Andy agreed he couldn't help but smile. "What? What's that look for?"

"Wasn't it you that told me a relationship was nothing more than two people deciding what to eat until one of them dies?"

"That sounds like something I'd say but I haven't always been able to live up to it hence why God created divorce lawyers. Listen you've got as much to lose as I have should this friendly evening of drinks go belly up."

"Okay, so what's the safe word?" Andy asked.

"I don't know, I came up with the plan, you think of something."

"Banana" Andy stated quickly.

"'Banana'? The whole of the English language on the tip of your tongue and you say 'Banana'?" Provenza said in utter disbelief.

"Yeah what's wrong with that?"

Provenza put his head in his hands. "It needs to be something we'd use in every day conversation so the women won't notice what we're doing. If the time I accidentally ended up on a date with a drag queen comes up in discussion my screaming 'Banana!' at you is hardly going to improve matters."

Andy's eyes widened as he processed what Provenza had said. This was a story he was previously unaware of. "When did you…."

Provenza immediately cut him off. "It doesn't matter but just in case let's be prepared."

"Then I don't know, 'Indubitably'" Andy suggested.

"'Indubitably'?" Provenza repeated.

"It means..."

Again Andy was cut off. "I know what it means. 'Indubitably.' Fine. I'll see you Monday and don't forget" Provenza said as he opened his car door and climbed in.

"Or just try not to tell her about Barstow."

"Tell who what about Barstow?" Sharon asked from the front door.

Andy immediately turned around as horror struck him and he wondered how long she'd been standing there and what exactly she'd overheard. Provenza peered around Andy to see his Captain and smiled. "Bye Captain. Flynn" he said as he closed the car door, started the engine and drove off.

Andy watched Provenza leave, giving him daggers as he drove away because of the potentially troublesome situation he'd been left in. Andy turned around and smiled at Sharon before making his way back to her and hoping to make it into the house without any further questioning. "So Barstow?" Sharon asked as Andy stood before her.

"Nothing" Andy said innocently before quickly escaping into the house and the distraction of a mess to clean.

A couple of hours later with the kitchen spotless Andy turned his hand to DIY for the second time in two days and attempted to patch up the hole in his wall with wood that was formally a nightstand abandoned in his garage. Several dozen curse words and a hammer to the thumb later the job was done to an awful standard but was enough until it could be done properly by a professional or at least by Julio. The next item on the 'To Do List' was much harder to accomplish but after half an hour Sharon was able to persuade Andy that he needed to buy a new fridge, one that wasn't so hot it doubled as a rotisserie at the bottom but that was a job for tomorrow. In between Mrs Williams had put in an appearance twice, walking in through the open door to check if Andy needed anything and to also look at Sharon like she was something she stepped in. With everything cleaned up and the smell gradually leaving the house there was nothing left to do but wait until it had completely aired out. With all the windows and doors needing to be left open Sharon and Andy had no choice but to stay indoors and wait until all traces had gone. As Sharon removed her hazmat suit and hung it by the front door like she was an extra from _Outbreak_ on a lunch break Andy filled up two glasses of water and put them on the coffee table in the living room.

Andy plodded towards Sharon and wrapped his arms around her. "What now? We can't go anywhere so movie?" he asked while peering behind her looking for the remote.

"If it's all the same with you I think it's time to just lollop on the couch" she suggested after she'd stretched up to meet his lips.

Andy grinned. "Okay. And how exactly do you 'lollop'?"

"Here let me show you" Sharon said before she manoeuvred Andy backwards to the edge of his couch. Without warning she pushed him back over the arm to make him fall flat on his back.

Succumbing to his prone position Andy smiled and looked a little surprised before he shuffled up the couch to rest his head on the arm. "Before this goes any further remember the door is open" he said as he gazed up at her.

Andy opened his arms and gestured for Sharon to join him, she laughed and shook her head. "Just lie down and stay still."

"Six words every man wants to hear as his girlfriend pushes him on the couch."

Sharon crossed her arms as she loomed at the end of the couch. "Andy."

"Yes?"

"Shut up!" she said playfully as she smiled. Sharon climbed on the edge of the couch and slowly started to crawl up it and Andy to lie on him. With limited room each movement meant she was crushing one part of his anatomy causing him to flinch. "Sorry! Sorry!" she said as an elbow went into his side and her knee into his crotch. Eventually Sharon lay down in the gap between the back of the couch and Andy with her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest. "There! This is how you lollop."

"I could get used to this" Andy said as he moved his arm to put it around her shoulders and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Me too but without the smell."

Sharon removed her glasses to get more comfortable and handed them to Andy to put on the coffee table since he was closer, something he had done for her a fair few times before as they cuddled up together on the couch. This time however instead of the coffee table Andy opted to slide her glasses on the top of his head before again kissing her. Sharon responded by kissing his chest through his shirt before lifting her head to adjust her position which only resulted in her hair flicking up and almost completely covering Andy's face. He tried to blow some of it off before saying "Hair! Hair!" as he coughed.

"Sorry!" Sharon said as she adjusted herself again, moving her hair off his face before her hand made its way up the sleeve of his polo shirt.

Andy ran his hand through Sharon's hair. "I have never met a woman with so much hair. I nearly choked to death on it last night."

Sharon lifted her head to look him in the eyes. "We're comparing hairiness? You? It's like sleeping next to a bear."

"I am not waxing it!"

Sharon replaced her head back on Andy's shoulder. "I wouldn't want you to." She paused as she smiled into his chest and tried not to laugh. "I'm waiting until the inevitable first argument comes along."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing...other than you should expect to wake up the following morning with a waxing strip attached to your chest." Sharon smiled as she kissed his chest.

"Nice try but I think I'd notice" Andy said laughing.

Sharon shook her head. "Oh Andy! When you're fast asleep I could give you a tattoo and you wouldn't wake up. I bet your ex-wife always had to get up and see to the children in the night."

"I did my fair share and I am not that much of a heavy sleeper."

Again Sharon lifted her head to look at him as her hand moved up and down his arm, caressing it with her fingertips. "Andy I all but had to hold your nose closed and stop you from breathing this morning to wake you up."

"It's a Saturday! I still don't know why we had to wake up so early."

Sharon smiled coyly. "Because as you are now fully aware I'm a bit of a morning person and since I had plans for you before Rusty's alarm went off it was imperative that I wake you." Sharon joined their lips together for what was anything but a gentle kiss.

"I love how much you plan ahead." Andy returned the kiss before adjusting his position slightly so he could cuddle her more easily and bringing his face closer to hers. "But if we're talking weird sleepers, I have never known a woman to yammer my ear off for an hour and then be capable of falling asleep mid-sentence."

"I don't fall asleep that quickly!"

"Yes you do like some sort of narcolepsy. It's almost as if you talk yourself out. Last night you said 'You know what Andy we should...' and then nothing. You were gone."

Sharon looked surprised. "Did I really?"

"Yes I've never seen anything like it. So 'we should' what?"

"I have no idea" Sharon said laughing.

Sharon closed her eyes as Andy rubbed his hand up and down her back. As he lay there his eyes drifted to the other large bag that Sharon had brought with her and now sat, still zipped up by the TV. "Do you really have clothes in that bag?" he asked.

Sharon smiled. "Yes I do."

"Enough clothes that you may need me to clean out a drawer in my bedroom for you to keep them in?" Andy asked hesitantly with a growing smile.

"That's the plan if there's room next to your suspenders drawer of course."

"I'd clean out that suspenders drawer if it means keeping a drawer full of your clothes in my bedroom." Sharon had made it clear a few days ago that despite this sudden and dramatic change in their relationship there was little chance of them actually moving in together anytime soon. Andy would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed despite anticipating everything that Sharon said to him. Given the chance he would already have his house on the market and be moving everything he didn't need into storage so he could move into Sharon's condo asap but since that was a long way off he was more than happy to live with some of Sharon's clothes if not actually Sharon herself.

Sharon laughed before kissing him again. "Andy Flynn you old romantic."

"Does this mean you'll be cleaning out a drawer for me?" Andy tentatively enquired.

Andy's obvious insecurity and surprise made Sharon smile. She kissed him again before replacing her head back on his shoulder. "If you'd like to refill that bag so I can take it home with me."

"Try and stop me." Andy grinned obscenely before it slowly faded as he thought about what Sharon had just said to him. He rubbed his hand up and down her back again as a form of reassurance should she regret what she'd just said. "Are you sure about this? I mean it's all a bit sudden."

"It's been five months." Sharon couldn't help but smile at the huge reversal in their attitudes. It wasn't that Andy didn't want this to happen, he was just surprised. For five months Sharon was the one keeping him at arm's length while he wanted to forge ahead. Now suddenly their roles were reversed and Andy was taken aback by how quickly Sharon was moving things forward.

"Yeah but five months of waiting and now suddenly five days later you're leaving clothes at my house. I don't want to rush you."

Sharon smiled and kissed him. "You're not rushing me. It was my suggestion."

Sharon locked their lips together once more for what became a long lingering kiss, only pulling apart as they both registered the need to cool things down since all the windows and doors were open and they'd already had two unexpected visitors just wandering in through the front door without knocking so far that morning. Sharon returned her head to Andy's shoulder as they cuddled each other a little closer for a few moments.

"So Christmas drinks at Provenza's." Andy said with a smile. "That's a surprise. You don't need to be a detective to work out whose idea that was."

"She does seem to have him well trained these days. I'm sure it'll be lovely if both of you are on your best behaviours." Sharon laughed to herself as Andy looked at her perplexed.

"What does that mean? I'm always on my best behaviour…." Andy paused as a massive smile spread across his face. "But while I keep Provenza and Patrice distracted you can search the house for where she keeps his balls." Before Sharon had chance to respond Andy immediately cried "Ow!" like he had been smacked.

Sharon lifted her head. "What? I haven't touched you."

"It was pre-emptive."

Sharon shook her head as her fingers continued to trace patterns on Andy's upper arm underneath his shirt sleeve. "You need to stop by a florists on Wednesday so you can take Patrice some flowers as a thank you and an apology. A thank you for how she helped you deal with your clot and as an apology for ruining her proposal."

"I didn't ruin it" Andy protested.

"Really? I think Lieutenant Provenza would beg to differ."

"Did I put my foot in it? Yes I did but was it a good thing? Absolutely."

Sharon shook her head before resting her chin on Andy's shoulder so she could see his face better. "I can't wait to hear this. Explain it to me."

"If Patrice had said 'No' at least it wouldn't have happened in the restaurant with half the city watching as his heart broke in two and trust me I've seen Provenza with a broken heart and it's not a pretty picture. Instead Patrice would have packed her bags and gone before he ever had chance to ask. I let him know she was going to say 'Yes' before he made a fool of himself." Andy closed his eyes as he felt satisfied with his rationalisation of his behaviour. In truth he was mortified about what he'd said to Patrice and if he wasn't already in hospital at the time there was a very good chance Provenza would have put him there himself. In the interim he had apologised a thousand times but it was joining ruining his last wedding night on the top of the list of things Provenza was never going to forgive or forget.

"I'm sure that was something he wanted to find out on his own."

"Fine! Next time I'll try to keep my mouth shut."

Sharon playfully smacked him on the arm. "There won't be a next time!"

"I've heard that before. What are we going to talk about?" he asked. On any other day Andy and Provenza would never run out of things to talk about but it would be an evening with Sharon and Patrice. Andy knew the idea of Provenza having his Captain in his home for a social evening, regardless of it being Sharon, must be bringing him out into a cold sweat. Add to that Provenza had suddenly made him anxious about not saying anything to get either of them into trouble as such he envisaged the four of them sitting in awkward silence for a couple of hours.

"I don't know what do you usually talk about with each other?"

Andy smiled. "Boobs and baseball." Sharon knew he was joking but still took the opportunity to remove her hand from up his shirt sleeve and dive for the back of his knee. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding" Andy said as he grabbed Sharon's hand and put it back up his shirt sleeve. Sharon rested her head back on Andy's shoulder before she started laughing to herself. "What?" Andy asked before kissing her on the top of her head.

"If you'd have told me five years ago I would be looking forward to Christmas drinks with Lieutenants Provenza and Flynn I would have told you you were crazy." There was no denying it, no one was more surprised than Sharon that she now considered Louie Provenza a friend, let alone that she had fallen in love with Andy. Frankly Jack announcing he was getting a sex change seemed more likely based on the first twenty four hours she was in charge of Major Crimes.

Again Andy smiled. "So you're still maintaining you investigated me so many times because of my conduct and not because you had the hots for me."

"I never had the hots for you" Sharon protested. She was lying. Despite how obnoxious and obstructive she found him in the past she still looked him up and down more than once especially on the rare occasions that he smiled at her (usually smiles of contempt but when you're ogling someone it doesn't really matter).

"You undressed me with your eyes so many times it was bordering on sexual harassment." Again Andy was also lying. If it wasn't for her fondness of the rulebook Andy had questioned whether Sharon would spit on him if he was on fire during her final few years at FID. But Andy loved to tease Sharon especially about 'ogling' him since he got her to admit that she did it a couple of days ago.

"I never looked at you in anything but a highly professional manner."

"Sure." Andy paused for a moment. "You wanted me."

The smile on Andy's face oozed confidence. Sharon desperately wanted to kiss him but didn't want him to think he was right. Instead she had decided it was her turn to make fun of him. "Let me guess, because of your 'animal magnetism'?"

"Absolutely."

Sharon laughed. "And how is your 'animal magnetism'? Keeping it in check?"

"For your sake yes I am" Andy said in a protective tone. Sharon immediately laughed uncontrollably. "Don't laugh at me. If I turned on my animal magnetism full blast you'd be nothing more than putty in my hands."

"Oh really? What sort of animal are we talking about?"

"I don't know." Andy thought for a moment. "A lion maybe." Again Sharon started laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Andy asked with mock offense.

"Nothing. I know I've heard you growl a couple of times but under the circumstances I took it as a compliment." Their lips immediately came together and locked until Sharon started laughing again.

"What animal would you say then?"

Sharon's mind raced as she thought of the answer that would create the biggest reaction from Andy. "A chipmunk maybe?" she said biting her lip so she didn't laugh.

"Chipmunk?!" Andy exclaimed in a register that suggested he'd been kicked in a rather personal and painful area.

Sharon laughed while rubbing his cheeks. "Because of how cute and adorable you are." Sharon knew he hated that word but his reactions to it were always so deliberately comically over the top she couldn't help but use it just to see his face.

"Adorable?" Andy glared before darting his hands to her ribs and tickling her. "That's it Raydor!" Andy continued to tickle Sharon before joining their lips together in a long embrace. After breaking apart Andy held her tightly once more as he lay his head back and closed his eyes. "I'll show you my lion side. Chipmunk!"

Sharon watched him for a moment with a huge grin. She looked at her watch. "Well I'm waiting."

"Just keep waiting, it's like a slow release thing."

Sharon laughed. "Like a gas leak? This is turning into one of those standard first date questions. 'If you were an animal what sort of animal would you be?'"

"I've never been asked that on a first date."

Sharon put her head back on his shoulder as she smiled again. "Of course you haven't, you've been too busy oozing charm and keeping your animal magnetism under control while your date 'undressed you with her eyes'." Again she buried her face into his shoulder so he couldn't see her laughing despite the fact her whole body was shaking violently as she let out a snort making it very obvious.

Andy's mouth dropped open. "Are you mocking me?"

"A little bit" Sharon confessed as she adjusted herself again so she was now able to keep her eyes permanently fixed on Andy's.

"You didn't ask me that sort of question on our first date."

"That wasn't really like a first date though was it because we'd been out so many times before. I suppose technically you could say our first date was dinner before the Nutcracker."

Andy grinned as he nodded. "I thought you said we weren't dating then." Sharon immediately lifted her head and crashed their lips together in a long searing kiss. Andy's hand left her back and went into her hair to keep their lips together even longer despite the fact he knew exactly what she was doing. It had come to his attention a couple of times over the last month or so that when he asked an awkward question or tried to prove her wrong, Sharon would silence him with a kiss but not just any kiss, a kiss that left him breathless. As a result he had made it his mission in life to try to playfully prove her wrong, tease her and otherwise make her want him to shut up in order to get her to do it. As they finally broke apart his filthy smile put in an appearance. "You know if you're going to keep distracting me from proving you wrong with a kiss expect it a lot more often."

"We weren't dating" Sharon protested although she now secretly acknowledged that they probably were.

"Yes we were so happy anniversary by the way but I still had 'first date' questions ready for Serve just in case we needed them."

Sharon chose to ignore his 'anniversary' comment despite the desire to acknowledge the milestone now that he'd brought it up. Instead she focused on Andy's preparation for their first real date. "Like what?"

"Like if you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I knew your answer would be Italy. Favourite movie? _The Philadelphia Story_. Favourite book? _Brideshead Revisited_. Stuff like that." Sharon's smile grew as Andy listed her favourite things without a second thought before planting her lips on his once more. "Then there were the questions I didn't already know the answer to like if the entire division was stuck on a desert island who would you eat first?"

"You're kidding me?"

"Nope."

"That was your first date question?" Sharon asked in disbelief.

"One of them yes. I knew the answers to all the other ones so I needed something different. Plus if you'd elected to eat me last I would have known you liked me" Andy joked.

"And the previous two years of dinners and movies and going on a date with you didn't let you know that I liked you?"

Andy met her lips again. "It's always nice to have confirmation."

Sharon smiled again before she became surprised by her next question. "So who would you eat first?"

Suddenly Andy looked as serious as he'd ever been as he prepared to explain. "I've given this a lot of thought. Now you'd need to keep Julio to fight off any locals or beasts that may pop up."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just eat them rather than the people you actually know?" Sharon questioned as she laughed.

"Maybe but you've got to plan for all eventualities."

Sharon shook her head. "This is easily the weirdest conversation we've ever had."

Andy looked at her surprised. "This is the weirdest conversation? This? With the sort of nonsense you like to talk about before going to sleep? Last night you asked me when a tree branch becomes a stick."

"Taken out of context yes it may seem peculiar but I was talking about playing Pooh-Sticks with my children at my parents' house."

"And how did we get to that point in the conversation?"

Sharon paused before saying the words that she knew would prove Andy right. "By naming all the suspects in Clue."

Andy laughed. "Exactly."

"What can I say? I'm a fan of pillow talk and a big fan of talking to you." She gently pressed her lips to his before looking at him accusingly. "Are you complaining?"

"Hell no! It's been the best part of my day recently. I love finding out what's going on in that head of yours even when it's about foot temperature and sticks."

Their lips met again before Sharon broke it off eager to continue the rather odd turn their conversation had taken. "Okay so Julio for his bodyguard tendencies."

"You'd need Mike to see if he could make a phone or computer out of a coconut and a pile of sand to get us off the island."

"I see, good thinking."

"So it's between Amy, Buzz and Provenza as to who goes first. Amy's relentless positivity demands she goes early because I wouldn't be able to cope, likewise Provenza with his endless negativity."

Sharon laughed before asking "What about Buzz?"

"I wouldn't want Buzz documenting my cannibalism so he'd have to go quickly."

"And what about me?"

Andy smiled before joining their lips together once more. "Well naturally I'd leave you for last."

"You wouldn't hit yourself on the head with a rock and let me eat you?" As the words left Sharon's mouth she shook her head. This was certainly a conversation she would never have had with Jack. That thought made her smile. She'd realised back when they were still just friends that her and Andy would never run out of things to talk about, it would simply never happen and within that she'd never stop laughing. She'd never laughed as much in her life as she did when she was with Andy but more than that, she liked who she was as a person when she was with him. She was happy, laughing and in a permanent good mood and the same could be said for Andy.

"I would but then you'd be left alone on an island to starve to death and I wouldn't want to leave you like that" Andy said like he was doing Sharon a huge favour.

"How thoughtful, so best you eat me?"

"Absolutely" Andy laughed.

Sharon joined him in laughing while shaking her head. "It's a good job we didn't discuss this question on our first date because there may not have been another."

Andy stared at her confidently. "Oh yes there would have been" he said before their lips met again.

"Thankfully we didn't need it because we already knew each other so well." Sharon thought for a moment as curiosity spread across her face. "Speaking of which how did you know what I wanted to eat?" she asked.

"When?"

"When you drove me home on Tuesday night. How did you remember what I liked from Rusty's favourite Chinese place?" On the night in question there had been too many other things to discuss so that particular question had slipped by the wayside but Sharon had thought about it a couple of time since. How had he remembered? It was such an insignificant thing to keep a note of and yet the result of Andy remembering had led to this explosive change in their relationship as she felt the overwhelming desire to tell him how she felt right there and then in the car.

"The place where all good food goes to die?" It really was an awful restaurant but it became a place Sharon would order from quite often because Rusty liked it and it was the perfect pick me up when he'd had a bad day.

"I know but he likes it. We've ordered from there once together. How did you remember?"

Andy smiled. He remembered because the only other time they had ordered from that place together Andy had been convinced Sharon had ordered a scrawny pigeon marinated in a puddle while Rusty's 'beef' still seemed to have a pulse and that sort of thing was hard to forget. This was not something he wanted to share with Sharon however so opted for a charm offensive instead. "It's my job to remember these minute details as I continue to try to woo you" he said which was partly true in this instance.

Sharon grinned at him. "I've got news for you, you have successfully wooed me. I am completely wooed."

"Oh good I can give up then. Time to openly scratch and belch in my underwear" Andy said jokingly.

Sharon immediately playfully slapped him on his arm. "Don't you dare!"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Andy leaned his head back on the arm rest and closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly they opened as he glanced at Sharon. "Why do you ask anyway?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all" Sharon said coyly as she kissed his neck and avoided eye contact. It was all too obvious to Andy she was lying, it was obvious to complete strangers.

Andy frowned as he closed his eyes again. His mouth was the first thing to open followed by his eyes as realisation hit him. "Wait. That's not the reason you told me you loved me is it?" Sharon didn't answer but instead bit her lower lip as she smiled at him. "It is! That's why you told me you loved me? Because I remembered what you'd ordered from a take out? What if I'd forgotten? What if I'd said chicken? Would we be lying here like this right now?" he asked completely taken aback.

"Probably not and I definitely wouldn't have eaten that chicken but I would have told you I loved you eventually" she said quickly. "It just might not have slipped out when it did."

"Slipped out? That's what you're going with? Slipped out? You practically screamed it at me. It was sort of frightening."

Sharon laughed. "It wasn't that loud and you could have told me yourself at any point you know."

"I'd said it" Andy asserted.

"To Lieutenant Provenza and a blank piece of paper."

"Not just to him. I'd told myself in a mirror and a manikin that looked a little like you at a crime scene."

Sharon laughed again. She knew that Andy had been just as nervous to say it as she was, that much was evident from his letter but she had no idea just how many people and random objects he'd said it to before her. "Looked like me how?" she asked quizzically.

Andy immediately regretted his statement. "I'd rather not say. It shared certain attributes with you shall we say" he said with his meaning all too obvious.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "You're such a guy! Regardless not one of those people or inanimate objects were me."

"Then I'll tell you again now." Andy pressed his lips to Sharon's before he said "I love you Darth Raydor." Sharon immediately gently smacked him on his arm. "Ow! I love you even though you beat constantly."

"And I love you even though you never tire of making fun of me."

"I don't make fun of you." Andy immediately grinned as he decided to use something he'd been saving for a couple of days. "Would you like a Yoohoo?"

Sharon screwed her face up and hid it in Andy's shoulder. "No thank you" came the muffled response. Andy laughed to himself causing Sharon to begrudgingly look him in the eye. "You know don't you?"

Again Andy laughed as he nodded. "I may have worked it out a couple of days ago. You've never struck me as a Yoohoo kind of person. Why did you change your mind?"

"I don't know, I panicked half way through" Sharon stated honestly. Like when she finally told him she loved him in the car, it had been building up inside her throughout dinner. She was desperate to say it, so desperate she could hardly eat. Then she started and fear took hold of her. Under the circumstances she felt she did well to make sense and not just make a strange grunting sound at him instead. "It seems so silly now. Promise me that we won't keep the important things to ourselves anymore. We'll tell each other these things."

"Deal" Andy said as he raised his hand in the air. Since they were in no position to shake hands, a high five was the next best thing.

Sharon slapped their hands together as she laughed. "Everything is a deal with you."

An expression of mock shock spread across Andy's face and opted to wipe the grin off Sharon's face by pushing his lips to hers. "So anything important you'd like to share with me?"

"Yes. I snort when I laugh."

"I know, the cat is sort of out of the bag on that one."

"Anything you'd like to get off your chest?" Sharon asked.

Andy sighed. "It irritates the crap out of me that Taylor suggested Mike for Badge of Justice and not me" he admitted although it was hardly a confession since it was abundantly clear to anyone who had been in Andy's vicinity whenever Mike mentioned it how much it annoyed the hell out of him.

Sharon tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. "I know. Trust me everyone knows. Why does it bother you so much?"

"I don't know it just does." Sharon was about to press him further when Andy started again. "Do you have any idea how much he makes? And it was Taylor that suggested him for it. Back in the day Taylor and I were as thick as thieves at Robbery Homicide, I basically did his bidding until I transferred."

"Why did you transfer?"

Andy grinned. "He wanted some pain in the ass rule book obsessed officer from IA to investigate me."

Sharon glared at him. "Hey! Why?" she asked. Having spent most of her career in IA in Los Angeles she knew full well why Taylor wanted him investigated. She would probably have been assigned to do it at that point but she asked the question anyway to see if Andy wanted to share with her.

"Over the Croelick case. To cover his own ass he told Pope I planted evidence to get a conviction which I didn't." Andy waited for Sharon to respond but she remained silent with the slightest grin on her face. "You're being quiet. You already know this."

"It may have been in your package."

"Is there anything you don't know about me?"

"Lots I'm hoping" she said as she pushed her lips to his.

"Yeah well surprisingly the Chief stood up for me despite all the crap I'd given her so I immediately put in for a transfer to Priority Homicide. I guess it kind of pissed Taylor off."

"He did try to warn me off you when we told him we were dating but if you don't mind me saying Lieutenant Flynn you've come a long way since Robbery Homicide." Sharon didn't go any further because she didn't want to make things awkward at work. Two days after their discussion with Taylor, Sharon had to see him over the Gretchen Taylor case. Much to her complete shock Taylor stopped her before she could leave and asked her if she was 'really sure you should be dating Andy Flynn.' Taylor meant no disrespect by it but he felt he knew Andy better than Sharon and it didn't matter how much he had changed, he had a reputation and Taylor felt responsible to perhaps defend and protect her honour. With that in mind Sharon was quick to change the subject. "I once dropped Ricky….on Emily." Andy's mouth dropped open. "Don't look at me like that! You try wrestling two toddlers on your own. There was no permanent damage."

"Really? Have you seen his hair?" he said jokingly. The result was Sharon immediately pinched the back of his knee repeatedly. "Ow! Not the knee! Anywhere but the knee." Sharon put her hand back up his shirt sleeve as he laughed to himself. "I asked you to the Nutcracker because I'd let Nicole and my ex-wife think we were dating."

"We're supposed to be telling each other things we didn't know" Sharon laughed. "You didn't ask me because you wanted to?"

"Yes. I also asked you because I wanted to spend time with you and didn't know how to ask."

"I've got news for you, you still didn't know how to ask after that. I'm the one that asked you to the movies and dinner."

"And I'm so glad you did."

Their smiles matched one another's before their eyes closed and their lips came together in a prolonged embrace. Like a few minutes ago things began to get heated quite quickly as their lips led each other in a merry dance while straining, albeit not very hard, to not take things too far given where they were situated and that they had already had two unexpected visitors walk through the open door that morning. Regardless it was Sharon that made the first move and she couldn't stop her hand from leaving Andy's shirt sleeve and slipping under his shirt and to his chest, dragging her nails along his flesh as she went. Andy let out a muffled moan as he battled his own desire to take things further but he was fighting a losing battle. With their lips locked and Sharon caressing his chest, Andy's resulting arousal was obvious and in that moment he had no intention of stopping and didn't care if anyone walked in on them, it would be their fault for not knocking even if the door was open. Likewise he thought 'To hell with the neighbours' if they happened to pass and heard anything emanating from his current 'open house.' As Andy shifted his weight more onto his side and facing towards Sharon and the back of the couch Sharon briefly opened her eyes and caught sight of something she didn't expect. A small Jack Russell Terrier was sitting by the coffee table staring at them after evidentially just wandering in through the open door.

Sharon finally broke their lips apart as she asked breathlessly "Don't you think we should shut the front door?"

Andy had no intention of moving anywhere and quite frankly didn't care in that moment as his lips snaked down Sharon's neck. "No it's fine. No one is going to rob the place with us lying here."

Sharon tried not to laugh. "Are you sure?"

"Positive" Andy managed to say before his lips moved back to her jawline.

"Okay. If you say so."

Andy pulled back and moved to reassure her. "Trust me. No one is coming in here."

Sharon again glanced over his shoulder to see the dog still sitting there staring at them with its tongue hanging out. She smiled. "Okay then." Andy grinned before he moved to bring their lips together once more but was stopped as Sharon said "And what is your name little fella?"

Andy again provided his filthy smile. Sharon was quite clearly talking to the dog but since Andy had no idea it was there he could only leap to one conclusion. His arousal still obvious and currently digging into Sharon's hip through his jeans he said coyly "If I tell you will you promise not to laugh?" Sharon immediately threw her head back and started laughing uncontrollably. "What?" Andy asked utterly bemused. Sharon continued to laugh as she pointed over his shoulder. Andy glanced behind him and did a double take. "There's a dog in here."

"But don't worry no one will wander in" Sharon said still laughing.

Andy kissed her once more on the lips before uncomfortably standing up and grabbing the dog. "Come on you, let's find your owner."

Sharon also stood and removed her glasses from the top of Andy's head before putting them back on. "Let me get my shoes."

"No you stay there. I wouldn't want you to get your foot trapped in one of the bear traps Mrs Williams has probably set out for you." He kissed her again before she sat back down on the couch.

Andy made his way to the front door with their wriggly unwanted companion in his arms until Sharon stopped him. "While you're gone may I suggest you come up with an alternative to what I need to 'promise not to laugh' at."

Andy looked coy before he stepped out the door. A few seconds later a loud cry came from outside. "Oh crap!"

"What? Bear trap?" Sharon shouted.

"He's just peed on me" came the response.

As Sharon laughed she slumped back down further on the couch and waited. She liked that couch. It was so comfortable. It was in the back of her mind that when they eventually moved in together (for it was now merely a question of when rather than if although she still wasn't keen on rushing into it) that couch would be coming with them. She had a lot of nice memories on that couch with Andy and not just the night before his accident when, just like moments ago, they were heading for something a lot more than an occasional kiss before being rudely interrupted.

The first time Sharon went to Andy's house for a proper date it was a somewhat awkward affair. Sharon had been to Andy's house multiple times during their friendship to watch movies, enjoy meals and the odd coffee after a ball game (something else that annoyed Provenza when he wasn't an automatic choice to join Andy if he got his hands on a pair of Dodgers tickets). She felt relaxed there. It was small but a nice house and it felt like a home. Andy took care of it. It was beyond neat and tidy and she liked spending time with him there. Then they started dating and that all ended. Suddenly she was nervous about going over there and spending time with him alone beneath his roof. It wasn't that she worried she was going to feel pressured there, far from it. When she asked Andy if they could take things slowly he had agreed in typical charming fashion and he had been true to his word. So far in their relationship he had been a perfect gentleman. Disney Princes were more inclined to make a move than Andy Flynn was despite the fact that he desperately wanted to. Sharon trusted him implicitly as well. She knew he would continue to take things slowly until she told him otherwise. The problem was, she didn't trust herself. If he were to smile at her for too long or say the wrong (but oh so right) thing she worried she'd jump on him like a hawk on a tit mouse and she wasn't ready for that yet. At that moment in time she didn't feel like she had all her ducks in a row in order to take things forward. She felt like work was still an issue, plus there was Rusty's reservations about their relationship and she was still terrified about rushing and losing the most important friendship she'd ever had. Still, that didn't stop her from wanting him desperately and if the opportunity were to fall into her lap (oh what an unfortunate phrase for her to think about on the drive over with what was about to happen) then she would face problems saying 'No.'

When she arrived at Andy's house Sharon looked nervous but that was nothing compared to how Andy looked. He looked sweaty and dishevelled and even filthy. Sharon's instant reaction was to think 'I'm in some trouble tonight' as he looked sexier than she'd ever seen him before, then she began to think and worry. If there was one thing you could say about Andy Flynn it was that he was always impeccably dressed. However as he opened the door his tie was loose, his jacket rumpled and it briefly crossed Sharon's mind that he might have another woman in his house and she had unwittingly just helped with coitus interruptus. Although she tried to forget it and she did trust Andy his reputation and history was always lurking in the back of her mind, like a flasher ready to strike. She was loathed to admit it but she feared that she may never be able to trust Andy fully and it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with Jack. Like Rusty, Sharon was scarred when it came to men but in a slightly different way. Once you've been repeatedly cheated on, even though it was just by one man, the unease that it may happen again lives with you permanently.

As Andy wiped the sweat from his brow he gazed at Sharon. She looked stunning and he looked a mess. He'd glanced in the mirror before opening the door and he thought, despite his best efforts, that he looked like he'd spent all day in a dumpster with a couple of corpses for company. This date had been arranged four days before and despite the really heavy case load they currently found themselves battling through Andy had cleaned every square inch of that house from top to bottom. He'd cleaned places that Sharon would never even contemplate going near (the hoovering of the attic being the prime example) so that the first time that Sharon stepped foot over his threshold as his girlfriend everything would be perfect. He had raced home from PAB and got the food started (he had made a vegetarian lasagne the day before but the salad still needed to be done) and given the house one final clean before getting changed. He lit some candles, 'Women love candles' he thought and sat down on his couch to relax before his date arrived. The moment he sat down he heard a crunch and suddenly fell on his side as his couch leg collapsed underneath him. Andy shot up to inspect the damage revealing one of the legs had snapped. Glancing at his watch Andy ran to find his tools, tools he owned because he was a man and a man should have tools rather than him being able to actually use them with any real efficiency. As panic set in he tried to nail the leg back on which worked until Andy sat back down again. As he pondered what to do next his living room was suddenly lit up from the lights of Sharon's car as she pulled onto his driveway. With only one option left he ran into his bedroom, retrieved a handful of books and wedged them under his couch like a makeshift leg. It wasn't perfect but it would do for now. Sadly his running around and panic had him more than a bit sweaty and flustered as he opened the door.

"Come in" he said as Sharon tentatively crossed the threshold.

Her eyes quickly scanned the room and since it appeared free from strange naked women Sharon mentally chastised herself for overreacting and realised Andy had simply been racing around getting everything ready and that's why he looked so flustered and sweaty.

With the evening off to a rather rocky start Andy was determined to make an impression. Sharon flat out refused to allow him to keep wine in his house just for her so he had made them both a non-alcoholic cocktail. With dinner in the oven there was nothing else to do but sit and enjoy each other's company. So far their relationship had amounted to lots of playing with ties, about twenty kisses which were increasing in terms of frequency, length and intensity and holding hands and hugs. Andy was more than prepared to take it slowly and was determined to not do anything that would scupper his chances with Sharon. He had decided that if she made a move, he would instantly respond (something which he actually failed to do since Sharon was coming onto him in the weeks before they finally slept together and he hadn't noticed) but if she didn't, he would be patient and respect her wishes. As such when Sharon sat down on his couch he decided to give her as much space as possible and opted to sit on the other end without giving his patchwork job on the leg a second thought. The moment he sat down at the broken end the couch slid off the stack of books with a thud and because of the new fairly steep angle created sent Sharon catapulting across it and straight into Andy's lap face first. Andy was immediately panic stricken at the prospect of Sharon thinking he'd done it deliberately like some sort of choreographed move to seduce her and apologised profusely. He was soon silenced as Sharon's lips met his before she laughed. It was actually the perfect ice breaker as they both felt a little nervous about the evening. With the couch off limits Andy dug out an old blanket and lay it on the floor in front of it. For the rest of the evening they cuddled together on the floor, laughing about what had happened and beginning to relax around each other more and more.

The other memory that stuck in Sharon's mind happened two weeks before his accident. By that point Sharon had had more than enough of the state of their relationship and wanted change and by that it meant Sharon wanted sex. She was desperate. She wanted Andy Flynn so badly it was beginning to become a problem especially at work since it was all she could think about as she lazily stared at him through the glass of her office when she should have been focusing on far more important affairs. Her heated lingering glances so extreme she was beginning to steam up the glass (a fact that hadn't gone unnoticed by Amy or Provenza for that matter).

She had been sending Andy some not so subtle signals over the previous three weeks that she was ready and willing but he had missed every single one which left Sharon feeling like she was about to explode and not in the way she wanted. In fact Andy was so oblivious to her advances that it actually made Sharon worry that he just didn't want her like that which of course was ridiculous considering he looked at her like a dog looks at a steak.

With a free Saturday on the horizon Sharon had earmarked it as the day it was going to happen. That was the day they were going to have sex and nothing was going to stop her. Nothing! Despite her blatant attempts at seduction Sharon had been hoping that Andy would make the first move on his own as she felt he needed it. By asking him to take things slowly Sharon had inadvertently taken all of the power in their relationship with Andy forever being patient and holding back, afraid of overstepping the mark and ruining what they had. Sharon felt that to put their relationship on a more even keel Andy needed to be the one to initiate sex for the first time but such were her frustrations that if he didn't take the hint soon, she would have to just take what she wanted. On that Saturday afternoon she had invited herself over for dinner and a movie and had decided that come the right moment (not long after he opened the door) she was going to pounce and she was not leaving that house without having felt his lips of every single part of her body even if she had to go so blatant as to suddenly emerge from his bathroom in nothing but a smile and fling herself at him to achieve it. But sadly even the best laid plans have the habit of being ruined by things out of your control.

When Sharon arrived at Andy's house she wore her trench coat to cover what laid beneath, a dress that left little to the imagination. This was an important night for her, for their relationship. It had been a long time since she's slept with anyone so she wanted everything to be perfect. The result was a new dress which cost more than her monthly car payments from the Louis Vuitton store on Rodeo Drive. It was deep purple, lace and accentuated every single curve she possessed (one of the main reasons she ensured she wore her coat before emerging from her bedroom so as not to traumatise Rusty). It wasn't the sort of thing she normally wore but desperate times call for desperate measures and she wanted to make sure Andy took the hint. Sharon rarely paid herself a compliment but as she looked at herself in the mirror she thought she looked good. Really good. There was no way Andy wouldn't want her in this dress. In looking so good Sharon admittedly had to make a couple of compromises like blood flow to her lower body and in fact had to lie flat on her face on her bed in order to zip it up. By her own admission it was perhaps a little too tight. So tight she had trouble keeping both her breasts in it at the same time. Every time she squished one in the other would pop out. It reminded Sharon of when Emily and Ricky were small. Bedtimes were always a nightmare after Jack left. No sooner would she have one in bed and be turning her attention to the other than she'd discover the other behind her again, the same thing happened with her breasts except neither one ended up behind her thankfully. In the end she resigned herself to using tape, more tape than she usually used at Christmas wrapping presents but 'At least Andy can unwrap me' she thought even if half her skin came off with it. It was so tight she was struggling to breathe and when she sat down the race was on to see what would happen first: would she pass out or would her dress split? The odds were frankly very good on both happening simultaneously which would be fine with Sharon but only after Andy took the hint. Sharon was done with being subtle. Her plan was to knock on the door and when he answered it kiss him to within an inch of his life then remove her coat to reveal the dress. If he didn't take the hint after having more than an eyeful of the way she was pouring out of it then her only option would be to immediately remove his pants and take what she wanted. That was the plan. What happened was very different.

When she knocked on his door she heard a cry of "It's open!" Undoubtedly a small change to her plan but Sharon felt confident she'd be able to do everything she wanted as soon as she found Andy. Opening the door the first thing she registered was the sound of the television and what sounded like a crowd at some sort of sporting event. So Andy had the TV on? So what? She could soon turn that off with the heel of her shoe while her hands were otherwise occupied if necessary. But then she spotted the real problem: Provenza sitting in a very comfortable position in the middle of Andy's couch with a beer in one hand and a bowl of chips on his stomach. They greeted each other with one much more surprised to see the other. Andy emerged from the kitchen with more snack food and an obvious indication that they were all set for the rest of the afternoon. He greeted her with a kiss which was more open mouthed than he would normally expect in front of company but that was because Sharon's jaw hung open due to the unexpected interloper in the room. Leading Andy into the kitchen Sharon wanted answers.

"What is the Lieutenant doing here?" she asked trying to not sound as irritated as she actual felt.

"Women issues" was Andy's reply.

"Has he split up from Patrice?"

"No it's her sister. She's kicked her husband out apparently and is sobbing in his kitchen. He had to get out of there."

"Is there nowhere else he can go?" Sharon asked with a fake smile.

"Not when the Lakers are playing. I didn't think you'd mind since we were only going to watch a movie."

"Of course I don't mind" Sharon said covering her lie well. There was no denying that she was beyond frustrated but she felt confident that she was capable of waiting Provenza out and then she'd put her plans back in motion. The next problem she encountered however was that she was wearing a dress that wasn't appropriate to wear in front of her second in command, in fact the way it felt, she wasn't sure she was wearing some of it at all with a trip to the bathroom revealing she had about a four boob situation going on. So despite the warm conditions Sharon had no option but to leave her coat on as she sat on the couch with Andy and Provenza rather irritatingly wedged between them.

By the time nine o'clock came around Sharon was so frustrated that her eye had begun to twitch. As she left her condo she hoped by this point in the evening that she would be wrapped in Andy's arms and glowing with contentment after extinguishing the sexual frustration she'd felt for so many weeks. Instead she turned her head to see her boyfriend on the couch, fast asleep with his best friend and partner cuddled up next to him also soundly asleep. As he slept Andy's hand had drifted down the back of the couch and come to rest on Provenza's backside as he slept with his head on Andy's chest. Sharon simply couldn't believe it. She'd gone over there intent on having sex and instead Provenza was getting more action from Andy than she was.

Having had enough Sharon stood up, pushed her breasts back into her dress one final time and wrote Andy a note telling him to call her to say goodnight should he be awake before eleven o'clock. Before leaving Sharon took out her cell and snapped a quick photo of the snoozing pair for use at a later date when she could make the most of it. That night she went to sleep wanting to scream into her pillow but more relieved that she could take a deep breath now she was out of her lace cage.

Sharon smiled as the image of the pair of them sleeping went through her head before Andy returned and closed the front door behind him.

"I think it's best I close the door now."

"And maybe the curtains" she said with a wink.


	10. Chapter 10

_Once again thank you so much for all the kind reviews, follows and favourites for Chapter Nine. Each one is appreciated more than you will ever know._

 _The idea behind this story was always to fill in the gaps between episodes and since my timeline has caught up with 4x18 Penalty Phase I now move onto the end of that episode. To make this work you simply need to imagine that 4x18 happened after Chapter Nine finished. If I'm honest I wrote this chapter in my head as soon as I'd seen the episode in December, it's just taken this long to commit it to paper._

 _A quick note about Chapter Eleven which is the impending double date: This chapter has quickly turned into my favourite thing I've ever written (and I've written a lot during the course of my university career) and it's not finished yet. It's possibly going to be around 30,000 words long which is massive even for me. So when it's finished do I post it as one chapter or cut it in half and post the first part on the Friday and the rest on the Sunday? Let me know on Twitter or via PM if you have an opinion._

 _If you'd be so kind as to leave me a review I'd appreciated it or alternatively if you want a general chit chat you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy…._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Ten**

As the Christmas party gathered pace Andy watched from the edge of the group of revellers as Sharon dropped the mystery paperwork she was holding into the trash. As she stood up and smiled at Provenza and Mike before grabbing her eggnog Andy couldn't help but stare at her with awe. The beautiful smile she wore as she made her way back to Rusty and Gus being the polar opposite to the concerned frown on Provenza's face as he glanced at Mike and retrieved the paper before stuffing it in his desk drawer. Andy had no idea what had just transpired between them but figured one of them would tell him if he asked. Meanwhile Andy's eyes remained fixed on Sharon as she chatted away to Rusty and Gus. She glowed as she laughed with them. She always seemed to glow when she was happy, even more so when Rusty was happy and she watched him smile and relax along with her. As Sharon grinned at something Gus said that made Rusty blush awkwardly she turned her head to see Andy staring back at her with that beautiful smile of his. She couldn't help but smile back as their eyes locked on each other before Andy gestured for her to join him. Sharon made her excuses and joined Andy as he sat on Mike's desk away from everyone else.

"What was that all about?" Andy asked quietly as he nodded his head towards Provenza's now vacant desk.

"Later" Sharon replied, placing her hand on Andy's arm to get him to drop the subject since she was very conscious of the fact that Rusty could sneak up behind her and overhear. She didn't want to keep secrets from Rusty, or from Andy for that matter, but she wasn't sure what she was going to say to him about his mother's release at that particular moment in time.

Andy smiled as he titled his head like a dog that had just heard its owner say 'sausages.' "Is that a promise?" he asked with a smirk and suggesting a completely different meaning to her statement.

She smiled. "Definitely." Sharon's eyes twinkled. She quickly looked around to make sure there was no one else in earshot. Despite the fact they were at the Christmas party she still felt there were certain boundaries that should remain in place between her and Andy when they were not in the privacy of her office (even then she had certain rules and restrictions she wanted to keep to ensure that her office remained a purely professional working space as much as possible) with Sharon keen to keep some conversations out of the murder room entirely unless they were completely alone. Smiling at Andy coyly she asked "Are you staying over tonight?"

Andy couldn't hide his filthy smile. It was a smile that made Sharon's pulse quicken and hoped hadn't made her blush despite the warmth she currently felt radiating in her cheeks. They hadn't seen each other outside of PAB since Sunday so Andy had been desperately hoping ever since the moment Mike slapped the handcuffs on Brad Powell after dragging him out of the swimming pool that he would receive that particular invitation. "If you want me..."

Sharon immediately cut him off. "Oh I definitely want you but are you staying tonight?" she said with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Sharon was done with being subtle and pussyfooting around when it came to Andy. They had waited and waited throughout all incarnations of their relationship and nearly lost each other through illness in the process. Now was the time to do what she wanted exactly when she wanted.

Before Andy could answer, as if he needed to confirm his intentions with the size of his smile being a dead giveaway, Rusty quickly made his way over and anxiously stood between them. "I don't want to be a pain but Andy is there any way you could call Nicole now and ask her about Gus joining us over Christmas? I'd like to ask him tonight if that's okay" he asked nervously. As he spoke Rusty was very deliberate in his use of 'Andy' rather than 'Lieutenant.' In truth Rusty didn't think about how he was going to address Andy ahead of time with his speech flowing naturally nine times out of ten like how he made the switch from 'Sharon' to 'Mom.' But since Andy had started staying the night and their relationship had become more serious Rusty decided he needed to change too and be more aware of how he spoke to Andy to at least appear like he was making an effort should it not be immediately obvious. Rusty had opted that for now at least he would use 'Andy' when at home but would stick to 'Lieutenant' at PAB unless Sharon was in on the conversation.

"Sure thing kid. Anything you want" Andy said without taking his eyes off Sharon for a moment as they continued to smile at each other.

As Andy went to take his cell phone out from his pocket Sharon gestured across the room. "Use my office."

"I'll be right back" Andy said again without taking his eyes off Sharon. As he stood up he finally turned to see Rusty and registered the huge levels of anxiousness written all over his face, a surprise considering it was a simple dinner invitation. "Relax kid. It's a formality. Worry about Gus saying 'Yes'." Andy patted Rusty on the shoulder before disappearing into Sharon's office with his 'virgin' cup of eggnog.

It may have been their intention but those words did nothing to sooth Rusty, if anything they made him worry more as he stared after Andy slightly panic stricken before glancing at Sharon. Sensing his concerns Sharon smiled and took his hand. "Rusty don't look so anxious. It'll be fine."

Rusty smiled weakly before he made his way back to Gus while never taking his eyes off Andy in Sharon's office for a moment as he watched him take his cell phone from his pocket. Rusty didn't know why he was so worried. He'd met Nicole on a number of occasions and knew her to be a warm and loving person who wouldn't hesitate to open her home to someone like Gus because it was important to him. He also knew Gus would leap at the chance to spend the holidays with them so that wasn't a problem either. And yet he was still worried. He wanted to get everything agreed so he could ask Gus and completely relax with an unprecedented fourth Christmas in a row to look forward to if only Andy would hurry up and make the call. As Rusty watched him Andy seemed to be going at a pace like someone had removed his batteries. Rusty sighed with frustration.

"What's wrong?" Gus asked him as Rusty continued to stare at Andy through the glass.

"Nothing" Rusty lied as he briefly glanced and smiled at Gus before looking back to Andy who continued to move at a snail's pace.

From the other side of the room Sharon couldn't avoid laughing at Rusty's demeanour as she re-joined the rest of the gathered group. The murder room currently had a lovely atmosphere to it. It was a relief to have their current case wrapped up before the holidays but more importantly without any more loss of life since Powell was clearly highly unstable. It had been a stressful 48 hours so the party could not have come at a better time and with the addition of Andrea and Fritz thrown into the mix a relaxed vibe was quick to spread throughout the place. As Sharon joined the group her attention was immediately drawn away from Rusty's nervous twitching as Taylor moved to stand next to her and tapped her on the arm to get her attention. "Captain and what are your plans for the holidays?" he asked while sipping his eggnog.

"We're going to Andy's daughter's house for Christmas this year."

Taylor had never looked more surprised which was caused from a mixture of Sharon's plans for the holidays and just how much bourbon Julio had mixed into the 'spiked' version of the eggnog. "Really?" he asked coughing slightly as the alcohol stung the back of his throat.

Sharon frowned, confused at his reaction. "Yes. Why the…."

Before Sharon could finish Rusty was by her side again. "Mom can you go and check on what Andy's saying to Nicole" he said pointing towards her office.

Sharon laughed. "What do you think he'll..." Rusty's expression told Sharon all she needed to know. "Fine!" she said as she headed off to her office, happy to appease Rusty when he was in one of his 'anxious' moods. "He can be trusted to do things like this you know."

"Not from my experience" Rusty called after her. Seeing the somewhat confused and amused expressions from Taylor and Mike staring back at him he added "Don't ever ask Lieutenant Flynn to take a phone message for you" before re-joining Gus. While Andy had been recovering from his operation he spent even more time with Rusty then he did before his surgery. Conversation was still a little limited between them so they spent most of the time either playing chess or discussing Rusty's Vlog and in particular Slider. All was well with Rusty feeling more relaxed since Andy was no longer at death's door and 'Flynn Watch' meant offering help if he needed it and keeping him company rather than round the clock supervision and the anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach that accompanied that particular responsibility. That was until one afternoon when Rusty went to the bathroom leaving his cell on the coffee table. When it rang Andy made the decision to answer it after he saw 'Bobby Monroe' flash up on the caller ID and told him Rusty was in the bathroom and he'd call him right back. Then Sharon came home early and Andy was immediately distracted as she instantly slunk down on the couch with him and settled in for the evening resulting in the message not being passed along for two whole days. Rusty went berserk when he found out and Andy had to swear on his life to never touch Rusty's phone again. From that moment on Rusty no longer trusted Andy to do even the simplest of tasks for him without Sharon there to supervise.

As Sharon walked into her office Andy had positioned himself leaning forward on her desk between the stars adorning it and propped up on his elbows. The dial tone from the phone on her desk echoed around the room from the speaker as he looked for Nicole's number on his cell. Upon seeing Sharon enter from the corner of his eye he immediately turned and smiled at her. "He wants me to check up on you" Sharon said closing the door behind her before sitting on the edge of her desk next to Andy with the smallest gap between them.

"He really is in a tizz about this isn't he?"

"Well you're the one that encouraged him to ask Gus out on a date in the first place" Sharon stated as she ran her hand up his arm and rested it on his shoulder.

"I had to say something to the kid, he'd just caught me in his kitchen in the dead of night in my underwear. He'd have looked less shocked if he'd found a severed head on the kitchen counter" Andy said as he dialled Nicole's number on Sharon's office phone.

Sharon smiled. She glanced at the party taking place beyond the glass to see who if anyone was watching. With the division otherwise occupied she leant in close to Andy's ear as he dialled before uttering "Don't put yourself down. I think you look mighty fine in just your underwear." She smiled as her warm breath on his ear made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Andy's face was a picture as Sharon moved away from his ear. She stifled a laugh as she leant up against his side and ran her hand from his shoulder to his back as he continued to lean forward on the desk. Andy's smile grew and grew as his thoughts became instantly too inappropriate for work. He desperately wanted to reach up and kiss her in that moment but he didn't know how she'd react since technically they were at work even if they were at a Christmas party and not currently working. Up until that point they had never kissed at work, they'd never even come close other than the recently quite frequent well out of sight contact in the parking garage before they drove to Sharon's condo separately. Well that wasn't strictly true, they had kissed once before but at the time they were definitely 'just friends' and nothing more.

After Andy had helped organise and rearrange Sharon's Christmas party for the break room last Christmas she was filled to the brim with gratitude towards him and an emotion she wasn't yet ready to admit to herself let alone out loud, love. They'd tried to have a private few minutes alone as the party got underway but Sharon quickly became distracted by what was going on with two of her suspiciously secretive and chatty children on the other side of the glass in the corridor. As the party got into full swing and with Provenza and Patrice in particular proving to be a massive distraction for everyone in attendance along with the festive colour of Buzz's face, Sharon subtly took hold of Andy's hand and led him outside and around the corner out of view.

Andy looked a little surprised as Sharon peered around him to make sure they hadn't been followed. "I just wanted to say thank you" she said with a beaming smile.

"It's my pleasure. Anything to bring a smile to your face" he replied with a signature grin.

His grin combined with his words caused Sharon to blush slightly as she briefly looked at her feet a little awkwardly. Sharon blamed Nicole. This was without a shadow of a doubt one hundred percent Nicole's fault. She would never have blushed at Andy this way before their little kitchen conversation about whether they were dating. Before that evening at _The Nutcracker_ dating wasn't even an issue, they were just friends and that's all they were ever going to be but now it was all she could think about every time she looked at him. Every time she looked into those beautiful brown eyes. Every time he smiled at her. Every time their fingers brushed together when he handed her a piece of paper or a cup of tea. Sharon shook her head to herself and tried to calm down. "When did you have time to organise this?" she asked after finally being able to meet his eyes once more.

"A couple of hours ago. It was clear we were never getting out of here so I gave Rusty a call and suggested they bring the party to you. They've done a good job."

"You all have, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sharon paused for a moment. "Dinner and a movie on Saturday to say thank you?" she asked a little nervously. She didn't know why she was nervous. She'd asked him out (and vice versa) to dinner and a movie several times a month if not more for almost a year now but one misunderstanding and one conversation had left her sadly feeling awkward about the whole situation and their friendship.

"Sure but aren't your kids still in town?" Andy asked sneaking a look behind him to where they were currently gathered at the party.

Sharon smiled. "They are but it'll give them, Ricky in particular, a chance to spend some much needed time with their father whether he deserves it or not."

Andy nodded enthusiastically. "Great, I mean if you're sure."

"I am." Silence fell between them for a moment as they just smiled at each other. Finally Sharon broke it the only way she could think. "Merry Christmas Andy."

"Merry Christmas Sharon." Andy was just about to turn back towards the party when he glanced up and caught sight of some very conveniently placed mistletoe overhead which he saw Ricky hanging up shortly before he went to bring Sharon to the party. He knew it was there but he would be lying if he said he'd stood under it deliberately. Nether-the-less since they had found themselves positioned under it he was going to take full advantage. "Mistletoe" he said gesturing towards it.

Sharon smiled. "Well it is traditional" she said with a shrug.

There was no denying that it was a little awkward as they slowly closed the gap between them. Although both had definitely started looking at each other differently since the discussion with Nicole two weeks earlier about whether they were dating or not, neither were willing to admit that to themselves much less to each other. At the back of their minds they were in love with each other but it was hidden away right at the back, trapped in a box, in the back of a closet so deep it was practically in Narnia as they worried about how much they had to lose should they attempt to move things forward romantically and fail. As they grinned at each other before leaning in to share a quick friendly Christmas kiss under the mistletoe, Andy moved to plant his lips to Sharon's cheek, something they had done a fair few times before on occasions such as Christmas or when the adoption was finalised or indeed after Nicole's wedding without giving it a second thought. He was somewhat surprised and shocked then when Sharon changed the angle and ensured that their lips came together and met in a sweet, chastely kiss. It didn't last long and they were quick to break apart when Provenza's booming voice could be heard coming towards them but they both registered the significance of their actions. Moments later they went back to the party as if nothing had happened because outwardly they would maintain they were just friends and it was nothing more than a friendly Christmas kiss. Inwardly they were both kept awake that night as they thought about the first time their lips had come together and what that meant.

Twelve months later at their latest Christmas party Andy continued to smile at Sharon as he edged closer to push his luck and see if she would indeed kiss him in her office for the first time when a voice suddenly cut through the room and the comfortable silence.

"Hello? Hello? Anyone there?" came Nicole's voice from the speakerphone.

Andy remained focused on Sharon and more importantly on her lips and therefore was completely oblivious to the fact that his daughter's voice was currently booming from the speaker. Sharon however was more than aware of both Nicole and what was currently occupying Andy's mind and tapped him on the back to get his attention. "Andy" she said quietly while nodding in the direction of the phone.

Realisation suddenly dawned on Andy as his head snapped towards the phone. "Oh! Nicole! Hi Nicole." Sharon shook her head and smiled as she sipped on her eggnog, its contents making her shudder from the huge amounts of bourbon. The fact that Andy could become so distracted by her was a constant ego boost to Sharon. After years of feeling unwanted and unloved because of Jack and a fair few hardly memorable dalliances in between, to feel wanted and loved every time he so much as looked in her direction made her feel like the luckiest and most beautiful woman alive, finally at the ripe old age of 'None of your business.'

"Hi Dad. How are you?" Nicole asked. The joy in her voice as she said the word 'Dad' these days made Andy feel ten feet tall, an effect that didn't go unnoticed by Sharon as she rubbed his back.

"I'm fine sweetheart. In the middle of the office Christmas party."

"Have you been kissing your boss by the photocopier?" Nicole asked cheekily.

Andy laughed as Sharon stifled a chuckle to hide her presence. "Something like that. Listen Nicole I was calling about Christmas dinner."

The change in Nicole's voice was instant. The joy had gone and was replaced with a tone Andy had spent decades hearing from his children, annoyance and disappointment. "Don't tell me, Sharon isn't coming. What did you do? How did you screw it up? Or have you been lying to me this whole time? Are you even together? I knew it! I should have known better!"

As Nicole ranted over the speakerphone Andy hid his face in his hands while Sharon bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Andy knew this was all his fault and he had no one else to blame for Nicole's suspicions about his relationship. He had mislead Nicole over Sharon in the beginning and it was clear she was never going to forget it. Sharon again rubbed Andy's back before standing and turning around to lean forward on her desk to match his position. "Hi Nicole" she said loudly.

The line fell silent for a moment. "Oh hey Sharon. I didn't know you were...how are you? It's so good to speak to you" Nicole said with the joy returning.

"I'm wonderful thank you Nicole. Just wonderful" Sharon replied while smiling at Andy.

"Really?" Nicole asked. Her smile was almost audible as she immediately leapt to the correct conclusion as to what was currently making Sharon feel so 'wonderful.' "You know Dad it's only polite to tell someone when they're on speakerphone" she said embarrassedly.

"I didn't have chance to speak" Andy protested.

"Well go ahead now."

"If it's not too much trouble we were hoping you'd be able to squeeze an extra place in for dinner at Christmas" Andy asked tentatively even though he knew she'd instantly agree but didn't want to sound like he was being overly presumptuous.

"Of course. Who are you bringing?"

"Erm..." Andy said as he turned to Sharon for help. It wasn't that he had any problem with Rusty being gay and having a boyfriend, far from it, but they hadn't even been on a date yet so describing him and defining their current relationship status was something best left to others.

"For now let's just call him Rusty's 'friend'" Sharon confirmed.

"Rusty's 'friend.' Really?" Andy and Sharon glanced at each other as they anticipated what Nicole was about to say next. "A friend like you and my Dad were friends?"

Andy rolled his eyes, they'd walked straight into that one. "Nicole..."

"I'm just asking so I don't put my foot in it plus I love to hear you squirm" Nicole replied laughing. For all his confidence and bravado when alone with Sharon, Andy was constantly on the back foot and struggling to string a complete sentence together when his children were thrown into the mix with her. For some unknown reason these two parts of himself coming together, Andy the boyfriend and Andy the father, made him a nervous wreck.

Sharon couldn't help but laugh at Andy's discomfort. She again checked that no one was watching before she moved to put her head on his shoulder as they leaned on the desk together. "They've yet to go out on their first date" she explained.

"I see. How exciting. It's not a problem. I love a full house. What's his name?"

"Gustavo...well Gus" Andy said.

"Spelling that G-U-S?" Nicole asked.

Andy glanced at Sharon confused. "I guess. Why?"

"Because Dad it's not every day your father brings your future step mother to Christmas dinner and I have special table arrangements in mind." No sooner had the words registered in his mind then Andy had his head in his hands once more feeling absolutely mortified. Again Sharon could do nothing but smile and laugh into her eggnog at how suddenly awkward he was about their potential future together. The truth to it was that it was fine for Andy to joke with Sharon about getting married with him maintaining that he wouldn't need to propose because Sharon would do it for him but he worried about others bringing it up should they add any undue pressure on her shoulders especially as they'd only been together for five months. Andy was sure Sharon knew he was joking when he said those things to her and he really was but when Nicole said it the pressure for Sharon to commit was all too real and Andy was desperate not to spook her like a frightened horse since it had taken so long for them to get to this stage in their relationship. It was actually a testament to how far their relationship had gone in just under a week. Prior to that drive home seven days ago Andy was beyond nervous to tell Sharon he loved her in case his feelings weren't reciprocated. Now they'd both said it, and multiple times at that, they were both more relaxed and a lot more vocal about how they felt but that didn't mean Andy was comfortable with others voicing their opinions on the matter and perhaps jumping the gun. With the silence deafening in the office Nicole thought she'd been cut off. "Hello? Dad? Are you still there?"

Andy finally took his head out of his hands and smiled at Sharon. "You're killing me Nicole."

"That's my job." Again Sharon laughed and put her arm around Andy's shoulders to reassure him that she didn't feel pressured while continuing to sip on her potent cup of eggnog.

"So it's okay?" Andy asked regaining his composure.

"Of course. The more the merrier."

"There's just one little thing" Andy added again while glancing in Sharon's direction for a little help in what he was about to say. "Don't ask him about his family when you see him."

"Okay" Nicole replied beyond bewildered. "Can you expand on that?"

Seeing where Andy was going and sensing his difficulty in expressing himself Sharon took the initiative and sought a shortcut to enable Nicole to understand what they needed from her as quickly as possible. "Have you seen Rusty's Vlog?"

"Of course. It's wonderful. Sharon you must be so proud."

"Oh I am but you see we know Gus because his sister ended up in our murder room" Sharon explained.

Nicole paused for a moment. "The girl from his Vlog?"

"Yes. Gus is her brother" Sharon replied.

"I'm going to be honest Nicole, he's from an abusive home. One sister was murdered and the other he can't see as she awaits to be adopted. He's new to LA, he has no one" Andy said as he hoped that if he laid it all out on the line that would be the last time it would be discussed over the holidays to make life as easy as possible for both Gus and Rusty.

"Then we'll be more than happy to welcome him into our home for Christmas. I'll speak to Dean and figure out something to say to the boys."

Andy's smile grew as Sharon winked at him. "Thanks sweetheart."

"I can't wait. I'm so looking forward to it. I can't wait to see you Sharon."

Sharon grinned smugly at Andy while he looked a little put out. "What about me?" he asked as Sharon laughed.

"I can see you any time" Nicole said flatly without meaning any offense.

"Charming."

"Well I'll leave you to your party" Nicole said with mischief in her voice. "I hope you've bought Sharon something good for Christmas Dad. Something ring shaped."

"Nicole!" Andy shouted before his head ended up in his hands once more. Sharon snorted into her eggnog before putting her head back on his shoulder. The more of her eggnog that she drank, the less she seemed to care who may be watching them.

Nicole laughed. "You're too easy. Bye Dad. Bye Sharon."

"Bye Nicole" Sharon said before hanging up the phone. She smiled at Andy while he remained with his head in his hands shaking it slightly. He really didn't want any external pressure on Sharon even if Nicole was joking. Now that they had moved forward in their relationship it had become even more abundantly clear just how much he had to lose if he didn't tread carefully.

Andy finally looked at Sharon and smiled. "Don't encourage her."

"Why I do believe you're looking a little hot and sweaty around the collar there Lieutenant Flynn" Sharon said as she laughed and rubbed his back once more as an attempt to reassure him that she wasn't taking Nicole's teasing seriously.

Andy looked serious for a moment as he worried about how Sharon might feel about what Nicole said. "You know I've not said anything to Nicole, this is all in her head." Andy stood up, turned around and sat on the edge of her desk before Sharon did likewise.

"I know" Sharon said as she nudged him slightly with her shoulder. "You can stop panicking" she added before taking his hand and lacing her fingers through his, the closeness of their bodies blocking this contact from view.

Relieved Andy smiled again which quickly transformed into a smug expression as he relaxed, suggesting he was about to say something with the sole purpose of getting a rise out of her. "When I said I was waiting for you to propose I meant it. You'll do it eventually."

Sharon shook her head as she grinned at him. "That's some confidence you have there Lieutenant." Sharon knew Andy was joking and she secretly loved it. His insistence confirmed to her that he wasn't tempted to rush her into a bigger commitment any time soon and to prove that point he maintained that the ball was firmly in her court. It was clear to her though even before she clapped eyes on the ring box in his bedroom that he would eventually ask when the time was right and not a moment before which was a good thing really. In the previous week Andy had said Sharon was going to propose to him so many times that she was now at the point where she'd rather never marry him than prove him right and be the one to cave and ask. She just had to keep her fingers crossed that she didn't one day blurt it out like she did with her declaration of love should Andy remember her shoe size or something else equally as random but oh so significant to her.

"Probably because your eyes follow my backside around the murder room all day like a sexy version of one of your creepy little angels."

Sharon rolled her eyes. She didn't know what to protest about first, her ogling or her angels. Sharon had battled long and hard over the last couple of days to ensure she didn't ogle Andy when they were alone at work, more so since he'd caught her doing it and bent over to encourage her the day after they'd first slept together. Then there were her angels which they had been in a week long battle over. If Andy had turned the one in her bedroom around to face the wall once he'd done it a dozen times that week mainly because it amused him and he liked to see her reaction so as a result the angels won. "They're not..." Sharon turned around to look at the two angels which sat proudly on the cabinet behind her desk. Her mouth dropped open as she noticed that they had once again both been turned around to look out the window. "You've turned them around again! Andy! When did you even find time to do that?" In response to her question Andy just laughed. It was actually the first thing he did upon entering her office. Sharon immediately stood up. She had had enough. Getting Andy to like her angels was a harder job than getting Rusty to like Andy. She took Andy by the hand and pulled him up. "Come here" she said as she led him around her desk and pushed him into her chair with a thud. "Sit" she ordered prior to swivelling him around to face her at the side of her desk. She quickly glanced over her shoulder at the party. A smile exploded onto her face at the sight of a line of backs belonging to her colleagues facing her. No one was watching them. With that in mind and spurred on by the booze in the eggnog Sharon elected to do something completely out of character. She leaned in close, pushing her body against Andy as if she was about to plant a passion filled kiss to his lips.

"Maybe this is when you should close the blinds" he said quietly as he stared into her eyes from a few inches away and smouldered.

"Oh I don't care if anyone watches" Sharon said huskily mere millimetres from his lips. She smiled as Andy closed his eyes. Just as their lips were about to brush together Sharon suddenly pulled back after retrieving one of her angels from behind Andy's shoulder. Sharon sat on the edge of her desk as she smoothed down the hair on the red and gold satin angel in her hands. "Now here, this is Juliet."

Confused by what had just happened Andy stared at her for a moment flummoxed. "You've named them?" he asked finally as he bit on his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"I would naturally name them given the chance but they come pre-named. Now, like I was saying, this is Juliet. Juliet was the very first angel I ever bought myself which is why she is so special and she comes to work with me."

Andy was desperate to laugh at this wonderfully childlike and neurotic side to the fierce Captain Raydor that he was one of the very privileged few to see up close and personal as he looked at her quizzically. "Have you ever sought professional help for this problem?"

Sharon instantly put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look like a teacher about to chastise a cheeky child. "You know for someone looking for his girlfriend to put out tonight you're going the wrong way about it" she said bluntly hiding her smile.

The change in Andy's expression was instant as he moved his focus squarely onto the angel in question. "So this is Juliet you say?" he said with a smile.

Sharon laughed. Over the last week Andy had become far too easy to manipulate with the mere mention of 'sex.' Sharon had no idea how long it would last (probably until they put the tag on his toe) but was eager to take advantage for as long as she could. "Yes. And this is Gladys" she said while retrieving the other angel from the cabinet behind Andy.

"Gladys? That's the least sexy name I've ever heard."

Sharon leant forward towards Andy as she held an angel in each hand. "Would you like to touch them?" she said lot more softly and suggestively than she intended. The moment the words left Sharon's mouth Andy's face erupted into the filthiest of smiles she had ever seen. He glanced over his shoulder to see the party in full swing on the other side of the glass before turning back to Sharon and her cleavage that was currently directly in front of him and no more than a few inches from his face. Realising how he'd interpreted what she said Sharon sat back slightly and rolled her eyes while trying not to laugh. "The angels Andy! The angels!" she shouted before pinching the back of his knee.

Andy laughed again. "This is like the world's worst puppet show."

"Look we all have our little peccadilloes. This is mine."

"But it's slightly freaky. Look at her eyes" Andy said indicating 'Gladys' who looked like a cartoon character that had been hit in the face with a frying pan.

"Have I said a word about the giant stack of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazines piled up in your bathroom?" Sharon asked as seriously as she could.

"It's hardly a stack" Andy replied defensively.

"Andy if it were to topple over I would be crushed to death within seconds."

"I read them for the articles" Andy lied with a smile.

"Sure you do. If I can put up with your boob tower you will bond with my angels."

"Bond?" Andy questioned. "Sharon these angels, do they ever talk to you?"

Again Sharon glared at him while trying to avoid laughing. "Yes they tell me I need a new boyfriend." Sharon immediately thrusted the angels into Andy's hands like she was introducing a nervous child to a puppy. "There, now aren't they beautiful?"

Andy examined the angels in his hands as Sharon beamed at him, beyond proud of her favourite possessions coming into close contact with her favourite man. Her pride did not last long as Andy reacted like someone had forced him to handle week old roadkill. He frowned and turned 'Juliet' around to face Sharon. "This one looks like my mother and she's been dead twenty years."

"Andy you're not taking this seriously."

"I am, I am" Andy laughed. "Juliet is lovely and not cross eyed at all. Now Gladys is also lovely if you like tiny woollen knitted perverts with wings in your office" he said as sincerely as possible.

"You've got a shocking lack of taste" Sharon bemoaned as she took the angels off him and positioned them back in their rightful home facing outwardly on the cabinet.

Andy leaned forward and took her hand. She gladly allowed this most innocent of gestures but made sure to check that once again no one was watching them, lowering their hands below the desk and out of view. "Well that's blatantly not true" he said.

"You think you're such a smooth talker don't you?"

"I have just charmed three angels down from the heavens and into my lap." It was cheesy and the type of line she knew he'd used on countless blondes in bars but Sharon just had to smile at him.

Meanwhile in the murder room, out of sight of Sharon, Taylor hadn't been able to do anything else but watch the two of them comfortably interact away from the group through the glass as he finished his eggnog. When he'd spoken to Sharon a few minutes earlier he couldn't hide his surprise that they were spending Christmas together. If he was honest before the uncomfortable morning when Andy walked into PAB with a black eye he didn't honestly know if they were still dating. Yes he knew that Sharon had taken him in when he was injured and he had been there on the day of his operation but the way that they handled themselves at work led him to believe they had gone back to just being very good friends as Andy indicated they would do if it didn't work out. As a result he currently found himself surprised and more than a tad pleased. He had worried for the division after their announcement after all he considered Major Crimes to be the pride of the LAPD but looking at them in interviews together and how they had continued to work together without incident since Andy's return to work he had realised that he really hadn't needed to but it was Sharon Raydor after all and he should have known better than to expect her professionalism to slip. But Taylor's concerns had nothing really to do with Sharon and everything to do with Andy. If he was honest when Sharon and Andy first told him they were dating he worried that someone had put him up to it and it was some sort of crude bet. The resident womaniser trying to seduce the rule obsessed Captain. What a story Andy would have to tell then. What grotesque images would he be able to paint about the always dignified Sharon Raydor. Many would see it as his crowning achievement. Except Taylor acknowledged himself just how much Andy had changed in a fairly short period of time. He had known Andy Flynn most of his career and one of his biggest regrets during his time at the LAPD was allowing him to transfer to Priority Homicide. However in some ways it was also a relief because Andy was forever getting himself into trouble both professionally and personally at Robbery Homicide and as his commanding officer he was always left to clean up the mess. Andy of cause was always exonerated of all accusations against his conduct but it was his personal life which was the biggest problem. Andy had got into trouble with more women in his life than Taylor had eaten hot dinners, that was until quite recently. The change in Andy had been remarkable and Taylor had seen it with his own eyes. In years gone by he would go to bars with Provenza and since he couldn't drink, he amused himself by picking up as many women as possible while Provenza got drunk. He had begun to slow down over the previous 18 months but when Provenza met Patrice any remnants of that behaviour were immediately curtailed. However even if women weren't involved Andy and Provenza still had a knack for getting themselves into trouble. They were known as the Abbott and Costello of the LAPD and how they had never been fired was beyond him. Taylor knew how much Pope dreaded the words 'Flynn and Provenza' being used in sentence in his office because it always spelt trouble but he'd so far not experienced that problem. Whether it was Sharon's influence on the both of them, Andy in particular, or whether it was because Andy fell in love with her and reined in his behaviour Taylor didn't know but the squad actually worked better now that they were a couple. Rather than their relationship effecting work in a negative way, it had resulted in an integral member of the division being more focused at work.

Seeing Provenza refilling his cup Taylor strolled towards him. "So it's still going on then?" he asked as he pointed at Sharon and Andy.

Provenza glanced up briefly to see what he was talking about. "It would appear so" he said completely disinterested.

"You're not surprised?"

"If at all possible Chief, I try not to think about what Flynn gets up to with the Captain away from this building" Provenza stated bluntly before re-joining Mike and Julio.

Back in her office Sharon and Andy had no idea they were being watched and discussed by Taylor and were too focused on each other to notice or care. Andy remained planted in Sharon's chair as she perched on her desk next to him with their fingers linked together.

"So what have you got me for Christmas?" Andy asked.

"A laminated copy of the LAPD Code of Ethics for all Officers."

Andy laughed. "Ooooh bedtime reading. You know how I love it when you whisper the rules and regulations in my ear when we're in bed. It's such a turn on."

"Once! I did it once!" Sharon shouted as her arm flailed wildly.

"Once is more than enough" Andy asserted.

"You asked me a question!"

"I didn't mean it. When I asked 'What does it say in your rule book about doing this with a subordinate' I didn't expect you to take it so literally."

Sharon moved in close to his ear and said in a sultry whisper "You like it when I whisper in your ear."

"But not Volume 1 Subsection 271 of the fraternisation code in the LAPD manual!" Andy exclaimed quite loudly.

"Exactly! A-ha! I knew you were paying attention!" Sharon said proudly. "See I am beginning to rub off on you."

"It was only a matter of time." Andy's face suddenly dropped as he came over completely serious. "I've been thinking. Since Gus will be spending Christmas with us now we should probably get him something to open before we leave for Nicole's. I can't imagine he'll receive anything from his family" he said while stealing a quick glance at Gus.

"I was thinking the same thing."

"It might help him out for work and getting around LA if I can get hold of one of the old reconditioned LAPD laptops. I know it's not new but it's better than nothing right?"

"That's a wonderful idea Andy."

Andy grinned. "I do have them from time to time."

"More than from time to time in my experience" Sharon replied as she held his hand even tighter.

Before Andy had chance to respond he was distracted by a frustrated Rusty standing inches away from the glass, staring at the pair of them and almost trembling like a squirrel suppressing a fart as he waited for his answer from Nicole. "We're being watched" Andy said as he gestured towards Rusty.

Sharon turned to see Rusty staring at them with his face turning redder by the second and his eye twitching like a frog leg in a science experiment. "He looks like he's ready to explode. Let me go and tell him the good news." Sharon stood and made her way to her door with Andy following close behind. "No you stay here I want to talk to you about something" she said to him before he returned to her desk and sat on the edge. Sharon opened the door and poked her head out. "Rusty" she called before giving him the thumbs up. Rusty instantly smiled and took a deep breath before slowly walking towards Gus ready to ask the question. Sharon went back into her office and closed the door before sitting back down next to Andy on the edge of her desk to watch Gus' response.

Andy and Sharon watched Rusty as he tentatively spoke to Gus, hoping for a good outcome. "What if Gus says 'No' now?" Andy asked cautiously.

"You'll be phoning Nicole again and pretending this didn't happen." Suddenly Gus nodded and embraced Rusty. Sharon sighed with relief. "I think we can take that as a 'Yes'."

"This should be when you start to perfect your 'Do you think you're good enough to dating my baby?' glare. If you want any tips on it Rusty has been giving it to me for five months now."

Sharon took Andy's hand once more, the alcohol she'd consumed making her no longer concerned who may be paying them any attention. "He's getting better and who knows maybe being in a relationship of his own may make him more accepting of the situation. And plus Gus seems like a nice guy."

Andy nodded. "I think he is." The twelve or so hours that Gus had stayed with Andy as he tried to work out what exactly he wanted from the LAPD before Mariana was buried taught him a lot. He knew Rusty thought differently but he hadn't taken Gus home in an attempt to make Rusty like him or to score points with Sharon, he'd done it because Gus was alone, grieving and needed help and he was never going to get it from Hobbs until he felt comfortable enough to open up to someone. It was evident quite quickly that Gus was a polite, sensitive and respectful young man and a perfect fit for Rusty. Whereas sometimes Rusty could behave like a ferret stuffed down someone's trousers Gus was relaxed, calm and considered. In a small way Andy thought they were a bit like him and Sharon with Sharon being similar to Gus and him to Rusty. In that respect he hoped Rusty and Gus would be good for each other in their own way just as Sharon had been good for him and vice versa. "While you were talking to Provenza he told me he has a job starting next week and a place to stay in LA so he's here for keeps now either way. And they have a lot in common so that should help in a weird way."

"Maybe but opposites also attract" Sharon said as she smiled at him.

"That I'm more than aware of." Both Sharon and Andy registered very early on in their relationship that the biggest stumbling block they would face, apart from working together, was that they were so very different. It was true that opposites often attract and many people don't need a lot in common in order to make their relationship work but they both worried about it at the beginning. It wasn't just that they were vastly different people in terms of attitude for example but also in terms of what they liked and disliked. But at the end of the day they were friends, very good friends long before they took things forward and that wasn't affected by being complete opposites, therefore why should it cause problems now within their romantic life. "What did you want to speak to me about?" Andy asked.

Sharon adjusted herself on the edge of the desk revealing her discomfort at the topic of conversation she was about to divulge. Sensing the shift in mood Andy squeezed her hand tightly as she looked for the right words. "Lieutenant Provenza has received a report after one of our flags was picked up" Sharon explained with the worry in her voice evident.

"Stroh?" Andy asked trying not to sound too concerned.

"No. Oh God don't even say that. It seems Sharon Beck has been released from prison."

Andy's face read complete surprise. "Really?"

"She's completed a spell in rehab and is now testing clean and living in Eagle Rock" Sharon replied in as neutral a tone as she could muster.

"Eagle Rock?"

"That's what it says." Whereas Sharon seemed completely relaxed and calm and almost disinterested about the situation when discussing it with Provenza and Mike in the murder room, she was now visibly concerned and a bit stressed about it now that she was alone with Andy. There was no escaping it, Sharon did feel conflicted about the situation but not in the way people may think. Sharon Beck was always going to be Rusty's mother and they would always share a bond Sharon would never have with him and she would never stand in the way of that. It was always in the back of her mind that people may think she was jealous and she would sabotage the relationship between Rusty and his mother given the opportunity but that was far from the truth. She desperately wanted Rusty to have a solid relationship with his mother. Like how she felt about her own children and Jack, whether the parent deserves it or not, the children shouldn't suffer and should have their parent in their life. Her worry as always was that the other Sharon continually proved to be such a disruptive force when she put in an appearance and since Rusty was so settled at the moment she didn't want to see him put through the ringer once again because of his mother's instability and chaotic lifestyle.

"Do you want me to look into it?" Andy asked as he slid his arm around her waist.

"No that's not why I'm telling you. I already have two Lieutenants keeping an eye on the situation for me. I'm telling you as my boyfriend and not my Lieutenant."

Andy smiled. "Okay. Well as your _boyfriend_ let me ask how do you feel about this?"

Sharon scrunched up her face. "I put the report in the trash." Andy again looked surprised before it dawned on him what exactly he'd witnessed earlier. "I've meddled in that woman's life more than enough for one lifetime" she explained.

Andy nodded. "But still what about Rusty?"

Sharon covered her face with her hands. "I don't know what to do. I don't want him to think that I'm keeping things from him about her or worse, that we're keeping tracks on her. It's an old flag from when we were looking for her after he first went into emergency care. If she wants to see him I can't stop that, I wouldn't want to stop that." Sharon looked up to see Rusty through the glass laughing and smiling with Gus, looking as relaxed and happy as he'd ever been since the day she first met him. "But he's just so settled at the moment."

Andy pushed his lips to the side of her head. This was a risk he felt given their location but under the circumstances knew that she needed it and wouldn't object to this subtle sign of affection. "I know" he reassured her. "I understand. If she gets in touch she gets in touch. We'll be there for him to deal with the consequences and that's all we can do."

Sharon couldn't fail to register the word 'we' and the fact that Andy used it twice, making it leap out at her even more. For all bar the first couple of years of motherhood Sharon had basically parented on her own without any serious help or support. Since Rusty had come into her life and she had another chance to raise a child she had help in the unexpected form of Provenza but he was hardly a parent, more of a friend to Rusty. Now there was Andy and despite the way Rusty had reacted to him and their relationship, it seemed he was fully prepared and willing to take on the mantle of 'adopted parent' with her. Andy had decided quite early on that he would never force himself into a fatherly role with Rusty but given his relationship with Sharon it was going to be unavoidable at times. By his own admission he had been a lousy father to his children until very recently so Rusty presented him with a second chance to get it right, a chance he was going to grab with both hands when and if he was required. "We?" Sharon asked with a smile.

Andy grinned back. "Yes, we."

Sharon just stared at him for a moment as he smiled back before asking "But do you think I should tell him?"

"No" Andy said instantly.

"Why?"

"As you said it's an old flag. You weren't keeping track of her and it's almost by accident that you even found out. If she wanted him to know she'd been released she would have been in contact by now. Leave it to her to make the first move."

"Why do you think she hasn't already?" When it came to Sharon Beck asking why she chose to do what she did was like trying to discover the motives of a cat. But Sharon truly appreciated both now and the first time the other Sharon was released from rehab Andy's input since he could speak from personal experience and had a greater insight in the world of addiction since she had only experienced it from Rusty's point of view.

"Well from my experience maybe because she needs to get herself sorted and sober and coping alone before she brings loved ones into the mix. That's what I did." Sharon squeezed his hand. Andy had deliberately avoided talking about his history with addiction with Sharon as much as possible because he felt she'd had to deal with enough of that in her life and it was his problem, not hers. He wasn't hiding anything and he knew the conversation was going to happen eventually but he currently found it hard to discuss it with her, a fact she was fully aware of as she waited patiently to be there for him should he ever need it. "You need to be able to cope on your own before you worry about other people. Then you can start making amends to the people in your life." Andy grinned. "Or she could just be avoiding you. You are pretty scary you know." Sharon laughed as Andy again chanced his arm and pushed his lips to the side of her head again. "Don't worry about it. It'll be fine. Whatever happens I'm here and we'll face it together. Here let me top up your drink" Andy said as he picked up the empty cup from her desk and went to leave.

Sharon immediately grabbed his hand and made him sit back down. "No wait. I wanted to apologise first."

"For what?" Andy asked as he put the cup back down.

"For this afternoon. What I said in electronics, in front of Buzz. Andy I'm so sorry" Sharon said with complete sincerity. Sharon had been thinking about it all afternoon and felt awful about the situation. She was worried she had embarrassed Andy in front of Buzz which judging by his reaction she probably had done. She had questioned if she should have taken Andy outside and told him in the corridor, even though she wouldn't have done that with anyone else in the division. Regardless of how either of them felt, Sharon had shot Andy down for the right reasons, he wasn't yet cleared to go into the field no matter how he felt about the situation but still she was concerned that in that moment perhaps she hadn't been speaking purely as his Captain.

Andy put his arm back around her waist and pulled her close to him. "Sharon don't. You were right. It's not my decision to make. It's not yours for that matter either. It's my Doctor's and then Provenza's to sign the paperwork."

"I know but I'm not entirely sure I said it as just your Captain" Sharon said while biting her lip a little awkwardly.

Andy squeezed her tightly. "Don't beat yourself up about it. It's unavoidable. Sometimes you're going to be both my Captain and my girlfriend at the same time and on this occasion you were both right." There was no denying that Andy was a little embarrassed by what had happened because it had happened in front of Buzz. If he could put his pride to one side for a moment he acknowledged himself that he wasn't yet fit enough to be out in the field but if only he hadn't suggested breaking free from the confines of PAB in front of Buzz. Whether Sharon had said it as his Captain or as his girlfriend it didn't matter, Buzz would only see it as both together and with Andy being 'under the thumb' despite the fact she would have told any member of the division, even Buzz, the exact same thing under similar circumstances.

"I know but I'm still sorry" Sharon said as she took hold of Andy's tie and let it run through her finger tips. Once again, despite the current state of their relationship, this simple action meant so much more. It continued to be a substitute for a kiss she wasn't able to give him because of their current location.

Andy smiled. "Then you can make it up to me later but first you need to admit that you like bossing me around. Have me do you bidding."

"As a matter of fact yes I do because now unlike five years ago when I give you an order, you actually follow it." They both laughed. "I've missed you."

"Why? Where have I been?"

On the previous Saturday evening after Andy's kitchen had been thoroughly cleaned and the house aired out they had fallen into each other's arms and straight into bed. If Andy wasn't aware during the first few nights they'd shared a bed together he was that night, Sharon was a talker in bed, a big talker. Sharon's idea of pillow talk was to talk about anything and everything no matter how crazy it may seem. Andy loved it. He loved that private time which was just the two of them when they would discuss whatever random thing crossed her mind and as it turned out a lot of random things did. That evening however after a discussion about a crack on her childhood bedroom ceiling that looked like Walter Mattheu in _The Fortune Cookie_ the rule book came back out and the relationship agreement was amended and expanded once more. It was agreed that while they would currently avoid sharing a bed during an active case because Sharon wanted to concentrate fully on the task at hand (not that an active case left much time for date nights or anything else for that matter) they also wouldn't spend more than four nights apart. It was a contradiction but without that amendment they could potentially fall into a pattern of spending weeks apart during heavy caseloads and that was no way to have a relationship. In truth it wasn't much of a departure to what they already had in place except now they obviously shared a bed. In the previous five month period they tried to avoid date nights during cases but would break that rule every four days if need be even if that meant a very quick meal from a take out in Andy's car close to midnight.

The Sunday after the 'Rat Incident' as it came to be known Sharon went home to spend the day with Rusty to make sure he was okay since Slider's sentencing was expected the following day. It was also decided (by Sharon but Andy eventually agreed) that it wouldn't be a bad idea to apply the brake pedal to their sudden full on relationship and although she didn't want to, felt the need for them to spend a couple of nights apart. Andy agreed because to be perfectly frank during the first five nights they shared a bed, Sharon had worn him out. He would never complain but he was not a young man anymore, he wasn't a middle aged man either and he was exhausted so much so he got into his own head and he became concerned about his exhaustion (both from returning to work following his operation and his more recent physical exertions with Sharon) causing him to fail to 'rise to the occasion.' He didn't know if he'd be able to keep up with her for much longer without a break and he flat out refused to have any 'assistance' as Sharon called it. Women may think it's okay to say 'Don't worry, it happens to everyone' but Andy was determined to not let it happen to him, especially with Sharon, well not yet anyway. After Sharon left his house on the Sunday morning Andy went straight to his bedroom and fell asleep where he landed, at the foot of the bed in full face down starfish mode. There he remained, dead to the world until two hours before his alarm was due to go off for work the following morning. The first thing Sharon asked him at work on Monday was if he was okay since he'd slept through his phone ringing as she called him four times throughout the day. Then Major Crimes caught it's next case and work took precedence with Monday's date being cancelled as they worked well into the night following the shooting at the college and subsequent man hunt for Brad Powell so the 'Four Night Rule' was waiting to come into effect by Wednesday (the day before Christmas Eve when they would hopefully be closing up for the holidays anyway) if they hadn't had chance to see each other properly before then. With Andy still confined to PAB they had worked closely together over the last 48 hours (and rather pleasingly for Sharon without incident since this was the first case they had worked together after the change in their sleeping arrangements. She was thrilled when she eventually went home in the wee small hours of Tuesday morning and from the outside their relationship looked entirely and exclusively professional) but it wasn't the same as talking about nonsense with each other and falling asleep in each other's arms.

"You know what I mean. I've missed talking to you in bed, falling asleep next to you" Sharon said maintaining her grip on his tie.

"I've missed you too but not the violence that comes with you."

Sharon laughed. "I promise to keep my hands to myself tonight."

"Not all night I hope."

Sharon immediately looked away and at the division she was currently neglecting enjoying the party. If she hadn't she would have pounced on him and although no one on the other side of the glass would have cared, she did and she wasn't yet prepared to kiss him at work, not like that and not in full view anyway. "Have you got a change of clothes in your car?" she finally asked.

"What happened to my clothes you took home with you on Sunday?" Andy queried. As per their discussion Sharon had taken home a spare suit and a couple of extra shirts and pairs of pants so Andy would always have clothes at her condo making it much easier for him to stay there whenever he wanted.

Sharon smiled coyly. "I may have been sleeping in your shirts since then."

"May have?"

"Yep" Sharon answered sheepishly. Without giving it a second thought the moment Sharon walked into her bedroom with Andy's bag of clothes she immediately put his dress shirts in her pyjama drawer and that's where they were staying whether he liked it or not. As a result she'd slept in one of his shirts ever since and had no intention of changing that arrangement any time soon.

"Oh good because I'm wearing the underwear you left at mine right now. It really bunches round the back. I look really sexy" he joked.

Sharon laughed before her eyes widened. "Andy as much as that image...intrigues me if you can fit into my underwear I'll shoot myself."

"I didn't say they fit well." Sharon shook her head while he laughed. "Who knew you only wanted to get me out of my clothes so you could put them on."

"What can I say, your shirts are just comfier to sleep in. So have you got a change of clothes or not?" Sharon asked again.

"I have two changes of clothes in the car because you never know who might want to sleep in them."

"Yes, you never know." Sharon briefly glanced at Rusty through the glass before she decided to say what she desperately wanted to. Her decision making somewhat influenced by the amount of alcohol she'd just consumed on an empty stomach. "I've been thinking, how about on Christmas Eve you pack a bag and come and stay with me over the holidays."

Andy looked surprised. "Really?"

"Until New Year at least" Sharon said confidently.

Andy smiled but couldn't hide his surprise. He hadn't been expecting this invitation. He had assumed since they would be spending the holidays together that he would stay over a few nights here and there as per their agreement but this was a much bigger commitment, a commitment he hadn't anticipated since he'd agreed to take his foot off the gas. "I thought we were applying the brake pedal a little."

"We are and we have but it's Christmas and I want to spend as much time with you as possible over the holidays" Sharon said honestly. It wasn't what they had agreed three days before but Sharon always did have a sense of occasion and since it was Christmas she wanted to see Andy as much as physically possible. "If you want to that is" Sharon said suddenly sounding nervous following his surprise.

"What if we get called in?"

Sharon thought for a moment. "I think spending time together during our first Christmas as a couple takes precedence over our current rules."

Andy jaw almost hit the ground as he laughed. "'Takes precedence over our current rules?' Who are you and what have you done with Captain Raydor?"

Sharon playfully glared at him. "Do you want to or not?"

"Have you moved that creepy angel?" Andy asked grinning.

"I'm never moving that angel unless it's to your nightstand so it can keep a watchful eye over you while you sleep."

"Do I get my Christmas present early?"

Sharon took his tie once more as it continued to be a substitute for their lips coming together. "There's a very good chance you might get part of it tonight if you play your cards right."

"I'd love to. But maybe you should..." Andy trailed off as he nodded in Rusty's direction.

"I'll speak to Rusty about it first." Sharon had fully intended to discuss it with Rusty but in the moment was unable to stop herself from asking Andy first.

"I think it's time to re-join the party" Andy said as he stood up and moved to the door.

Sharon joined him but hung back a little as he placed his hand on the door knob. "Come here first" she said gesturing for him to take a step back from the door and further to the corner and join her.

"Why?"

"Just get here" Sharon asserted. Andy took the small step closer to her and was taken completely by surprise when she reached up and ran her arms around his neck. "Blind spot" she said as she gestured to the wall and the door on either side of the corner they occupied before crashing their mouths together in a complete assault on his lips.

As they pulled apart Andy looked as shocked as he'd ever done. He couldn't believe that firstly Sharon had finally kissed him in the work place and such a frenzied kiss at that but also that she'd worked out her office had a blind spot for just such an occasion. "How did you know this office had a blind spot?"

"I figured it out on my second day in charge so I could hide from Lieutenant Provenza when he went on the rampage" Sharon said before laughing and pushing their lips together once more. This was no joke. When Sharon first took over Major Crimes she realised she was going to need somewhere to hide from Provenza that wasn't the ladies room in order to allow him to calm down from whatever slight he was accusing her of at that particular moment. It had come in handy over the years, even more so now she had a strong drink inside her and her boyfriend in her arms. As she kissed Andy her hands gradually made their way south and came to rest on his backside.

Andy's eyes opened and widened as Sharon groped his posterior. "What has got into you?" he asked as he broke their lips apart. He wasn't complaining in the slightest but it was the last thing he expected when Sharon called him towards her.

"What do you mean?"

"Kissing me in your office with your hand on my ass?"

"I'm just checking you haven't really got my underwear on under there."

Andy laughed. "That is definitely not in the rule book."

"I know but it's Christmas and I love you and I've missed these lips over the last three days" Sharon said before meeting his lips once more. "Also, blind spot and I think I've had most of the bourbon in that little bit of eggnog" she said with the alcohol in her words now evident.

"You think?" Andy laughed again as the taste from Sharon's eggnog now lingered on his lips. "Slightly Boozy Sharon may be my new favourite."

"I may need you to drive me home" Sharon said honestly.

"I don't think that's even up for debate" Andy replied with a smile. As they released one another from each other's arms Sharon straightened his tie once more. "I need a drink and I want your body" Andy stated before leaning down and blowing a raspberry on Sharon's neck. Before Sharon had chance to respond Andy was out the door and heading for the drinks table.

Sharon watched Andy with a smile as she left her office. As Andy slowly approached her again with a fresh drink her attention was caught by Rusty who suddenly appeared at her side full of the joys of spring. "He said yes" Rusty said proudly.

"I saw. Yay!" Sharon said loudly and incredibly enthusiastically as she waved her hands in the air, clearly an effect of the eggnog.

Rusty looked at her like she'd suddenly gone crazy before Andy sidled up beside him and quietly said "No more eggnog for your Mom." Andy winked at Sharon to show he was joking before handing her a fresh cup and making his way back to the drinks table.

Rusty looked around confused for a moment before shaking it off. "Thanks so much Mom" he said before gesturing towards Gus who was now in deep conversation with Julio.

"Don't thank me, thank Andy."

"Okay. I will." Rusty nodded.

"Speaking of which, is it okay with you if Andy stays with us over the holidays?" Sharon asked.

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"I'm asking you under the assumption you will of course say 'Yes' like I hope you will ask me before anyone stays over and I of course say 'Yes.'"

Rusty immediately smiled. "Mom, I didn't even think it was open to debate. I just assumed Andy would be staying with us over the holidays. So yes. That's absolutely fine with me, no need to ask."

"Thank you Rusty." Sharon wrapped Rusty in a bear hug as she made him sway back and forth against his will another clear indication that she'd had more than her fair share of the bourbon in her eggnog.

As Rusty battled to break free from Sharon who was fully embracing the Christmas spirit in all its forms Andy made his way over to Provenza who was sitting in his familiar pose, leaning back in his chair with his feet on his desk. "I take it you're hanging on to the report about our favourite Mother in Chief?" Andy asked quietly.

"It's in my drawer. The Captain told you about it?"

"Well not in an official capacity" Andy explained.

"Okay well Mike and I have got it officially. You handle things 'unofficially' at home and we're take care of it from this end" Provenza replied in hushed tones.

"Let me know if anything changes."

"Likewise."

Andy nodded at Provenza before turning round to return to the party but only to be stopped by Gus grinning from ear to ear. "Lieutenant can I please just say thank you. I'm so grateful to be spending Christmas with your family" Gus said with the raw emotion clear in his voice.

"Don't mention it kid." Andy patted Gus on the shoulder and went to find Sharon.

"No really Lieutenant, thank you" Gus said again causing Andy to stop dead in his tracks. "If it wasn't for you and your family I'd be spending Christmas alone."

That was enough to stop Andy, if he had too much experience in one area, it was spending Christmas alone. He had spent far too many holidays alone and miserable except when he was trapped in an RV with Provenza, the Chief, Howard, the Chief's parents and a dirt bag. "I've been there, done that and please call me Andy."

"Okay, well thank you again Andy. So you're Rusty's step father?" Gus asked.

"He wishes" Provenza interjected as he passed them on his way to the drinks table.

"He didn't ask you" Andy shouted after Provenza. "No, not yet. Just his Mom's evil boyfriend" Andy joked.

"Evil?" Gus asked confused.

"It's taken some time for him to get used to the idea. I'm sad to say he has a similar past to you with regards to Mothers and their boyfriends" Andy said quietly.

Gus stared in Rusty's direction. "He never told me."

"That's what dating is for." Andy looked around quickly to make sure that no one was close enough to hear before taking a step closer to Gus. "Listen Gus. My daughter Nicole has this crazy Christmas tradition" he said quietly. "She likes everyone to show up to dinner in the most gaudy, awful Christmas sweaters imaginable. I mean you should see these things. They're the stuff of nightmares."

Gus laughed. "I see. That sounds great. And you'd like me to..."

"Well if you don't mind" Andy said while attempting to hide his smile. If you knew Andy well it was easy to tell that he was lying. The look on his face, a sort of manic smug smile, was the biggest give away let alone how much his nostrils were flaring. Sadly Gus did not know Andy at all and fell for it hook line and sinker. Of course Nicole didn't have a tradition of horrible Christmas sweaters but Andy liked the idea of making Gus turn up in one looking like an idiot just for his own amusement and to make Gus feel more at home. "Look I'll give you some money" Andy added as he produced two $20 bills from his pocket.

"No Lieutenant you don't..."

"Andy please and yes I do. Look this is my daughter's tradition. You haven't started your job yet. Let me pay for it" Andy replied as he placed the bills in Gus' hand. It was Andy's practical joke and he was determined not to let Gus pay for it.

"Okay. Thank you. I'll try to find a good one."

"Great kid" Andy said proudly as he patted him on the back once more. "Remember the more horrendous the better. Oh just one more thing." Andy moved even closer to Gus to whisper as his nostrils continued to flare like crazy. "I haven't told Sharon and Rusty yet. I've bought them both a sweater for Christmas as a surprise so let's keep this just between us for now. Okay?"

"Sure thing Lieu...Andy" Gus said as he corrected himself mid-sentence.

"What are you two talking about?" Rusty asked as he seemed to appear out of nowhere once again making them both jump a little. Andy was convinced that Rusty was once a ninja in a previous life as he had the habit of sneaking up on him, discovering him behind him in the kitchen when he was icing his eye in just his underwear being the prime example.

Since Andy looked like he was struggling for the words that Rusty would believe Gus took the initiative. "I was just thanking Andy for inviting me to spend Christmas with you all."

Rusty looked between the pair of them suspiciously, smelling a rat but not being able to put his finger on what exactly was going on. Eventually he smiled and said "Yeah, thanks Lieutenant."

"Not a problem kid."

Sensing Rusty wasn't buying what he and Gus were selling and not knowing if Sharon had shared her knowledge on how to spot when he was lying, Andy opted to move away from the scene of the crime as quickly as possible. As he walked towards Sharon and Mike his grin stretched from ear to ear. Even with a fair amount of bourbon inside her it was clear to Sharon almost immediately that Andy had been up to something. "What are you grinning at?" she asked as she looked at him quizzically.

"Nothing. Nothing at all" Andy lied as he glanced at Mike.

"You've been up to something."

"I've been doing nothing just having a chat with Gus that's all" Andy protested as he laughed and smiled at Mike.

"You forget your nose flares when you lie and I can read you like a book."

"Ha!" laughed Mike as he enjoyed catching a rare glimpse of Andy with his girlfriend rather than his Captain and seeing her being more than a match for him away from work.

Andy grabbed hold of his nose and winked at Sharon before moving back to the food table with Mike in tow. Sharon shook her head at him and laughed as Andrea joined her.

"Sharon" Andrea said joyfully as she chinked their cups together in a plastic toast.

"Andrea. Happy Holidays."

"And to you too" Andrea responded before moving a little closer to Sharon's ear. "And as an early Christmas present for the record, that blind spot in your office isn't so blind from that wall." Andrea laughed into her eggnog as Sharon's eyes widened. That corner of her office was the perfect blind spot from the majority of the murder room (excluding anywhere in the vicinity of the conference room where it was anything but a secretive) with the exception of that one area on the far wall where Andrea had briefly come to rest to remove the half eaten burrito that she had discovered mysteriously skewered on her heel. Her bewilderment as to where it had come from and how long she had been carting it around with her without noticing came to an abrupt end when she caught sight of her usually so professional friend and colleague just relaxing a little. Andrea's amusement was the complete opposite to Sharon's mortified frown. That was the first and the last time she was ever going to kiss Andy like that in her office, it was also the last time she was ever going to drink that much eggnog at an office party. As Sharon's head found her hands Andrea continued to laugh and rubbed her back, beyond amused at the embarrassment from the usually unflappable Captain Raydor. Andrea took a big gulp of her eggnog before coughing loudly. "Who mixed this?" she asked as she blinked rapidly like it had somehow managed to sting the backs of her eyes.

Gathered at the food table Taylor, Provenza, Andy, Mike, Julio and Buzz grazed on the food like cows in a field, occasionally making polite chit chat but mainly keeping their heads down in a comfortable silence and eating. Using his sole prepared Christmas party conversation starter Taylor turned to Provenza and asked "Lieutenant, any plans for the holidays?"

Provenza shrugged. "Not really. Just getting through them unscathed is the plan." He briefly caught Andy's eye and gave him a quick eye roll as an indication that what he was about to say was probably a mistake but he was going to say it anyway and he may need his assistance shortly. "Patrice thought it would be a good idea to invite Flynn and the Captain over for drinks tomorrow night" he said casually. He was met with quite a large amount of laughter from the rest of the group with the exception of Andy. His eyes scanned them somewhat confused and annoyed. "What?" he asked.

"You're going on a double date? With the Captain and Lieutenant Flynn?" Buzz finally asked as he tried to stop laughing.

"It's not a double date, it's just drinks at Casa Provenza" Provenza stated.

"Are you selling tickets?" Julio asked instantly.

Provenza glared at him while everyone laughed. "Did you have to climb back out of that pool?"

Mike grinned. "I have to ask, is this the first double date you've been on since..."

Provenza closed his eyes. He knew instantly what was coming. No matter what he did in his private or professional life, no matter what he accomplished, the one thing conversation always came back to was the evening he got used by drug smugglers, handled a murder weapon and took Viagra preventing him from standing for nearly two hours. "Don't say it."

"The flight attendants?" Mike continued.

"You said it. Yes. And it's not a double date" Provenza stated once again.

"Although I think we can be pretty sure Sharon and Patrice aren't using us to protect them from drug dealers" Andy said unhelpfully which resulted in more laughter. Andy didn't mind discussing that particular escapade, yes it was embarrassing but he'd done worse (openly coming onto the woman robbing a jewellery store being his most cringe worthy moment) and Provenza came across ten times worse than he did and that was before they stole his car (which took them three hours to find by the way).

"So you admit they were using you?" Julio asked.

Provenza rolled his eyes before his arms flew up in the air in resignation. "Fine! I was wrong! Are you happy now?"

Andy stared at Provenza shocked. "Wow! I've never heard you say those words before."

"I have" Mike was quick to say. "You were still working at Robbery Homicide." Mike's hand vanished into his pocket before he produced his notepad. He immediately flicked to the back page. "On 15th August 2005 Provenza admitted he was wrong about the Dutton butler. Look I wrote it down" he said showing everyone the page he'd been reading from.

"You've kept that pad for 10 years?" Provenza asked as much gobsmacked as he was outraged while Amy walked up behind him unseen.

"No I just write it at the back of each new one so I don't forget."

As everyone laughed Provenza snatched the pad from Mike's hand and ripped the page out. "Give that here."

"What's this?" Amy asked naively. At this point Amy really should have known better than to ask these questions when Provenza and his bulging eyes were involved.

"If you value your badge you'll forget that question" Provenza warned.

Julio was not bothered by such threats and had heard them too many times before without consequence so asked "How long did it take you to stand up Sir?" Andy immediately hid his face behind his hand to disguise how hard he was laughing. At the time Andy did very well not to laugh mainly because he felt a bit stupid himself for the situation they found themselves in but after just over two hours of waiting as he helped Provenza to his feet and discovered him still 'saluting' him he couldn't hold his laughter in any longer.

"The one time! The one time I use one of those pills and the whole world finds out!" Provenza shouted causing Julio to laugh uncontrollably as Rusty joined the group. "Don't snicker at me!" Provenza said pointing at Julio. "Let me tell you there will be a time young man when you step up to the plate and will need some extra help picking up the bat."

Grimaces were shared amongst the group. "Sir! Too much information" Julio said before polishing off his eggnog to help supress any unwanted images.

"You play baseball Lieutenant?" Rusty asked causing another ripple of laughter.

"Not exactly, not exactly" Provenza replied shaking his head.

"Didn't one of them think they were a cow in a previous life?" Buzz asked with a smirk.

"Yes Buzz and thank you for remembering that vital piece of information. What would we do without you?"

Amy looked about the group baffled. "What am I missing here?"

"A few years back these two idiots picked up a couple of flight attendants and went on a double date" Taylor explained as both Andy and Provenza covered their eyes with their hands simultaneously.

"Surprisingly they didn't want them for their bodies. They turned out to be using them for protection from a drug smuggling ring" Mike added with glee.

Rusty's eyes went wide as his jaw dropped. "Really? Does Mom know?" he asked looking at Andy accusingly.

"Of course she knows" Andy confirmed.

Provenza suddenly went red with rage. "You told her that too? Ye Gods Flynn!"

"No! I didn't need to, apparently the whole building knew." The moment the words left Andy's mouth he looked about the group and glared. If everyone in the building knew, they found out from the people standing before him.

Everyone continued to laugh except Amy who looked amazed at what she was hearing. She'd heard stories before but she'd never seen this side to either of her Lieutenants. "That's surprising" she said only to be greeted with confused looks from those who had known them longer and knew better. "What? It's just surprising to me that you would chase after someone like that Lieutenant" she said gesturing at Provenza. "I've just always known you as this cuddly but grumpy Grandfather figure."

"Ha!" Mike blurted out as everyone else laughed attracting Fritz to the group to see what the ruckus was.

"Listen here young lady, I am about as cuddly a Grandfather figure as Mr Beck here. I am still a virile man in the prime of his life" Provenza announced. Again his declaration was greeted with laughter.

"Prime? I'd hate to see you when you're on the turn" Andy said creating more laughter.

"Virile? Even though you don't run anymore" Amy asked.

"Oh he's never run Sykes" Julio was quick to point out.

"How did we even end up talking about this anyway?" Provenza questioned while hoping for it to end just as quickly as it started.

"You started it. You're the one that brought up your double date" Mike confirmed.

The look on Amy's face was pure joy as she all but jumped up and down clapping her hands. "You're going on a double date?"

"No, we're having drinks, there's a difference" Provenza protested once again.

"No there isn't" Buzz said.

Mike smiled. "With Flynn and the Captain."

By now the look on Amy's face suggested this was the best thing she'd ever heard. "Really?"

Provenza rolled his eyes. "Yes! Why is this so shocking? Jeffrey Dahmer faced less questions when they found a head in his refrigerator."

"Do we really need to explain Sir?" Julio asked.

"I am capable of a sophisticated evening of conversation amongst friends you know" Provenza said with exaggerated offense. More laughter filled the group.

"I'm sorry. If I'm honest I'm still in shock you're engaged again" Mike said while he wiped his glasses clean on his tie.

Provenza looked perplexed. "Why?"

"Well not so much that you're engaged again but rather who you're engaged to. She's not exactly your type" Mike explained as he returned his glasses to his face.

"Type? I don't have a type. If I like you I like you. And if I like you you're pretty special because I hate everyone" Provenza said grumpily. Then realisation hit him as he looked about the group accusingly. "Oh I see. I see. The elephant in the room rears its ugly head. Is it because Patrice is African American?"

A collective shaking of heads took place. Everyone's surprise had nothing to do with Patrice's race. "No. More like because Patrice is your own age Sir" Julio was quick to clear up.

"No one saw that coming" Andy added.

Provenza glared at Andy. "Listen here Flynn you've got no right to speak."

"Why?"

"Oh let me see because you're dating the Captain that's why" Provenza stated bluntly.

There was a collective nod of heads as Mike confirmed Provenza's point. "Yep never if I lived to a hundred would I have predicted that one either."

Before Andy had chance to say anything Taylor was quick to add his two cents worth. "Oh good so I'm not alone then because to say I find this whole thing like a work of science fiction is an understatement."

"I told Brenda last week that you were getting married again" Fritz interjected as he looked at Provenza. Instantly at the mere mention of their former Chief's name everyone stood to attention eager to find out more.

Julio smiled manically. "What did she say?"

"She wasn't surprised but she did wonder what your wing man here was going to do without you" Fritz replied pointing at Andy. "So I told her you were also off the market which she found more surprising." Fritz paused as he smiled. "Then I told her you were dating the Captain."

"And?" Andy asked with a tone of annoyance.

Fritz laughed to himself. "She spat the Ding-Dong she was eating at me. It hit me right between the eyes" he added pointing to the spot where the half eaten chocolate sponge had stuck to his forehead.

Andy looked less than impressed as the group laughed, that was everyone except Rusty who looked slightly baffled. "What does that mean? Why is it so strange that my Mom is dating Lieutenant Flynn?" he asked.

"Why? That hated each other that's why" Provenza said bluntly.

"Intense loathing" Mike added.

"It was brutal" Julio confirmed.

"You hated each other?" Rusty looked at Andy a little stunned. It was no understatement to say that when Rusty first met Sharon he hated her but that had nothing to do with Sharon, he hated everyone, except maybe Brenda. It was a case of Rusty versus the world at that time and he hated everyone he came into contact with regardless of who they were. He also vividly remembered discussing with Buzz that he wasn't alone in regard to Sharon and could see that everyone also hated her. And yet he was shocked to learn that Sharon and Andy once had an incredibly rocky relationship. Although they did pretty much keep their hands to themselves in his presence Sharon and Andy were still all over each other all the time. To see them like that on an almost daily basis at the moment but to know they used to loathe each other, shocked Rusty and caused him to worry a little bit. He may not have been on board with their relationship from the beginning but now he did like Andy and he came to realise when he was in the hospital that he would miss him if he wasn't there anymore. Rusty didn't like change but he had been forced repeatedly in his life to adapt to his circumstances. He had adapted to Andy in his life and it had become comfortable. He realised in that moment that deep down he didn't want to lose Andy if his relationship with Sharon were to end. If Sharon and Andy had loathed each other once could it happen again?

"Like two cats trapped in a bag" Buzz joked.

Provenza's finger made its way to his mouth as he exaggerated a good thinking pose. "Now what was it you used to call her?" he said knowing full well but wanting to cause a bit of trouble since he'd been under attack for the last few minutes.

"Provenza! Indubitably!" Andy shouted as he wanted an end to this debate in front of Rusty. Provenza's face dropped instantly as he nodded with their little 'safe word' idea already working and proving beneficial. Provenza quickly pondered just ignoring Andy's coded request but thought better of it since Andy would be arriving at his house the following evening and the last thing he wanted was Andy walking into his living room with an axe to grind and plenty of stories to get him into trouble and sleeping on the couch. "You were no better" Andy was quick to add as he pointed at Provenza accusingly.

"But I'm not dating her now am I?" Provenza said gleefully.

"No but you're going on a double date" Julio replied to wipe the smile off Provenza's face.

Hearing the continued commotion going on by the food table Sharon, Andrea and Gus were quick to finally break off their conversation and join the rest of the group to see what was going on. They joined the circle just in time to hear Provenza shout "It's not a double date, its drinks."

"What's this?" Sharon asked as she settled next to Andy.

"You're going on a double date with Lieutenant Provenza?" Amy asked.

As everyone tried their hardest not to laugh at the idea of Provenza on a double date with his Captain, Sharon took another swig from her eggnog and nodded. "Tomorrow night in fact. I'm sure it'll be lovely" she said as she put her hand on Andy's shoulder.

Andy and Provenza shared a quick worried look. They'd reached the point where they had both over thought the situation and were so worried about saying anything the following night that would get the other into trouble and result in some sort of retribution that it was highly likely they'd spend all of Wednesday night sitting in silence which would only get them into more trouble with their respective partners.

Provenza turned back towards his desk as he quietly mumbled "That's what they said about the maiden voyage on the Titanic."

Andy raised his eyebrows and tried to look as enthusiastic as possible. "Indubitably."


	11. Chapter 11

_I want to start by once again thanking you for all your lovely reviews for the last chapter. I am blown away by your completely unexpected response. If a reviewer has an account I like to thank them via PM but since I can't do that with Guest reviewers I'd like to take that opportunity now. Thank you all. In particular I'd like to thank Guest reviewers Penelope and Milque for writing some of the longest and most flattering reviews that I have ever seen and scarcely deserve. If you'd like to leave a review for this chapter and let me know that my hard work wasn't in vain I'd really appreciate it but if you'd like a general chit chat about nonsense and twaddle you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _To answer a couple of questions, Chapter Ten in particular had all of the dialogue written in my head the evening after I saw episode 4x18 in December. It's just taken a long time to reach this far. All of Taylor's parts were written long before White Lies Part One (likewise this chapter was written long before White Lies Part Three). I've been asked about the ages of the characters as well. If memory serves the only age that has been pinned to a character is Rusty. As for everyone else I have opted to use the ages of the actors. This probably puts the characters five years above what they might actually be but it's been easier for me to keep track that way._

 _Apologies for the length of time this update has taken but as you will see this chapter is long. Very very very very long but I hope worth the effort to read. I've written this chapter purely as a way to amuse myself and I like it more than anything else I've ever produced. I love the beginning, I love the conversation in the yard, I love every word between Andy and Provenza and I adore the end. I hope you feel the same. Some of the stories are from The Closer, some are made up and all facts came from a QI book._

 _Once again I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up the following morning after chapter ten._

 _You'll need a good couple of hours and a whole lot of tea to get through it but I think the ending it worth it. Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Eleven**

The sunlight shining through the partially opened curtains was blinding, causing Sharon to stir as it illuminated her face. She didn't remember drawing the curtains before she climbed into bed the night before. She didn't remember getting into bed at all if she was perfectly honest. Sharon rolled over and away from the harsh sunlight, emitting a noise like a duck with its beak taped shut as she moved. Aside from the brightness and searing pain in her head the only other thing she was aware of was the sound of laughter very nearby. Finally she opened her eyes and blinked rapidly. Each blink seemed to scratch her eyes, making a noise like a door slamming shut on a submarine. As the light stung her barely open emerald orbs it made her head pound even more. She could see nothing but brightness. A blurred, bright, white nothingness. She knew her glasses were around somewhere but they probably wouldn't help in bringing the world into focus at that particular moment in time. She swallowed. Her tongue felt like sandpaper. As her eyes began to focus a little more she caught sight of a figure lying next to her, looming through the blurry fog. Sharon raised her hand and roughly ran it down the face she could just about make out, checking if it was really there. As her eyes adjusted the figure became less of a blob and took on the form of Andy. A smug Andy. A smug Andy enjoying the fact that Sharon was waking, on a work day with the mildest of hangovers but a hangover none the less. As everyone switched to Andy's virgin eggnog at the Christmas party so they could drive themselves home, Sharon kept drinking the potent batch that Julio had prepared. Add to that the two glasses of wine she drank in very quick fashion as Rusty went to bed after they arrived home before she dragged Andy into her bedroom by his tie like a cow she'd just lassoed and proceeded to basically sexually assault him. Altogether Sharon had drunk far too much for a school night. In fact she couldn't remember the last time she'd had that much to drink and that had nothing to do with how she curtailed her alcohol intake after getting involved with yet another alcoholic. Getting drunk was just something Sharon didn't do unless she was unbelievably happy and relaxed. Some people drank to excess when they were upset or depressed, Sharon on the other hand knew that didn't help anything so only did it when she was at her happiest.

"Good morning sunshine" Andy said smugly as he gently pushed their lips together. In the course of his life he had experienced more hangovers than he could shake a stick at so couldn't help but enjoy the moment as his usually so in control girlfriend suffered slightly.

In response to his greeting Sharon could do nothing but grunt as she pushed his smug face away from her with the palm of her hand. She sat up quickly, fully prepared to pretend she was fine and get on with her day, anything to wipe the smile from Andy's face. That act didn't last long. Within moments she slunk back down in bed and rolled over to grab Andy, planting her face on his chest, hair everywhere, terrified that her head was literally about to fall off and roll across the bedroom floor. He ran his hand through her hair, taming it as best he could before kissing her on the top of her head. "If you're going to be sick don't do it on me" he said while trying not to laugh. Again Sharon grunted. It would be the only noise she was capable of making until her fifth cup of coffee as Andy drove them to PAB. After that she could only speak in vowels. Complete sentences didn't put in an appearance until after lunch. Thank God she wasn't needed in court.

At the fourth attempt and clad in nothing but one of Andy's dress shirts that she had claimed to sleep in, Sharon dragged herself out of bed and virtually crawled to the shower as he watched from the doorway and tried his best not to laugh (an endeavour that was largely unsuccessful). Giving up as she passed the sink on all fours Sharon accepted her inevitable death and lay on the bathroom floor and waited for God to take her. Moments later she sensed Andy hovering over her and could practically hear the smile on his face. She would have kicked him if only she had the energy to raise her foot more than an inch off the ground. Eventually he bent down and scooped her up, planting another kiss on the top of her head. After quickly shedding their clothes Andy helped her into the shower and proceeded to wash her hair for her as she tried valiantly not to wretch on his feet while maintaining her balance by burrowing her forehead into his chest. The water hitting her face turned out to be a great boon and she instantly felt better but even without a crystal ball it was clear to see that some very strong painkillers and a lot of black coffee were in her near future. Feeling considerably more human Sharon managed to dress on her own, well mainly on her own. Andy had to help her put her bra on as her struggle and complete lack of coordination made her look like a dog chasing its tail as she went round and round in circles reaching for the clasp. He also zipped up her dress and helped her on with her shoes but that was more of a routine they had fallen into over the previous eight days rather than help she actually needed. As he got dressed himself Andy never said a word but the smug smile stayed permanently fixed to his face.

Rusty cooked breakfast, not that Sharon ate any. She had cup of coffee after cup of coffee followed by some painkillers as Andy and Rusty both ate their breakfast in silence and exchanged amused glances. As they left for work Sharon produced something from her bag that Andy didn't see very often, a pair of sunglasses. If there was ever an indication that she was suffering this was it. Andy held her hand as they walked to the elevator and helped her into his car, opening her window assuming the fresh air would do her some good. Still she could only grunt as she drank another cup of coffee like it was going out of fashion.

Sharon dreaded the journey but the breeze from the open window actually made her feel a lot better and she was much like her normal self as she climbed out of the car at PAB. Regardless her sunglasses remained fixed to her face with the murder room suddenly seeming so bright it was like a nuke had gone off in the corner. As she walked through the arrangement of desks on her way to her office and settled in her chair without so much as a wave in response to the numerous 'Good mornings' from her colleagues, not a single member of the division said a word about her fragile state but plenty of grins were exchanged. They had all seen for themselves that she was a little worse for wear when she left the previous night. She wasn't drunk by any stretch of the imagination but it was enough to make her comfortably put an arm around Andy in front of everyone and leave PAB with a rosy huw to her cheeks and Andy's tie in her hand, dragging him with her but it was their Christmas party after all.

The rest of the day was a relatively quiet one. Chief Taylor had assured them at the start of the week that come 5pm they would be leaving for the day and for the holidays and he would not see them again until Monday unless something cataclysmic happened, like the Mayor being assassinated for example. This was a reward for firstly working until long past 10pm on Christmas Eve the previous year when they were supposed to have the day off and also because as a division they missed out on Thanksgiving (but so did Taylor for that matter) because Andy was in hospital having his operation. So not expecting to leave PAB and with Robbery Homicide taking charge of any roll outs, the division set about completing paperwork and trying to clear their desks before the holidays. That wasn't to say the day with smooth sailing. Andy and Provenza were snippy, moody and sometimes downright hostile towards each other and everyone knew why.

In was no understatement to say that both Andy and Provenza were petrified about their friendly round of Christmas drinks in a couple of hours. Ordinarily in the past they would go out together on a double date (like they were permanently living in the 70s) without a care in the world as they tried to pick up women many many years too young for them but in those circumstances they had nothing to lose. Right now they both had everything to lose and that thought had them beyond stressed and terrified. Since the invitation was made five days ago they had discussed it multiple times with the result of each conversation making them even more anxious about what could go wrong. The problem was, even with the use of a safe word to avert potential danger ('Indubitably' had become the most common word in their vocabularies since Saturday) they were still worrying about getting each other into trouble, letting the cat out of the bag so to speak, retaliation being wreaked upon them and an immediate sex ban being issued to one if not both of them. Then the real panic set in as they pondered what the other could actually say in retaliation should they reveal something they shouldn't, what skeletons would be dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet. They both had more than enough dirt on each other to ensure they never had sex again should something go spectacularly wrong. Provenza had Andy suitably petrified about the incident in Barstow in late 2001 with the ping pong balls, something they'd both tried unsuccessfully to erase from their minds. Provenza on the other hand couldn't stop thinking about one woman in particular: Gina Jones. Andy knew what had gone on between them although he prayed every day to forget and knew that she was the only woman in this world (including his coven of ex-wives) who had the ability to send Provenza's balls shooting back up into his body at the mere mention on her name. Andy had never spoken about her since but did that mean he'd forgotten? Provenza was too frightened to find out.

However that wasn't the sole reason that Provenza sat at his desk with a face like thunder. That was because it wasn't just a regular double date. It was a double date that involved Sharon Raydor. It was not that Provenza had any problems with Sharon, far from it. He had long since accepted her relationship with Andy (and had actively encouraged it before he finally asked her out on their first date) and treated her with the upmost respect and affection. She was his respected Captain, the love of his best friend's life and most surprisingly his friend, although he would never admit that out loud. He once loathed the sight of her, 'That Woman,' 'Nurse Ratchet,' 'The Wicked Witch', he now loved her as a friend and enjoyed spending time with her. Regardless the idea of spending an entire evening with a commanding officer in his own home was the stuff of nightmares. It wasn't that it was Sharon, it was that it was his commanding officer and he'd feel the same if it was Taylor, 'The Pope' or the Chief he cared so much about. If anything he was less uncomfortable about the situation because it was Sharon, she almost put him at ease...almost. Unlike Andy, Provenza very much liked to keep something akin to the Berlin Wall between his work and personal lives so going out for a drink or to the baseball with Andy was one thing, having his Captain in his home for pleasant cocktail conversation with his fiancée was another thing entirely. He didn't want Sharon to see him any differently. He had worked hard to build a reputation at work over the years and having his fiancée swap stories about him with his Captain would fly in the face of that and that was without Andy swapping stories he'd rather neither of them ever hear.

Even though paperwork was their sole focus while Sharon battled a hangover and Andy and Provenza spent the day brooding it was anything but a quiet day. To add to the tension between Andy and Provenza a row broke out in the afternoon. It started off innocently enough with Andy fetching Sharon her ninth cup of coffee of the day just after lunch. At the same time he poured himself a cup but before he could drink it he vanished into the corridor on a rather secretive phone call. When he returned ten minutes later his cup was on his desk but the coffee was gone. Provenza immediately got the blame for drinking it despite his continued denials and no apparent witnesses to the crime. At times it became farcical as names were called, insults flew back and forth and at one particularly childish moment a stapler was thrown (but that was by Mike as he tried to shut them up since his earbuds proved ineffective at drowning out the noise).

By the time 5pm arrived everyone left for the holidays in relative good cheer but the row over the coffee had been a bone of contention for most of the day. Neither Andy nor Provenza could stop themselves from making one snippy remark after another much to the annoyance of everyone else. The row was eventually stopped by Sharon who stomped out of her office and threatened to 'Bang your heads together' if they didn't shut up. Silence fell as a result but the glares remained as the tension seemed to hang above them in the murder room like thunder clouds.

With the working day over Sharon and Andy said a quick goodbye to each other in the parking garage before they set off in opposite directions to go home. They had agreed that Andy would drop by around 7pm and pick Sharon up with her staying at his house that night before he temporarily moved back in with her over the holidays the following day.

When Sharon arrived home she was surprised to see that Rusty had already left for the evening. It was a big night for Rusty, it was his first date with Gus. They had decided that since they would be spending Christmas Day together that they needed to have their first date before then just to get that initial awkwardness out of the way. Since Christmas Eve was out of the question because Rusty had plans to finish decorating the tree with Sharon before she cooked dinner upon Andy's arrival and then they all went to Midnight Mass (something Sharon was desperate to do since she opted for the aborted Christmas party at the condo instead of her religious duties twelve months ago), that only left Wednesday night. Despite her bad head that morning it was easy to register just how nervous Rusty was about his impending first date. Rusty's nervousness was the main reason that Sharon would be spending the night at Andy's house rather than vice versa. Sharon felt that Rusty was already nervous enough without him coming home to find her sitting on the couch with Andy, like they were the Spanish Inquisition waiting to interrogate him. If Rusty wanted to share how his date had gone there would be plenty of time for that on Christmas Eve after he'd had chance to sleep on it.

With the condo to herself Sharon had a quick nap, waking much fresher than she'd felt all day before taking a long shower. Her wardrobe choice was easy, selecting a red sundress that she knew Andy was particular partial to. It stopped just above the knee and Andy simply could not take his eyes off her legs when she wore it. After grabbing a thin black jacket and making one final adjustment to her wardrobe Sharon left her bedroom with a wicked smile on her lips but had barely walked into the living room when she heard Andy's knuckles rapping on the front door. She opened the door and felt breathless at the sight that stood before her. Andy was leaning against the door frame in a pair of dark blue jeans, a white dress shirt and his black leather jacket, smouldering. He looked beautiful and Sharon immediately grabbed him by his lapels, dragging him through the door and crashing their lips together. If he'd got his way they wouldn't have left the condo but while Andy was still trying to make any sort of noise come out of his mouth, Sharon grabbed her purse, locked the door and led the way to the elevator.

Meanwhile across town Patrice had been hoping that her other half would arrive home early to help her prepare for the evening ahead. After leaving PAB Provenza had a detour to make and a few things to pick up from the grocery store, including cranberry juice for Andy and yet more wine should the evening need it ('Stilted conversation can always be resolved with wine' he thought), before heading home. He had aimed to arrive just early enough to please Patrice but late enough so that he wouldn't have to actually do anything to help, a fine balance and a tactic he'd perfected during the course of his five marriages. Without meaning to he ended up arriving just five minutes before Andy and Sharon. When Patrice questioned where he had been he had a perfectly reasonable excuse he felt. As he climbed into his car outside the grocery store someone honked their horn at him waiting for his parking space. Naturally Provenza felt it was only right to stay in his car and in that parking spot until one of them died but after the fourth phone call from Patrice wanting to know what was taking so long he relented and drove home but not before he made sure he gave the honking driver the finger. When Provenza eventually arrived home there was just enough time for Patrice to put an extra bottle of white wine in the fridge and give him a stern warning to be on his best behaviour before Andy and Sharon pulled up outside.

On the curb Andy turned off the car engine before returning his hands to the steering wheel, gripping it tightly. The tension in his face was startling as Sharon stared at him, flummoxed as to what his problem could be. She'd seen for herself how Andy and Provenza had been at each other's throats all day long and Andy had never been exactly enthusiastic about their impending double date but even so it was nothing to warrant the expression occupying his face.

"What is wrong with your face?" Sharon finally asked as Andy seemed extremely reluctant to so much as remove his seat belt let alone climb out of the car.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel making it seem like the only way he was exiting that car was if he was dragged by his ankles.

"You look like you're awaiting execution. Is it so hard to spend one evening with your friend? With me?" Sharon said softly as she placed her hand on his as it continued to grip the wheel.

Andy took Sharon's hand and brought it to his lips. "No. No not at all" he said as she couldn't fail to register how sweaty his palms were.

"Then what's the matter?"

"Nothing. It's just..." Andy paused for a moment pondering if he should confess that he was terrified of what Provenza may let slip to her about his past. Then he quickly changed his mind again. "Nothing" he said while his face erupted into a mammoth smile as he gazed at Sharon adoringly.

"What's that smile for?"

"Do you know what's wrong with your face?" Andy asked as he rubbed her hand, never taking his eyes off hers.

Sharon rolled her eyes. She knew this was just cheap flattery and a ploy to make her want to abandon their plans. It wasn't going to work but thought she'd play along regardless. "Tell me."

"Absolutely nothing" Andy said in a husk.

Sharon tried very hard not to shake her head at the corniness of his words. This was yet another delaying tactic. For some reason he really didn't want to get out of the car. "Andy" she said quietly.

"Yes?" he asked, hope written all over his face.

"Get out of the car."

Andy sighed. "I know he took my coffee."

"Andy!" Sharon shouted. "If I have to hear about this cup of coffee one more time I will kill one if not both of you."

Andy turned to Sharon and smiled, squeezing her hand tightly. "It's not too late to drive home and pretend you're sick. Provenza would easily believe you were still suffering with a hangover."

"I haven't had a hangover!" Sharon protested, fooling no one not even herself.

"Of course you haven't but just think about it." Andy moved towards Sharon and slowly started to move his lips up and down her neck, planting soft kisses as he travelled. "If we skip drinks we can get dinner and I can be your dessert." He moved his lips to meet hers, not noticing the unimpressed expression on her face.

"That sounds divine but there's just one thing I want you to do for me first" Sharon said in a sultry whisper.

"Anything. Just name it."

Sharon moved her lips to Andy's ear, biting on his earlobe gently before shouting "Get out of the car now!"

Once again Andy sighed before settling back in his seat and removing his seat belt. He glanced at Sharon before opening the door and climbing out of the car. Sharon laughed to herself as she removed her seatbelt before adjusting the hem of her skirt, pulling it down as far as it would go. Just as she placed her hand on the door handle Andy opened it for her and took her hand to help her out. Despite Andy's assistance for some unknown reason Sharon seemed to struggle climbing out of the car. Andy thought about asking if she was okay but assumed it was maybe something to do with her lingering hangover and knew she wouldn't react well if he brought it up again.

After her ungraceful rise to her feet Sharon quickly pressed her lips to Andy's before setting off on the short walk to Provenza's front door while he retrieved a bunch of flowers from the backseat and locked the car. When he turned Andy's attention was immediately drawn to how Sharon was walking as she ventured up the driveway. As she moved Andy couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. It wasn't so much a limp as it was a shuffle. She looked awkward. She looked uncomfortable. She looked...odd. There was something about the way she was moving that reminded Andy of when Provenza once sat on some curling irons at a crime scene. He spent the rest of the day waddling around the murder room with a family sized frozen turkey clamped between his legs.

Andy started to wrack his brain. Sharon had certainly been walking perfectly normally enough while they were at work but had that changed before he came to pick her up that evening. If he was honest Andy had no idea. After Sharon had opened the door to her condo and assaulted him with her lips he was so aroused he didn't see anything except stars until he suddenly found himself sitting behind the wheel of his car with the key in the ignition five minutes later. So if she had been walking peculiarly when they left her condo he wouldn't have noticed but neither would he have noticed a dragon playing a fiddle in the elevator either.

"Are you okay?" Andy asked as he strode quickly to join her side.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"You're walking funny" Andy noted as they arrived at the front door.

"Oh now you notice." Sharon was still perplexed how Andy never noticed she was wearing two different shoes on their first date and subsequently had a pronounced limp. "It's these heels" Sharon said dismissively as she pressed the doorbell.

"Maybe we should go back so you..." Andy said as he turned to go back to the car.

Sharon grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him back to stand with her. "Oh no you don't! Get back here! Don't worry about it."

Before Andy had chance to protest further the front door swung open and an overjoyed Patrice stood before them with her arms stretched open. "Sharon! Andy! How are yo..." Patrice stopped midsentence as she immediately noticed the very faint dark mark under Andy's eye. The bruising from the night time elbow to the face Sharon had given him had virtually vanished by now but in certain lights you could still just make it out if you looked closely enough. "Andy are you wearing eyeliner or have you had a black eye recently?"

"Black eye. I er….walked into a door" Andy said glancing at Sharon.

"You walked into a door? This guy! Can you go a week without injuring yourself? Welcome. Come in" Patrice said. Andy stepped across the threshold and was immediately wrapped into a bear hug by Patrice as Provenza lurked just behind her straightening his tie.

"Hello Patrice. Thank you so much for inviting us over." Sharon joined Andy across the threshold and received the same welcome, a very large hug.

"You're more than welcome. Thank you for coming. This is very long overdue" Patrice said closing the front door. "Louie" she said quietly as she nodded towards their guests.

Provenza took a step forward, clearing his throat. "Captain. Flynn" he said before quickly and uncomfortably kissing his commanding officer on the cheek and shaking his partner's hand.

"Lieutenant" Sharon said with a smile.

Andy hid his grin. "Provenza."

Again Patrice nodded towards their guests. "Louie" she encouraged.

"Oh yeah let me take your jackets." Sharon took her cell out of her purse (in case Rusty were to suddenly call) before Provenza helped her off with his jacket. "Here let me grab that for you." Provenza took Sharon's jacket and purse and moved to the closet by the front door. "Captain you're looking lovely tonight. Flynn, nice er…..pants" Provenza said a little awkwardly.

As Sharon followed Patrice into the living room Andy stayed with Provenza as he removed his leather jacket. "Nice pants?" he questioned.

"I'm being complimentary. It was Patrice's idea." Provenza hung up Andy's jacket in the closet before closing the door and again adjusted his tie.

"Well stop it. It's weird" Andy said as he suddenly realised that he still had his car keys in his hand.

"Oh er….just put your car keys in the bowl" Provenza said without thinking as he gestured towards the small bowl on the table by the front door where he kept his keys.

"In the bowl? Have you invited us to some sort of key party?"

"Like any of us have the energy for that. At this age the only way either of us would get even close to a threesome is sleeping with a schizophrenic" Provenza stated grumpily.

Andy smirked. He was currently filled with the joys of Spring. "Speak for yourself."

"Oh who are you kidding? We're both at an age where an 'all-nighter' means we didn't have to get out of bed to pee." Provenza quickly made sure that Patrice and Sharon were out of earshot before saying "Remember, keep it zipped." To reinforce his point Provenza moved his hand across his mouth as if zipping it closed.

"Like I've been able to think about anything else." Andy followed Provenza into the living room with the flowers still in his hand. Sharon sat in the middle of the couch as Patrice hovered by her twin coffee tables. "Oh er Patrice. For you. A little thank you for everything you did for me" Andy said offering her the flowers.

Sharon coughed to get his attention. "And….."

Andy rolled his eyes. "And for ruining your proposal."

Patrice took the flowers off him and inhaled the scent from the bouquet. "Thank you Andy they're lovely. And how are you feeling these days?"

"Good. Better. Fit as a fiddle. Ready to go back out on…."

Provenza immediately cut him off before Sharon had chance. "Like hell you are. Until I sign the paperwork you're a desk monkey so get used to it."

Andy sighed loudly with frustration as Sharon laughed. "How's your blood pressure?" Patrice asked.

"Under control except when I'm around your fiancé here."

"Let me check your pulse." Patrice put her flowers on one of the tables before grabbing hold of Andy's wrist and looking at her watch. "Any dizziness?"

"None at all."

"Are you telling the truth or keeping it to yourself again?" Patrice asked suspiciously producing a laugh from Sharon.

"Fine, gang up on me" Andy said with a slightly amused glare aimed at Sharon.

"You need ganging up on. Keep still." Patrice pulled Andy's arm closer to her as she kept an eye on her watch. Finally she released his wrist. "You are doing well my friend. Now all you need to do is avoid doors and not do anything stupid and you'll be fine."

"Thank you mother." Andy smiled before sitting next to Sharon on the couch.

"What can we get you both to drink?" Patrice asked as she put her flowers in the kitchen sink.

Before they could answer Provenza spoke up as he moved to the small bar they'd set up for the evening next to the television in the living room. "Flynn will have a cranberry and soda. Captain? White wine?"

"Yes. Thank you Lieutenant."

"The hair of the dog and all that" Andy said with a smirk as he nudged Sharon's shoulder with his.

"Oh shut up" Sharon said quietly as she pushed his smug face away with the palm on her hand once again. She sighed to herself. She was never going to drink more than a single glass of wine again….with the exception of that evening but only to be polite.

Patrice walked back into the living room and sat on the other end of the couch next to Sharon. She knew Provenza would sit in his recliner and if she did likewise it would look like their guests were about to be interrogated. "Okay this needs to be addressed now. Are you really going to spend the whole evening calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant'?"

"That seems to be the plan yes" Provenza replied as he gave Andy his drink.

"You've never called each other by your first names?" Patrice questioned.

"Well once or twice when the situation called for it" Provenza answered almost sheepishly.

Sharon smiled. "No, never."

"Dear God why?" Patrice asked as she took a glass of wine off her fiancé.

Sharon shuffled forward in her seat, once again pulling the hem of her dress down as far as it would go as she prepared to explain. "Lieutenant Provenza is my second in command and after a rather rocky start in our professional relationship…."

"Huh! That's an understatement" Andy said a lot louder than he intended.

"Oh like you two used to get on any better" Provenza snapped back.

"Indubitably." Andy glared at Provenza. It was their first test of the evening. Since they had been arguing much of the day on unrelated matters it was a good starting point to make sure they both towed the line. Provenza nodded at Andy and the 'safe word' and turned his attention back to pouring Sharon her wine.

Sharon continued. "It's a sign of my respect for him as an officer and our chain of command."

"Makes perfect sense except that you're not at work now" Patrice pointed out.

"Indeed." Provenza crossed the room to his Captain and offered her the glass of wine he was holding. "Your wine….Sharon." The word almost stuck in his throat. Yes he'd used it before but again it didn't matter how fond he was of her he was still uncomfortable with his Captain cosying up to his fiancée on his couch.

Sharon took her glass and smiled. "Thank you Lou..." She stopped. The word just wouldn't come out and she didn't really want it to in all honesty. She knew he was uncomfortable so kept that official wall between them. "Lieutenant Provenza."

Provenza immediately smiled and nodded. "You're welcome Captain. See! Now is that so hard?" He gestured at Patrice as she shook her head.

"Give up now Patrice, it ain't gonna happen" Andy said laughing.

"At least I tried." Provenza sat down in his recliner with his wine as silence suddenly descended over the room. It wasn't a comfortable silence either. "Well this is nice" Patrice said finally.

"Yes" Sharon agreed.

Andy nodded. "Yep."

"Nice" Provenza said before taking a large swig of his wine.

Silence again fell on the room. Provenza and Andy had no intention of saying anything in case they said something that got them into trouble so that just left Patrice and Sharon who didn't know each other at all with the exception of a few meetings in passing as Patrice sat with Andy before his operation. "Well cheers" Sharon finally said raising her glass.

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

Again the room fell silent. Patrice glared at Provenza to make him start a conversation but he successfully avoided all eye contact. "Someone needs to speak" she said finally. "We look like we've been gathered together to find out who the murderer is."

"Like anyone would actually do that in real life" Andy added. It wasn't much of an ice breaker but at least he said something.

After finally meeting Patrice's glare Provenza shuffled forward in his seat and cleared his throat. "Captain did you get chance to finish looking at that file I put on..."

Patrice was quick to cut him off. "No work talk." She smiled to herself. She knew this was going to be hard work because of how Provenza felt about her spending time with his Captain but hadn't expected it to be this hard.

"Then what are we supposed to talk about?" Provenza asked.

"How about 'How was your day?'?" Patrice suggested.

"I've just spent all day with the pair of them at work. What do you think either of them did without my knowing about it?" Provenza asked. He was met with a glare in return. "Okay! Fine! Captain how was your day?"

"Just fine thank you Lieutenant."

"Flynn?" Provenza added.

"Same old, same old with the exception of my complete pain in the ass partner annoying the crap out of me and stealing my coffee" Andy replied with some venom.

"For the last time I didn't touch your damn cup of coffee."

"Then where did it go?" Andy asked.

Provenza immediately started to get riled up. "I don't know. Did you even get one? I never saw you. Have you ever thought you may have gone a bit senile in your old age?"

"Old age? You've got..."

Sharon let out an exasperated sigh. She couldn't listen to this same argument for the twentieth time that day. "Enough! I can't listen to this argument again!"

"Fine" Provenza said slumping back into his chair.

"Fine."

"Indubitably" Provenza added looking at Andy from the corner of his eye.

"How's your day been Lieutenant?" Sharon asked trying to steer the conversation away from that blasted cup of vanishing coffee.

"Like the gift that keeps on giving." Suddenly Sharon's cell slipped off the couch and bounced between the two coffee tables and not far in front of Provenza. He immediately stooped to retrieve it for her. "Oh I'll get it Capt…."

Before Provenza could reach it a loud cry of "NO!" came from Sharon. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, a little alarmed by this sudden increase in volume. They looked at her like she had snakes coming out of her eyes. Sharon quickly grabbed her cell phone and slid it on the nearest table. "It's fine Lieutenant. I've got it."

Andy leant in close to Sharon's ear and whispered. "Why are you acting weird?"

"I'm not acting weird" she replied before taking a large gulp of her wine.

Provenza and Patrice shared confused expressions before she tried again to move the conversation along. "Okay how about family. Sharon how's Rusty doing?"

Sharon smiled. "He's good thank you. Great in fact. He's transferring to UCLA in January which is exciting and he's on his first date with Gus even as we speak."

"Really?" Patrice asked. She liked Rusty from the few times she'd met him and knew Provenza to be beyond attached to him despite his numerous complaints.

"He was so nervous I thought I was going to need to sedate him" Sharon laughed.

"No kidding he was getting ready for it before we left for work this morning. I doubt there's any hot water left in the entire building" Andy added.

"Bless" Patrice smiled.

Provenza frowned. "Really? He didn't tell me. He didn't come to me for any advice either."

"We can only wonder why" Andy said with a smile.

"How exciting, young love but I don't envy him the experience of a first date. First dates are awful. To be endured while you make a quick decision if you want to see them again and that's it" Patrice said very matter-of-factly.

Provenza looked beyond offended. "What does that mean? What was wrong with our first date?"

"Do I really need to explain?"

"It would seem so" Provenza suggested.

"Louie I cried throughout our first date because you'd arrested my Granddaughter for murder half an hour beforehand. I cried so much the waiter asked if I was being held against my will and wanted to call the police."

Provenza still looked perplexed. "So? The steak and the wine were good and not badly priced either."

"Oh Louie!"

"Well I had a nice time" Provenza added proudly.

Andy smiled. "As far as Provenza's first dates go that was a good one. You should hear what…."

He was immediately cut off by the cry of "Indubitably!" from Provenza.

Taking the hint Andy immediately and with all the subtly of a sledgehammer, changed the subject. "How about this weather huh? Seems a little warm for December?"

Provenza buried his face in his hands. "Ye Gods!"

Sharon stared at Andy for a moment like he'd lost his mind before turning her attention back to Patrice. "I always liked first dates. The anticipation of the unknown and those butterflies in your stomach. The nervous first few exchanges. Seeing if that spark is there."

"Well it seems like you found yourself a pretty big spark this time" Patrice replied as she looked at Andy.

Sharon turned to smile at Andy, taking his hand briefly. "Don't I know it mainly because he set his menu on fire."

Provenza nearly choked on his wine. "You set your menu on fire?" he asked surprised. Andy hadn't shared any of the details of his first date with Sharon and Provenza was more than happy with that situation. If Andy was happy that was great but Provenza really didn't want to know all of the ins and outs of the situation.

"I was incredibly nervous" Andy stated to try and justify his actions. "Everything you'd ever said to me about asking Sharon out on a date over the previous two years was ringing in my ears and making me….."

Again Provenza was quick to cut him off. "Indubitably."

"You just like first dates because you enjoy interrogating people" Andy said to Sharon as he again steered the conversation away from a potentially dangerous area.

"Guilty as charged" Sharon said as she laughed. "Have you given any thought as to where you want to go on your honeymoon?" she asked Patrice.

Patrice smiled as she glanced at Provenza. "I've been looking into..."

Provenza cleared his throat again. "Well actually Captain we've yet to decide if we're going to have one at all."

"Why?"

Provenza shrugged. "Cost. Getting time off work. The usual stuff."

"I don't think you have to worry about getting any time off work Lieutenant. I may be able to persuade your Captain into letting you have a week off." Sharon winked.

"Thank you Captain but..."

Now it was Patrice's turn to interrupt. "Louie for the last time, it doesn't need to be expensive but even if we spend a weekend in a tent in my sister's back yard we are going somewhere." Provenza glumly looked at the bottom of his wine glass. It wasn't that he didn't want to take his beautiful bride away for a few days after their wedding, it was because he was the cheapest man on the face of the earth and as much as he grumbled about it, he didn't want to take any time off work.

"Isn't there anywhere you'd like to go Lieutenant?"

"Provenza isn't really the vacation type" Andy confirmed.

"That's not completely true, I decided to go on a road trip once. I packed up the car and I wasn't turning back until I ran out of money." Provenza smiled.

"Where did you go?" Sharon asked.

"I made it as far as the end of the street and came back."

Patrice shook her head. "If I get my way I'd like a few peaceful days sitting on a beach with a cocktail and a good book."

Sharon hummed. "That does sound good. I can't remember the last time I had time to finish a book. Have you ever been to Oahu?" she asked.

"No. I could never get Patrick, that's my late husband, I could never get him on a plane so that limited our choices somewhat. So this time Hawaii is definitely an option." Patrice made sure to meet Provenza's eyes, letting him know that whether he liked it or not this was going to happen.

"Why pay all that money and go all the way there when we have perfectly good beaches right here in California?" Provenza questioned as he gestured towards the window even though they were miles from the coast.

"Because Louie you never want to step foot on the beach here" Patrice stated.

"That's because I've seen the crap that washes up on them. You pick one severed head up off the sand and it inevitably puts a damper on the whole experience" Provenza replied grimly.

"Is that the one I kicked?" Andy asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"The same."

Andy laughed. "I didn't think Sykes was ever going to stop screaming."

Provenza raised his hands to his chest to imitate the Detective's cleavage before mimicking her. "'You kicked a head at me! Meh! Meh! Meh.'"

Patrice raised her hands up. "Okay I didn't think I needed to say this but no severed head talk either."

"You brought it up" Provenza protested. Patrice and Sharon looked at him with sheer amazement before turning their attention back to each other and non-severed head related conversation.

"About ten years ago I stayed at the Royal Hawaiian with my kids and my parents" Sharon said as her smile relayed the memory to her face.

Patrice thought for a moment. "Is that the one from...?"

" _From Here to Eternity_?" Sharon replied as she once again tugged on the hem of her skirt, stretching it further towards her knees.

"Yes."

"That's the one only it's a lot pinker in person. It was lovely. Beautiful beach, lush grounds. It was just gorgeous and so romantic. I'd love to go back" Sharon said as she glanced at Andy, sending him the subtlest of hints for him to file away for the future.

"Did you do the whole luau thing?" Patrice asked.

"Oh yes, you have to."

Before Sharon could continue Provenza cleared his throat. "Where I come from you bury a dead pig because it's got some sort of disease not because you're going to dig it back up again and eat it." As he sipped on his wine Patrice, Sharon and Andy all stared at him in shock, flabbergasted by what they'd just heard.

"Thank you Louie" Patrice said finally.

"If you went to the Bahamas you could swim with pigs?" Andy suddenly announced. Immediately all heads snapped around to face him, giving him the same perplexed expression Provenza had just received. "What? You could" Andy protested.

Sharon and Patrice simultaneously shook their heads. It was clearly up to them to make the bulk of the conversation all evening. "Are you spending any time with your family over the holidays?" Sharon asked as gently as she could. She knew there were certain frictions between Provenza and Patrice's family but hoped that could be put to one side for the holidays.

"Not much no for obvious reasons but Louie's boys are coming by with the grandchildren on Christmas Day so that will be nice."

"Unless they want any money" Provenza stated grumpily. Patrice sighed but at least that remark wasn't about a dead pig or a severed head.

"And I like a nice quiet, intimate Christmas so we don't need anyone else to have a good time." Patrice smiled. "How about yourselves? First Christmas together, that should make it special. Any big plans?"

Sharon took Andy's hand for a moment. "I can't deny that I'm looking forward to it more than usual this year. Andy's daughter Nicole has invited the three of us for dinner."

"That'll be great and no need to cook" Patrice said with a smile, knowing full well how hard and tiring it is to prepare dinner at Christmas for all the family.

Sharon laughed. "Exactly."

"What about your other kids?" Patrice enquired.

"Not this year" Sharon replied with an air of sadness. "Emily is currently in London with the ballet so it was impractical for her to come home this time." It had been the subject of many long telephone conversations over the weeks leading up to the holidays. Emily was insisting on flying back for Christmas but since she would only be in Los Angeles for just over 18 hours before having to fly back to England and her next performance, Sharon assured her that it would be okay for her to stay in London. Emily protested but Sharon remained undeterred in her stance. She would have Rusty and for the first time she would have Andy. Although it had upset her (more than she was letting on to anyone other than Andy) and she would miss her eldest on Christmas Day dearly she would get on okay without her, especially in the knowledge that Emily would be having a once in a lifetime experience.

"Did you know that up until 1913 children in the US could legally be sent by parcel post? But Emily still wouldn't get here any quicker." Andy knew this was a sore subject for Sharon so attempted to lighten the mood but his input into the conversation was once again met with blank and confused expressions coming back at him.

"That's a shame but still Christmas in London, how fabulous" Patrice said ignoring Andy and trying to find the positives in the situation.

Sharon's eyes were still focused on Andy. She shook her head at the nonsense that kept tripping off his tongue all evening. "Agreed" she said turning her attention back to Patrice. "The photos she's sent me of the decorations and the Palace and places like Trafalgar Square look so beautiful and she's having such a wonderful time."

"Where does she normally perform?"

"New York" Sharon confirmed.

"Oh wow! Have you had many opportunities to see her on stage there?"

"A couple but not as often as I'd like and not since she became a soloist at the start of the year. My hope is to see her when she's back from London." Sharon took Andy's hand and smiled at him. "You see there's this guy I know who grew up in Jersey and I'm hoping he'll take me to New York to see Emily and show me all the best places to eat."

"Did you know there's a death in New York City alone every 9.1 seconds?" Andy stated extremely unhelpfully.

Sharon gazed at Andy in silence for a moment, amazement spread across her face. "Thank you Andy. That's comforting to know." She released his hand in favour of fidgeting in her seat and yanking on the hem of her dress once again.

"And you have another son?" Patrice asked.

Again Sharon spoke with a tinge of sadness. "Yes Ricky. He's going skiing with some friends from Palo Alto for the holidays." In fairness to Ricky his mini vacation had been booked long before Emily realised she was going to be out of the country for the holidays. He felt awful for not being there, especially with Emily also absent but once again Sharon assured him she wouldn't crumble without them. As much as she'd miss the both of them with Christmas being such an important holiday for her, she really didn't want to stop her children from living the lives they wanted and having fun. With both kids elsewhere it also avoided some awkwardness. Had they been in Los Angeles Jack would have insisted on seeing them and probably Sharon too but with Andy now on the scene and this being their first Christmas together she didn't want his face and snide remarks anywhere near her.

"Oh to be young!" Patrice replied wistfully. "What about you two?" she said looking at Provenza and Andy. "You're both unusually quiet this evening." That statement wasn't strictly true. They had bickered, they'd made some random statements but otherwise had been fairly quiet and anything but like themselves.

"Well they read my doormat on the way in and that's more than enough social interaction for one day" Provenza muttered before he finished his wine and went to pour himself another glass.

"And what about you?" Sharon asked Andy.

Andy smiled. "Did you know in the UK it's illegal to kill a hedgehog with a machine gun? I mean where would someone even get one from over there?" Once again Sharon and Patrice could do nothing but stare at him, struggling to process the random nonsense that kept escaping his lips.

"Yes thank you for that Flynn" Provenza said to break the silence as he returned to his recliner with a newly topped up glass.

"I love what you've done with the house Patrice" Sharon finally said as soon as she could drag her eyes from Andy.

"Thank you, it wasn't easy, I can tell you that. Did you see what it looked like before?"

"No but I had most of the contents stacked in my living room overnight so I feel like I had a good sense of the place" Sharon stated as Provenza shuffled awkwardly in his chair.

"I think it suits us. A combination of both of our personalities, of our styles. Come on let me give you the grand tour." Patrice stood ready to take Sharon around their small but now very stylish home. With her glass in hand Sharon followed suit but seemed to have difficulty getting to her feet. Everybody noticed. Patrice thought about asking if she was okay but the evening had already been weird enough so far with some of the comments coming from the idiotic men they had fallen in love with without asking what was wrong in front of an audience. "It'll give these two chance to sort out whatever problem they have to try and make their mouths work. Behave yourselves boys." And with that Patrice led Sharon into the hallway and towards the bedrooms.

The moment they were out of sight Provenza shot to his feet, grabbed Andy by the arm and dragged him towards the front door and hopefully out of earshot should they return suddenly. "They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone so I'll appreciate you a lot more if you hurry up and leave."

"What is your problem?" Andy asked confused.

"You! This is like pulling teeth. Did you swallow the big book of weird facts?" Provenza polished off his glass in one large gulp causing him to cough.

"I can't help it! I'm nervous!"

Provenza moved back to the bar to pour himself another drink. "Why aren't you saying anything sensible?"

"Why aren't you?" Andy responded as he joined him.

"I don't know what to say. What's your excuse?"

"You've scared the crap out of me with this whole 'safe word' business. I'm frightened of saying something that gets us into trouble" Andy said in an agitated whisper.

"So best just use the information you've stored up from 'Fact of the Day' toilet paper? Don't you have a filter between your brain and your mouth?"

"Yes but in case it doesn't work best let Sharon and Patrice do all the talking instead."

Provenza's eyes bulged as he looked at Andy like he was the biggest idiot he had ever encountered. "Well we can't both sit here mute, they'll think something is going on, like we're hiding something from them."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Small talk. Tiny talk. Talk about the weather. Anything! Just avoid animals you can't machine gun in England!" Provenza shouted as quietly as possible.

"Like your dead pig opinions are the height of sophisticated conversation." Provenza glared at Andy again. "Fine! We'll talk about the weather and after that minute has passed then what?"

"Just be casual" Provenza stated as his arms flailed. Silence suddenly fell between them as Patrice and Sharon emerged from the corridor and walked towards the kitchen. Both men smiled at them pretending that all was well when it was anything but. As soon as they were out of earshot again Provenza turned back to Andy. "Engage your brain before you speak."

"What? You think I'm an idiot?"

"Yes. Let me lay it on the line for you Flynn, staying silent is only going to land us in hot water for not making an effort so we need to say something. But remember this if you say anything that results in any sort of sex ban coming my way, I have just as much dirt on you and from my experience Patrice is a lot more forgiving than the Captain so good luck with that."

"If that was your idea of a pep talk to make me relax it didn't work" Andy replied with a scowl.

"What am I? Your cheerleader?"

"Listen Provenza this is the happiest I've ever been in my life so don't you dare screw it up for me." Andy finished his drink, downing it in one like it was a shot. A habit he still had twenty years later in stressful situations even though it couldn't be less alcoholic.

"That makes two of us. Keep it zipped as much as possible and I'll do likewise." Provenza snatched the glass from Andy's grasp before setting about refilling it.

"But we've got to say something" Andy stated plainly.

"Then I suggest we stick to the weather and window treatments" Provenza said unhelpfully.

"What the hell is a 'window treatment'?"

Provenza started to fill Andy's glass up again but instead of cranberry the contents of the bottle he used was green, almost swamp like in appearance. "Beats me but according to Patrice and her decorator friend we have them and they're 'divine'." Provenza handed Andy the glass. "Here."

Andy took the glass and began to instantly drink from it as his eyes focused on Sharon and Patrice in the kitchen, not looking at the contents for even a second. The moment the slime coloured liquid hit his tongue he grimaced and shook his head. "Jesus! What is this? Acid?"

"Yes it's acid. I thought it'd make a nice change for you from cranberry juice." As Andy continued to sip and shudder at his drink his eyes never left Sharon as she followed Patrice through the back door and into the yard. Seeing his partner staring into space Provenza followed his eye line to see him staring at Sharon. He turned back to Andy just in time to see the largest of smiles erupt onto his face. He was loathed to admit it but he'd never seen his partner look so happy. It was...it was...well it was sickening. Provenza rolled his eyes. "Ye Gods! Flynn, let me be honest. I'm pleased for you and the Captain, I really am but your permanent smile is beginning to upset me." Andy didn't say a word but instead moved to the edge of the kitchen bar, his smile only growing larger as he watched Sharon talk. Again Provenza rolled his eyes as he took another large swig from his wine glass. "At this point I'm running out of people I actually like."

In the back yard Patrice had been proudly showing off the deck and water feature that had recently been installed. To make Provenza more agreeable to the changes and the expense that accompanied it she had also bought him a new grill which now sat proudly in the corner, a new coat of polish on it causing it to gleam in the moonlight. Dozens of lights like fireflies were strewed about the yard with some potted plants and a silver table with four matching chairs finishing the scene. "So what really happened to Andy's eye?" Patrice asked as she settled her wine glass on the table.

"Why do you mean?" Sharon asked casually.

"He walked into a door? I was an ER nurse for the majority of my adult life. I know the signs to look out for when someone is lying about how they obtained an injury."

"Did erm….your…." Sharon struggled for the words. It felt odd to her to call her second in command 'Lieutenant Provenza' in front of his fiancée but she just could not bring herself to use his first name.

Patrice shook her head and smiled. "Say it."

"Did Lieutenant Provenza not tell you?"

Patrice laughed. "No, _Louie_ didn't tell me" she replied putting all the emphasis on 'Louie.' "Did it happen at work? That guy needs to be wrapped in cotton. I don't know how you cope."

"No I elbowed him."

"You did it?" Patrice asked surprised.

"Yes in bed." Sharon was surprised with the ease in which she confirmed how she had caused to injure Andy. She had been so embarrassed about it for a variety of reasons mainly because she didn't like people thinking about her in that way but with Patrice she felt relaxed. Maybe the wine was a contributing factor but Sharon couldn't help but find Patrice very easy to talk to.

"You elbowed him in the eye in bed?"

Sharon's head found her hands. "I don't know, I guess I rolled over in the night and forgot he was there."

"You forgot he was there?" Patrice laughed. "Good for you Sharon nabbing yourself a non-snorer. Louie snores like someone is putting a metal girder through a wood chipper. If I didn't love him I'd have killed him by now." Patrice paused for a moment before taking a sip of her wine and pondered asking a question that she hoped wouldn't make Sharon feel uncomfortable. Patrice sat down at the table. "So I hope you don't think I'm prying but I assume that means things have moved forward between the two of you then?"

Sharon slowly and again rather awkwardly sat down next to Patrice. "I suppose your fiancé told you we were taking things slowly." Sharon played with the stem of her glass, her awkwardness that her sex life may have been discussed clearly apparent.

"No. He's not mentioned anything other than to tell me in passing Andy had finally asked you out on a date" Patrice said quietly as she tried to make Sharon feel less uncomfortable.

"Then how did you..."

Patrice smiled again. "He was sleeping down the hall in Rusty's room while he had his blood clot. You don't have your seriously injured boyfriend, who is in need of continuous monitoring no less, sleeping down the hall if you're sleeping together" Patrice pointed out.

Sharon leant back in her seat, the realisation that Rusty handing his bed over to Andy meant that people knew a lot more about her relationship that she first thought hitting her hard. "I bet you think I'm terribly slow and old fashioned."

"Oh Sharon not at all." Patrice took Sharon's hand. "I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you two getting together. When I started dating Louie and Patrick for that matter we had just met. I didn't know them so we were starting off with a completely blank slate. It must have been difficult for both of you going from friends to lovers without the complication of you being his boss as well."

Sharon nodded as she sipped her wine. "It hasn't been easy."

"You don't need to tell me I've seen it first hand at the hospital. I know all about 'office romances' and they can ruin whole careers if you're not careful."

"It wasn't just that" Sharon said as she continued to open up to this wonderfully sympathetic listener in front of her. "I forced him into taking things slowly because I needed to make sure that we could date and work together. I had to know it was possible to do both and that our personal life wouldn't affect our work life."

"Perfectly understandable. What you do is important. You can't compromise because you're afraid to give your boyfriend an order."

Sharon smiled. "But likewise I needed to make sure that work wouldn't ruin what we could potentially have together."

"Then no wonder it took so long for things to move forward" Patrice said brightly. "Best take your time to make sure than rush and ruin the rest of your life." She paused as she smiled widely. "But I bet you wish you'd done it months ago now."

Sharon laughed as her cheeks blushed slightly. "You have no idea."

"Oh I would believe me." Patrice laughed while Sharon's cheeks turned redder by the second. "Sharon Raydor are you blushing?"

"Between you and me I can't keep my hands off him" Sharon said shyly. The tone in her voice made it obvious that Sharon felt slightly embarrassed by her confession. The simple truth was that she couldn't leave him alone and quite frankly she didn't want to for several reasons, all of which were nothing for her to worry about or be embarrassed by. Firstly it had been a while since she'd slept with anyone. It had been more than a while. Six years is an awful long time to go without a 'man-made' orgasm and anyone who hasn't had sex for six years will tell you once you've gone back to that particular well you won't be satisfied until you've drunk it completely dry. Secondly it was because they had waited. They had waited so long that by the time it did happen they were so completely in love with each other the desire they felt for each other was unbearable. After waiting for so long and feeling that way before obtaining that kind of brand new physical connection it was hard to stay away from, in fact she was finding it virtually impossible. Jack had once described her as a 'sexual camel.' He often accused her of storing up all the sexual pleasure she got, one quick fumble was all she needed to last her for months. But as she had proved over the last few days, that couldn't be further from the truth. Although Jack thought differently Sharon did love sex, she just didn't love it was an alcoholic who ignored her and cheated on her for more than half their marriage.

"That happens at the start of relationships" Patrice stated with a knowing smile.

Sharon bit on her lower lip. "I nearly made him pull over on the way here" she said clearly embarrassed. As they drove to Provenza's they came to a stop at a set of lights. Andy turned to smile at her, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. He looked so good and he smelt even better. If it wasn't for her seatbelt and the desire to not get caught engaging in lewd behaviour in public she would have flung herself at him right there and then. As Andy set off again Sharon fanned herself before she opened her window and hung her head out of it like a dog to cool herself down.

Patrice laughed again. "Well cheers to that" she said chinking their wine glasses together.

"I know but I'm in my 60s, not a teenager."

"That's Catholic guilt speaking if ever I've heard it" Patrice said shaking her head.

"I've had words with Him, believe me" Sharon said as she looked skyward. Sharon was Catholic and it was important to her, an important part of her life but she had never allowed her religion to dictate her life. She went to church, she brought her children up within the religion but she was also divorced. In truth she would have divorced Jack a lot earlier than she did had it not been for her religion. Andy also being Catholic and divorced helped, if they were going to be damned, at least they could be damned together. Sharon looked back down from the heavens and caught sight of Andy watching them through the open door making her smile obscenely.

"Every Hail Mary you get after Confession is worth it judging by that smile on your face. But who cares if you're not a teenager anymore? You're not the first woman over a certain age to feel that way. Trust me I know the feeling all too well. Between Patrick and Louie there wasn't anyone else and I didn't think there ever would be. I thought I was closed for business" Patrice said honestly, wanting to open up as much about her own life as possible so that Sharon would feel better. "The sex train had left town and the station had shut. Then I met Louie." Patrice's smile matched Sharon's. "I'd forgotten how much I missed it. It was like releasing a genie from a bottle and between you and me it wasn't going back in again. Had it you know...been a while for you too?"

Sharon nodded, Patrice opening up about her love life clearly having the desired effect and making Sharon relax. "Too long. I'd been going through an 18 month...solo period shall we say and then Rusty came along."

"And that was the end of that."

"Well he did take up all of my free time and then some."

"As he should in the beginning with what had happened to him. When I first took Keisha in there was very little time for anything else." Patrice started to laugh uncontrollably. "Listen to us! We sound like one of those Cosmo quizzes: 'Are you too busy to have an orgasm?'"

"Orgasm? I didn't have time to blow my nose for two and a half years." Sharon and Patrice both rolled about laughing. This immediately caught the attention of both Andy and Provenza who leant on the kitchen bar and tried to hear what was being said, completely unnoticed by the laughing ladies. "So it had been a while but it's not just that, he only has to look at me a certain way and I'm pawing him." Sharon bit her lip. "I'm worried I'm going to kill him."

Again Patrice laughed hysterically. "It really has been a long time hasn't it? You're not going to kill him" she said reassuringly.

"I know because I keep checking his pulse just in case. I have no idea what I'm doing but I check his pulse regardless. It's only been just over a week but if I was a cat I'm sure Rusty would have tried to have me fixed by now."

Again they both laughed loudly. "Oh Sharon. It's so good to talk to you. Why did it take us so long to do this?"

"Probably because of the two terrified looking gentleman watching us in the kitchen."

Patrice turned to see their other halves staring at them with fake smiles on their faces (well Provenza's was fake, Andy's was anything but as he stared at Sharon). Patrice ignored them and moved her focused firmly back to Sharon and the lovely time they were having without them. "Well let's not let them stop us from doing it again in the future."

"Cheers" Sharon said as she clinked their glasses together again.

"Cheers. It feels good to talk about these things with someone going through something similar."

Sharon fanned her face with her hand trying to cool down. "It does but let's change the subject before I stay this colour permanently. How are the wedding plans coming along?"

"Ugh! Don't ask" Patrice replied as she slunk back in her chair.

"Trouble with your family getting on board?" Sharon said hinting at the subject she wasn't sure if she should mention.

"You mean because of how we met?"

"Yes."

"No not really. I mean they don't exactly love Louie, he is definitely an acquired taste after all but they'd sit through brunch with the devil if alcohol and a free meal was involved. It's not that." Patrice sighed. "I love him. I do. I'm crazy about him but his ideas for this wedding are so..."

"The angels?"

"He told you about that?" Patrice asked surprised as Sharon nodded. "That man is full of surprises. He wants a big wedding, no a huge wedding that'll cost a fortune and take months to plan and I just want to marry him" Patrice said honestly. "That's it. I'd have the four of us drive to Las Vegas tonight and just do it in front of 'Elvis' and 'Tina Turner' so I could be Mrs Louie Provenza the Fifth as soon as humanly possible if I could. That's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted."

"The Sixth" Sharon corrected.

"I beg your pardon" Patrice asked confused.

"Mrs Louie Provenza the Sixth. I think Andy has always been classed as his fifth wife" Sharon joked.

Patrice laughed. "That sounds about right."

"Have you told him that? That you just want to get married without all the hoo-ha?"

Patrice rolled her eyes. "Many many times. Getting him to listen is another thing entirely but I guess I don't need to tell you that."

They both laughed again, only stopping when they became aware that the man in question had joined them outside. Provenza stood by Patrice and plastered a smile on his face which was as wide as it was fake. "What may I ask are you two laughing at?" he asked as cheerily as possible.

"Oh wouldn't you like to know" Patrice said glancing at Sharon before turning her attention back to Provenza. "Off you go. Go on, play with your little friend." Patrice gestured towards the kitchen. Provenza stood rooted to the spot for the moment before slowly slinking back inside, never taking his eyes off the ladies. As soon as he was out of sight Patrice turned back to Sharon. "But you're right it would also be nice to avoid a big wedding since things are still difficult with my family because of Keisha."

Sharon sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, it needed to be done" Patrice responded with an air of sadness.

"How is Keisha? Doing well I hope."

"Better." Patrice smiled weakly. "Doing much better but that's also a double edged sword because it also means she's now coming to terms with what she did to Toby and that's a can of worms that has been difficult to open."

Sharon leant forward and took hold of Patrice's hand. "I am so sorry this happened." There was no denying that Sharon felt uncomfortable about the situation but at the end of the day Keisha had committed murder and Sharon and her division were only doing their jobs. Mainly because of Provenza they had ensured that they got the best deal possible for her at the time. Twelve months on Sharon was relieved that Patrice saw it the same way and there were no hard feelings on her part.

"Me too but she's getting the help she needs and paying for what she did. Time will heal."

"In time this too shall pass" Sharon said wistfully.

"Exactly. That's what I focus on. Things will get better with time. Time will heal." Sharon and Patrice fell silent for a moment. It was a difficult subject of conversation and almost like the elephant in the room but they were both pleased that it could be discussed without any awkwardness.

Meanwhile in the living room Provenza and Andy remained leaning up again the bar of the kitchen counter and watching their other halves intently. While Andy just smiled at them Provenza twitched and huffed at every single word or laugh they shared. "They're definitely talking about us" Provenza said nervously as Patrice and Sharon could be heard laughing again. "And laughing. Talking and laughing."

"What about?"

"I don't know. Patrice told me to come back over here with you before I could hear anything."

They stared at the ladies for a moment. From their angle they could pretty much see both of them head on. "Can you lip read?" Andy asked.

"Yes. All of these years working together and watching security footage without audio of people confessing to murder I've been holding out on you" Provenza replied with each word practically marinated in sarcasm.

Andy glared at him unimpressed. "A simple 'No' would suffice."

Provenza slowly started to pace back and forth behind Andy. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all."

"Oh what's the big deal?" Andy asked as he turned around to face him. "So they're talking, so what? Wouldn't it make it easier for the pair of us if they were friends?"

"The big deal? If they're having a girly chat…."

"'Girly chat'?" Andy laughed.

"Yes, girly chat. If they're having a girly chat that means my Captain potentially knows things about me I'd rather she didn't."

Another loud laugh from the yard caused them both to snap their heads around to look at Sharon and Patrice. "Like what?" Andy asked, never taking his eyes off Sharon.

Provenza re-joined Andy and gripped onto the edge of the counter for dear life. "Intimate things! Personal things! My particular skill set behind closed doors!"

Andy almost wretched. "Jesus Provenza! Why would anyone want to talk about that?"

"I don't know then whatever women talk about when they're laughing alone in the yard like that."

"Oh calm down. Are you really that worried Sharon is going find out you're not into cuddling?" Andy laughed again.

"It's not funny. I have a reputation to maintain."

"Oh blah, blah, blah."

Provenza smacked Andy on the arm. "This is not a sexism thing but this would never happen if our Captain was a man."

"Why?"

"Because to begin with you wouldn't be dating him and bringing him to my house to have intimate conversations with my fiancée about me." Provenza's arms flailed wildly.

"Who cares? Sharon might be saying the same thing about me" Andy was quick to point out.

"Yes and when Patrice is your commanding officer come back and talk to me" Provenza said before taking another large gulp of wine.

Back in the yard the worried expressions, pacing and wild arm movements had not gone unnoticed. Patrice nodded in the direction of Provenza and Andy. "Look at those idiots. They look terrified."

"I think there are certain worries about personal mixing with professional" Sharon was quick to say. She could understand fully where Provenza was coming from, she felt the same way after all. She wanted her personal life to stay as far away from the work place as possible but she was dating her second in command's best friend and there was no escaping that. Some mingling of personal and professional was bound to happen and they would both have to accept it.

"Then it's something Louie is just going to have to get used to" Patrice stated with little sympathy. She looked back into the house and while Provenza stomped about nervously Andy remained rooted to the spot, gazing at Sharon in a manner that made Patrice feel a little hot under the collar and it wasn't even aimed at her. She couldn't help but laugh in light of what Sharon had already told her about him.

"What?" Sharon asked, confused as to what was so funny.

"The way Andy keeps looking at you." Sharon turned to see Andy. That smile was out in force once again as he leant up the counter and just watched her. Sharon shook her head and returned her attention back to Patrice. "I see your problem" Patrice continued. She paused for a moment. "How is everything between Andy and Rusty now if you don't mind my asking? Better?" Sharon looked at her surprised. "I overheard Louie giving Andy some advice over the phone. It sounded like they weren't exactly close" Patrice explained quickly.

"That's an understatement but it's better now, much better" Sharon said with a smile.

"What was the problem?"

"Rusty wasn't exactly thrilled by the idea of my having a boyfriend" Sharon raised her eyebrows as she sipped on her wine.

"He doesn't like Andy?"

"No it's nothing to do with Andy. Rusty hasn't had the best track record with the men in his life and that includes his Mother's boyfriends."

Patrice nodded. "I see. So it could have been anyone and he wouldn't have liked him."

Sharon fidgeted in her seat, adjusting her dress yet again. "Exactly but things are better. He seemed to turn a corner while Andy was in hospital. I'm not sure if it was spending time with him or seeing my worry but something changed."

Patrice just watched as Sharon uncomfortably moved in her seat once more. "I'm so pleased for you" she said a little distractedly before resolving to ask the burning question. "Okay I've got to ask. Is everything alright with you?"

"Fine. Why?" Sharon asked confused.

Patrice placed her hand on Sharon's on the table. "Look Sharon I know we don't know each other too well, after all that's the whole point of tonight since I think we'll be spending a lot more time together but you've seemed anxious, I suppose is the word, all night. Is it me? Is it Louie? Is he making…."

Sharon was quick to cut her off. "No Patrice, it's nothing." Sharon suddenly felt mortified that she may have upset her host with her rather peculiar actions. "It's…..If I tell you can we keep this just between the two of us?" Sharon asked quietly.

"Of course." Patrice tried to sound as cheery as possible despite the fact that Sharon currently had her worried.

Sharon leant forward. After checking that both men were still on the cusp of the kitchen she moved to Patrice's ear and started to whisper, covering her mouth with her hand in case one of the boys had suddenly picked up a knack for lip reading. Before Sharon could finish Patrice immediately started laughing. She laughed long and she laughed loud. Sharon sat back in her chair and picked up her wine. "It's not funny" she said hiding a smile.

"It is very funny" Patrice said as she continued to laugh. "Oh Sharon you've made my day. Why?"

Sharon leant in close again and whispered in her ear. She pulled away as Patrice burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter. Just as Sharon was about to admonish Patrice, Andy was suddenly standing next to them with the broadest grin imaginable. "Hello" he said causing Sharon to jump with surprise since her attention had been squarely on the jolly Patrice.

"Hi" Sharon said, hoping Andy hadn't heard anything.

"Have I interrupted something?" he asked as Patrice continued to laugh.

"Nope. Nothing at all. We were just coming back to join you actually."

Patrice stood up with her glass and beckoned Andy back towards the kitchen. "Here Andy make yourself useful and carry something for me."

"Your wish is my command." Before he could follow Patrice he noticed Sharon getting to her feet. Once again she seemed to have trouble standing up and when she walked past him into the kitchen she had a strange hitch to her gate. "Are you limping?" he asked a little concerned.

"No. I'm fine." Patrice started laughing again. "Oh shut up" Sharon said to her with a smile as she walked back into the living room.

Giggling away Patrice opened the fridge and produced a couple of plates of hors d'oeuvres, placing one on the counter before giving the other to Andy and gesturing for him to carry the plate into the living room. As he placed it on the right hand coffee table Sharon was standing in there alone as she stared out the window but once again pulling at the hem of her dress.

"What's wrong with your dress?" he asked.

"Nothing. Why?" Sharon asked innocently.

"You keep tugging on the hem."

Before Sharon could answer Patrice called from the kitchen. "Andy."

Andy turned on his heels and headed back to the kitchen but not before he gave Sharon one more confused look. Once he was gone Sharon turned away and rolled her eyes with a sigh. She wasn't sure if Patrice had overheard their conversation and called Andy away deliberately or if it was just a coincidence. Either way she was relieved and thankful for the interruption. Lost in her own thoughts for a moment Sharon jumped again when Provenza suddenly sidled up beside her after returning from the bathroom.

"Captain let me top that up for you" he said taking her glass off her and moving to the makeshift bar by the television.

"Thank you." Sharon looked about the room for a moment before moving to stand by Provenza's side. "Lieutenant while we're off the clock and we have a moment alone I hope you don't mind but I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you."

"Thank you? For what?" he asked as he handed her a fresh glass of wine.

"For everything you did at the hospital. For holding my hand and being there for me" Sharon said with a smile. She expected Provenza to be a little uncomfortable at the personal turn the conversation had taken but instead he returned her smile and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ah well it was my honour Captain and despite the fact that Flynn continues to irritate the crap out of me it was as much for me as it was for you" Provenza said softly as his gaze switched between Sharon's smile and his own feet at a rapid pace.

"Even so it was appreciated more than you'll ever know."

"You're welcome." Provenza nodded moving back towards his recliner before Sharon stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"And thank you for your assistance with Andy's 'paperwork'."

"He gave you the letter." Provenza had assumed it was the case when the truth came out after Andy walked into the murder room with the black eye. He had asked Andy if he had finally given her that tatty piece of legal paper but all he did was smile. Provenza knew that meant he probably had but at least now he had confirmation.

"Yes he did."

"Took the idiot long enough. I just figured that if the worst did indeed come to the worst then you'd rather hear it from him, even on paper, than me" Provenza explained with the softest smile Sharon had ever seen, a smile usually reserved for Patrice or on the odd occasion Rusty.

"Still thank you Lieutenant. It turned out to be the little push that we both needed."

"I'm glad. It was my duty and my pleasure Captain. But for the record I'd like you to know I didn't touch his coffee."

"Lieutenant!" Sharon exclaimed loudly.

Before Provenza could respond Patrice was back in the living room followed closely by Andy carrying another plate of hors d'oeuvres. Sharon took up her place in the centre of the couch, coming to rest on the cushion a little awkwardly once more as Andy positioned the plate on the other coffee table. Provenza returned to his recliner while Andy sat back next to Sharon, taking her hand and holding it in his lap.

"It's not much but if you're hungry there are more in the fridge" Patrice said as she turned the plates ninety degrees before sitting back down next to Sharon.

"It looks wonderful" Sharon said before selecting a canapé and devouring it.

Provenza slowly got to his feet and inspected the food on the tables. Picking up a canapé he eyed it closely. "Are there raisins in this?"

"Yes Louie. What's wrong with raisins?" The sigh that followed the question showed that Patrice had been forced to have this discussion many times before.

Provenza sat back down and sniffed his choice. "Nothing it's just sad." Swallowing his canapé after the minimal amount of chews possible before scrunching up his face he said "Every box of raisins is a tragic tale of grapes that could have been wine." Sharon immediately laughed at him. "See the Captain knows."

"Would it kill you to eat a little healthily?" Andy asked.

"It might" he replied.

"Well tough. You're on a diet. We both are" Patrice stated sternly, letting everyone knew exactly who the boss was in their household.

"What is the point? The more you weigh the harder you are to kidnap. Stay safe, eat cake" Provenza proclaimed before raising his foot rest and getting comfortable.

Sharon laughed into her wine. "You could always exercise a little more Lieutenant."

Provenza folded his hands in his lap. "I watch Sanchez run, that's more than enough exercise for one person." In truth Provenza had been known to run when the situation called for it but that wasn't very often. When Julio took not one but three bullets for him as he knocked him out of the way on the roof of the Mall several years earlier, by Provenza's standards he practically sprinted to the helicopter. Likewise when Andy hit the pavement after he fell from the car Provenza put on a Nutty Professor-esque trot all of his own to get to him but of course with the shock from the impact Andy didn't know that. It would take a heart attack to make him move that quickly again.

"Remember Provenza counts putting his pants on as fifteen minutes of cardio" Andy was quick to add. Provenza glared at him as Sharon tried to avoid laughing.

"Are you still on the vegetarian train Andy?" Patrice asked, ignoring the grumpy soul she had agreed to marry.

"As much as possible" Andy nodded. "You should try it. I feel so much better cutting meat out of my life as much as possible. I feel healthier, I have more energy, I..."

Provenza rolled her eyes with such exaggeration it was almost audible. "For God's sake Flynn just eat some meat."

"Why does it annoy you so much that I choose to be vegetarian?" Andy asked. He was desperate to point out the several months that Provenza adopted a vegetarian lifestyle at the behest of Lauren. Provenza had never shown any interest in being a vegetarian before but he'd do anything for that woman. If she had asked Provenza would have ripped Andy's heart out and wore it as a wristwatch. Andy was so tempted to mention Lauren but with the threat of the Barstow incident hanging over his head he thought better of it.

"Vegetarians. You've got no right leaving the house, you should stay at home with a banana" Provenza grumbled.

Andy immediately reacted with annoyance. "What? I didn't say anything" he said defensively after clearly misinterpreting Provenza's use of the word 'Banana' as their earlier rejected 'safe word.'

"Not that you idiot!" Provenza shouted.

"Oh." Andy hid his eyes for a moment with Provenza soon following suit. Sharon and Patrice just stared at them for a moment beyond confused by some of their erratic behaviour over the course of the evening so far.

"What is going on with you two?" Patrice asked with it sounding like more of a demand for answers rather than a genuine question.

"Nothing" Provenza said immediately.

"Nothing at all" Andy confirmed.

"Indubitably."

Patrice and Sharon stared at them again for a moment, utterly bewildered. Eventually they turned their attentions back to each other. "So you like what I've done with the place?" Patrice asked, full of pride.

Sharon nodded. "I do. It's beautiful."

Patrice pointed to the far corner of the room. "I'd like to try and squeeze a futon over in the corner just for extra seating when we have company."

"I don't have the pelvis for a futon" Provenza said quickly.

Andy shuddered. "Now there's an image."

"I have say Patrice I'm really impressed. It really does look lovely. Very homely" Sharon added.

"But now Electronics looks like Provenza's living room" Andy joked causing Sharon to laugh into her wine.

Patrice nodded. She knew full well what had been inflicted on the rest of the division but figured they were better off there than in her house. "The duck lamps?"

Provenza's eyes bulged at Andy. "Don't you dare say a word about my lamps! They add class and character to an otherwise sterile room."

"Well they may be able to fly home one day soon. We've talked about converting the garage into a den" Patrice said quickly to quieten Provenza down.

Sharon smiled. "That's a nice idea."

"Louie never puts his car in there and it's just a place to collect junk and dust."

"And bodies" Andy commented without thinking about the potential consequences.

Provenza became apoplectic almost immediately. "Why would you even say something like that?!" Andy responded with a shrug, truly believing he hadn't said anything wrong.

Patrice looked worried. "Bodies? What bodies?" she asked looking at Sharon who could only shrug with IA having been kept as far away from that particular incident as humanly possible.

"Someone dumped a body in his garage" Andy said very matter-of-factly, again without thinking of the consequences.

"Flynn! Indubitably!" Provenza shouted.

Silence fell on the room for a moment. "You two have been behaving so oddly tonight. I fail to believe this is the first double date you've been on together" Patrice said unaware that she was about to open Pandora's Box.

Andy shuffled awkwardly in his seat, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck a couple of times before he spoke. "We may have been on one before but that was a long time ago" he said almost dismissively.

"And believe me this one is going so much better" Provenza added as he polished off his latest glass of wine.

"For one thing you can stand up" Andy said again without engaging his brain first.

"Indubitably!" came the instant response.

"What? You can" Andy stated as he started to laugh.

Provenza glared at him, it was a death glare, a glare that left little to misinterpret. "What did we discuss?" he asked in an angry whisper.

Again Andy laughed. "Oh come on Provenza it's a funny story."

"Not from where I was sitting."

"Sitting for a couple of hours as well." Andy laughed loudly. Since it had been the topic of conversation the night before at the Christmas party Andy honestly didn't see any issues with raising it again.

"If memory serves I only got myself into that predicament because of you." Provenza wagged a finger at Andy as he sat forward, almost like he was ready to attack.

"Me? What did I do?" Andy asked innocently. "Did I force the pill down your throat? No. I wasn't even there."

"No but it was your suggestion to pick them up in the first place" Provenza correctly pointed out.

"Hey all I said was they were hot and we should consider giving flight attendants a go some time, you're the one that asked them out on a date." Andy's version of events was very different to Provenza's. Yes it was Andy's idea and yes Provenza was the one to ask them out but only after Andy spent an hour filling him with wine and encouraging him to do it.

"Fine blame me. It's always my fault. I steal your coffee, I ask the drug mules on a date" Provenza flailed wildly as Patrice and Sharon stared at them a little shocked and amused by what they were saying.

"It is! Half the crap I've got it in the neck for over the last fifteen years has been your fault" Andy said as he raised his voice for the first time.

"Like what?"

"Like that crappy lock on your car" Andy said quickly. "Why didn't you just paint 'Steal me and the crucial evidence in the trunk!' on the windshield?"

"Are you still complaining about that? I got a confession out of her didn't I? And you're accusing me of having a crappy car? You?" Provenza asked as he mentally listed every time he had sat on the side of the road while Andy attempted to start his latest wreck of a car.

"Okay how about making me serve those papers for your lawyer friend?"

"You're blaming me for that? Did I shoot the guy? You weren't complaining when you were getting two thousand bucks out of it."

"But I didn't get two thousand bucks out of it" Andy shouted. "I got suspended and ended up two grand out of pocket." Sharon and Patrice shared a quick look of amused concern. Andy and Provenza had finally started to join in the conversation but it was clear that this could escalate very quickly.

"So did I! Did you hear me complain?" Provenza asked.

"Only every damn day."

Provenza sat back and glared. "Is that all you got?" he asked, daring him to open his mouth again while he bided his time to respond with something equally as embarrassing.

"How about you were the one that dropped Ray Hodge's coffin down a flight a steps and I got grief for it. Because of you the Chief got the crap kicked out of her and the division got sued."

"Yes and because of me a body was found and a murderer was put away for life, what a tragedy that was!" Provenza said sarcastically. "And you were already getting grief for that ridiculous eulogy. Handcuffing a stripper? His widow was listening!"

"You didn't think it was so ridiculous at the time. You were laughing so hard you shook more than downtown during a quake. In fact if memory serves it was your idea for me to use that story in the first place" Andy pointed out.

"Only because every other story you tell makes you sound as dull as dishwater."

With that Andy's blood began to boil. "Really? Well let me tell a few now, see if I can find you an interesting one. How about the trouble you got me into with the body in your garage." Since Provenza had reacted so strongly at the mere mention of it moments ago Andy saw the perfect opportunity to twist the knife since it was clear he really didn't want Patrice to find out about it.

"I didn't murder her asshole so how exactly was that my fault?"

"No but it was your fault the body got moved" Andy said again.

"How was that my fault?"

Taking the moral high ground Andy pointed out "I was trying to call in it. You're the one that wanted to still go to the Dodgers game."

"We had Skybox tickets! And again if your car wasn't so crappy we wouldn't have found it in the first place and almost got ourselves fired in the process."

"Don't blame me. I'm the one who saved the day before a deal could be made" Andy stated proudly.

"By calling in a bomb threat!" At that Sharon's mouth dropped open as she stared at Andy utterly gobsmacked. Knowing she was paying him very close attention and didn't look at all impressed Andy glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he started to yank on his earlobe, his stress not helped by the smug smile on Provenza's face. "Oops! Sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that in front of the Captain but then you two tell each other everything anyway!"

Andy rolled his eyes. "Are you still pissed over that kiss?" Andy couldn't believe how unreasonable Provenza had been since the events of his previous wedding night were revealed especially as it was Provenza who told everyone in the first place. "I didn't tell Sharon. You're the one that did that and for the record I did nothing wrong. You're the one with the terrible track record, present company excluded" he was quick to add as he looked in Patrice's direction with a warm smile, "in picking women which led to you sleeping in my bed and making a move on me in the first place."

"No Flynn, Sharon was not the problem" Provenza said as he cringed at having to mention one of the names of his ex-wives, something he'd already warned Andy he wanted to avoid in front of Patrice. "The problem was you removed my pants and handcuffed me to a stripper when you knew how pissy she'd get if she found out." Patrice resisted the urge to laugh as she chewed on her lip and stared intently at him.

"Oh don't get your panties in a bunch you needed a bit of fun before that woman removed your balls and wore them as earrings for the second time no less. Well fun other than trying to the get the phone numbers of potential suspects in an interview room" Andy said with an air of superiority like he'd never done anything as ridiculous when in truth he'd done much much worse.

"No much better to get the phone numbers off strippers at crime scenes! Or I don't know flirting with a woman when she was in the middle of robbing a jewellery store! Is it possible for you to walk past a woman without trying to pick them up? But if you really want to talk about unwise choices in women, let's go directly to the biggest of them all!" Provenza shouted, being very careful to not look in the direction of his Captain in case she jumped to the wrong conclusion, a conclusion Andy was more than prepared to jump to without assistance.

"Don't you dare bring Sharon into this!" he said with venom.

"I have no intention of mentioning the Captain" Provenza said horrified that Andy would even suggest such a thing. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to you! Frankly you don't deserve her and if you screw it up you'll find I'll be front of the line ahead of the rest of the division to put a foot up your ass." Provenza fell silent for a moment as he nodded at his Captain. He meant every word. If Andy ever did anything to upset Sharon or even so much as casually glance at another woman then Provenza would instantly forgo their friendship to beat the crap out of him. Sharon smiled, her heart swelling as she looked at Provenza but before she could respond the argument started up again. "When I say 'unwise' I mean that blond scam artist who locked you naked on the balcony of your room at the Roosevelt and then robbed you." Sharon's mouth dropped open as she stared at Andy. The responses of their significant others going unnoticed as the argument raged Andy and Provenza both realised that they'd reached the age where they knew they probably shouldn't be saying what they were but then thought what the hell let's see what happens.

"Provenza! Indubitably!" Andy shouted at the top of his lungs, beyond mortified that he would bring up that particular incident in front of Sharon. He desperately wanted to turn and see her reaction but couldn't bring himself to see those eyes glaring back at him.

Provenza sat back in his chair completely satisfied with the revenge he had attained. "Not so much fun now the shoe is on the other foot is it?"

"Oh and you've never been scammed by a pretty face."

"Not naked on a balcony" Provenza pointed out smugly.

"No just by drag queens."

Provenza's face immediately turned red. "I told you to forget about that!"

"Oops!"

"It was one date and he looked more like a woman than any man I've ever met" Provenza explained as he tried to defend himself.

"What gave him away? The Adams Apple or the fact that his hands were so big he could pick up a basketball with just one? Hey it wasn't George Andrews was it? _Louie_?" As Andy used Provenza's first name for only the second time in his life he had gone past the point of no return. He knew he was going to have a hard time explaining away his 'naked on a balcony' history so if he was going to spend the holidays sleeping on the couch without sex he was now determined to take Provenza down with him.

Provenza scoffed. "You want to talk unwise choices? What do you call a recovering alcoholic dating a heroin addict?"

"That was not heroin! She was diabetic! That was insulin" Andy said without fooling anyone.

"Don't give me that BS" Provenza said rolling his eyes. "A $200 a day insulin habit? And didn't she sell your TV? How many women have robbed you in your life Flynn?"

"Robbed me? Hey at least they only took my stuff. Let's discuss how many women have robbed you of your dignity. Let's start with Lauren and work our way up from there" Andy said as he waited for Provenza to respond to one of his trigger words: _Lauren_. Andy knew better than to bring her up but he was beyond caring at that point.

"Flynn I told you never to use her name around me again!"

"Is there a woman's name I can use around you? None of your four ex-wives that's for certain. Do you have to propose to every single woman you meet?"

"So I shouldn't be getting married again is that it?"

"No. I've never seen you this happy before. Patrice is a wonderful woman" Andy said quickly as he made eye contact with Patrice, ensuring her he meant no offense. However this kindly glaze went unnoticed since by this point Patrice and Sharon were so stunned by the argument taking place neither really noticed where he was looking. "I'm talking about every other twenty-five year old that couldn't walk past you without you putting a ring on their finger and signing away the remnants of your pension."

"Twenty-Five? Listen here buster you're the one that's consistently gone younger as you've got older. Thank God the Captain took over when she did or you'd probably be dating sperm by now." Provenza shifted forward again as he wagged his finger at Andy. "And at least I can commit. I don't sleep with the nearest blonde I find when things start to get even remotely serious." Sharon tried not to react to this latest revelation and Andy's history of infidelity but her heart instantly dropped. The argument was no longer funny, it was exposing issues that Sharon had tried hard to ignore and forget. Patrice instantly noticed Sharon's uncomfortable shuffle in her seat, taking her hand and squeezing it. Provenza closed his eyes for a moment, mortified, realising that he'd inadvertently caused his Captain to question the stability of her relationship.

"Indubitably!" Andy shouted.

"Don't you indubitably me! You started it" Provenza shouted like a five year old arguing with his brother in the back of a car.

"Fine I started it and you end it like you end men for women. You turned one woman into a lesbian and another one into a Nun!" Andy smugly pointed out causing Patrice and Sharon to again bite on their tongues to stop from laughing. It was a welcome relief for Sharon after what she'd just heard.

"This is ridiculous! I did not turn Barbra into a lesbian. She was a lesbian when we met. I made her heterosexual. Briefly. And Sandra had a religious calling. That had nothing to do with me. I may be physically and intellectually superior to the vast majority of men out there but even I can't compete with God."

"Ah potato, _potato_."

Provenza smiled broadly as Andy immediately looked worried as a result. "Fine if we're playing this game. How about the time you called me to rescue you because some woman had handcuffed you to your bed and superglued your unmentionables to your leg!" Sharon and Patrice almost choked on their wine as they tried not to laugh.

"Provenza!"

"Not so chatty now! Did you think I wanted to see that sight? Uncuff you and help you bunny hop to the emergency room?"

"Provenza! Banana! Banana!" Andy screamed as he tried his hardest to end it once and for all. All this did was to cause Patrice and Sharon's eyes to widen at the random use of fruit that now came into the rather heated discussion.

Completely ignoring Andy's cries of 'Banana' Provenza continued to attack him. "Rule number one: Don't sleep with your girlfriend's sister! Rule number two: Don't let her find out about it. Why do I always have to rescue you when you're naked? Don't you ever get into trouble with your clothes on?"

Andy stood up and moved in front of Provenza. "You're going to lecture me on cheating? The man who has slept with every babysitter he's ever met?"

Provenza joined Andy on his feet and squared up to him. "I've got one word for you buddy: Barstow!"

Andy's face immediately dropped. "Banana! Okay! Banana!"

"Don't you give me banana!" Provenza said almost tauntingly.

"Fine! I'll give you this instead: Gina Jones!" Andy spat at him.

"Flynn! Banana!" Provenza suddenly said as the worry became etched across his face.

"Good luck getting your balls back out of your body again!"

"Balls? Like ping pong balls?"

"Don't you dare!" Andy cried.

"Now what was her name?" Provenza uttered as he pretending to think, knowing full well the name of the woman in question.

"Provenza! Banana!"

"Banana!" Provenza replied, acknowledging that they should end this 'discussion' now before the situation got any worse.

"Banana!" Andy repeated.

"Banana!"

Andy and Provenza both fell silent, the air around them almost visible, thick with the anger and bile that had just been spilled into it. Suddenly their shoulders slumped as they realised what they had just done and more importantly who they had just done it in front of. Very quickly they returned to their seats and sat down, looking like naughty school boys waiting to be read the riot act. Sharon and Patrice looked at them in utter amazement. Neither could quite believe the turn the evening had taken especially since they had been having such a wonderful time together. They were both beyond amused by what had been revealed but that was overtaken by the anger and disappointment that it was packaged within an argument, an argument with such venom. "Well we wanted them to talk" Patrice said finally as she smiled at Sharon.

The rest of the evening past by without incident. Sharon and Patrice continued to talk easily with each other about anything and everything, meanwhile Provenza and Andy sat silently brooding, occasionally glaring at each other and trying to issue blame on the other for what had happened. Every now and then they would try to catch the eye of their respective lady love in an attempt to gage their mood and perhaps show contrition. On other occasions they would laugh at a joke made but each time they received a glare back from the ladies, silencing them immediately, their subsequent penitent behaviour erasing nothing as they were left without any doubt just how much trouble they were in for having a blazing row on an evening of nice friendly Christmas drinks.

By eleven o'clock the evening drew to a close with the strain and tiredness of the previous case showing on the faces of the three LAPD officers. As soon as Sharon and Andy stood up to leave Provenza shot to his feet to retrieve their jackets without being asked before helping Sharon on with hers. Andy's was unceremoniously dumped on the floor at his feet, a childish flourish on behalf of Provenza which went unnoticed by everyone except Andy.

"Thank you so much for inviting us over Patrice. I've had a lovely time" Sharon said sincerely as she embraced Patrice in a long hug. Despite the small hiccup in the middle (which would be dealt with as soon as they could get Andy and Provenza on their own) it had been a wonderful evening and a great success.

"Me too" Patrice replied.

"It's been so good to talk about...things" Sharon said as they pulled apart with a brief nod towards the yard and the more personal conversation they had out there earlier.

"Likewise. We need to do this again soon. Have a lovely Christmas the pair of you" Patrice added warmly with a glance towards Andy.

"You too. Goodbye Lieutenant" Sharon said as she moved towards him and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"Captain" was all he could say in reply, clearly embarrassed.

"Bye Andy" Patrice said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks a lot Patrice." Andy turned to Provenza and reluctantly put his hand out, waiting for him to take it as he stole the opportunity to be the bigger man in front of both Sharon and Patrice. "Provenza."

"Flynn." Provenza took Andy's hand and shook it firmly, squeezing harder than he needed to under the circumstances.

"Bye" Sharon said once more before she stepped out of the house and into the cooler night air with Andy following very quickly and very closely behind her.

As soon as they were out of earshot Andy made his move. "Sharon…."

Before he had chance to finish Sharon raised her hand and Darth Raydor put in an appearance. "Not yet" she warned.

As he shut the front door Provenza turned around to face Patrice with his best smile in place, ready to charm her and get back in her good books. "Patrice." He opened his arms as if he expected her to immediately run into them.

Patrice walked straight into the kitchen. "Oh don't even think about it Louie."

Back outside as they walked to his car Andy's hand hovered by Sharon's lower back but never quite making contact, the fear that she'd slap it off her all too real in his mind. His instinct as always was to be gentleman and therefore shepherd his date towards their transport as he kept his hand just millimetres from her back, too afraid to close the gap. Before Sharon could place her hand on the door handle this instinct kicked in again and Andy bounded towards it and opened it for her.

"Here let me get that for you" he said with a smile as he held the door open. "My lady" he added with a bow.

As Sharon rather awkwardly climbed into the car she didn't say a word, in fact she didn't so much as casually glance in Andy's direction. Once seated with her seatbelt on Sharon again adjusted the hem of her dress, tugging it down as far as it would go before placing her hands very deliberately in her lap. She then sat in silence, staring straight ahead and waited. Andy closed the door and slowly walked around to the driver's side, his smile fading with every single step he took. He sat down behind the wheel and did his best to plaster a grin back on his face as he glanced at Sharon but her eyes remained fixed forward and completely unyielding. Andy started the engine before laughing to himself. "You know I..."

With her eyes still fixed forward Sharon was very quick to cut him off. "Andy" she said calmly.

"Yep?" he asked filled with expectation and hope.

"If I were you I'd go back to being very very quiet" Sharon said quietly as she again stroked the hem of her dress, refusing to meet his eye for even a second.

"Yes ma'am" Andy replied as his shoulders slumped before pulling away from the curb.

The car ride home was a silent and awkward affair. Even though it was late December it was still a relatively warm evening but that was not the cause of the beads of sweat that had formed on Andy's forehead. One of Andy Flynn's defining characteristics was that he wore his heart and his emotions firmly on his sleeve for all to see. His facial expressions and demeanour as he drove painted a very clear picture. He was worried, he was stressed and he was more than a tad upset with himself. He was in trouble, a lot of trouble with the love of his life and he knew it. He knew Sharon had been looking forward to the evening since Provenza handed her the invite in his kitchen. It was the first time they'd been out with another couple on anything approaching a double date and Sharon was thrilled at the prospect of getting to know Patrice better along with a glance at a more informal Provenza whose company she enjoyed more and more with each passing day. But he had to ruin it. He had to take the bait and run his mouth off and end the evening with an argument. At the back of his mind he was also worried about what Sharon may think of him, not because he had made a scene with Provenza, that was hardly anything new, but more what was said about him. A not particularly pleasant side to his past had been laid bare and screamed about for her to hear without any justification for his actions, not that he had any. Even after he stopped drinking Andy Flynn was still a Grade A asshole and he was not afraid to admit it. He had done a lot of idiotic things and he had treated a lot of women absolutely appallingly. He was ashamed. He'd been ashamed of his past for a very long time and tonight was no exception. He had hoped that a lot of those incidents from his past would have been kept secret from Sharon until his dying day when his surviving friends from the force would swap stories about him at his funeral, turning the air blue in the process but now she knew everything, she knew about the more amusing incidents but she also knew about his frequent infidelity and she didn't look impressed. In fact Sharon looked as mad as Andy had ever seen her and he had pissed her off a lot before she became his commanding officer.

As Andy's mind raced and he questioned what sort of damage had been irrevocably done to his relationship he tugged on his earlobe frantically. It didn't help. If anything he was on the verge of yanking it off rather than relieving his stress even a fraction. Sharon on the other hand was the very definition of cool and calm as she kept her eyes forward and maintained a stony expression. In actual fact it was all an act. An act that was a lot harder to maintain than Andy realised. The truth was Andy wasn't in any real trouble, far from it. Neither was Provenza for that matter. Yes Sharon was mad at him for having the argument and making the evening unbearably awkward thereafter and she was determined to make sure he knew how pissed she was but that was it. As far as Sharon was concerned she didn't care what they argued about just that they argued and spoiled the evening. Everyone has a past and if Sharon was honest the way that it all came out combined with the inappropriate and rather random screams of fruit made both Sharon and Patrice want to cry laughing. That's not to say that Provenza's words about Andy cheating the moment his relationships got serious didn't send a jolt of lightening through her but she already knew that and had decided to take a chance on him regardless. She wanted to speak to him about it sooner rather than later for that sense of reassurance despite the fact she trusted him but that was the extent of the trouble he was in. However the guilty and worried looks on the faces of the pair of them as they sat in silence for the rest of the night, combined with the not so small fact that they had completely ruined a perfectly lovely evening meant both Sharon and Patrice could afford to torture them a bit for fun before letting them off the hook.

Five minutes into their journey with the coldness radiating from Sharon doing nothing to stop Andy from sweating profusely, they reached a crossroads and a dilemma for the man behind the wheel. Sharon had thus far managed to avoid letting her true feelings slip and as a result Andy expected to spend the foreseeable future in the doghouse only he wasn't sure which doghouse that would be exactly. As they stopped at a set of lights, driving straight on meant they were going back to Andy's, turning right meant going back to Sharon's condo. The plan at the start of the evening was that Sharon was coming back to his house so that they could spend the evening without Rusty down the hall meaning they could do what they liked where they liked but that was before, before he'd put his foot in his mouth and chewed up as far as his kneecap. Andy quickly thought about asking if Sharon still intended to come home with him but that left the possibility open for her to say 'No' or rather scream it at him loudly before calling him an 'Idiot' and insisting he call her 'Captain' again before ruling out any further chance of seeing her naked again this decade. The other option was to simply drive as if nothing had happened and hope Sharon didn't suddenly tell him to take her home instead. Not feeling brave enough to ask, Andy set off towards his house.

With Sharon still silent and more than perfecting her frosty exterior Andy pulled his car onto his driveway and turned off the engine. He immediately turned to Sharon ready to dazzle her with his winning smile and see if the ice was beginning to melt but she had already removed her seatbelt and was climbing out of the car. By the time Andy had climbed out himself and locked the car Sharon was waiting patiently outside his front door, staring at the wall and avoiding all eye contact. Andy quickly sprinted over to her and unlocked the door with Sharon again disappearing inside without so much as a glance in his direction. This only served to confuse Andy. Although her demeanour suggested one thing, her actions said another. She wasn't speaking to him, she wasn't even looking at him and yet she'd walked straight into his house.

Once inside she kicked off her shoes and hung up her jacket and purse by the door which was another indication that perhaps she intended on staying the night and maybe he wasn't in as much trouble as he thought he was. Sharon leant against the back of the couch and yawned, the late night, long drive and the discipline involved in keeping her angry facade in place taking a toll on her. Seeking a quick end to the silence and the uncertainty Andy sensed weakness in her suddenly tired looking exterior so smiled and moved to kiss her on the cheek. Before he got too close Sharon saw him coming and was quick to move away from him and walked straight into the kitchen without saying a word, the door closing behind her. Andy stared after her, completely bewildered as to where he stood.

Andy sat on the arm of his couch briefly and sighed. His head suddenly hurt like someone had put an axe through it. As he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand he tugged on his earlobe with the other. Throughout their relationship thus far Sharon and Andy hadn't had so much as a crossed word between them which was surprising since they worked together and dated (something that pissed Provenza off immensely. 'Not arguing is not normal' was a frequent titbit that came Andy's way). They admittedly hit a small bump in the road during Andy's convalescence when he could become quite snappy in an instant when he got fed up with being mothered but that was it. The problem was they hadn't really argued now but it was clear just how mad Sharon was at him with a blazing argument seemingly waiting for him on the other side of the kitchen door. They had been living in a five month honeymoon period where everything had gone perfectly until now and he didn't know what to do. He never did in these situations. Andy was very deft at getting himself into trouble but was rather inept at getting himself out of difficulty hence why his relationships were nothing more than a string of one night stands sandwiched between his ex-wife and now Sharon. One thing was for certain, he loved Sharon. He loved her more than he ever thought was possible to love another person and he needed to fix it as soon as possible. With that thought in mind he sighed once more before standing and slowly walking towards the kitchen like he was taking the long walk to the gallows.

As he walked through the kitchen door he was surprised to see Sharon sitting on the kitchen counter, in the corner opposite the door with her legs slowly swinging. For the first time since he'd finished his argument with Provenza, Sharon looked him in the eye. Whereas he'd been hoping to see those emerald eyes filled with love and forgiveness they remained cold, unfriendly and more upsettingly for him, disappointed. Andy leant up the counter by door as he looked at his feet and searched for the words he needed that would make everything okay again. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, once, twice, three times, he looked like he had fleas.

"I thought tonight went well" Andy jokingly said finally as he met Sharon's ice cool gaze. "It's sort of funny really" he added laughing. Sharon's face remained expressionless causing him to stop laughing instantly. "Well I thought it was funny. Evidently you disagree." He paused for a moment unsure of what he could say that would actually make her speak even one word to him. Finally he resolved that he had to face it head on. "So, how much trouble am I in exactly?"

"What makes you think you're in trouble?" Sharon asked in a quiet, neutral tone. It was a tone that Andy had heard countless times before but usually in the confines of an interview room when they were on the same side of the table.

"I'll start with that terrifying but beautiful look on your face and move on from there." Andy knew that this situation required more than cheap flattery but didn't think it would hurt under the circumstances. "You haven't looked at me like this since you worked at IA. It makes me feel like I have another month of sensitivity training in my future" Andy joked.

"Oh Andy that's the least of your worries."

Andy smiled. It was his filthy smile, the smile that had been getting Sharon into all sorts of trouble over the last nine days in particular and usually made her putty in his hands in a matter of seconds. Andy was amazed when it had no effect as she just sat there expressionless. In reality Sharon could feel her heart fluttering and he cheeks growing warm. She tried to ignore it, tried very hard to remain neutral so that she could torture him for as long as possible. "Sharon" Andy said warmly as he quickly crossed the kitchen to her, intent on joining their lips together.

"Nope" Sharon said quickly as she put her hand on Andy's chest to stop him from coming any closer. "Go and stand over there." Sharon pointed towards the counter on the opposite wall as Andy continued to smile. "I mean it Andy. Over there." Andy reluctantly started to back pedal with his hands in the air. "All the way over there" Sharon demanded. Andy stopped when his hips banged into the cabinet. "Put your hands on the counter where I can see them."

Andy continued to smile as he gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, making sure Sharon could see his hands and he was doing as instructed. "Do I need to spread my legs? Are you going to frisk me?" he asked with a wink.

Sharon crossed her arms. "Oh there's a zero percent chance of any 'frisking' going on in this house tonight."

Andy's face immediately dropped, his worry and upset evident but Sharon remained undeterred in her attitude. Sharon assumed, and she was right to, that Andy had never had to apologise to a woman before (with the exception of his ex-wife and perhaps his mother) because his smile was so unbelievably effective. It was so effective that Sharon was in a battle not to crumble to it as she sat on that counter and just fling herself at him. His smile was beautiful and not the filthy one he reserved for her alone, this was his regular day to day smile. Andy Flynn's smile was like one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. A smile from that man probably had the ability to make a woman's ovaries twitch if not actually miraculously get her pregnant. It occurred to Sharon that in the past Andy only needed to smile at a woman he'd upset and before she knew what was happening her underwear would be flying across the room and all was forgiven. Sharon also assumed that his smile had been quite effective in the witness box in the past. He only needed to dazzle the female members of the jury with it and if he claimed Jesus had kicked a kitten through an electric fan, they'd believe him. It was so good half the men on the jury would probably be going home to question their sexual preference as well. Still Sharon refused to be moved by it for the time being since she was not done being mad at him. In that moment she was reminded of her Grandmother. She was a very traditional Irish lady, heavy emphasis on the word 'lady' despite the fact that she claimed to have slept with half the village she grew up in just outside Kilkenny before the age of 18 (one of the many reasons why she encouraged Sharon to keep her knees together before she was married) and had all the characteristics of a mole with heavy asthma. She once told Sharon that it was good to torture your man from time to time when you had the chance because there would be many many times you'd regret not taking the opportunity. Not exactly words of wisdom to live by from a woman who also said 'If it's and ands were pots and pans your mother would be your father' and who spent the latter part of her life talking to a hat stand called Mr Jessop but Sharon was happy to run with it if for no other reason than she found Andy so unbelievably sexy when he was pouting and miserable. Sharon took a deep breath, keeping up her cold, stony exterior was hard and it was getting harder with every smile, wink and pout Andy produced.

"I see" Andy said glumly. "So are we talking a sleeping on the couch scenario here or...?"

"Why would you sleep on the couch?" Sharon asked quickly. Andy immediately smiled as his shoulders began to rise, his relief almost palpable. "This is your house after all. I can simply call a cab and go home" she pointed out crushingly.

Andy's smile instantly vanished as quickly as it arrived. "Okay. Good point. What can I do to fix this?"

"Try apologising."

"Absolutely. No problem. Sharon, sweetheart I'm so sorry" Andy said with complete sincerity. He continued. "Have I always been a saint? Not at all. Have I learned from my mistakes? I like to think so. Were my actions tonight idiotic? Possibly. Did I ruin the evening? Without a shadow of a doubt. But am I sorry? Absolutely" Andy added with a smile.

Sharon just stared at him for a moment. She'd heard this speech countless times before. The words changed but the sentiment and the delivery were always the same. "Not to me. To Patrice and Lieutenant Provenza."

"I am not apologising to Provenza!" Andy shouted. "It was his fault! He was the one that…." Andy took a deep breath as his tone softened and he realised that approach was only going to make matters worse. "I'm sorry, he'll never hear those words from me but I'll apologise to Patrice and to you. I am sorry Sharon."

Sharon just stared at him for a moment. "Sorry that I'm mad at you or sorry for ruining the evening?"

"Both but he started it."

"He started it? What are you six?"

"No, despite my actions tonight. I'm sorry I ruined the evening but I'm sorrier that I've upset you. That was never my intention."

"It may not have been but really Andy I'm not the one you should be apologising to" Sharon stated sternly. "It's Christmas! Does no one have a sense of occasion but me? One night? We couldn't have one night? One night where you both behaved yourselves and acted like the adults your birth certificates suggest you are?" Sharon still couldn't believe the way the evening had ended. She was having a lovely time with Patrice but those idiots had to get each other riled up and see who could get the other into the most trouble. It was the sort of behaviour that she expected from school children, not two men who were eligible for retirement but that was probably the reason why she loved the pair of them so much. Sharon continued to glare at Andy, his discomfort evident as he fidgeted.

"It would seem not. Do you practice that stare in the mirror?" Andy paused waiting for Sharon to respond but nothing was forthcoming. "It's really good. Do you have any idea how frightening it is? Queen of the Interview Room." With his complete lack of experience in apologising now clear and his smile and multiple tries of 'I'm sorry' not working, Andy had only one option left, his smoulder. Sharon had already proven that she was defenceless against it and if anything was going to soften her heart to him and get him out of the hole he had dug for himself, that would be it. He smiled at her which quickly turned into a smouldering look that would leave 80% of the world's population leaping into his arms. Sadly Sharon was currently one of the 20% and didn't so much as blink at him. "Wow, you really are pissed. Look Sharon I am really sorry. I'll apologise to Patrice..."

"And?"

"And I'll apologise to Provenza tomorrow as well but he gave as good as he got and I'm sorry but it's how we are. We argue, we tell dirt to get each other in trouble and swap stories, not all of them good." Andy's face dropped as he prepared to pour his heart out. He suddenly began to worry that he had misunderstood why Sharon was so angry. He had assumed that it was because he'd had an argument and ruined the evening. He began to worry she was angry because of all the stories Provenza had told about him. Listening to Provenza you would think that Andy Flynn was a vile, womanising dirt bag who couldn't stay faithful if his life depended on it. In some part that was true but Andy liked to believe he wasn't that person anymore and hadn't been for a number of years. Throughout the evening the reason that he had been so quiet was because he was worried this would happen. That he would say something that would set Provenza off and the cat would be out of the bag. Even their frequent discussions in the build up and use of a safe word did nothing. They'd tried to prepare themselves so it didn't happen but they'd let it happen anyway. "I'm sorry that you perhaps heard things about me and my history that you rather you hadn't. I can't change that now, I can only apologise for it. I've spent the better part of my life ashamed of my past but if I've learned anything it's that I can't change it, I can only change how I behave in the future and the kind of man I am moving forward." As he finished Andy looked to his feet and for the first time he looked small. He looked defeated. He looked adorable.

Sharon suddenly felt awful. She had given Andy the completely wrong impression and needed to sort it out quickly. "Oh Andy come here" she said holding her arms and her legs open for him. Andy didn't need to be told twice. He immediately smiled and was in her arms, pressed up against her in the space she had created with his face buried in her hair in a flash. They held each other tightly for a moment, savouring the warmth and feel of each other. Eventually Sharon ran her legs around the back of his knees, holding him in place and letting him know he wasn't going anywhere. "For an intelligent man you really can be quite dense at times." Sharon kissed him on the side of his head as she continued to squeeze him tightly. "I'm not upset about that! I don't care about your past because it is exactly that, your past. I care that you along with your partner in crime ruined a perfectly pleasant evening."

Andy pulled back slightly so he could see her face. "Really?"

"I'm not an idiot. I know you have a past and guess what, so do I." Andy smiled as he looked at her a little surprised. Andy had assumed that there were other men between him and Jack but they'd never discussed it and if he was honest he didn't intend to. Andy was firmly of the opinion that you don't ask ladies questions like that, in fact it had been drummed into him by his Grandfather (who often told him 'Boy there are three questions you never ask your female. One: How old are you? Two: How many men have you experienced intercourse with? And three: Was it good for you too?), and Sharon was most definitely a lady. However in light of another conversation they'd had a couple of years ago, the idea of Sharon with a past since Jack was a surprise and intriguing to him. "What?" Sharon asked as she registered his surprise. "Andy I haven't been cloistered for the last two decades since Jack left me despite what people may have thought while I was working at IA."

"I vividly remember you telling me before Nicole's wedding that it wasn't a date because you were a married woman" Andy pointed out while he laced his fingers together behind her back.

Sharon moved her hands from Andy's back to his neck. "And I was and it wasn't. But that doesn't mean I didn't date during that period."

"Then why..."

"That was just to make sure you were put in your place and didn't cross the line. You see I have a rule that I never date a subordinate" Sharon said before she smiled devilishly and brought his lips down to meet hers. It was anything but a chaste kiss as she sought to expel his upset and worry through her lips.

"Oh really?" Andy smirked after they pulled apart.

"Yes. A steadfast rule. Never to be broken."

"I see." Andy pushed their lips together again, making a point as he kissed her with fervour, his tongue leading hers on a merry dance as their bodies pressed together. "And how's that working for you?"

"I'm still at the trial and error phase of testing" Sharon confirmed.

"Interesting. And how is 'testing' going?"

"Unbelievably well" Sharon laughed before kissing him again, their lips locking as the tension from the last couple of hours lifted from Andy's shoulders and evaporated into the night's sky.

"I love you" he said as their lips came apart.

"And I love you which means I don't care what happened before that dinner at Serve" she said as her hands returned to his back and she rubbed it to continue to reassure him. "As long as these things haven't taken place in the last five months and since it doesn't look like you've been robbed recently then it's nothing whatsoever to do with me or us."

Andy's smile grew with relief. "I'm so glad to hear you say that but just for the record, I want you to know that Andy, Womanising Andy, he's dead."

"Really?" Sharon laughed.

"Dead as a door nail. Tag on his toe. Drawer closed. Nothing to see here."

Sharon's eyes sparkled. "Did he freeze to death naked on a balcony?" In truth Sharon hadn't been able to get the image of a starkers Andy trapped on a balcony out of her mind since the moment Provenza had brought it up. She actually missed the next few exchanged of their argument it distracted her so much. She knew Andy was an idiot when it came to women (he did lie to his daughter and ex-wife about her fairly recently), she just didn't realise how much of an idiot he could actually be. Sharon could picture the look on his face as he realised that he was being robbed by a pretty face. She imagined him trying and failing to get his robber to stop with a smile and smoulder as he wondered what he could use on that balcony to hide his modesty as he waited to be rescued.

"No. I killed him" Andy said sheepishly.

"I see. Did you bury him next to Nervous Andy?"

"Right in the yard by the rhododendron."

"You don't have a rhododendron."

"You don't think I'm stupid enough to bury them in my own yard do you? My girlfriend is a badass police Captain. She'd sniff them out right away. I bury all my bodies in Provenza's yard so if I go down I can at least take him with me." Andy's smile faded before he kissed her slowly and gently on the lips. "Honestly Sharon I'm not that person anymore, really I'm not" he said honestly.

"I know you're not. Andy I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you." Andy's face read surprise but Sharon meant every word. She went into their relationship with her eyes wide open. The truth was she was dealing with the legacy of Jack's constant cheating but had been determined to not let him ruin the end of her life like he'd ruined so much of the beginning. That meant that if her relationship with Andy was going to work she had to ignore what he had done in the past and trust him implicitly from the very beginning and although it was difficult that's what she was determined to do regardless. Sharon had once told Brenda in relation to Chief Pope that 'Good relationships sometimes depend on what you're willing to overlook' and when it came to Andy she was willing to overlook a lot because she loved him and therefore he had her trust.

"Really?"

"Really. That doesn't mean you being an idiot doesn't worry me sometimes but I trust you Andy and I hope I always will." She kissed him again before running her hand down the side of his face. "Look I knew what I was letting myself in for the moment I agreed to dinner after you used the word 'romantic.'"

"What does that mean?" Andy asked confused.

"Despite only telling two people we were dating I had half the building warning me off you within the first two weeks" Sharon explained.

Before that evening Sharon had been more than aware of Andy's reputation but didn't know any of the specifics and frankly didn't want to. As she got to know him as her friend and then her boyfriend she feared knowing all of the sordid details of his numerous indiscretions with members of the opposite sex may cloud her judgement and effect how she saw him and ultimately how she felt about him. Now that she was in love with him and was fairly certain he was in fact the love of her life she didn't much care what he'd been up to in the past just as long as he didn't repeat it. Still his reputation was always lingering in the back of her mind.

When Sharon thought of Andy she was reminded of a song she once heard on the radio where the protagonist kept repeating ' _I get all the girls, I get all the girls_.' Sharon had known Andy, albeit not very well, for just over twenty years but had been aware of him within the LAPD for a little over that. Twenty plus years ago she could tell he probably had a reputation just by looking at him, he just seemed like the type. The way he dressed. The way he spoke. His eyes. His smile, oh boy his smile. Sharon was admittedly more than a tad biased but she thought her Andy Flynn, the Andy in her arms in his kitchen in 2015 was the handsomest man she'd ever met in her life. However the Andy Flynn she first met in 1989 when he was forty and she'd just turned thirty-eight was without a doubt panty wettingly, groin grindingly fab despite the fact that he was quite clearly a humongous asshole. He was…he was…well he was just gorgeous. He was blatant sex on legs plain and simple.

The first time they had clapped eyes on each other Sharon was experiencing her first day at IA. As she walked down a ground floor corridor, scurrying to an interview she wanted to ensure she was early for she dropped a pen. As she stooped to retrieve it she was nearly knocked off her feet by a Detective Sergeant who had brushed past her face with his crotch. When Sharon stood up and saw him for the first time (his face rather than his crotch as was her first image of him) he literally took her breath away and she was forced to turn the plain wedding band on her finger round and round a couple of times to remind herself of the vows she had taken and she at least took seriously. Andy claimed in the letter he wrote at the hospital that he felt the same way. He'd said when he first saw her he stopped breathing. She hadn't questioned this version of events because it wasn't a line Andy was using to pick her up, he wrote it in a love letter when he thought he might die. Sharon believed him instantly because she did recall him staring at her for a brief moment without saying a word when she stood up and straightened her skirt. Then of course he spoke, telling her she was wearing a beautiful blouse before suggesting that it would look better on his bedroom floor and then it didn't matter how gorgeous he was, he was a giant asshole. In hindsight Sharon realised that it was probably the booze talking. Twenty six years ago he wasn't even close to contemplating getting sober. Still despite the fact that he was a drunken asshole (and Sharon already had one of those periodically popping in and out of her life and causing chaos so really didn't need another one) she still couldn't help but think about how gorgeous he was every time she saw him. He was so beautiful Sharon knew he probably didn't have to even open his mouth to have a line of women falling at his feet. He probably didn't even need the famous 'Intrigue' system that Julio was so enamoured with either. Deep down she wondered if that's why she made him work so hard for her because he'd had it so unbelievably easy in the past, she didn't want to be like all the others who just threw themselves at him.

Contrary to popular opinion she knew exactly what she was doing when she started dating Andy and she knew people would think she was crazy but she didn't care because the Andy she knew was so different to the one they used to know and indeed the one she used to know. Case in point Sharon was rather alarmed to be cornered in the bathroom a week after she started dating Andy by a Lieutenant from Narcotics, Valerie Jones who revealed that she had also 'dabbled' with Andy in the past. Lieutenant Jones rather bluntly told Sharon that Andy was 'going to break your heart' but again she felt she knew a different Andy to the one that she rather graphically described 'making the naked pretzel' with on a table in an interview room twenty years ago (shortly before he got sober). That behaviour was so unlike Andy, her Andy that she chose to ignore her advice plus Valerie Jones sounded a bit like a deflating balloon when she spoke and often smelt faintly of cheese so Sharon could fully understand why she got no long term commitment from the man in question. Sharon appreciated the concern, especially when it came from the likes of Chief Taylor who only had her best interests at heart, but she was a grown woman and she knew what she was doing. She had seen for herself how Andy had changed over the years, making him more and more attractive by the day as he morphed into the man she fell in love with and if she was making a mistake, so be it. It was better to attempt to spend the rest of her life happy than be scared off by the cautionary tales of others and spend the rest of her life alone.

Andy looked at her puzzled. "Warning you off me? What? Why?" he asked sounding offended that outside forces would dare try to end his relationship when he was so adept at such things himself.

Sharon moved her hands back to his neck in preparation to bring his lips towards hers once again. "You're not to be trusted apparently. You're a bit of a bad boy with a reputation and you were going to lead me astray."

"You like that I'm a bad boy" Andy said with a smoulder as he captured her lips once more in a long and passionate embrace.

"Yes I do actually" Sharon replied honestly as she crashed their lips together. She wouldn't lie, being someone who was somewhat obsessed with the rule book, she liked that she had her hands on someone who was anything but. If anything she found Andy being a troublemaker a bit of a turn on. "Wait 'are' or 'was'?" she asked quickly.

"Was. Definitely was."

"Good." Sharon met his lips once more, breaking apart only when she started to smile and laugh. "How many times have you been robbed by a date by the way and what is so frightening about Bars..." Sharon was immediately cut off as Andy's lips covered hers to stop her from finishing the question. It was a tactic that Sharon had use quite frequently with him, kissing him until he went weak at the knees to stop him from proving her wrong. As they broke apart Sharon laughed again. "You know if you're going to stop me from asking awkward questions with a kiss expect me to do it a lot more often" Sharon stated, paraphrasing something Andy said to her on his couch just a few days before. "At least I now know what those matching scars are on your leg and your….." Again Sharon was cut off by Andy's lips meeting hers.

"Let's not go there."

"When was this 'bomb threat' exactly?" Sharon questioned.

"I don't know. 2005 or 2006 maybe. Why?"

Sharon nodded. "I thought so. I'd just finished working out in the gym. I was forced to stand outside in just a towel, with a very stiff breeze and most of the LAPD staring at me."

"That's not true. There's no way I wouldn't have noticed these legs sticking out of a towel no matter how distracted I was at the time" Andy said as his right hand moved to run from her ankle to her knee as her legs remained wrapped around him.

"Actually I remember seeing you looking shifty and covering for whatever it was that you were doing...that I really don't need to hear about now" Sharon said quickly. She'd heard more than enough tales from the past in the last few hours without digging up any more dirt.

"Agreed." Andy quickly planted his lips on Sharon's before he grinned and held her even tighter. "So is there any part of this 'past' you'd like to share with me?"

"Oh I think its best you forget all about that, for your sake."

"That doesn't seem exactly fair. You now know everything there is to know about me."

"From my experience men don't like it when you mention former lovers. You'd all rather pretend you were the only man we've ever slept with and any children we've had came floating down the river in little wicker baskets" Sharon quite rightly pointed out. Andy wasn't a jealous man by any stretch of the imagination but he didn't want to think of Jack or anyone else for that matter laying a finger on his Sharon.

"You mean that's not how it happened?" Andy joked.

"With the exception of Rusty oddly enough no. Would you mind explaining why you were screaming 'Banana!' at the top of your lungs?" Sharon asked changing the subject.

"It's a long story which I'll tell you all about later if I'm lucky enough to share a bed with you tonight." He pushed their lips together once more. "I'm sorry, truly sorry."

Sharon hugged him tighter and rested her chin on his shoulder. "I know. But I'm still mad at you" she confirmed.

"That's fine" Andy accepted as he buried his face in her hair. "I deserve it. And just to prove how sorry I am I'll let you beat me senseless later."

"Count on it" Sharon said in a whisper straight into his ear before she pulled back to look him in the eyes. "Don't think your behaviour tonight is going to stop us from going out with them again. Only next time you actually behave yourself. Both of you."

"Are you going to have this same talk with Provenza?"

"I think Patrice has more than got that covered." Sharon's eyes sparkled.

Meanwhile across town a very similar conversation was taking place. The moment Sharon and Andy climbed into his car Provenza went into full blown grovelling mode. Like how Sharon reacted to Andy, Patrice was mad at him for causing a scene with a guest invited into their home but not what was said about him. Provenza had been married five times, there was no escaping from that or hiding from it so Patrice had been waiting to hear all of the stories which made her fiancé the man he is for a long time. Still, like Andy, he had ruined the evening so Patrice was going to make sure he knew he was in the doghouse. As she busied herself cleaning up the glasses and plates and washing up in complete silence, Provenza followed her around like a little lost puppy apologising. Patrice however managed to avoid crumbling a little longer than Sharon did with Provenza fetching a pillow and a blanket to sleep on the couch before she stuck her head into the living room and said 'Louie, get your backside in this bed.'

Back in Andy's kitchen they remained wrapped in each other's arms as Sharon sat on the counter. "What were you and Patrice laughing about in the yard?" Andy asked.

"That's for us to know and you and your little friend to worry about" Sharon said with a twinkle in her eyes. Patrice hadn't actually told her anything about her second in command. Sharon was the one that made most of the confessions but still, neither of her Lieutenants needed to know that just yet.

"Oh he went well past worry tonight. He got all anxious about his Captain knowing his deepest darkest secrets. Secrets that if you do know, really don't need to be shared with me." Andy paused for a moment as he just stared into Sharon's eyes. "Still love me?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes and you're very lucky I do."

"Don't I know it. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"Neither do I" Sharon joked.

Andy again grinned before he moved in close and planted another kiss on her lips. "You know the best part of a fight?"

"Enlighten me."

"The making up" Andy pointed out as his lips moved to Sharon's jaw, peppering it with kisses as he moved towards her ear.

"Really?" Sharon asked as her eyes closed briefly while Andy continued to brush his lips against her flesh.

"U huh." Andy moved down to her neck as his lips continued to travel south.

Sharon opened her eyes and tugged her lip into her mouth. "Well I've got news for you my beautiful boy. We haven't been fighting." Sharon placed her hands on Andy's shoulders and pushed him off her. Looking him squarely in the eyes she said "That was you and Lieutenant Provenza. So up and at em'. Off you go." Sharon smacked him on the backside. "Try not to wake me when you come home from your make up sex session with your friend."

"I think I'll pass" Andy said as Sharon laughed. "He's not as gentle as you are and he never shaves his legs. Would you like a coffee?"

"Please."

Andy planted one more kiss on her lips before they finally pulled apart. Sharon remained seated on the corner of the counter while Andy crossed the room and turned on the coffee maker. Sharon watched him as he filled it with water and added the coffee. "I wish you'd let me keep a bottle of wine for you in the fridge for when you come over" Andy said as he retrieved two cups from the cabinet above his head.

"The last thing I need right now is more wine and anyway I don't want you to keep a bottle of wine for me." Back when they were just friends and Sharon would go to Andy's house for dinner or to watch football she flat out refused to allow him to keep a bottle of wine for her. Now that they were together her stance had not altered at all. In all honesty she didn't like drinking in front of him and never had done but sometimes Andy would insist and order her a glass or pour one for her himself.

"I wouldn't drink it."

"I know you wouldn't but still, I don't want to put you in that position just for me. It must be hard enough without temptation being left right under your nose."

"You know there are ways around it" Andy pointed out as he crossed the floor back to Sharon and once again ran his arms around her waist.

"Really? How so?"

"Well we could just move in together and then both I and a bottle of wine would always be on hand to you anytime the mood took you."

"Yes because I desperately need one just to put up with the other" Sharon joked. Suddenly her face dropped as she prepared to broach this suddenly serious switch in the conversation. She ran her hands up his leather jacket and held onto the collar making sure he couldn't run anywhere. "Listen Andy…."

Andy was quick to stop her from going any further. "I know, I know. Slow down. You're not even close to being there yet. Forget I mentioned it" he said quickly as his eyes dropped to the floor.

"I'm sorry. I will get there just not yet." Sharon placed her hand under his chin and lifted his face to look him in the eyes. "You know I love you."

"I know and I love you too. I'm sorry I'm impatient."

"Oh Andy you're not impatient. You're the most patient man I've ever met. You must be to put up with me. I just don't want to rush into this."

"Sharon no one could accuse you of rushing into anything. Ever! You over think practically everything to make sure you make the right decision so the fact with all that in mind you've chosen me makes me feel all the more special." Andy pushed a lose strand of hair off her face before joining their lips together.

"I don't mean to leave you dangling. But it's not just me. I'm sorry but I come as a package deal with a teenager who has issues with change and he definitely needs more time. We'll get there, I promise but I, but we just need more time."

"I understand" Andy said quietly. He could kick himself for having brought it up as he knew what Sharon's response would be but simply couldn't help himself. He loved her and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and couldn't wait for that to begin. "I'll wait for you, both of you. It's just I look at Provenza and Patrice and they're engaged…what? Less than a year after they met and we've known each other since forever and we've only just…"

Sharon was quick to interrupt him by pressing her lips to his while her arms wrapped back around him. She knew exactly what he was going to say and if she was honest she felt a little bad about it but in her mind it simply couldn't be helped. Spending the evening with Provenza and Patrice had really brought it home for Andy, the differences in their respective relationships. Provenza and Patrice had met and gone out on their first date in just over 24 hours. In comparison Andy and Sharon had known each other for just over two decades. Within that time they had been adversaries for three years, colleagues for four years, friends for two years and now dating for five months. Provenza and Patrice had been arranging weekends away after just a month together. Andy and Sharon went to the movies. Lots and lots of movies. Provenza and Patrice moved in together after eight months and got engaged four months later. It had taken Andy five months to see Sharon naked. In relation to the rest of the world their relationship wasn't progressing that slowly, but in comparison to Provenza and Patrice it was like they were travelling at a snail's pace. Andy wasn't complaining he really wasn't but when he was faced with what his friend had he couldn't help but feel envious at the pace they were able to go. Yet he fully understood and accepted Sharon's request to take things slowly. Sharon was very deliberate with everything she did. Every decision required great thought. He knew that going in so it was no real surprise when she applied it to their relationship. He actually loved her all the more for it. It was who she was after all. She was cautious. She did take her time and if he truly loved her which he did then he had to love that part of her as well. And yet he couldn't help but feel the opposite. He could have died a month ago. That changes a person. What were they waiting for? Then there was the work side of things. The more he thought about it the more he realised Sharon was right, they had to take things slowly to ensure it was possible to date and work together. If it didn't work out he didn't know what he'd do. Before Sharon work was all he had. With Sharon he could contemplate a life of lazy afternoons after retirement but if they didn't work as a couple and it became awkward at work so he was almost forced into retirement, what would he do for the rest of his life without work or Sharon? Drink?

As they broke apart Sharon smiled at him. "I know. It will happen I promise but for now there are certain advantages to us not living together."

"Oh yeah? Such as?"

"Such as there is zero chance of Rusty walking in here right now" Sharon said as she removed her glasses and pushed them down the kitchen counter and out of the way.

Andy looked at her slightly perplexed for a moment. "And why would that matter?"

Sharon smiled as she bit her lip. She looked at the floor briefly before meeting his eyes. "Because I'm not wearing any underwear."

Andy's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" he said in a state of shock as he began to frantically tug on his ear.

"You heard me" Sharon said confidently. She laughed as Andy looked completely dumbfounded. "Andy it's not flattering to look so shocked." Sharon pressed her lips to his as he continued to stand there stunned with his mouth open like a goldfish.

Eventually Andy regained control of his mouth and managed to force out some words of a fairly coherent nature. "You went commando to Provenza's house? For Christmas drinks?!"

As Sharon smiled and nodded at Andy a thousand and one thoughts flashed through his mind at the same time making him feel dizzy. He suddenly realised why she'd been acting so peculiar all night, why she was walking oddly, why she wouldn't stop yanking at the hem of her dress. But more importantly than that he was completely overwhelmed with shock. He'd never been shocked by a woman before with the exception of Mrs Williams who he once found in his bedroom going through his underwear one weekend when he came back inside from taking the garbage out. By now he thought he knew Sharon pretty well. What was clear from the outset was that she was incredibly careful with her actions, so straight laced. So by the book, so guarded. Since it had taken just over five months to get her into bed he never expected anything like this in his wildest dreams. It was so out of character from anything he had ever experienced from her, so unexpected he was equal parts shocked and turned on. Damn it if it wasn't the sexiest thing anyone had ever done for him.

As Sharon looked at Andy she could see the wheels turning in his mind as he processed what she had just told him. Once again he looked beyond adorable. Suddenly he spoke. "Oh my God I love you!"

As Andy wrapped his arms around Sharon and pressed himself against her in a passionate embrace on the kitchen counter there was one piece of vital information he didn't have. If Sharon was perfectly honest she hadn't intended to go to her second in command's house for Christmas drinks with him and his fiancée without any underwear on, it had happened purely by accident in so much as these things can happen by accident. As she was getting dressed for dinner that evening she had inexplicably forgotten where she would be spending the evening. Thinking purely about Andy and spending the night with him alone at his house she never gave drinks with Patrice and Provenza a second thought despite the fact she was really looking forward to it and that's when the idea hit her. It really wasn't like her at all and she'd never done it before, in fact it made her blush just thinking about it, but she thought to herself what if she went over there, to Andy's house minus her underwear. She could just picture the look on his face as she told him. Those beautiful brown eyes widening as he processed the information and pulled on his earlobe. He wouldn't expect it that's for certain and she was forever trying to prove to him (not that she really needed to, Andy was constantly surprised by her) that she could be wild and spontaneous or the Sharon Raydor equivalent of wild and spontaneous at any rate. Seconds later the idea was immediately dismissed out of hand as she reminded herself that she wasn't a teenager for the hundredth time that week. Being in your 60s with one failed marriage behind you tends to put the nut crackers on spur of the moment ideas such as discarding your underwear to turn your boyfriend on. Then just as quickly as she turned to leave the bathroom she changed her mind once again and after a quick shimmy down her legs and flick over her right shoulder, Sharon left her bedroom minus her panties and instead wearing the biggest of filthy smiles.

With Rusty out for the evening already on his first date with Gus (Sharon had told Patrice and Provenza the slightly better version of events for Rusty's sake. Rusty was so nervous the night before after they arrived home from the Christmas party it was unclear whether he was going to cry or wet himself and actually arrived at the restaurant two hours before they agreed to meet), Sharon opened her front door and greeted Andy with her horrific 'sex eyes' and silence. After she registered what he was wearing and how he was smouldering it was quickly followed by a kiss that showed her intentions for the evening and that left him completely speechless and more than a tad weak at the knees. Ten minutes later the tables were turned and Sharon became speechless and mortified beyond all belief when Andy started driving in the opposite direction than she expected.

"Is the freeway blocked?"

"Nope."

"Then where are we going?" she asked slightly perplexed but hoping to hide it.

"Provenza's. Remember? We're going for drinks."

Sharon went as white as a sheet as the horror struck. She would have to spend the entire evening with her Lieutenant and his fiancée with no underwear on. There are worse things in the world that could happen to a person but at that moment in time, Sharon couldn't think of one. When they arrived outside of Provenza's house and Sharon climbed out of the car like someone had superglued her knees together Andy had noticed immediately and asked what was wrong. She briefly thought about telling him the truth just to see the look on his face but she knew Andy too well. Andy was a gentleman, he was chivalrous and more than touch attentive to her in (thankfully) all aspects of their relationship but he was also a guy, a real guy and she knew he'd knock his cranberry and soda back in one, ice and swizzle stick and all, and be dragging her back to his place like a sex obsessed cave man within minutes of arriving and as much as she was fully on board with that suggestion (it was basically her intention with her wardrobe choice or lack thereof to begin with) it wasn't the purpose of the evening. The purpose of the evening was to have the first (of what would fingers crossed presumably be many although that seemed a little unlikely after the events of the evening) couples evening with some very close friends with or without underwear (preferably with on all future outings).

Throughout the evening it was the only thing Sharon could think about as she had visions of something like a scene from _Basic_ _Instinct_ accidentally playing out in front of Lieutenant Provenza if she became too relaxed. Sharon knew she'd frightened everyone when her cell phone hit the floor and as Provenza stooped to retrieve it her cry of 'NO!' almost shattered the windows but rather they think her strange than discover the truth. As she sat there she couldn't help but envision Provenza dropping something of his own and crouching down to pick it up. His eyes bulging as he caught sight of something completely unexpected and he became unable to ever look her in the eye again and vice versa or worse, his eyes bulging as he grabbed hold of his chest and collapsed on the floor from the shock. The house being lit up by the flashing red and blue lights from the paramedics as he was wheeled away into the ambulance. His last words to Patrice about what he'd seen, what caused him to have a heart attack as he clutched his chest one final time and breathed his last breath. Word quickly spreading around the whole of the LAPD about what finally killed the formidable Lieutenant Louie Provenza.

As Sharon moved about the house she had all the attributes of a mermaid as she kept her knees together in a fashion that her mother would have been proud of as no one failed to notice how oddly she was behaving. If she was honest she had no idea why she was walking with her knees so close together. No one could see that she was going commando but Sharon was so mortified that all rational thought went straight out of the window as she did everything she could to make sure no one discovered the truth. She'd picked that sundress to wear specifically because Andy loved her in it. The only problem was every tiny puff of air or sudden movement had the bottom playfully swishing around and potentially revealing more than it should. She was one gust of wind away from giving everyone more of a show that Marilyn Monroe in _The Seven Year Itch_. As the evening progressed she became convinced that her dress kept riding up on her like the curtain on an opening night on Broadway. It almost bordered on obsessive compulsive disorder as she tugged the hem of if down every thirty seconds. Why oh why had she chosen a dress that only came to just above her knees? Why hadn't she picked something that covered her from head to toe? Why didn't she own a burka? Why did she think it was a good idea to leave the condo without her underwear on? Why? Why?! The one thing that her Grandmother had taught her above all else was not to leave the house unless you had matching underwear on in case you get run over and need to go to the hospital and yet here she was leaving the house without any on at all. The light and pleasant LA breeze had gone places it never had done before. The decision had been made, Sharon was never leaving the house without underwear again, in fact it was highly likely she'd wear an additional pair of panties just to make certain.

Choosing to confide in Patrice in the privacy of the yard as they attempted to bond, Sharon began to relax slightly following her instant laughter at her whispered revelation but didn't fully feel the weight leaving her shoulders until they walked out of the Provenza household and she successfully won the battle to climb back into the car without flashing her 'lady garden' (as Gavin had delightfully described it when he encouraged her to wax everything to within an inch of its life before her first date with Andy) to half the neighbourhood.

What was a spur of the moment and completely uncharacteristic and spontaneous act for her boyfriend's sole benefit resulted in anything but a relaxing and stress free evening for Sharon but in that exact moment, in Andy's kitchen, with their lips pressed together and Sharon's legs wrapped around his waist, Andy didn't need to know that.

As their lips came apart for the first time primarily so that Andy could make a beeline for Sharon's neck his right hand started to slowly make its way from her knee and up her leg on a mission to discover if she was really telling the truth or not. Rightly or wrongly it was at that moment that Sharon chose to make her second confession of the night. Breathlessly in his ear she whispered "By the way Andy, I took your coffee."


	12. Chapter 12

_Once again thank you very much for all your kind reviews for my last chapter. They are appreciated more than you will know. If you would like to leave a review for this chapter I would really appreciate that too or if you fancy a chat on Twitter you can find me at DHPLover. Also thank you for those who read and reviewed my other story_ _ **Just One More Thing**_ _. I've been asked if that will continue and the answer is yes but I'm not sure how._

 _Option 1: If Andy did indeed have a heart attack at the end of White Lies Part Three then_ _ **Just One More Thing**_ _will be taken apart, expanded to spread across several chapters, be re-written to fit and will continue in that way in_ _ **At the End of the Day**_ _(because believe it or not I have a lot of missing scenes that relate to season five already written if people are still interested by that point. For example in the latter half of the chapter_ _ **Just One More Thing**_ _will become it will be Jack downstairs and Sharon's car won't start meaning she'll have to go back into PAB and get a ride off Provenza)._

 _Option 2: If Andy didn't have a heart attack and it was stress related or something then I will add another chapter to_ _ **Just One More Thing**_ _if for no other reason that I'd quite like to see what Rusty's reaction will be when he returns home the following morning._

 _Since I've been asked about it yet again let me say that yes the characters in this story are slightly older than they appear in other stories. Since no age has been mentioned for any of them in either The Closer or Major Crimes (apart from Rusty) I made the conscious decision to elect to use the age of the actors playing each character (again Rusty aside). This places them probably a good five years if not more older than they may actually be but it helps me keep track rather than guessing at an age (which I am rubbish at). If you don't like it, simply change the age in your own mind as you read, no problem._

 _To ensure I don't have to change the rating on this story (and because I'm a tea drinker and I can't and don't want to write anything more graphic, I can't write sexy let alone sex) some more realistic elements have been deliberately omitted from the opening of this chapter to keep it PG-13 rather than R rated. Similarly I have also killed off a couple of characters in this chapter for the purpose of my story. If they put in an appearance during the course of the show I will alter, tweak and replace the chapter but it's not that big of a deal. Likewise I've mixed a bit of Tony Denison's heritage with Andy's. Oh and the dream that's mentioned, if you follow me on Twitter you'll know that's a recurring dream of mine. That woman REALLY hates me._

 _I'll be honest I don't really like this chapter. It originally started as a flashback in a Christmas Eve chapter but as it got longer and longer I chose to dedicate a whole chapter to it. At university my favourite challenge in my screenwriting classes was trapping two characters together and seeing what they talk about and this is essentially what this chapter is. It's just a conversation between two people. It's not funny, it's not romantic and there's no plot, it's just a conversation and a lot of pure, unapologetic, unadulterated fluff. As I said, I don't like it but I hope you will since I've spent so much time working on it without finding the ingredient I think it's missing (probably plot). I tried to make it short, I failed. It's another long one, almost as long as this author's note. Expect Chapter 15 on Christmas Day to be even longer and maybe Chapter 18 with a Provenza's bachelor party will take some reading too but that's for the future._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up (and let's be generous to Andy) a short while after the last chapter ended._

 _Some utter fluff because we all need a smile now more than ever. Enjoy.  
_  
 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twelve**

It was no understatement to say that Rosie Kearny was a somewhat sexually repressed woman, case in point she went to bed on her wedding night with a knitting needle clutched firmly in her hands, her new husband terrified to lay a hand on her and with good reason. However it wasn't always the case. Up until the age of eighteen Rosie slept with everyone in pants that happened to pass through her small village in Ireland, usually more than once if she got the chance. Then suddenly she stopped and bordered on behaving like a Nun for the rest of her life. The reasons behind this sudden change remain a mystery to this day. Some say it was because of one too many pregnancy scares. Others said it was because she simply ran out of men. Sharon liked to believe that her Grandmother simply started to take her religion more seriously, a trait she inherited from her. Whatever the reason she changed a great deal. This was needless to say a tad unfortunate for her future husband, the devilishly handsome but slightly simple minded Brendan O'Dwyer. Sharon's Grandfather was not good with women, at all (the complete opposite of the gentleman Sharon currently found herself rather fond of). He could never understand why something with so many moving parts didn't come with even a basic user's manual. This wasn't helped by Rosie only letting him find parts of her anatomy that she wanted him to find and that wasn't very many. Poor Brendan thought that a clitoris was a town in south east Russia for the better part of his life. Rosie maintained that all sexual desire could and should be suppressed at the hands of a good corset and encouraged Sharon to buy one the moment she turned sixteen.

As Sharon grew up she spent a lot of time with her Grandmother, listening intently to everything she had to say on a wide variety of subjects. From a very early age she taught Sharon a list of rules to live by, a list to keep her out of trouble. A list of things she should never do, under any circumstances. Although some of them were hard to abide by, Sharon remembered that list with fondness and tried (sometimes not so hard) to live up to the prime example set by her Grandmother as best she could. First up on the list of 'Don'ts' was 'Don't EVER look anyone from Cork in the eye.' The reasons for this were never elaborated on but Sharon understood it had something to do with 'souls being stolen.' She wasn't sure how she was supposed to identify anyone from Cork even if she met them but agreed to it regardless. Next was 'Don't EVER put anything in your mouth you haven't thoroughly washed first.' The least said about that the better Sharon thought after she realised why her Grandmother kept a large bottle of bleach by her bed and not for the first time she felt very sorry for her poor Grandfather. Next and most importantly was 'Don't EVER have intercourse where you eat.' This included tables, chairs, anywhere in the kitchen, the yard, the living room and the stairs (since when the stairs were a place to eat or have regular sex Sharon didn't know but didn't want to argue). Although extreme Sharon actually accepted and followed this rule if for no other reason than any place you could eat was usually too uncomfortable to have sex anyway. Then there was the stuff of nightmares once Sharon was old enough to realise what her Grandmother was saying to her. 'Don't EVER let him forget to whip it out before he's finished.' Sharon didn't want to talk about contraception with her Grandmother. She wanted to discuss the ins and outs of not using it with her even less. At times Sharon wished she had that bottle of bleach from next to her Grandmother's bed to pour into her mind's eye. After years of fornicating like it was going out of fashion Rosie saw it as being solely for either procreation or to be endured while a man worked off his devil fuelled needs. Finally there was 'Don't EVER allow yourself to be morally corrupted by a man' something that was a lot easier said than done in Sharon's experience.

The _Oxford English Dictionary_ describes the word 'corrupt' as ' _cause to become morally depraved_.' Sharon had often thought of herself as a completely incorruptible person, especially when it came to work. She had spent the majority of her career in IA tasked with investigating the corrupted and the depraved amongst those who should be held to a much higher account. More personally however she would admit that she had been corrupted once or twice from time to time. It was usually by men and it usually involved sex (doesn't it always she thought). Jack was the first one, as he would be. If ever there was a bad influence it was Jack Raydor (until a certain Andy Flynn came along). Jack was more than partial to a quick bunk up on the back seat of his car, conceiving Emily there along the way for good measure. Apart from it being as uncomfortable as all hell (and not just when Sharon almost smashed the back window with her heel), Sharon wasn't a fan because to her there was no thrill in the idea that they could get caught in flagrante delicto. As an aspiring lawyer at the time the last thing she wanted was an indecent exposure and lewd behaviour in public charge on her permanent record but Jack talked her into it as usual, corrupting her into doing things she didn't want to do as usual. Then of course there was the time they did it atop of a broken down Ferris wheel on Santa Monica pier. With rescue seemingly hours away and with no one able to see them at the very top except overly curious birds, Jack once again talked her into 'a quickie while we wait.' Sharon eventually agreed when Jack once again uttered the immortal phrase 'If you can be quick, I can be quiet.' Sharon kept up her end of the bargain, albeit deceitfully, fooling him with a better performance than the Southern Californian Mute Society's annual production of ' _that_ ' scene from _When Harry Met Sally_ while Jack's cries as he orgasmed could be heard as far away as Burbank giving the game away completely as the rescue took place below them.

When it came to Andy things were very different. Whereas it always took a lot of persuasion from Jack to get Sharon to do things that were against her better judgement, Andy didn't need to persuade her at all. Sharon was right on board from the very first moment with whatever he suggested, in the last week or so anyway. Yes they hadn't done some of the things that she got up to with Jack (mainly because they'd only been together physically for just over a week and she was a lot younger back then, they both were) but quite frankly it was only a matter of time the way she felt about him, the way she wanted him. In the past Sharon equated having sex to buying a house, it was all about 'Location, Location, Location.' She'd never had sex in the kitchen before mainly because of her Grandmother's list. In comparison to the back seat of a car (and on one occasion on the hood) or a Ferris wheel or in Andy's case one unfortunate incident in the occult section of the Los Angeles Public Library, it was no big deal. The difference was, no persuasion was needed. None at all. The thought of sex in the kitchen would never have crossed her mind before, ruling it out instantly because aside from what had been drummed into her as a child, sex and food preparation areas simply don't mix. Her Grandmother would have been disgusted in her behaviour but then again her idea of foreplay was removing her stockings, closing her eyes and clutching the Bible until it was all over. Her Grandmother would have considered it 'unhygienic,' in all fairness so would Sharon prior to wrapping her legs around Andy's waist after she confessed her underwear had stayed home alone on that particular evening. Oh boy would her Grandmother have been disgusted by it but it wasn't like there was an imprint of her backside in the butter. Regardless at that moment in time Sharon didn't care. She didn't care that it was unhygienic. She didn't care that she was suddenly easily corruptible once again and went against everything she'd been taught since the age of four. All she cared about was cherishing every single second she spent in the company of that smug, moody, bad tempered, handsome, love of her life.

After the initial cacophony of sound and frenzy of movement stillness and silence fell over the kitchen save for the heavy breathing and gasping for air from its two exhausted occupants. Sharon sat on the corner of the kitchen counter, her eyes closed with her head resting against the wall cabinet behind her. She looked extremely flushed and just as equally dishevelled, desperately trying to catch her breath as one hand rested over her heart and the other in her now completely untamed and wild looking hair. Her legs dangled over the edge of the counter, swinging slightly with her heels repeatedly coming into contact with the cabinets, making it bang quietly. She opened her eyes and squinted to see clearly. Her glasses were on the counter but currently out of reach.

Sharon took another deep breath and sighed. "Oh my God."

"You took the words right out of my mouth" came the distant and exhausted reply from Andy as he likewise continued to try and catch his breath. "Oh God!"

"Where did that come from?" Sharon asked with a smile.

"Beats me, you started it"

Sharon laughed as she continued to breathe deeply. "I started it? How?"

"You said the magic word" Andy replied.

"What 'Banana'?" Sharon asked before they both started laughing. She still had no idea why both Andy and Provenza ended their argument a few hours earlier by screaming 'Banana' at each other at the top of their lungs but knew she'd be able to tease them both over it for many weeks to come. Sharon sighed again. "What happened to Nervous and Shy Andy? The shy Andy who last week struggled to put his hand on my hip without a written invitation. He wouldn't have just done that."

Andy laughed, thrilled that those days were now well and truly behind them. "Are you complaining?"

Sharon shook her head enthusiastically even though Andy couldn't currently see her do it. "Not in the slightest. I'm just curious."

"I told you, Assertive and Confident Andy killed him."

"Remind me to send him some flowers" Sharon said as she sat herself up a little straighter.

"A lot can change in a week" Andy added.

"I'll say." As Sharon's breathing started to settle down Andy let out a very long, very loud sigh. "Are you okay down there?" Sharon asked with genuine concern, a concern that she may break him and send him to the hospital at any moment.

Beneath Sharon's dangling legs Andy lay flat on his back on the kitchen floor. He looked as equally dishevelled as Sharon, aside from the fact that his jeans were currently bunched around his ankles. He was also just as flustered, his chest rising and falling quicker than Sharon's as he still tried valiantly to catch his breath. "My legs have gone" Andy replied as he briefly glanced at his lower limbs that completely gave way from beneath him moments ago and caused him to lie on the floor until they started to work again.

"Your what?"

"I've lost all feeling in my legs" Andy replied very matter-of-factly, a slight exaggeration but after his most recent physical exertion they were temporarily no longer able to take his weight for a moment.

"Oh so nothing too serious then?"

Andy raised his hand and gripped onto Sharon's foot that was dangling just inches above his head, gently rubbing his fingers over the top of it. "I'm fine but I'm just going to lie here for a moment until I get my breath back and I can walk again. Or I die, whichever comes first." Andy sighed again as he continued to caress Sharon's foot, a smile spreading across his face. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice over the last week or so." Sharon placed her hands on the edge of the kitchen counter and leant forward, peering over the edge to see how Andy was doing. She smiled at him. "Hello."

Andy's smile spread from ear to ear as Sharon looked down at him. "Hi" he responded with a wink. "You look a little flushed" he pointed out.

"I can't imagine why. Andy are you sure you're okay?" The concern from Sharon was real and in her mind completely warranted given the circumstances. They were both a little too old for sex on the kitchen counter but the moment got the better of them and they didn't make it any further after Sharon confessed all about why she was walking and behaving so oddly all evening. She breathlessly warned him that he'd regret it later on if they didn't move to somewhere more comfortable or at the very least somewhere more horizontal but they got too carried away too quickly and barely moved half an inch and only managed to remove Andy's pants before passion and more specifically lust took over and they did it (a tad uncomfortably) right there and then. Ordinarily someone's legs giving way after such 'exercise' wouldn't be that big of a deal but Sharon was still worried about Andy after his clot if he so much as sneezed too loudly.

"I'm fine or I will be in a minute" Andy said as he registered the real reason behind Sharon's concern. He sighed again as his breathing started to calm down and became more regular. "If you're trying to kill me you're going the right way about it" he joked as his hand moved to gently stroke up and down Sharon's leg.

"That wasn't exactly my plan. Besides Patrice went to great lengths tonight to reassure me that it was highly unlikely that I'd actually kill you."

"Fair enough" Andy replied without thinking, then his brain kicked into gear as he processed what Sharon had said and more specifically what that meant. "Wait? What? Is this what you were talking to Patrice about in the yard?" he asked a little horrified. He was loathed to admit it but Provenza was right, Sharon and Patrice had been having a 'girly chat' about them in the yard. The fear about what they were saying about them both surged through his body as his eyes widened.

"Possibly" Sharon said very dismissively.

"Possibly?" Andy repeated.

"Amongst other things." Sharon smirked, knowing full well what a flap both gentlemen would be in if they discovered the full extent of their private conversation.

"What did you say to her?" Andy asked as his voice went higher than she'd ever heard it before, his embarrassment evident. In fact his voice got so high a disorientated bat nearly flew into the kitchen window as a result.

Sharon tried to hide her smile. "Oh you know, this and that" she replied teasing him as much as she could. Andy raised his head off the floor and looked at her alarmed. "Nothing to tarnish your reputation with members of the opposite sex, don't worry."

Andy laid his head back down and puffed out his cheeks, feeling suddenly a little hot under the collar. "You've made me blush."

Sharon laughed before her face grimaced and her hand immediately moved to her back. She rubbed it as she stretched. "I think we're getting a bit too old for this" she stated plainly as she continued to rub the pain in her back.

Andy scoffed. "Speak for yourself."

"Andy you're lying on the floor" Sharon pointed out, the evidence irrefutable.

"I'm just recharging my batteries while I wait for my second wind to kick in" Andy maintained, fooling no one, not even himself.

"Second?"

"Or seventh." They both laughed.

"Try checking your pulse just to make sure" Sharon said as she leant back against the kitchen cabinets, resting her back to stop the slight ache she was experiencing.

"I don't know how."

"Neither do I but that's never stopped me" Sharon joked. They both laughed again. It was true. Sharon was forever checking Andy's pulse. Over the last nine days since they had started sleeping together she had done it before she allowed him to see even an ounce of naked flesh even though she had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She would grip his wrist, or his finger, or place her fingers of his neck (and on one really weird moment on his ankle as it was the first part of him she could get her hands on) to check his pulse and just make extra sure he wasn't going to suddenly die on her. "Just do what Patrice did. Put your finger on your pulse and look at your watch at the same time."

"Okay." Andy instantly complied and did as instructed, anything to stop Sharon from panicking about something she didn't need to.

Sharon waited a moment before asking "And?"

Andy looked at his watch. "It's 12:15" he replied referring to the time. He knew just as much as Sharon did when it came to checking pulses. They both laughed again before more deep sighs escaped from their lips, their breathing finally becoming normal again.

Sharon chuckled to herself. "You know my Grandmother once told me that the greatest pleasure a person could experience in the kitchen was the ecstasy they felt when an upside down pineapple cake came out perfectly."

"She was wrong" Andy replied instantly.

"Oh boy was she wrong" Sharon agreed before they both started laughing again. As silence descended on the room Sharon glanced around her, straining her eyes and looking for her missing glasses. "What happened to my glasses?"

"You took them off and slid them down the counter before you started pawing me."

Choosing to ignore Andy's comment, not for the first time, Sharon replied "You're always making me lose my glasses" as she reached down the counter to retrieve her eyewear and put them back on.

"Me?" Andy asked innocently.

"Yes you. Wicked man corrupting me."

"Me corrupt you?"

"Yes" Sharon insisted. "As has been made crystal clear tonight the only one in this kitchen with a reputation for no good and shenanigans is you." If the argument at Provenza's house had done anything it was to let Sharon know just how many of the rumours about Andy were true and also what an unbelievable idiot he could be around anyone with breasts.

"Shenanigans?"

"What else would you call what took place between you and those flight attendants?" Sharon asked as Darth Raydor put in an appearance. Andy almost felt like he was in an IA interrogation.

"High spirits?" he suggested hopefully before his face fell and he relented. "Okay, fine shenanigans but only one person walked into this kitchen tonight with their underwear on and I think you'll find that was me" he added smugly, removing his hand from her leg for the first time and folding his arms neatly on his chest, his point well made.

Sharon was quick to respond. "Exactly you've proved my point, you've corrupted me just as people, specifically Chief Taylor, Andrea Hobbs, Gavin, your children, my children and every single member of our division, warned me you would."

Andy immediately started laughing as his hand moved back to Sharon's leg dangling above him as he began to caress it once more. "Since I'm such a bad influence why don't you come down here and let me corrupt you some more" he said with almost a growl.

Sharon paused for a moment. "It all depends, are you going to make me lose my glasses again?"

Andy took another deep breath before he said "Eventually" as he wished he had the powers of recovery he did when he was a teenager or even at this point, from ten years ago.

"Then how can I resist?" Sharon shuffled down the counter slightly so that when she jumped down she didn't step on her rather prone looking boyfriend on the floor. When she took to her feet she stood by Andy's and stared at him for a moment, his gaze meeting hers as they smiled at each other. He looked quite a sight, beyond dishevelled with his jeans still by his ankles, face flushed. "You look like you've been attacked by a bear" she said finally.

"I feel like it" he said with a wink before they both laughed again.

"Charming!" Sharon replied as she couldn't help but laugh. She'd been called a lot of things in her life, not all of them pleasant and mainly by her ex-husband and whoever she just so happened to be investigating at the time but it was the first time she'd affectionately been called a 'bear.' "Here" she said as she grabbed a cushion from one of the chairs around the table and put it under Andy's head.

"Thank you."

Sharon looked Andy up and down and smiled. She was quickly reminded of when she would send Ricky off to get dressed for school when he was seven or eight. He was quite possibly the least coordinated boy in the western world at that time with his current haircut proving he hadn't improved much either. Ricky would usually return twenty minutes later with his head sticking out of his arm hole of a t-shirt and both legs down the same leg of his shorts, bunny hoping towards her and she'd have to finish the job. She bent down and started to pull Andy's jeans back up his legs, a job which was much harder than it originally looked. "This is like trying to dress a toddler" she said as she battled to get them past his backside.

"You should have thought about that before you dropped my pants to my ankles and assaulted me" Andy replied with a grin.

"I didn't drop your pants to your ankles" Sharon protested.

"But you did assault me?" Andy's eyes twinkled.

Sharon couldn't hide her smile no matter how hard she tried. "Maybe but you started it" she confessed. "I just unbuckled your belt, gravity took care of the rest."

"So it's gravity's fault?"

"Absolutely."

"I'm not entirely sure that excuse would stand up in court" Andy pointed out.

"Which is exactly why I like deals so much." With his jeans now pulled back up to his waist Sharon lowered herself down to straddle him and buckle up his belt but before she had chance Andy's arms were wrapped around her waist.

"Come here" he said as he pulled Sharon towards him, kissing her for a moment, finishing what he started before he needed to lie down. Eventually Sharon rested her head on his chest as he slowly stroked her back with his fingertips.

"What happened to the cup of coffee you offered me?" Sharon asked as she closed her eyes and relaxed for a brief moment.

"I got distracted."

"You're very easily distracted."

"Evidently so but only by you." Andy tightened his grip on Sharon as he held her against his chest. They stayed like that in silence for a moment before he kissed the top of her head and smiled. "I can't believe you drank my coffee and didn't say anything."

"It was an accident" Sharon mumbled unconvincingly.

"An accident?"

Sharon nodded. "Yes that's what I'm sticking with."

"It accidentally jumped down your throat?" Andy asked with his disbelief evident as he played along with Sharon.

Sharon turned her head to rest her chin on Andy's chest and look him in the eye. "If it makes you feel any better people can't explain crop circles either."

Andy laughed loudly as he returned to rubbing her back. "I spent all day arguing with Provenza over it" he said refusing to let the 'Great Coffee Scandal of 2015' rest without making Sharon squirm as much as possible, despite the more than satisfactory 'apology' he had received against the kitchen counter a few minutes earlier. "You heard me. You threatened to suspend us both if we didn't shut up. Mike even pelted a stapler at me."

"Yeah I felt a bit bad about that" Sharon said sheepishly before kissing him quickly on the lips and sitting back up to attempt to buckle his belt.

Andy raised his head to look her in the eye. "But not enough to own up to your crime?"

"Nope" Sharon replied with more than a hint of pride.

"And instead you disrupted the harmony, good order and discipline of your entire division" he responded judgingly as he shook his head and tutted loudly and disapprovingly. "Captain Raydor I'm so disappointed in you. What will Chief Taylor say when he finds out?"

After having dealt with his belt, Sharon had moved onto his zip and was on the verge of zipping it up. She glared at him. "Andy you're already on very thin ice after your behaviour this evening. Do you really think now is a good time to make fun of me when I'm attempting to zip up your jeans? I'd hate for anything to get" she paused for a moment as she thought of the appropriate word, "snagged shall we say, in these sharp metal teeth."

Andy's face dropped as his head hit the cushion, completely at the mercy of the woman sitting on top of him. "Take my coffee. Take everything I own." Sharon laughed as she zipped him up in one quick motion. With Andy suitable dressed again he pulled her back towards him, joining their lips together.

"Take everything you own huh? At least I wouldn't be the first woman to rob you."

"I thought we were forgetting that."

"I'll try but it's going to be hard" Sharon said with a wink as she rolled off Andy and snuggled up next to him. He put his arm around her, pulling her closer as she rested her head on his shoulder and they stared up at the ceiling. After a moment Sharon adjusted her position causing her to wince before rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "Ow."

Andy immediately looked at her worried. "Did I hurt you?"

"No I banged the back of my head on the cabinet" she replied dismissively.

"I'm sorry" Andy said guiltily before kissing the top of her head.

"Oh hush." Sharon put her finger on his mouth for a second to silence him. She'd only bumped her head, it was no big deal and not like it came about because she was forced into anything against her will. They lay on the floor in silence for a moment. "I don't need to take you to the ER do I?" she asked, trying and failing to hide her concern about his current prone position.

"No I'm fine. Sharon seriously you can stop worrying about me now. I may not be allowed to play outside with the other children yet but I'm fine. Really. Fit as a fiddle." Andy once again kissed the top of her head as he sought to reassure her. He was fine now, he really was but such was the nature of what happened to him and more precisely the rather invisible nature of it (aside from the cuts and bruises and black eye) that Sharon was having a hard time letting go of the worry she felt. Andy had an invisible problem that could easily have killed him, neither of them saw it coming and although it was now fixed she still struggled to believe it had really gone and wouldn't come back.

Sharon sighed. She knew she was behaving a little irrationally when it came to Andy and his health but she couldn't help herself. "I know but that doesn't mean this panicky feeling in the pit of my stomach is going to leave anytime soon."

"How about we make a deal? You stop worrying that I'm about to drop dead if I so much as bend over and pick up a pencil and I'll stop doing stupid things like jumping on moving cars. How does that sound?"

"Wonderful in theory but in practice I'm sorry I worry about you and I always will."

"Okay but there's a limit to what's healthy though. You're going to give yourself an ulcer. As grateful as I am I don't need you to be my nurse anymore unless you're wearing the appropriate outfit of course" Andy said with a grin as he pushed their lips together.

Sharon laughed. "Oh I'm sure Rusty would thrilled if he accidentally walked in on that. He already has Dr Joe on speed dial."

"If it makes you feel any better what if I promise that I'll stop keeping problems to myself?" Andy asked a little ill-advisedly. "Deal?"

Sharon immediately lifted her head to look him in the eyes. Her suddenly dramatic levels of concern were written all over her face. Sharon ran his words through her mind. 'Stop keeping problems to myself' implying that his initial secrecy that the Doctor thought he had something seriously wrong with him and the dizziness weren't the only secrets about his health that he was currently keeping from her. In many ways that was her biggest source of worry, that he kept these things to himself and it hadn't just happened once, it had happened three times. He didn't call after his initial fall, he didn't tell her that the Doctor wanted to urgently see him and he didn't tell her that he was experiencing side effects from his meds. In each case Andy only kept the information to himself so he didn't worry her but it backfired spectacularly and now only made her worry more about what else he could be keeping from her. What other troublesome secrets were being kept in order to protect her? "Why what are you keeping from me now? What's wrong?" she asked sounding a lot more panic stricken than she wanted to.

"Calm down. Nothing. Nothing at all" Andy replied quickly as he switched between kissing her on the head to manoeuvring her to rest her head back on his chest again. "I mean in the future. I'll stop keeping things from you in the future." Andy sighed, if only he'd been honest from the very beginning rather than trying to protect Sharon she wouldn't worry as much as she did now. "Look I know you have some lingering trust issues when it comes to my health because I didn't tell you what was going on but if I have so much as indigestion from now on I'll tell you immediately. Deal?"

Sharon drew her lip into her mouth and started to bite down on it a little bit embarrassed. "I've been smothering you haven't I?" she asked avoiding his eyes. She knew she had and she'd desperately tried to stop but simply couldn't help it. It wasn't that she was worried about his health per se, she knew he was fine. It was what was left unspoken between them that plagued her mind. Her mind kept drifting back to Andy being wheeled away for surgery with those three little words 'I love you' stuck in the back of her throat like a fish bone. Since she'd first said it (or rather shouted it) to him nine days ago she'd repeated it, a lot, they both had but it wasn't enough. She still had so much she wanted to say to him, letting him know just how much she loved him, that he was the love of her life and the idea that something could suddenly happen, out of the blue like it had last time, snatching him away from her, still filled her with fear. The notion that she could be robbed of thousands of nights of pillow talk, declarations of love as they approached PAB and reverted back to their previous relationship of Captain and Lieutenant, cuddling up together in front of a movie and every other small intimate moment they were becoming accustomed to sharing, drove Sharon to distraction and had her constantly on alert even though Andy was back to his normal self again (all bar the final hurdle of being allowed back into the field once more).

"Only a little bit" Andy replied generously. "But don't think for a second that I don't appreciate it, everything you've done for me. I probably wouldn't be here without you and the kid. But I'm better now. You can relax. Life can go back to how it was before I became human roadkill" he added as he joined their lips together again.

Sharon grinned. "You want everything to return to the way it was before your accident?" she asked before she returned the kiss, her hand moving up and down his body in a way that she wouldn't have dreamt of ten days ago let alone before his accident.

Andy smiled obscenely. "Only when it comes to my health." Their lips joined again until Andy asked "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal" Sharon agreed before sealing it with a kiss since they were in no position to shake hands. "But I'm still going to worry only more quietly" she promised as her lips moved to the very small mark left on his neck from his surgery. She kissed it a couple of times before resting her head back on his chest, listening to his heart beating soothingly in her ear. The room was filled with silence again for a moment before Sharon pointed out "In my defence I'm starting to lose count of the amount of times you've collapsed in front of me."

Andy laughed to himself and this notion that his family and friends shared that he had taken to suddenly collapsing at the drop of the hat on purpose. "The first time was only to earn your sympathy so you didn't try to investigate me again" he said as he vaguely recalled giving Sharon his gun and his statement before everything went black and waking up in hospital with Provenza looming over him, inappropriate balloon in hand. "I should have known better" he added as the image of the huge 'package' Sharon had clutched between her oh so perfectly manicured nails the next time he saw her brought a smile to his face. "I promise I'll never do it again. No more sudden collapses" he promised, crossing his heart with his fingers.

"I'm going to hold you to that." They continued to lie on the floor in silence until Sharon's eyes started to scan the area around them, looking rather proudly. "At least I know this floor is clean after Saturday." She was rather pleased with their efforts of the previous weekend. Andy always kept a clean and tidy house regardless of the condition she found the kitchen in the week before. At that point she didn't want to step foot in it let alone have sex with him in it on the counter. It had crossed her mind as she walked into the house when they arrived home how nice it was to walk in without wanting to vomit for both distance and accuracy because of the smell but she was far too busy giving Andy the silent treatment.

"At this moment in time I really don't care" Andy stated as they both laughed.

"No but your back will in about five minutes" Sharon correctly pointed out. It would only be a matter of time before he started making a noise like a ferret passing a kidney stone because his back hurt him from lying so flat on a hard surface and Sharon wouldn't be too far behind him. Again the room fell silent as they enjoyed the feel of each other as they cuddled up together even if it was in a rather unorthodox location. Suddenly Sharon flinched as she again scanned the room with haste. "If we stay down here are you sure that a rat isn't about to run out from behind that fridge and jump on me?" she asked.

"Completely, one hundred percent sure" Andy assured her as he smiled. "I promise. No more rats are getting in this kitchen while I'm living here. Other than the Former Queen of the Rat Squad naturally" he said quickly as he waited for Sharon to react by attacking the back of his knees. As he moved to protect his knees Sharon opted to smack him on the chest instead. "Ow!"

"That's still not funny" Sharon said in a tone that expressed how unimpressed she was even though her smile told a different story.

Andy laughed to himself as his eyes sparkled, clearly plotting something. Suddenly he cried "Oh shit! What's that?!" as he pointed towards the fridge and the location where the 'other rat' had apparently entered his house a week earlier.

Sharon immediately bolted upright, absolutely terrified. "What?! Where?!" she screamed as Andy started to gently tickle the back of her arm, doing the best impression of a rat brushing past her as he could. Sharon immediately froze. "Andy! There's something touching my arm!" she shouted as her head snapped around to discover Andy's hand. Andy laughed hysterically as Sharon playfully smacked him across his chest. "Andy! You're so mean. You know sometimes I have to remind myself why it is exactly that I love you. It's certainly not for your sense of humour."

"I thought it was my backside and my smile" Andy suggested as he grinned which only caused Sharon to finally pinch the back of his knees. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist" he added with a huge smile, enjoying her reaction.

The last person in the world you would think to compare Andy Flynn to would be Julie Andrews in _The Sound of Music_ but they did in fact have a couple of things in common. No Andy didn't spin on mountain tops while having a good sing song or used to be a Nun or want to marry a Navy Captain from a country without a shoreline. Apart from a shared hatred of Nazis (with that loathing only set to grow further over the next twelve months and beyond) Andy was also a fan of listing his favourite things, all of which these days involved Sharon Raydor (he just didn't openly sing about them with a pack of lederhosen clad children around a fountain). Top of the list of his favourite things he liked to do with Sharon could not be shared in polite society but the more family friendly version revealed just the kind of relationship they now had. Andy Flynn's favourite things in the world were to tease Sharon, to joke with Sharon and to otherwise make Sharon react with laughter or a playful slap on his arm or a pinch of his knees. Sharon's laugh was like a drug to him and he simply could not get enough of it. Luckily for him when they were together they both laughed a lot and as long as that continued they envisaged spending the rest of their lives together quite comfortably without any major problems.

"Come here." Andy reached up and pulled Sharon back down to him, running his arms around her as he shifted onto his side slightly and held her to his chest. Now facing each other more comfortably and sharing the cushion beneath their heads he joined their lips together, once, twice, three times before sighing contently. "This has suddenly become my favourite room in the entire house."

"That's a coincidence. Me too."

"It would have been better without my neighbour watching through the window" Andy joked. Sharon quickly swiped at the back of his head before her hand moved lower and started to slowly rub Andy's back. "Since we're having an evening of confessions…."

Sharon raised her eyebrows. "Confessions? Is that what we're calling it?"

"Yeah why what would you call it?"

"Two grown men trying to see who could get the other in the most trouble regardless of the consequences because they're a couple of prized idiots" Sharon replied once again showing that despite what had come to pass in that kitchen more recently she was still less than impressed with Andy's behaviour at Provenza's house. She wasn't much impressed with her Lieutenant's behaviour either but since they were off the clock when it happened had no right to extract revenge upon him although she was prepared to give it a good go.

"Okay since we're having a night where..." Andy thought of a more appropriate expression, "certain unfortunate information is being shared I have to ask, where exactly did you leave your underwear?" Andy smiled as Sharon started to chew on her lip almost immediately. "In your purse? On the side of the road? At PAB?" he offered as he continued to smile at the embarrassment currently sweeping over the woman in his arms. "As much as I love the idea that you potentially did this just for me I fail to believe you meant to go to Provenza's house without your panties on purpose."

Sharon continued to bite on her lip as she smiled. "What makes you say that?"

Andy stared at her with a 'Do you really need to ask?' expression plastered across his face. "Well in hindsight the way you were walking like you were trying to hatch an egg between your thighs all night. You looked like a penguin" he said struggling to suppress his laughter. He'd briefly wondered if she had rickets as she walked back into the house from the yard with all the grace of a woman trying to hide that she had been in labour for several hours. "That coupled with the way you screamed at Provenza when he bent down to pick up your cell off the floor."

Sharon sighed. She thought she'd done such a good job all night at covering for her unusual behaviour. To find out that it had all been in vain and everyone thought she was acting crazier than Chief Johnson did when she discovered one of her three hundred candy bars missing from his desk drawer was beyond frustrating. She still couldn't quite believe what she'd done. From now on panties the size of those worn in the seventeen hundreds were required with perhaps a chastity belt to finish her ensemble. "Was it that obvious?" she asked knowing full well what Andy's response would be.

"What when you screamed 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'?" Andy replied as he shouted at the top of lungs, imitating how Sharon sounded when Provenza bent down and touched her phone and causing Sharon to jump out of her skin at the surprise.

Andy laughed as Sharon smacked him for scaring her. "Andy! You startled me."

"Startled you? You nearly gave the three of us heart attacks."

"It was not that loud" Sharon protested. She was wrong. The neighbours heard her, making their dogs run out into the yard and start barking, setting off a chain reaction with dogs barking up and down the block like the 'Twilight Bark' in _One Hundred and One Dalmatians_ (except these dogs were barking about a crazy woman with no underwear shouting rather than about the theft of fifteen puppies).

"You nearly burst my eardrum" Andy joked, removing his hand from Sharon's back for a moment to rub his ear gently. "Provenza is going to think you've got something to hide on that phone other than cat videos. Like naked pictures of yours truly" he winked before he started laughing hysterically. "Can you imagine if he had seen you were going commando? I think he might finally have retired rather than ever having to look you in the eye again."

Sharon wanted to laugh but she was still mortified by the whole thing regardless of the outcome that now resulted in them lying on the floor until they had the energy to move again. "That's if I didn't kill him" she said with genuine concern.

"Kill him?" Andy registered the worried look on Sharon's face but couldn't help but laugh hysterically once again.

"Why do you think I had my knees so close together all night? I was worried about giving him a heart attack." Andy continued to laugh harder than she'd ever seen him before. "Don't laugh at me" Sharon said as she started to laugh herself. "It's been a really stressful evening. And that breeze in the yard went places it really shouldn't although it wasn't completely unpleasant." Andy continued to shake violently as he laughed. "Andy stop laughing at me. It's not funny."

"If it was so stressful then why did you do it?"

"You want the truth?"

"If you want to tell me" Andy said before kissing her gently on the lips. "You can always tell me anything, you know that."

Sharon closed her eyes before her hand flew from Andy's back and covered her face in horror. "I forgot we were going over there" she said slowly as her muffled confession struggled to escape past her lips.

Andy's mouth dropped open as he raised his head off the cushion and stared at her. "Excuse me? You forgot?" he asked flabbergasted.

Sharon rolled onto her back enabling her to cover her face with both hands. Andy draped his hand over her stomach and edged her back closer to him, wanting to ease her clear embarrassment even though he was enjoying every single second of it. "I thought we were coming straight here so it didn't matter what I did or didn't have on." Andy immediately started laughing again with Sharon turning to look at him. "I'm just grateful I didn't wear my birthday suit under my trench coat." With that Andy shook violently with laughter at the mere image. Sharon smiled as she gave him another swipe across the arm. "Andy! Stop laughing at me! I did it for you. I thought I'd, I don't know wait until after dinner and surprise you. I could casually say 'Hey guess what?' and you know, like what just happened but maybe somewhere more comfortable" she said gesturing up towards the kitchen counter with a smile.

Andy continued to laugh uncontrollably, stopping only to repeat "'Hey guess what?'?" before gripping his sides from the pain as his mirth showed no sign of abating.

Watching Andy laugh like she'd never seen him before made Sharon do likewise as she blushed slightly, his laugh doing all sorts of pleasant things to her from top to bottom and not for the first time either. "Something like that. I hadn't got it all worked out." Sharon covered her eyes again. It didn't matter how much she enjoyed hearing Andy laugh, she was still embarrassed about what she'd done. "It seemed like such a good idea when I was flicking them over my shoulder as I left the bathroom."

"You flicked them over your shoulder?"

"Well at the second attempt. I hit myself in the face with them with my first attempt." This time Sharon couldn't help but laugh along with Andy as he buried his face in her hair to muffle the sound slightly. "It seemed like such a good idea at the time" Sharon repeated as she stopped laughing and sighed.

"Oh Sharon it was an excellent idea and very much appreciated." Andy brought her face towards his and joined their lips together before curiosity took hold of him once more. "But how could you forget?"

Sharon's hands covered her face again. "I don't know."

"You've warned me every day since he gave us the invite, right there on that spot," Andy said as he indicated the ground a few inches from where his feet now lay, "to be on my best behaviour tonight and that's when you weren't telling me how much you were looking forward to it."

Sharon turned to face Andy again, suddenly looking shy. "I know, I know but I was just thinking about you and an alternative route to getting you into bed so you wouldn't think I'm boring" she said quietly, seconds away from biting her lip.

Andy's laughter stopped at the sound of the word 'boring' as his face dropped. He moved his hand back to her hip, encouraging her to roll back onto her side to face him, holding her against him tightly and making sure he was able to look her in the eyes. "Why would you possibly believe that I think you're boring?" he asked with the emotion in his voice now evident. The word 'boring' was the furthest thing from Andy's mind when he thought of the woman in his arms. Sharon was a lot of things but boring certainly wasn't one of them especially when they were alone despite what she may think. Before they slept together for the first Andy admittedly did have certain preconceptions about her, it was hard not to when he waited so long and had been forced into it for that matter, with so much anticipation until the moment they finally took that final step together. While he didn't imagine for a second that she was a prude, he assumed she might be a little reserved. He was wrong. Much to Andy's surprise Sharon was certainly not backward in coming forward when it came to sex. She knew what she wanted and she got it. Her only caution when it came to sex was because of Andy's recent brush with the Grim Reaper. Although Patrice laughed and Andy felt a little smothered, Sharon was genuinely worried she may kill him. Any reserve or caution she displayed in the bedroom was solely as a precaution so he didn't drop dead and that usually didn't last long as she got distracted by the man who had his hands and lips seemingly everywhere at once. As such it floored Andy that Sharon had got it into her head that she may be boring in any way.

Sharon shrugged. "Well if I didn't know it before it has become all too clear tonight that I'm the first boring old lady you've ever dated" she said with heavy emphasis on the word 'old.'

"That's not true. When I was six I tried to hit on my babysitter. She had a good ten years on me" Andy said with a grin as he tried to make her laugh. It didn't work. "I've always liked older women" he added before kissing her gently on the lips.

"'Older women'? You're older than I am buddy." Sharon poked him in the ribs.

"Exactly. What's that expression? 'You're only as old as the person you're feeling'?"

Sharon chuckled. "Something like that."

Andy kissed her again as he pulled her closer still. He sighed and smiled warmly. "Sharon O'Dwyer Raydor you are my beautiful, sexy, funny, slightly neurotic, caring, terrifying, brilliant, intelligent, badass girlfriend. A hundred million miles away from boring. Don't you ever dare think any differently." He joined their lips together again, staying like that for what seemed like an eternity until Andy started to smile and laugh again, forcing them apart.

"What?" Sharon asked as she smiled while Andy continued to laugh.

"I can just picture Provenza's face if the wind had blown up as we were walking to the car." He continued to laugh while Sharon closed her eyes tight from the embarrassment. "Did you tell Patrice?" he asked finally.

"That's what she was laughing at when you came outside. You don't think she'll tell him do you?"

"Only if she wants him to steam clean the couch a couple hundred times" he managed to say before they both laughed wildly at the thought. Steam clean? In reality Provenza would remove it from his house and set it on fire for the sole reason of him not wanting to think about certain parts of his Captain's anatomy every time he looked at it.

They remained cuddled together on the floor in silence. Andy closed his eyes and enjoyed a few quiet moments with Sharon in his arms even though it wasn't in the most comfortable of positions imaginable but he wasn't ready to move yet. Sharon did what she had done a lot recently, she just studied his face while he rested, cherishing him lying next to her until she noticed a rather large red mark on the ceiling located directly above their heads. She stared at it intently before asking "What's that?"

"What's what?" Andy asked without opening his eyes.

"That red mark on the ceiling. It looks like you shot someone in here. I feel like I should call SID down here."

Andy smiled. "It's spaghetti sauce."

"Spaghetti sauce?"

"Yep."

Sharon shook her head. "So many questions. I'll start with how?"

Andy opened his eyes and frowned. "I was tossing it in a pan and apparently I tossed it a little too high."

"Why would you toss spaghetti in a pan?"

Suddenly quite animated Andy said "That's the exact same question I asked Provenza before he made me do it."

"I should have known" Sharon replied with a roll of her eyes. "When was this?"

Andy thought for a moment. "About eighteen months ago."

Sharon's eyes widened. "Then why exactly is it still on the ceiling?"

"He wouldn't clean it off and I'm not doing it, it was his fault. He made me do it."

"Oh Andy!" she uttered slightly exasperated with his childish behaviour when it came to his best friend and partner. She had lost count the amount of times Andy had blamed everything on Provenza in the last few hours let alone the last four years she'd been his Captain. She shook her head. "I have no idea how you two have managed to stay friends for so long without killing each other."

Andy grinned. "That makes three of us." He glanced up at the stain on the ceiling and squinted. "It looks a bit like Tony Curtis in _Some Like It Hot_."

Sharon laughed. "What?"

Andy rolled onto his back and pointed at the red mark. "Look, to the left you can see his little boating hat and those round swirls could be his glasses. I mean you have to squint a little bit."

Sharon glanced at him before lifting her head and tilting it to the side. "A little bit?"

"Let me show you. Give me your hand." Sharon joined Andy on her back before he took her hand in his. He moved their heads as close together as possible as he traced a pattern with Sharon's finger in the air. "Follow the line of your finger. See that's his hat and his glasses."

"You know some people do this outside on a picnic blanket with stars in the night sky rather than the kitchen floor and rotting sauce on a ceiling."

"Then that's a plan for tomorrow night."

"After Midnight Mass?" Sharon asked quickly. The expectation and hope in the timbre of her voice was hard to ignore as Andy huffed slightly. "Please Andy" she added pleadingly before she opted for more direct action than just mere words alone. Her lips brushed his cheek a few times before she turned her attention to one of his weak spots, his ear. She gently exhaled by his ear, making his eyes close before his earlobe found its way into her mouth as she sucked and nibbled on it. "Please?" she asked again.

Trying to ignore Sharon's blatant and yet incredibly pleasurable attempts at bending him to her will Andy sighed and focused on the ceiling. "Do we have to discuss this again?" Long before they admitted how they felt about each other and it was established what exactly they would be doing on Christmas Day, Sharon had been desperately trying to persuade Andy into joining her and Rusty at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Despite dressing it up as a rather unorthodox date and promising him all sort of things in return, even more recently sex, Andy was steadfast in his refusal to attend. He wanted to spend every waking second with Sharon but not in a church. The last time he went to church was for Nicole's wedding, the time before that (work aside) was long forgotten. It was no understatement to say that Andy had a rather complicated relationship with God. He was raised Catholic and had a close connection to God as a child but that waned as he got older. Part of his recovery in AA was offering himself up to a higher power and while he did that, he had to willingly, what he saw on a daily basis at work tested not only his faith in humanity but also God and as such his faith no longer extended beyond the confines of AA. He was fully aware however that he was now in love with a woman who also had a complicated relationship with God but whom tried her hardest to be a good Catholic in as much as life allowed. As such he knew it could become an issue between them and he may occasionally be forced into attending religious services when he'd much rather watch a loved one be autopsied instead. He didn't want to go to Midnight Mass, he really didn't but he loved Sharon and he'd do anything she wanted to make her happy but not until he'd got her to ask a few more times and promise him a few more things in return first.

Sharon poked him in the ribs before rolling over and resting her chin on his chest, ensuring she filled his field of vision and had to talk to her about it. "You're such a baby. They won't crucify you, you know. What do you think is going to happen if you come to church with me tomorrow night?"

"That I'm going to get struck by lightning if I even make an attempt to walk in there after all this time" he said as seriously as he could with a shrug.

"Do you think _He_ has nothing better to do than smite you for being a less than perfect Catholic?" Sharon asked as she pointed towards the heavens.

"Well _He's_ doing something because with the crap that we have to clear up on a daily basis _He's_ sure not doing _His_ job" Andy replied a little infuriatedly.

Sharon kissed his chest. She knew better than to have a theological debate with Andy Flynn. Religion was a deeply personal thing and she knew Andy had a somewhat complicated relationship with the God she cherished so accepted that she had to tread very carefully. "Granted but it would mean a lot to me if you came in with us." Sharon had no desire to reunite Andy with God any more than she wanted to introduce Rusty to him, for purely selfish reasons she wanted the company of both of the men in her life on what is a special time of year for her. That was it. She just wanted to spend time with both of them and God. "It's just once a year, I'm not asking you to come with me every Sunday or start taking Confession regularly. To begin with if you stepped foot in Confession I wouldn't see you again for two and a half years with everything you'd have to tell Father Michael" she said as she laughed at her own joke.

"What about your so called 'past'?" Andy asked in reference to incidents Sharon had alluded to earlier while assuring him that his past didn't bother her.

"Already confessed and atoned for" Sharon replied smugly. "That's what happens when you go to church more than once every thirty years."

"Sharon..." Andy started before he was cut off.

"What if I said I'd make it worth your while?" she asked with a grin and a significant twinkle in her eye as she bit her lip more than a tad seductively.

Andy's eyebrows almost hit the ceiling as he couldn't miss her insinuation. "Like how exactly?" he almost growled.

"I don't know but I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement" she said before covering his mouth with hers. "A deal could be reached" she confirmed as she attacked his lips once again.

"Do I need to get Hobbs and a couple of lawyers over here sharpish?" Andy moved like he was about to stand up until Sharon pushed him back down, ensuring he went nowhere.

"Andy. For me?"

Andy sighed. It was clear to him how important it was to Sharon and he knew he'd probably relent and agree to go to Midnight Mass and many other services over the next twelve months before the night was over but for now he enjoyed being persuaded by her. "I'll think about it. For you" he confirmed with a peck on her lips before turning his attention back to the red stain on his ceiling. "And that little bit of spaghetti could be one of his earrings from when he forgot who he was supposed to be dressed as."

Sharon eyed him suspiciously. "Changing the subject I see." She rolled onto her back again to get a better look at the ceiling. She lifted her head and stared at it with determination and complete concentration as she realised that Andy was right and there was still dried old pasta stuck to it. "There's actual spaghetti still on the ceiling? No wonder you have rats in here."

"Nobody's perfect" Andy quoted with a shrug before they both started laughing.

Sharon kept her eyes on the ceiling. "You're right. It looks like Tony Curtis."

"I told you."

Sharon rolled back onto her side to face Andy, her hand slipping around his waist and under his leather jacket. "How long did it take you to notice that?"

"I don't know." He paused for a moment, thinking long and hard about whether he should elaborate further. "About eight hours" he confessed finally.

"That's very specific."

"Yeah well I was once sat right here for a very specific period of time."

"When?"

Again Andy paused before he finally replied "Twelve months ago." Sharon frowned, looking at him quizzically as she tried to recall anything that happened twelve months ago that would lead Andy to spend so much time looking at his kitchen ceiling. "The last time you came with me to see _The Nutcracker_ I came home and sat here on the floor for a little bit" he offered finally with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Why?"

Andy again fell silent while he sought the appropriate words. "I was more than a little mad at myself for what happened" he said quietly as he stroked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Mad at yourself for what? Because of Nicole?"

"Because I'd lied to Nicole for months but more importantly because I thought I'd lost you."

Sharon ran her hand down the side of his face before uttering "Andy" very quietly as she processed exactly what he was saying and what that meant.

"Through my own stupidity I'd upset Nicole by lying to her proving her Mother right yet again that I couldn't be trusted for even a second. But it wasn't just that, I thought I'd lost the most important person in my life, my friend, you."

Sharon cuddled him a little closer. "Oh Andy you never lost me. I know I was a little mad at the time because suddenly everything that I'd come to rely on was so awkward but I hope I never made you feel that our friendship was over." Sharon was a little mortified in truth. Yes she was really quite angry at Andy at the time but not to the extent that their friendship was ever in jeopardy. She was embarrassed more than anything. She didn't like people talking about her love life, even a non-existent one as it was at the time in question, so when it turned out everyone assumed she and Andy were an item and at it like rabbits day and night it did make life uncomfortable. But uncomfortable because it brought home some truths that she wasn't yet ready to face. Yes she liked Andy. She liked him at lot. She did want to be more than friends with him but because of work didn't want to attempt anything other than a friendship. Realising that Andy clearly felt the same way and the ball was very much in her court did create an awkward atmosphere and left her with a lot of food for thought.

"No, you didn't but that didn't stop me from worrying about it" Andy confirmed with another shrug, suggesting he was regretting bringing it up in the first place and wanting to end the discussion. He was actually in a worse state at the time then he wanted to admit to Sharon when he arrived home after the ballet on that rather awkward evening a little over twelve months ago. Despite the fact that Rusty 'the buffer' wasn't needed because Sharon spent every single second at Andy's side, somehow always finding themselves on their own, talking cosily in their own little bubble, usually with his tie clasped tightly in her hand. And yet Andy worried it was all an act to spare him even more embarrassment in front of Nicole. When he arrived home he was bordering on distraught. It made him do something that he hadn't done in over three years (not since he witnessed the hit and run on Gracie Ann Gates before she died right in front of him), he called his Sponsor out of fear. Andy didn't think he was going to drink and he was determined not to but he just wasn't sure and didn't want to be on his own so his Sponsor, Matt, arrived twenty minutes later and found him sitting on the kitchen floor. They spent the rest of the night seated in very much the same position he currently found himself in and talking everything through from all angles and every possible outcome. By the end Andy felt better, Matt making him feel more relaxed about the events of the evening, a feeling that was reinforced when he received a text from Sharon as Matt was leaving, thanking him for another wonderful evening and arranging a trip to the movies two days later.

"Why didn't you say something at the time?" Sharon asked rather foolishly given that she didn't say anything to him that evening or in the days that followed and didn't want to. Despite the mixture of emotions she was experiencing she just wanted to forget it and continue their friendship like the 'misunderstanding' with Nicole had never occurred.

"Like you said things were already awkward, I didn't want to make it worse." Andy smiled for the first time since the topic had been raised as his fingers moved down the side of her face. "If I'm honest I was already in love with you at that point and I figured it was best to tread carefully and keep you as my friend than piss you off even more and lose you altogether."

"Did you drink?" Sharon asked tentatively, concerned that her initial reaction of mild anger towards him and the situation had caused him to relapse.

"No I didn't drink. I thought about it but then I knew for certain that I'd lose both you and Nicole if I did."

Sharon sighed as she put her hands on Andy's cheeks, cradling his head in her hands. "Oh Andy. You're such an idiot" she said before she kissed him, moving her lips slowly and tenderly over his. "But you're my idiot" she added before kissing him again, only this time longer and deeper. "If it makes you feel any better I also didn't get much sleep that night either."

"Oh yeah?"

Sharon cringed a little. "I spent most of the night trying to work out if Nicole and Rusty were right and if we were in fact actually dating."

"And what did you conclude?" Andy grinned.

"I still wasn't sure but I was also worried that I'd helped spoil what we had. First and foremost Andy you're one of the best friends I've ever had which is why I've made us take this so slowly. I wouldn't give up being your friend for anything in this world." She pushed their lips together again and then admitted "So I suppose we're both idiots. I'm just sorry you felt that way and you didn't think you could tell me."

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have lied to Nicole and I should have told you how I felt twelve months ago."

"Well you've more than made up for lost time recently." They smiled at each other briefly until their mouths collided together again, breaking apart only so Sharon could proclaim "Thank God you remembered I liked that awful duck!"

"Amen to that" Andy replied between kisses. That duck, that horrible duck from that awful Chinese restaurant with an extremely dubious record from the health department would forever be special to the both of them because Andy's memory of it played such a monumental role in where they now found themselves, on the kitchen floor, wrapped in each other's arms. "Something tells me the holidays would have been vastly different if I hadn't."

"Maybe, maybe not. I'd been trying to sleep with you for weeks remember."

"If only you'd told me" Andy replied as he did another impression of her so called 'sex eyes,' an impression that got more and more ludicrous every time he did it. By now you would assume that Sharon pulled faces like a squirrel was running around underneath her blouse when she was trying to seduce him when in reality she looked more like she was confused and could smell something mildly unpleasant.

Sharon ignored the face he was pulling knowing full well any acknowledgment would only encourage him to do it again. "And I'd promised myself that I was going to tell you I loved you by Christmas."

"I see and how many times had you made yourself a similar promise in the past few weeks?"

"About five or six" Sharon stated honestly with a sheepish grin. "When you were staying with me, before your surgery, after your surgery, before you moved out, before you came back to work" she admitted as they both laughed.

"And what exactly were you going to say?"

"'Hey guess what?'" Sharon said instantly resulting in more laughter. "Well brevity is an underrated quality in my book."

They again fell silent for a moment as they just stared at each other. "I can't believe you drank my coffee" Andy finally said, still dismayed by the fact that Sharon took it without confessing even after the argument broke out and also that as a detective he didn't put two and two together especially as he'd witnessed his slightly hungover girlfriend practically mainlining caffeine all morning. As they arrived at PAB she was five minutes away from snorting coffee granules straight from the counter in the break room.

Sharon frowned. "Andy you really need to let it go" she said channelling her inner Disney Princess.

"I can't wait to tell Provenza" Andy added looking as smug as she'd ever seen him.

"Don't you dare!"

"I have to."

"No you don't" Sharon warned.

"I think I do."

Sharon pointed a finger at him. "I am ordering you not to tell him Lieutenant."

"Lieutenant?" Andy asked, blinking rapidly with surprise as he scoffed. "We're not at work now. This is my house not your murder room Captain."

"No but the incident happened at work and therefore falls under my purview as your Captain and not your girlfriend" Sharon replied with a very self-satisfied smile.

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says the rule book."

"Is this your rule book or….."

Sharon cut him off. "It's not my rule book it's _our_ rule book" she pointed out indicating the ever increasing list of rules and regulations they had between them, like the four night rule in regards to staying together during active cases and the long list of what was and wasn't appropriate levels of physical and eye contact while at work.

"I see. I don't remember this amendment being added to it" he said with confusion.

"I did it last night while you were asleep."

"While you were drunk?" Andy asked expecting his knees to be attacked immediately.

"I wasn't drunk" Sharon protested yet again.

Andy laughed. "Tell that to my shirt after you ripped all the buttons off it because to it you seemed pretty drunk." Andy worried he was about to run out of dress shirts. If Sharon wasn't stealing them to sleep in because they were apparently more 'comfortable' than her pyjamas, she was ripping them open in a drunken, lust filled frenzy, not that he was complaining for a moment. Such behaviour should be actively encouraged rather than discouraged in his humble opinion. "How's your head?" he asked, again expecting a reaction.

"It's fine" Sharon lied. In the great scheme of things she hadn't had a great deal to drink the night before but that didn't stop her head from feeling like she'd fallen into a vat of wine all day. "But for completely unrelated reasons I do have a slight headache" she admittedly, creating a new definition for the word 'unrelated.'

"Only slight? Scooch over" he said as he gestured for Sharon to move closer to him. With more room to manoeuvre Andy opened the cabinet behind where Sharon was lying and produced a bottle of water. He handed it to her before reaching above his head and opening a drawer, blindly groping around in it as they continued to lie on the floor.

"What are you looking for?"

"Some aspirin" Andy replied as he continued to blindly feel his way around the contents of the drawer. Eventually he stopped and lifted a small box into the air. "Is this it?"

With a better view Sharon looked at what he was holding. "Matches" she confirmed as Andy dropped the box and started rooting around again before picking up another box. Sharon again looked and shook her head. "Paperclips." Andy sighed as he picked up another item. "Animal Crackers" Sharon confirmed.

"Oh good" Andy replied as he put the box on the floor next to him before plunging his hand back in the drawer again as he continued to hunt for the aspirin.

"That's it" Sharon said at his latest find. Andy closed the drawer and handed Sharon the box of aspirin. "I've got to sit up." Very slowly and gingerly Sharon sat up and slid backwards, resting her back on the cabinet behind her. Her hand immediately gravitated to her back, it hurting long before her extended lie down on the floor. Andy soon joined her sitting up before opening the box of Animal Crackers he'd found as she took two aspirin with a large swig of water. Again Sharon rubbed her back followed by her neck.

"Your back?" Andy questioned, registering her discomfort was caused by more than a slight headache brought on by wine and eggnog.

"My back, my hips, my neck, my everything. I need a new body for Christmas."

Andy took her hand, locking their fingers together before pressing it to his lips. "Feel free to donate this one to me when you get your replacement" he said with a wink.

"Oh shut up" Sharon said as she pushed Andy's face away from her, blushing wildly despite her best efforts. "You enjoy making me blush don't you?"

Andy grinned. "You know I really do. It's a good colour on you." Their lips met again as he squeezed her hand. Once more silence fell upon the room only broken when Andy leant down and blew a raspberry on Sharon's neck. "Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful. How are your legs?"

"Better. Animal Cracker?" he asked as he offered her the box.

Sharon took one and popped it in Andy's mouth before she ate one herself. They continued to eat in silence until Sharon asked "Do you always keep your Animal Crackers with your paper clips and your aspirin?"

"Not usually but I was hiding them from the boys the last time they came over. Nicole told me no sugar but those kids can sniff it out at a hundred paces and better with the drugs than with the bleach." Sharon laughed at him as they continued to snack on the remaining crackers. "This floor is a lot harder than it looks" Andy finally said.

"You'd think you'd be used to it with your mattress."

"What's wrong with my mattress?" he asked surprised.

"Like you don't know" Sharon replied. Andy's eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling indicating that he had no idea what Sharon was talking about. "It's so hard the CIA could use it to torture terror suspects."

"You didn't say anything on Saturday night."

"You had me somewhat otherwise occupied at the time and unless you had a spare one hidden under the sink there wasn't much point. Besides it was easier and much nicer to sleep on you instead" she said with a smile.

"I see so you're planning on lying on me all night tonight?"

"That is the plan" Sharon confirmed with a kiss.

"Then I need to get that hockey mask from the trunk of my car, for protection."

"I didn't punch you last night!" Sharon protested.

"That's because you'd passed out cold before you had chance."

"I was not drunk!" Sharon once again maintained but Andy was right. After she had finished with Andy, which took some time with Sharon being fuelled by the alcohol and by having spent two nights apart following the sudden change in their relationship, Sharon fell asleep as her head was approaching the pillow. Andy had laughed with her previously that she had the ability to fall asleep suddenly, even in mid-sentence but on that occasion she had hardly lay down before she was out for the count. Andy laughed at her continued protest and nodded at her. Again they fell silent with Sharon resting her head on Andy's shoulder before he returned the gesture and rested his head on hers.

Andy adjusted himself enough to kiss the top of her head before he said "You were talking in your sleep last night."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"What was I saying?"

Andy smiled. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were shopping."

"Shopping? What do you mean?" Sharon asked confused.

"You were listing things from a grocery store."

"Like what?"

"'Cheese. Rum. Cat food. Toilet paper. Drain cleaner'" he said as he quoted from memory as best he could. "It was either a shopping list for the grocery store or your Christmas cookie recipe really needs some work."

"My Christmas cookie recipe is down to a fine art I'll have you know. If you're lucky you'll find out for yourself tomorrow."

Andy gasped with mock shock. "Wait, you know where your oven is?" He loved to tease her about how little she cooked. In truth Sharon loved to cook and he knew that but because of her now increasingly erratic work hours (she cooked more often when she worked at IA but was still a slave to odd timekeeping) it was much easier to bring food in on the way home than cook anything from scratch.

"Andy! I..."

"Resemble that remark?" Andy asked cheekily.

"No. I was going to say I'm going to ignore that remark. I cook!"

"I know. Christmas cookies right?" he asked with a smug smile, making sure she knew that he was joking after all she had cooked for the three of them a week ago.

"Wipe that smug smile from your face" Sharon said glaring at him. "Did I really say all that?"

"Yep. You were at it a good hour."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You weren't in any distress and besides it was relaxing listening to you yammer away, like listening to the Sounds of the Rain Forest tape." He kissed her on the top of her head again before asking "Do you know what you were dreaming about?"

"I have no idea. I don't remember dreams so often these days. As I've got older they've seemed to taper off" she replied almost wistfully.

"I remember mine" Andy stated enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah. What were you dreaming about last night?"

"Sharon Stone" he announced proudly.

Sharon's mouth dropped open as she poked him in the ribs. "Andy Flynn you cad! You were in bed with me and dreaming about another woman?"

"Yes. She was trying to stab me."

"Really?" Sharon replied laughing.

"Oooh yeah. In the back with a carving knife. She was vicious."

Sharon laughed again. "Why?"

"I don't know but I'd really pissed her off."

Sharon nodded. "That's not hard to believe" she said plainly, making them both laugh.

Andy looked at his watch and then eyed Sharon a little suspiciously. "I know it's late but are you going to call Rusty? Ask him how his date with Gus went?" he asked a little surprised that she hadn't done it already even though she had been pretty distracted since the first moment they walked through his front door.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Okay" Andy responded with his inflection making it sound more like a question than a statement.

"I asked him to send me a text and let me know when he gets home but that's it" Sharon stated very casually as she straightened the hem of her dress for what must have been the hundredth time that evening. It was now more of a nervous tick then it was her desire to cover herself up more thoroughly.

"Where's your phone?"

"In my purse hanging up by the door" Sharon replied, again very casually considering what they were talking about.

"Do you want me to go and get it?"

"No it's fine." Andy stared at her with a mixture of shock and surprise across his face. He blinked a couple of times. Sharon Raydor wasn't desperate to know how her son's first date went? To call that behaviour uncharacteristic was the understatement of the century. Sharon turned to see his somewhat perplexed facial expression. "What?" she asked.

"But aren't you curious?"

"No" Sharon answered almost flippantly.

"Really?"

"Not at all." They sat in silence for a moment as Andy just stared at her, in disbelief at her currently reaction. Sharon started to bite down on her lip, a clear sign she was started to crumble. "Okay maybe a little" she admitted.

A smug smile started to spread across Andy's face. "A little?"

Sharon paused. "Maybe a lot." She paused again. "I'm desperate okay?" she said, finally admitting the truth as her free hand covered her face and she closed her eyes tight. "I need to know or I may actually die."

Andy laughed, kissing her on the head and squeezing her hand. "Then what are you waiting for? Call him."

"I can't. You know how guarded he can be about these things. I don't want him to think I'm prying."

"Since when has that stopped you? Do you want me to call him?"

"Oh God no!" Sharon shouted immediately. The last thing the situation needed was for Andy to call Rusty and most likely, put his foot in his mouth. As well intentioned as that may well be and regardless as to how well they'd been getting on recently, that type of personal intrusion would only make Rusty run for the hills screaming and flailing like he was being chased by a lion. Andy laughed at her reaction while she smiled, trying to back track as quickly as possible without making a beeping noise. "What I mean to say is you've been getting along so nicely together just recently, don't ruin it by asking him something so personal."

"Oh is that what you meant?"

"Did you get your hands on a laptop for Gus?" Sharon asked, somewhat changing to subject.

"It's wrapped up under my tree." This was in fact a little lie from Andy. Yes a laptop was wrapped and currently the only present nestled under his Christmas tree in the living room but it wasn't the old LAPD laptop he was hoping for. For reasons he couldn't get to the bottom of (he'd need Sharon to decode LAPD rules and regulations into English for him) he was refused an old laptop so opted to buy Gus a new one instead. He made the decision early to keep this slight change in plan from Sharon because he knew she'd want to split the cost but since it was his idea, he wanted to deal with it. After spending time with Gus before he found Paloma he simply felt compelled to help him regardless of what people may think of his motives so decided to keep it to himself. "It's the least I could do for the kid."

"Thank you" Sharon said with an appreciative smile followed by a kiss on the lips.

"Speaking of the kid I've been meaning to ask, has Rusty spoken to you about Slider?"

"No not yet."

"He just seemed to be a little tense over breakfast this morning but it was hard to tell if that was because of his date or because of the verdict." It was hard to ignore how quiet and anxious Rusty had been since he was forced to testify on Slider's behalf, with Andy's words on the phone in the car helping before the verdict but not since the death sentence was passed. "Then again it could have been concern that you were about to vomit on him" Andy joked, nudging her shoulder.

"I didn't have a hangover!" Sharon protested yet again.

"I never said you did. You were just…..fragile."

"You'll be fragile in a moment" she responded with a glare. "He was already gone by the time I got home from work."

"Already? He wasn't meeting Gus until eight."

Sharon gave him a knowing look. "Like you weren't nervous on our first date."

"I wasn't nervous" Andy said with very little conviction. He paused for a moment before admitting "I was positively petrified." They both laughed before Andy confirmed "Oddly enough the fire only made me feel worse" in reference to his menu which accidentally caught alight from a candle as he stared at Sharon, beyond flustered.

"I don't think the fish in the aquarium you used to put it out were particularly thrilled about it either."

"Hey it was better than Provenza and Patrice's first date at least."

"Not for the fish" Sharon pointed out.

"Have you decided if you're going to tell him about his Mother?" Andy had been trying to find the time to ask her all day since she was a little uncertain of what to do during the Christmas party. Andy actually had no opinion on the matter either way but didn't want Sharon to make a hasty decision that she would later regret.

"Yes. I'm going to tell him but not until after the holidays. Let him enjoy Christmas first" Sharon said with real authority like her mind had been made up and she wasn't going to change it.

"Plus it'll give her that little bit longer to make contact first" Andy added encouragingly.

"Exactly."

"Okay."

Sharon looked at him a little confused. "Okay as in that's the right decision or okay as in you're making a horrible selfish mistake?"

"How about okay as in okay but at least you haven't overthought it" Andy replied without realising he'd just paraphrased Provenza's words to him when he announced he was going to finally ask Sharon out. "This is your decision and I'll be here for the both of you no matter what."

"Thank you" Sharon said before joining their lips together.

"So on a scale of one to ten how do you think tonight went?" he asked with as serious an expression as he could muster on his face. Sharon just glared at him, clearly still very unimpressed by his behaviour. "A ten? That high?" He laughed to himself, always finding himself funny when making fun of Sharon.

"If we're talking about what happened at the Lieutenant's house then you're coming in at around a two or a three."

Andy winked. "What about after?" he asked as he kissed her, almost picking up where they left off on the kitchen counter not that long ago.

"Do you want me to fill out a customer satisfaction card?"

"Yes. Actually no. I already know that you'd recommend me to family and friends. What about being served in a prompt and timely manner?"

Sharon laughed. "Do you want me to find you a gold star too?" she asked while pinching his knee. "I really like Patrice" she said returning her mind back to earlier in the evening.

"She's great isn't she?" Andy replied enthusiastically, an enthusiasm that was largely absent in Provenza's other relationships especially the ill-fated romance with Lauren. "My favourite of all Provenza's fiancées."

"Stop it" Sharon warned. "She's so easy to talk to. I felt like I'd known her for years."

"And she's quite clearly as patient as hell to go with it" he pointed out with everyone knowing she'd need to be if she was going to marry the often exasperating Louie Provenza. "I think Provenza's right, this time she might actually be ' _the one'_."

"How many times has the Lieutenant said that before?"

"More than I can count." They returned to sitting in silence for a moment as Andy built up the courage to open Pandora's Box and face the consequences. Finally he sighed and said "Go on then, ask me."

"Ask you what?" Sharon said confused.

"I know you're dying to ask questions about what you heard tonight" he rightly pointed out. It was true, Sharon had hundreds of questions based on the argument and what that had revealed, if for no other reason then so she could tease the both of them about it for the rest of their lives. "Get it out of your system while I'm in a generous mood." In reality Andy didn't want this conversation at all but since Sharon currently had only a small part of the information thought it was best to address it and be completely honest with her.

"I thought it was all off limits."

"It is with the exception of the next few minutes."

"Why the change of heart?" Sharon asked unable to hide her surprise.

"I know you all scoffed the last time I said it but I genuinely think there shouldn't be any secrets in a relationship." Scoffed was an understatement. The cry of 'Oh my God' from Hobbs was merely the tip of the iceberg. Julio looked at him like he'd just insulted his mother. No one agreed with Andy, with Sharon remaining suspiciously quiet on the matter, as they watched the young and slightly unhinged couple of the cusp of marriage sort out their many differences on the monitors in electronics. But Andy really believed it. He had tried relationships the other way, keeping things to himself and they all ended in disaster. With him already giving serious consideration to asking Sharon out for the first time, he had likewise decided that if they did embark on a relationship as more than friends, he wanted to be honest with her from the outset about everything.

"With the exception of incidents that took place in Barstow California?"

"Absolutely" Andy confirmed with that secret being taken to the grave with him if he had a choice. "I don't want to keep secrets from you and more to the point I wouldn't be able to. You'd find some way to wheedle them out of me."

"Oh I'm oh so good at wheedling."

"I know. Best get it over and done with so it doesn't fester and you think of things ten times worse."

"Oh believe me Andy I'm sure the truth is far worse than anything I can imagine" Sharon informed him.

"That is probably true but this is your one chance so don't waste it." Andy sighed, preparing himself for the worst.

Sharon thought for a moment. She had many, many questions but only limited time, pondering how best to utilise both. "Did Lieutenant Provenza really turn a woman into a Nun?" she asked finally.

"Well he did date her and she broke up with him twelve months before she decided to take her vows so you decide. Let's just put it this way, he didn't take it too well."

"I imagine not. And the lesbian?" Sharon asked, failing to believe that someone, even her second in command, could change a person's sexual orientation.

"She already knew she was a lesbian when they met" Andy revealed proving that his accusation was unfounded and a little mean. "Provenza was the last chance on behalf of all the men of this world, like a last hurrah. He failed. She goes to my AA meetings. She's a nice lady."

"Who is this Lauren?"

Andy couldn't help but roll his eyes, like he'd done thousands of times when his partner was dating the woman in question. "The one that got away" he confirmed. "Twenty-nine and dumped him before they got to the altar. Broke his heart. Are you only interested in stories about Provenza?"

"I'm just building up to your indiscretions." Sharon tried not to laugh. "Okay so those matching scars on your..."

Andy immediately cut her off. "Yes. Next question" he said quickly not wishing to go into detail about the time a rightfully vengeful woman superglued his 'unmentionables' to the inside of his thigh and took photographs.

"But what if I have a follow up?"

"Then you're out of luck."

Again Sharon tried very hard not to laugh without much success. "Why were you naked on a balcony?"

"Why do you think?" Andy asked meeting her eyes.

Finally Sharon openly laughed. "You are such a guy! When did you know you were being robbed?"

"When my smoulder did nothing to stop her from flushing my pants down the toilet" he told her a little disappointedly.

"Not when she locked the balcony door?"

"At that point it could have been a weird sex game I wasn't aware of or something."

Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes she was laughing so much. "Why did she flush your pants down the toilet?"

"So I couldn't put them on and run after her."

"Did she forget the door was locked or something?"

"Yeah. She wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box" he pointed out.

"And yet she outwitted you" Sharon said before again laughing uncontrollably at how moronic the man sitting next to her had been in the past. "A heroin addict? Really?"

Andy shrugged sheepishly. "I honestly thought it was insulin...until she stole and sold half my stuff."

"Will I ever find out what happened in Barstow?"

"No, if you don't mind."

"That's fine."

"Is that it?"

"That'll do" Sharon confirmed as she smiled at him obscenely.

"What?" he asked, unable to judge what her smile meant.

"You're such an idiot" she said before kissing him.

Andy frowned to himself. He had instantly noticed that Sharon had avoided all roads that led to his frankly questionable history when it came to fidelity. A few hours earlier, the moment the words 'And at least I can commit. I don't sleep with the nearest blonde I find when things start to get even remotely serious' left Provenza's mouth he saw Sharon slump in her seat next to him before Patrice took her hand. Andy was fine with Sharon discovering he was an idiot, she'd got a pretty good idea about that anyway but he never wanted her to have any concerns about his fidelity. He never cheated on his wife, never, but he'd been less than faithful since, something he wasn't proud of to say the least. Despite the brief conversation they'd had earlier when Sharon started to speak to him again about the fact she did trust him regardless, he was horrified by Provenza's revelation and hoped it hadn't damaged his relationship. He tentatively turned to Sharon, looking her in the eyes and asked "You know I only have eyes for you right?" He was clearly anxious as his hand gravitated to his ear and began tugging on his lobe.

Sharon didn't respond instantly as she thought for a moment, her eyes never leaving his. "Yes. I know that" she replied, squeezing his hand but sounding less than certain despite her positive response.

"You sure? That sounded less than convincing. Like Provenza when he's telling me he's got a money making scheme that won't get us into any trouble" he joked trying to lighten the mood as his shoulders slumped.

Sharon smiled. "Andy I love you. I love you more than anything. You're the love of my life but if I'm perfectly honest no I don't know that" she said honestly, the scars of Jack's previous infidelities weighing heavily at the back of her mind aside from Andy's somewhat questionable past. "I hope that's the case but I don't know for certain. I'm far…."

"Sharon..." Andy said feeling the desperate need to reassure her instantly.

"No let me finish. I need to say this" Sharon cut in. The issue of fidelity wasn't an issue between them as far as she was concerned but since it had been brought up she wanted to say her piece. "I'm far too long in the tooth to waste my time on a relationship that has no hope of going anywhere or is only going to end in heartbreak but like I said earlier I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you." She kissed him, slowly but forcefully, reinforcing her point in case he was unsure. "I love you and I trust you Andy but I will never know for certain" she said plainly.

If she was honest Sharon knew herself that she had no real reason not to trust Andy. However it was equally clear that Sharon had no real reason to trust Andy either, the guy with the quite horrific reputation and yet she did. He had never cheated on her, never looked at another woman, never gave any indication that he would. Any dark thoughts in the back of her mind were solely there because of Jack and what she had heard second hand about Andy and she had heard a lot before that evening. The stories she had been told made Andy seem like the least trustworthy person in the world and as she tried to work out if she was dating him without knowing it the previous Christmas, it's all she could think about, making her feel a relationship with him would be a ridiculous decision because she would never be able to trust him fully. But he had changed, she had seen that first hand but she realised that it was very hard to teach an old dog new tricks and Andy was most certainly an old dog indeed. She had worried during the early weeks of their relationship that it was the thrill of the chase for him. She was a challenge to him, the impenetrable ice queen and he'd quickly lose interest after she'd finally slept with him but he seemed far too patient and loving for that to be true. In truth Sharon couldn't explain it. She had made a conscious effort to elect to trust him until he gave her reason not to, which was no different to any other relationship she had experienced.

In the beginning people were certainly not backward in coming forward to voice their concerns about her getting emotionally involved with Andy Flynn. While she dismissed out of hand the opinions of people who knew a different Andy, the Andy from late 80s and early 90s, she took them on board from the likes of Chief Taylor (up until the moment he told anyone who would listen that they were dating, long before she was ready to go public. She'd heard for years that Russell Taylor was nothing more than a gossiping fishwife, case in point when Lieutenant Provenza pointed out that everyone knew she was retiring because she had announced it in front of Commander Taylor. She hadn't fully believed it until she'd discovered just how quickly her 'relationship status' had spread around PAB) and in particular Andrea Hobbs because it came from a place of genuine concern. After discovering that their friendship had turned into something more or at least they were actively seeing if it could Andrea took Sharon to one side and felt compelled to tell her that Andy had hit on her more than once in the past and to double check she was sure she knew what she was doing. As a matter of fact Sharon wasn't sure she knew what she was doing, as she'd said under her breath when Rusty asked her the very same question after she broached the subject of 'potential sleepovers' for the first time. If she wasn't sure she knew what she was doing she was sure she needed to at least try with Andy rather than spend the rest of her life regretting it. In this regard Gavin helped no end. Gavin did not see a long term future between Sharon and the idiotic Lieutenant he'd looked up and down more than once. In such he saw no reason why Sharon couldn't use Andy like he assumed he was using her. Gavin thought it was the best thing Sharon could do for herself and by that he meant riding Andy like a mechanical bull for as long as possible. Gavin was firmly of the opinion that Sharon needed some long term male attention to her nether regions before she exploded (with him maintaining that not only was spontaneous combustion a real thing but it was caused by sexual frustration, common amongst priests). Wanting Sharon to take advantage of Andy as much as possible Gavin was on the verge of oiling her up, squeezing her into a mini skirt that had not seen the light of day since the 70s and delivering her to Andy's door.

Then came the announcement that they were taking their relationship slowly, very slowly, very very slowly and suddenly Gavin more than shared Andrea's concern (which was one of the main reasons why Sharon primarily only confided in Emily when it came to Andy. Emily had no preconceptions of Andy whatsoever having only met him on a few occasions during the holidays and was beyond thrilled that her mother had finally moved on from her father and got herself a boyfriend. The other reason that Sharon kept her cards pretty close to her chest being she didn't want to share what she had with Andy with anyone except Andy). Using Andy for sex was one thing, getting emotionally attached to him was another thing entirely. Gavin had spent more time that he wished with Andy Flynn. Aside from the law suit against Chief Johnson, he had defended Andy in a number of other suits and he'd come to know him fairly well. For a guy on the wrong side of fifty he thought he was gorgeous but when he once described spending time with Andy as 'an experience' it was not one he cared to repeat. Aside from being a blatant womaniser, he was crass, crude, openly flaunted the rules his friend adhered to so enthusiastically and certainly could not be classed as good 'boyfriend material.' They had been dating for a little over 34 days (they both counted) when Gavin invited Sharon out to dinner. It was far from a friendly affair when Andrea was waiting for them and it had all the hall marks of a staged intervention like she had a problem that they were going to steer her towards rehab for to correct. Again Sharon couldn't explain it but she wanted to have a relationship with Andy, she wasn't ready to admit it out loud but she was falling for him. It was clear to Gavin and Andrea that her mind was made up. It may end horrifically but Sharon was determined and although it was irrational to them all they had to trust him for it to stand a chance of succeeding. Sharon never told Andy about this staged discussion but before she left she found a way to explain her behaviour to herself as much as to everyone else. What was the point of entering into a relationship with someone if you didn't trust them? What would it serve if she didn't? It was going to be hard to ignore his past but if she didn't trust him from the outset and kept looking at him with suspicion and caution then there was very little chance of their relationship going anywhere and Sharon desperately wanted it to go somewhere.

Sharon pushed their lips together again, another reminder during this difficult conversation that she loved him. "I think it was Hemingway that said _'The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them'_ and I do. I really really do, implicitly Andy" Sharon said with a smile, lifting some of the worry from his face. "The way I see it trusting someone is like religion. I go to church and I chose to believe in God without any expectation of proof or affirmation because that's my choice. I choose to believe. I choose to believe in God and I choose to believe in you and us and so far you've given me no cause to believe any differently." She kissed him again. "But apart from that Andy you were my friend long before this happened between us and I hope that as my friend you would never hurt me like that."

"That's true. I'll never hurt you Sharon, I can promise you that" he replied sincerely, a lot of raw emotion evident in his voice.

"I know you won't, not intentionally anyway, but some of the worry is taken away by you being far too old these days anyway." Sharon instantly laughed but Andy didn't. He didn't find it funny, not in the slightest. Sharon was the love of his life and there would never be anyone else but her. It upset him to realise that it was a conscious decision on her behalf to trust him rather than him being a particularly trustworthy guy or any real belief in him. He wanted to prove it to her, prove that he was the sort of guy that she could put her faith in but had no real way of doing that currently. The obvious choice would be a commitment, moving in together or giving her the ring he had squirreled away in his sock drawer but he was all too aware Sharon wouldn't be ready for either of those things for a very long time. In truth he wasn't sure that he was ready yet either. As much as he wanted a long term commitment with Sharon the idea of it terrified him mainly because his last long term commitment imploded so spectacularly that he was still picking up the pieces decades later. The only option left to him were his actions. He had to ensure that she knew at all times that he loved her and she was the only woman in the world for him.

Andy looked a little forlorn. "I wish you didn't have to take that leap of faith on me. I wish I'd been a better man so those doubts wouldn't linger in the back of your mind."

"They don't Andy honestly. It doesn't cross my mind" she said and it didn't. On a day to day basis she didn't think about it, she had no reason to. She trusted him without realising she was doing it. It was only when other people brought it up, or looked at them amused or perplexed that the seeds of doubt were allowed to briefly grow in her mind.

"But you're still aware of it otherwise you wouldn't have to elect to trust me" Andy pointed out. "You can trust me, I promise but for now you just need to take my word for it." He pushed their lips together, slowly, savouring the feeling as they connected. "There is only you" he confirmed, meeting her lips again. "There will only ever be you and I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you know that and prove that I'm worthy of your trust." He kissed her once more, slipping his hand into her hair as she clutched the lapel of his leather jacket.

Sharon rested her forehead against his. "You don't have anything to prove Andy, to me or anyone else. These are more my issues from dealings with ex-husbands than anything really to do with you." She had often thought to herself that if Jack hadn't repeatedly cheated on her would she have so much as questioned Andy's ability to faithful once? Regardless of his past? It was doubtful.

Andy smiled for the first time in a while and kissed her again. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, that man is the biggest ass to ever walk the face of this earth."

"You'll hear no argument from me on that" she replied meeting his lips once more.

Andy kissed her again and he stroked her face with his fingertips. "I love you. You believe that don't you?"

"Yes." She smiled, returning the kiss. "I believe that whole heartedly my beautiful boy."

"Are you trying to make me blush now?" he asked.

"You don't blush, you just grin obscenely."

"I blush in front of Amy and Julio when you're ogling me at work." Before Sharon had chance to protest Andy did the best (or possibly the worst) impression of her he could muster and said "I don't ogle you at work." He laughed to himself as Sharon glared at him. "I knew you wanted me, the way you used to follow me around at work all day every day when you were still at FID."

"I wasn't following you around, I was following the division, doing an audit" Sharon explained as if she didn't already know full well that Andy was joking.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night" Andy replied with a wink.

"It's not too late for me to go back to giving you the silent treatment you know."

"Oh good then we can make up again."

"Or I could just take one shot at you with a beanbag gun, see if that'll make you fall into line" Sharon said as her eyes twinkled like she was already taking aim.

"The only thing that'll do is ensure a repeat performance from earlier," he said indicating the kitchen counter above their heads, "because there is nothing sexier on God's green earth than the sight of you aiming a beanbag gun at some dirt bag."

"You old romantic. I can still make you sleep on the couch."

"I thought my mattress was too hard to lie on without me on top of it?"

"In this case I'll make an exception."

Andy laughed, changing the subject before he really did end up sleeping alone on the couch. "So I take it from those pretty loud hints you dropped earlier that you'd like to go away for a few days in the near future?"

"Oh you caught that?" Sharon asked, playing dumb like her glances in his direction and the taking of his hand as they discussed vacation ideas for Provenza and Patrice's honeymoon weren't hints.

"A guy with no hands could have caught that. New York and Hawaii huh?"

"Yes but let's see how the holidays go first" Sharon said, sounding suddenly almost timid about the idea now that they were openly discussing it.

"What do you mean?"

"Baby steps. Let's see if we can get through the holidays without me wanting to murder you and work our way up to a weekend away from there."

Andy looked surprised. "You still want to take everything slowly?"

"Do you mind?" Sharon asked almost pleadingly.

"Sharon if it ends with a week on a beach with you and these legs in nothing but a bikini I'll wait as long as you like." Andy's eyes glazed over slightly as the mere thought of a week alone on a beach with Sharon and all that entailed danced across his face.

"You have such a one track mind" Sharon laughed.

"You love it but can I ask why we're still taking baby steps when it comes to things like vacations?" Andy wouldn't lie, with the final hurdle of them sleeping together for the first time out of the way (with him expecting that to come before they confessed their love for each other but they'd not exactly had a traditional courtship so far) he had hoped their relationship would now progress at a more rapid pace than it had thus far. He didn't expect them to forge ahead with moving in together or marriage but felt everything else was now a mere formality.

"Vacations are a big step. It'll just be you and me, alone, in a hotel" Sharon said nervously making it sound like hotel was code for 'dungeon' and Andy was secretly some sort of cannibal clown.

"That's usually how they work yes. Personally I see just you and me alone in hotel slotting into the pro column not the con." Andy winked leaving Sharon without any chance of misunderstanding how he felt about the idea, with them never getting close to leaving their room and stepping foot on the sand a real possibility.

"But what if we get there and two days in we start to grate on each other and argue and ruin everything? What if I end up locking you out on the balcony?" Sharon replied with genuine concern.

"Why would that happen?"

Sharon laughed. "Well you can be incredibly irritating when you put your mind to it."

"And what if I agreed to be on my best behaviour throughout _and_ put it in writing?"

Sharon frowned. "As you've proved tonight you don't know how to be on your best behaviour. I just don't want anything to go wrong especially when everything is suddenly going so right."

"You really over think these things."

"You don't think taking a vacation together is a big step forward?"

"Of course it is but we work together" Andy reminded her. "With me chained to my desk just recently we've spent every waking moment together and we're planning on doing it again from tomorrow for a few days" he said, not seeing the difference between that and doing the same thing in another city with only room service for company.

"But that's different. I work very hard to ensure that while at work I see you solely as my Lieutenant. It's not the same as spending seven uninterrupted days together completely alone without the distraction of work." She felt silly about it but Sharon did worry that being completely alone for a long period of time may open up cracks in their relationship rather than cementing them together even more. She knew she was not the easiest person in the world to live with. Likewise Andy had spent more time living alone than he had with someone. There was always a significant chance that between the two of them they could screw the whole thing up monumentally.

"Granted but we've still been around each other 24/7 whether you ignore me as your boyfriend or not. We do okay. We've not killed each other yet" he said like the fact that they'd not stabbed or maimed each other (aside from his unfortunate black eye) in the previous nine days should be worthy of celebration and perhaps a parade through the streets.

"Touch that angel in my bedroom one more time and that might change" Sharon responded in an extremely threatening tone.

"In theory the angels wouldn't come with us unless you want me to book you an appointment with Dr Joe." Andy moved in close to Sharon, kissing her cheek before whispering, almost growling in her ear. "Just picture it. You lying on a beach in the shade with a good book. The waves crashing in the distance. A soft breeze keeping you cool. Me fetching you cocktails, being at your beck and call, taking care of your every whim. Rubbing lotion on your back all day long. At night, romantic meals alone, long walks along the shore, dancing the night away under the stars. No adolescent down the hall complaining about 'traumatising noises' coming from our room."

As Andy spoke Sharon's eyes closed and a smile spread across her face as she pictured what he was whispering in her ear. Despite her reservations that it could ruin what they had, it did sound awful tempting. More than tempting. There was more than a small part of her that would willingly sell her right arm to achieve it. "That does sound like heaven but what exactly do you get out of it?"

Andy sighed like a put upon house boy forced to endure these trials and tribulations. "I'm not saying it wouldn't be a chore but I'm willing to sacrifice myself just for you."

"My hero. But what's the upside for me?"

"My catering to your every whim isn't an upside?"

"That depends. Is there anything off limits?" Sharon asked.

"Absolutely not. Consider me your own personal slave." Andy winked again. "The way I see it all these baby steps have meant that things are going really really well. Right? I can't see what difference adding a hotel room to the mix will do." Andy freely admitted that he didn't like the speed they had gone so far and he had grumbled a little but there was no denying it had worked. It could have been a disaster, ruining their friendship and their working relationship in the process but each pain staking baby step had resulted in the intimacy they now shared. They worked side by side comfortably, their relationship progressed and their friendship, above all else, remained intact and grew stronger by the day and that was the most important thing to both of them.

"Because I can always kick you out, hide in my office or run away from you here. I can't do that at a hotel."

Andy laughed. "Sure you can."

"Without booking another room and the staff thinking I'm crazy?"

"If you want space I can give you space. You want me to leave you alone for a couple of hours I can do that. Whatever works. Who knows you might find that you rather like being trapped in a hotel room with just me."

"I suppose you're right. Anything is possible" Sharon joked as she kissed him. Despite her worry she couldn't deny she liked the idea, of being completely alone with him in a different city, far away from the pressures of family and work. "I think seeing Emily in New York is a possibility but I can't foresee a week on a beach anytime soon."

"Why not?"

Sharon looked a little solemn, like she had given this a lot of thought and her conclusions had come to bother her greatly. "This is one of the biggest problems with us working together" she explained. "For one of us to take off for a week on vacation is fine but both of us at the same time? I can't see Chief Taylor being particularly happy about it" she pointed out and she wasn't wrong. It would be difficult and Taylor was hardly going to be enthusiastic about losing two of the biggest cogs from the Major Crimes machine at the same time even if it was just for a week.

"No he wouldn't but we're not breaking any rules and we're entitled to a vacation. There must be ways around it" Andy reasoned.

"Like what?" There was a hint of optimism and hope in Sharon's voice. Although she considered it a massive step forward, one that she wasn't sure she was ready for yet, she'd like to know that it was a possibility that one day they could travel together before retirement.

"I don't know, you're the one that swallowed the rule book" Andy replied somewhat unhelpfully.

Sharon frowned at him. "Oddly enough I skipped right past the vacation section and went straight for the beating your boyfriend to death section" she stated while pinching his knee.

"Look Provenza would help. He could bring someone like Oderno in to cover for me and he did a pretty good job the last time he was in charge until that crazy Captain stomped in and took over." He tried to stifle his laughter as Sharon glared at him with a smirk. "The division ran smoothly and hardly anything burnt down."

"That's true."

"And I know for a fact he'd do anything to get your office for a week."

"Why does he want my office so badly?" Sharon queried since it was so clear that Provenza had his eye on it and had done for some time.

"I have no idea and frankly I don't want to know but if it does happen you'll need to disinfect everything before you touch it again just in case."

Sharon laughed. "He even made a bet with me over it once. If he won he got to have my office for a whole week, no questions asked." At the time she was almost disappointed that she won the bet, already plotting getting Buzz to install a camera to see what exactly he got up to in there when the blinds were closed.

"He obviously didn't win."

"No." Sharon smiled. "Then he had to be civil to me for a week."

"A week of civility from Provenza?" Andy asked with surprise, shocked that this frankly unusual behaviour directly towards Sharon (at that time especially) had somehow gone unnoticed by him. "How was that?"

"Unspeakably frightening" Sharon confirmed causing them both to laugh.

Andy winked. "Maybe he wants the office for that blind spot of yours."

"Oh I have news about that."

"What?"

"According to Andrea Hobbs that blind spot isn't so blind from the near wall" she confessed with a cringe. She was still a little horrified that they had been caught. They did nothing wrong by any stretch of the imagination, it was late, they were at a party and they were in the relative privacy (or so they thought) of her office. Even so to keep that professional boundary between them at work she had elected quite early to ensure they didn't kiss at PAB, regardless of the circumstances (that quick peck on the lips as Rusty arrived to drive Andy home following the revelation about his blood clot notwithstanding). Now the first time they had they'd been caught, she was embarrassed and a little annoyed.

Andy laughed, not caring a hoot if the world and his wife saw them. "She saw?"

"She saw everything" Sharon replied placing all the emphasis on the word 'everything.' It wasn't that they'd been caught sharing a kiss, she had practically assaulted him, her tongue could almost taste what he'd had for lunch as she groped his backside like she was kneading dough. He was lucky he could sit down afterwards.

Andy raised his hand in a small fist pump. "Finally a witness for my sexual harassment in the workplace complaint."

"Complaint? I didn't hear you complaining at the time."

"That's because you had your tongue down my throat."

"Well sometimes that is the only way to get you to be quiet" she replied before she joined their lips together and doing just that.

"I'm sure that one day, after enough baby steps have been taken and you come to realise that a week away with me, alone in a tropical paradise with nothing to do but relax and enjoying spending some time together completely away from work is the best decision you could possibly make for yourself, we could figure it out."

Sharon nodded hopefully. "Something to look forward to in the Summer maybe."

"Yes but before that a weekend in New York when Emily gets back from London is a great idea." Andy let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"You could show me all the sights. The things you don't get on the regular tours."

"Like what?" Andy asked.

"Like the Tale of Young Andrew Flynn and what he got up to as a boy." Sharon loved to hear stories from Andy's childhood. She'd often questioned how he managed to get to this age without either being incarcerated or his parents murdering him.

"As a boy?" Andy smiled. "You want me to show you where I hid from the Nuns after they caught Maria Tucci showing me her underpants? Where my brother and me got arrested for 'borrowing' my cousin's motorbike? Where I talked Jimmy Fingers into getting his head stuck in the church railings? Stuff like that?"

Not for the first time Sharon looked at him with a mixture of love and like he was from another planet entirely. "How about where you grew up and we'll work our way up from there."

"Sure we could do that."

Sharon thought for a moment. "Why did Maria Tucci show you her underpants?" she asked knowing the answer but assuming there was some colourful story that went with it.

"She showed everyone" Andy replied enthusiastically. "I think she's a member of Congress now." They laughed as Andy took Sharon's free hand in his. "I can show you all the sights. Where Mario the Butcher of Brooklyn had his eye ripped out. Where Don Borini got gunned down."

Sharon shook her head. "Let me guess, was he buying fruit?"

"As a matter of fact he was buying a loaf of bread at the time. Why?"

"You make your whole childhood sound like deleted scenes from _The Godfather_ " Sharon pointed out. It was true. If you listened to Andy you would think that as a boy he did nothing but rub shoulders with Mafia crime bosses, witness murder and generally be up to no good. It was all true, every single bit of it. Andy did know these people but so did everyone else in his neighbourhood. There was however a difference between knowing them and associating with them and Andy's parents made sure that both he and his brothers only knew them.

"It's not far from the truth" Andy maintained. "That horse head in the bed, I knew a guy who knew a guy who saw it go down." Sharon laughed at Andy's tenuous link at best with the crime families of Jersey. "Sanchez wasn't the only one who grew up dodging gangs except the gangs I dodged were a lot more of the organised crime persuasion. My parents made the decision to move around a lot when I was a kid to keep me and my brothers from 'falling in with the wrong crowd'."

Sharon looked up at him for a moment before asking "What would your parents have thought of me?" After meeting his eye she awkwardly looked down at their joined hands, stroking his fingers with her thumb. It was silly but even at her age it would be nice to know she would have had his Mother's approval.

"My parents?" Andy thought for a second, a smile plastered to his face. "Well I'll be honest my Mother wouldn't have been a fan I'm afraid" he said, scrunching up his face.

"Oh really?"

"Really. To begin with she was Italian and she hated the Irish. Hated them with a passion so that's an instant black mark against your name."

Sharon laughed while looking at him baffled. "But your Father was Irish."

"She didn't like him much either and as a result had fifty unhappy years together" he joked. Andy's parents were an unusual couple. They were both born in the US to immigrant parents and they loved each other dearly but one was Italian and hated the Irish and the other was Irish who hated Italians. It made for an interesting upbringing with plenty of arguments and racial slurs branded about followed by loving and tender reconciliations. For Andy and his siblings, they simply couldn't win. If they identified themselves as Irish it pissed off one half of the family and if they used Italian instead it would piss off the other half. In essence they felt like mongrels and more often than not as kids behaved as such. 'Those Flynn boys' as they came to be known (for his sister was nothing but a perfect angel and hardly raised her voice up until her battle with thyroid cancer), were nothing but trouble in the neighbourhood they grew up in. "But the biggest problem would have been that because she was a very traditional Italian lady, no one would have been good enough for her little boy. No one. She'd have hunted you down like a dog for 'deflowering' me."

"Even at this age?"

"Wouldn't have mattered. No matter how old I am or how tall I got I was always her little boy." As the youngest of a large brood Andy was the baby and he was treated as such which was fine apart from when his Mother spat on a handkerchief and wiped it on his face to remove a non-existent scrap of dirt moments before he had his photo taken after his graduation from the academy.

Sharon smiled. "Were you a Mamma's boy?"

"Of course I was a Mamma's boy. Italian boys love their Mammas."

"Say something in Italian."

Andy thought for a second, wracking his brain. He was taught a lot of Italian by his Mother and his Grandparents from a very early age but didn't use it because his Father and his other Grandparents didn't like it. Andy cleared his throat and in a perfect Italian accent then his name suggested he was capable of using he said "Sei bella come un piede di pollo."

It was music to Sharon's ears and as sexy as hell. "Which means?"

Andy brushed their lips together. "You're as beautiful as," Andy thought for a moment as he ran the translation back through his mind a second time, "chicken feet" he said finally. "Wait that's not right." Andy closed his eyes, desperately trying to remember as Sharon looked at him unimpressed. "That's not what I meant to say. I used to know this stuff as a kid."

"Wow Andy, you really know how to make me go weak at the knees. Chicken feet?"

"Let me think for a moment." Andy frowned as the words jumbled up in his mind, a side effect from not using it for years.

"No it's fine" Sharon stated with mock offense. "I already know I'm as lovely as goose liver."

"I hardly used it as a kid. Just a few choice phrases here and there."

"Like what?" Sharon asked, sensing she was about to hear some appalling pick-up lines in Italian used to woo the long line of girlfriends she knew he had waiting outside his door.

"C'è un cane in camera da letto?"

"What does that mean?"

"'Is there a dog in your bedroom?' I think." Sharon immediately laughed, it was not what she was expecting to hear. "I don't remember too much. I wish I could remember something more romantic."

"Trust me, 'You're as beautiful as chicken feet' is plenty romantic thank you. 'Is there a dog in your bedroom?'" Sharon shook her head laughing.

"Hey it came in handy from time to time when I was at a girl's house" Andy replied defensively.

"I'm sure. I bet 'Is your Father home?' was also one you used a lot."

"Not as much as: Mia nonna è mancante."

"What does that mean?"

"'My Grandmother is missing.' She tended to wander and I'd be sent to find her amongst the neighbours."

Sharon laughed again. "What about your Father? What would he have thought about me?"

"Oh he'd have loved you" Andy stated enthusiastically. "You'd be beating him off with a stick after he caught the first glimpse of your legs." He kissed her on the side of her head as she laughed.

"Like Father like son."

"Absolutely. He was convinced he had this irresistible Irish charm and he tried to steal every single girl I brought home after I hit eighteen." Andy's Father was a nightmare when it came to bringing girls home, in fact both his parents were. If his Mother wasn't cursing at them in Italian for taking advantage of her baby and crossing herself while clutching the Bible, his Father was flirting with them and generally embarrassing Andy every chance he got.

"So that's where you get it from."

"His hand would have been clamped on your ass until you were forced to cuff him."

"Did they like your ex-wife?"

Andy nodded. "My Father did especially when Carol stood up for herself. She'd flirt with him but made sure he kept his hands to himself. He liked that."

"What about your Mother?"

Andy laughed. "Oh no, hated her. Hated her so much that she blamed her for everything that went wrong in my marriage even though it was blatantly my fault. Of course it didn't help that she was also Irish."

"Was it difficult growing up half and half?" Sharon asked.

"A little" Andy admitted. "The Irish kids didn't want to hang out with me because I was Italian and the Italian kids didn't want to hang out with me because I was Irish."

"How on earth did you parents manage to get together in the first place?"

"I have no idea. My Father used to make it sound like _Romeo and Juliet_ except one side of my family used to just get drunk and argue and the other...well they also used to get drunk and argue too." From about the age of ten both sets of Grandparents moved in with Andy's family and the battle lines were drawn. Never have in-laws openly expressed such hostility towards one another in front of innocent ears and yet in the middle of it, despite the blazing rows, there was an epic love story involving his parents bringing these two warring tribes together.

"Didn't your Mother want to give you an Italian name to go with Flynn?"

"Sure, she wanted to call me 'Benito'" Andy confirmed.

Sharon bit her lip to avoid laughing. "Benito? As in Mussolini?"

"Yep."

"And your Mother had no qualms about naming you after Mussolini?"

"It would appear not." There was more than a hint of relief in Andy's voice that his Father had apparently put his foot down and avoided lumbering him with a rather unfortunate moniker. The same could not be said for his brothers Geronimo and Vitale.

"Benito Flynn?" Sharon said joyfully. "I wonder what sort of guy he would have turned out to be."

"Incredibly handsome with the..." Andy crooned before Sharon cut him off.

Sharon pushed his face away from her. "Alright shut up."

"You wouldn't have used my name around the office that's for certain" Andy stated with no wriggle room in his tone whatsoever.

"I would have called you 'Benny.' Every time you called my cell it would play 'Bennie and the Jets'" she teased.

"You'd have called me nothing. My first name would have been 'Lieutenant' like Provenza."

"Little Benny Flynn. Actually I think he might have been more trouble than Andy Flynn if that's possible. I'd have been handling a package twice the size." Andy immediately started laughing. He knew she was referring to his IA package but given the change in their relationship over the last six months he couldn't help but interpret it a little more sexually. Sharon shook her head at him. "You know what I mean."

"What about your parents? What would they have made of me?"

"Oh I don't think we should go there."

"Why? What would they have thought of me?"

"Let's see, you're a divorced, lapsed Catholic, recovering alcoholic with more than a chequered past, very much like another gentleman they weren't so fond of. I think my Father would probably have tried to shoot you the moment he laid eyes on you, under the insistence of my Mother naturally" Sharon said with a smile.

Now it was Andy's turn to feign offense. "What?"

"Don't panic, other guys I brought home received a similar reaction" she replied as she recalled her Father chasing Brian O'Shea, the first boy she ever brought home to meet her parents at the age of fourteen, around the yard with a meat cleaver.

"And here I thought I was special."

"I know you're used to people wanting to shoot you but it doesn't make you special. He tried to pay Jack to leave me alone once."

Andy's mouth dropped open. "You're kidding?"

"Nope. We'd been dating about three months and he just didn't like him, almost immediately." Sharon only knew a small part of what actually happened. Her Father repeatedly offered Jack money to leave her alone. Each time he refused. The final time he did it was the night before their wedding. Again Jack refused, a surprise in hindsight as was the fact that Jack kept the information to himself, not wanting to soil the relationship Sharon had with her Father. "He could see quite early that I picked a wrong one."

"And he didn't take the money?" Andy asked unable to hide his shock.

"Surprising I know."

"Not really" Andy said with a grin as he lowered his head. "There's not enough money in the world to make me stay away from you." He brushed their lips together, lingering for a moment before adding "Or your legs" before moving their lips together again. "So your Father would have tried to shoot me huh?"

"At first but he'd have come around eventually."

"Before or after I'd lost my spleen?"

"It might have taken the same amount of time it took me, so something like twenty years, but it would have happened" Sharon responded with a smile.

"Twenty years? Still maintaining you didn't have the hots for me years ago?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. Yes, despite the fact she was married she wanted him instantly the first time she saw him over twenty year ago even though she would never have pursued it at the time. Regardless she didn't want Andy to know that, not yet anyway because when it came to women his ego was big enough already. "I didn't. You were too irritating to be attractive in any way shape or form" she protested.

"Oh yes you did" Andy maintained confidentially yet again. "I saw the way you gripped my package and threatened me. It was filled to the brim with sexual tension." He was lying, the only feeling he got from Sharon at that point was loathing, garnished with mild contempt.

Sharon gently dug her nails into Andy's thigh. "That's funny I'm about ten seconds from gripping your 'package' and threatening you right now."

"I'd have talked your Dad around. I've always had the knack to charm parents." Andy grinned smugly, just like his Father he felt he could charm the birds from the trees and to be fair, he could, most of the time.

"Oh I'm sure but I didn't mean it like that. They'd have loved you because I love you and after all these years wasted on a man who wasn't there ninety percent of the time they'd want me to be happy. They wouldn't have liked that you are divorced but then they wouldn't have liked that I am either. That's another reason, apart from the financial stuff and the fact that once upon a time I loved him and made a vow to stay with him until death do us part, as to why I stayed married for so long."

Andy raised his eyebrows. At the time that Sharon divorced Jack she was going out with Andy at least twice a week but just as friends. They both liked to think they could talk to each other about everything as friends but following Provenza's insistence that Sharon was divorcing Jack because of him, Andy suddenly found a topic of conversation he wasn't so keen on discussing. He had wondered hundreds of times before that about why she didn't take that final step to severe ties with the man who made her life hell but never dared ask. The decision to finally divorce Jack was pretty straight forward, it was all for Rusty and the adoption but still Andy was never really sure why she clung to her marriage for so many years after it was completely dead and buried aside from the obvious hurdle, religion. "I always assumed it was because of your kids and you know, the opinions of _Him_ upstairs" Andy said with a glance towards the heavens, knowing God played a part in most of the big decisions in her life.

It was true that a very big reason for Sharon's continued delay in getting a divorce was for religious reasons. It wasn't that it was now forbidden, in fact her priest had encouraged her many times to end it once and for all for her own benefit, she deserved better after clearly making every attempt to make her marriage work, it was just that she took her vows seriously. She took them very seriously. She made those vows before God meaning no matter what papers were signed she would forever be married to Jack in the eyes of God. And yet regardless of how many times she was told that God would prefer her to be happy then to cling to an irreparably broken marriage, she just couldn't bring herself to break them without very good reason. As it turned out in the end, Rusty was that good reason. That boy coming into her life not only gave her a purpose aside from work after her children had flown the nest, it filled a hole in her heart she didn't know was there and through the eventual divorce, liberated her in every way possible.

Sharon nodded. "There was a little of that but Emily told me to divorce Jack when she was about ten and she went through an early women's lib phase."

"Like mother like daughter" Andy laughed.

"You have no idea. She adored Jack and I encouraged it obviously after he left but after one too many broken promises even at the age of ten she announced to me that she wanted to be emancipated from him." It was the biggest regret about her failed marriage, not how she felt at the hands of Jack's mistreatment but how it affected her children. "I knew then that on top of the other reasons I needed to stay married to Jack to try to anchor him to Emily. To make sure she had him in her life when he eventually grew up and had an ounce of responsibility. I knew she'd regret it otherwise. I'd regret it if I didn't try to get them to have a semi decent relationship with him."

"What about Ricky?"

"Ricky hardly remembered him living with us at all so it's not like it wasn't unexpected or surprising that I'd eventually divorce him. We were never the happy family in his mind to begin with. And as for _Him_ ," she said as she nodded upward, "I'd hope that even _He_ would accept that after all this time and all the struggles I've faced I deserved the chance to be just a little bit happy."

"You do. No one deserves it more" Andy said tenderly, ghosting his lips against hers before settling into a long, deep kiss. "And are you?" he asked as they broke apart.

"What?"

"Happy?"

"Exceptionally" Sharon replied, glowing all over.

"Good. That makes two of us" Andy said before he met her lips again.

"How are your legs?"

Andy looked at his lower limbs, stretching them slightly. "Getting there."

"Any chance you could get up and run any time soon?"

Andy looked at her quizzically. "It's a bit late to go jogging."

Sharon nodded. "How about a very short sprint through the house?"

"Not much, why?" Andy asked with a confused frown.

"Good." Suddenly and without warning Sharon took to her feet and stared down at Andy with a smile and an air of mischief. "Because that means you won't be able to stop me from looking for my Christmas present will you."

"Don't you dare!"

"What exactly can you do to stop me?" Sharon asked as Andy remained sat on the floor and looking unlikely that he was going to move anywhere anytime soon.

"Stop you? Jeez Nicole wasn't this bad when she was six." Sharon had asked him every day for about two months what he was going to buy her for Christmas. It wasn't the first time either. When they were just friends she was exactly the same way, more obsessed with her Christmas present than a boy anticipating receipt of his first bike from Santa. Andy couldn't deny he was surprised by her behaviour while finding it incredibly sweet and funny, not so when she spent the previous Sunday morning almost searching his entire house for any evidence of her gift but on the whole it was another charming childlike quality like that of her angel obsession which he adored and was one of a very few privileged enough to witness first hand.

"How lovely. What a nice story and while you reminisce about your children I'm going Christmas present hunting."

"Oh no you're not" Andy cried as he leant forward, grabbing hold of Sharon's foot and preventing her from moving anywhere.

Sharon looked at him unimpressed. "Is that all you've got?" She tried in vain to pull her foot from Andy's grasp but couldn't move.

Concerned that he may hurt her, Andy let go of Sharon's foot releasing her but before she could get to the kitchen door he hurled the chair cushion at it, closing it with a bang. Andy struggled to his feet, once again lunging towards Sharon causing her to run around the kitchen table away from him. He stood by the kitchen door, blocking it as Sharon leant back against the sink and glared at him with a smirk. "Now what are you going to do?" he asked.

Sharon turned away from him, glancing out through the window above the sink as she pondered the best and easiest way past him. "Do you think I'm going to give up so easily?"

"I don't know what other options you have. You're not walking through this door unaccompanied" he added quickly. He found it amusing that Captain Raydor was a present fiend in truth and would normally encourage such behaviour (especially since her present was hidden with his spare tyre in the trunk of his car) except the engagement ring he had impulsively bought a day after he moved back home after his convalescence was hidden in his sock drawer (bought out of fear that should something like that happen again then at least Sharon and the world would know how he felt about her, that he wanted that long term commitment with her). He was not ready for Sharon to see it nor was he ready to contemplate asking her and as such had been terrified that she could see it now she was spending more time in his bedroom.

"Really?" Sharon asked clearly accepting his challenge. She leant forward very slowly and subtly and picked up the faucet hose from the sink, pulling it as far as it would go towards her while making sure she was completely shielding it from Andy's view.

"Really" Andy stated matter-of-factly as she folded his arms in front of him.

"How about if I did this?" Sharon spun around to reveal the hose pointing directly at him.

Andy's hand immediately went up in the air like someone had just drawn a gun on him. "Sharon don't you dare!" he warned.

Sharon's eyes sparkled. "Oh I think I do."

Sharon turned the hose on and squirted Andy straight in the face and chest, drowning him in a matter of seconds. As Andy spat the water from his mouth and wiped it from his eyes so he could see again Sharon quickly darted passed him and into the living room. Alone in the kitchen Andy shook himself like a dog before wiping his eyes one more time and following Sharon into the living room. By the time he made it in and could see properly Sharon was crouched by his Christmas looking underneath it.

Dripping wet, Andy folded his arms again and frowned at her. "Do you really think I'm stupid enough to leave it under the Christmas tree with you in the house? You? The Great Christmas Present Fiend of Los Feliz?" Andy quickly removed his soaking wet leather jacket and dropped it to the ground as he edged towards Sharon.

Seeing Andy dripping and coming slowly towards her Sharon stood up and started to back away from him, her hands in front of her defensively. "Andy I know you're probably mad at me right now but don't overreact."

"Overreact? Now when have I ever done that?" he said as his slow but steady progress towards her continued.

"About ten times a day for the last forty years."

He smiled. "I have no intention of overreacting."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Nothing" he said before pausing as that oh so troublesome mischievous glint in his eye that Sharon had come to love appeared. "Nothing at all except maybe hold the woman I love in my arms" he added moving even closer.

"Not like that you're not" Sharon said, pointing a finger at him as the water continued to drip from his face and his shirt.

"Oh really? And why not?"

"Because you're soaking."

"And whose fault is that?" Andy asked, standing a mere few inches from Sharon.

"No Andy, don't."

"Try and stop me."

Sharon tried her hardest to look serious but failed as Darth Raydor for once failed to appear when she needed her. "Andy I'm serious. Come near me and you'll never see me naked again."

"You've used that threat before."

"Only this time I really mean it" she warned.

Andy shrugged. "I'll take my chances."

"Why?"

Andy grinned. "Because you can't keep your hands off me." He closed the gap between them as Sharon stopped back peddling, giving in to him, wanting him despite his currently incredibly moist appearance.

"That can change very quickly you know" Sharon stated as she looked up at him, without her shoes their height difference even more apparent, from no more than an inch away.

"Prove it." Andy suddenly grabbed Sharon, wrapping his arms around her and pushing their bodies together, wiping every single drop of water from his face and shirt on her. She wriggled in his grasp, squealing playfully and trying to get away from him without any real effort. With Sharon now just as equally as wet as Andy he crashed his lips against hers in a long and passionate embrace. She no longer fought him, wrapping her arms around him and quickly moving her hands south to grab hold of his backside while his splayed across her back. They stood like that for an age, dripping wet, pressed together and making out like teenagers at Prom. It was glorious.

As they broke apart he brushed her hair behind her ears and moved his lips to her neck. She closed her eyes briefly and asked "Remind me again why I agreed to go on that date with you?"

"You couldn't resist my charms."

"I still think I was drugged" she joked before she captured his lips again. Her attention was then brought back to his Christmas tree and more importantly the sole present that lay beneath it. "What exactly is that under your tree?"

Andy turned to look behind him. "The laptop for Gus."

Sharon smirked. "Who wrapped it?"

"I did. Why?"

Sharon laughed as she glanced back under the tree. The laptop was quite clearly in a box and yet Andy's wrapping abilities had made it look more like a football. The paper was creased, ripped and looked like someone had already used it and thrown it in the garbage twice. "Andy it looks like it's been assaulted by someone who has never been allowed to use scissors before" she pointed out.

"What are you talking about? What's wrong with it?"

"Where to begin? It's horrendous."

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?" Andy asked, still perturbed by the division's reaction to his technique when charged with wrapping soccer balls a few years earlier for the LAPD Christmas toy drive.

"I can't imagine" Sharon said biting her lip and burying her face into his shoulder.

"The paper may not be straight and the tape got away from me a little and the bow isn't the best I've ever seen but other than that" Andy continued, defending his efforts.

Sharon looked him in the eyes and stroked the side of his face. "It's a good job you're pretty."

"I feel like I'm being patronised."

"Oh good you noticed that. What happened to your tree?" Sharon asked, tackling the elephant in the room. Andy had a large tree, a beautifully shaped tree but it looked like it had been decorated in about three and a half seconds.

"Nothing."

"Why is only a third of it decorated?" Sharon asked as she nodded towards the two thirds that were completely bare of any ornaments.

"I only look at it while I'm sitting on my couch" Andy explained as if that's all the information Sharon needed to see where he was coming from.

"And?"

"So I've only decorated what I can see from there. Look, sit." Andy led Sharon to the couch and sat her down, settling beside her. Andy was right, from that position the tree did look completely decorated and beautiful, still Sharon couldn't help but shake her head at him. "What?" he asked as Sharon continued to stare at him bemused.

"You're so pretty" Sharon said again before she leant towards him and kissed him. As she had told him earlier, he was an idiot but he was her idiot.

"I feel like I'm being patronised again."

"That's because you are." She kissed him again only to be interrupted by the sound of her cell phone beeping from her purse. "That'll be Rusty." Sharon immediately jumped up and retrieved her phone from the coat peg by the front door.

"What does it say?" he asked as he joined her.

Sharon read from her phone. "'Home.' Well what does that mean?"

"My guess would be it means that he's arrived home but I'm a detective, so it's easy for me."

Sharon looked dismayed. "'Home'? That's it? He could at least have told me how it went."

Andy yawned. "What does it matter right now?"

"It matters because you've bought Gus a Christmas present and we're expecting to take him with us to Nicole's. What if it hasn't gone well? What if they hated each other?"

"Then they hated each other" Andy shrugged.

"I'm calling him" Sharon announced as she started to dial.

"I thought you weren't prying."

"I'm not." Sharon put her phone back in her purse. "But would some indication either way have killed him?" she asked as she sat on the back of the couch.

Andy laughed. "Go on, pry. Call him."

"No. I don't want to be one of those mothers."

"I've got bad news for you, you already are one of those mothers."

"I know but I don't want him to know that."

"I'm pretty sure he already knows."

Sharon sighed. "It's just it's Christmas and Emily and Ricky aren't here and Rusty is all I have left."

Andy walked towards Sharon and put his hands either side of her on the back of the couch, leaning in close. "I know. But you've got me too." He kissed her again knowing he'd never fill the gap left by her children over the holidays but wanting to try all the same.

"But I can't tuck you into bed at night."

"Sure you can. I'll even let you read me a bedtime story" he added with a wink.

Sharon leant forward and put her head in her hands. "I'm wet."

Andy kissed her on the top of her head. "You've only got yourself to blame." Sharon let out a long yawn causing Andy to stand up straighter and put his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest as she yawned again. "Tired?" he asked.

"Extremely."

"Long day."

"Long week. Long month. Long two months my would be James Bond." Time had passed and life had returned to normal but Sharon was still catching up on all the sleep she missed through worry as Andy hovered by death's door.

Andy kissed the top of her head again. "Then I think it's high time we went to bed and got some much needed shut eye and an obscenely long lie in in the morning. What do you say?" Andy took a step back and held his hand out for Sharon to take.

Sharon smiled. "I think that sounds divine" she said as she took his hand and stood up. "But oddly enough I need a shower first."

"You're already half way there." Sharon set off towards Andy's bedroom and the shower before he stopped her. "Do you really think I'm going to let you lose in this house on your own?" he asked still worried that a snooping Sharon may stumble across the ring as she looked for her Christmas present before he'd had chance to hide it somewhere more secure.

"I'm only going to the shower."

"Exactly."

Sharon smiled. "So my Christmas present is hidden in the bathroom?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't need to" Sharon grinned before kissing him and heading off towards the shower once more.

"Hold up. Where do you think you're going?"

"I told you, to climb into the shower."

"I'm not leaving you unsupervised."

"Then you'd better come and keep an eye on me" Sharon said as she sauntered away. Andy grinned as he watched her move before leaping to his feet and making off after her.


	13. Chapter 13

_Thank you to those that read and reviewed the last chapter, I know it took some effort to make it to the end and I appreciate your time. In particular I'd like to thank Libelulablue for the wonderful review and much needed and timely confidence boost, gracias. Adler, I'm sorry you're having a tough time but I'm glad I was able to make you smile._

 _I know the last two chapters have been too long. I am trying to keep them shorter so people are more inclined to read them, they are easier to read and you won't need quite as much tea to get through them. If you would like to have a chat with me some time about the show, nonsense and twaddle or anything else you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Once again characters that have been mentioned in the show but have otherwise remained nameless have been named after my family. Should we eventually find out their names I will simply replace the chapter._

 _Following on from this chapter, if the stars align, I'm aiming for two more Christmas chapters in two weeks. This chapter picks up the following evening after chapter 12 on Christmas Eve between 4x18 Penalty Phase and 4x19 Hindsight Part One._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirteen**

The lights in the kitchen were the main source of light but even so the condo practically glowed from the lights on the Christmas tree and the scented candles dancing on every available surface. Sharon loved Christmas, actually scratch that, she adored Christmas and ensured that she decorated everything to the umpteenth degree to make sure her home was a winter wonderland even if she was the only one that would see it. Rusty once assumed that she decorated the way she did just for him but he soon came to understand that it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with how much Sharon loved the season. For Sharon this year was even more special. There was a gaping hole left in her heart by Emily and Ricky's absence but it was partially filled by having Andy with her over the holidays for the first time. Andy saw the holidays purely as an opportunity to spend time with the people he loved, in previous years because it was their obligation but this year it was more because they wanted to spend time with him out of choice. With this in mind Sharon wanted to make sure that her home was perfect in time to welcome Andy into it for the holidays. She had decorated everything. Every wall, every surface was covered with some sort of Christmas decoration but Sharon's finishing touch were the stockings that hung in front of the television. Sadly she had no use for Emily or Ricky's this year so had mailed them to her children to take with them on their Christmas adventures, a little bit of home for them to keep with them. It wasn't all loss however, two were missing but a new stocking joined the remaining pair with Andy's name stitched in gold across the top.

As Rusty stood in the kitchen making a coffee he watched Sharon flit around the living room adjusting every single angel that adorned it, in one final attempt to make everything perfect for Andy's arrival. Rusty frowned as Sharon moved an angel nestled by the television once again and bordered on some sort of obsessive compulsive disorder. "Sharon I think you've already moved that one twice" he pointed out.

"I know but I want to make sure I get everything perfect before Andy gets here" she replied as she moved another angel no more than three or four millimetres.

"I know you know him better than I do but if I'm honest Mom, Andy has never struck me as a guy who is into the precise location of Christmas ornaments so I think you can relax" Rusty added as he tried to calm Sharon's frantic rearranging just a fraction.

"That is very true" Sharon agreed distractedly as she scanned the room for the next adjustment that was required. "You should see his Christmas tree. It's like someone threw the ornaments at it in a drive by decoration."

Rusty smiled. "No sense of occasion?"

"Exactly."

"And yet you're still moving stuff around" Rusty again pointed out as Sharon's continued quest for perfection was beginning to exhaust him just watching her.

"It's all part of my evil plan, trust me." Sharon's eyes started to twinkle as she beckoned Rusty towards her. "Come here." Rusty obediently obliged and waited by the couch for further instruction. "Sit in the middle of the couch."

Rusty looked at Sharon confused. "Why?"

"Just sit please and I'll show you."

Rusty settled on the middle of the couch and shrugged. "Okay. Now what?"

"Notice anything?"

Rusty scanned the room and shook his head. "Not really?"

"Are all the angels looking directly at you?"

Rusty looked around the room again and was surprised to see that Sharon was right, all of her efforts had meant that all of the angels were indeed looking directly at him. The effect was actually quite disturbing as they stared at him en masse like something out of _Doctor Who_. "Yes they are. That's really quite creepy. You planned this?"

"You bet I did so that is exactly where Andy will sit this evening. That'll teach him to keep turning the ones in my office around every time I turn my back." Deep down Sharon did find it slightly amusing that if she so much as left her office to go to the bathroom she discovered her angels looking out of the window when she got back but she was never going to tell Andy that. As Sharon continued to smile at her handiwork there was a light knock on the front door. "That'll be him." Rusty stood up and headed towards the door before Sharon stopped him. "It's okay I'll get it." As Rusty went back to the kitchen Sharon bounded to the front door and opened it.

On the other side a grinning Andy, dressed very casually with a garment bag over his left shoulder and a large gym bag in his other hand, stood leaning against the door frame. "Hey" he said with a wink as he crossed the threshold.

"Hey yourself" Sharon replied as her hands settled on his chest and she leant up to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Merry Christmas Andy" Rusty called from the kitchen as Andy along with Sharon made their way towards the couch.

"Merry Christmas kid" Andy replied before he dropped his bags on the floor. With the room glowing beautifully from the decorations and the candles Andy's eyes absorbed it joyfully, immediately noticing the sheer volume of angels dotted around. "Wow the place looks amazing. Look at all the extra creepy angels staring at us, like the _Children of the Corn_. And I thought the one hundred and thirty seven of them you already had placed around the living room were more than enough."

Sharon's hands immediately landed on her hips as she glared at Andy, Darth Raydor putting in her first appearance over the festive season as Rusty laughed at Andy hysterically. "Five seconds. You've been through the door five seconds before you start abusing my angels." Sharon spun on the spot to face Rusty. "Rusty don't laugh at him! You'll make him think he's funny."

"I am. Come here I'm only joking." Andy stepped closer to Sharon and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. They stayed like that for a moment, just long enough for Andy to reach behind Sharon and turn around an angel that was sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter. Andy's eyes sparkled at Rusty to make him keep quiet as he bit down on his finger to stop himself from laughing at him.

Finally able to speak Rusty asked "Can I get you a coffee?" as he poured himself and Sharon a cup from the brew he'd been making before Andy arrived.

"Thanks Rusty" Andy replied as he pulled out of Sharon's embrace. "Let me get all of this out of the way before dinner" he added as he stooped to retrieve the items he'd brought with him from the floor.

"I've cleared some more room for you in my closet so you can hang everything up."

"Let me guess, you moved a belt?" Andy asked with a grin before kissing her quickly on the lips to delay the inevitable loud verbal response that was about to head his way.

Rusty laughed. "More like a shoe."

Sharon quickly pointed at them both. "You can stop this whole ganging up on me right now because I think I preferred it much better when you two didn't get along as well." Andy laughed as he vanished into Sharon's bedroom with his bags. With Andy out of the room Sharon turned to Rusty and found him giggling quietly to himself as he found Andy a coffee cup. "What?" Sharon questioned.

"Are you seriously going to leave him alone? In your bedroom? With your angel?"

Sharon thought for a moment. "You make a good point." Before she had chance to move she noticed the angel on the kitchen counter which was now facing the wall rather than towards the couch. She pointed at it as her mouth dropped open. "When did he do that?"

Rusty laughed again. "While you were hugging him."

As a mixture of mock anger and amusement did battle across Sharon's face Rusty grinned to himself and said a quick prayer of thanks that he wasn't on the other end of that expression. "I'll kill him" Sharon said with menace before she marched off in the direction of her bedroom ready to tear Andy a new one.

As she entered her bedroom she discovered Andy's luggage dumped on her bed but with the man in question nowhere in sight. Then she turned and as expected Andy was standing by her bureau in the corner of the room with both hands clasped around the angel he had spent the better part of ten days turning around to face the wall whenever he got the chance. As he saw her he froze, rooted to the spot like a child who had just been caught by his Mother standing on the fridge about to liberate the cookie jar of its contents. Neither said a word for a moment as Sharon glared at him and Andy attempting a smoulder in order to placate her. "Andrew Flynn!" Sharon shouted in the full knowledge that Andy hated it when she used his full name. "If you lay one more finger on that angel you'll be spending the rest of Christmas Eve in your car, alone. Get away from it." Sharon gestured for Andy to move. After a brief moment Andy removed his hands from the ugly looking cherub and put his hands in the air. "Now! I mean it! Back away" Sharon said loudly as Andy slowly back peddled until the edge of the bed banged into the back of his knees.

"It was falling over" Andy said innocently.

"Of course it was."

"I'm trying to protect you."

Sharon put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "Protect me from what exactly?"

"That" Andy said as he pointed back towards the angel which was as cross eyed as it was demonic looking. "It has eyes like the kid from _The Omen_."

"She is absolutely beautiful. You have no taste whatsoever."

"Well that's clearly not true" Andy replied with a smile as he slowly edged back towards the angel in question as subtly as possible.

Sharon's eyes narrowed. "Cheap flattery will not get you out of this."

"Cheap?" Andy scoffed. "I'll have you know you get all my best lines."

Sharon laughed. "Oh I know, I remember being as 'beautiful as chicken feet'." As the words left Sharon's mouth she suddenly realised that Andy was now in touching distance of her angel again. "Move away from that angel!" she ordered as Andy again back peddled before edging his way towards her. "If you want me to cuff you to my bedframe you're going the right way about it." Andy smiled obscenely making Sharon's threat appear less innocent than she intended it to be. "Not like that!" Sharon confirmed.

Andy laughed. "I thought that was my Christmas present." Sharon immediately darted for the back of his knee, pinching it and making him flinch. "Ow!" he cried before wrapping his arms around Sharon's waist and drawing her in for a kiss. As they pulled apart Andy smiled and said "È mi acara sei l'amore della mia vita" having clearly put some time and effort into perfecting his Italian and Mother's tongue since his woeful attempts of the previous evening before joining their lips together.

Sharon smiled, melting at Andy's use of Italian despite the fact that it was currently as pigeon as it was sexy. "Let me guess, 'I'm as beautiful as a week old burrito'?"

"No" Andy laughed. "You my dear are the love of my life" he said rather proudly before meeting her lips.

"Have you been practicing?"

"Yes I have and then I phoned my sister who has a better memory than I do." They both laughed before their lips met again. "Merry Christmas" he muttered before their kiss continued.

"Merry Christmas" Sharon replied, kissing him one final time. "I'm so glad you're here" she added, resting her head on his shoulder as they swayed slightly.

"Me too. It gives me the chance to make up for ruining Thanksgiving."

"Andy you didn't ruin Thanksgiving, not for me" Sharon said as she pulled away a little to look him in the eyes. "You just gave me something else to be very thankful for."

"Next time I'll try to do that without involving the emergency room."

"Good, I'd appreciate that."

Andy looked about the room for a moment before nodding his head towards his collection of belongings. "Are you sure you're still okay with this? With me staying here over the holidays?"

"Well it depends" Sharon stated with a mischievous grin. "How many women have you tried to pick up on the way here?" she asked in clear reference to all the revelations of the previous night and subsequent conversation on the kitchen floor.

"At least forty" Andy joked. "How many people have tried to warn you off me today?"

"Every single one."

Andy laughed. "And yet you still want me to stay?" he asked looking for a genuine answer since Sharon had made it abundantly clear twenty four hours earlier that she still wasn't keen on rushing forward in their relationship.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't mean it" Sharon offered reassuringly as her hands moved up and down his back. "All I want for Christmas is you" she added channelling Mariah Carey like some sort of spirit from beyond.

"Good because that's all you're getting" he joked in reply.

Sharon laughed. "I want you here with me." She joined their lips together in a long searing kiss before bluntly adding "Plus I can always kick you out and make you live on the balcony if you start to annoy me...potentially without your clothes."

"Oh I'm sure your neighbour would love that."

"I'm not sure Rusty would be too thrilled about it either."

Andy held his hands up in the air. "Consider me forewarned and on my best behaviour" he confirmed before Sharon smacked him on his backside. Released from each other's grasp Andy walked over to the closet and opened the door. Sharon had indeed made a little bit of room for his clothes but what was even more apparent was that his dress shirts he had previously sent home with her the Sunday before were nowhere to be seen. "What happened to my shirts?" he asked as he turned to face her.

"I told you" Sharon said a little sheepishly as she sat down on the bed. "I may have been sleeping in them."

"May have?"

"Yeah."

"So where are they now?"

"In my pyjama drawer" Sharon said as she nodded in the direction of her bureau.

Andy walked towards the new home his shirts currently had while never taking his eyes off Sharon. As he opened the drawer and looked inside his mouth dropped open. "Oh my God! Look how creased they are. What have you been doing in them?" he asked as he examined each shirt closely. They were currently so creased they looked like the type of shirt you buy at amusement parks, being sold in tiny wrappers and that expand when you put them in water.

Sharon shrugged. "I told you, I've been sleeping in them."

"Sleeping in them? What do you get up to when I'm not here? This takes restless sleeping to a whole new level. It looks like a bear has been rolling on them" he joked in reference to Sharon informing him he looked like he'd been assaulted by a bear after their lust filled encounter in the kitchen. Andy slowly turned back around to face Sharon. "So you're telling me that you've claimed them?"

"It would appear that way, yes" Sharon said brightly. She found it quite a large cliché herself that she liked to sleep in men's shirts but she had a good explanation for it, she thought anyway. Sharon liked a lot of freedom to move in her sleep (not that much of a surprise considering the way she thrashed around and punched Andy in her sleep) and found large shirts more comfortable to do that in. The only problem was if she bought pyjamas with tops big enough to suit her, the bottoms would be so big she could fit fourteen people and a kangaroo in them. When Jack was there she always slept in one of his shirts purely for comfort, washing them several times to get the lingering smell of him and his aftershave out of the fabric before wearing them. Between Jack and Andy she had experienced a fair few dalliances but none significant enough to warrant stealing a shirt from them. She felt silly purchasing a man's shirt just to sleep in so the first night that Andy stayed with her his clothing was being claimed to sleep in and he was going to have very little choice in the matter.

"I see. It's like that is it?" Andy asked as Sharon walked towards him and wrapped her arms back around his waist. "Then what may I ask are you giving me to sleep in?"

"Nothing. You won't fit in anything of mine."

"I could try."

"Only if you want to see me cry" Sharon said plainly. If Andy could squeeze into any of her clothes comfortably then anti-depressants would not be enough to fix the problem or stop her tears.

"I'll have you know I don't look too bad in a dress" Andy replied almost dismissively.

"That's not the poi…." Sharon started before she fully registered what Andy had just said to her. "When have you worn a dress?" she asked as her voice reached a pitch higher than that of a squirrel who's nuts had just been removed.

"At Freddie Fisher's retirement party. He wanted us to get dressed up and since the guy was retiring and dying it was hard to say no to him" Andy stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world when in fact a huge group of male cops dressed in drag was anything but. Everyone loved Freddie Fisher. He was a cop's cop, a true hero in blue. He saved countless lives of both civilians and his fellow officers, his friends, taking several bullets in the process. When he announced he was retiring to travel the world with his wife the department could not have been more pleased for him and then WHAM! Just like that he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer so when he requested that his friends and colleagues dress up in drag for his retirement party no one dared object.

"What?" Sharon asked, completely shocked by this information that she had somehow missed. Not that it was much of a surprise. When she worked in IA very little information of a personal and friendly nature came her way about her fellow officers. More often than not people actively avoided even passing her in the corridor so sharing tales of retirement parties for those outside of Professional Standards was extremely unlikely. That being said she knew Freddie Fisher and knew what had so tragically happened to him but had no idea of the dress code for his party.

"He wanted us to dress up so we did."

Sharon smiled as the thought of Andy in a dress and heels intrigued her more than she thought it would. "What did you wear?"

"Well I was aiming for Marilyn Monroe in _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ but I came across more like Dustin Hoffman in _Tootsie_." Andy was wrong, he looked nothing like the beautiful, feminine and passing for female Dustin Hoffman in _Tootsie_. He opted for a black and purple dress with very thin straps which was basically the first one he found that he could squeeze his body into but combined with his short grey hair he looked more like Ursula the sea witch from _The Little Mermaid_ than anyone else.

Sharon laughed. "How unbelievably sexy. Did you shave your legs?"

"Of course I shaved my legs I was in a dress" Andy pointed out with as much dignity as he could muster. "It took me about four hours. I needed a weed whacker."

"I bet it did. No chest wax?" Sharon asked laughing loudly as she continued to press for more information.

"Never again" Andy confirmed. Never again would another woman talk him into waxing his chest although if anyone would come close to it in the future, it would be Sharon.

"Did Lieutenant Provenza go?"

"Yes."

"And?" Sharon asked with a smile.

"Like Barbra Bush on anti-depressants."

It would be an insult to the Academy Award winning makeup artists involved to say that Provenza looked as good as Robin Williams in _Mrs Doubtfire._ He didn't. In many ways with his wig on Provenza looked a little like Reece Witherspoon...if she had lived a _very_ hard life and spent the better part of it in the sun performing hard labour after several failed face lifts. In their minds Andy and Provenza wanted to look like Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in _Some Like It Hot_ when they arrived at the party, natural, almost beautiful (hopefully Jell-O on springs) and in a darkly lit room at least passing for women (with both of them fighting over which one made the better looking woman when the answer was neither of them) but they looked more like the stuff of nightmares. It was not a comfortable evening for anyone in attendance but they did it without complaint for the sake of Freddie because they loved and admired him and it's what he wanted (the sight of a line of 'women' with the front of their dresses hiked up in front of the urinals was enough to clear the bar of everyone except those invited to the party so their embarrassment was kept to a minimum). Well almost without complaint. If Andy and Provenza made one trip to the bathroom together, they made a hundred over the course of the night, each time to help the other pull their pantyhose up or to adjust their 'breasts' which consisted of honeydew melons held in place by a LOT of tape and which seemed to have a mind of their own. By the time the crotch of Andy's pantyhose was hanging between his knees making him walk like a penguin that had just had its prostate checked and Provenza had screamed 'Ye Gods Flynn, every time I put my left breast in my right one pops out! How do women do this?!' they knew it was time to put an end to the evening and went home but not before two very drunk and very near sighted Japanese businessmen hit on them in the parking lot grabbing Provenza's backside and calling him 'Sweet cheeks' in the process. Taylor had no such problems with strange men hitting on him with his moustache making him look like Freddie Mercury in the ' _I Want To Break Free_ ' video except nowhere near as sexy.

"Oh how I wish there were photos" Sharon laughed.

"Oh how I'm glad there aren't. So have you got a teddy for me to wear?"

"Absolutely not! Anyway I think that you're best off in just your birthday suit" Sharon said as she played with the buttons on his shirt suggestively.

"Really?" Andy asked before their lips met.

"I've always said you can wear a suit like no other man I've ever met."

Andy smiled and leant down, joining their lips together in another long embrace until they were rudely interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing in his pocket. "Crap!" Andy said loudly as he fished his phone out and looked at the screen. "Sorry. I have to take this."

"No problem. I'll unpack for you."

As Sharon opened his bag Andy made his way to the door. "Don't steal anymore shirts" he said as he pointed a finger at her before answering his phone. "Hello. Hi. Thanks for calling me back" Andy said to the mystery caller as he left the room. "Have you…just one moment please" Andy added as he stopped and walked back into Sharon's bedroom just in time to see her producing a pretty and elaborate gift bag from his gym bag and inspecting it with huge amounts of curiosity. "Stop it! Drop the bag" Andy shouted loudly causing Sharon to jump and release the handle of the bag. "You can't even be trusted for ten seconds."

"You left it in plain sight."

"But nowhere on it does it say 'Please pick me up and inspect me'" Andy stated as he covered the mouthpiece of his phone.

Sharon laughed. "Is this the laptop for Gus?" she asked as she picked up another parcel from Andy's bag. It had clearly been rewrapped since the last time she saw it but that didn't mean it looked any better.

"Yes. Stop laughing! I've rewrapped it twice!" Andy said before picking up the gift bag and leaving the room to continue his phone call.

Sharon surveyed the luggage before her and couldn't help but smile. She felt it was a big risk and a big step inviting Andy to stay with her for such an extended period of time (even though he had stayed for much of last week when his house smelt worse than the morgue) but it was a step she desperately wanted to take with him and to confirm that, to herself as much as anyone else, the first step was to get him, and more importantly his belongings settled into her home. Sharon picked up the present for Gus and tucked it away in the corner of the room thinking it would be a good idea to keep it a secret from Rusty as well until Andy gave it to Gus himself. Next Sharon unzipped the garment bag and produced two suits complete with shirts and tie. He'd brought that black suit she loved with the waist coat and electric blue shirt. She ran her fingers over it before hanging it up in her closet, plotting to steal that shirt the first opportunity she got. That was followed by a couple of pairs of jeans and more casual shirts, dress shirts for their return to work and yet more ties. The bottom of the bag was filled with a pile of suspenders, underwear and plain t-shirts which she bundled into a single drawer she'd emptied for him. Before retrieving his washbag her attention was drawn to a pair of boxer shorts that sat on top of the pile in the drawer. They were bright red, featured Santa and had 'Ho Ho Ho' written all over them. She laughed to herself as she studied them before putting them back and secretly looked forward to removing them from his body sometime in the near future. With his washbag deposited in her bathroom and his gym bag and shoes dropped at the bottom of her closet Sharon left her bedroom in search of her son and the man in question.

As Sharon walked back into the living room Rusty was still pottering around the kitchen brewing Andy a coffee but Andy was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" she asked.

Rusty nodded in the direction of the open door. "On the balcony."

Sharon leant up against the counter and watched Andy on the balcony as he chatted away on the phone. From a distance it was difficult to assess what sort of conversation was taking place. Andy seemed to be smiling but was also gesturing wildly like he was being attacked by an oversized bumble bee. Moments later Andy hung up the phone, came back inside and closed the balcony door behind him, the gift bag he had removed from Sharon's grasp still dangling tantalisingly in his hand, almost taunting her.

"Who was that?" Sharon inquired casually as she took a step towards him.

"I'll tell you tomorrow" Andy replied as he put his phone back in his pocket.

"That's very mysterious."

Andy winked. "What can I say? I'm a mysterious kind of guy."

"Andy. Coffee" Rusty said indicating the cup on the counter before he wandered off towards his bedroom with his own cup.

"Thanks kid" Andy called after him as he moved over to Sharon's desk and began to open the drawers searching for something very specific.

"What are you doing?" Sharon asked.

Andy produced a Post-It Note from the drawer and quickly wrote his name on it in large letters before walking back over to Sharon and his coffee. "Just making sure I have a way to claim what's rightfully mine so there's no confusion later." Andy put the Post-It Note on his coffee cup, pressing hard to make sure it wouldn't fall off before picking up his cup and smiling at Sharon. "I wouldn't want anyone drinking my coffee and then I end up having an argument with an innocent party over it."

"Again with the cup of coffee? I've made it up to you haven't I?" Sharon said with mock exasperation as she moved into the kitchen and peered through the oven door.

"Without a shadow of a doubt" Andy grinned as he followed her into the kitchen. "That was without doubt the best apology I've ever received but what about Provenza?"

"I'll make it up to him on Monday as well don't worry."

Andy laughed. "Not in the same way I hope."

Sharon winked as she took a step closer to him. "I'm going to drag him into the blind spot in my office."

"I can almost hear his screams already" Andy said as he put his coffee back on the counter while double checking that Rusty was still in his bedroom. With the coast clear Andy sauntered back over to Sharon and ran his arms back around her waist, planting his lips to hers to complete the kiss that his cell phone had rudely interrupted in her bedroom a few moments earlier, the gift bag nestled in the small of her back making her very aware of its presence.

"How are your legs today?" Sharon asked while briefly rubbing her hands up and down his hamstrings before returning her lips to his.

"Better." Andy had never had his legs go out from beneath him before like they had the previous evening but then again Sharon Raydor had never confessed she wasn't wearing underwear before wrapping her legs around him before either. Under the circumstances the fact that only his legs gave way could be seen as a major victory given his age, their location and his recent brush with death. "I thought you were trying to kill me" Andy said with a smile before kissing her again.

Sharon winked. "Better luck next time?"

"Next time?" Andy questioned as he captured her lips once more.

"I told you there were benefits to not living together." No sooner were the words out her mouth than Sharon attacked his lips but with an ulterior motive in mind. With Andy otherwise distracted Sharon subtly removed her right hand from his back and slowly moved it behind her in a desperate attempt to grab the gift bag located teasingly in the small of her back. Andy however was onto her immediately and was quick to bring his hand and the bag behind his own back.

After breaking off the kiss and glaring at Sharon he muttered "I don't think so young lady." Andy took a step away and shook his head in mock disapproval. "You have a real problem you know that? You're a Christmas present fiend" he proclaimed while holding the bag aloft and out of reach.

Andy had spent the better part of the morning following Sharon around his house as she desperately tried to find her Christmas present, little did she know that it was hidden in the trunk of his car. Andy would have gladly allowed Sharon to simply ransack his house in the quest for her present just for sheer entertainment value alone but to say he was worried she would discover his hasty and impulsive purchase of an engagement ring months earlier was an understatement. He was so worried he followed her around the house like her shadow with a very fake and very large smile plastered to his face. Luckily for him Sharon was far too busy with the task at hand to notice the large beads of sweat that formed on his forehead every time she ventured too close to his sock drawer.

"It's Christmas Eve! Why does it matter?" Sharon pouted, sounding like a toddler.

"It matters because you don't get it until Christmas day! You're like a child."

Sharon edged closer to Andy again, playing with the buttons on his shirt. "Can't I have it now?"

"No. You'll have to be patient."

"It's hard to be patient when it's dangling in front of me."

"Then I'll just have to hide it from you until tomorrow morning" Andy said with a smile.

"And you think there's somewhere in this condo you can hide it where I won't get my hands on it?" Sharon asked with a scoff. With that Andy sucked his stomach in, pulled the waistband on his jeans out a little and stuffed the bag down the front of his pants. Andy grinned satisfied while Sharon smirked with her hands on her hips. "Andy, really? Do you really think that's going to stop me from getting it?"

Without warning Sharon lunged at Andy and thrust her hand down his pants to grab her present as he battled valiantly to stop her. Sadly it was at this moment that Rusty chose to join them again. As soon as they saw him they froze, realising what it must look like to that particular teenager before he had chance to screw his face up in disgust.

"Oh jeez! Get a room already! You're in the kitchen! No sex in the kitchen!" Rusty shouted, beyond disturbed that he even needed to have this conversation with his Mom in the first place.

Andy laughed uncontrollably. "Yes Sharon! No sex in the kitchen!" he said to her with the memory of the previous evening all too fresh in their minds.

Sharon removed her hand from Andy's pants and waved at Rusty reassuringly. "Rusty he's hidden my Christmas present down the front of his pants."

"Save it! I don't want to know" Rusty replied, not caring what they were doing just as long as they stopped, before heading back to his room again.

"See now you've let your son catch you molesting me in the kitchen" Andy said jokingly as he chastised Sharon. Quick to avoid scaring or perhaps scarring Rusty further Andy removed the bag from his jeans and placed it on top of the fridge before turning his attention back to his coffee. With his back turned Sharon opened the fridge and pretended to peruse the contents of the top shelf before her hand made a desperate grab for the bag once again. Almost as if he had eyes in the back of his head Andy shouted "Leave it!" before turning around to face her.

"You're so obsessed with the rules, has anyone ever told you that?" Sharon closed the fridge before kissing Andy's cheek and peering through the oven door again.

"Never." Andy took a step closer to the fridge, looking at the suddenly rather sparse door and realising that the letter from the hospital he gave her just over a week ago had finally been moved. "What happened to your letter?"

"I've moved it to somewhere more secure."

"More secure? Was it going to get stolen? "

Sharon whacked him on the back of the head with an oven mitt before sliding it on. "Somewhere where it won't get dirty or damaged before I frame it and hang it on my office wall for all the world to see."

"Don't you dare!"

"Why not? Are you frightened of everyone discovering you have a soft little underbelly?" she asked as she ran her hands around him from behind and rubbed his belly.

"Yes. I have a reputation to protect, a reputation I've been building and maintaining for nearly 40 years."

Sharon released him and leant against the counter by the oven. "After last night's antics with your partner in crime I'd think you'd want to move as far away from your reputation as humanly possible."

"My reputation?" Andy asked, turning around to face her. "After last night you've got yourself a whole reputation of your own and one I rather like."

"That was the intention."

Andy kissed her cheek before pulling himself up and sitting on the counter next to her. "You're not really going to hang it in your office are you?" he asked, really uncomfortable by the notion of the world and his wife reading his inner most thoughts from the moment he was at his most vulnerable.

"No" Sharon laughed as Andy's visible discomfort eased. "It's in my bedroom, tucked away safely in a drawer in my nightstand with everything else that is precious to me" she said as her eyes sparkled like Gollum after using the word 'Precious' to describe her most cherished possession. "That way I can read it whenever I need a reminder as to why I put up with you."

"Put up with me?"

"Yes. I can also remind myself how lucky I am to have you" she said before joining their lips together, her stress about his accident forever at the back of her mind despite the talk they'd had about it the night before. "Have you called Patrice today?"

"Yes I have, this afternoon as a matter of fact and I apologised profusely, grovelling more than I have ever done in my life." Andy had spent twenty minutes on the phone with Patrice, telling her how sorry he was multiple times. Exactly like what had happened the night before Patrice wasn't ready to let him off the hook so easily and remained silent until she couldn't hold it in any longer and revealed all was forgiven, he was a moron but so was her fiancé and all was forgiven.

"I find that hard to believe. I suspect some grovelling was involved with Lieutenant Provenza after he helped you bunny hop to the emergency room."

"I thought we were forgetting that now" Andy said quickly as his face screwed up from the memory and the pain involved at the time. "I told Patrice I'd take us all out to dinner after the holidays to make up for my small part in it."

"Small part?" Sharon questioned. "That sounds lovely. What about Lieutenant Provenza?"

"Yes I guess he can come as well if you insist" Andy said dismissively.

Sharon laughed. "I meant did you apologise to him as well?"

Andy shrugged. "He wasn't there."

"Uh-huh but I know for a fact that he has a cell phone."

"He didn't answer" came the immediate response.

"So why don't you give it a ring now?"

"Right now?" Andy sighed.

"There's no time like the present."

"Do I have to?" Andy asked like a five year old being ordered to brush his teeth.

"Yes you do."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why?"

"Because I'm asking you to" Sharon said plainly. In response Andy crossed his arms and looked as stubborn as a mule. Sharon smiled gently and ran her hands up his thighs as he sat on the counter. "Let's put it this way, if you don't call him and apologise right now you'll be on 'light desk duties' for the rest of the holidays."

Andy thought for a moment. "You don't mean at work do you?"

"No I don't" Sharon replied as her eyes sparkled and left no room for misinterpretation. "Now get dialling" she ordered.

"Fine!" Andy jumped down from the counter and removed his cell from his pocket. He placed it on the counter opposite as he leant against it. "Using sex to manipulate me, when did we become an old married couple?"

"Just shut up and dial."

Andy put his cell on speakerphone and dialled. Without ringing it immediately went to voicemail with the dulcet tones of Provenza shouting 'What do you want?' filling the room. Andy hung up the phone before shrugging. "See, it's switched off. I'll call him after the holidays. I promise."

"You'd better" Sharon said as she waved a spatula at him menacingly.

"Why are you going to beat me again?"

"Until you're black and blue." Before Andy had chance to respond Rusty cautiously joined them again, sitting on a stool at the counter with his coffee. "Or better still you can apologise to him in person Monday morning the moment he walks into the murder room so I can witness it for myself."

"You see I would do that but my Boss lady is a bit crazy," Andy said winking at Rusty, "and a stickler for the rules."

"Is that so?" Sharon asked unamused.

"Yeah she has this crazy obsession about keeping personal affairs out of office hours so it's a no go I'm afraid" Andy explained.

"In this instance I know she'll make an exception. And for the record Lieutenant Provenza called me this morning to apologise for his part in last night's disaster" Sharon said, expecting quite a loud reaction in response.

"He what?"

"You heard. Not long after I arrived home this morning. He was very contrite and apologetic." Very similar to the conversation that Andy had with Patrice, Provenza did most of the talking but also like what had happened the night before Sharon was quicker to let him off the hook than Patrice was.

"Are you sure it was really him?" Rusty asked, unsure why Lieutenant Provenza would be apologising but knowing full well how unlike him it was.

"I think I could hear Patrice prompting him in the back ground" Sharon confirmed.

"And prodding him with a stick" Rusty joked.

"That son of a bitch!" Andy suddenly shouted. "I was going to apologise first. I was going to be the bigger man! I wanted the high ground! That bastard stole my high ground!"

Sharon immediately shook her head at him. She truly couldn't believe half of what they got up to and that was when it didn't involve women. At times she felt like she was living in a scene from _Grumpy Old Men_. Some days she half expected to walk into the murder room and discover her second in command pinning her boyfriend to his desk and trying to stab him in the face with a frozen fish. "Then perhaps you should have phoned them this morning rather than following me around everywhere like a little lost puppy and not letting me out of your sight."

Rusty again screwed his face up, beyond disgusted at what he thought he was hearing. "Kid she was looking for her Christmas present" Andy explained.

Rusty laughed. "You're not stupid enough to leave it in your house are you? Rookie mistake Lieutenant. Rookie mistake" Rusty said as he shook his head.

"Oh yeah and where do you keep yours smart guy?"

"This year it was locked in the trunk of my car" Rusty replied with a smile. Andy briefly thought about how great minds think alike but had no intention of confessing that he had done the exact same thing. If Sharon knew that her present was out of the house then it may make her start to wonder why he had been paying her such close attention all morning, leading her to question what else he was hiding from her.

"What?" Sharon asked, shocked that Rusty would go to such extremes.

"I can't trust you alone in the condo with it. Sharon I know you too well. I assume the only reason my bedroom hasn't looked like a twister blew through there after you searched it is because you cover your tracks too well" Rusty pointed out.

Sharon looked shocked. "I haven't been looking in your room for my Christmas present!"

"Yes you have. I put a piece of paper in the crack of my door to see if you'd been in there."

"Nice work kid" Andy said, raising his hand to give him a high five.

"I wasn't looking for my Christmas present" Sharon lied. "I was checking for something else."

Andy smirked. "Checking what?"

"That he wasn't on drugs. I was being a responsible parent."

Rusty and Andy glanced at each other. "Yeah sure you were" Rusty said.

"Oh shut up the pair of you" Sharon shouted glaring at them both with a huge smile. "One: I am not that bad and Two: If you didn't cause the situation to warrant an apology in the first place Lieutenant Provenza wouldn't have had the chance to steal your high ground would he?" she proclaimed triumphantly.

"Why do you even need to apologise to Lieutenant Provenza anyway?"

Before Andy had chance to respond Sharon butted in, rightly assuming that her version of events would be the most truthful version. "Because they made a scene last night during drinks and thought it would be a good idea to ruin the evening by having a blazing argument, that's why."

"Really?" Rusty asked with a tone of surprise that the situation frankly didn't warrant.

"It wasn't pretty."

"He started it" Andy said quickly causing Sharon to smack him on the backside with the spatula she was clutching.

"What were you fighting about?"

Sharon shook her head. "Honestly Rusty, believe me, save yourself the trauma. Don't ask unless you want to hear all about Lieutenant Provenza dating a man or Andy naked on a balcony." Sharon rolled her eyes and peered inside the oven again.

Rusty's face was neutral for a second as he processed the information. He went to speak but changed his mind, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish before finally asking "He dated a man?"

"It would seem so" Andy nodded.

"That's your first question?" Sharon asked in disbelief.

Rusty grimaced. "I'll be honest it has less upsetting visuals. Why were you naked on a balcony?"

Andy shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Doesn't it always?" Sharon replied as she finally turned off the oven and opened the door.

"What's that smell?" Andy asked as the waft from the open oven door hit him instantly.

"Homemade Christmas cookies" Sharon said proudly as she pulled the tray from the oven, closing it with her foot before putting the tray on the counter between Andy and Rusty.

"Wait, you're using your oven? It's a Christmas miracle" Andy joked. "I thought it was just a prop. I didn't know it actually worked." Sharon immediately smacked him again, hard on his backside with the spatula. "Ow!"

Rusty laughed uncontrollably at Andy resulting in the same reaction from Sharon with a smack on his backside with the spatula. "Will you stop laughing at him!" As Rusty and Andy both laughed at each other Sharon frowned with her hands on her hips, desperate to suppress a smile at what could perceived to be bonding between the two of them. "I'd really appreciate it if you could go back to sitting in silence and scowling at each other like you used to. Is that too much to ask for? It is Christmas after all."

"You wanted me to make more of an effort with your _boy toy_ " Rusty said pointing at Andy.

Andy smiled. "We just needed to find some shared ground in order to bond."

"And that shared ground is making fun of me?"

"Of course" Andy nodded.

Sharon folded her arms defensively. "I don't know what you're both laughing at. I cook. I cook all the time."

"Sure you do" Andy nodded, again in the full knowledge that the only reason Sharon didn't cook more often was because of their work hours rather than an inability or lack of desire.

"I cooked you a turkey for Thanksgiving when you came out of hospital" Sharon pointed out.

"But all of the sides came from a takeout" Rusty was quick to add.

Sharon's neck snapped towards Rusty so quickly and with so much force it was a shock she didn't give herself whiplash in the process. "Don't tell him that!" she shouted.

Andy laughed. "Sharon I saw the containers in the trash. It's hardly a state secret."

"What?"

"Detective. It's easy for me" Andy replied as he shrugged.

Sharon's shoulders dropped with disappointment. She looked more like she'd discovered Andy had cheated on her than he'd simply caught her sneaking food into the condo. "But I smuggled them in while you were fast asleep on Rusty's bed. Well that was thirty minutes of sneaking around wasted. And I didn't cook the sides because I foolishly wanted to spend time taking care of you because for some unknown reason I love you!" she exclaimed as she jabbed Andy in the chest with her finger. "I should have saved myself the effort and sent you to that convalescent centre." As she spoke Sharon realised that Andy no longer looked like he was listening. He had a far off expression on his face like he had from time to time for a brief moment over the last week when she walked by his desk and he caught the scent of her perfume. "What's that look for? You've gone all glazed. What are you thinking about?" she questioned.

"Turkey."

"Turkey?"

"Yeah, that turkey tomorrow. I can already taste it" Andy replied as his eyes closed.

"You're already drooling about it" Sharon said in disbelief.

"I don't understand how a vegetarian can treat a cooked turkey like crack" Rusty said perplexed as he shook his head.

"Have you ever tasted it?" Andy said like that was the only explanation he needed. "What can I say? A cooked turkey is the quickest way to my heart."

Sharon smiled. "That's news to me."

If Sharon was a nightmare when it came to Christmas presents, Andy was a nightmare when it came to turkey, a real surprise since he was a vegetarian. There were many things that Andy would gladly give up in the quest to be healthier and avoid any unnecessary pills from the Doctor and their side effects but turkey was not one of them. Many families opted against having turkey for Christmas dinner since it was less than a month after Thanksgiving and they were completely turkey-ed out but if Andy was in attendance there was no alternative. It was turkey or a riot and he would do everything he could to get one. Back before his divorce and indeed before the cracks started to appear in his marriage which he filled with copious amounts of scotch, sarcasm and bitterness, the turkey was his main reason for celebrating Christmas. His then wife Carol liked to cook the turkey slowly overnight, something that Andy loved because he would wake up on Christmas morning with the house smelling of it as he sat on the floor by the oven and just watched it brown. That was until the power outage hit their neighbourhood one year when Nicole was about three. With the turkey only half cooked Andy tried barbecuing it before digging out the biggest pot he could find and opting to 'fry this sucker.' To this day Andy wasn't sure what happened, in fact Stephen Hawking may struggle to explain it. To cut a long story short after Andy squeezed the turkey in the pot the pressure seemed to build up underneath it as it sat on the barbecue. With no warning the turkey shot off, firing straight up in the air like a bullet from a gun before coming back down to earth a street away and embedding itself in the hood of a (thankfully parked) car.

"I cook other things too" Sharon protested.

Rusty looked surprised. If anyone cooked breakfast it was usually him and usually because he wanted something. "Like what?"

"Don't say Christmas cookies" Andy was quick to say.

Sharon thought for a moment before responding with "Oh shut up the pair of you. You can both watch now while I eat them all myself" she added as she picked up a Christmas tree shaped cookie and bit it in half.

"You know Gus can cook" Rusty suddenly announced casually.

"Can he?" Sharon said equally as casually while she and Andy stole a quick glance at each other, trying not to sound or look too interested in case they made him feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah that's what he's doing here in LA. He's got a job working in a kitchen at this fancy restaurant in Santa Monica on Ocean Avenue" Rusty continued with huge amounts of pride evident in his voice.

"Good for him." Again Sharon and Andy glanced at each other with Andy opting to remain silent while the topic of Gus was finally open for discussion.

"He's really excited about it because he always wanted to be a like a professional chef before he joined the army."

"Is that a fact?"

"He even said he'd like to come over some time and cook you both a meal to say thank you for inviting him to join us tomorrow."

"That sounds lovely."

Suddenly Andy knew he had to speak. "Hey he's not spent Christmas with my family yet. We may end up buying him dinner" he said only half joking.

"Who is actually going to be there tomorrow?" Rusty questioned.

"Just the eight of us. The three of us, Gus, Nicole and Dean and the two boys" Andy rattled off as he counted on his fingers to make sure he didn't miss anyone.

With some reluctance Sharon asked "No Daniel?"

"I doubt it" Andy shrugged.

Rusty looked between them confused. He'd heard the name in passing and knew Andy had a son who was absent when he was dragged to _The Nutcracker_ in his role as 'the buffer' but other than that he knew nothing about him. "Your son?" Andy nodded slowly. When no more information was forthcoming he asked "Why won't he be there?"

"Why do you think? Because I'm there. He doesn't exactly like me kid."

"Why?" Rusty asked with the question leaving his lips before he noticed Sharon shaking her head behind Andy's back to get him to drop the subject.

Again Andy shrugged. "Because I'm the drunk that made his Mom cry." The room fell silent at that with Sharon reaching out and taking Andy's hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. During the course of their friendship and now relationship they had not discussed Daniel a lot. Sharon knew it was a tough subject for Andy because without doubt Daniel was as stubborn as he was and nowhere near as forgiving as Nicole. Whereas Nicole had made a real effort with Andy and was now reaping the benefits, having this wonderful and changed man in her life, Daniel wouldn't budge. In fact Sharon had only met him twice. The first time was at Nicole's wedding where she managed to get a few words from him near the bar but he otherwise kept well clear of his Father. The only other time was the day before Andy was finally discharged from hospital. She arrived to discover them partaking in some rather uncomfortable small talk. Daniel wasn't there long and he didn't stay beyond a couple of minutes after Sharon arrived but it was a start at least. From small acorns, huge oaks grow.

Realising too late the size of the minefield that he had stepped in to Rusty tried to change the subject. "If Gus does come here to cook a meal that means that oven can be used for something else other than Christmas cookies."

"I've used it" Andy said defensively.

"Those goat pellets and mush don't count" Rusty said as he shuddered.

"It was tofu."

"It was nasty."

"Well forgive me Mr Burger and Pizza for not being the connoisseur of fine cuisine you are."

Sharon glared at Rusty before slipping her arm around Andy's waist. "I for one Andy thought that tofu mince was lovely."

"She's lying. She has to say that. She spat most of it into her purse."

"Rusty!" Sharon shouted as she heaved the oven mitt at his head.

Andy turned to Sharon horrified. "Is this true? You spat it into your purse?"

"Why do you think it was in the trash the next day?" Rusty asked. Sharon loved purses almost as much as she loved shoes so it did strike Andy as odd the following afternoon when he arrived to pick her up to take her to the movies and noticed her purse covered in coffee granules in the trash.

"You have such a big mouth" Sharon snarled at Rusty as he smiled back. "No Andy it was delicious just maybe perhaps a little bit dry" she said trying to dig herself out of the hole Rusty had dug for her.

"Dry?"

"Like eating gravel" Rusty added as he walked back to his bedroom.

"Here have a cookie" Sharon said sweetly to Andy with a smile.

"Do you really think I can be bought so easily after you've just insulted my tofu?"

Sharon smiled. "Yes, but not with a cookie." She lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and planted her lips on his, grabbing his shoulders and making it last as long as possible with the room to themselves once more. "I'll make it up to you later."

"Can I have that in writing? Perhaps a tattoo on your arm?" Sharon smacked him on the arm before moving the cookies off the baking tray and onto a plate. "So Gus is working in a kitchen in Santa Monica?" Andy asked as he munched on his cookie.

"Apparently."

"Have you asked him how his date went last night?"

"No, not yet" Sharon replied, not meeting his eye as she continued to move the cookies.

"You've not asked him? Not asked him anything?"

"No." Suddenly Andy grabbed Sharon's shoulders and turned her to face him. He then put the back of his hand on her forehead and looked at her concerned. "What are you doing?"

"Checking to see if you have a temperature. Are you feeling okay?" he asked jokingly as he looked into her eyes very closely. "You've not asked him how his date went?"

"If he wants me to know I'm sure he'll tell me" Sharon said casually as she returned to moving her cookies to the plate.

"Meanwhile holding it all in is beginning to make your eye twitch."

"I'm not holding anything in" she lied.

"Sure." Andy paused for a second as he grinned. "It's killing you isn't it?"

Sharon said nothing for a brief moment before crumbling. She wrapped her arms around Andy as her forehead landed on his chest and she sighed dramatically. "That's the first time he's mentioned him all day no matter how many hints I drop. I'm dying. I think he's doing it on purpose. I think he's waiting to see how long it takes for me to actually combust."

Andy laughed as he rubbed his hands up her back and kissed the top of her head. "Do you want me to ask him?"

"Only if you want to see him running into his bedroom and locking the door."

"I can be tactful."

"No you can't" Sharon said with a smile before hearing Rusty's footsteps coming back towards them and pulling away from Andy. "Shush he's coming back." As Sharon returned to the cookies Rusty approached them with an envelope in hand. "Rusty would you like a cookie?" she asked before he had chance to speak.

"Yeah in a minute. Andy?"

"Yes?"

"Here" Rusty said as he handed him the envelope before scuttling off back to his bedroom at speed and without any explanation.

Andy looked at Sharon a little confused and was only greeted with a similar shrug of confusion in return. Andy opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. Inside was a Christmas card. It was a typically male Christmas card and featured a scene of two men fishing on a snowy riverbank but the words that adorned it were more important than the picture. In bold gold letters it read 'You're Just Like A Father To Me.' Andy stared at it for a moment with a hint of disbelief before opening it up. Inside it simply said 'Merry Christmas' with Rusty having added the words 'To Andy' above the greeting and 'Love Rusty' below it.

There was no doubt that Rusty had started looking at Andy differently since his spell in hospital. He wasn't sure if it was watching Sharon interact with him and realising that she did indeed love him and whether Rusty liked it or not Andy wasn't going anywhere or if it was the genuine concern he felt when he discovered him lying on the bathroom floor. It was a surprise to him when he realised just how much he cared about Andy when the real possibility that he might die hit him. Whatever the reason for the change Rusty had certainly soften towards Andy and had started to enjoy his company. He liked him. Andy was developing into the Father figure that he'd never really had in his life other than in the shape of Lieutenant Provenza but more than that, they had spent so much time together during his confinement that he also considered Andy to be almost a friend regardless of the fact that they were polar opposites in every way imaginable.

When Rusty was walking through the card store the day before he was killing time more than anything as he anxiously awaited his date (there were only so many hours he could dedicate to getting ready for it and left the confines of the condo for his own sanity as much as anything else) when he saw it. He was immediately drawn to it and picked it up, reading and rereading it multiple times, ensuring he understood the sentiment correctly. He instantly thought of Andy and realised how much it would mean to both Andy and Sharon if he bought it for him. He then also thought of Lieutenant Provenza and Buzz and realised that the card could equally apply to both of them as well. Yes Buzz wasn't close to being in the same age bracket as the other gentlemen but there was no 'You're Just Like A Brother To Me' card. After much debating Rusty picked up three of the cards and made his way to the counter. He made a note in his mind that he would have to have full disclosure and tell them all that he had bought the others the same card because the words on it were true in each case. As he paid for them the young woman serving him looked at him quizzically and asked if he had some sort of ' _Mamma Mia_ situation going on' since it seemed he had three Fathers. Rusty ignored her, determined to write and deliver the cards to Provenza and Buzz before his date while saving Andy's for the next time he saw him, believing he had to deliver it in person.

As Andy continued to stare at the card surprised Sharon moved closer to him. "What is it?"

"Did you make him buy this?"

"No, why what does it say?"

"Here." Andy handed Sharon the card to read. After scanning it a couple of times she looked up at Andy with a beaming smile. She handed it back to him before putting a cookie on her spatula and heading towards Rusty's room. With Andy looking at the card in his hand once again Sharon made a quick attempt to grab the gift bag that was still sitting on the fridge. "I can still see you" Andy said as the movement out of the corner of his eye didn't fail to register.

Sharon sighed with extreme exaggeration, making sure Andy could hear as she continued on her way towards Rusty's bedroom. The door was wide open when she reached it. Normally Sharon would knock even if it was wide open to give him his privacy but on this occasion she slowly but purposefully marched straight towards Rusty as he sat on his bed with his laptop, holding the cookie on the spatula outstretched before her. "Here" she stated as she presented Rusty with the cookie under his nose.

Rusty took it slightly confused. "What's this for?"

Sharon smiled. Rusty knew full well why she had walked straight into his room with a cookie but was never keen to make a big deal of heartfelt expressions like that. "Because I love you and to let you know that I am very very proud of you" she said as she bent down and kissed him on the cheek.

"So it's a 'Pride Cookie'?"

"Something like that. Thank you Rusty. Thank you for going above and beyond in making an effort with Andy. It's appreciated more than you'll ever know."

Rusty smiled. It suddenly seemed strange to him to be thanked in such a way for acting in a manner that he should have been doing from the very first moment Sharon told him she was going out on a proper date with Andy. "Well it's pretty clear he isn't going anywhere no matter how hard I try but for full disclosure I also bought Lieutenant Provenza and Buzz a similar card" he replied with the overwhelming desire to be honest.

"Which I know will mean a lot to them both" Sharon said warmly before kissing him on the cheek one more time and heading back to Andy.

As Sharon walked into the living room Andy was standing by the television standing his card from Rusty alongside the ones he had given them and they had given to each other. As he heard Sharon coming towards him he turned and smiled. "I told you all that effort and patience would pay off in the end but thank you anyway" she said taking his hand. "Thank you for treating my son like your son."

"No need to thank me because I can't take too much credit. I had a hidden agenda. You see I kind of like his Mom. A lot" he added as he kissed her on the lips.

"I'm glad to hear it" she grinned before returning the kiss and gesturing towards Rusty's bedroom. "Are you going to say anything to him?"

"I thought I'd do the manly thing and you know maybe nod at him. Perhaps touch his shoulder while avoiding all eye contact. That kind of thing. Guy stuff."

"Or you could go in there right now and say thank you."

"Yes I could" Andy replied as non-committal as he could.

"So off you go" Sharon encouraged.

"Sharon….." Andy started to protest.

"Andy. Go on. Now!"

"Aye aye Captain" Andy said kissing her on the cheek before she smacked his backside with the spatula still grasped in her hand. "You're not bringing that to bed are you? It's a slippery slope from a spatula to a flying helmet and a stick of celery making an appearance" he joked before reluctantly walking towards Rusty's bedroom. It wasn't that he didn't want to thank Rusty for the gesture, he did, it was that for the sake of their fragile but growing relationship neither of them liked to get too personal with each other in this regard.

Unlike Sharon, Andy reached to knock on Rusty's door before poking his head around the corner to see him. "Can I come in?" he asked tentatively.

Rusty looked up. "Sure."

"Thanks" Andy replied as he took two small steps inside. It seemed ridiculous that he was awkward about entering a room he had spent so many nights sleeping in but it was back to being Rusty's territory now and he still felt like an invading force. He paused for a moment flexing his hands awkwardly. "So."

"So" Rusty replied, knowing why Andy wanted to speak to him but feeling just as awkward about it.

"Your card."

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Good talk" Andy said with a chuckle.

"Yep."

Suddenly Sharon entered Rusty's room with her hands on her hips and a very unimpressed expression on her face. "Oh my God you two are so pathetic" she stated with exasperation.

"Oh look Rusty, Sharon was listening by the door. Who could have predicted that?" Andy said with dollops of sarcasm over every syllable causing Rusty to laugh.

"You shut up" Sharon replied as she walked further into the room. "Rusty stand up."

"Why?"

"Just stand up please." Rusty looked at Andy confused before removing his laptop from his legs and taking to his feet. "Now come here" Sharon said as she gestured for him to stand next to her and Andy. "Now hug" she instructed pointing at the both of them.

"Now what?" Rusty asked blinking rapidly.

"Now who what?" Andy added equally flummoxed.

"Hug. Come on. Chop, chop" Sharon said clapping her hands together with a sense of urgency.

Rusty looked up at Andy briefly before asking "How about a handshake?"

"No. You shook hands after you read Andy's letter last week and that was hardly sufficient considering what he wrote in it about you. Now in an equally moving expression you've bought Andy this card, so hug. It won't kill either of you. Come on, move closer." Sharon stretched to put a hand on the back of both of men and pushed them towards each other. Although now standing uncomfortably close neither made any attempt to hug the other. Sharon sighed before grabbing Andy's arms and putting them around Rusty and then repeating the action with him. With a very forced and uncomfortable hug now taking place before her Sharon took a step back to admire her handiwork. "There you go" she said proudly.

"For the record I'm uncomfortable with this" Andy stated with humour evident.

"Me too" Rusty confirmed with equal mirth.

"Would it help if I shouted 'Banana'?" Andy asked causing Rusty to flinch slightly as he wondered what exactly he was about to do with a banana given their current position and proximity to each other.

"I don't care. Now hold that pose while I take photographic evidence" Sharon said as she took her cell phone from her pocket and opened the camera.

As Sharon took a quick photo Andy was quick to joke and reassure Rusty. "Don't worry kid we'll never have to speak of this outside of the interview room and the witness box when we're asked what the bad lady made us do while she took photos."

Sharon shook her head at him before adjusting Andy's hand on Rusty's back, making it more of a hug rather than an awkward waltzing pose. "If you move his hand any lower I'm screaming" Rusty said quickly.

"Not before I do" Andy confirmed. "Have you got your shrink's number on speed dial?"

"Yes."

"Good I may need to speak to him."

"Not before I do."

Sharon threw her hands up into the air. "I give up. I'm surrounded by people with…."

Before Sharon could finish both Andy and Rusty cut in and simultaneously said "No sense of occasion?"

Sharon frowned at them both as they continued to hug awkwardly. "Is this your way of saying I've said this before?"

"Yes" Rusty nodded.

"It is" Andy confirmed. With that Sharon left the room shaking her head with annoyance. As soon as she was gone both men, without any indication to the other that they were going to, squeezed each other a little tighter, hugging properly for a brief moment now that they were without an audience. Before they broke apart Andy patted Rusty on the back as Sharon peered around the doorframe unnoticed, witnessing it all with a satisfied smile before continuing her journey back to the living room. "Thanks Rusty."

"You're welcome. I bought Lieutenant Provenza the same card."

Andy smiled. "Let me guess, he told you he wasn't giving you any money?"

"Right before I was informed I was only allowed to speak to him on holidays and I had to solve my own problems from now on" Rusty confirmed as he sat back down on his bed and picked his laptop up.

"So did you get everything?" Andy asked quietly.

"Yeah it's in my closet."

"Did you have enough money?"

"Yep, all covered. What do I do with your hat?"

Andy moved to the door and made sure Sharon wasn't listening before he responded "Put it under Sharon's bed."

With that Andy left until another thought crossed Rusty's mind and he called him back. "Andy." Andy leant up the door frame, double checking Sharon wasn't close by. "Which side?"

"Under the left. Although she'll probably beat the crap out of me and I'll end up on the floor anyway so it won't really matter."

Rusty laughed. "Is she still that bad?"

"Have you ever seen _The Exorcist_ kid?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well she thrashers around a bit like that except without the vomiting although we came close the morning after the Christmas party. Chess?" Andy suggested.

"Absolutely" Rusty replied, never turning down the opportunity to wipe the floor with Andy in a game of chess in front of Sharon. "I'll get the board."

Andy nodded before heading back to the living room. As he entered Sharon was placing the plate of cookies on the coffee table while trying to hide her smile. Andy saw it instantly and knew she'd seen the pair of them hug properly. Hiding his own smile he asked "So what do you want to do for dinner? We could go out or..."

"I've ordered in" Sharon said cutting him off and causing him to laugh. "Shut up I was using the oven for cookies. It'll be here in an hour or so. Stop smiling at me. As a result of my planning we've got plenty of time to relax before I go to church" she explained before flopping down on the couch and getting comfortable.

Andy immediately sat down next to her and snuggled in close. "Or you could just play hooky with me. Let me corrupt you some more" he said as he leant in closer, making her smile despite yet another clear indication that he disappointingly had no intention in joining her at Midnight Mass.

"That is not going to happen and I think you've corrupted me enough for one twenty four hour period."

"It was worth a try" Andy winked.

Sharon smiled. "I'm going to have the biggest bruise on the back of my head" she stated while rubbing it gently. She had hit her head several times on the kitchen cabinet during that lust filled encounter the night before, only a bed of nails would have been more uncomfortable.

"But was it worth it?" Andy asked a little guiltily.

"Absolutely." Sharon watched for a moment as Andy's eyes scanned the room. He was sitting exactly where she wanted him to with every single angel in that room (and all the villagers in her Christmas village) looking directly at him but much to her disappointment he said nothing. Meanwhile trying to suppress his smile as he saw what Sharon had done was causing Andy's face to hurt. Ignoring them on purpose he turned on the couch and lay down with his head in Sharon's lap. Sharon looked down at him and smiled while running her hand through his hair. "You're pushing your luck aren't you?" she asked.

"I figure that card gives me a little bit of leeway" Andy said with a shrug as he pointed towards it. He knew full well that he wouldn't be able to lie like that for long because the moment Rusty saw them his disgust would be shown physically as well as audibly but he was getting better. These days Rusty felt uncomfortable more because he seemed like the third wheel in his own home rather than being horrified by his Mom being affectionate with her boyfriend.

No sooner where the words out of his mouth then Rusty walked into the living room with his chess set under his arm and sat down in the chair nearest the television. He glanced at Sharon and Andy and the way they were seated but opted not to pass judgement as his ongoing battle to treat Andy like the Father figure who unfortunately wasn't going anywhere continued. "Do we have time for a movie before Mass?" he asked as he set up the board on the coffee table.

Sharon nodded. "Sure. More than one. What do you want to watch?"

" _Die Hard_ " Andy suggested quickly.

"We are not watching _Die Hard_ " Sharon said as she covered his mouth with her hand before any more suggestions came out of it. Rusty hated violent films, she wasn't too keen on them either since all she did all day was deal with violent crime. In this regard Andy was always going to be outvoted two to one. His only hope was perhaps Gus joining them from time to time in the future and evening up the score.

"Why not? It's a Christmas movie" came the muffled response from under Sharon's hand.

"No it isn't."

Andy removed Sharon's hand from his mouth and put it back on his head, encouraging her to resume the gentle stroking of his hair she was doing earlier. "It is. It takes place at a Christmas party" Andy rationed.

"That doesn't make it a Christmas movie. A cat can have kittens in an oven but that doesn't make them biscuits." Andy smiled and went to speak but Sharon was quick to clamp her hand back over his mouth to stop him. "Do not say one more word about my oven" she warned.

"It really is a Christmas movie. Back me up here Rusty."

Rusty shrugged. "Sorry, I've never seen it."

"Then how about..." Sharon started before being cut off.

"Do not say _It's A Wonderful Life_ " Rusty grumbled. "There are only so many times I can sit through that film in December before I start foaming at the mouth and trying to jump off a bridge myself. No _Miracle on 34_ _th_ _Street_ either. Not all Christmas movies have to be in black and white you know. Besides if I have to put up with this," he said pointing at the pair of them and the way they were positioned, "going on in the living room then I get to choose the movie."

"Deal."

" _Elf_ it is, followed by _Gremlins_ " Rusty announced before continuing to set up the chessboard.

After a few more seconds of comfort Andy sat up, taking Rusty's not so subtle hint and put his arm around Sharon's shoulders instead, allowing her to snuggle up next to him in the perfect compromise. "Did you hang my suits up for me?" Andy asked.

"Yes, all done. My closet now looks like I'm auditioning for a role in _Victor/Victoria_ " Sharon quipped.

"Thank you."

Andy quickly kissed Sharon on the side of her head as Rusty turned to look at him. "You've brought a suit?" he asked.

"Sure. I've bought two. One for Mass..."

"For Mass?" Sharon asked quickly with equal measures joy and surprise in her voice, her assumption being that his suits were for Christmas Day and their return to work on Monday.

"Yes. For Mass."

Sharon's smile beamed. "Really?"

"Yes."

"You're really coming?" she asked as she sat forward to look him in the eye.

"I am" Andy confirmed. "For you."

"You're actually coming inside the church?"

"That's usually how it works. It's hard to hear from the parking lot" Andy joked.

"Andy! Thank you so much" Sharon exclaimed, her voice filled with gratitude as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Rusty shut your eyes" she added jokingly as a warning while she glanced at him before kissing Andy on the lips. "Thank you for doing this for me. But what happened to the finger of God reaching down from the Heavens and flicking you into the Pacific if you tried to enter?"

Andy put his arm back around Sharon's shoulders and drew her back to him. "Well I thought about what you said and you were right. I was perhaps overreacting slightly so yes I am coming with you, just for you even though I'm relatively sure I'm going to be struck by lightning on the steps before I can cross the threshold." Andy had decided to go the first time Sharon asked him because he knew it was important to her but didn't want to come across as too eager since he really wasn't. There was nothing in this world he wanted to do less then go to church but would literally do anything short of murder if Sharon asked him to. "But if anyone in this world is worth getting struck by lightning for it's you" he added with a wink.

"And they say romance is dead" Rusty said quickly causing Sharon to laugh.

"Well if that happens know this, I shall certainly miss you but if that's His decision then I'll have no choice but to accept it and move on" Sharon joked.

Rusty looked at Andy a little surprised as he realised they had yet another thing in common. He knew Andy was Catholic but didn't know, like him, the only reason that he would attend religious services was solely because of Sharon. "When was the last time you were in church?" he asked.

"When he was baptised and the font started to boil I imagine."

Andy smirked at Sharon before stopping to think for a moment. "Nicole's wedding with your Mom" he confirmed. "God and I went our separate ways a long time ago after we stopped seeing eye to eye on certain matters. But before Nicole's wedding it was on my wedding day I guess. I should have known better when blood started weeping down the wall behind the altar."

"Yes and if you'd never been married to Carol, you would never have had your kids and then I would never have invited myself to Nicole's wedding and you would never have invited me to subsequent family gatherings under false pretences as you lied to your entire family about me would you? Then what would you have done? Where would you be now?" Sharon rightly pointed out.

Rusty laughed. "She's got you there."

"You make a fair point." It was actually his mantra whenever he had to spend any time with his ex-wife. As much as his marriage turned into a car crash in the end and they couldn't stand the sight of each other, he wouldn't trade a single second of it. If he hadn't been married to Carol he would never have had Nicole and Daniel and a world without them was simply unthinkable.

"Why don't you like church?" Rusty asked. Rusty wasn't religious and never had been but he had to admit he enjoyed the ritual of it and the experience at the Catholic school Sharon sent him to. Again he didn't like going to church but went for Sharon and spent most of the time looking around in awe at his beautiful surroundings while the service took place.

"I have better things to do on a Sunday."

"Like what?"

"Like watching football with Lieutenant Provenza as they embark on a round of synchronised scratching" Sharon joked.

"Hey I used to be a choir boy back in Jersey I'll have you know" Andy was quick to point out. "Before that I was an altar boy. I was a damn good one too."

Rusty rolled his eyes. "Is this going to be another one of those stories that makes your childhood sound like a scene from _The Godfather_?"

Sharon immediately started laughing. "That's what I asked him last night. If you start talking about 'going to the mattresses' and referring to the days of the week like 'Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday' then I'm going to bed" Sharon warned before Andy continued with the tales from his youth.

"Not all of us grew up like they were living in _Little House on the Prairie_.You're both wrong actually. I was going to say I sang like an angel" Andy stated proudly.

"You?" Rusty asked in disbelief.

"Yes me."

"Really?" Sharon questioned.

"Yes. Why the tone of surprise?"

Sharon and Rusty glanced at each other. "Do we need to explain?" Sharon replied with a smile.

"My voice could reduce grown men to tears" Andy stated as his offense in Sharon and Rusty's surprise caused his voice to get stuck at the back of his throat and come out even more gravelly than usual making his claim seem all the more improbable. But Andy wasn't lying. He had a beautiful singing voice as a child and was the star of the choir, making his parents burst with pride for a few moments each week before returning to wanting to murder him as he found new and unusual ways to get into trouble with his friends.

"What happened?" Rusty asked, missing the obvious.

"Puberty but before that I got kicked out of the choir" Andy replied casually.

Sharon sighed and shook her head. She knew she was about to hear another story that would call her to question how Andy's Mother never killed him before the age of twelve. "I'm sure I'm going to regret asking this" she said. "Why? What did you do? You weren't caught looking at more underpants of future Congresswomen were you?"

"What?" Rusty asked quickly.

"You don't want to know" Sharon told him, shaking her head.

"No, nothing like that. Look before I start I want you both to know this isn't as bad as it sounds" Andy warned knowing that wasn't the best way to start the story but felt like he had no other choice in the matter.

Sharon smiled. "Where have I heard that before? Go on."

Andy thought for a moment as he sought the most appropriate way to approach this particular escapade from his youth. "Around the back of our church where I was a member of the choir there was an alley. A secluded alley." He paused for a moment. "A secluded alley where the local prostitutes used to hang out."

"I don't think I need to hear any more of this story" Rusty shouted as he covered his ears with his hands.

"Calm down I was ten years old."

"Ten?" Rusty asked shocked.

Again Sharon shook her head and smiled. "You really started young didn't you?"

"It's not as bad as it seems."

"Really? Because so far this story consists of a ten year old choir boy hanging around with prostitutes down a secluded alley" Sharon pointed out.

"I didn't hang around with them. I just paid them and asked them for something in return." As the words left his mouth Andy knew what Sharon and Rusty would think and their faces confirmed exactly that. "A favour! It was just a favour!" he said quickly.

"And I'm pretty sure I know what that favour was" Sharon said laughing.

"Oh no you don't. All the boys in the choir pooled our allowances together and paid one of the girls to buy us a copy of _Lady Chatterley's Lover_."

"What?" Rusty asked, beyond confused.

Sharon laughed uncontrollably at Andy, virtually rolling around on the couch before managing to say "It's a book Rusty" causing him to retrieve his cell from his pocket and frantically Google it.

As Sharon continued to laugh Andy shrugged his shoulders. "We thought it was some sort of sex book. We heard our Mothers talking about it." Andy had just turned ten when the ban was overturned in the US and the full version of the book was published for the first time. The hushed tones used to discuss it between his Mother and her friends led him and the rest of the choir to believe that book was something they needed to get their hands on as quickly as possible despite not really knowing what it was about other than sex. It was the _Fifty Shades of Grey_ of its time but with much more class and Andy often caught sight of a copy being passed between his Mother's friends after church concealed in a copy of _Life_ magazine, out of sight of God as well as their husbands. In hindsight it made Andy laugh that he and his friends were smart enough to pool their allowances and get someone to buy them a 'sex book' but not to realise that they'd learn more spying on the person they were asking to buy the book rather than from the book itself.

Rusty put his phone on the coffee table and looked at Andy baffled. "You paid a prostitute to buy you a book? This book?" he asked.

"So there was a time when you were completely hopeless with women" Sharon finally managed to say between belly laughs.

"Hey I got her to buy it for us didn't I? That took a significant amount of charm."

"Charm?" Sharon questioned, still laughing.

"Yes and I had to pretend to be her dying son to her landlord once or twice" Andy replied dismissively before quickly moving on. "I think her name was Mindy. She only had one arm and looked like someone had shaved a goat and put a mini skirt on it." She wasn't the best looking woman in the world and she had lived a somewhat unfortunate life, she had ended up selling herself in an alley behind a church to begin with but she was a lovely lady. She loved Andy and they struck up the most unlikely friendship imaginable for around eighteen months with him taking care of her as much as she took care of him when he needed it before the Flynns were forced to move house again.

"She sounds delightful" Sharon replied kindly. "So what happened? Did you and your grubby little band of innocent looking monsters enjoy it?"

"No" Andy stated flatly with his disappointment evident. "We barely read past the first page before Sister Mary Cynthia found us huddled in the confessional and confiscated it. Then she frog marched us home individually and told our parents exactly what we'd been up to."

"And what did they say?" Sharon squeaked out as she continued to laugh and wipe the tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Well my Mother screamed something at me in Italian that I didn't understand before she made my Father tell me I was going to go blind before I went to Hell and burned for all eternity. Then he said 'Teileafón moncaí Dé Luain úll craiceann'."

With her laughter showing no signs of abating Sharon asked "What does that mean?"

"Who knows I don't speak Gallic, oddly enough neither did he. My Grandmother spent a week praying for my soul and insisted I only eat lemons to purge myself of wickedness."

"It clearly didn't work" Sharon joked.

Not for the first time that evening Rusty looked at Andy completed baffled. "Lemons?" he asked.

"I don't know. She used to call me Rupert and spent three days living in a tree with a pumpkin in a bassinet when I was twelve so force feeding me lemons while crossing herself and muttering in Italian was nothing." With that Rusty joined Sharon in laughing hysterically at Andy and his extremely colourful past with women which stretched back further than either of them realised.

"I would have loved to have been in a choir" Sharon finally said, holding her ribs as the pain from laughing surged through her body.

"Why weren't you?" Rusty asked naïvely.

Andy instantly laughed loudly causing Sharon's head to snap towards him and wave a finger in his face. "Shut up! The acoustics in your shower are absolutely horrendous so you can't judge by that alone." Sharon had spent the better part of the morning (when she wasn't Christmas present hunting) standing in Andy's shower and singing merrily to herself a medley from _West Side Story_. Andy sat perched on the toilet seat throughout, listening with a beaming smile. Sharon wasn't the worst singer in the world but she certainly wasn't the best either. By the time a frantic version of ' _I Feel Pretty_ ' sprang from her lips which made it sound like four people were in the shower singing with her Andy couldn't help but laugh loudly and alerting Sharon to his presence. The result was inevitable after the previous evening. She opened the shower door and sprayed him with the showerhead before dragging him in to join her and made him wash her hair. "I have a lovely voice normally" Sharon added with more than an air of dignity.

Andy's eyebrows shot up into the air. "So if you were say, on stage at the Hollywood Bowl or the Greek Theatre you'd no longer sound like a cat with its tail trapped in a mangle?" he teased expecting to have his knees attacked imminently.

Sharon glared at him in silence for a moment before asking "Do you want to spend the rest of the holidays in the hospital?"

"You know I'm only kidding" Andy responded warmly as he wrapped her in a bear hug, squeezing her tightly and kissing her on the side of her head. Immediately after, with Sharon still in his arms, he winked at Rusty and mouthed 'I'm not' before reaching towards the end table behind Sharon and turned the angel around that was currently staring at him.

"What's the other suit for?" Rusty asked as they pulled apart, trying to distract himself from laughing at Andy once again rather than anything else.

"For dinner tomorrow."

"Really?"

"You've got to look smart for Christmas dinner kid."

"Okay" Rusty nodded.

"I hope Gus doesn't feel the need to get too dressed up tomorrow" Sharon said, taking a risk but assuming that given the topic of conversation it would be okay for her to use the 'G' word.

"Actually I spoke to him about it last night. He told me that he'd already spoken to Andy about the 'dress code' at the Christmas party" Rusty replied as he phrased it more like a question with his confusion clear.

Andy coughed trying to stop himself from laughing as he nodded, stalling while he searched for the right words. "Oh yeah. I just told him, you know, smart casual. Nothing special" he lied as flippantly as he could and knowing full well he'd tricked Gus into showing up in a hideous Christmas sweater.

Rusty didn't respond verbally but seemed to accept what Andy had told him as he stood and went to retrieve a soda from the fridge. Sharon on the other hand smelled a rat instantly and as soon as Rusty approached the kitchen she leaned in close to Andy's ear and whispered "What did you say to Gus?"

"I just told you" came Andy's hushed reply.

"Then why are your nostrils flaring?"

Andy grinned, his eyes twinkling. "Arousal" he replied with a wink before Sharon pushed his face away from her with the palm of her hand as Rusty re-joined them. Andy laughed to himself and put his arm back around Sharon's shoulders, pulling her closer. A comfortable silence fell on the room for a brief moment until Andy suddenly asked "So, how did you date with Gus go last night?" No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Sharon shot him daggers with her eyes and smacked him on his leg. "What?" Andy asked laughing at her reaction while Rusty remained silent. "If you don't find out soon you're going to combust. I'm only asking for your benefit."

"If you wanted to know so badly why didn't you just ask?" Rusty questioned as he smiled at Sharon. He knew full well that Sharon had been desperate to find out how it went all day and had deliberately kept quiet. In truth he felt a little awkward about discussing it but he clearly was going to talk to Sharon about it eventually. However the more Sharon looked at him like she desperately had a burning question but didn't know how to ask it the more he kept quiet for his own entertainment, Andy's mischievous influence clearly rubbing off on him.

"I didn't want you to think I'm prying. I don't want to be one of those Mothers" Sharon said justifying her behaviour as the relief that the topic of conversation was on the table spread to her face. "So how did it go? Was it nice? Do you still like him? What did you have to eat? What did you talk about? Tell me everything" she blurted out quickly and excitedly without stopping to draw breath.

Andy laughed. "I don't know why you were worried about coming across like you were prying."

"It was good" Rusty replied with a positivity that didn't last long. "At least I think it was. I don't know really. I don't actually know how you tell."

What was clear to Rusty about the previous evening was that he was nervous, more nervous than he'd ever been in his life. The feeling in the pit of his stomach was sickening, something he'd never experienced before. He didn't feel like that as he embarked on his life in the field trying to trap Wade Weller. Neither did he feel that way when he came face to face with Phillip Stroh once again. This was a different kind of feeling altogether but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was excitement but with the nerves washing over him in wave after wave it simply didn't register. Rusty arrived at the restaurant first and was shown to their table where he waited and trembled. After nearly spilling his water down himself because of his shaking hands he put them flat on the table and tried taking several deep breaths. When the silverware started to rattle on the table Rusty thought they were having an earthquake until he looked down and noticed it was his trembling hands causing it. Then he looked up and saw Gus and calm descended over him, relaxing him instantly.

Andy removed his arm from around Sharon and sat forward with interest, the conversation now firmly in his wheelhouse. "Have no fear, luckily for you I'm somewhat of an authority when it comes to first dates" he said confidently.

Sharon smiled at him. "Amongst other things, not all of them good."

"You don't think I've gained any wisdom in this area of my life?"

"From my experience no" Sharon laughed.

"Is this about my menu catching fire again?"

"Partly. It's also because I went out on our first date wearing two different shoes and you didn't say a word about it."

"You did?" Andy asked surprised.

"Yes. One heel was so much bigger than the other I spent all evening limping. I thought you didn't say anything because you were being a gentleman, I had no idea you were really that oblivious. You really didn't notice?"

"No."

Sharon shook her head. "I could have gone out in floppy clown shoes and you wouldn't have noticed."

"Don't blame me" Andy said with a smile. "If you wanted me to notice your unusual footwear you shouldn't have worn that dress. It was very very distracting" he added with a wink that caused Sharon to laugh and Rusty to roll his eyes. "I've already admitted you made me nervous, still make me nervous" he added with a shy shrug. "It was no different on our first date, if anything it was ten times worse. Add to that I wanted to ask you out for so long before I actually did it's a wonder I was capable of speech at all after we finally sat down to eat."

Before Sharon had chance to respond Rusty seized the opportunity to ask a question of a personal nature of his own since Andy had asked him about his date. "Actually I've wondered about that. Why did you finally decide to ask Mom out since it was so clear you _weren't_ dating?" he asked with his eyebrows shooting in the air with the word 'weren't.'

"We weren't dating" Sharon shot back quickly.

Andy smiled and turned to look at Sharon, never taking his eyes off her as he spoke. "Simple kid, I couldn't wait any longer" he stated. "'Too much of human life is lost in waiting' and all that" he added as Sharon took his hand and smiled. Andy ran his thumb over the back of Sharon's hand before turning to Rusty. "Did you laugh?"

"Excuse me?"

"On your date with Gus. Did you laugh? Did you find Gus funny?" Andy asked.

"Oh yeah, he's really funny" Rusty said with his face erupting into the biggest smile Andy had ever seen on his face. "He told this joke, it was amazing. It was so funny people were staring at us" he added laughing loudly. "So there's this plane right and in the plane there are four people: a pilot, a lawyer, a priest and a kid. The plane is going down and like really fast but there are only three parachutes on board. So the pilot says 'I have a family and a daughter who is expecting my first grandchild' so he grabs a parachute and jumps off the plane. The lawyer says 'Hey I'm the smartest man on earth so I have to live' and grabs a parachute and jumps off the plane. So now there's like only one parachute left and two people so the priest says 'Kid, I'm old, you're young, you take the last parachute because I've lived my life.' The kid looks around and says 'Hey we can both live.' The priest is confused and he's like 'How can we?' and the kid says 'Because the smartest man in the world just jumped off the plane with my backpack.'" The moment he finished recounting the joke Gus had told him Rusty started laughing hysterically. Meanwhile Sharon and Andy looked at him amused but quizzically, clearly not finding it as funny as he did which only served to prove to them just how much he actually liked Gus. As it registered on Rusty that he was the only one laughing he stopped, feeling rather embarrassed. "Well I thought it was funny" he finally said awkwardly.

"Then that's all that matters" Andy said quickly. "It doesn't matter if he makes me laugh or your Mom laugh. All that matters is that you make each other laugh. Laughter is so important in a relationship. That's why I set my menu on fire" he added with a smile.

"Sure that's why you did it" Sharon laughed.

"So if he makes you laugh, you're already half way there."

Rusty looked at him suspiciously. "There has to be more to this than laughter."

"If that were true Provenza would never have been on a date let alone about to be married for the sixth time. It plays a big part kid, trust me."

"He's right. It does" Sharon confirmed.

"Let me ask you another question" Andy said with a smile, causing both Sharon and Rusty to shuffle in their seats a little nervously at what he was about to ask.

"Okay" Rusty said anxiously.

"Last night when you went to bed and the room was still and you could hear nothing but a ticking clock and the sound of your own heartbeat, did you go straight to sleep or did you lie awake all night thinking about Gus?"

Rusty grimaced. "This is a really weird conversation to be having with you."

"Better me than Provenza." Deep down Andy really didn't want a dating talk with Rusty because although he had a lot of experience at dating, it was not the dating Rusty was about to embark on and to call Andy a little bit out of his depth in this regard was like calling Hitler a little bit fascist but he wanted to make an effort with Sharon there.

"I lay awake I guess" Rusty said with a sigh, when the truth was he didn't sleep at all.

"Good. So did I" Andy replied.

Rusty laughed. "You went to bed last night thinking about Gus?"

"Always. I don't want to give someone a big head" Andy said nodding towards Sharon before he covered her ears with his hands so she wouldn't be able to hear what he was about to say. "After my first date with Sharon I didn't sleep a wink because she was all I could think about. Did you get those butterflies in your stomach?" Andy asked as Sharon smiled, hearing every word.

"Yes."

"Then it went well" Andy confirmed as he removed his hands from Sharon's ears and put his arm around her shoulders again.

"It's like the cone of silence has been lifted. And what were you two talking about?" Sharon said with exaggeration making Rusty laugh.

"Baseball" Andy confirmed kissing her on the side of her head. "Don't worry Rusty you'll be okay but you do realise your Mom and me are going to spend all day tomorrow poking Gus with a stick and asking him embarrassing questions don't you?"

"Don't you dare!" Rusty shouted not yet knowing when Andy was teasing him.

"He's only teasing Rusty."

"Am I?"

"Let's put it this way, you'd better be" Sharon warned.

"I've written a list of questions to ask while we interrogate him. Like 'What are you intentions?' and 'Do you love him?' and 'Are you going to marry him?' you know things like that. Embarrassing questions that are much better suited to being clothed in just your underwear at 4am but 4pm will have to do instead" Andy said with a grin as Rusty glared back at him very unimpressed. They hadn't spoken about their night time chat after Andy had stayed over for the first time since it happened. Andy didn't mind it given the circumstances, nor the personal nature of the questions since Rusty was just protecting Sharon but he was determined to tease Rusty a little bit about it if he could nonetheless.

"Very funny" Rusty replied unimpressed before seeking to put Andy on the back foot. "Speaking of embarrassing questions did you guys really used to hate each other?"

Andy laughed as Sharon asked "Who told you that?" since she wasn't party to the conversation a few days before.

"Like everyone at the party the other night. They made it sound like you two dating was as weird as a baby chick hanging out with an alligator" Rusty explained as his eyes darted between the two of them waiting for a reaction.

Sharon looked at Andy for a moment and smiled. "Well you see Rusty..."

"Yeah she hated me" Andy confirmed without any fuss.

"I did" Sharon agreed quickly, smiling from ear to ear at the man she now found herself really rather fond of.

"Really?" Rusty asked still surprised since he saw a _very_ different side to them both.

"Yes."

"Absolutely. I really, really did" Sharon nodded enthusiastically.

"You too?" Rusty asked Andy.

"Big time" he replied with a smile. "Look it at from my perspective kid" he said as he started his explanation as to why Lieutenant Flynn once had such a major problem with Captain Raydor but now couldn't imagine his life without her. "There I was trying to do my job and yet every which way I turned there was this pain in the ass Captain from FID watching everything I did, writing a report and trying to send me to 'sensitivity training'."

"You sent him to sensitivity training" Rusty asked laughing.

"Do you really need to ask?" Sharon said as she pointed at Andy and more importantly the smug smile that was currently nestled across his face.

"Good point."

"Now for my point of view" Sharon started. "Alternatively, try doing your job and being obstructed at every turn by, among others, a smug, rude, obnoxious, knuckle dragging, Neanderthal Lieutenant." Sharon folded her arms and looked at Andy with a mock glare he hadn't seen in a couple of years.

"So when did that change?"

"What makes you think things have changed?" Sharon joked as she smiled at Andy before putting her head on his shoulder. "I suppose a few months before I took over the division. I was no longer conducting an audit of Major Crimes and we were working more towards the same goal. I could see things from his perspective finally and we wanted the same things at work and for Chief Johnson. Right?" Sharon said expecting Andy to confirm a similar timeline as she'd just laid out.

Instead Andy quickly proclaimed "She shot some dirt bag right between the eyes with a beanbag gun." His smile was infectious as he said it, grinning from ear to ear at the mere memory.

"What? You did?"

Sharon turned to face Andy surprised and intrigued. "What are you talking about?"

"That's when I started to like you" he said with a confident smile. "Well it's when the whole division started to see you in a new light to be fair. But I liked you in that moment. A lot."

At the time Andy hadn't realised what was happening to him but very slowly following on from the constant two month audit of Major Crimes and then Sharon almost becoming like the unofficial eighth member of the division he started to notice her more. Then the incident with the beanbag gun happened and it was like a switch was flicked on in Andy's brain, he was suddenly looking at her differently. Yet it still came as a surprised to him when he realised that he actually quite liked Captain Raydor from FID, then the smiling started. He remembered the roll out, they were at Coach Carter's house searching his backyard for 'trophies,' as Sharon barked her orders at Provenza making sure he was definitely looking for trophies and not a weapon. As Andy watched her move from cop to cop repeating the word 'trophies' and looking for places where they might be hidden he stood there smiling at her. He couldn't help it. Despite his best efforts he liked her and if he was honest it pleased him.

"When I shot that guy?"

"Oooh yeah" Andy twinkled. "I've still got it."

"Got what?" she asked confused.

"The beanbag."

"No you haven't."

"It's in my desk drawer at work. I had to fight Sanchez and Gabriel for it. You can see for yourself on Monday."

Sharon just stared at him for a moment lost for words when Rusty spoke. "What happened?"

Seeing Sharon's surprise Andy kissed her on the side of her head and brought her to him, cuddling up close before addressing Rusty. "We were all tailing this car around when suddenly they open fire at this coffee shop trying to kill Hobbs" he explained.

"DDA Hobbs?"

"Yeah. She was fine obviously. So anyway we chased them for a couple of miles before they eventually crashed the car and we all leapt out telling the asshole to drop his gun. Your Mom was nowhere in sight at this point."

"Oh I was there, you were just otherwise distracted cuffing his accomplice" Sharon added.

"So he drops his gun and gets out of the car and starts to walk away. We were screaming at the dirt bag to stop but he just kept walking. Then suddenly we hear 'No one shoot him! I've got it covered!' I turn and Sharon is standing there with gun in hand, taking aim. This guy stops and turns and he's all 'What are you going to do about it lady?' and then BAM! The asshole is down, shot right between the eyes and Sharon is just standing there complaining about the recoil from the gun" Andy described, still in awe at her actions even all these years later.

"No way" Rusty exclaimed.

"I always have been a crack shot."

"It was one of the best things I've ever seen" Andy confirmed.

Before Sharon had chance to respond to him the room was filled with the sound of Rusty's cell phone ringing. He picked it up from the coffee table and looked at the screen. "It's Gus" he said with a smile. "Excuse me" he added before quickly making his way to the privacy of his bedroom, closing the door behind him, to answer it.

"Do you really still have that beanbag?"

"Yes, I do. It was also one of the sexiest things I've ever seen in my life" Andy replied with an extremely devilish smile as he leant in close to Sharon, pushing her backwards on the couch and hovering above her, ready to make his move.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking the chance to make out with my girlfriend while 'Dad' isn't here watching us" Andy said cheekily as he nodded towards where Rusty was sitting before covering Sharon's mouth with his.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, giving me the evil eye if I so much as look at the young lady he protects from wicked men like me."

"I don't need protecting from men like you. I can more than do that for myself" Sharon said confidently before pulling him down towards her to push their lips together.

"And yet you're not resisting" Andy pointed out.

"For now" Sharon said quietly ahead of claiming his lips again and taking full advantage of Rusty being out of the room and distracted by Gus for a few moments. When they eventually broke apart Sharon tapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, he'll be back in a second" she said, encouraging him to sit up.

"He closed his door. I'll hear it open. I have hearing like a bat" Andy claimed before moving his lips to Sharon's neck.

"Really?" Sharon asked, half protesting and half encouraging him to continue. "So five years ago when I was say trying to get your attention at a crime scene to find out what time you arrived I just wasn't being loud enough for your 'bat hearing'?"

Andy moved to look her in the eye and admitted "No I was just flat out ignoring you" before returning his lips back to her neck.

"If he catches us it may take an hour to stop him screaming."

"Then I'll stop as soon as I hear his door open" Andy promised as he moved his attention back to her lips. "I'm only taking advantage while Rusty is talking to his boyfriend."

"Don't use that word in front of Rusty yet" Sharon warned.

"What 'advantage'?"

"No 'boyfriend.' It's one date, don't tease him please."

"Yes ma'am" Andy replied unconvincingly before sealing the promise with a kiss.

"You're not really going to interrogate Gus tomorrow are you?"

"Oh yeah" Andy teased. "I'm going to ask him the exact same questions Rusty asked me the other night. Besides it's my job to be his Mom's annoying boyfriend."

"Well his Mom is telling her annoying boyfriend that if he expects her to put out at some point over the holidays he needs to behave himself."

"Message received" Andy confirmed.

"We'll pick this up later but for now," she said stopping to kiss him once more before making them both sit up, "finish setting the chessboard up."

The rest of the early evening passed by quickly enough with the help of easy conversation, chess, dinner and a couple of movies. Knowing how long it took both Sharon and Rusty to get dressed and leave the condo even to just watch a movie (and Sharon insisted that they all dress up to the nines to attend Midnight Mass even though the dress code at Sharon's church wasn't all that strict), Andy insisted that they start to get ready two hours early just to make sure. They were still nearly late even though time was saved by Andy helping Rusty tie his tie for him and then nearly picking Sharon up and carrying her from the building in a fireman's lift to hurry her along.

As she expected Sharon and more importantly the man whose blue shirt and tie matched Sharon's dress and sat beside her with his fingers permanently linked with hers were the sole focus of all of the gossipmongers in the church. Sharon had attended that church for decades along with her children and even Jack. They all knew she was married or rather had been but since this was the first time she had put in an appearance with a man who wasn't Jack (and only a few years after Rusty suddenly popped up) all eyes were upon them. Andy didn't care and neither did Sharon for that matter, she was just thrilled that he had taken the time to come with her even though he found himself completely removed from God outside of AA. At the end of the service Father Michael couldn't help but smile at Sharon as he shook Andy's hand, after all, despite what the church may think as a whole, he had personally encouraged her to move on with her life and be happy multiple times. They had discussed Andy in Confession on several different occasions spanning back over a year when she was caused to question whether they were dating or not so Father Michael was pleased to be able to finally put a face to the name. Despite several interested parties gathering around who for all intents and purposes wanted to poke Andy with a stick and discover who this new stranger was, Sharon opted to leave straight away much to the relief of Andy and Rusty and went straight home.

As the door to the condo opened light flooded the darkened room silhouetting the three very smartly dressed occupants as they crossed the threshold. Sharon flicked the lights on as Rusty shut the door. Andy hobbled between them, rubbing his knees as he moved. With all the lights on Sharon turned to Andy and sighed, shaking her head at him as Rusty laughed. "You stop rubbing your knees and you stop laughing at him."

"All that sitting and standing and sitting and standing, it's tiring" Andy muttered light-heartedly as the rubbing of his knees continued.

"It's only tiring if you've got the weight of thirty years' worth of guilt resting on your shoulders as you do it." As Sharon removed her shoes her laptop started to ring with a video call via Skype. She immediately clapped her hands together with joy and bounded towards her desk. "Oooh that must be Emily" she exclaimed.

Sharon sat down at her desk and quickly answered the call. As expected the face of her smiling daughter filled the screen. "Hi Mom! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas sweetheart. How are you?" Sharon asked, her face beaming with pride at the sight of her eldest on the other side of the world enjoying herself.

With Sharon suitably distracted and chatting away merrily to Emily, Andy took the opportunity to beckon Rusty to join him in the kitchen. "You got everything ready?" Andy asked in very hushed tones even though Sharon hardly registered they were in the room at that particular moment.

"I think so. Is this going to work?" he asked. Since they had hatched a plan together to surprise and spoil Sharon on Christmas morning he was looking forward to doing it but was never fully convinced of it succeeding without Sharon catching them.

"It'll be great don't worry" Andy reassured him. "Look first she'll try to wake me up because unless she beats the crap out of me and kicks me out of bed I'll be lying next to her. Then when I don't move she'll try you before coming back to me which is when you make your move."

"But how am I going to sneak by her bedroom without her seeing or hearing me."

"Don't worry kid I've got that covered. I've got the perfect way to distract her. It never fails" Andy replied confidently causing Rusty to screw his face up in disgust. "Oh pull your face straight. I'm going to lie on her, you know hug her, make sure she can't get back out of bed until you're ready" he explained.

"But what if she doesn't wake up first?"

Andy laughed. "On Christmas Day?"

"Good point" Rusty acknowledged as he laughed himself.

"She's going to be up thirty minutes before she goes to bed at this rate, the way she keeps trying to get her hands on her Christmas present. How long do you need in the morning?"

"About five minutes."

"No problem I can swing that. Look it doesn't matter if it doesn't go exactly to plan. It's the thought that counts and that we spoil her rotten over the holidays so she won't miss Emily and Ricky so much."

"You're right." Rusty smiled up at Andy. "You know Lieutenant you can be surprisingly thoughtful when you're not calling everyone in sight an 'Idiot'."

"You too kid, when you're not attention seeking and whining constantly." They smiled at each other as Andy patted Rusty on the shoulder, their relationship growing inch by inch every day, slowly but surely.

"Rusty come here and say hello to Emily" Sharon called from across the room.

Sharon stood to allow Rusty to sit in her seat and left them to talk. "Hi Emily" Rusty said as he sat down, trying to peer behind her on the screen as if he might be able to see castles and hills in the distance rather than the hotel room she occupied.

"Hey baby brother. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Is it morning there already?" Rusty asked seeing the daylight streaming in through the windows behind her.

"Yes. We've opened our presents and I'm already on my second glass of champagne with breakfast. They really like a drink here, with everything" Emily explained a little bit tipsy.

Rusty laughed. "You have remembered you've got to dance tomorrow right?"

"Which is why I'm soaking all the alcohol up with copious amounts of crumpets."

"What the hell is a crumpet?" Rusty asked, thinking it sounded like something the orchestra would use as they played the music for her to dance to rather than anything you'd eat.

"Something that feels like rubber and doesn't taste much better."

Sharon smiled as she listened to them talk before walking towards Andy in the kitchen. As she approached him he had his back to her, filling the kettle with water. She walked up behind him and ran her arms around his waist. "Will you come and say hello?" she asked.

"Of course" Andy replied with a smile after putting the kettle on to boil.

"Just no talk about shooting hamsters or whatever it was you said last night."

"It was hedgehogs."

Sharon took Andy's hand and led him to the desk. Upon seeing them coming Rusty immediately stood up and moved out of the way. "Emily, Andy wants to say hi" she said before encouraging Andy to sit down. "Come on, sit." Andy sat while Sharon hovered, still in shot, behind him, smiling widely.

"Merry Christmas Emily."

"And a very Merry Christmas to you too Lieutenant. How are you?" Emily asked with the excitable tone in her voice she had developed from the very first moment her Mother told her she was dating as clear as a bell.

"Great thanks. How's London treating you?"

"Wonderfully. Are you looking after my Mom for me?"

Andy laughed. "I am certainly trying my very best."

"More than trying by the look of the smile on her face" Emily pointed out as Sharon continued to lurk behind Andy with a smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat's.

"Oh I'm not here" Sharon said quickly as she moved away from view.

"Don't leave Mom. Let me speak to you both" Emily pleaded. Before Sharon had chance to argue Andy grabbed her hand and made her sit on his lap, resting his head on her shoulder so he could see the screen and vice versa. "You both look very smart. Midnight Mass?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I eventually talked him into coming with us."

"Under threat of violence" Andy joked.

"Oh shut up" Sharon said, rolling her eyes at him.

Emily clapped her hands together, still beyond excitable about her Mother's current 'relationship status.' "Oh you two are so cute together" she exclaimed, absolutely delighted. There was no denying that Emily was thrilled that her Mother had a boyfriend. It was when Emily turned nineteen that she first started to worry about her Mother and her future. It was no coincidence that this worry coincided with the first time that Emily fell in love (or so she thought at the time). Falling in love made Emily understand what a massive thing that was for someone and was heartbroken that her Mother had seemingly sacrificed ever feeling that way again or potentially even ever having sex again in order to not break her marriage vows and stay tied to Jack for the sake of her religion and more upsettingly for Emily, for her and Ricky. Eventually Emily had to bring the subject up with Sharon and encouraged her for her own sake not to shut off that part of her life. She was ecstatic to discover (as weird as that may sound) that Sharon hadn't shut up shop completely and had indeed slept with several gentlemen since she separated from Jack (although none of them were serious enough relationships to warrant an introduction to her children). She was less than impressed however to discover that her Mother had also slept with her Father in that time as well but that was more a case of 'How could you let that man anywhere near you again?' rather than the horror of the thought of her parents having sex. To Emily knowing that her Mother was living a fulfilling life and had a man she loved and loved her in return was better than having that herself given how many years she had sacrificed for her children, being tied to her Father.

Suddenly Rusty popped his head into view behind them so Emily could see him. "You say cute, I say nauseating" he said before sitting down on the couch.

"Thank you Rusty. Have you spoken to your Father?" Sharon asked, treading carefully.

Emily sighed and took a swig of her champagne. "No not yet. I'm building up to it. I was going to maybe Skype him later before I go to bed."

"Make sure you do. You should at least try Emily" Sharon encouraged. "It is the holidays after all." Sharon had never shied away from encouraging her children to speak to their Father and vice versa though he hardly deserved it but having seen how Andy now interacted with Nicole, she was desperate for her own children to have the same kind of relationship.

"I know, I know and I will. Do you know what he's doing this year? Where he even is?"

"I'm not sure. The last couple of times we've spoken it hasn't exactly been cordial" Sharon replied with possibly the greatest understatement of all time.

Emily's hands immediately covered her face making her look a little bit like Macaulay Culkin in _Home Alone_ as she looked distraught. "Can I say again Andy how sorry I am that I blabbed to him about your health problems" she said covering her eyes in embarrassment at her own stupidity. "I should have known he'd immediately run and tell everyone about it but I was worried about you both and unbelievably stupid I guess. I really am so sorry Andy. You too Mom" Emily grovelled.

"Don't worry about it Emily. They were going to find out eventually as it turned out" Andy reassured. It was a kneejerk reaction to ask Sharon and Provenza to keep his health issues to themselves because any more than one day off work was going to draw attention and suspicion from Taylor and the rest of his division without adding his inevitable stay in hospital to the mix.

"That doesn't stop me from feeling guilty. How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine sweetheart. All better."

"Glad to hear it despite Dad's interference" Emily replied as relief and joy flooded back to her voice. "If it was his goal to try to sabotage your relationship I'm glad it didn't work."

"It was never going to" Andy confirmed before he kissed Sharon on her shoulder.

Sharon smiled at Andy before trying to turn the conversation back towards Jack in a more positive fashion. "Anyway the last time we spoke to him he repeatedly brought up some young French lady he'd been seeing so I assume he's spending the holidays with her."

"I would" Andy said quickly before Sharon pinched the back of his knee making him yelp. "Do you see the way she treats me?" he complained to Emily making her laugh.

"If we had been eating here tomorrow I may have called him and invited him over out of some sort of misplaced guilt but since we're not."

"Thank God" Andy muttered.

Sharon again went to pinch his knee before Emily spoke and stopped her. "Don't pinch him for that I agree with him. It's your first holidays together, you don't want Dad sitting in the middle of it, making snarky comments and ruining it for you. Are you still going around to my future step-sister's house tomorrow?" Emily asked with a cheeky smile.

"Emily!" Sharon shouted without realising she was reacting the same way Andy did two days before when Nicole kept referring to her as her 'future step-mother' on the speakerphone in her office.

Andy laughed. "See it's not so funny when the shoe is on the other foot is it? Yes we're going to Nicole's tomorrow."

"Rusty is bringing a date" Sharon announced, deflecting her embarrassment.

"Sharon!" Rusty shouted from the couch, horrified.

"What? You are" Sharon replied not seeing the problem.

"Rusty are you dating?" Emily shouted.

With a sigh Rusty dragged himself up from the couch and stood behind Sharon and Andy looking less than impressed. "No, I've been on one date. One date. Let's leave it at that for the time being." Rusty hadn't realised how uncomfortable he was about dating Gus until that moment. He suddenly felt shy and didn't want the world to know that he was the smitten kitten he currently was, well not until he was ready at least.

"His name is Gus" Sharon again announced, compounding her son's embarrassment.

"Mom!" Rusty exclaimed in horror.

"She was going to find out eventually."

"Especially with blabber mouth here" Andy added before receiving another pinch to the back of his knee. "Ow!"

"Good for you Rusty. Don't let the oldies have all the fun because it strikes me they're having far too much without us" Emily told him before he slunk off to the couch again and flopped down. "I'm sorry to cut this short but we're going for a walk in Hyde Park after breakfast and I need to get a move on."

"In the snow?" Sharon asked, picturing a winter wonderland in her mind.

"More like rain. I'm going to send you lots of photos later."

"It's been lovely to speak to you sweetheart. As soon as you're back on stage in New York we want to fly over for the weekend and see you" Sharon declared, for the first time sounding incredibly positive and certain about their possible vacation plans.

Emily's face immediately lit up. "Is this 'we' as in..." she asked pointing at the both of them.

"It's not me Emily" Rusty shouted as he passed the laptop on his way to his bedroom.

"Planning vacations together!" Emily squealed as her hands began to flap excitedly.

"Emily if you flap anymore you're going to take off" Sharon said laughing.

"This is so exciting. Andy you have to come with her. You have to! It'll be so great. Oh my God! I'm planning it already. Right I have to go."

"Thanks for calling."

"Of course I had to speak to my Mom on Christmas Day since I can't be with you. Enjoy your day tomorrow."

"We will. I love you" Sharon said before kissing her fingers and pressing them to Emily's face on the screen.

"I love you too" Emily replied, repeating the gesture. "Oh and Andy, thank you for taking care of them so well in our absence."

"It's my pleasure kid. Have fun."

"Bye."

"Bye." Sharon closed the laptop but remained seated on Andy's lap in silence for a moment, staring into space, a mixture of happiness and melancholy on her face.

"Okay?" Andy asked finally, rubbing her arms with his hands.

"Yes" she replied, meeting his lips.

"Tea?"

"You don't like tea."

"You'll find just recently I've acquired a taste for all sorts of things I used to dislike."

Sharon laughed. "Thank you." Sharon stood up and helped Andy out of the chair before he walked straight to the kitchen and began making their tea. Sharon followed him slowly, clearly thinking things over in her mind. "Do you think I should have asked what Jack was doing tomorrow before we made plans?" Sharon asked leaning against the counter.

"No" came the instant response from Andy as he put a tea bag in both the mugs before him.

Sharon laughed. "You don't need any time to think about it?"

"No. I don't need any time. You're divorced. Unless the kids were here and you were inviting him for their benefit then that's where your responsibility ends" Andy offered as he filled the mugs with boiling water. "Do you honestly think Carol would have invited me to dinner in the past if the kids weren't there?"

"You're right" Sharon replied less than convincingly.

"I know I am. I'm sure he's probably in Paris, all loved up and eating snails with someone he can't speak a word of the language to."

"Do you think?"

"If he was in town and alone I'm sure he would have called by now to see if you'd take pity on him."

"Those days are long gone" Sharon stated, crossing her arms defiantly.

"No they aren't. Not by a long stretch. I know you. Next year, with the kids here, he'll be sitting around this table too and we'll be finding out which one of us Rusty likes the most."

"Oh Jack definitely" Sharon joked.

"Just as I thought." Andy paused for a moment. "It's what you do during the holidays, spend time with people you don't like for the sake of the people you do" he said with a smile before pushing a mug of tea towards her. "Your tea my dear."

"Thank you" Sharon said as Rusty came plodding up behind them, divested of his jacket and tie and yawning wide enough that a full grown elephant could have fitted in his mouth.

"If no one minds I'm going to bed" he said sleepily.

"Okay. Goodnight. Merry Christmas" Sharon said before she kissed him on the cheek.

"Goodnight. Night Andy."

"Goodnight kid."

Sharon watched as Rusty slowly went back to his bedroom and shut the door. Picking up her tea with one hand and taking Andy's hand in the other Sharon said "Come out on the balcony with me."

"Yes ma'am" Andy said obediently as she led him outside. The moment the cool air hit them Andy shuddered slightly. "It's cold out here" he complained putting his tea on the small table next to the lounge chair.

"I have a blanket." Sharon put her tea alongside Andy's before darting back inside and returning with a large tartan blanket. She wrapped it around Andy's back as she manoeuvred him backwards and pushed him into the lounge chair until he sat down and lay back. "Here. Sit" she added as an afterthought since he was already virtually flat on his back.

"And where are you going to sit?"

"On you" she announced before sitting between his legs and leaning back against his chest. Once she was settled Andy wrapped his arms and the blanket around her, cuddling her close and keeping each other warm. The way Sharon just sat on him was another indication of the sudden and dramatic change in their relationship in just over a week. The change was much more than simply sleeping together, it was just how natural things had become between them. They had sat on the balcony like this before, of course they had but it was always so tentative and Sharon would always ask permission before doing it, checking it was okay. But since last Tuesday if Sharon wanted to sit on him and wrap his arms around her, she just did it, doing what she wanted, when she wanted without any discussion about it first. Things were now so natural, like they'd been together for twenty years. "This feels good." She paused for a moment. "Thank you for coming to church with me."

"It was my pleasure so you're welcome" Andy replied, kissing her on the side of her head. He thought for a moment, rolling his eyes slightly before reluctantly opening his mouth to say "I suppose if you wanted me to come with you from time to time on a Sunday I wouldn't complain overtly."

"Really?"

"I'm not taking Confession" Andy stated very quickly with no wriggle room in his tone.

"I wouldn't ask you to. I just ask for your company" Sharon confirmed, thrilled.

"That I can do and not because you ask but because I love you and I know it's important to you."

Sharon turned her head to meet his lips. "Thank you."

"But what do I get in return?" Andy asked instantly with a smile.

"I knew there was a catch. What do you mean?"

"Like a reward."

"A reward?" Sharon asked.

"Yes."

"How about the next time you want to go somewhere and I don't, I go without complaint?" Sharon suggested.

Andy frowned. "I'd prefer the next time I didn't want to go somewhere I didn't have to go."

"I know which is why my suggestion is better" Sharon replied smugly.

"And what if I was to invoke my irrational demand?"

"Your what?" Sharon asked confused.

"My irrational demand. You don't remember?"

"No."

Andy smiled and nuzzled her ear as he explained. "After our first date we sat in my car in your parking garage and you said that the only way this relationship was going to work was if we took it very very slowly."

"And I was right."

"Yes you were but that's not the point. I agreed to it without complaint..."

"You complained a little" Sharon rightly pointed out, cutting him off quickly.

"I did not" Andy protested.

"Excuse me, you complained all the time. Cast you mind back to telling Chief Taylor about us in my office. You said and I quote 'Yeah, very old-fashioned. In fact, I'm surprised we don't have a chaperone'" Sharon stated.

Andy smiled. "I did say that didn't I?"

"Yes you did."

"Little did I know that chaperone would be a scowling Rusty armed with a chessboard" Andy joked. "Okay with the exception of some mild grumbling after seeing your legs walk by my desk in a skirt on any particular day I agreed to it but under the condition that it was your sole irrational demand for our entire relationship."

"I agreed to this?" Sharon asked clearly pretending she didn't remember.

"Yes you did. You don't remember?"

"I vaguely remember something. To be honest at the time I was too distracted" she confessed with a grin as she gazed at him.

"Distracted by what?"

"If memory serves after you pulled a face like someone had stuffed a dead skunk in your pants when I broached the subject of taking things slowly you told me that if any woman in this world was worth waiting for it was me."

"I did and I meant it" Andy said as he pushed their lips together. "And?"

"And while you were talking about irrational demands I was too busy trying to stop myself from throwing our go slow plan straight out of the window and leaping across that car and kissing every square inch of you" Sharon confessed.

"What?" Andy asked as his jaw nearly hit the floor.

Sharon laughed at his reaction, closing his mouth with her hand. "If you'd have tried to kiss me in that moment I wouldn't have stopped you. I would have dragged you upstairs and…well…I'm sure you can imagine the rest" she told him with a husk to her voice causing Andy to look more surprised than he did when she revealed she had gone out minus her underwear. In fact Andy wouldn't have looked more surprised if Sharon had just asked him to murder a drifter with her. "Look at your face!" she laughed.

"I don't believe this. Why didn't you say anything at the time?"

"Because I wanted to take it slowly. We had to do that to make sure it was going to work between us" Sharon explained. "There was just a small part of me that didn't want to take it slowly" she added, laughing to herself.

"I think I can guess which part" Andy grinned, kissing her again.

"I'm sure you can" she laughed. "Now back to your irrational demand. Do you really want to waste it on avoiding going to one tiny event you'd rather not attend? When you could use it on perhaps something else" she suggested pushing their lips together. "Something more interesting" she added kissing him again. "Something much more pleasurable" she finished, crashing their lips together a final time in a long, searing kiss.

"Pleasurable?" he asked finally.

"Oh yes" Sharon confirmed.

Andy laughed. "You have all the best ideas" he agreed kissing her shoulder. "Like a weekend in New York in the Summer maybe. I may have to use my irrational demand to get you alone in a hotel room across the other side of the country for the weekend" he muttered close to her ear before pushing his lips to it again. "Emily seemed pretty excited by the idea. Now if only I could get you as excited about it."

"I am, I am. Really" Sharon said enthusiastically. "You don't need to waste it on that. As soon as Emily gets back to New York and is on stage we will book to go there for the weekend. Just the two of us. I promise."

"Really?"

"Really. I want to see Emily desperately but just as desperately I want to spend a weekend with you, alone in a hotel." She kissed his cheek before adding "That way I might finally get to meet your brothers and your sister."

"Ah-ha! Ulterior motives."

"Of course."

"Oh no. No chance."

"Why not?"

"Because I never had a girlfriend that Brian didn't steal from me, except Carol obviously but it wasn't for lack of trying" Andy explained.

"Really? And do you think that I'm that easy to steal away?" Sharon asked as she picked up her tea and began to sip on it.

"Well Brian is the good looking one in my family."

"You have no fear there. Good looks have never been that important to me." Andy's jaw dropped open in mock offense. "I'm kidding" Sharon laughed, kissing him. "I'm kidding."

"So we're really going to go?"

"Yes. We are" Sharon stated confidently. "Happy?"

"Deliriously" Andy replied returning the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter as Sharon continued to sip on her tea and they stared at the view before them. Andy sighed contently. "I love this balcony."

"Me too. This balcony, this view, it's the main reason I bought this place to begin with."

"Really?"

"I was looking for a house but even the smallest seemed too big for just me rattling around on my own and I had to move. I couldn't stay in that house any longer" Sharon explained.

"Jack?"

"Why else? I stayed married to him for so long because of the kids but if I was ever going to truly escape from him, going to stop taking him back time and time again I had to sell that house and get away from him and the memories of him within those four walls. It broke my heart to leave" she added sadly. "It wasn't just Jack I was escaping from, I was leaving all the memories with Emily and Ricky behind. 'With one hand the past moves us forward while the other holds us back'."

"But they'll never leave you. You'll always have those memories and now you get to make new ones here with Emily, Ricky and Rusty."

"And you" Sharon added.

"And me and I plan on making a lot with you" he confirmed, kissing her again before picking up his tea. "This is a far better view than the one last night."

"Oh I don't know I rather enjoyed looking for random patterns on your kitchen ceiling."

"Which reminds me, I promised you star gazing last night" Andy said as he took a large gulp of his tea before putting it back on the table.

"Which would be great but we can hardly see any stars here with the lights of the city."

"Don't worry I can't still make them out." Andy removed his arm from the blanket and pointed into the sky. "Now if you follow my finger and look straight ahead, that right there, that's the moon."

Sharon laughed. "Wow! It's like I've got Galileo sitting with me."

"Are you mocking me?"

"A little bit."

"I'll have you know I used to be quite the astronomer in my youth" he explained proudly.

"How did you find the time between looking at girls' underpants, running away from Nuns and associating with prostitutes?" Sharon asked as she tried not to laugh.

"Wait I didn't 'associate' with prostitutes."

"That's not what it sounded like earlier."

"I was ten" Andy said as if that was explanation enough.

"Ten and friends with prostitutes."

Andy shrugged. "Well they came in handy."

"How?"

"Buying books of course and on the odd occasion pretending to be my Mother at the police station when I got caught shoplifting" Andy replied casually.

"What?" Sharon asked sitting up.

"Nothing" Andy laughed, pulling her back down to his chest. "I bet you were an angel when you were a girl weren't you. I bet the worst you got up to was returning a late library book."

"Yes actually" Sharon said proudly. "I was a very good girl as a child as a matter of fact but seriously Andy this is taking opposites attract to a whole new level" she laughed as their childhoods continued to reveal just how different they were from each other.

"Too bad because you're stuck with me now."

"That sounds more like a threat than a promise."

"It's more of a guarantee. You'd need more than a restraining order to get rid of me."

"Good because I have to admit I was kind of worried about it a few weeks back."

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere" he assured her, sealing his promise with a kiss.

"So stars" Sharon said, turning her attention back to the sky.

"Yes, stars. If you look up there," he pointed, "if you look to the right of where that plane is that's Gemini and Cancer."

Sharon frowned as she looked in the direction Andy was pointing. "All I can see is black with a tinge of orange."

"Well you need to squint. Try your sex eyes" he joked causing Sharon to elbow him in the ribs. "I'm kidding. We need to drive out into the desert, see them properly. I went to Death Valley once and it felt like I could see the whole universe above me."

Sharon smiled as she sipped on her tea. "Let me guess, with a woman?"

"Possibly" he confirmed. "We stayed at Furnace Creek and sitting on the hood of your car at night, looking straight up, it was one of the most magnificent sights I've ever seen. It was so peaceful and overwhelming. My place in this universe had never felt so small and insignificant as it did with all of those stars visible above me."

"I bet it was romantic" Sharon said pulling his arms around her tighter.

"I wouldn't know."

"What about your lady friend?"

Andy sighed. "She was under the impression Death Valley was some sort of cemetery with ties to the occult. She pictured sex amongst tombstones with bats flying round and it was more star gazing in the desert with the odd coyote running around a weirdly located golf course" Andy explained. At the time Andy was only a couple of years sober and he discovered quickly that sober dating was a lot different to drunk dating and yet he still ended up with rather strange women despite his best efforts. Rebecca was a big fan of the occult and was half expecting to be able to go to Death Valley and summon _Beetlejuice_ as they made love on a tombstone. Their relationship was over before their first night in the desert which made for a rather awkward drive home.

Sharon shook her head. "Where do you meet these women?"

"In a bar on Halloween. I thought she was dressed up for that until our first date and I realised it was more of a lifestyle choice."

"Then why didn't you break it off?"

"I was going to but I swear she had some sort of voodoo doll of me in her purse."

"Oh Andy!"

"Honestly! I'm telling the truth. Maybe she still has it. Maybe that's where my blood clot came from."

"Maybe you should just have stayed away from picking women up in bars."

"Hey I had no idea at the time that the best pair of legs in the world was on the fourth floor of the building" he said kissing her on the side of the head. "Anyway if we were in the desert right now you could see Leo right there and next to it Virgo" he went on, pointing into the darkness.

"Really?"

"Yep. And right about now you'd be able to see Saturn right there and Venus right there maybe" he continued.

"I'm impressed. Is there any limit to your talents? Oh wait don't answer that. I've seen how you wrapped that present for Gus" she said laughing at herself.

"I'm going to ignore that. Then of course there are the lesser known constellations."

"Like what?"

"Like right there," he said pointing straight ahead of them, "that's the Unicorn of David."

Sharon looked at him puzzled. "What?"

"Seriously. Then there's the Deep Crust Pizza" he lied.

"You're making that up" Sharon laughed.

"Hey there's a Milky Way isn't there?"

"But you're seriously expecting me to believe there's a star constellation shaped like a pizza?"

"Why not?" Andy said trying not to laugh. "You can make pretty much any shape when you can see them all. For example that's Badger Holding A Spoon. And over there that's Woman Skinning a Pigeon with a Hatchet" he said as he drew random patterns in the air with his finger.

"Now I know you're lying" Sharon stated as she continued to laugh.

"I never lie. Not to you."

Sharon turned to look him in the face. "Then why are your nostrils flaring again?"

"I told you earlier..." Before Andy could repeat his earlier claim as to why his nostrils flared Sharon met his lips to shut him up.

After they broke apart Sharon leant back into Andy's chest a little more to get comfortable. Once settled she quickly frowned and sat forward again. "Ow! What is that?"

"What's what?"

"There's something in your pocket digging in me." Andy instantly smiled filthily, resulting in his knees being pinched again. "Your jacket pocket Andy."

"Oh that. Okay." Andy slowly produced a terribly wrapped little box, a little bigger than a ring box from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Here" he said as he handed it to Sharon and brought her back down to lean against him.

"What's this?" she asked as she examined the rather tatty looking box.

"An early Christmas present."

"Andy" was all Sharon could say as she turned to look at him, overwhelmed before she'd even seen what laid within.

"I wrapped it myself" he told her proudly.

Sharon smiled. "I can tell." Andy had tried his best but that small box looked like a cat had tried to wrap it before getting fed up and chasing a light on the wall instead.

"I saw it and it screamed you."

Sharon put her tea back on the table before carefully unwrapping the small box and removing the lid. As she looked inside she gasped and then picked up a small crystal angel that laid inside. As she examined it the lights from the living room hit it creating a rainbow effect across her face. "Oh Andy" was all she could say as she continued to admire it.

"You've got the first one your Mother bought you and the first one you bought yourself. Now you've got the first one I bought you."

Sharon smiled. "I knew you liked them really" she said before joining their lips together.

"I wouldn't go that far. Do you like it?"

"I love it. It's beautiful."

"I did try to find the least cross eyed one."

"Does it come with a name?"

"No. I asked in the store, they thought I was crazy by the way but no, no name." It was the first thing Andy asked as the woman assisting him removed it from the display case in the store. He knew she would think he was a sandwich short of a picnic but also knew Sharon would ask so was determined to find out. "So what are you going to go for?" he asked.

"I think this one looks like a boy angel so Benny" she announced meeting his lips. "After you" she winked before kissing him again with Andy already regretting informing her the previous evening of what his Mother wanted to call him instead of 'Andrew.' "Thank you" she added, kissing him one more time. "Thank you so much. Now time for me to give you an early Christmas present."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

Sharon put the angel back in its box and placed it on the table next to the mugs of tea. She sat forward and turned back to look at Andy before telling him "Me." Sharon quickly stood up, turned around and sat back down on him, straddling his lap, meeting his lips in a long and almost hungry kiss.

"That's just want I asked Santa for."


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you to those that read and reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the confidence boost. Since I can't PM guest reviewers, let me say thank you now along with libelulablue (who continues to flatter me more than I deserve), SkylarRose2 and the gaggle of peeps who encourage me on Twitter. If you'd like to leave a review I'd appreciate it or if you fancy a chat sometime I can found on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _The Facebook stuff in this chapter popped into my head last Christmas as did the whole chapter to be fair ( & the next one). After a comment in season five about Gus and his Facebook obsession by Rusty I decided to include it because this is what I wanted to see happen, I'm sure many will disagree but since I write primarily for my own entertainment I've kept it in. If the character mentioned pops up and clearly contradicts this minor side story that's the point that this story will end (likewise if the letter ever makes an appearance) but until then I'll keep going as long as people want me to. _

_This chapter picks up on Christmas morning between 4.18 Penalty Phase and 4.19 Hindsight Part One._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Fourteen**

Sharon's eyes slowly fluttered opened as she stretched and yawned. Stars and static briefly danced in her vision before everything came into focus, well as in focus as the world could be without her glasses. She lifted her head and looked about the room, getting her bearings as her sleep addled brain slowly kicked into gear. She was lying flat on her back with Andy lying next to her on his side, facing her. Andy's arm lay draped over her stomach as their legs tangled together. She lifted her head further to see the clock on the nightstand next to Andy. Pleased by the time and smiling wildly she rolled onto her side to face him as he snored away quietly. "Andy" she said quietly, hoping to wake him as gently but as quickly as possible. Andy didn't move as his snoring continued. "Andy" she said again, a little louder this time but he still didn't move.

Sharon shuffled closer to him until they were virtually nose to nose, running her hand gently down the side of his face. "Andy, it's time to wake up." Andy remained fast asleep, if anything snoring slightly louder. She had joked over the last few days since they had started sharing a bed that it took a nuclear explosion to wake Andy in the morning and it was not an exaggeration. It was a difficult job unless she opted to hold his nose closed and virtually suffocate him, something she wanted to avoid unless she became desperate. Closing the final gap between them Sharon pressed their lips together in a sweet and gentle kiss before calling his name again. "Andy."

He still didn't move, not even a flicker of his eyelashes, resulting in Sharon pondering more drastic action in order to wake him. Slowly she brought both hands to his cheeks and repeatedly slapped him, gently enough to not hurt him but hard enough to wake him from his slumber and yet she still got no response. Sharon sighed, realising she needed to be much more direct in her approach. She opened his left eyelid before allowing it to close again but still he didn't as much as flinch. Pondering what else to do, Sharon frowned at him getting slowly irritated. She had discovered the previous morning that there was a sure fire way of waking Andy up instantly but if she used that method the only thing that would accomplish would be ensuring they spent the next hour still in bed, wrapped in each other's arms and as good as that would be it was Christmas morning and Sharon wanted to get up and enjoy every single second of it, especially now that she had Andy with her to share it with. There was no denying that she was sad because she didn't have all of her children with her over the holidays but for the first time in longer than she could remember she had a handsome man in her bed who she loved dearly despite the fact her was currently frustrating the hell out of her and that more than made up for it.

"Andy!" she shouted, finally making him flinch slightly until he returned to snoring. Sharon sighed again before he suddenly moved, rolling over onto her and pinning her to the bed with his hand landing on her face and gripping it like the Facehugger in _Alien_. Sharon sighed once more, her frustration growing by the second as she failed to notice the obvious smile plastered on Andy's face. He was quite clearly awake but just as clearly he wanted to make her work for it, interested to know just how far she would go in the quest to wake him up.

With some effort Sharon managed to drag herself from underneath Andy and climb out of bed. She stood staring at him for a moment as she decided what to do next. Suddenly she smiled and picked up her empty water glass from her nightstand and walked into the bathroom. She returned moments later with the glass full to the brim. Her arm instantly stretched out so that the glass was hovering just above Andy's head as she thought, debating if she should dump the contents in its entirety over his head. As she stood there it was a long debate, the better angels and demons waging war over what to do. She desperately wanted to empty the glass if for no other reason than her own entertainment but stopped herself. She'd done it countless times before to Jack (and on one occasion Ricky when he was very late for school) but for very different reasons (usually because he was drunk and she wanted him up and out of her house as quickly as possible). After what seemed like an eternity Sharon lowered the glass, opting against pouring it over his face in favour of flicking drips of water onto him with the tips of her fingers instead. Still it didn't work, Andy remained dead to the world in Sharon's eyes. She sighed loudly as if that might wake him while she put the glass back down with a bang.

Without really thinking about it Sharon climbed back on the bed and stood up, a foot either side of Andy's waist as she proceeded to jump up and down like a little girl who had just been told she was being taken to Disney World for the first time. Andy bounced along with her as she continued to jump up and down but his eyes remained clamped shut, still pretending (successfully at that) to be fast asleep. Suddenly Sharon stopped as her hand flew to her lower back, it still aching from their little kitchen 'adventure' the other day. 'That was a mistake' she thought to herself in reference to the jumping up and down and not the quickie in the kitchen.

Sharon bent down and rolled Andy onto his back before dropping to her knees and straddling his waist. "Andy!" she shouted, eliciting no response. "If you don't wake up in a moment I'm going to do something drastic" she warned as the sides of Andy's mouth turning upwards went completely unnoticed. Running out of options Sharon lifted up Andy's t-shirt and pushed it up his torso, exposing his chest and his belly. Very slowly Sharon dragged her nails up and down his body, testing Andy to the very limit as he kept his eyes clamped shut, suppressed a moan and tried to think of something else, something less tantalising. When Andy once again didn't move a muscle Sharon bent over and blew a very long, very loud raspberry on his belly, his stomach vibrating frantically under her lips. Finally Andy made a noise, grunting quietly as he rolled back onto his front, accidentally throwing Sharon off him as he moved. Despite her very best efforts to cling on, firstly to Andy and then to the bed sheets, Sharon fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a thud. As she lay on her bedroom carpet composing herself and staring at the ceiling Sharon let out an exasperated sigh, blowing her hair off her face. She sat up and peered at Andy from the edge of the bed, her hair everywhere, quietly chuntering away to herself and sounding like Joe Pesci from _Home Alone_ a lot more than she would have liked.

Sharon stood as she tamed her wild locks before climbing back on the bed and back on Andy, lying full length on his back with her lips close to his ear. Very slowly she slipped her hand to his front and underneath him, stroking his still exposed stomach with her fingertips, venturing south as much as she dared without escalating things to the point of no return. She adjusted herself slightly, moving her mouth even closer to his ear. Suitably situated, Sharon sucked his earlobe into her mouth for a moment but still didn't get a response. Moving her attention slightly she started to kiss his neck before sighing with frustration and shouting "Andy!" as loud as she could without waking her neighbour or Rusty.

"What?" Andy suddenly cried loudly, his words muffled slightly due to his head buried in Sharon's pillow.

At the sudden sound of his voice echoing around the room Sharon jumped with surprise, nearly falling off the bed again as a consequence. "Andy! You scared the life out of me" she said pinching the back of his knee with one hand while she clutched her chest with the other. "You're awake!"

"Of course I'm awake" came the muffled response. "There's a crazy woman screaming in my ear, jumping on me, flicking water on my face and fondling every square inch of my body. How am I supposed to sleep through all of that?"

Sharon sat up, still straddling his back. "At no point did I 'fondle you'."

"Would it have killed you to have tried?" Andy asked as he lifted his head to make sure Sharon could hear him clearly.

"It might have. You could have told me you were awake earlier."

"Why would I do that?" he asked as his face erupted into the largest of smiles. "I wanted to see what else you'd do to me."

"You threw me off the bed and onto the floor."

"Yeah it was pretty hard not to laugh at that. Come here" Andy said as he reached behind him to grab Sharon by the arm and pulled her towards him. With Sharon in his arms he cuddled her close, nose to nose as he closed his eyes again. "Merry Christmas Sharon" he said quietly, briefly joining their lips together.

"Merry Christmas to you too my beautiful boy." Sharon kissed him on the lips a couple of times before stroking her fingers down the side of his face. She smiled at him as his eyes remained closed until she felt his body becoming heavy again in her arms. "Andy don't go back to sleep."

"Why not?"

"Because it's time to get up" Sharon told him, filled with joy and enthusiasm.

"You see that's the best thing about not having to go into work because it's the holidays, we don't actually need to get up. We can lie here for hours and hours and..." Andy's words tailed off as he began to snore dramatically for effect.

"No we can't" Sharon replied, silencing his snores.

"Why?"

"Because it's Christmas."

"I see your point. I suppose we do have dinner plans at some point today."

"Yes we do so focus on that turkey." At the mere mention of the word 'turkey' Andy's eyes shot open as he smiled. "I knew that would get your attention. If I kept a turkey leg in the pocket of my jacket I bet I could get you to follow me around everywhere like a little lost puppy."

"You don't need a turkey, your legs already have that effect on me" Andy replied before planting a kiss on her lips and stretching. "What time is it?" he asked trying to wake himself up and be more alert.

"Ten after seven."

"You're kidding?" Andy asked unimpressed.

"No." Andy immediately got comfortable again, drawing Sharon closer to his chest before closing his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"Like you're going back to sleep."

"I always knew you'd make a badass detective one day" Andy joked.

"Oh Andy, don't! Please get up" Sharon pleaded, shaking his shoulders so he couldn't nod back off immediately.

"It's too early, several hours too early" he whined.

"Not for Christmas morning" Sharon replied, cuddling him back.

"It is when you don't have children in the house."

"Excuse me, we have a child in the house" Sharon pointed out as she pointlessly gestured in the direction of Rusty's room, pointless since Andy's eyes were closed at the time.

"Of the teenage variety and he's sensibly still fast asleep like we should be."

"Andy!" Sharon cried again, kissing him sweetly on the lips. "Please."

Andy opened his eyes, his grumpy face the complete opposite to the excited expression adorning Sharon's. "Fine, but we can't wake the kid. Never wake a teenager" he warned. "It's like telling Provenza one of his ex-wives are in the building. You're just asking to get attacked and have your head bitten off." With his point made Andy closed his eyes again.

"So what do you suggest?"

Andy thought for a moment before his eyes shot open, the devil in them clearly visible as he smiled, making Sharon think he had nothing but sex on the brain, a result of him recently discovering that Sharon was very much a 'morning' person in that regard. "We need to kill some time until he wakes up on his own, naturally. I know what we can do" he said as he pushed their lips together in a long, passionate embrace, confirming Sharon's suspicion that he had a lot more on his mind before adding "We can go back to sleep" and closing his eyes again.

"Not an option. I'm too alert to go back to sleep."

"Alert hey?" Andy asked as his eyes opened once more. "I know what we could do, we could..." his words trailed off as their lips collided once more only this time Sharon was correct and this time he didn't have sleep on his mind as his hand moved slowly up Sharon's leg and to her backside, squeezing it.

As they broke apart and Andy's mouth moved to her neck Sharon uttered in a husk "Sure and after that minute is over what do we do next?" Andy immediately stopped as his mouth dropped open, looking beyond offended in a jovial way at Sharon's slight to his stamina and control. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Sharon assured him, pressing their lips together again. "You know I'm kidding."

"Damn right" Andy confirmed, wanting to sound manly but with his voice squeaking out higher than usual, making Sharon laugh. As Andy moved a lock of hair behind her ear he noticed the angel he had given her the night before as they cuddled on the balcony sitting on her nightstand and looking directly at him. "When did that get there?"

"What?"

"That" Andy said pointing at the angel.

Sharon looked behind her, smiling at the sight of the crystal angel Andy had given her as an early Christmas present. "Benny the angel?"

Andy screwed his face up. "You're not really going to call it Benny are you?"

"Yes I am" Sharon confirmed. "Since you bought it for me I want something that reminds me of you." She kissed him again, almost thanking him for the hundredth time since he gave it to her. "And it was either Benny or 'Dirt Bag.' Benny has a nicer ring to it" she joked.

Andy sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have told you that" he said, once again regretting telling Sharon the name his Mother wanted to inflict on him until his Father intervened. Sharon had made it crystal clear over the last twenty four hours that she was going to call him 'Benny' every chance she got if for no other reason that her own amusement.

"It's too late now Benny boy. Unless you'd like me to call you 'Andrew' more often."

"No, no. Benny is fine" Andy said before matters got any worse. He hated to be called Andrew because it was what the Nuns and his Mother used to call him despite his instance that he wanted to be known as 'Andy,' probably in spite of in all honesty. His ex-wife Carol also used to call it him, purely to annoy him because she knew he didn't like it. That's not to say that Andy didn't use it himself when introducing himself to a suspect or a witness but only when he felt he needed the formality of it with 'Andy' sounding more juvenile than 'Andrew.' "I thought you left it in the living room" Andy added confused.

"I did but I moved him."

"When?"

"After you'd fallen asleep" Sharon told him with a grin.

"Sneaky." Andy raised his eyebrows and looked at Sharon suspiciously. "It's looking right at me" he added with surprise, surprise that was frankly unwarranted since _all_ the angels in the condo had spent the previous evening looking in his direction.

Sharon sighed. "It's not an 'It.' He's a 'He' she pointed out as if the angel could hear Andy and was likely to take offense.

"Okay fine _he's_ looking right at me" Andy laughed, placing a lot of emphasis on the word 'he.'

Sharon grinned and held Andy a little tighter, brushing her lips against his briefly. "I know, that was my intention."

"Because all of the others ones in the living room like to look at me as well?"

Sharon's face suddenly lit up as she pointed at Andy with glee. "I knew you noticed!"

"How could I not notice? There were like two hundred pairs of creepy eyes looking at me. Even the villagers were looking at me." It had taken a lot of effort not to say anything to Sharon about all the eyes pointing in his direction but since he knew she had done it deliberately to freak him out, he was determined to stay silent as Sharon slowly trembled with frustration.

"They were just keeping a watchful eye on you, to make sure you behaved yourself" Sharon told him as her eyes sparkled. She paused for a moment as she thought and glanced over her shoulder to gaze at her angel. Turning back to face Andy she said "Come to think of it I think Benny may have to stare at you more permanently."

"What do you mean?" Andy asked with a cautious frown.

"Since he's made of crystal and not too overtly Christmassy like my other angels I think I can keep him there all year round. Keeping a watchful eye on us."

"Oh jeez" Andy replied very unimpressed until Sharon jabbed him in the ribs with her finger. "Do you really like it, sorry him?" he asked, correcting himself before he came under attack once again.

"I adore him, like you" Sharon informed him, confirming her statement as she crashed her lips against his in a searing kiss. "Thank you" she said once again.

"You're welcome. I'm glad because you know you're not the easiest woman in the world to shop for" Andy pointed out, a smile exploding onto his face as Sharon frowned at him more than a tad perplexed by his statement.

"Why aren't I?"

"You don't like clutter in the condo and you have everything else except perhaps more shoes and clothes and I learnt at a very early age to never buy a woman clothes. Never!" Andy stated categorically. "That's just asking for trouble and several weeks of sleeping on the couch." Andy was speaking from experience. After the fourth time his ex-wife had heaved a dress in his face and screamed 'Do you really think my ass is that fat?!' and spent the next two days giving him the silent treatment, Andy knew better than to buy clothes for a woman ever again, except perhaps shoes and even then he'd had one too many stilettos hurled at his face to take the risk.

Sharon laughed. "Frightened you'd get the wrong size?"

"Oh no. I know exactly what size you are. I think by now I know every square inch of you" he added with a grin, meeting her lips again. "I just know better and besides I've felt a bit of pressure buying your gift this year."

"Why?"

"Because it's our first Christmas together" Andy explained unsuccessfully as Sharon looked at him confused.

"So? You've bought me gifts before" Sharon pointed out. As far as Sharon was concerned, Andy had excellent taste when it came to gift giving. The first time they had exchanged presents was after the first time she accompanied him to see _The Nutcracker_. After the wedding, a few dinners and movies and then the ballet, they were starting to get to know each other pretty well outside of PAB as their unexpected friendship (although to Sharon there was something very strange about it and Andy's behaviour in particular when his family were involved) continued to blossom. That first Christmas Sharon bought Andy a tie. It wasn't the most significant or grandest of gifts but the frequency with which she saw it hanging from his neck let Sharon know just how much Andy loved it. For Sharon the purchase of the tie was fairly straightforward, she made a decision what to buy and she went out and bought it. She liked purple so naturally she bought Andy a purple tie. Andy on the other hand was in a flap for several days over what to buy her. He eventually settled on an orchid, an orchid which still sat on her nightstand to that day. Andy bought it because firstly he knew how much Sharon liked them and also because of the longevity of the plant, it would die off but it would always bloom again, like their friendship, no matter what happened it would always be there. The fact that it was also a magnificent deep purple colour only added to Sharon's joy as she saw it, her lips coming to rest on his cheek for the very first time.

"But that was as a friend. This is different or so everyone keeps telling me." Andy rolled his eyes, clearly fed up of the interference that he had experienced but previously kept completely quiet about.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have any idea how many people I've had walk up to me and ask what I'm buying you for Christmas in the last week and a half alone? At least twenty" Andy said with high levels of irritation. "Provenza is under the impression that unless you get the first Christmas present absolutely perfect there's no hope for the relationship going forward."

Sharon laughed as she pictured the conversation. For a man who didn't want to think about his partner dating his Captain, he certainly had a lot of opinions and a lot of advice to give on the subject. "You didn't believe him I hope? I've never been materialistic."

"Are you kidding? Of course I didn't believe him. I'd ask Norman Bates for relationship advice before I ask Provenza but that didn't stop him from coming up with suggestions on what to buy you. In fact it didn't stop any of them from inflicting advice on me" Andy sighed.

Sharon smiled. "What were they suggesting?" she asked, imagining the worst.

"Everything from perfume to a rotary sander."

"What? A rotary sander?" Sharon laughed.

"Three guesses as to who's suggestion that was."

"I don't need three" Sharon said flatly with the suggestion screaming Lieutenant Provenza at her at full volume. "A rotary sander? Why?"

"I've stopped trying to figure out how his mind works. Provenza thought you might want to sand down my deck sometime." With that they both laughed. "I don't think it was a euphemism" Andy added, more hopeful that certain.

"Poor Patrice. I dread to think what he's bought her this year but you're not so easy to buy for either you know" Sharon told him with a superior smile.

"Oh really?" Andy asked, bringing her a little closer to his chest as his hand moved up and down her back.

"In the end I settled for something I knew you'd just love more than anything."

"Oh yeah?" Andy asked intrigued.

"Yeah. A _Badge of Justice_ box set" Sharon joked. Andy's mouth instantly flew open in horror at the mere thought of Mike's show being inflicted on him in disk form before Sharon kissed it shut again. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" she reassured him before kissing him again. "You know if we just got up we could find out what we've bought each other and we wouldn't need to have this conversation" she stated as she tried once again to get Andy up and out of bed to start their day.

"Logical as always." Andy sighed before gently pushing their lips together. "Okay in a minute" he promised.

"One minute?"

"Yes" Andy confirmed as his eyes slowly closed again, sleep beckoning him into its cosy embrace once more.

"If we're getting up in," Sharon paused as she looked at the clock, "now less than one minute why are you closing your eyes?"

"I'm just resting them. Why don't you try it too? You might find that you like it."

Sharon shook her head at Andy even though he couldn't see her. She stared at him for a moment, studying his face once again before frowning at him. "You are going to behave yourself with Gus today aren't you?" she asked with it sounding more like an order from a commanding officer than a question from his girlfriend.

Andy's eyes remained closed but he smiled devilishly. "What makes you think I won't?"

"Right now? That smile on your face." Sharon put her hand on his mouth and tried to wipe the smile off it, regardless of how much she liked it.

"After the way Rusty interrogated me in my underwear aren't I allowed to have a little bit of fun in return?" Andy asked, opening his eyes and smiling even wider than before. In reality he had no intention of saying anything to Gus other than polite and friendly chit chat but it didn't hurt to make both Sharon and Rusty squirm at the possibility that he may misbehave.

"No you're not."

"Why not? If he could have found a way the kid would have cuffed me to a chair and given me a polygraph." With his gun sitting next to his badge in its regular spot, Andy was surprised Rusty didn't draw it on him after he found him in the condo in the middle of the night for the first time after his return to full health.

"Because it's a completely different situation that's why" Sharon stated as she smacked him gently on the back. "They've only just started dating and Rusty was only trying to defend the honour of his Mother since he caught you sneaking around in the middle of the night after you'd _clearly_ been up to no good with her" she added with a smirk.

"That's funny because at the time his Mother didn't seem like she particularly needed her honour defending" he replied, covering her mouth with his.

"Really?"

"Not when she was dragging me to her bed by my tie and ordered me to remove my pants."

"I didn't order you" Sharon protested.

"Hummm I'm not so sure about that" Andy said with a grin before devouring her lips once more. "That tone in your voice, it seemed very much like an order to me. I felt like if I didn't oblige you immediately it would end up on my permanent record."

"And you were very obliging" Sharon confirmed, returning his kiss with just as much fervour. "I like that Rusty looks out for me, defends my honour against wicked men. It lets me know just what a troublesome silver fox I've bought into my hen house." Sharon winked at him while she ran a hand through his hair.

Andy laughed. "It was all right for you, you weren't the one being glared at in your underwear while questions were being fired in your direction. He asked..."

"No, that's fine" Sharon said, cutting him off quickly. "As I told Rusty the other night, if you two are going to start to have little man to man talks then they're between the two of you and they're nothing whatsoever to do with me."

"Okay but just so you know he offered me money to leave you alone" Andy told her with a very deadpan face and neutral tone.

"No he didn't."

"He did" Andy maintained. "He was like your Father. He offered me all the money he had and his chess set."

"His chess set? Wow! He really does want to get rid of you" Sharon joked, kissing him again. "Were you tempted?"

Andy frowned for a moment, deep concentration on his face as he thought. Sharon's reaction was to immediately smack him around the back of his head. "Of course I wasn't tempted. He'd need to offer me two chess sets if we're to get this deal making process up and running." As Andy laughed Sharon gave him another quick swipe across the back of his head, unimpressed but jokingly so.

"You don't mind do you? Rusty asking you these personal questions?"

"Not at all. Anything to make him more comfortable with me, with us." Andy sighed as he pondered opening a can of worms he had previously been hiding from Sharon. "Besides it's not the first time I've been asked those type of questions with an air of violence and suspicion in the room."

"Let me guess, every single Father of every girl you've ever dated?"

"No." Andy paused for a moment before quietly revealing "Andrea Hobbs and Gavin."

Sharon looked shocked, truly shocked. "What? When?"

"They cornered me outside of my AA meeting a couple of months ago and wanted a 'friendly chat'. They'd been lying in wait for me to come out into the parking lot" Andy admitted with a rise of his eyebrows, giving away precisely what he thought about this surprise and rather dangerous encounter.

"You're kidding?" Sharon asked, genuinely horrified by what she was hearing.

"Nope. Someone should have warned them that it's not the best idea to leap out at me from the darkness in a parking lot after an AA meeting. They're lucky I didn't shoot them."

"Why didn't you say anything to me about it before?"

Andy shrugged. In reality he was far more annoyed by the way they approached him given his history in that particular parking lot than the reasons behind it. "From the questions they asked I knew they didn't approve of me, I suppose with good reason, and I didn't want you to fall out with them about it, since like Rusty they were only looking out for your best interests" he told her, trying desperately to put out the fire before it had chance to spread.

"Even so" Sharon replied, he tone revealing just how annoyed she was.

"Even so, nothing" Andy said quickly. "This is why I haven't told you before. I didn't accidentally shoot them which is the most important thing. I sat in my car and answered their questions and since they haven't put a hit out on me yet I assume I satisfied their concerns." The truth of the situation was Andrea and Gavin scared the crap out of Andy as they suddenly jumped out at him from the darkness. After he had finally stopped swearing, managed to pry his hand off his gun and his heart had stopped fibrillating they eventually all sat in Andy's car to have a 'nice friendly discussion' before he had chance to leave. Gavin sat next to him in the passenger seat as Andrea lurked behind him, almost breathing down his neck like he was Sigourney Weaver and an alien was waiting behind him, ready to pounce. As they spoke their tone was not friendly and neither were the questions they asked or the incredibly strong warnings they issued him. They both let him know in no uncertain terms that if he hurt Sharon they would rain hell on him the likes of which he had never seen before. It made him feel quite uncomfortable with Charming Andy failing to put in an appearance and talk his way easily out of a difficult conversation. The whole situation was not helped by Gavin reclining Andy's seat suddenly and forcing him into a very prone and vulnerable position as they fired questions and warnings at him. Andy felt like he was in _Marathon Man_ with Gavin hovering above him like Sir Laurence Olivier with a drill shouting 'Is it safe?' After a thirty minute conversation that seemed to Andy like it had lasted two days he managed to satisfy the concerns of both Andrea and Gavin to a certain extent. He made it clear that Sharon was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and after accepting that they could and would remove his testicles and ram them down his throat if he ever broke her heart, Andrea and Gavin left him in peace. "Don't look so worried. I understand why they wanted to make sure my intentions were honourable. They were just being overly protective of you, like Rusty."

"Okay but that doesn't stop me from being a bit mad at them" Sharon replied still very unimpressed by the behaviour of her friends considering she herself had gone to great lengths to tell them that a relationship with Andy was her choice and they needed to trust that she knew what she was doing.

"Don't be mad, they only did it because they love you and wanted to make sure I do as well. Which I do so don't get upset with them about it."

"Okay" Sharon said still sounding uncertain.

"You know I'm right."

"I suppose but since you know how it feels no teasing Rusty and Gus today. Okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it" Andy replied, his massive smile contradicting his words.

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe you" Sharon laughed.

"Why?"

"Because of that smile."

"Then I'll just have to stop smiling" Andy told her as he tried his best to frown.

"And lose your best feature?" Sharon asked before kissing him. "Don't you dare. This is the sexiest smile I've ever seen" she told him, kissing him again. As they broke apart Sharon looked around the room and sighed. "I want to get up. I'm going to wake Rusty."

Sharon went to climb out of bed but before she had chance Andy wrapped his arms around her even tighter, ensuring she went nowhere. "I know it's been a while but isn't it traditional for the kid to come into the parents' bedroom to wake them up on Christmas Day rather than the other way around?"

"Usually but there's no chance of Rusty ever stepping foot in this room while you're here."

"Great. Back to Plan A" Andy said incredibly enthusiastically before closing his eyes again and attempting to go back to sleep.

"Andy!" Sharon shouted in protest. Andy opened his eyes and sighed, then suddenly in one quick motion he grabbed the bed covers, resting on their hips and pulled it over their heads, covering them both completely before pulling Sharon closer to him. Just as suddenly he then completely covered her mouth with his in a long kiss but he was honestly more focused on going back to sleep than anything else, practically falling sleep with his lips against hers. "What are you doing?" Sharon asked with a muffled voice as the words struggled to escape her lips and past his.

"I'm making a move on you, just very very very slowly" he confirmed, not opening his eyes or moving an inch.

Sharon put a hand both sides of his face and moved his head back slightly so she could look him in the eyes. "Please?"

"Okay, I'm getting up but let's just have five more minutes first."

"Really?"

"Yes, just five minutes. I promise."

"It's a deal."

"Of course it is." Andy again cuddled Sharon closer still and closed his eyes.

As Andy took advantage of his final five minutes of rest, Sharon just watched him smiling, running a hand down his face. "I love this."

"Love what?"

"Waking up with a handsome boy in my bed on Christmas morning. The last time I had a boy in my bed on December 25th it was Ricky when he was about nine. Emily had convinced him that Santa Claus got his name from the long nails he kept hidden beneath his gloves. She told him he used to scratch out the eyes of children who had seen him in the night." By that point Jack was long gone and with the exception of a couple of relapses in judgement on Sharon's behalf, he was gone for good. As such when her children were in the house Sharon was used to waking up in her bed alone. That was until Emily scared the living daylights out of Ricky, painting a picture of Santa Claus that made him sound more like Freddie Kruger. As a result Sharon woke a little after one in the morning and discovered a trembling Ricky in her bed, his eyes almost glued shut in case he caught a glimpse of the man in red and lost them altogether. "What about you?" Sharon asked.

"I've never woken up on Christmas morning with a boy in my bed."

Sharon laughed and smacked him gently on the back of his head. "I didn't mean that."

"I know" Andy laughed. "It's been a long time. Too long" he confirmed with a wistful sigh. "I don't remember the last time I woke up on Christmas morning like this but I sure like it this time." He pushed their lips together before plainly stating "There is literally nothing else I want to do for the rest of my life" and meeting her lips again.

Sharon smiled. "That makes two of us" she said before exchanging a long chaste kiss. She went back to just staring at him for a moment before asking "Has it been five minutes yet?"

"Nope."

Sharon waited precisely eleven and a half seconds and then asked "How about now?"

Andy chuckled to himself. "How about you close your eyes and try to go back to sleep?"

"Andy if that didn't work on Christmas morning when I was six it's not going to work now."

"Fine then I need to find a way to distract you" Andy stated as he opened his eyes.

"Like how?"

"Like this" Andy said devilishly as he grinned. He then started to venture down her body, planting kisses on top of her nightdress along the way as he slowly moved further and further south.

"What are you doing?" Sharon asked as she raised her head to see him under the darkness of the covers.

"Going on an adventure" came the muffled reply.

"Then I suggest you come back up here because we have no time for sex."

"I think we do" Andy replied as he continued to kiss his way down her abdomen. "There's always time for sex."

"Not this morning there isn't and I don't do quickies."

Andy stopped his journey south to raise his head and look Sharon in the eye with a smile. "You know I have noticed that unless you're pawing me in the kitchen while I'm trying to make a cup of coffee" Andy joked, like he was actually complaining.

"I think it's time we get up" Sharon told him, patting him on the shoulder as he continued to plant kisses on her stomach despite the presence of her nightdress.

"Then I'll just have to convince you otherwise." Andy again smiled with plenty of mischief evident. Very slowly he moved his hands to the bottom of her nightdress and pushed it up, exposing her body (exactly like she had done minutes earlier), his fingertips slowly touching and caressing every inch of exposed skin on his way. With her stomach now exposed Andy's lips met it, dragging them over every part of it as Sharon closed her eyes, her hands drifting into his hair, gripping onto him for dear life. Against her better judgement Sharon started to lose herself in the moment with the realisation that maybe they did have time for a quick roll in the hay after all. Without warning Andy's lips stopped moving, settled on her belly and proceeded to blow raspberry after raspberry on it causing Sharon to squirm and laugh loudly.

"No! Andy! Stop it!" Sharon laughed as she wriggled while Andy's lips continued to assault her stomach.

"I can't! My lips are stuck" Andy responded between raspberries.

"Andy! Banana! Banana!" she cried without success. After their escapade in Andy's kitchen and subsequent lengthy conversation, a conversation which actually turned into almost a conversation of discovery between the two of them they collapsed into bed. But unlike every other night when their pillow talk would be extensive and cover everything that popped into Sharon's head, the only topic of discussion was why both Andy and Provenza shouted 'Banana' so loudly at each other that the gorillas at the LA zoo started to go a bit crazy in their enclosure as their argument drew to a close.

"Sorry, I can't hear you" Andy lied as he continued to blow raspberries.

"Andy! Banana!"

Andy finally stopped, resting his chin on Sharon's stomach and smiling up at her. "I'm just returning the favour" he pointed out since Sharon had tried the same thing in order to wake him a few minutes earlier.

"Well don't." Sharon reached down and grabbed Andy by the neck of his t-shirt, dragging him back up towards her before kissing him. "You monster."

"You started it" Andy replied in suitably childlike fashion.

Sharon watched as Andy pulled her nightdress back down her body again, covering her up before messing with the hem. "Now what are you doing?"

"I'm about to perform a magic trick" he informed her with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "I'm going to turn you on using just my finger and thumb."

"You think you're really that talented?"

"Oh I know I am." Andy again covered her mouth with his as he continued to mess with the hem of her nightdress, searching for something. Finally, with the button found, Andy pressed the hem and Sharon's nightdress suddenly lit up, revealing the pattern to be a luminous Christmas tree. The effect of the lights made their little cocoon under the covers glow beautifully. "You should wear this all the time. It helps me find my way in the dark" Andy said as he lay back down next to Sharon and flashed her another devilish smile.

"It always strikes me that you know your way around perfectly well regardless of lighting."

"Well I am multi-talented" Andy replied with a wink.

"You forgot the music" Sharon told him, indicating the other button on the hem.

"No I haven't. I've heard it enough during the night thank you very much."

"What do you mean?" Sharon asked confused.

"The way you toss and turn in your sleep you've put the lights and the music on this God damn thing at least ten times during the course of the night. How it didn't wake you I'll never know" Andy said as he shook his head.

"You mean like your dancing?" No sooner had the words left Sharon's lips than she started to laugh uncontrollably. As she continued to laugh Andy propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her unamused.

"Are you laughing at my suffering?"

"No not at all. Maybe a little. Okay a lot" Sharon confessed as she continued to laugh.

"How compassionate of you Florence Nightingale. And for the record I wasn't dancing" Andy protested, rubbing his calf which was still a little tight after a bout of night-time cramp, causing him to hop about the room trying to alleviate it.

"That's not what it looked like to me. You looked like a giraffe having a seizure."

"I was dignity and restraint personified. It only happened because you punched me again" Andy pointed out quickly, rubbing his arm where Sharon had clattered him in the night.

"It was hardly a punch. More of a love tap. It was one echelon above tickling you" Sharon replied with more than a hint of guilt in her voice as her fingers slipped under the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"Tickling me? Sure. A love tap or tickle that instantly left a bruise the size of a fist."

"No it didn't."

"Look" Andy said as he pushed the sleeve of his t-shirt up and revealed a large bruise had already appeared on his skin, a bruise the size and shape of Sharon's clenched fist. "See."

Sharon's hands covered her mouth. "Oh my God! Did I really do that?" she asked horrified. Her night-time thrashing had certainly improved with every night she spent with Andy lying next to her as she slowly adjusted to sharing a bed again but the fact she could still punch him and so hard at that, upset her a little bit.

"That's between me and my lawyer. You'll receive your papers through the mail" Andy joked as he pulled his sleeve back down.

"I've got better haven't I? I've hardly punched you at all over the last few nights we've been together."

"True. I should be thankful for small mercies."

"And the fact that I'm slowly getting used to having an _intruder_ in my bed" Sharon added with a smile as she put all the emphasis on the word 'intruder.'

"Intruder?"

"A very welcome one" Sharon confirmed with a kiss. "Did I really keep turning the lights on all night?"

"Constantly. Every time you moved. It was like the Las Vegas strip in here only more Christmassy." Considering Andy was so hard to wake up, with a punch or holding his nose and mouth closed being the only certain ways to achieve it, he was woken constantly by Sharon's festive nightwear. It didn't have a lot of lights on it but in the middle of the night when it lit up Sharon looked brighter than the Griswold house in _National Lampoons Christmas Vacation_.

"Really?"

"I don't know how you've got any battery left."

Sharon laughed. "I don't understand how these lights can supposedly wake you up in the night when poking you in the face repeatedly doesn't" Sharon told him, giving him a quick poke to his cheek with her finger to make sure he didn't go back to sleep again.

"I only respond to punches." Andy closed his eyes again in one final attempt to get a little more sleep. The room was silent for a moment until Sharon sighed loudly, clearly making a point. Andy opened his eyes again and discovered her looking at him with eyes wide open, as bright as a button. "You're not going to let me go back to sleep are you?"

"Nope" Sharon confirmed.

"Fine. Hand me my phone."

"Why?"

"I might as well text my kids now since I'm awake." Sharon pulled the covers from her head before reaching to grab Andy's phone which was sitting next to her new angel. She handed him his phone before disappearing back under the covers again, pulling them back over their heads to cover them completely. As Andy sent a couple of quick text messages, Sharon cuddled up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What have you sent them?" Sharon asked as he dropped his phone by his hip and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Just the usual, 'Merry Christmas Love Dad' followed by a cry for help and letting them know some wicked woman has woken me at some ungodly hour before the sun has even risen on Christmas morning" Andy replied with a pout.

"You've sent that to Nicole?"

"Yes."

Sharon shook her head and laughed. "She has two seven year olds in her house" Sharon stated. "Face facts she's probably been awake since 4am and to cope has got obscenely drunk on eggnog and eaten half the turkey."

"She wouldn't dare" Andy replied, outraged that anyone would dare eat so much as a slither of the turkey before he had chance to get his hands on it.

Sharon looked at him and frowned. "If it came down to it, if there was a fire and I was trapped in the kitchen with the turkey, which one of us would you save first" she asked. Andy thought for a moment resulting in Sharon pinching the back of his knee. "You shouldn't have to think about it!"

"You of course" Andy laughed before kissing her. "Always you" he added kissing her again.

"That's the right answer."

"Because I assume you would rescue the turkey before I rescue you. Kill two birds with one stone or rather grab two birds in one rescue" he joked.

"I hope you didn't just call me a 'bird.'"

"Of course not" Andy said with a smile as he kissed her on the top of her head. Very quickly he picked his phone up, put the screen on revealing the digital clock on the locked screen and started to wave it in front of Sharon's face. "Sharon you are feeling very sleepy" he said, mimicking the tone of hypnotist. "You will close your eyes. You will go to sleep."

"If that doesn't work with a watch it won't work with a cell phone" she said bluntly.

Andy shrugged. "It was worth a try."

"That's it I'm getting up" Sharon said suddenly. Before Andy had chance to move or even respond Sharon had climbed out of bed and was standing with her hand outstretched for him to take. "Come and wake Rusty with me."

Andy removed the covers from his face and stretched. "I think he'd prefer it much more if you woke him and I went back to sleep."

"Fine. I'll wake Rusty and then you have to get up. Do you hear me?" Sharon said, sounding more like his Captain than his girlfriend in that moment.

"You really want that Christmas present don't you?"

"Like you would not believe" Sharon confirmed. Andy immediately laughed and settled back down to grab even two minutes more sleep as Sharon set off towards Rusty's bedroom.

Rusty's door was slightly ajar but Sharon knocked on it anyway before opening it. Rusty lay on his front, his backside sticking up in the air like a toddler, completely spark out. Sharon smiled as he leant against the doorframe. "Rusty" she said fairly loudly hoping to wake him as easily as possible. Sharon moved closer to his bed and again called his name. "Rusty." Like Andy, Rusty didn't move but at least he would be much easier to wake. Sharon sat on the edge of his bed and gently shook his shoulder, waking him up. Rusty opened his eyes and glared at her, knowing full well that he was being woken at a ridiculously early hour. "Good morning. Merry Christmas" Sharon said to him sweetly.

"What time is it?" Rusty asked, not lifting his head from his pillow.

"Too early!" came the loud cry from Andy as he continued to protest from the comfort of Sharon's bed.

"Eight o'clock. Come on, time to get up" Sharon said, ignoring Andy.

Rusty rolled over and stretched. He yawned as he picked up his cell from the nightstand and turned on the screen. His face immediately screwed up. "Sharon it's not even seven thirty yet!" he shouted before he rolled back onto his front, phone still clutched in his hand, in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"I tried to keep her in here as long as possible" Andy again shouted.

"I thought you were going back to sleep" Sharon called back to him.

"If he's going back to sleep so am I" Rusty declared into his pillow.

"No Rusty, please get up and let us start Christmas."

"You have handcuffs" Rusty shouted loudly so Andy could hear him. "Did you not try cuffing her to the headboard?" Suddenly Rusty processed what he had just said and what that could be misconstrued as and the horror reflected on his face. "Oh God! Never mind!"

"Please Rusty?"

"Just five more minutes" Rusty pleaded into his pillow. He didn't want to get up, he was far too tired and it was far too early but he and Andy had a plan for the morning and he needed to get Sharon to leave him alone and go back to Andy for five minutes so he could put that plan into motion.

"Okay" Sharon reluctantly agreed before she leant down and kissed him on the back of his head.

Sharon stood and started to leave Rusty's room before hearing "Merry Christmas Mom" as she was about to walk out the door.

"Merry Christmas sweetheart" Sharon said with a smile before walking back into her bedroom. As she entered she found Andy still lying flat on his back with not only his feet sticking out of the bed but also hanging over the edge as well. It was as she always found him. To her he was the hottest man on the face of the planet (in all ways possible) and couldn't stand the covers of his legs and feet for more than ten minutes without complaining and kicking them off. Sharon walked towards him with a smirk and a plan of action. She grasped his right foot in her hands and tried desperately to pull Andy out of bed. Despite her best efforts Andy was far too heavy for her small frame to manoeuvre and he didn't move an inch. As she continued to yank on his foot time and time again he jiggled up and down slightly from the force but otherwise remained an immovable object. While Sharon struggled Andy tried his best to keep his eyes closed and a smile off his face. "You are so heavy" Sharon said in-between heaves of his foot, her voice strained from the effort.

"Are you calling me fat? My Mother said I was just big boned."

Sharon laughed as she continued to pull on his foot. Bracing her own feet at the foot of the bed Sharon pulled one more time with every bit of effort she had left, making her fall over and land on the floor with a thud. Andy laughed loudly without opening his eyes. "You won't be laughing when you're having to nurse my broken hip" Sharon huffed as she took to her feet again and tried once more to pull him out of bed. Changing her angle of approach Sharon turned around, straddling his leg and pulling that way instead. Still Andy didn't move. "Come on. Rusty is up."

"I believe I heard Rusty being given five more minutes. Don't make me accuse you of favouritism" Andy joked.

Sharon let go of his foot and turned around, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Okay. Fine. What do you want?" she asked as she resorted to offering him a bribe. Andy immediately lifted his head, looking Sharon in the eyes and smiling filthily. "No chance buddy" Sharon said laughing, reading him like a book.

"But it's Christmas."

"And Rusty is awake" Sharon whispered, confirming once and for all that sex was completely out of the question that morning.

"Come here."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're a bad influence" Sharon told him, unable to stop smiling.

Before Andy had chance to refute Sharon's completely correct claim he saw Rusty peering around the doorframe, checking to see if the coast was clear before pulling back sharply to hide again. Knowing he had to get Sharon back in bed and keep her there until Rusty was ready, Andy hatched a plan. "Takes one to know one" he said before quickly leaping up, grabbing Sharon by the arm and pulling her back into bed. Sharon squealed as in as quick as a flash Andy threw the covers back over their heads and held her so tightly she couldn't move.

"Andy!" Sharon protested while admittedly still enjoying herself.

"What? I'm not doing anything." Andy slipped his arm out of bed and waved frantically in the air, gesturing for Rusty to put their plan into action. Rusty peered around the corner again, saw Andy waving wildly and ran off towards the kitchen with Santa hat and rather full backpack in hand.

"You promised me you'd get up if I woke Rusty" Sharon said as she tried unsuccessfully to wriggle from Andy's tight grasp.

"And I will as soon as Rusty is up" Andy replied, holding her even closer and burying his nose into her hair, almost choking to death as a result.

Sharon again tried to break free from his arms without success. "I can't move."

"That's kind of the point. You know a lot of women have found they rather like being trapped in bed with me."

Sharon laughed. "And a lot of those women were mentally unstable and robbed you. Do you want me to glue your..."

Before Sharon could finish Andy managed to cover her mouth with his hand. "Oh no. We're forgetting that. Forever" he informed her.

"I'll forget it if you let me get up."

Beginning to struggle for strength and reasons to stay in bed, Andy quickly blurted out "Do you want me to tell you what I've got you for Christmas?"

"No, I'd rather just get up and find out for myself."

"That's a good point. Would you like to wax my chest?" Andy asked, becoming desperate.

Sharon laughed. "What?"

"My Christmas present to you. I'll let you wax my chest. A special Christmas treat. What do you say?" Andy asked with a manic smile making him look like the Joker after a bottle of wine and an enema.

Sharon managed to turn in Andy's arms and looked at him absolutely baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"Just trying to make today special" Andy told her as he continued to flounder.

"By offering to let me wax your chest?"

"Yes."

"Oh how Christmassey!" Sharon laughed.

"Do you want to or not?"

"Okay what's going on?" Sharon asked, knowing full well that something strange was happening.

"What do you mean?" Andy said innocently.

"Something is going on here."

"Why is it?" Andy asked as his voice went high, very high.

"You're acting weird, well weird for you anyway" Sharon told him.

"I'm just entering into the Christmas spirit."

"If you were entering into the Christmas spirit you'd be getting out of bed and starting to celebrate with me, not refusing to move and then offering to let me wax your chest" Sharon told him beyond perplexed by his behaviour.

"I grew up in Jersey. We do things differently over there" he told her, again grasping at straws.

"It's Jersey, not Mars."

"It was like a whole different world believe me. Did I ever tell you about the time..."

"No!" Sharon shouted as she cut him off. "No more tales from _The Godfather_ meets _Pretty Woman_. We are getting up. Now!" she stated as she again wriggled to get out of his grasp and climb out of bed.

"We can't" was all that Andy could say in response.

"Why?"

Andy thought for a moment before blurting out "I've hurt my thing."

"You've hurt your what?" Sharon asked as concern started to mix with her confusion.

"My thing" Andy stated again being as vague as humanly possible.

Sharon stared at Andy for a moment, looking at him like he had just belched a unicorn. "Andy if I didn't know any better I'd swear you'd been drinking. What is the matter with you?" Andy remained silent, just staring at her as his brain motored like crazy, trying to think of something to placate her. "Now will you please let me get up?"

"No" Andy replied quickly.

"Why?"

"Will you just trust me on this?" Before Sharon had chance to respond Rusty could be heard clearing his throat from the doorway, trying to get their attention. "Thank God. This was like wrestling an eel." Andy heaved the covers off them to reveal Rusty standing at the end of the bed wearing a Santa hat and with a large breakfast tray filled to the brim with goodies in his hands. Aside from the tinsel around the edge of the tray it featured all of Sharon's favourite pastries, enough to feed all three of them. Next to the pastries were a variety of jams and jellies, all filled with edible glitter and utensils for all. Three glasses also stood proudly on the tray, all of them contained orange juice except for Sharon's which also contained champagne and yet more glitter, making her something between a Mimosa and a Bucks Fizz. Rusty smiled at Sharon as she stared at him and the tray with her mouth open.

"Merry Christmas Mom."

"Merry Christmas Sharon." Sharon turned to face Andy and immediately smiled as he now proudly wore a matching Santa hat and a flashing Rudolph nose which he had retrieved from under the bed and put on as she took in the sight before her.

Sharon simultaneously laughed and cried with joy, lovingly running a hand down Andy's face while beckoning Rusty towards her. "Merry Christmas both of you. Did you do this all for me?" she asked as her hand covered her heart, it growing in size faster than the Grinch's did on Christmas morning.

"Who else?" Rusty grinned.

"Is this why you wouldn't let me get up?"

Andy shrugged. "I was trying to give the kid some time. And I tried to keep her in here as long as possible before waking you but it's easier said than done" he told Rusty in almost an apology.

"If you'd only let me know" Sharon said, missing the point completely.

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise. Here." Rusty handed Sharon the tray.

"Shouldn't we move this to the table?" Sharon asked as she tried to get out of bed.

"Oh what's Christmas without a few hundred crumbs in the bed" Andy replied as he positioned the tray over Sharon's legs, letting her get first dibs on everything. "Kid, get comfy." With a little bit of hesitancy Rusty sat on the end of the bed with his legs crossed before Andy handed him his orange juice. After giving Sharon her glass of Bucks Fizz, Andy took his glass and raised it in the air. "Cheers. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

All three leant forward and chinked their glasses together in celebration before taking a sip. Andy held his glass aloft again. "To much loved family, whether they be near," he said gesturing towards Rusty, "or far." With Andy's toast complete they chinked glasses again.

"Thank you. Thank you both so much" Sharon said as she looked back and forth between the two of them, feeling completely overwhelmed and proud by their joint venture.

"Now you've got two boys in your bed" Andy joked causing Rusty to look at him baffled.

"Come here" Sharon said gesturing towards Rusty. He climbed off the bed and hugged her before she kissed Andy on the cheek. "Thank you both."

"Enough talking. More eating. Then you can open your present" Andy ordered as he stuffed a piece of croissant into Sharon's mouth.

With breakfast finished Andy and Rusty finally allowed Sharon to get up and open her Christmas presents. If her first gift of the morning was her surprise breakfast in bed, the second was the sight of Andy in one of her robes. As he packed his bag the day before he focused so much on what he needed for work the following Monday that he neglected something more practical, his robe. In all honesty Rusty would have preferred to have sat in the living room on Christmas morning with Andy in his underwear rather than one of Sharon's satin robes but she thought it was hysterical. Taking a photo of him in it with his Santa hat to keep on her desk at work Sharon thought Andy had a look of Cary Grant in _Bringing Up Baby_ about him. If Andy had known that was all it took to distract Sharon from what lay under the Christmas tree he would have put her robe on earlier and not had to battle so hard to keep her in bed until Rusty was ready.

Andy had thought long and hard about what to buy Sharon, in the end he settled on jewellery. In reality Sharon wasn't a big jewellery wearer (it was a well known fact that Andy wore more than she did), earrings and the odd necklace aside but it was the sentiment that Andy was aiming for rather than anything else, anything perhaps more practical. He bought her a pair of earrings from Pandora along with a charm bracelet, a charm bracelet that effectively chartered their relationship so far. Each charm related to some significant event in the life they were building together. First up was a tiny silver church to represent their first unofficial date at Nicole's wedding and the moment their friendship started. Next was a Nutcracker soldier for obvious reasons followed by a tennis ball which he picked because their first official date was at Serve and a baseball because their first kiss came at a Dodger's game (neither were really the proper balls, just the colour of them but it was enough for Sharon to know what they represented). The next charm was a small silver envelope which he chose to symbolise the letter he wrote her while he was in the hospital, the letter that has changed their relationship so drastically over the last two weeks. Finally there was a silver angel because anyone who knew Sharon knew there simply had to be an angel. Andy went to explain why he had selected each one but he didn't need to, Sharon knew why each charm dangled joyfully from the bracelet and was pleased to see that there was plenty of room on there for more memories. Andy also confirmed that he had bought himself a present, six new dress shirts meaning that Sharon could pick six of his old ones to keep since she wanted them to sleep in so badly.

Sharon found Andy was equally hard to buy for as he did her. In the end Sharon bought him a new leather jacket as his favourite one was more than beginning to show signs of wear and tear (a little like him she joked), mainly from where he was attacked outside of his AA meeting several years before. It was virtually identical to his old jacket but this time without the gaping holes (he had tried to repair it himself several times with large stitches which made it look like Frankenstein's monster). In the pocket of the jacket was an envelope which contained an IOU with Andy quickly realising it must have been written before he arrived on Christmas Eve and had chance to influence her decision. It was essentially a promise. A promise that as soon as they knew when Emily would be back on stage in New York she would be booking them a hotel and paying for it herself, taking him away for what the Brits might call 'a dirty weekend.'

With breakfast finished, all presents opened and after getting dressed Andy collapsed at the end of Sharon's bed in full starfish mode, attempting to get a few more moments of sleep while Sharon finished getting ready herself and they could make a move and drive to Nicole's. He sighed, waiting for sleep to come and pay him a quick visit as Sharon stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed in a purple dress but nowhere near ready to leave for Nicole's house, talking to Ricky on her cell phone. "Okay sweetheart. Send Emily a text first to make sure she's awake before you try to speak to her on Skype. What? Andy?" Sharon turned to look at him lying down. "No he's dressed but he's currently trying to go back to sleep again on the end of my bed. It's like having a really big cat living in the condo" she joked.

Andy lifted his head and shouted loudly enough so Ricky might be able to hear over the phone. "Ricky she woke me up at an ungodly hour."

"Did you hear that?" Sharon asked her son. "I know. I know, I've told him." Sharon bent over Andy to pass along a message from Ricky as she removed her phone from her ear. "He says 'But it's Christmas'."

Andy shook his head. "Like Mother like son. Tell him not to break anything."

Sharon put her cell back to her ear. "Andy says, and this goes for me too, don't break anything." Sharon paused as she listened to Ricky, a smile spreading across her face. "No we're not. I'm sounding like your Mother and Andy is sounding like...Richard William Raydor wash your mouth out with soap right now! But yes you're right." Sharon laughed as Andy could just about make out the sound of Ricky shouting on the other end of the line. He wasn't sure but he assumed Ricky had just called him Sharon's 'boy toy' or perhaps something even more graphic given Sharon's reaction of using his full name followed by her agreement. "Don't give me TMI, you said it" Sharon told Ricky as she continued to laugh. "Anyway you're missing the point, please be careful. I know you're a better skier than I am but still, be careful please. Don't break anything. I mean it. I've already spent enough time at the hospital this year without you doing something stupid on Christmas Day as well. I will. I love you too. Merry Christmas. Bye sweetheart." Sharon hung up her phone and placed it in her purse on her nightstand.

"Is he okay?"

"He's having a wonderful time. He thinks he's Bode Miller." Sharon picked up the pair of earrings and bracelet Andy had bought her before sitting on the bed next to him to put them on. He had expected her to wear the earrings but not the bracelet with that being more of a memento, the story of them, than anything she would choose to wear herself so in that regard he was pleasantly surprised.

As Sharon continued to get ready Andy's hand instantly went to her back and began to rub it. "Are you ready?"

"Do I look ready?"

Andy lifted his head as he looked at her, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he battled to come up with the correct answer. "There's no way for me to answer that question without getting myself into trouble. You look beautiful as you always do but I'm a little bit biased" he replied with a grin.

Sharon smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. She made no attempt to hide just how much she enjoyed the prospect of having Andy with her over the holidays. She loved Christmas above all other occasions, even more so when she had someone to enjoy it with (someone other than her children), something that had not happened for a very long time. Sharon had been beyond excited about Thanksgiving because she was spending it with Andy, their first holidays together but that was quickly ruined. Firstly her holiday prep and wonderful lazy morning in the kitchen she had planned with Andy was kyboshed by a trip to the morgue. Then of course Thanksgiving itself went out of the window after Andy collapsed but at least it ended up giving Sharon another reason to be thankful. Andy leant up and quickly kissed her before closing his eyes again. "Are you going back to sleep?" Sharon asked.

"I'm thinking about it."

Sharon shuffled a little closer to him, leaning over and pushing their lips together, running her hand through his hair as she savoured the moment. "Go ahead" she said before kissing him once more. "I'll wake you before you need to finish getting ready." Sharon stood and moved over to the stool in front of her vanity and mirror. She sat down and retrieved a pair of stockings from the vanity and then slowly and sensually (admittedly inadvertently) pulling them up her legs. It was at this moment that Andy opened his eyes and saw what Sharon was doing. He lifted his head as he watched her, his tongue almost hanging out of his mouth.

"Well now I'm up" Andy said with a growl as he watched Sharon finish the job.

"Stop staring."

"I can't help it."

"Try. Go back to sleep."

"So now I'm allowed to sleep?"

Sharon laughed. "Yes if for no other reason than to keep your hands and your eyes off my legs so I can finish getting dressed without any distractions." Sharon stood to head back into the bathroom.

"Come here first."

"No."

"Come here" Andy pleaded.

"No" Sharon repeated defiantly as she crossed her arms.

"Why?"

"Because you'll mess up my hair" Sharon rightly pointed out.

"No I won't" Andy lied.

"Yes you will. I know you too well. It'll be the first thing you do after you've messed up my lipstick."

"It'll be worth it" Andy replied in a very sing song manner as his feet waggled at the end of the bed. "I promise."

Sharon laughed. "My Grandmother warned me about boys like you with lines like that."

"Did she?" Andy smiled as he gestured for her to join him.

"Yes. For the most part I ignored her" Sharon replied before hurriedly walking over to Andy and sitting down on the edge of the bed. She leant over him again to gently press their lips together but he had other ideas. His hand instantly went into her hair as he ensured they shared a long, passionate embrace, messing up both her hair and her lipstick as a moan escaped her lips. When they broke apart Sharon grabbed a pillow from the top of the bed and after feeling tempted to put it over his face, opted to put it under his head instead. "Go back to sleep" she instructed him before continuing to finish getting ready (and repairing the damage).

Andy dozed as best he could as Sharon went about putting the finishing touches to her outfit while happily humming away to herself. As she retrieved her shoes from the closet she heard a soft knock on the door followed by Rusty's voice. "Can I come in" he asked from the other side of the door which was slightly ajar but not completely open.

"Of course you can" Sharon said as she opened the door for him to enter.

Clad in a suit but minus the tie that was clutched in his hands, Rusty slowly crossed the threshold, a little uncertain about his presence in that room when Andy was there. "I'm never sure...you know...oh God!" Rusty said quickly as his discomfort became evident to Sharon without the need for elaboration.

Sharon put her hand on Rusty's shoulder, smiling warmly at him to make him feel welcome. "Rusty the same rule of thumb applies from before Sleeping Beauty was in here" she told him, indicating Andy. "If my door is open, please come on in."

"Okay" Rusty said as he relaxed a little. "Is he...?" he asked, pointing at Andy.

"Pretending to be asleep to prove a point? Yes he is."

Rusty stepped towards Andy, brandishing his tie. "Andy can you tie this for me?"

"Sure" Andy said as he sat up and took Rusty's tie, using his own neck to tie it before putting it on Rusty and finishing the job. Andy had done the exact same thing the night before when they went to Midnight Mass but this felt different. No one said a word about it but it was clear after the discussion between the pair of them on Christmas Eve that Rusty had elected to wear a suit for Christmas dinner because Andy was wearing one. Sharon smiled as she watched the action unfold before her, it was another small indication that Rusty was beginning to more than accept Andy but also looking to him as a kind of role model, a frightening prospect in some regards given what he frequently got up to. "There you go" Andy said as he straightened Rusty's tie one final time.

"Thanks."

"You ready?" Andy asked him, desperate to hurry him along.

"I just have my hair to finish" Rusty replied as he ran his hand through it.

Andy rolled his eyes and sighed as he flopped back down on the bed, bouncing up and down slightly with the suddenness of the impact. "We're never leaving this condo" he complained making Sharon laugh.

"Hey some of us like to do more than run a comb through it. Some of us have style old man" Rusty pointed out as he turned on his heels and went back to his bedroom.

Once she was sure he had gone Sharon walked over to Andy and quietly told him "See, he does like you."

"It's just a suit."

"Because you're wearing one."

"Maybe. Maybe you're right." Andy reached up and grabbed Sharon's hand. "Why don't you come back over here and we can celebrate." He smiled filthily at her as he gestured with his head towards the space on the bed next to him.

"I'm not falling for that one again. Instead of being a nuisance and slowing me down, quit complaining, go into the living room and stop distracting me."

"You can't get ready and tell me off?"

"From my vast experience in giving you reprimands it requires full concentration and certain levels of eye contact to be fully effective." Sharon pulled on Andy's hand, making him sit up. "So if you want that turkey any time soon get a move on. Now take your present for Gus and go and wait in the living room."

"Yes ma'am" Andy responded obediently as he took to his feet. He kissed Sharon on the side of her head before picking up the laptop for Gus from the corner of the room and headed off towards the living room.

Andy looked about the living room for a moment, opting to slide the present for Gus under the Christmas tree as he attempted to 'Not make a big deal' about his gesture before flopping down on the couch, lying down with his head on the armrest. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before his eyes drifted to the three stockings that still hung from the television unit. He smiled. It was wonderful to be part of a family again at Christmas time. It wasn't just that he was part of a family but he was also wanted there as well, it wasn't an obligation of behalf of somebody else, his presence was demanded. How times change. Family had always been important to Andy at Christmas time because from a very early age he had very little else. His family was large, very large and that meant that they were also quite poor. He was rich in terms of the love he received from his family at Christmas time but in a material sense he joked that he was lucky to get a bit of cat shit on a stick from Santa Claus every year. In all honesty it wasn't far from the truth. When he had children of his own he tended to overcompensate a little and wanted to offer his kids everything he didn't have when he was their age. In the end he denied them what he had most of as a child, love. As his marriage began to fall apart and he drank and drank and drank, Nicole and Daniel had mountains of presents but not the love of their Father who was largely absent from their lives. Christmas after his divorce was spent either alone or with any available warm body he happened to be seeing at the time, none of which were particularly special, the women or the Christmases. He didn't even have the company of Provenza for comfort. He usually always found one ex-wife to take pity on him. Then things started to change, old fractures started to heal slightly as his children grew older but still he was restricted to essentially drive by Christmas visits. Who knew that Sharon Raydor would change it all? Nicole believing that they were together resulted in an invitation for Christmas dinner the year she got married. Even after the 'misunderstanding' was cleared up Andy was still invited the following year, now twelve months later he had everything he ever wanted. He had Sharon, waking up next to a woman he loved on Christmas Day. He also had his family, a dinner invite for them all on a day that should be all about family.

As Andy lay on the couch, visiting the ghosts of Christmas Past in his mind there was a light knock on the front door. Andy was quick to his feet, crossing the floor to answer it.

He opened the door to reveal, as expected, Gus standing on the other side. Gus was clad in the most brightly coloured and hideous looking Christmas sweater this world has ever seen while a suit jacket hung over his arm as he clutched two bunches of flowers. His sweater featured Santa and a snowman hand in hand which was harmless enough but it was the colour of the wool which was vomit inducing. Gus smiled as Andy looked at him from top to toe, completely gobsmacked. He had told Gus to wear a hideous sweater, it was his joke, but he never expected anything like this.

"Hey Lieutenant. Merry Christmas" Gus said cheerily.

Andy smiled, trying really hard not to laugh that Gus had fallen for his sweater gag hook, line and sinker. "Merry Christmas Gus. Come in, please come in. Did you find us okay?"

As Gus walked into the condo Andy just stared at him, biting his lip so he didn't laugh as his hand remained frozen on the door handle. "Yeah I found an Uber driver." Gus couldn't fail to notice that Andy was still standing by the door with the most unusual expression on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked him concerned.

"I'm great Gus" he said brightly as he shut the door. "Just great. I love the sweater."

"Is it okay?" Gus asked as he looked down at his chest. "Will it meet your daughter's approval?"

"Oh I should so say. It's so...so...bright." Bright was an understatement. Someone with borderline epilepsy could look at it and instantly have a seizure.

"Yeah well you said the more hideous the better."

"And you've certainly achieved it. Bravo. Good work. Really good work" Andy told him as his battle to not laugh continued.

"Thanks. They looked at me a little funny in the store. I don't think they sell a lot of them in this particular style or colour."

"I can't for the life of me imagine why. Did you have enough money?"

"Yes thank you, in fact I have change" Gus replied as he put his hand in his pocket to retrieve the change out of the money Andy had given him at the Christmas party.

Andy instantly put his hand up. "Keep it kid. Put it towards the money you spent on your Uber getting here."

"Thanks. Where's yours?"

"Where's my what?" Andy asked confused, still dazzled by the sweater Gus had purchased.

"Your sweater?"

"Oh that, my sweater" Andy said as he tried not to laugh. "It's in the bedroom. I'll get it later. I'm too warm with my jacket. I'll put it on when we get to Nicole's" he lied.

Gus looked about the room. "Where's Rusty?"

"He's still getting ready. Sit down with me" Andy said as he sat back down on the couch.

Gus looked at Andy a little awkwardly. He was unsure if he should venture into Rusty's bedroom after a single date but similarly he was not completely comfortable sitting alone with Andy in the living room. "Maybe I should just wait downstairs Lieutenant. I am a little early" he said as he looked at his watch and edged towards the door.

"Andy please. Call me Andy. Gus really take a seat." Gus sat down on the end of the couch, putting his flowers on the coffee table. "Let me give you some...well not advice exactly but let me give you some idea of what goes on around here."

"Okay" Gus replied confused.

"They may not be related by blood but trust me Rusty is like Sharon in so many ways it's frightening. Firstly you've got the death stare. Sharon perfected it working in Internal Affairs for most of her career and can make grown men cry with a single glare in an interview room and Rusty has definitely picked it up from her. Trust me, he's been giving it to me for months. It's terrifying."

"Something to avoid" Gus said as he laughed.

"Absolutely. At all costs from both of them" Andy warned. "Secondly and this is what's more important right now, he's picked up her inability to get dressed in any sort of hurry. At all. It could be like _The Towering Inferno_ in here and they still wouldn't get dressed and leave any quicker. Trust me kid, we're going to be spending a _lot_ of time together waiting for these two to get ready to go anywhere so best we get comfortable, get to know each other and find something we have in common to talk about" Andy rightly pointed out. It was true, Andy was likely to spend as much time with Gus as Rusty did while he waited for him to get ready to go out. As the (potential in one case) significant others of a very close duo, it was imperative that Andy and Gus got along as quickly as possible.

"Okay" Gus laughed again. "Are they really that bad?"

"Let me put it like this, they started getting ready for Midnight Mass at ten o'clock last night. We still nearly missed it."

"Well okay." Gus offered out his hand for Andy to shake. "Andy, nice to meet you again and I look forward to spending a lot of time with you."

"Likewise kid" Andy replied, taking his hand and shaking it.

Finally relaxing Gus sat back and looked around the room. "Wow! You guys have a lot of angels" he said as he couldn't fail to see them looking in his general direction.

"You have no idea" Andy said as he laughed. "So Rusty tells me you've got a job working in a kitchen?"

"Yes. In Santa Monica not far from the beach. I start tomorrow morning so I hope you don't find me rude if I leave a little early this evening. I'm not sure how hard it'll be to get a ride home and I need to make sure I get some rest, you know to make a good first impression."

"Don't worry about that Gus, I'll drive you home tonight" Andy confirmed.

"No really I can't…"

Andy was quick to cut him off. "Gus, it's already settled. We'll leave in plenty of time for you to get a good night's rest and you can sleep in the car if need be."

"But I don't want to drag you away from your family."

Andy laughed which quickly turned into a yawn. "Last night we went to Midnight Mass. It was gone 3am before I went to sleep. Sharon was awake not long after seven this morning. Trust me, we won't be dragged away. Don't worry about it."

"Okay. Thank you."

"It's really not a problem kid" Andy assured him. "It's my pleasure, besides Sharon and Rusty would kill me if I didn't offer to drive you home." Andy winked at Gus, letting him know that he was joking even though it was partly true. "Did you cook in the army?"

"No I was just a plain old front line soldier."

"There's nothing plain about it."

"I know I just don't really like to talk about it" Gus said before quickly changing the subject away from his time in Afghanistan. "Cooking is what I've always wanted to do. Did you ever serve?"

"Only as a cop."

"Is that what you've always wanted to do?" Gus asked.

"Sure. It was either this or prison" he joked in regard to his brush with the law as a kid.

Gus tried to hide his confusion since Andy didn't elaborate further before changing the subject again. "Have you moved recently? I thought you lived in a house" he said as he recalled the couch he had slept on when Andy took him home one night to discuss what exactly he wanted from the LAPD in exchange for his cooperation about Mariana and the incident in Las Vegas.

"I do. This isn't my place. This is Sharon's condo."

"Oh I'm sorry I thought you lived together."

Andy smiled wistfully. "No, not yet."

"How long have you been dating?" Gus asked, realising he and Andy were very much in the same boat when it came to dating members of the Raydor/Beck household.

"Just six months."

"But she's your boss right?" Gus asked with a smile.

Andy laughed. "In every way imaginable."

Gus laughed with him, knowing exactly who wore the pants in their relationship without having to ask. "Dating your boss? How does that work?"

"Unbelievably well" Andy grinned.

Before Gus had the opportunity to respond the sound of Sharon's heels clicking on the floor towards them drew his attention. He turned to see Sharon, purse and jacket in hand, pulling on a cardigan over her dress as she smiled warmly to greet him. "Hello Gus." Both men, gentlemen down to their very bones, immediately stood to attention with a lady now present in the room. "I didn't know you were here. Merry Christmas" Sharon continued until she caught sight of what Gus was wearing. Her mouth instantly fell open, rooted to the spot as she looked at his wardrobe choice more than a touch baffled. Eventually she composed herself and kissed Gus on the cheek while Andy covered his mouth with his hands and tried desperately not to laugh.

"Merry Christmas. Here, these are for you" Gus said as he handed her one of the bunches of flowers he had brought with him.

"Thank you Gus but you didn't need to" she said, burying her nose in the blooms and inhaling the scent. "They're beautiful." Sharon crossed to the kitchen and retrieved a vase from above the fridge, filled it with water and deposited the flowers in it as a temporary measure until they could be dealt with properly upon their return from Nicole's house. "Does Rusty know you're here?"

"No I didn't want to interrupt his hair styling under pain of death" Andy said only half joking.

"Rusty!" Sharon called as she didn't take her eyes of Gus, or to be more precise his sweater, for an instant.

Very quickly Rusty came rushing from his room, his hair still looking the same as it did the last time Sharon and Andy saw him despite the fact that he had now 'styled it.' "Gus! You're here" he said with a smile. "You're..." Rusty stopped as he registered the monstrosity that Gus was wearing. "What are you wearing?" he asked as his face screwed up, blinking rapidly from the brightness.

"It's a Christmas sweater."

"It is indeed" Sharon said.

Sharon and Rusty continued to stare at Gus completely dumbfounded while Andy bit his hand, a final desperate bid to not break down in laughter. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Gus asked as he felt a little uncomfortable, looking down at his sweater as if he had done something wrong. "I thought this is what we were all supposed to be wearing today. Where's yours?"

Sharon looked at him confused. "What makes you think..." Before she could finish her question the penny finally dropped. She turned towards Andy who suddenly burst out laughing. "Andy!" she shouted, half amused, half annoyed.

"What's going on?" Gus asked confused.

Within a matter of seconds Rusty's face went as red as a baboon's backside as he burned with rage as he glared at Andy, absolutely hopping mad. "Andy!" he exclaimed, raising his voice to him for the first time. Suddenly Gus understood what Andy had been warning him about earlier. As both Sharon and Rusty glared at Andy they were mirror images of each other, Darth Raydor and her Sith equivalent of a Padawan leaner Darth Beck burning their eyes into Andy with the ferocity of a thousand burning suns or one fully operational Death Star.

"What?" Andy asked innocently as he continued to laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Sharon asked Andy as Rusty's rage levels increased.

"I'm high on life. It's Christmas you know, I'm with the women I love and her son and I'm happy."

Sharon glared at him for a moment before turning her attention back to Gus. "Gus who exactly told you to wear a sweater like this? Like I even need to ask."

"Andy did at your office Christmas party the other day" Gus explained as Andy shook violently with laughter despite the trouble he was in. "He told me that his daughter has a tradition where we all need to show up in really hideous Christmas sweaters. Is that not right?"

"Andy!" Rusty again shouted, very annoyed.

"What?"

Sharon sighed and put her hand on Gus' shoulder. "I'm sorry Gus but this was someone's idea of a very bad joke at your expense."

"Before you pitch a fit I paid for it out of my own pocket didn't I Gus?" Andy said trying to calm the situation down.

"Yes he gave me the money for it."

"I thought it would be funny and I was right, it is" Andy said as he laughed again.

"This was a joke?" Gus looked down at his sweater, realising just how ridiculous he looked and a little annoyed that he had fallen for such an obvious practical joke. "No wonder they looked at me like I was crazy in the store" he said as he laughed.

"Admit it, it's pretty funny" Andy laughed.

Sharon couldn't hold it in any longer and started to laugh along with them. "No, I'll admit no such thing" she said as she tried to compose herself. She failed, laughing loudly. "Oh Gus that is truly horrendous. Where did you get it?"

"Venice Beach. I feel like a paint pallet threw up on me."

"You look it" Rusty confirmed as he finally started laughing, seeing the funny side now that Gus was laughing about it.

Andy raised his hand to shield the sweater from view. "Take it off kid, it's burning my eyes."

"Oh I don't think so" he replied with a smile. "You made me buy it and now you have to spend the day looking at it."

Andy frowned. "But doesn't it bother you?"

"That's the benefit of wearing it. When I wear it, I don't have to look at it."

"Well that joke backfired" Andy stated filled with regret.

"You've got no one else to blame" Sharon told him as she kissed him on his cheek. "Right, are we ready finally?"

"Finally" Andy laughed. "I've been ready for…"

Sharon quickly cut him off, grabbing his chin to make him look her in the eye. "Be quiet. You're already in enough trouble buddy."

"What about the..." Andy's words trailed off as he pointed towards the laptop meant for Gus nestled under the Christmas tree.

Sharon held her hands up in the air. "Don't look at me. This was all your idea and you've done all the work so I leave it all up to you" she told him, making sure that both Gus and Rusty knew where the credit and gratitude should be heading.

Andy smiled shyly before retrieving the laptop from under the Christmas tree and handing it to Gus. "Gus, Merry Christmas" he said as Sharon took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

Gus looked at the wrapped box in his arms surprised. "What's this?"

"For you from Sharon and myself."

"But mainly Andy" Sharon was quick to correct. After all it had been Andy's idea to begin with and he had arranged to get it and wrapped it, several times at that.

"Thank you." Gus sat back down on the couch and began ripping off the paper. Rusty moved behind him to see what laid within while Andy and Sharon watched, Sharon resting her head on Andy's shoulder. Gus opened the box, making his mouth fall open as he saw what he had been given. "I don't know what to say. Thank you so much" he said as he examined his unexpected and very welcome gift.

"I figured since you're new to town you need to stay connected" Andy explained, still more than a little shyly for him.

"Thank you. Both of you" Gus said as he took to his feet, kissing Sharon on the cheek before shaking Andy's hand. As Gus thanked them Rusty briefly caught Andy's eye, smiling at him.

"So, are we ready now?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah in a second" Andy replied a little hesitantly. "Listen kid I've got you something to go with it but you've got to promise me that you'll stick to the rules that I'm about to lay out because I'm sticking my neck out for you here" he said as he took a step closer to Gus, Sharon still holding his hand.

"Okay."

"Andy what are you talking about?" Sharon asked confused.

"For the last few days I've been exchanging phone calls with Paloma's adopted mother" Andy explained.

Gus gasped. "Lieutenant..."

"Just hold your horses a second kid. Let me explain" Andy continued, desperate for Gus to absorb and understand everything he was about to say to him. "I got her phone number from Cynthia at DCFS which wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done. I've had to do some heavy duty grovelling I can tell you. Anyway I've spoken to this lady a couple of times over the last week, her name is Sandra and she's a really nice woman. She seems funny, caring, loves Paloma like she gave birth to her herself and most importantly she's really understanding about your situation."

"Is this who you were talking to last night on the balcony?" Sharon asked.

"Yes and when my coffee was mysteriously stolen by persons unknown."

Sharon squeezed his hand. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't a done deal. I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up."

Rusty looked at Gus who was clearly very overwhelmed before Andy had even had chance to fully explain so he decided to take charge on his behalf. "Wait Andy, what does this mean exactly?"

"Okay, Sandra is incredibly protective over Paloma as you'd expect especially with how she came to be with her in the first place. Also Paloma is really settled at the moment and happy and Sandra doesn't want to ruin that" Andy explained.

"Then what..."

"Just listen. She also doesn't want her to not have any contact with you either. I've told her all about you and Mariana and what happened and she's incredibly sympathetic but like I said Paloma is naturally her first and only priority and is really settled at the moment" Andy said as he lowered expectations before raising them again. "After a little bit of persuasion and a lot a promises as a LAPD officer she's agreed to make a compromise and we've come to an agreement. Sandra has agreed that if you get in contact with her, that's Sandra not Paloma, on Facebook tomorrow, I've got her details somewhere in my jacket, then she'll accept your request. That means you'll get to see all the photos she puts on there of your sister and updates on how she's doing so you can see for yourself." It had been a battle for Andy. He had practically begged on the phone and in the end was satisfied with the result. He couldn't reunite Gus and Paloma like he had hoped but he had ensured that Gus would at least be able to see photos of her and be kept up to date even if he couldn't see or speak to her in person.

"Lieutenant..."

"Andy please. Listen to me, but only, and I can't stress this enough, only if you agree to stay away from her for the time being" Andy warned, his tone very serious. "You don't try to make contact with Paloma, you don't see where they're going and head over there. You get updates on your computer and that's it. You see photos. See how she's doing and that she's safe and happy but that's it" he said loudly and clearly, making sure Gus had heard and understood the rules he was laying out for him. "I know it'll be hard, I'm sure it'll kill you but you follow the rules, you show her that you can follow the rules and that you're a good guy and that takes you a step closer to seeing Paloma in person sooner than you thought." Andy paused for a moment. "I've vouched for you here kid, I've told her you're a good guy and that they can trust you. My reputation is on the line both with Sandra and at DCFS so don't make me look like an idiot."

"I don't know what to say. Thank you." Before Andy knew what had hit him Gus grabbed him in a bear hug, squeezing him tighter than any man ever had done without trying to kill him. "Thank you so much. I'll never be able to repay you for this."

"No need. Just don't screw it up" Andy repeated as they pulled apart. As soon as Gus had let Andy go, Sharon grabbed his hand again, lacing their fingers together and squeezing it, letting him know just how proud she was of him for his efforts.

"I won't. I promise."

"See that you do."

Rusty swallowed, clearly emotional at seeing Gus emotional. "Thank you Andy."

Andy smiled and shrugged. "I think it's time that we make a move before Nicole eats the whole turkey without me and I spend the rest of the day crying in the corner." Gus picked up his laptop, jacket and flowers and headed to the door followed closely by Rusty. Andy went to follow them but was stopped by Sharon. He turned to face her before she pulled him towards her, wrapping her arms around him and pushing their lips together. "What was that for?" he asked as their lips came apart, like she needed an excuse to kiss him.

"Oh you know what that was for" she said proudly, kissing him again. "You are the most wonderful, thoughtful man I've ever met" she added, resting her head on his shoulder as they continued to hug.

"He deserves to at least see how his sister is doing, even if it is on a computer screen. I just hope he doesn't make me look like an idiot."

"I'm sure he won't."

"I told him we'd drive him home tonight so he doesn't have to leave so early."

"Good" Sharon replied as she pulled away from him enough to meet his lips with hers. "So you got her number off Cynthia?"

"Yes."

"Not your other little friend at DCFS?" she asked with a wink.

"What other 'little friend'?"

"When I was looking for background information on Rusty's father you said you knew someone over there who got back to you pretty quick and you wanted an excuse to call her" she reminded him.

"Oh that 'little friend.' Wait, are you jealous?" Andy grinned.

"Nope but she is."

"What?"

"She's another one of the people who called me to warn me off you" Sharon revealed.

Andy could not believe his ears. "She what?"

Sharon ran her hands from Andy's back to around his neck as she smiled. "She seemed a little devastated that you were off the market. Still had her eyes on you apparently."

"Well some women do find me irresistible" he shrugged.

Sharon laughed. "Irresistible or irritating?"

"Sometimes both. Usually the former. They keep coming back to for more" Andy said with a wink, meeting her lips once again.

"I know that feeling" she confirmed, returning his kiss.

With both of them getting tired of waiting by the elevator Rusty had walked back towards the front door of the condo to hurry them along. After hearing the exchange taking place he opted to wait by the door until silence fell and he could make his presence known. "Look whatever it is you're doing can it please wait until later and after I'm asleep rather than waiting a few feet away?" Rusty called, breaking them apart.

"Try waiting by the elevator" Sharon called as Andy laughed.

As Rusty could be heard sloping back off towards Gus, Sharon and Andy released each other. "You ready?" Andy asked, kissing her one last time.

"I am" she confirmed, picking up her purse and jacket with one hand and taking Andy's hand in the other.

"Let me just check, you have got your underwear on today right? You've remembered where we're going?"

"Oh shut up" Sharon shouted while trying not to smile.

"Because there'll be children present and I don't need to be contributing to their therapy bills" Andy joked.

Sharon stared at him in silence for a moment looking very unimpressed. "Are you done?"

"Nearly." Without warning Andy grabbed Sharon and kissed her to within an inch of her life, leaving them both a little breathless. As he pulled away she looked at him stunned while he just smiled and squeezed her hand. "You look absolutely stunning. Thank you for coming with me today."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be. Come on."

Sharon led Andy from the condo, stopping to lock the door with her keys that had spent the better part of a week squirreled away in his pocket with his own car keys. When they reached the elevator Gus and Rusty were holding the door open (probably pissing off the rest of the building in the process) ready to leave. The ride down to the parking garage was largely in silence except for when Andy gave Gus a small piece of paper from his pocket that contained the Facebook contact information for Paloma's adoptive Mother. Gus instantly pocketed the note in his wallet, treating it like it was the most precious thing he had ever been given in the world which for all intents and purposes it was.

Once in the parking garage Rusty led the way towards the visitor's parking spaces in search of Andy's car. When they reached it Sharon and Rusty waited by their respective doors while Gus followed Andy to the trunk so he could put his laptop in it. As soon as the trunk was opened Gus' eyes fell on the Santa suit that laid within. He smiled at Andy but only received a fairly panic stricken expression in return. "If we could keep this just between us I'd appreciate it" Andy said quietly as he gestured towards the suit.

"Is it for your Grandkids?" Gus whispered.

Andy paused for a moment. "Not exactly" he replied as he looked at Sharon and smiled.

Gus quickly put two and two together and didn't want to discuss it any further. "Say no more. Really, say no more" he said as he put his laptop in the trunk and hurried to the car door.

Rusty and Gus climbed into the back seat while Sharon waited for Andy to close the trunk. Once seated and belted Andy adjusted his mirrors before asking "Everyone ready? Let's roll."

The journey to Nicole's was not particularly a long one from Sharon's condo but it was made to feel that way with the slight uneasy silence that filled the car. Andy turned the radio on, filling the car with Nat King Cole singing ' _The Christmas Song_ ' but that did nothing to sway the slight awkwardness as a result of the silent second date effectively taking place in the back seat. As they crawled along in traffic and while Rusty and Gus went from looking out of their respective windows to glancing at each other and smiling, Sharon kept a watchful eye on them, taking every opportunity she could to look at her son and his date via the mirror in the sun visor. Rusty and Gus were too preoccupied with each other to notice how much subtle attention Sharon was paying them as she grinned wildly but Andy wasn't. He couldn't fail to see how much attention she was paying them.

When they came to a stop at a set of traffic lights Andy slowly moved in close to Sharon and pretending to kiss her cheek as he whispered "Stop spying."

"I'm not" she whispered back, annoyed that she'd been caught blatantly doing just that.

"That's not what it looks like to me."

Before Sharon could protest further a voice finally came from the back seat of the car. "So how far away does your daughter live?" Gus asked.

"In distance about six miles. In LA traffic, who knows?" Andy grumbled as the lights turning green didn't mean they could continue their journey since the intersection was blocked with traffic.

Sharon turned to face the boys in the back of the car. "It's not that far Gus and there won't be many of us for dinner so you're safe from a full blown interrogation like I'm sure you suffered at the Christmas party." She was loathed to admit it but she wasn't sure how many questions were fired at Gus during the course of the Christmas party, another effect of Julio and his potent batch of eggnog.

"Oh that was fine. It was fun, nice to see everyone so relaxed" Gus told her with a smile. "You guys have always looked so tense and serious every other time I've seen you. So how many will there be at dinner?"

"Just my daughter and her husband and their two boys."

"Oh great. How old are they?"

"Nearly eight" Andy informed him. "Know any Knock Knock jokes?"

"Sure."

"Then they'll love you" Sharon assured him. "Those boys love Knock Knock jokes."

Andy sighed as he looked at the bumper to bumper tail lights ahead of them. "I know people are travelling to see family for the holidays but this is ridiculous." He sighed again before announcing "I'm going to put my lights on."

"Don't you dare" Sharon warned.

"What's the point of being a cop if I can't take advantage of it every once in a while when there's heavy traffic and a turkey waiting for me?"

Rusty shook his head and laughed. "You make it sound like the turkey is your date."

Silence fell on the car for a moment as Rusty waited for some sort of reaction from Andy. "You won't get an answer Rusty, his eyes have glazed over again as he fantasises about it" Sharon stated as she stared at the vacant expression on Andy's face.

"I'm putting my lights on" Andy finally announced as he awoke from his reverie.

"No you're not."

"Fine!"

"She always bosses him around like this. You'll get used to it" Rusty was quick to tell Gus, making sure he said it loud enough for both Sharon and Andy to hear above the radio.

"I do not boss him around" Sharon said defensively.

"Yeah. Sure" Rusty replied knowing the truth. He paused for a second before plucking up the courage to ask a question he'd wanted the answer to for several hours. "Accepting that I reserve the right to scream 'STOP!' at any point, what was all that shouting and banging at 4 o'clock this morning?" he asked, half fearing the answer.

"You heard that?" Andy asked.

"The dead heard it" Rusty informed him with a deadpan face. "I thought we were having an earthquake except my room was stationary." There was no denying that Rusty had been worried about hearing unacceptable noises making their way to his bedroom after Andy started spending the night. He was worried before, a lingering effect of having to listen to Sharon Beck get her rocks off with a variety of men at all times of the day and night. Much to his surprise however, he had heard nothing (but that still didn't stop him from investing in a pair of earplugs the morning after Andy stayed over for the first time) with the exception of some very loud banging in the wee small hours of Christmas morning.

Sharon started laughing uncontrollably. Andy turned to her with a look of annoyance. "Are you laughing?"

"Yes. I'm sorry but yes I am" she said, her mirth not curtailing for a second. "It was like a rain dance. I've never seen anything like it. I wish I had it on film."

Rusty looked at Andy baffled. "You were dancing at 4am?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what were you...on second thoughts save it. I don't want to know."

Andy sighed before turning around as far as he could go to face Rusty since they weren't going anywhere in a hurry with the traffic. "Mohammed Ali over here woke me up in the middle of the night by punching me in the arm."

"Love tap. It was a love tap Andy" Sharon said as she rubbed his arm where the bruise was located.

"It didn't feel like a love tap after my arm went dead and how would you know anyway, you were fast asleep. After I was woken by a 'love tap' to the arm I moved a little further away from my attacker and to the edge of the bed should she decide to strike again and I suddenly had the worst cramp imaginable in my leg" Andy explained.

"Cramp?"

"Yes."

Sharon continued to laugh at the mere memory of it. "So he decided to dance around the bedroom like some sort of constipated chicken at a bachelorette party. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen." Punching Andy and his following yelp of pain failed to wake Sharon but the noise as he danced about the bedroom trying to alleviate the cramp in his calf certainly did the trick. It looked like some sort of mating dance from a far off planet and Sharon instantly laughed at him the moment her eyes opened and saw him.

"I was not dancing" Andy protested. "I was trying to get stop the excruciating pain in my leg." A combination of the image and Sharon's laughter made Rusty and Gus join Sharon laughing hysterically. "I'm so glad you all find this so funny."

"Then he started licking his hand."

"You what?" Rusty asked, completely bewildered.

"It helps with the cramp!" Andy shouted as the three of them continued to laugh. He admitted that it looked a little weird but he knew he'd read somewhere that licking the natural salt from the back of your hand stops cramp dead.

"Since when?" Sharon asked.

"Since forever! Come on Gus, you agree with me right?"

"Nope, that's just weird."

Andy sighed as he shook his head at Gus. "Gus you've let me down. I was hoping you'd be on my side for stuff. Even things up slightly against these two." As everyone continued to laugh at him Andy turned back round to face the stationary traffic ahead of them. "Come on! What is the hold up?"

Sharon craned her neck to see further up the street. "I think there's someone running in the middle of the road" she said as she squinted into the distance.

As the traffic finally started to move they began to approach the problem. "Maybe there's been an accident" Rusty offered as he tried to see for himself.

Suddenly the problem came into full view. In the middle of the road was a man. He wasn't injured. He wasn't waiting by a broken down car. He was running. He was running in the middle of the road completely naked with the exception of a pair of sneakers and a Santa hat which was unfortunately on his head and not covering anything more private. The hold up in traffic was as a result of cars having to wait to pass him and a lot of people stopping to stare at the bizarre sight in the middle of the road. "Wait. Is he? Is he naked?" Andy asked, not believing his own eyes.

"As the day he was born" Sharon confirmed.

"Oh jeez."

"Andy pull over" Sharon instructed him, turning into Captain Raydor in an instant.

"Why?"

"So I can take a photo and text it to Lieutenant Provenza. Why do you think?"

"But it's Christmas Day and we're off duty and need I remind you that there's a turkey waiting for us" Andy said, fully prepared to speed past the naked jogging Santa at ninety miles an hour if need be.

"Oh it won't take five minutes to cuff him and wait for patrol to pick him up."

"Cuff him? With what?" Andy asked.

Sharon shrugged. "Handcuffs."

"And where are you going to get handcuffs from?" Sharon instantly smiled and pulled her purse onto her lap. "You've got a pair of handcuffs in your purse? On Christmas Day?" Andy asked flabbergasted.

"I've told you before, you never know when you might need them."

"Is it wrong that I find that such a turn on?" Andy responded, practically drooling.

"You guys have remembered we're in the back right?" Rusty was quick to say. "Slowly heaving."

"Andy pull over" Sharon instructed him again.

"Oh jeez. Why does this crap always happen to me?" As the traffic ahead sped past the naked Santa it was finally Andy's turn to try the same thing. Instead of pulling over to confront him, Andy opened his window and pulled up alongside him, reducing his speed so he could talk to him easily without shouting. "Hey, moron!" Andy said as Santa jogged next to him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Santa briefly looked all around him, making it look like the voice could just as easily have come from the heavens as a car alongside him. Eventually he turned to see the car. He smiled at Andy and waved. "Running" he said finally as he continued on his merry way.

Andy shook his head and looked at Sharon. When he was given a look of 'What are you waiting for?' in return he turned back towards Santa. "Would you mind putting some clothes on and doing it elsewhere? Like your house?"

"Yes I would. Bye" Santa replied plainly before speeding up and running away.

"You're going to have to pull over" Sharon said while trying not to laugh.

"Why? I tried. He's happy where he is."

"Would it help if I expressed it as an order Lieutenant?"

"Oh jeez."

Rusty laughed. "Man are you whipped!"

"Whipped? She's my Boss! She called me Lieutenant" Andy pointed out as he pulled the car over. He turned off the engine before taking the handcuffs off Sharon and climbing out of the car. By that point the jogger had moved further down the road causing Andy to chase him. "Hey hold up. Come here" he shouted.

The Santa stopped before heading back to Andy and jogging on the spot in front of him not far from the car. "Why?"

"Can you stand still for a second?" Andy asked as he grimaced at the sight of Santa's naked unmentionables bouncing up and down in front of him.

"Why?"

"Because it's bad enough I've got to see your junk blowing in the breeze without it bouncing up and down in my face."

Santa grinned at Andy, almost battering his eyelashes at him. "You shouldn't be looking" he replied coyly.

"It's kind of hard not to."

"Are you flirting with me handsome?" Santa asked as he moved in close to Andy, pressing himself up against him. Andy instantly looked horrified and tried to back pedal quicker than he did on occasions when his neighbour tried to paw him. The laughter from the car could be heard the moment Santa come over to speak to him and it only increased as he blatantly started to come on to Andy. As he continued to back pedal he glanced over his shoulder and glared at Sharon while she laughed. "Would you like to take me home?" Santa asked with a husk.

"No. I'd like to arrest you."

"Oh great!" Santa said gleefully. "You be the police officer and I'll be the big bad criminal deserving of punishment."

Andy took a step back and held the handcuffs up for Santa to see. "Yeah that's exactly what's going to happen. Now put your hands behind your back."

Santa frowned. "Why?"

"So I can arrest you."

"Seriously?"

"Do I look serious?" Andy asked as his face had his usual 'I can't believe I'm having to deal with this idiot' expression.

"Among other things you silver fox" Santa flirted as he moved very close. It was only when Andy continued to glare back at him that Santa realised he wasn't joking and suddenly bounced away from him like Tigger on crack while resuming jogging on the spot. "What are you arresting me for?"

"We'll start with being an idiot and work our way up from there."

"No" Naked Santa suddenly shouted before running away from him towards the car.

Andy sighed and hung his head before setting off in pursuit, unable to run with any speed under doctor's orders. Within a matter of seconds Andy found himself slowly chasing a naked man round and round the car. "Come here" Andy shouted already finding himself out of breath from his confinement as the chase continued.

"No" Santa replied defiantly as he passed Sharon's door once again.

As the chase (which frankly would have benefited from the Benny Hill theme tune music) went on around the car Rusty laughed while filming the encounter on his cell phone. "This is the most entertaining thing I've seen in a long time" he said as Gus laughed.

"Rusty are you filming this?" Sharon asked as she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"Of course I am."

"Suddenly I'm no longer hoping that Andy's daughter is serving those little sausages wrapped in bacon" Gus revealed with a shudder.

Rusty and Sharon laughed loudly despite the fact they had started to feel a little sick as they continued to be circled by Andy in pursuit of the naked Santa. "I suppose I better help him" Sharon said finally as her realisation that this type of activity was exactly what he was currently banned from doing overtook her surprise at seeing a naked Santa, removing her seatbelt.

"Can't you let it go on a little longer?" Rusty pleaded.

"Only if you'd enjoy another stay in the hospital with him."

"On second thoughts no, never again thanks. Go and help him" Rusty encouraged.

Sharon quickly thought for a moment what the best course of action was. She was wearing a dress and a pair of heels, she was hardly in a position to get out and run and without a beanbag gun to hand she had to think of another option. She quickly concluded that the best course of action was to stop the elusive naked Santa with the car door. As he came around the trunk of the car on another lap Sharon put her hand on the door handle, ready to open it as he approached and putting an end to this comical chase. With her hand primed Sharon waited for the perfect moment and suddenly opened her door. Sadly Santa saw it coming and quickly jumped out of the way to avoid running into it. Andy was not so fortunate and with Santa blocking his view until it was too late, he ran straight into the open door, falling over and landing on his back in a heap, temporarily winded from the impact.

Sharon's hands immediately flew up and covered her mouth in horror as she stared at Andy prone on the floor and gasping for air. "Oh my God Andy! I'm so sorry."

"Kill me" Andy managed to force out before clambering back to his feet and attempting to chase Santa down again.

"Stay here while I help Andy" Sharon told Rusty and Gus, needing to put an end to it before Andy had a heart attack. No sooner had the words left her mouth then Andy had had enough and jumped towards Santa, tackling him to the ground in a move that wouldn't look out of place at the Super Bowl. "Or maybe not, he's fine."

Beyond irritated Andy hauled his naked friend to his feet and slammed him against the car, his 'crown jewels' smearing against Rusty's window as he cuffed him. As Sharon took out her cell to call for assistance Rusty turned away from the window and the unwanted view and grimaced. "And that's a sight I didn't need to see rubbed against the window."

"Where are your clothes?" Andy asked as Sharon climbed out of the car.

"I don't need clothes!"

"Trust me fella you do. Now I've got my girlfriend and my kid in that car and the last thing they need to see on Christmas Day is your naked rear end and the one eyed wonder weasel pressing against the glass."

Sharon smiled as she approached Andy, hanging up her cell. "Patrol are on their way to come and collect him. Take your jacket off."

"Why?"

"So we can cover him up" she said, indicating the view Rusty currently had.

"I don't need covering up" Santa protested.

"I beg to differ" Sharon said dryly.

"See he's fine" Andy added, clearly not wanting to hand his jacket over to someone who was crazy but more importantly naked.

"Andy."

"I don't want his junk rubbing all over my jacket." Sharon just looked at him, waiting for him to cave and give in to her wishes. "Fine!" Andy shouted defeated as he removed his jacket. "Here" he said while tying his jacket around Santa's waist. "I'll call Nicole and tell her we're going to be delayed while you read him his rights."

"Okay. 'My kid is in the car'?" Sharon asked quietly with a smile.

Andy shrugged and smiled as he took his cell from his pocket and dialled. "Nicole? Hi sweetheart. We're going to be a bit late."


	15. Chapter 15

_Once more I must say thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, especially the guests since I can't thank you directly. Your encouragement keeps me going when I should be working instead. Thanks also to the Twitter peeps that encourage me. If you'd like to leave me a review I'd really appreciate it or you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _By pure accident this chapter focuses a lot on marriage, I hadn't intended it to but that's just the way it worked out. I don't read that much fanfiction because I don't want to be influenced by it but from what I have read I have seen how different people approach the 'marriage question' between Sharon and Andy. This is my take on it. Again all previously nameless characters have been named after my family._

 _This is a long chapter, longer than I anticipated, the longest yet. I love the end (as I always do and I hope you will too if you get that far) and there are several conversations along the way that please me. I hope people will enjoy it because a lot of effort has gone into this one._

 _Coming up next will be a couple of chapters that focus on Provenza's bachelor party before Valentine's Day and then I get to Hindsight and finally Season Five but if there is anything you'd like to see, as long as it could have happened in the lives of the characters within that time period, I'll gladly try to accommodate._

 _This chapter takes place on Christmas Day between 4.18 Penalty Phase and 4.19 Hindsight Part One._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Fifteen**

As they pulled up outside of Nicole and Dean's house Andy had a face that could turn milk sour. Sharon, Rusty and Gus were out of the car and waiting for him on the path that led to the front door before Andy had even unbuckled his seatbelt. He sighed, opening the door and plodding out of the car like a moody teenager who had just had his cell phone confiscated. For once he was not impeccably dressed, his knees had a significant amount of dirt on them following his tackle on the naked Santa that had the Green Bay Packers looking in his direction and double checking if he wanted a career change. He was also divested of his suit jacket which he held in his very fingertips at arm's length, giving it a look of absolute disgust due to the fact that it had recently been tied around the waist of a naked (and sweaty) man.

As Sharon watched him lock his car, fingering his jacket like he was being forced to hold a dead cat in the air she sighed at him and rolled her eyes. "Oh Andy just put it on!" she said with exasperation.

"I can't. I'm going to have to burn it."

"You're such a baby" Sharon added, looking to Rusty and Gus for agreement.

"He had his junk rubbing all over it."

"Only on the back."

"I don't care if he only had it dangling in my inside pocket. I am not wearing it ever again" Andy stated as he continued to lightly grip it in the ends of his fingers.

"It's not going to get you pregnant you know. Just put it on" Sharon encouraged.

Andy brought his jacket closer to his face before recoiling away from it again. "Rusty, smell this" he suddenly said before thrusting it in Rusty's face.

Rusty instantly sprinted away from him. "Get that thing away from me!" he cried as Gus laughed at the pair of them.

Sharon hands gravitated to her hips as she stared at Andy beyond fed up, he was about to be in trouble, of that there was no doubt. "You've got two options here Andy, you can either put it on and shut up about it or Rusty and Gus will help me to rub it all over your face and then put it on you. Your choice." She continued to glare at him like Darth Raydor but in a very light hearted way after having long grown tired of his complaining about his jacket since patrol had picked up the troublesome jogger, turning down the opportunity to go back to the condo to change in case Nicole ate the turkey without him.

"Fine" Andy pouted. He slowly pulled his jacket on, still holding it by his fingertips as if it was made of slime and he didn't want to smear it over himself. "Ew, ew, ew!"

"There now don't you look handsome" Sharon told him as she straightened his tie and kissed his cheek like she was sending her little boy off on his first day of school.

When they reached the front door Andy pressed the doorbell. As they waited Andy started to sniff the air like a dog tracking the scent of a fox on a hunt. "I think I can smell the turkey" he said as his eyes started to glaze over.

Sharon laughed. "Look at your face."

"What?"

"You don't look at me like that" Sharon joked, feeling a little offended.

"Thank God" Rusty said quietly.

Sharon had enough time to glance at Rusty and smile before the front door burst open and a very excitable Nicole stood before them, the largest smile plastered on her face as she opened her arms ready to embrace her guests. "You're here! Oh Sharon!" she exclaimed joyfully before grabbing Sharon and hugging her tightly. "Merry Christmas! It's so good to see you."

"You too Nicole. Merry Christmas" Sharon replied as they pulled apart, taking each other's hands. "Thank you so much for having us over."

"Oh you're welcome." Nicole moved aside to allow Sharon to step inside before grabbing her Father in an equally large bear hug, swaying from side to side. "Dad! Merry Christmas."

"Hello sweetheart. Sorry we're late."

"That's okay but what happened?" Nicole asked as they broke apart and she couldn't fail to notice the dirt on Andy's knees.

"Oh you know, they can't go more than five seconds without stopping to arrest someone" Rusty told her with a quick chuckle, the video of Andy chasing a naked man round and round the car potentially being his favourite thing in the world. "Merry Christmas."

Andy followed Sharon into the house as Nicole continued to greet her guests, hugging Rusty before turning her attention to the rather handsome young man standing next to him. "Merry Christmas Rusty. And this must be Gus."

"I am indeed. Here" Gus replied with a smile as he handed her the bunch of flowers he had purchased as a thank you for his invitation to spend the day with them.

"Oh Gus you didn't have to."

"Yes I did. Thank you for inviting me into your home."

"You're welcome. Thank you for coming. Come in. Please, come in." Nicole again stepped out of the way for Rusty and Gus to step across the threshold, closing the door behind her and pointing the way through to the living room for the boys to follow. "Just through there" she added as Gus followed Andy into the living room while Sharon waited for Nicole and Rusty. As soon as Gus was out of earshot Nicole's face lit up as she bounced up and down. "Oh my God Rusty! He's so handsome! Way to go!" she said quickly, raising her hand in the air to give him a high five. Rusty stared back at her blankly, shuffling on the spot as his embarrassment became evident. Not wanting to leave Nicole hanging Sharon gave her a high five instead, agreeing with her that Rusty had found himself a good looking chap in her opinion. Rusty rolled his eyes and plodded into the living room followed by Sharon and Nicole, giggling at his reaction.

Nicole and Dean had a large home, beautiful and ornate. The living room was no different. It was spacious, decorated beautifully (Sharon instantly noticed the four angels present and eyed them with envy) and a wonderfully cosy room to spend Christmas Day with family. A quick scan also revealed this was a home with children. On the floor, tucked out of the way was a train set waiting patiently for some adults to arrive and assemble it. Next to it were two identical Lego _Star Wars_ sets, both started but from the look of them their builders had the same issues with following instructions as did their Step-Grandfather. Dean stood by the Christmas tree, shaking hands with his Father-in-Law and Rusty as Nicole put her arm around Gus to make the introduction.

"Gus, this is my husband Dean. Dean, Gus" Nicole said as she pushed them together to shake hands. As per Sharon and Andy's instructions over the phone in her office a few days earlier, Nicole had briefed Dean about Gus, what had happened to him and how he came to be alone at Christmas. Ignoring that it was a favour for Rusty, they wanted to make sure that they gave Gus the best day possible because quite simply they felt no one at his age should have suffered like he had and they wanted to do it for him. They wanted to welcome him into their home and give him the best day possible because it was the right thing to do and moreover he deserved it.

Dean instantly took Gus by the hand, shaking it firmly. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Likewise" Gus responded as he received a pat on the back from Andy, already feeling more than at home with people he hardly knew.

"And the boys. Where are the boys?" Nicole asked glancing around. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a noise like a herd of elephants were about to burst in the room like something out of _Jumanji_ rattled through the room as the boys ran down the stairs. "Here they are" Nicole announced as Justin and Robin, dressed in matching suits ran into the room.

The boys quickly looked around at the new faces that had arrived in their home before settling on Sharon. They immediately ran to her with their arms out stretched, making her instinctively stoop down to hug them. "Granny Sharon!" Justin cried excitedly.

"Hello boys. Don't you both look smart?" Sharon gushed as she admired their suits while they continued to hug her like she was Mickey Mouse and they'd just queued four hours in the Florida sun to meet her. Andy stood and smiled as he watched them, not failing to notice the use of the greeting 'Granny Sharon,' another clear attempt from Nicole to not so subtly let both him and Sharon know just how pleased she was that they were now an item.

"They wanted to dress up because they knew Grandpa Andy would be wearing a suit" Nicole explained as she linked arms with her Father.

Sharon stood back up and glanced at Rusty. "There seems to be a lot of that going around lately" she said making it clear to him that she knew the only reason he was wearing a suit was because Andy was and appreciating the gesture.

"Granny Sharon?" Andy finally said, looking at Nicole with a smirk.

"They said it, not me. It has nothing to do with me I assure you."

"I'm sure" Andy replied dryly, not believing her for a second. "I don't suppose you encouraged them to say it at all."

"Of course not. You don't mind do you Sharon?"

"Not at all. Although you could have gone for something better than 'Granny'" she said looking at the boys. "Like Grandma maybe? Or…"

"'Old Mother Hubbard'?" Andy quickly suggested, inevitably resulting in the back of his knees being pinched.

"Like I said it was their decision not mine" Nicole again maintained.

"Sure it was" Dean interjected quietly eliciting a glare from Nicole.

Andy smiled at Sharon, taking her hand and gazing into her eyes. "Oh Granny what big eyes you have" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "Oh shut up."

"Don't forget to say hello to Grandpa Andy" Nicole encouraged the boys who instantly hugged him tightly. "And you remember Rusty right? He came to see you in the ballet last year. Remember? This is his friend Gus. Say 'How do you do Gus'."

Justin and Robin marched towards Gus with their hands out stretched. "How do you do?" they both said before taking it in turns to shake Gus by the hand very enthusiastically.

"How do you do. Nice to meet you."

"This is Justin and this is Robin" Nicole informed Gus, putting her hands on the shoulders of the boys as she pointed out who was who, they were twins but not identical making it easier to remember. "Okay introductions out of the way, everyone make yourselves at home while Dean and I organise you some drinks and take your coats."

Sharon and Gus handed Dean their jackets as Andy sat down in the centre of the couch and Rusty settled on the window seat, leaving plenty of room for Gus to sit next to him. The moment Gus removed his jacket Dean looked at him or more precisely his sweater in a state of shock. Dean's mouth moved for a moment before he was eventually capable of making a noise. "Wow!" was all he managed to force out.

"Gus! What a...unusual sweater you've got there" Nicole added, trying not to sound as horrified by his wardrobe choice as she was. Sharon shook her head at Andy as she sat next to him on the couch while he chuckled away to himself.

"You like it?" Gus asked, supressing a smile and wanting to see how long both Nicole and Dean would be polite before admitting he looked like an LSD nightmare.

"Sure."

"Really?"

"No it's hideous" Nicole admitted, crumbling earlier than she wanted to. "What possessed you to buy something so...so..."

"Seizure inducing?" Rusty suggested.

"Yes, thank you Rusty."

"Someone told me that you had a 'crazy Christmas tradition' and gave me the money to buy the most hideous sweater I could find" Gus informed them, deliberately avoiding looking in Andy's direction who was once again laughing away to himself.

"Three guesses as to who" Rusty said as Gus settled next to him.

"I need just one" Nicole confirmed as she swivelled on her heels to look at her Dad. "I'm so sorry Gus, you'll have to excuse my Father and his sense of humour or lack thereof. He's under the impression he's funny."

"I am" Andy stated as he continued to laugh at himself.

"There's a difference between laughing with you and laughing at you Dad."

"Hey I wanted to make the kid feel part of the family" Andy pointed out while Dean laughed at him and left the room to hang their coats up.

Nicole gestured towards Andy. "Sharon you know how you've fixed a lot of him…"

"What am I, a cat?" Andy asked cutting in.

"Can you work of his sense of humour next?" Nicole pleaded.

Sharon looked at Andy and smiled. "Believe me, I'd love to but like you said, he thinks he's funny" she confirmed continuing to smile at Andy while he rested his head back and did likewise.

"I love being spoken about like I'm not here" Andy grumbled.

Nicole laughed at him before seizing the opportunity to tease him as much as possible. "No ring I see" she said loudly while examining Sharon's hand and more importantly the ring finger on her left hand.

"Nicole!" Andy exclaimed, still awkward about anyone (apart from himself) mentioning marriage in front of Sharon. Nicole and Sharon instantly laughed at Andy as he shuffled awkwardly in his seat, a scowl fixed to his face.

From across the room Justin had been watching his Grandpa with a frown on his face. He slowly edged towards him before sitting on his lap, studying his face a little bit worried for a boy so young. "What's the matter?" Justin asked as his brother joined him.

"What do you mean kid?"

"You look angry" Justin pointed out, trying to adjust Andy's scowl into a smile with his hands.

Nicole was quick to put her hands on Justin's shoulders. "It's okay Justin, Grandpa Andy is just a little mad at me because I've embarrassed him that's all."

"Why?"

"Well you see when I was a girl, I didn't see Grandpa Andy a whole lot but when I did see him he would always tease me about having a boyfriend. Now Grandpa Andy has a girlfriend and I get to tease him about it and he doesn't like it."

Justin looked at Andy with more than a touch of horror. "You have a girlfriend?" he asked with a tone that was more suited to asking why he had a severed head in his refrigerator.

Andy smiled. "Yes I do."

Justin's face scrunched up, beyond disgusted. "Why would you go out with a girl?"

"I ask myself that very same thing" Rusty joked making everyone laugh.

"Because I love her that's why" Andy explained.

As Justin continued to look at Andy disgusted, currently thinking that girls were revolting and smelly and should be avoided at all costs, Robin looked almost distraught. "Look at his face" Nicole said as she pointed at Robin. "Grandpa Andy isn't nearly as cool as you thought he was is he?"

"Hey I'm cool" Andy stated with mock offense.

Robin slowly walked over to Nicole and took her hand, his face still showing that he was more than a tad upset. "What's the matter?" Nicole asked him as she crouched down beside him.

Robin moved in close to Nicole's ear. "Does Granny Sharon know Grandpa Andy has a girlfriend?" he whispered shyly.

"Yes she does. She's his girlfriend" Nicole reassured him.

Instantly it was like a weight had been lifted off Robin's shoulders as he looked at his Grandfather. "Oh. That's okay then."

Nicole laughed. "Look at that Dad. Not even eight years old and suspicious of your reputation" she said, eliciting a laugh from everyone but Andy as Justin joined his brother around Nicole's legs, both boys having the habit of becoming shy in large groups when they felt like they'd said the wrong thing.

"Wow, you two are so alike it's freaky" Gus said as he looked between Nicole and Andy.

Nicole thought for a moment. "I'm not sure how to take that Gus. I think I'm mildly offended" she joked making Andy look a little put out. "Oh I love you really Dad." Nicole bent down and kissed Andy on the cheek. "Boys let me show you where the drinks are kept so you can help yourself, away from the eyes of the police officers perhaps" she said to Rusty and Gus before turning her attention back to her Father. "Dad? Cranberry and soda?"

"Thanks sweetheart."

"Sharon? Wine? Red? White?"

"Whatever you're drinking" Sharon replied.

"That may be drain cleaner later if Dean's parents drop by after dinner," she said quietly so neither Dean nor the boys could hear, "but for now white it is. Boys behave. Dad, no Three Stooges" she ordered. Andy had thought it quite funny when he taught the boys to fight like the Three Stooges until they tried it at school and got sent to the principal's office for poking their friend in the eye.

"I'll be back." With that Nicole left for the kitchen and her mini open bar with Rusty and Gus in tow, leaving Sharon and Andy alone with the boys.

Alone with their favourite Grandpa (a fact that annoyed one of their many Grandmas no end) Robin and Justin stood in front of Andy, waiting for him to entertain them as he had the habit of doing, Andy Flynn being the one person they knew who had the most 'Knock Knock' jokes up his sleeve just for them. "Hey Robin Banks" Andy joked but with little expectation that he would understand.

"That's not my name" came the instant reply.

"Isn't it? I thought you were Robin Banks and you were Justin Time or is it Justin Case?" Andy continued making Sharon laugh.

"No. Those aren't our names" Justin told him as he laughed although he wasn't entirely sure what was funny other than Grandpa Andy was always funny.

"My mistake. Hey knock, knock" Andy said as he went into his repertoire and giving the boys exactly what they wanted.

"Who's there?"

"Who!"

"Who who?"

"That's what an owl says!" Andy said with a flourish which made both boys almost roll around on the floor laughing. As she watched them Sharon couldn't avoid laughing with them. She had only experienced it a couple of times but she loved to watch Andy interact with his Step-Grandsons. For someone who repeatedly claimed he was an awful Father he was wonderful with Justin and Robin and they adored him. Each time she saw them they seemed to cling to Andy a little bit more with them hardly moving from their laps at Nicole's wedding, much to the annoyance of Andy's ex-wife.

"Knock, knock" Andy said again, his preparation for this moment clear.

"Who's there?"

"Wooden shoe."

"Wooden shoe who?"

"Wooden shoe like to hear another joke?"

Again both boys rolled around laughing. "Grandpa Andy!" Justin shouted with glee as he held onto his ribs.

"Tell us another one" Robin demanded.

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"A little old lady."

Justin immediately looked at Sharon before asking "Like Granny Sharon?"

"Hey I'm not a little old lady!" Sharon protested with good humour as Andy laughed hysterically. "Stop laughing you" she demanded while poking Andy in the ribs.

"Yeah like Granny Sharon" Andy confirmed as he continued to laugh.

"A little old lady who?"

"I didn't know you could yodel." Once more Justin and Robin rolled about the floor laughing hysterically. "See I told you I was funny" Andy said proudly to Sharon.

"Sure, to seven year olds."

With the boys still laughing Nicole and Dean meandered back into the living with drinks for Sharon and Andy. Rusty and Gus followed and sat back down on the window seat. Both of them had something potentially suspicious and alcoholic in their glasses but since it was Christmas Day Sharon chose to ignore it as long as Rusty didn't get drunk.

"Here you go" Nicole said as she handed Sharon one of the glasses of wine she was holding.

"Thank you."

"Thanks."

Nicole sat down next to Dean on a large chair in the corner of the room and raised her glass into the air. "Well cheers everybody. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas" everyone repeated as they all made themselves comfortable with drinks in hand and dinner currently not needing any attention. Feeling very relaxed Sharon rested her head on Andy's shoulder as he took her hand in his, linking their fingers together, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Nicole.

"So what happened on your way over?" Dean asked.

Andy shuffled in his seat slightly as if he could actually feel Santa's unmentionables digging into his lower back after their brief contact with his jacket. "Some moron thought Christmas Day was a good day to go running down the middle of the road in nothing but a Santa hat and sneakers."

"Really?" Dean laughed.

"It was not a pretty sight" Sharon confirmed with a slight shudder.

"Hey you should have been in the back of the car when Andy pushed him and more disturbingly 'it' against the window" Rusty added.

Considering they had been talking about a jogging naked Santa, Nicole had stayed strangely quiet. Throughout the discussion she never took her eyes off her Father with his girlfriend, smiling obscenely as she stared at their hands linked together. It didn't take long for Andy to notice and say something. "Nicole, you're staring."

"I know but you're holding hands" Nicole exclaimed as she clapped her hands together excitedly like a little girl who had just found a unicorn living in her garden.

"We're not allowed to hold hands?" Andy asked.

"Of course you are! I'm just so excited to have you here Sharon." Andy immediately looked offended as Sharon laughed. "And you of course Dad" Nicole was quick to add. "I've waited a really long time to have my Dad and my Step-Mother around to dinner."

Before Andy had chance to admonish her again for getting carried away Gus looked at them confused and had to speak. "Step-Mother? Are you two married? I thought…"

"No Gus, that's just Nicole jumping the gun again, as usual."

"And making you squirm" Nicole winked. "I'll leave you." Nicole stood, taking her wine with her. "I need to check on dinner."

As Nicole passed Sharon she put her hand on her arm to stop her. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she inquired.

"Not a thing. All I want you to do is sit down, put your feet up and have a lovely day."

"That I can do" Sharon confirmed before Nicole headed off to the kitchen.

Andy watched Nicole leave, the fact that he had something on his mind clearly showing on his suddenly serious face. "I'll be back in a minute" he told Sharon before kissing her on the cheek and disappearing out the door.

When he entered the kitchen Nicole had just pulled the turkey out of the oven and was basting it. For once given that the turkey, his favourite thing in the world (Sharon, his children and baseball aside), was on display before him and ready to be picked at Andy didn't as much as look in its direction. Instead he leant against the counter at the opposite end of the kitchen with his arms folded and seemed to stare into space. Nicole glanced up at him, fully prepared to smack his hand with the oven mitt when the inevitable attack on the beautifully browning bird commenced but he kept his distance, more than surprising her. She went to ask if he was okay but opted to wait for her Father to speak first and reveal what was clearly occupying his mind, knowing she should never push him for information until he was ready to offer it up. After a minute or so of silence Andy finally looked in her direction. "Nicole do me a favour, I know you're only joking but lay off the wedding remarks in front of Sharon okay?" he said with a slight grimace.

"Sure." Nicole put the turkey back in the oven and approached Andy, wine glass in hand and a saddened expression on her face. "I'm sorry Dad" she said as she took his hand. "I was only joking. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"You're not. It's not me, I just don't want Sharon to get the wrong idea."

Nicole frowned. "Wrong idea? What sort of 'wrong idea'?" She folded her arms looking at Andy decidedly unimpressed at what she thought she was hearing. "I hope this doesn't mean you're stringing her along because she is seriously the best thing to ever happen to you Dad and she really doesn't deserve to be treated like crap." To make sure her point was well made Nicole jabbed him in the chest for good measure.

"Keep your voice down" Andy said with a glance to the door. "No. It's not me, it's Sharon. Look I'd propose to her tomorrow given the chance but that isn't going to happen."

"Okay."

Again Andy checked behind him to make sure that Sharon or even Rusty had not followed him into the kitchen. "We've been taking everything really slowly."

Nicole paused before responding, looking at Andy a little confused. "And? Sharon knows I'm only joking, I've heard her laugh. She's surely not going to feel pressurised by me joking with you both."

"No but I don't want to spook her."

"She's not a horse you know."

"Funnily enough I know that Nicole" Andy sighed. He was not accustomed to having this type of personal conversation with his children or anyone else for that matter but it quickly became apparent that in order to get Nicole to bow to his wishes he needed to be upfront and frank about his relationship.

"Then what's the problem?" Nicole asked as she sat on the kitchen island.

"Nothing. We're just taking everything slowly. Baby steps you know" Andy explained. "Don't make her feel like I'm trying to rush her into anything."

"Okay. I'll stop."

"Thank you. It's just it took us so long to get this far I don't want to ruin it."

"I understand and I understand that you want to take it slowly..."

Andy frowned and cut Nicole off before she had chance to finish her thought. "No not me, Sharon" he maintained, a hushed quality to his voice.

"Really?" Nicole asked with a smirk.

"Yes."

"Sharon is the sole reason you've taken this 'will they, won't they, are they, he says they are but she says they aren't, they finally have with bells on' saga so slowly?"

Andy stared back at her unimpressed, not happy that his relationship had just been laid out like a plot to a very bad sitcom. "Of course. Why else?"

"I see" Nicole nodded as she battled not to smile. "Let me ask you this, how many times did Sharon turn you down before finally agreeing to go out on a proper date with you?"

"Well she didn't" Andy replied, shuffling uncomfortably on the spot like he had a pebble in his shoe. "The first time I asked her out properly she said yes."

"Oh I see. Have you told her you love her yet? It's quite clear that you do."

"Yes."

"Who said it first?"

Andy paused for a moment, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation and unsure where Nicole was headed with her line of questioning. "Well she did so it happens but..."

"Really? Without scaring either of us for life, since you've been taking everything so slowly which one of you initiated…moving things forward?" Nicole asked, treading as carefully as possible since she was essentially interrogating her Father about his sex life.

"What do you mean?"

"Things have clearly progressed over the last month." Andy stared back at Nicole blankly eliciting a loud sigh from her lips as she realised she needed to be a lot more blunt and direct. "Do I have to spell this out?" she asked which was only greeted with a confused shrug of the shoulders. "Fine. You're staying with Sharon over the holidays and not in Rusty's room like you were when you were hurt and recovering from your operation."

"How did you know that?" Andy asked as his eyes nearly shot out of his head on storks like a cartoon character.

"When I came to visit you after your surgery you were curled up fast asleep in Rusty's bed and not Sharon's when I arrived. It wasn't that hard to work out."

Andy groaned loudly, hiding his face and his embarrassment behind his hands. "Jeez did everyone know how slowly we were moving?"

"It's not rocket science Dad, you were sleeping down the hall. Besides Rusty told me all about it" Nicole stated very matter-of-factly before taking a large gulp of wine and smirking at him.

"Told you what?"

"That you'd started spending the night very recently."

"What? When did you speak to Rusty?"

"Two nights ago. I phoned him to ask if Gus had any specific dietary requirements that I should be aware of." As it turned out Nicole phoned Rusty while he was on his date with Gus. To begin with she didn't quite know what was wrong with him since he sounded nervous and a little lost for words on the phone. Then she heard him ask Gus the question and realised she had interrupted a more personal moment.

"How have you got Rusty's cell number?" Andy asked making it sound more like Nicole had possession of one of Rusty's kidneys rather than his basic contact information.

"I asked him for it?"

"When?"

"Last Christmas when it was very clear regardless of what you both said that he would eventually be the additional baby brother I never wanted" Nicole admitted with a grin. "While I was on the phone with him I asked if there were any updates. He informed me with a certain amount of disgust and horror that you'd started spending the night finally." Disgust was an understatement with Rusty being completely honest about his horror at discovering Andy in the condo in the middle of the night in just his underwear.

"Oh God" Andy cried as he once again hid behind his hands.

"It's okay to take things slowly. More than okay. Actually I think it's adorable."

"Adorable?" Andy exclaimed once again showing his distaste not only for the word but when it was levelled at him.

"It's just a word Dad, get used to it. All I'm saying is it's made a nice change to see you take your time in a relationship for someone special rather than behaving like the bull in a china shop you normally are" she told him as she leant forward and took his hand. "It meant you were serious about each other. It's wonderful to see although I'm sure Rusty disagrees." If Emily was excited that her Mother had a boyfriend, Nicole was practically orgasmic that her Father had a girlfriend. It was not the first time that Andy had paraded his latest woman of the moment in front of Nicole, in fact she had been introduced to dozens of women with most of his relationships lasting shorter than the time it took to get a flu shot. What pleased Nicole the most was that _finally_ her Dad had a partner that was closer to his age than closer to hers. On top of that she was lovely in every single way, shape and form and she brought the best out of him. When they were together it made Nicole think of Jack Nicholson in _As Good As It Gets_ when he proclaimed to Helen Hunt 'You make me want to be a better man.' It was clear that Sharon had the same effect on Andy and he instantly was a better man because of it. Taking things slowly, although clearly Sharon's decision, again showed how Andy had changed and how serious he was about the woman she was delighted to entertain in her home.

Andy sighed. "I was waiting for Sharon to let me know when she was ready to kick things up a gear. Apparently I missed a few hints" he said ruthfully.

"But Sharon is the one dragging her feet in this relationship?"

"She is" Andy maintained. "Believe me. She's the one that insisted that we take it slowly."

"With good reason. You were her friend. Why ruin a perfectly good friendship for a quick fumble when you can wait and see if it works first and spend the rest of your lives together?"

"If I'm honest I'm really not comfortable with this conversation" Andy stated as he again grimaced.

"Big surprise."

"I managed to avoid the whole birds and the bees conversation with you kids by being a drunk and a hopeless father" Andy sighed with sorrow.

"You weren't that bad and you've more than made up for it since. I'm proud to have you in my life Dad" Nicole told him warmly before planting a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you."

"And you did have that conversation. The birds and the bees talk, with Daniel."

"What?"

"You walked into his bedroom one night with a Coke bottle and a bagel" Nicole informed him as she laughed into her wine.

"When?"

"He was about four I think. Don't worry he was baffled by it. In fact it took him twenty years to realise what you'd been trying to tell him."

"I don't remember" Andy said, horrified at his behaviour.

"Well you were probably drunk at the time." Drunk was an understatement. Andy was so full of alcohol that lighting a match near him would have been extremely hazardous to his health and everything else in the blast radius. He didn't remember anything about it the next morning and Daniel was so confused by the late night encounter and most bizarre puppet show he had ever seen that the reasons as to why Andy chose to introduce his son to the ins and outs of sex will forever be a mystery, a mystery that now horrified Andy.

"You think?" Andy shook his head for a moment, mortified by his behaviour that was so long ago it was practically in another life. "Look with Sharon it's not as black and white as you think. She really is the one that wants to take things slowly. I've asked her to move in with me. She said no."

"You've only been together for six months and there's Rusty to consider. Of course she said no. Did you honestly expect her to say yes?"

Andy thought for a moment before admitting "No not really" as he buried his hands in his pockets and kicked at nothing on the ground in very Charlie Chaplin-esque fashion.

Nicole smiled. "You know what I think?"

"No but I'm afraid you're going to tell me."

"I think Sharon isn't the only one that wants to take things slowly. I think you do as well because you're worried about ruining things and losing her and the only person who is uncomfortable with my jokes about getting married is you" Nicole stated smugly as she sipped on her wine, never taking her eyes off him and waited for a response.

"Hey I've said the same thing to her."

"But the difference is _you_ know you're joking" Nicole pointed out. "Dad it's perfectly okay for you to want to take things slowly as well you know. It's clear to everyone with a brain that this is the most significant relationship of your life. It's okay for you to be scared about moving things forward and ruining what you have."

Andy thought for a moment, the realisation that Nicole might be right instantly spreading to his face and making her smile. There was no denying that he had been vocal in his opinions about the whole 'taking things slowly' agreement. He had grumbled, a lot. In the main he kept his thoughts to himself, briefly complaining when Sharon made the original suggestion before quickly relenting and making his feelings known to Taylor aside, with the exception of moaning to his own reflection in the bathroom mirror after having yet another cold shower. But on the other hand he had missed every hint, some of them hardly subtle (she did everything but oil herself up and jump on him), that Sharon had sent his way wanting them to take things forward. For a man desperate to get physical with the love of his life it seemed unlikely that he would not notice every single piece of suggestive physical contact between them, Sharon touching his thigh and grazing his unmentionables as they sat on his couch watching a movie being a prime example. Admittedly Sharon's so called 'sex eyes' left a lot to be desired and looking at them you'd think she was having an absent seizure rather than desperately trying to send a message that she wanted to ride him like Seabiscuit but every other signal was blatant. Since they had slept together for the first time just over a week ago Sharon had revealed that she had been trying to achieve just that for quite some time without success and he had wondered how he had been so oblivious but put it down to wanting to ensure it was Sharon's decision, not wanting to rush her into anything she wasn't ready for. At any point Andy could have made a move himself, he was by his own admission quite sexually frustrated at that point with him not realising that the prolonged and heated kisses he was sharing with Sharon were his signal to make a move, but he didn't. Standing in Nicole's kitchen he began to wonder if she was right. Had he wanted to take things slowly as well? Is that why he missed every single hint? Is that why he didn't make a move himself? In truth Andy had been in love with Sharon long before he wrote her that letter in the hospital and even long before he asked her out on their first official date. He would go as far as admitting that he first realised he was in trouble and may actually be in love with his Captain as far back as the first time she went to the ballet with him, sometime between finishing their appetisers and their main course being brought out. His relationship with Sharon was the most significant one of his life and for a long time he had been terrified of ruining it, it was after all the reason why he held off asking her out on a date in the first place, he was worried about losing her altogether. Andy lifted his head and looked at Nicole. She was right. He had been dragging his feet too, he had wanted to take things slowly because of one simple reason: he was beyond terrified of losing the love of his life.

As Nicole watched her Father slowly come to terms with her being right and him being oh so wrong once again she battled hard not to smile at him. "Oh Dad! You're adorable" she finally said as she jumped down from the kitchen island and wrapped her arms around him. "I know you don't like that word but you are. I love you and I'll stop making jokes about marrying Sharon if they make you uncomfortable."

"Thank you" Andy replied quietly as they pulled apart. "I bought a ring you know."

"I'm sure you have in the knowledge that there's no way you'll be using it anytime soon."

Andy frowned. He hated it that Nicole was right but there was no denying it. He had bought that ring admittedly impulsively but with full confidence that he would get to slide it on Sharon's finger one day or at least that's what he told himself. In reality if he was so confident about it he wouldn't have spent the previous morning terrified that Sharon may discover it in his sock drawer. If she had happened to stumble across it then he could simply have told her that he just wanted to be prepared for when the time arrived but instead he panicked and followed her around like her shadow. He was worried about rushing her and losing her and also that Sharon may reveal to him that marriage was simply off the agenda altogether because of her faith. Andy sighed. "You think you're so smart don't you?"

"Yes. I do" Nicole replied cheerfully. "Where do you think I get that from?"

"I don't want to ruin it" Andy admitted.

"I know which makes it perfectly acceptable to quietly complain and grumble about taking your relationship slowly while dragging your own feet and missing every single signal that Sharon sends your way to speed up a little." Now fully accepting that Nicole was right, Andy felt his cheeks warming up as he began to blush. "You're blushing! Oh Dad you're so…"

"Don't say it again" Andy cut in as he closed his eyes to avoid seeing the grin on Nicole's face.

"So manly and rugged" Nicole offered as she hugged him again.

"I'll be honest it's not just about taking things slowly, there's also a big hurdle before we get there and while everything is going so well I don't want Sharon to stress about it right now. Frankly I could do without it as well" he told her rather cryptically as he continued to open up.

"What are you talking about?"

"Annulment" he replied plainly. "I don't think she'll even contemplate the possibility of getting married unless we can both get annulments." Andy had never given it much thought until the night he purchased that ring. As he lay in bed it suddenly dawned on him. It was no secret just how religious Sharon was, how seriously she took her faith. Although Sharon had subsequently given a long list of reasons as to why she stayed married to Jack for two decades after their marriage ended there was no escaping that one of those reasons was because she was Catholic. Andy knew full well that in the eyes of the church and God that Sharon was still married and so was he for that matter which made him worry more with each passing day that he might never be able to call her his wife. It wasn't the be all and end all of his life. Since neither couple had any real grounds for annulment he could live without ever marrying Sharon as long as he had her but that didn't stop him from worrying about it, wanting to know one way or another if it was a possibility but being too afraid to ask (aside from repeatedly joking that Sharon would be the one to propose to him) should he ruin what they had. He was worried, truly worried. Although he thought that not getting married wasn't an issue he wasn't entirely sure until he asked the question, fearing above all else that it could cause a rift between them, a rift he hadn't anticipated ever being there and ruining everything. "I know in theory your Mom would probably have no issues with it but..."

"Just me and Daniel since we'll suddenly be illegitimate" Nicole joked very melodramatically.

"Nicole!"

"Oh the shame!"

"Nicole! It wouldn't make you..."

"I'm kidding" Nicole assured him. "Sharon would want an annulment? Really?" she asked more than a tad surprised that Sharon was so strict about her religion that she would sacrifice marriage for it.

"Yes. I think so but I don't even think that's a realistic possibility."

"So you've discussed it?"

"No" Andy said honestly. Despite how long they had known each other their relationship was still at the very early stages and the only mentions of marriage had been jokes as Andy continued to accuse Sharon of ogling him.

Nicole smiled. "Then how do you know?"

"I know because I know Sharon" Andy reasoned. "Her faith is really important to her and I know that she'll want to do this properly. I can't see her getting married again unless it's all above board with her church and her faith."

"So now we're getting to the bottom of it" Nicole said as she smacked her head like she'd missed something really quite obvious. "You don't like my jokes because you're worried about finding out that Sharon won't ever be in the position to marry you. It all makes sense now."

"I'm not worried, I just think…"

"You've never discussed it?" Nicole asked as she cut him off.

"No. It's more of an assumption."

"You know what happens when you assume? You make an ass out of you and me. Isn't this putting the horse before the cart a little?"

"Maybe but when you're planning long term it's nice to know what your options are" Andy admitted. If marriage wasn't on the cards for them then that was fine but he wanted to know before he made a fool of himself. "It wouldn't end our relationship if marriage was off the table but there's a part of me that would like to know one way or another."

"Do you want me to ask her?" Before Andy had chance to respond Nicole put her head into the hall and shouted "Hey Sharon..."

"No!" Andy shouted frantically.

Within seconds Sharon was standing behind them, smiling brightly. "Yes?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Right Nicole?" he said as he shot daggers at his daughter.

"Right" Nicole agreed with a simple but happy smile. "Nothing at all."

Sharon eyed them both with suspicion. "Like Father like daughter" she muttered with a smirk before leaving them to return to the living room.

Despite Sharon having left them Nicole spoke quietly as she continued to question her Father. "Answer me this, do you really think she loves God more than you?"

"I wouldn't know. Her religion is so important to her but I just...I don't know" he responded a little bit resigned to the state of limbo he had inadvertently inflicted on himself.

"What are you so panicked about then? Don't fret about things you haven't even discussed with her. Ask her otherwise you're just making up hurdles to justify your own feelings of wanting to take things slowly and blaming it on 'What if?'" Nicole rightly pointed out, taking his hand.

"Is it that transparent?"

"To me. Dad just enjoy it one day at a time and see where that gets you. If you want to take things slowly as well then do it but just stop fretting about things you haven't even discussed with each other or just ask. Ask her and then one day when you're both tired of taking things slowly you'll know whether marriage is an option or not."

"I know, I will but enough with the relationship advice already" Andy said with a sigh, having long grown tired of this personal conversation with his daughter despite the fact that it had been quite revealing about his own feelings. "Can't you go back to being six? Playing with dolls and hiding my car keys in the toaster?"

"I did it once and you still bring it up."

"I nearly electrocuted myself retrieving them."

"Who's the bigger idiot, the six year old that puts keys in a toaster or the adult who doesn't unplug it before getting them out again?" Nicole question with a trademark Flynn smirk.

"You sound like your Mother."

"That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me" Nicole joked. "Go on, go back in the living room" she instructed as she pushed him towards the door. "Don't neglect your girlfriend and stop fretting."

Andy nodded, kissed Nicole on the cheek and headed back to the living room with a new and completely surprising outlook on life and his relationship. When she heard him coming Sharon looked up and smiled at him before he sat back down next to her, taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek. "Hey" he said as if he'd been on a trek up Everest rather than simply in the kitchen for a few moments.

"Where did you sneak off to?" she asked, a vailed enquiry as to what he'd been talking to Nicole about since she knew full well where he had been having seen with her own eyes.

"I was just talking to Nicole. Did you know that she has Rusty's phone number and they speak to each other like a lot?"

"Yes. Then when he got his new phone I gave it to her" she admitted.

Andy frowned. "When?"

"When she phoned me and asked for it."

"Wait she phoned you?" Andy asked surprised. "When did she get your number?"

"Just over twelve months ago."

"What?" Andy asked flabbergasted.

Sharon laughed at his reaction. "A couple of days before she came into the office to ask how I managed to sleep with one of my subordinates without it being a massive issue at work. She phoned me at work and I gave her my cell number so she could contact me directly."

"You never told me."

"I didn't want to look at you at the time much less speak to you" she said frankly, if she was honest still a little annoyed that Andy had lied to his entire family about her. "But regardless it's nothing to do with you that's why I never told you" she added with a grin before kissing him on the lips.

"Why did she want your number?"

"So we could talk to each other."

"About what?" Andy asked as his voice went very high very quickly.

"Oh you know, this and that" Sharon replied as vaguely as possible in order to make him squirm.

"How often do you speak to one another?"

"Before or after we started dating?"

"You phoned each other before we were dating?" Andy asked as Nicole came back in and sat down with Dean. Andy couldn't hide that he was a little shocked that these phone calls were taking place behind his back without his knowledge especially since there was also a certain 'misunderstanding' taking place around the same time.

"Sure we did. All the time" Sharon replied as she winked at Nicole. "Before we started dating about once a month, since then every couple of weeks or so."

"What? You never told me."

"That's because we're talking about you Dad, not to you." As soon as the words left Nicole's lips he started to feel his cheeks growing warm again, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by both Sharon and Nicole. "Look at his face. Are you blushing again?"

Sharon laughed as she rested the back of her hand on Andy's cheek, feeling the warmth from his embarrassment. "A little bit, I think so."

"Ah the 'Sharon Effect' strikes again" Nicole proclaimed.

"You can cut that out right now" Andy ordered.

"Cut what out?"

"This whole ganging up on me thing" Andy replied as his finger moved back and forth between the two much loved women in his life who were currently making him feel more than a tad flushed.

"What, like what you and Rusty did to me last night?" Sharon rightly pointed out. Although she loved that Andy and Rusty were becoming a little bit closer every day, she was not so pleased when they would essential tag team her like she was in a wrestling bout.

"That's different" Andy said with a shrug.

"How is it?" Sharon asked bemused.

"I was just trying to bond with the kid."

"So I am" Sharon responded as she gestured towards the laughing Nicole.

"I love our bonding sessions Sharon" Nicole proclaimed.

"Me too" Sharon replied. "Cheers."

"Cheers." Both leaning forward, Nicole and Sharon chinked their glasses together.

"Alright stop it" Andy exclaimed, the dislike of being ganged up on overriding his pleasure that Sharon and Nicole got along so well.

"Oh Dad you are so..."

"Don't!" Andy said, raising a finger in the air. "Don't say it again."

"What? Adorable?" Sharon asked, knowing how he disliked the word when it was aimed in his direction but enjoying his reaction.

"Yes! Look at his face." Nicole quickly stood and moved to sit next to Andy on the other end of the couch to Sharon, taking his hand and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oh come here. You are adorable" Sharon confirmed as she kissed him on the lips.

Andy shifted awkwardly in his seat, enjoying more than anything the fact that there he was on Christmas Day sitting in his daughter's home with his girlfriend sitting one side of him grasping his hand and his daughter on the other side doing exactly the same thing but irritated by the terminology used. "Wow! This is the first time I've ever seen you look uncomfortable with two women draped over you Dad."

"I'm worried about what you've been talking about to each other" he confessed.

"Nothing major. Just sharing your deepest darkest secrets that's all" Sharon joked as she again winked at Nicole.

"Dad don't look so worried. How's Lieutenant Provenza?"

"Hell should I know" he replied grumpily.

"Anything I should know about?" Nicole asked Sharon like she was asking a principle why one of her boys had come home from school crying and with a dead frog in his pocket.

"They had somewhat of a lovers quarrel two days ago and they haven't spoken since."

"Stop making out like we're some sort of old married couple" came Andy's exasperated cry.

"Then stop behaving like one" Sharon informed him.

"I thought he was getting married again."

"He is" Sharon confirmed.

"What's wrong Dad? Jealous? Is someone snatching your work husband away from you again?" Nicole joked. "Has he left you for someone better? Someone who looks better in a dress?"

"He definitely has" Sharon confirmed. "We had drinks at their place on Wednesday evening and she's wonderful."

"She is but she's definitely not 'snatching' him anywhere" Andy suggested. "He may get married a lot but they don't happen quickly. He's quick to propose but Provenza can drag his feet for years."

Sharon shook her head. "I wouldn't be so sure this time."

Andy looked at her puzzled, not for the first time realising just how much personal information they had discussed as they sat alone in the yard the other night while he and Provenza watched from indoors, panicking. "What makes you say that?"

"Patrice told me all about it the other night. If she gets her way we may only have 24 hours' notice before his next wedding."

"Really?"

"So she said on Wednesday meaning if you're plotting some sort of horrendous bachelor party that I really don't want to hear about, I'd do it sooner rather than later or you may miss the chance entirely."

Suddenly Andy's eyes widened, the thought of a potential bachelor party making the wheels in his mind turn. "Look at his face! He's already plotting" Nicole exclaimed knowing full well the sort of horrors her Father was likely to get up to with his best friend and partner on his latest last night of freedom.

"I am not. Honestly!"

Eyeing his nostrils Sharon told him "You're lying. You forget I can tell."

Nicole immediately laughed, not for the first time seeing for herself that Andy had found someone to love who he couldn't run rings around, a woman who was his equal in every way imaginable. "Oh Dad you truly have met your match."

"I may have thought about it once or twice while I was bored in the hospital" Andy admitted although very dismissively, like it was one of a thousand things he thought of rather than spending several hours plotting.

"When there were nurses catering to your every whim?" Dean asked, surprised by his Father-in-Law's behaviour.

Nicole glared at Dean, shooting him daggers and revealing just how unimpressed she was with that statement. "Yes thank you Dean."

"You've got something in your mouth there. I think it's your foot" Rusty whispered to Dean as Gus giggled.

"Thank you Rusty" Dean responded sarcastically.

"No problem."

"Just so we're clear, no removing his pants and handcuffing him to," Sharon quickly leant forward and covered Justin's ears as he sat on the floor at her feet before continuing, "strippers."

While Dean laughed, wishing he had been invited, Nicole looked at Andy shocked, a reaction that was frankly unwarranted given everything she knew of his past. "You did what?"

"To Lieutenant Provenza?" Rusty asked, more than bit disturbed by the image it had conjured up in his mind, an image he desperately wanted to suppress as soon as humanly possible.

"I believe a large quantity of whipped cream was involved as well."

Rusty's face continued to contort as his disgust increased. "Too much information!" he declared as Gus continued to laugh.

"It's a bachelor party! Nothing is off limits!" Andy proclaimed.

The second the words had left Andy's lips Sharon, or to be more precise, Darth Raydor cut in and settled the matter without any uncertainty. "It will be this time."

Dean smirked. "Under the thumb there Andy?"

"Dean, be quiet" Nicole shot back revealing to all that like her Father and his girlfriend, she was not only the boss at work but also at home.

"What if we take the kid with us to make sure everything stays above board?" Andy suggested as he gestured towards Rusty. "He can keep an eye on us. Report back to you if things start to get out of control."

"Don't drag me into this." Although intrigued by what may occur on a wild night out between Andy and Lieutenant Provenza and how they'd sneak him in since he was under age, Rusty was not keen on witnessing it first-hand. From the titbits he had gleamed on Christmas Eve about their argument and the fact that one of them had accidentally dated a man while the other had for some reason ended up naked on a balcony, he had realised that (despite the text on the Christmas card he had sent them both) they were perhaps not the best role models in the world.

"Why not I think it'll be fun" Gus responded enthusiastically.

"See Gus is on board. They can both come with us and keep us in line."

With two sets of little ears having heard but not fully understood the conversation taking place around them Robin stood in front of Nicole and played with her fingers, something he always did when he was about to ask something, usually a cookie but on the odd occasion an elephant or a full scale tank for Christmas. "Nicole can we go with Grandpa Andy?"

"Sorry sweetheart. Grandpa Andy is going to be getting silly with his friends and children aren't allowed to go." Seeing Robin's instant disappointment with both boys wanting to do nothing but spend time with their favourite goofy Grandpa, Nicole squeezed his hands. "I'm sure he'll take you somewhere else instead though. You want him to take you fishing right?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you go and get your new rod to show him" Nicole suggested causing both boys to fly from the room and up the stairs, tripping over each other to be the first one there and back.

"You bought them fishing rods?" Andy asked.

"You promised them and that's all we hear about now" Dean replied with a look seen on the face of many a parent that suggested if he heard the words 'fishing' or 'rod' one more time he was likely to swallow his own tongue. "You have to take them because I don't know one end of a rod from the other." Whereas Andy liked to think of himself as quite the outdoors man (although that didn't mean he actually was one), Dean on the other hand was more of a 'indoor preferably with room service' kind of guy, relying on the legions of Grandfathers that the boys had to teach them the man skills he showed no interest in as a boy and now a man.

Throughout the exchange with the boys Gus had been looking at them slightly confused. With the warm welcome he had received at PAB, Sharon's condo and now in Nicole's home he felt part of a family for the first time in a long time but still realised he didn't actually know any of them, not even Rusty, not really. "If you don't mind my asking, are you not their Mom?" Gus asked out of curiosity. "He called you Nicole."

"No, I'm their Stepmom. Dean's first wife died shortly after they were born."

The early life of Justin and Robin had been littered with tragedy. They were born premature and it had been a battle to save them both but survive and thrive they did. The same, sadly, could not be said for their Mother. Louisa was already pregnant with the boys when she discovered she had terminal breast cancer. She could have had more time, more time with Dean but refused treatment because she did not want to terminate her pregnancy, choosing the lives of her unborn children over her own. Dean protested, kicked, screamed, did everything he could to get her to change her mind but Louisa wouldn't hear of it. If she did sacrifice her children and have the treatment it would only buy her months, it wouldn't cure her, so what was the point. In a completely unselfish act she decided to leave this world early with the knowledge that her two beautiful boys would live, they would grow up to be men and have children of their own rather than have a few extra months, a few extra months of illness herself. Louisa lived long enough to see her boys begin to prosper and be able to hold them in her arms but died peacefully at home on a Sunday afternoon surrounded by her family.

Nicole had known Dean long before Louisa died, she'd known them both, all working for the same company, although in Louisa's case not the same department. The two women were close but not as close as Nicole and Dean with them working together and becoming friends almost immediately. There was no hint at the romance that was to blossom between them in those early days, they were friends and that was it. But Nicole was the most valuable friend either of them ever had. She was a rock throughout Louisa's illness and beyond, helping with hospital appointments and then with the boys when they came along, a grieving Dean desperately needing help as he faced the reality of raising twins alone. When the boys were three things started to change for Nicole and Dean. Neither could pinpoint the exact moment but as if a switch had been turned on in their brains they started to look at each other differently. Louisa's parents weren't impressed, thinking three years was hardly a sufficient amount of time for Dean to grieve for their daughter before moving on with his life but as soon as they met Nicole again they understood. She was wonderful for Dean and loved Justin and Robin more than anything. What helped the most was that Nicole and Louisa were so close, realising that their union would probably have had her blessing so it should get theirs as well. The rest, as they say, is history.

Instantly Gus was mortified, his face draining of all colour. "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Think nothing of it Gus" Dean was quick to cut in, moving to place a hand on his shoulder to reassure him that everything was okay. The irony, Nicole and Dean had been secretly warned not to bring up what had happened to Gus and his family and he had accidentally done the same thing.

"I feel terrible, at least I didn't say anything in front of the boys."

"Honestly it's fine Gus" Dean once again told him. "Nicole is their Mom now but they know their Mother died not long after they were born. It's not a secret." As he spoke that familiar sound like zoo animals stampeding down the stairs could be heard before the boys came bursting through the door, fishing rods in hand and nearly taking out everyone's eyes as they swung them around.

"Yes she's in heaven with God" Justin stated clearly after having heard exactly what Dean had told Gus.

"And the baby Jesus with the talking donkey and the ogre" Robin continued.

"And the dancing pickle" Justin added resulting in a quiet ripple of laughter around the room from everyone except Gus who continued to be mortified by his question.

"There's maybe a little confusion about some aspects of it" Dean admitted.

Rusty laughed. "Well the Bible and _Shrek_ are so similar."

"Grandpa Andy look" Justin and Robin almost said in unison as they thrust their new fishing rods into his hands.

With his head in his hands, Dean patted Gus on the back and sat next to him. "Seriously Gus, its fine. Smile. Enjoy yourself" he instructed with a kind smile. "Tell me about your new job. Word has it you're working in a kitchen?"

With everyone fairly distracted Nicole took to her feet and walked to the door. As she passed Sharon she tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention for a moment. "Sharon" she said quietly before beckoning her to follow her into the kitchen.

By the time Sharon entered the room with the beautiful aroma of dinner cooking, Nicole was refilling her wine glass and fidgeting slightly. Seeing Sharon she smiled at her and gestured for her to close the door behind her. Sharon obliged, beyond curious by what Nicole wanted to say to her that needed in effect a cone of silence. "I just wanted to make sure that I'd not made you feel awkward about what I said earlier." Despite the door being closed Nicole spoke quietly, tentatively, adoring Sharon and everything she had done for her Father (in particular the care she had taken of him while he was injured) but without knowing her that well in all honesty, not knowing when she had perhaps pushed things a little too far.

"What do you mean?"

"All this joking about you and Dad maybe getting married one day. I wanted to make sure…"

Sharon held her hand up. "Nicole, let me stop you there. It's fine.".

"I only say it because I like to tease Dad, get a little of my own back." A little teasing about potential marriage was nothing compared to what Andy used to say and do to Nicole when she started dating. At that point they didn't have the best relationship, in fact it was awful. Andy was sober but Nicole was beyond distrusting when it came to him. Regardless Carol insisted that her children see Andy at least once a month (a battle to be sure but Carol did it for their own good despite the fact she'd rather continue to cut Andy out of their lives altogether, questioning if she'd actually urinate on him if he was on fire at one point). The problem was by that point Andy simply didn't know his children and they didn't know him other than he was the drunk that made their Mom cry. His children were turning into young adults before his eyes and between them they battled to find anything to talk about, the result was he teased them, teased them mercilessly about dating, something that didn't exactly endear him to them.

"I know. So do I, so tease away" Sharon confirmed with a chuckle. They were as bad as each other when it came to teasing the other. Sharon had never laughed as much in her life as she did when she was with Andy. The last six months in particular had been filled with joy, them playing off each other, always teasing, always laughing, and very rarely not finding anything to smile about when they were together.

"It's just he made it seem like he wanted me to stop joking because he was worried about making you run for the hills. Like getting married wasn't on the table" Nicole said a little tentatively causing Sharon to shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. "I'm sorry, I know I'm prying into matters that don't concern me and it's Christmas Day and I should keep my nose out of it but for the sake of his blood pressure…"

Sharon shook her head and laughed, finally realising what Andy had been talking to Nicole about earlier. "He's such an idiot. Look Nicole I won't lie and say that if we were to get married some time, way in the future that it would be the same as my first marriage because it won't" Sharon admitted honestly, her faith always playing a prominent role in her life.

"He thinks you may want an annulment." Nicole knew she was prying and somewhat jumping the gun but it was clear to her that the not knowing what the future held for him and Sharon was weighing heavily on her Father's shoulders even though he was loathed to admit it to even himself let alone to others.

Sharon thought for a moment before smiling, receiving an almost sheepishly look that was pure Flynn in return. "In an ideal world I would but I don't really believe either of us have sufficient grounds to go down that road" Sharon admitted. "The truth is despite my divorce in the eyes of God I am still married to Jack and always will be but I'm at that stage in my life where I simply don't care Nicole" she confessed with a smile making one slowly form on Nicole's lips. "If I married Andy it wouldn't be recognised by my church granted but it would be more than a piece of paper to me. It would be proof of a commitment that we've made to each other in front of our friends and family and that's what matters to me, not whether it's a union blessed in church." In truth Sharon didn't like to plan that far ahead in life and in terms of marrying Andy that was a long way in the future but his insistence (jokingly so) that she would propose to him had made it her sole focus as she took a long bath with a glass of wine on a few occasions. She had quickly concluded that she wasn't going to be ruled by her faith any longer, it being one of the reasons she stayed married to Jack for so long. It was important to her yes but so was Andy and if it came down to choosing one over the other, there was no debate, she loved Andy more so eventually when the time was right she wanted nothing more than to marry him. "So one day, yes it is on the table and you joking with your Dad and making him squirm and sweat is not going to make me change my mind or run away. It's just going to make me laugh and potentially join in with you."

Nicole sighed with relief after never having seen her Father fret, for want of a better word, about something like that in his life. "I'm so glad to hear you say that but could you maybe find a subtle way to let him know."

"Oh that man really is a colossal idiot." Suddenly realisation hit Sharon and she smacked herself on her forehead with the palm of her head, annoyed she had missed something so unbelievably blatant. "You know I bet this is why he keeps joking that I'm going to ask him to marry me. He's testing the water, looking for an answer to know if it's even a possibility. Thank you Nicole. This has been most informative" Sharon said with a raise of her eyebrows as she tucked back into her glass of wine.

"So you'll speak to him?"

Sharon took Nicole's hand. "Trust me as soon as I can find a subtle way to scream 'Of course I want to marry you one day...'"

"Heavy emphasis on the 'one day.'"

"Yes, as soon as I can find a subtle way to get it out, I'll do it, I promise."

"Good, I'm glad because you are without doubt the best thing to ever happen to him" Nicole raved, not for the first time unable to hide her joy about them finally being an item.

"Not surprisingly I feel exactly the same way about him."

Nicole paused for a moment as she took a sip of wine and leant back against the kitchen island. "Can I ask you another personal question?"

"Sure, it is Christmas after all."

"This is more to do with me then to do with you but would you change your name? If you do eventually marry Dad, would you become a Flynn?"

"That's a little premature Nicole."

"I know but like I said this is about me" she again repeated. "You're the only person I know who works with someone they're involved with. I'm still a Flynn at work. I kept my name because of my career because I wanted no confusion about who I am and what my name means. I have a reputation and an identity and I didn't want to lose that because people were mistaking me for Dean."

"But you're changing your mind?" Sharon asked.

"I'm considering it" she admitted. Nicole was more than considering it, a lot of thought had gone into it recently and although it was slightly awkward Sharon was the only person she knew in a similar position who might be able to offer any advice on the subject. "My Mom wanted me to change my name instantly, be anything but a 'Flynn' but I like the name. Regardless of how we got along in the past, I liked having my Dad's name. It's difficult you know because we work in the same department and I'm afraid of losing my identity but if I'm honest I do want to take his name now, I do. I suppose the same could be said if you were to do it."

"Not really" Sharon mused. "We may one day share the same surname but our ranks would always come first. I can't see there being much confusion because no one would ever expect your Father to make Captain."

"Would you though?"

Sharon thought for a second, taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly. "Yes" she stated full of confidence much to Nicole's surprise.

"Really?"

"Yes. I have no attachment to the name other than two of my children share it and as for work, I have no ambition to climb any higher in the LAPD. I'm going to stay as Captain of Major Crimes until the day I retire so people would soon adjust to it."

"But what when you're out in the field?" Nicole questioned, envisioning someone shouting 'Flynn' over a corpse at a crime scene and both of them answering.

"It won't make a difference. They call your Dad 'Flynn' but regardless of my surname they only ever call me 'Captain.' The only person who may have difficulty with it would be me when I answer the phone."

"We only use first names at work" Nicole said as she thought about everything Sharon had told her, applying it to her own working relationship.

"Exactly. If you want to take Dean's name then do it. I understand about losing the identity you've built at work but life is too short to not do what you want to do" Sharon informed her, Andy's recent brush with death once again a factor when it came to encouraging people to do what makes them happy while they still have the chance.

"Thank you Sharon. Definitely food for thought, future Step-Mother" Nicole replied cheekily as her eyes twinkled devilishly making her look like Andy.

"You're welcome, future Step-Daughter. Anything I can do to help?" Sharon asked as Nicole quickly checked on the turkey in the oven.

"Funnily enough I do need your help which is the real reason why I asked you to come out here" Nicole confessed, her nervous clenching of her teeth going unnoticed by Sharon.

"Sure, okay. Do you need me to chop anything..."

"No not with the food, with Dad."

"Okay" Sharon said curiously, drawing out each syllable.

"I need you to know that I've been sort of backed into a corner here and I had no choice."

"Right."

"Now I think the best thing for all concerned is to remain completely calm and drink lots of wine, not Dad obviously but the rest of us. Lots and lots of wine" Nicole added as she filled both of their glasses to the top again.

"If this is your way of breaking it to me that something has happened to the turkey I think your Father may never stop screaming and there's nothing I can do about that" Sharon replied starting to get worried.

"Oh I know. He's obsessed. For a vegetarian he's worse than the Dad in _A Christmas Story_ when it comes to turkey" Nicole laughed.

"So what happened to it?"

"Oh nothing. It's nothing like that. It's...here let me get you some more wine" Nicole said nervously as she tried to pour more wine into Sharon's already full glass.

"Nicole."

"Fine but you'll regret turning it down later, believe me." Nicole took a deep breath. "My Mom has invited herself over." Nicole cringed waiting for a reaction but instead Sharon remained neutral, her expression not changing.

"I see."

"After dinner."

"Okay" Sharon said cheerily with a shrug.

"That's it?" Nicole asked a little perplexed by her reaction.

"I don't see the problem. Andy has spent the last two Christmases with you all hasn't he?"

"Yes."

"So?"

"How to put this?" Nicole smiled at Sharon. "You weren't there."

"Excuse me?"

"You being here is going to be like waving a red rag at a bull when it comes to my Mom. They've behaved themselves really well to a certain extent over the last few years at Christmas and even the ballet but I know for a fact she won't be able to keep quiet when she sees him all happy and lovey dovey with you especially as he ruined so many Christmases when he was drinking. I know she's going to say something to embarrass him or provoke him and then he'll react and before you know it it's World War III and we're holding Justin and Robin in the air as human shields" Nicole explained, her discomfort and worry evident.

What was important to remember was that Carol Flynn, now Carol Crane was usually a wonderful, funny, loving woman but with everything that had happened between them, all of the horrendous muddy water that had gone under the bridge meant that these days Andy brought out the worst in her. On the whole she kept her opinions to herself, wanting above anything else for her children to have a good relationship with their Father, she was very much like Sharon in that regard but there were times when she struggled to hold her tongue. The arguments usually started because Carol couldn't help but dredge up the past with Andy having ruined a huge chunk of her life with his drinking, she naturally wanted to return the favour. Despite this she tried really hard to keep her opinions to herself when her children were present with the previous Christmas passing by without incident but if Andy had a 'lady friend' with him the temptation was always far too great. Carol couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Sharon at Nicole's wedding. She seemed lovely, friendly and she was Andy's age. The sight of him happy, sober and even settled made her blood boil even though deep down she wanted all of those things for Andy for the sake of their children although it still annoyed the crap out of her. She kept quiet (in the main) at the wedding because she didn't want to ruin her daughter's big day, likewise her behaviour was impeccable at the ballet because it was all about Justin and Robin and a war of words with her ex was not what the situation called for. However even though there were still huge fractures between them and she loathed the sight of the man she used to call her husband Carol visited Andy four times while he was in the hospital. With Nicole out of the country and Daniel reluctant to spend any time with his Father, Carol felt compelled to check up on him on their behalf, acting as an unofficial go between. For an hour every couple of days Carol put their differences to one side, getting to know Sharon a little better in the process and getting a better understanding of what a wonderful woman she was, something else that annoyed the crap out of her. But with Andy healthy again and unlike other encounters with Sharon present, they were actually now an item and more importantly acting like they were an item, it meant things with Carol might get…uncomfortable.

"I was desperately hoping the 'Sharon Effect' may have an influence tonight in keeping Dad's opinions to himself if she starts in on him" Nicole looked at Sharon pleadingly.

"You're asking me to keep your Dad quiet while he socialises with your Mother?" Sharon stated as she made sure she understood what Nicole was asking. "While she, by your own admission, most likely verbally bashes him and tries to get a rise out of him?"

"Yes."

"No problem!" Sharon proclaimed with exaggeration. "Do you want me to turn water into wine next? How about world peace?"

"If you could that'll be great because we may need more wine to survive the evening." Sharon put her head in her hands as she leant against the kitchen counter. "Please?" Nicole asked. "Sharon I'd really appreciate it and I'd owe you big time. I mean it, anything you want. Just name it, anything."

"Nicole..."

"I know! I know!" Nicole responded with a sigh. "I know it's a massive thing to ask of you and it's the worst possible timing, after all it's your first Christmas together and you should be all loved up. You should be able to sit in there holding hands and all lovey dovey and enjoy yourself. It should be filled with happy memories not with fights and trying to crush half a Valium into Dad's cranberry and soda without him noticing, they're in the cupboard above the sink by the way" she said only half joking. "I know that. I get that. And believe me I have long since given up on a happy family Christmas with both my parents and my brother all sitting around the table together without hair pulling and faeces being thrown but she insisted on coming here. And you never know Daniel might come with her. It's Christmas. I could hardly say no and Dad's become such a wonderful guy when he's around you. Really. I've never known my Dad so happy and at peace with himself and that's all because of you. If you could only do whatever it is that you do to make him behave like that this evening and I'll be forever grateful. It'll only be for an hour. Two at the most."

Sharon shook her head. "You really over estimate my influence on him."

"Oh I don't think so. I've seen the size of the smile he wears when he's around you. Please?" Nicole pleaded, not above begging in order to get a peaceful evening with both of her parents under the same roof.

"Well it'll be a Christmas miracle of biblical proportions but I'll try my best."

"Oh Sharon you are amazing" Nicole screamed as she hugged her tightly. "I love you."

"Be sure to put that on my tombstone" Sharon told her as they pulled apart.

"Oh I'm sure you can talk him around. Just one more thing."

"Yes?" Sharon asked, expecting another impossible request, perhaps pulling a fully cooked turkey wearing a top hat from her lady garden.

"Can you tell him? I think he'll take it better from you than me" Nicole said as she cringed, realising exactly what she was heaping into Sharon's lap. Sharon responded by slapping the palms of her hands down on the kitchen counter and hanging her head. Nicole smiled and put her arm around her shoulders. "You know it's the job of Step-Children to cause as much trouble as possible."

"I'm beginning to realise that. Any suggestions as to how I go about this?"

"If I were you I'd go for the old tried and trusted ripping off a Band-Aid approach. Do it quickly and then try and bribe him into good behaviour" Nicole suggested.

"With what?"

Nicole shrugged. "Sex always works with Dean."

"Good idea but I don't think Andy likes Dean as much as you do" Sharon joked as she delayed this little chat with Andy for as long as possible.

"You're stalling."

"Of course I'm stalling" Sharon said as her arms flailed. "I'd rather tell him the turkey had been stolen. What about Gus?" she suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you spoken to Carol about Gus and about avoiding any potentially distressing and upsetting questions?"

"No that never occurred to me" Nicole said as her shoulders slumped, quickly thinking about what to do for the best. "Don't worry about it she'll be far too busy trying to make Dad make a show of himself to even notice Gus is here."

"This is not making me feel better about the situation" Sharon stated, unimpressed.

"I know. Look I'll speak to her when she arrives and if need be I'll ensure the conversation is steered well away from Gus."

"What about Michael?" Sharon asked knowing getting Carol to be sensitive was one thing but getting her husband to do it was almost mission impossible. "No offence but he's the type of person who..."

"Could rub his two IQ points together and start a fire?"

"Yes. Don't tell Andy I agreed to that."

"Don't tell him I said it. Michael, God love him, is the kind of person who will be far too busy asking Gus why you never see a baby pigeon to ask about his family."

With no other reassurances needed Sharon sighed. "Well I suppose there's no time like the present." Sharon set off to find Andy in the living room before stopping dead in her tracks. "Let me just have another drink first." She took a huge gulp of wine before once again starting off towards the living room. "Where do I do this?" she asked as she hovered by the door, stalling yet again.

"Take him outside so the kids won't hear his language."

"Outside?"

"Good point. That's still too close. Long Beach?"

Sharon sighed again. "Fine. Wish me luck."

Nicole gave Sharon the thumbs up. "Good luck. You're my hero."

When Sharon walked back into the living room she found Andy still on the couch with both boys battling to sit on his lap and get his full and undivided attention. She hated to interrupt them when they were having such a good time, especially to break this sort of news, but she needed to get this chore done as quickly as possible so she could relax again and enjoy the day. "Andy. Can I borrow you for a second?" she asked as cheerily as possible so he wouldn't suspect that something was wrong.

"Of course."

The boys moved off Andy's lap and enabled him to stand. Sharon took his hand and led him from the room and to the kitchen. "Hey Dad" Nicole said cheerily as they walked through the kitchen to the back door and into the yard without stopping.

"What's happening?" Andy questioned a little confused.

Once outside Sharon led Andy to the middle of the yard, away from anyone that may overhear the conversation about to take place or to be more precise, his anticipated over the top reaction. Satisfied with their position and not noticing Nicole keeping an eye on the proceedings from the kitchen window, Sharon quickly and without warning wrapped her arms around Andy, kissing him deeply and groping his backside with both hands for good measure. He was initially a little taken aback by this sudden display of affection in his daughter's yard since less than a minute ago he had two boys sitting on his lap telling one 'Knock Knock' joke after another but quickly got carried away himself, keeping his hands above her waist as he always did when there was a chance they may be interrupted but ultimately sending his tongue on an exploration of her mouth, resulting in a moan to build at the back of her throat before they pulled apart.

"Hey" Sharon said a little breathlessly as she continued to cup his rear end.

"Hey yourself." Andy smiled and moved a lock of hair behind Sharon's ear. "I do like it when you've got a glass of wine in you" he joked. Sharon was always affectionate with him when the timing was appropriate but she seemed particularly forceful when she'd had a drink or two.

"It's not the wine."

"Then what is it?"

"Happiness. I'm happy" Sharon stated once she had kissed him again.

"Good" Andy replied, returning her kiss. "Me too" he added before Sharon collided her mouth against his again. As their lips met Sharon grabbed his backside even tighter, practically devouring him. "What are you doing?" Andy asked as they finally broke apart, enjoying their moment alone but surprised and confused by it all the same since this was a family day and sex had, unusually for Sharon, been off the agenda that morning.

"Distracting you."

"Why do I need distracting?"

"Just because."

"Because what?"

"So you won't fly off the handle."

Andy's eyes went wide, filled with horror. "Why what happened to the turkey?" he asked, his voice filled with emotion like he was asking an ER doctor about a loved one.

"Nothing. Calm down. The turkey is fine" Sharon said as she tugged on his earlobe for him, she still wasn't sure why she was doing it but knew it calmed him down when he was stressed. "For a vegetarian you're practically a cannibal during the holidays." Sharon paused for a moment as she struggled with her approach to this delicate matter. "It's a beautiful house."

"It is."

"Beautiful inside and out."

"You've brought me outside to tell me the inside of the house is beautiful?" Andy asked, smelling a rat but with not the foggiest idea what was actually going on.

"A house filled with love. A house filled with people who all love you. Remember that."

"Okay spill. What's going on?"

"I want you to focus on how much I love you okay" Sharon told him as she stared deeply into his eyes.

"Is this not something we could have discussed inside?" Andy said appreciatively but none the less confused by what was happening.

"I couldn't do this inside" Sharon replied in a husk as once again she assaulted both his lips and his backside, kissing him like they were a couple of teenagers behind the bleachers after prom.

"That's true but you're scaring me now. What's going on?"

"It was thought by all concerned that it would be a good idea to keep any potentially salty language away from the children's ears."

Andy frowned. "Salty language?"

"Nicole has asked me to speak to you." She again paused, wishing Nicole had given her more advanced noticed so she could have rehearsed this speech a little, perhaps had a net and a stun gun to hand just in case. "Now I want you to keep an open mind about what I'm about to say and remember that Nicole has worked very very hard to make today special and it really isn't her fault."

"What?"

"She-Who-Cannot-Be-Named was invited herself over this evening" Sharon blurted out as if she was referring to Voldemort before completely covering Andy's mouth with hers to stop him from speaking. It was a tactic she had employed before, kissing him to shut him up when he was making fun of her or proving her wrong on a matter, a tactic which had proved incredibly effective and without a better idea Sharon decided to try using it once again. As she slowly felt him start to relax a little in her arms Sharon broke their lips apart, hoping above hope that Andy would be calmness personified, sadly she was wrong.

"What the..." Andy exclaimed loudly until Sharon silenced him with another kiss. "She's going to…" he shouted again causing Sharon to repeat the treat, swallowing his words with her mouth and shutting him up as well as calming him down. "Okay. Okay. But if she…" again Sharon kissed him, the sole tactic she had to try to calm him down for the sake of Nicole as well as his ever so troubling raised blood pressure, fully prepared to keep doing it until they broke apart and he was silent.

"Have you finished?" Sharon asked as Andy finally fell silent without her lips being pressed on his.

"Yes, despite the fact that I really like how you shut me up." Andy sighed as he looked to the heavens. "She's not going to like that you're here, that we're actually together now. She's going to spend the entire evening trying to embarrass me." The previous Christmas had passed by without real incident. Andy went to Nicole's alone and for the most part Carol kept her opinions to herself, not wanting to upset her daughter after she'd worked so hard to make everything perfect. However Andy knew full well that this year would be different, Carol simply would not be able to resist trying to make him look like the arsehole she thought he was (and indeed used to be) in front of Sharon.

"I know but look she's invited herself over and Nicole could hardly say no."

"I know, I know" Andy said with full understanding as he slowly rubbed his ear.

"Andy you just need to relax and enjoy yourself and ignore every snarky remark she sends in your direction" she told him sweetly before pushing their lips together.

"That's easier said than done" Andy replied without an ounce of optimism.

"I know but she'll only say things to get a rise out of you. Don't let it happen."

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

Sharon smiled at him, squeezing his backside again. "Take my hand, smile, enjoy the company of your daughter and her children and make us all proud. That's all you need to do."

"That's it?"

"While biting your tongue naturally."

"Naturally."

"What did you say to me last night?"

Andy smirked, cocking his head at her and raising his eyebrows. "You've got the best pair..."

"No!" Sharon shouted before shutting him up with her lips once more. "Christmas is about spending time with people you don't like for the sake of people you do."

"I did say that didn't I?"

"Yes you did. The wisdom of Andy Flynn and I happen to agree with you."

"Is Michael coming as well?"

"I assume so, they are married" Sharon nodded.

"Oh jeez!" Andy cried as he rolled his eyes.

"Andy it won't kill you to be nice to the man who has helped raise your children for one evening. Not even a whole evening, just a couple of hours."

"I have no problem with being nice to the guy for Nicole's sake and for you and the kids but it's just he's the biggest moron on the face of the planet." Since they first met Andy had experienced a somewhat complicated relationship with his ex-wife's husband. The first problem was no matter which way he looked at it he could only see Michael as his replacement in the lives of his children. He felt he should be grateful towards him, for taking care of them when he was unable but he just couldn't, feeling like it was a stab in the back when Nicole insisted that both of them walk her up the aisle on her wedding day. The other problem was, although Michael was a nice guy he was also the stupidest man alive and the sort of guy who would die first in any of the _Jurassic Park_ movies.

"He's not that bad" Sharon lied, knowing full well that Michael was beyond idiotic.

"You're kidding right? That man can single handedly prove that Darwin was wrong. Last time I saw him he told me with some pride that he'd set their yard on fire trying to learn how to make smoke signals to speak to the guy next door. I mean what's that all about?" Andy ranted as Sharon tried not to laugh and therefore reveal that she agreed with him in his assessment. "Ten bucks he asks how we met again. Within two minutes of him walking through the door. Then when we tell him we work together he'll be baffled that we're both LAPD before saying 'I bet you met at work then.'"

"I know, I know." Sharon buried her face in Andy's chest to stop herself from laughing.

"I mean the guy seriously has a screw lose. I don't know why Carol lets him operate heavy machinery. And by heavy machinery I mean a can opener" Andy continued.

"Are you finished?" Sharon asked, opting to let him rant himself out rather than shutting him up herself.

"Have you looked at him closely? The guy has the roundest head in the world. You could put your fingers in his eyes and use him as a bowling ball."

Sharon smiled as she continued to grope his backside and hopefully distract him. "Oddly enough when I've been in the company of Michael I've been too busy checking you out to notice the shape of his head" she winked.

"Yeah that's not going to work right now."

"It was worth a shot. Let's try a new tactic. The promise of a very big reward. If you bite your tongue tonight no matter what she says to you, no matter how rude she is to you or me, no matter what she dredges up about your past and no matter how unbelievably stupid Michael is and when we get home I promise to..." Sharon leant in close and whispered into her ear. His eyes slowly closed as she spoke from a mixture of the words and Sharon's hot breath on his ear, a look of sheer pleasure on his face.

"Can I get that in writing?" Andy asked when Sharon finally finished whispering to him and he remembered where he was standing.

"No. You'll just have to take my word for it" she told him before she firmly pushed their lips together. "Come on, do it for Nicole."

"I will. I promise" Andy smiled before returning the kiss. "If anyone ruins this Christmas Day that she's worked so hard on, it won't be me" he promised.

"Good" Sharon replied satisfied, meeting his lips one final time. "Now let's go back inside and play with those boys." Sharon took his hand back in hers, leaving his backside unmolested for the first time since they stepped outside and led the way back into the house. As they walked back into the kitchen there was no mistaking Nicole's quite flustered behaviour as she quickly pretended she had been very busy while they were outside and not quite clearly spying on them through the window should Sharon require her assistance and the bottle of Valium. Nicole couldn't help but look at them both expectantly, hoping for a positive outcome as they passed by until Sharon subtly managed to give her the thumbs up behind Andy's back.

"Is everything okay?" Nicole asked cautiously, double checking but half expecting her Father to lose his temper.

Instead Andy stopped and turned to face her, smiling. "Everything is fine sweetheart" he said before continuing his journey back to the living room. Sharon turned to smile at Nicole as they passed through the door, receiving a mouthed 'I love you' from her grateful potential Step-Daughter in return.

Before they reached the living room Andy and Sharon passed Rusty and Gus coming the other way. Andy carried on ahead to return to Justin and Robin while Sharon stopped to speak to the two boys they had brought with them. "Are you both okay?" Sharon asked, rubbing them both on the arm.

"Great."

"We were just going to get another drink before we revert back to train track building duty" Gus informed her with them only getting a one minute break from their seven year old foremen in the living room.

"Don't forget work in the morning" Sharon said as she nodded towards his glass. She had no problem with Gus drinking, he was over twenty one after all but wanted to make sure he didn't overdo it and make a bad first impression by turning up to work with a hangover.

"Maybe you should have said that to yourself at your Christmas party" Rusty smirked.

"I wasn't drunk" Sharon protested for the hundredth time that week.

"You were" Gus confirmed.

As Rusty laughed Sharon's jaw practically hit the floor, swiping him across his arm for good measure. "Gus! You've let me down. I was hoping you'd be on my side of things when Rusty and Andy gang up on me."

"You're the second person to say that to me today" Gus laughed. "Apparently I'm supposed to be on everyone's side."

"When you're really only going to be on my side" Rusty informed him hopefully.

"Time will tell" Gus told him with a wink.

"While I have you I need a favour from you both. I may need your assistance 'handling' Andy later."

"Why? What happened to the turkey?" Rusty asked as worried as he sounded on the phone to Provenza as he followed Andy into the back of the ambulance.

"Nothing. The turkey is fine. This evening his ex-wife is coming over for a couple of hours and Nicole is convinced she's going to try to bait him and get a rise out of him so he'll make a fool of himself. If you could help us steer the conversation away from all the hideous things he did thirty years ago I'd really appreciate it."

"No problem" Gus replied, currently still so overwhelmed by Andy's generosity that he would do literally anything for him short of letting him chew on his leg if the turkey wasn't enough.

"Is Michael coming as well?" Rusty asked.

"Of course."

"Oh Gus you're going to love him. He is like the stupidest person you will ever meet."

"He's not that bad" Sharon lied once again before crumbling. "Fine! Okay! Don't tell Andy I said that. Just help me steer the conversation if things get..."

"Violent?" Rusty suggested.

"I was going to say 'aggressive' but 'violent' is probably more appropriate."

"No problem."

With that Rusty and Gus went into the kitchen to refill their glasses. Sharon stood alone in the hallway for a moment. She sighed. "I'm going to need a lot more wine."

Not long after, Christmas dinner was finally ready. Sharon kept asking if Nicole wanted her to do anything to help but her sole request was that she sit and relax…and to ensure that Andy stayed away from the turkey until dinner was ready. From the moment it was removed from the oven to the moment he got his first taste of it as they all sat around the table together, Andy never moved more than ten inches from its side, watching it like a hawk should some misfortune fall upon it. Once seated at the table Dean set about carving the beast (and it was a whopper with Nicole ordering the largest turkey she could since she knew any leftovers would be quickly devoured by her ravenous Father) until once again his lack of any real 'man skills' became apparent. Within minutes it looked like a wolf had savaged it with Nicole soon insisting that Andy take over the job. He was able to carve much better but it took longer with every other slice ending up in Andy's mouth rather than on someone's plate. The dinner that Nicole had prepared was divine with Sharon particularly enjoying it, as anyone who has ever cooked Christmas dinner for eight people will testify to, it always tastes so much better when you haven't had to cook it yourself. After enough food to feed an army had been consumed the whole group retired back to the living room, playing with the boys, enjoying pleasant conversation and drinking merrily all the while as the Sword of Damocles hung above them as they waiting with baited breath for Carol and Michael to arrive.

Soon after dinner Rusty and Gus went upstairs to play with Justin and Robin after discovering they had an X Box and four controllers while Sharon, Andy, Nicole and Dean sat and waited in the living room, enjoying every second of peace before the 'arrival.'

Nicole sat in the window seat like a cat, acting as the lookout so she could prepare Andy the moment they pulled up outside. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer as she spotted Michael's car coming up the street. "Stand by your beds! They're here! Look sharp everybody" she announced as she took to her feet, clapping her hands together and preparing to give orders to the assembled troops. "Okay, Dad please be nice. I don't care what she says just please don't react especially not in front of the boys. Sharon do whatever it is you do that makes him behave himself." Andy smiled obscenely as he glanced at Sharon, the reward she had promised going through his mind. "Not like that! Sprinkle your Sharon dust on him or whatever" Nicole continued, instantly realising what she had said was easy to misinterpret. "Yes I'm aware of how dirty that sounded. Dean don't pour her doubles. The last thing we need is Mom drunk and bitter because Dad is happy. Anything else? Oh yes, no one leave Michael alone with the kids. Last Christmas he decided to rewire the train set we'd bought them. After it set a new land speed record it shot off the tracks, smashed the window and set fire to next door's car. He is not to touch the one we've bought them this year. Okay. Everyone ready?" Nicole glanced out the window again at the now parked car. "Damn I hoped Daniel might have come with them. Here I go." With that Nicole sprinted to the door to answer it.

Sharon squeezed Andy's hand, sensing his disappointment that Daniel hadn't come with them. "I'm sorry" she said softly.

"Don't be. If I'm here then it's a damn sure thing he wouldn't be."

"It won't always be the case" Sharon told him hopefully.

Dean stood, ready to join his wife and greet their guests but wanting a quiet word with Andy first without Nicole listening in. "Oh Andy. I'd really appreciate it if you didn't get your gun out in front of the boys, no matter what she says to you."

"No problem."

"Thanks." Dean shook Andy's hand and then left the living room before calling "Boys! Grandma Carol is here!" loud enough up the stairs so they would hear.

Alone, Sharon turned to Andy. "Have you told him you're armed?"

"Yes. He thinks I'm always armed" Andy replied matter-of-factly. "What?" he asked in response to Sharon's surprised expression. "He's my Son-in-Law. He's got to know I'm ready to shoot him at the drop of a hat if need be."

"Andy!"

"Don't act like you won't do the same thing when Emily gets married."

"I won't" Sharon protested unconvincingly.

"Sure. And you never told me that you thought your Father would try to shoot me."

"That's different. He didn't actually own a gun and sometimes it's honestly a struggle for me not to shoot you" she confessed with a chuckle.

Andy released Sharon's hand long enough to straighten his tie. "Okay. How do I look?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. It's always nice when exes get to see what they're missing out on" he winked.

Sharon laughed. "I've got bad news for you, she knows and she still divorced you anyway."

"Lucky you."

"Yes, lucky me. You look gorgeous but you always do" she told him before gently pushing their lips together. "Now take a deep breath. Let it out" Sharon instructed as Andy did just that. "Smile" she added making Andy smile obscenely at her. She shook her head and laughed. "How about we turn down the smugness just a little."

"I thought you liked it."

"I do so save it just for me" she suggested, kissing him again, "for later. Think of Nicole. Be kind for her and don't react to everything negative Carol has to say about you. And if she does say something that compels you to respond in a less than favourable way just bite your tongue and think of everything I'm going to do to you tonight as a reward" she whispered in his ear.

"I'd still like it in writing."

"I know but for now you'll have to accept my oral agreement" she told him before giving him a long heated kiss, a down payment on what he could expect later if he tried his hardest not to react to Carol's insults.

"You're killing me you know that? Fine. Anything else?"

"I know it's hard but if you could try not to call Michael an 'idiot' every thirty seconds we'd all appreciate it and I'll show you just how much I appreciate it later." She kissed him one last time before wiping his lips and any trace of lipstick she may have left on them. "Now remember that while you play nice with the ex."

"I will if she will." Sharon just glared at him unimpressed, that attitude really not helping. "Fine! Okay. I'm on my best behaviour."

Sharon stood, smoothing down her dress while Andy remained seated, his hands in his lap. "Are you going to get up?"

"Not right now no" Andy replied shifting awkwardly.

"Why?"

"Oh you know why" Andy said with a smile as he moved his hands in his lap, ensuring the 'problem' caused by Sharon's promise for later whispered in his ear and the way she kissed him was concealed should anyone else suddenly walk into the room.

"Really?" Sharon asked in disbelief, smirking at him and the effect she had on him.

"Don't look at me like that, you did it."

Nicole poked her head around the doorframe. "Dad, come on please" she encouraged, wanting him to greet Carol at the door and get the initial contact out of the way as soon as possible like introducing a nervous child to dog with known aggression issues.

When Nicole had gone again Andy looked up at Sharon desperate for help. "What am I supposed to do?" he asked, gesturing towards his lap.

Sharon picked up the first cushion she could find from the armchair across the room and threw it at Andy. "Here."

Andy looked at the cushion, holding it in the air for Sharon to see and revealing she had passed him one in the shape of a doughnut, complete with large hole in the middle. "How is this helping?" he asked with the shape of the cushion and where he wanted to position it essentially turning him into a carnival game, land the hoop on the pole and win a stuffed pony.

Sharon laughed, seeing that she had only added to the problem. "Okay try this instead, think about Lieutenant Provenza in nothing but a whipped cream teddy and a smile."

Andy thought for a moment as he ran that image in all its horror through his mind a couple of times. "Yep that's done it," he confirmed, "potentially permanently." Andy finally stood, albeit a little awkwardly, and took Sharon's hand. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For loving me" he said shyly before their lips met in a chastely kiss.

While Andy and Sharon took up their positions next to Dean in the hallway in a sort of make shift welcome party like they were awaiting the President to arrive, Nicole went straight outside desperate to gage her Mother's mood and more precisely how much alcohol she had consumed. As Carol climbed out of the car she smiled sweetly at Nicole, at least that's what it looked like to the outside world. Nicole however knew better. Her parents were very alike when it came to unsuccessfully hiding their desire and plans for mischief making. Nicole's heart sank, worrying she may have to put Valium in the glasses of both of her parents to avoid someone losing an organ.

Michael waited patiently by the hood of the car in silence after kissing Nicole on the cheek as Carol retrieved a bottle of wine and a bunch of flowers from the back seat all the while as Nicole kept a watchful eye on her, prepared to be the human shield should things get feisty the moment she walked through the door. "Is your Dad still here?" Carol asked, not bothering to say 'Hello' or 'Merry Christmas' but in all fairness they had spoken earlier in the morning on the phone.

"He is indeed."

"Sober?"

Nicole sighed, unimpressed. "Of course and that attitude doesn't help."

"I was only asking the question" Carol replied innocently. Peering behind Nicole to see the welcome party assembled in the hallway Carol's eyes immediately landed on Andy. "Oh yes there he is" she almost growled. "Merry Christmas Andrew!" she shouted incredibly loudly as she waved.

"Mom please be nice."

"What? I haven't said anything."

"You've haven't even walked through the door yet and you've called him 'Andrew.' You know how much he hates being called that" Nicole told her for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last three years.

"It's his name."

"I know but he prefers Andy as you well know. You'll give him flashbacks to Grandma and Nuns calling him 'Andrew' all evening."

"It could have been worse. I could have called him Shithead or something else equally appropriate in front of your neighbours." Nicole glared at Carol. "Fine! I'm sorry. For your sake I will bite my tongue and not say anything to upset your Father or his latest conquest."

"Mom!" Nicole shouted, simultaneously annoyed by her behaviour but delighted she was right to make her get it out of her system before she came face to face with Andy.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding!"

"It's not funny, be nice to Sharon."

"Sharon?" Carol questioned, her surprise quite obvious. "He's brought Sharon?"

"Yes. Why? Who else would he bring?"

"This is your Father we're talking about. You expect one thing and he does the complete opposite. He's still with Sharon? Interesting." Having met Sharon on a couple of occasions Carol registered that she was not only a good person but also good for Andy and although it was irritating as all hell to see him so happy and settled she was also pleased for the sake of her children. However she felt she knew Andy better than anyone else, better than himself even and she fully expected him to have ruined his relationship with Sharon by now after sleeping with the nearest warm available body after he was released from the hospital.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. I'm just pleasantly surprised that's all" Carol confirmed truthfully. "Lead the way" she added before Nicole led Carol and Michael into the house and closed the door behind them. Carol handed the wine and flowers to Nicole so that she could hug and kiss Dean and greet everyone else like she was the Queen with Michael acting as Prince Phillip and following in her wake. "Dean darling, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Carol. Nice to see you Michael" he said, shaking the hand of his simple but happy looking Step-Father-in-Law. "Thanks for coming" he added even though Carol had essentially invited herself the moment she heard Andy was bringing a date.

Nicole passed the wine and flowers to Dean to deal with as Carol slowly approached Andy, needing her hands free should she be required to pull them apart. "Andrew, nice to see you" Carol said, her voice full of control.

"Carol" he replied, his eye already twitching.

"You look good. Better than expected in fact after how you looked in the hospital."

"Thank you. I am good. I feel good" Andy confirmed, smiling at Sharon.

"So any premature ageing is now solely down to a lifetime of drink and lose women finally taking an effect." Andy instantly took Sharon's hand, squeezing it tightly instead of responding, just like she had encouraged him to. "Finally it has an effect on your face rather than just your family, there is a God after all." Again Andy stayed silent as he squeezed Sharon's hand even tighter, almost cutting off the blood flow to her fingers. "And Sharon is here" Carol stated, cautiously placing a hand on her arm. "What a pleasant surprise." Carol actually sounded genuine and in reality she was but sometimes it was honestly hard to tell.

"It's lovely to see you again" Sharon told her with a warm smile, refusing to do anything else regardless of what she said to and about Andy for the sake of Nicole.

"Shall we sit down?" Carol announced like she was standing in her own home before leading the way into the living room with Nicole, Dean and Michael slowly following and leaving Andy and Sharon alone in the hall.

Sharon shook off Andy's hand to be able to plant one on either side of his cheeks. She lowered his head towards her and kissed him gently on the lips. "Be calm for the sake of the people that love you."

"I'm fine. Really I'm fine" Andy lied.

"Then stop your nostrils from flaring."

Sharon and Andy followed the rest of the group into the living room and sat back down on the couch. Once seated Andy grasped Sharon's hand again with no intention of letting it go in the near future. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment which was thankfully broken by the sound of all four boys coming down the stairs. Bursting into the living room once again Justin and Robin bounded towards Carol to hug her as Rusty and Gus hovered by the door, their seats in front of the window now occupied by Carol and Michael.

"Here they are. Hello my darlings" Carol said joyously as she hugged and kissed them.

"Mom you remember Rusty."

"Of course. Lovely to see you again young man."

"You too" Rusty said politely as he sat on the arm of the couch next to Sharon. He could already sense that the room had an unpleasant atmosphere but decided to sit next to Sharon rather than Andy, assuming quite rightly that she knew Andy better than he did and if he needed help in his battle with Carol, Sharon would let him know unlike Andy who would react himself without warning.

"And this is Gus" Nicole announced.

Michael looked at Gus with pure concentration on his face, speaking before Carol had chance. "Okay. Robert. Brian. Peter. No Marco. Right?" he said much to the confusion of everyone else in the room.

"Excuse me?" Gus asked baffled.

"Michael what are you talking about?" Carol asked.

"You said 'guess' so I am. Is your name Ian?"

"'Gus' not 'guess' Michael! His name is Gus" Nicole exclaimed as everyone bar Carol and Michael laughed quietly to themselves. "I'm really not drunk enough for this yet. Gus is Rusty's friend." Carol smiled at Gus before winking at Rusty and making him blush, correctly interpreting the word 'friend' and clearly approving of his choice. "Gus this is Carol and Michael, my Mom and my Step-Father."

"Nice to meet you both."

"Likewise handsome" Carol purred.

A little alarmed Gus went to sit next to Andy, doing as he and Rusty had promised and helping to keep Andy calm if need be. As he passed Nicole who was still hovering in the middle of the room should a fight break out, he asked "Is she flirting with me?"

"Probably, she does smell about ninety percent proof" Nicole whispered back to him before he sat down. "Dean how about some drinks?" she suggested. Dean nodded until Nicole grabbed his arm as he passed. "Make mine a double and find Mom the smallest glass imaginable" she whispered.

"And Michael?" he asked.

"I don't know. A butterfly net and a gag?" Dean smirked before leaving to get the drinks and Nicole finally sat down. Looking at the scene before her it looked very much like battle lines had been drawn in the middle of the Somme. On the window seat sat Carol and Michael, with Sharon, Andy, Rusty and Gus on the couch. The boys sat on the floor with their train set in no man's land with Nicole across the room away from the action like a General waiting to see how much carnage would unfold. "Did you have a nice meal with Daniel?" she finally asked her Mother.

"Yes thank you darling. He wishes you all a Merry Christmas and hopes you've had a good day, all of you" she added as she ensured she met Andy's eye and made sure that he understood, making an effort with him as far as their son was concerned.

"I wish he'd come with you" Nicole said with a sigh.

"Maybe next year" Carol smiled before again glancing at Andy, giving him a tiny flicker of hope where Daniel was concerned. "Nicole that's a beautiful dress."

"Thank you" Nicole replied as she admired her red lace ensemble. "A present from Dean."

"You look beautiful" Sharon added.

"She always looks beautiful" Andy beamed.

"Never more so than on her wedding day. You should have seen her" Michael said to Andy. Instantly all eyes moved to focus on him as they processed what he had just said with Gus realising for the second time in less than five minutes just how stupid he could be.

"I did."

"Oh? You were there?" Michael asked surprised as he looked back and forth between Andy and Sharon.

"Yes. You know I was" Andy stated, trying not to lose his temper at Michael and his complete lack of common sense this early in the proceedings. Michael just stared at Andy blankly for a moment like he was trying to work out where exactly he'd seen him before. "I'm her Father. I walked her down the aisle, with you" Andy blurted out, raising his voice until Sharon squeezed his hand to calm him down.

Suddenly the penny dropped and Michael slapped his thigh like he was doing a barn dance. "Of course you did. Now I remember you. Sometimes I don't know what goes on inside my mind."

"None of us do Michael" Nicole said as she tried not to laugh, something Rusty and Gus failed to do, their mirth overwhelming.

"It's lovely to see you here Sharon. I can't say I expected it if I'm honest" Carol announced as Dean cautiously entered his own living room with a drink for Carol, Michael and Nicole.

"For any particular reason?" Sharon asked, battling to keep her tone even as Andy squeezed her hand like he trying to get juice out of an orange.

"Oh you know Andy, as faithful as an alley cat."

"Mom!" Nicole shouted as she took her wine off Dean and nearly polished off the glass in one go.

"What? I'm just pleasantly surprised. You're a better woman than I am Sharon if you can keep him in line. What's your secret?"

Choosing to take Carol's questions in a light hearted way, Sharon smiled at Andy and put her head on his shoulder. "Oh I have my ways."

"And if need be you can always give him another black eye in the middle of the night" Rusty blurted out, immediately regretting it as both Sharon and Andy glared at him like he'd just announced a state secret, realising far too late that rather than deflect Carol's comments he'd put his foot in it completely.

"Black eye? What black eye?" Carol questioned like it was the best piece of gossip she had ever heard and there was trouble in paradise on the horizon for her ex and his latest woman of the moment.

"I thought you had the ends of a black eye at your office party" Gus noted.

"Yeah how did that happen exactly?" Nicole asked.

Andy frowned at Nicole, confused. "How do you know about it?"

"Let's just say I have my sources" Nicole replied as she winked at Rusty not so subtly.

"It's nothing terribly interesting. I simply elbowed him in my sleep that's all" Sharon explained dismissively so as not to give Carol too much pleasure from Andy's pain.

"Really really hard."

"Are you still complaining?" Sharon asked Andy, their smiles matching each other, a joy for Nicole to see and an irritant for Carol.

"They're still making fun of me at work."

"I haven't heard anything."

"They know better than to say anything to my attacker. The big bad boss lady."

"Oh well it's not the first time he went to work with a black eye as I'm sure you know" Carol cut in, putting an end to their now quite frequent playful back and forth.

"Actually we were already going through the divorce when I first met Sharon so she didn't see how you used to beat me" Andy shot back as Sharon rubbed his arm with her free hand, trying to get him to calm down.

Nicole sat forward, trying to change the subject. "Really? You first met that long ago?"

"Yes. Over twenty years ago" Andy said as he smiled at Sharon again. "The first time I saw Sharon I was walking past her in a corridor at Parker Centre and she dropped a pen on the floor in front of me. As she stopped to pick it up I naturally said something obnoxious to her" he joked although it was true.

"That's not hard to believe" Carol scoffed.

Again Sharon stroked Andy's arm as she tried to keep his attention on her rather than on what Carol had to say. "You really remember that?"

"I told you." Andy subtly held his breath for a moment so only Sharon could see as he maintained once again that what he wrote in his letter from the hospital was true, that the first time he saw Sharon he actually stopped breathing. "But she was married" he told Nicole ruthfully.

"Since when does that stop you?" Carol snarled into her wine.

Sharon spoke up quickly to stop Andy from reacting. "So we were nothing but..."

"Enemies" Rusty smiled, still in disbelief by what he had heard from the horse's mouth on Christmas Eve.

Sharon laughed. "I was going to say colleagues but that's true as well for a couple of decades first."

"How did you meet?" Michael asked and not for the first time.

Sharon and Andy glanced at each other, one delighted that he had been proved right, the other not so much as Nicole sighed at Michael's idiocy. "At work Michael. We met at work" Andy said clearly since he hadn't gleamed that fact from the conversation that had just taken place or the previous twice he'd asked at the ballet.

"Oh really?" Michael asked surprised. "And what is it you do Sharon?"

Trying not to laugh Sharon answered "I'm a police officer. I'm the Captain of the Major Crimes division at the LAPD."

"So you must work together then?"

"Yes Michael! They work together" Carol shouted as everyone except her tried to stifle their laughter. "You know Andy," she continued, "there's hardly anyone in the LAPD or my yoga class he hasn't slept with."

After having been listening to the grown-ups yammer away about nonsense they didn't fully understand or care about Justin looked at Carol with a quizzical expression. "You don't like Grandpa Andy much do you Grandma Carol?"

"What makes you say that sweetie?"

"The lasers that come out of your eyes as you look at him" Nicole muttered quietly into her wine.

"You're never very nice to him like Granny Sharon is."

Carol was taken aback on two fronts, firstly that despite her best efforts she was letting her lingering anger get the better of her in front of the boys, looking badly in their young eyes and secondly that they were suddenly calling Sharon 'Granny Sharon.' "Getting the Grandkids to fight your battles Andrew?" was all she could say. "Of course I like Grandpa Andy" she smiled before adding "Even though he is a hateful swine" into her wine glass as she took a sip.

Worried about things escalating Dean was quick to change the subject. "How are you feeling now Andy? Back to normal?"

"Yes thanks Dean with the exception that I can't go out into the field yet."

Nicole smiled. "So you've been able to work very closely together then?"

"Yes" Sharon confirmed. "I think we work very well together. I know he has to return to the field eventually but I've rather enjoyed having him in the office with me, all to myself."

"Plus you know he's not drinking or cheating when he's in your eye line all day" Carol bitterly pointed out.

Andy's blood began to boil. "I've never..." he started, not for the first time having to protest his innocence when Carol wrongly accused him of cheating on her.

"So how did you hurt yourself?" Gus cut in and doing the job that Sharon had asked of him and Rusty. "You gave me quite a shock when you turned up at court with your face all bruised."

"Sharon did it while I was asleep" he joked.

"Be careful Dad, next time she won't hold back."

"I wish I hadn't" Carol interjected, again ruining the pleasant mood.

"Gus he was pretending to be James Bond" Sharon told him as she ignored Carol's latest barb.

"I was much better than James Bond" Andy proclaimed proudly.

"You've probably slept with the same amount of women. I don't know how either of you don't have the clap" Carol offered, proving once again that she had completely switched her filter off before stepping foot in the house.

"What's the clap?" Robin asked confused.

"Mom!" Nicole shouted angrily. "It's when you applaud someone. Like we did for you when you finished your role in the ballet. Go on Dad" she encouraged.

"We were trying to bring in a suspect for questioning and I ended up falling from a moving car" he shrugged, once again playing his accident down.

"I knew it involved a horse" Michael announced like all the pieces were falling into place in his mind.

"What?" Andy asked.

"How does that involve a horse?" Dean questioned as he tried not to laugh.

"You know I'm not a Mounty right Michael?"

"Yes, you're Catholic aren't you?" Michael replied as everyone immediately laughed again while he sat there puzzled, wondering what he had said that was so funny.

Carol shook her head at her husband. "Are Max and Judy dropping by this evening?" she asked Dean, wondering where his parents were during the holidays.

"Probably not Carol. They're spending the day with my Aunt. They may stop by if they have time but we're seeing them tomorrow anyway."

"It's probably for the best. Andy doesn't have the best track record with in-laws" Carol responded bluntly.

"Mom!" Nicole exclaimed again, her patience running out.

"What? He doesn't. You don't. Do you?"

"I never _used_ to be" Andy said quietly as he continued to squeeze Sharon's hand.

"That's an understatement. One Christmas before I finally kicked his sorry backside from my house he actually made my Mother cry."

"Mom please..." Nicole begged.

"Now what was it you called her?" Carol said, pretending to think although she knew exactly what words Andy had once used in a drunken stupor.

"Have you got much turkey left Michael?" Dean asked as he desperately tried to change the subject.

"I remember you were drunk but then when weren't you? Telling a story where you were sober would stand out more since it was such a rare occurrence." Andy looked down, taking deep breaths as he was being verbally bashed, worried beyond all else, what his family, more specifically Sharon and Rusty would think of him.

"Mom."

"Oh that was it. She made a comment about how drunk you were in front of the children, as usual, and you said 'Oh shut up you mewling quim' and reduced her to tears. On Christmas Day. What a man! But of course I'd got used to you ruining Christmas by that point. Once your husband comes in steaming drunk at 5am and eats a half cooked turkey before vomiting on the Christmas tree, there really is no turning back" Carol revealed joyfully. "Still, it could have been worse. You could have got drunk and told your three year old son that Santa didn't exist. Oh that's right, you did."

"What?" Justin asked horrified.

"He doesn't?" Robin question.

"Of course he does boys" Nicole was quick to confirm as she glared at her Mother.

"That's right. Of course he does" Carol reassured them. "It was just another example of your Grandpa Andy trying to ruin Christmas for us all."

That was the last straw. Andy was angry, no scratch that, he was fuming, his blood pressure shooting through the roof as his face turned red and his knuckles turned white from clenching his fist. It was one thing to embarrass him in front of the people he loved, making him look like the awful guy he once was but upsetting Justin and Robin just to get at him was inexcusable. "Carol, if you..."

"Andy can I speak to you for a moment please." Sharon shouted quickly. "Andy? Please."

"Sure. What?"

"In the kitchen" Sharon suggested, taking to her feet and holding her hand out for Andy to take. "Come and help me open a bottle of wine. I'm parched" she lied.

"Andy Flynn near alcohol. Now you're just asking for trouble."

"Mom!" Nicole once again shouted.

Andy stood to follow Sharon but not before saying his piece. "Carol I'll have you know..."

"Andy. Come on" Sharon cut in again, grabbing his hand and leading him quickly into the kitchen.

Once inside the sanctuary of the kitchen Sharon released Andy's hand and let him pace around like a caged animal for a moment as his rage took over him, his hands actually trembling from the anger and the effort it had taken to stay silent for as long as he had. Eventually he stopped and stepped towards Sharon with a look in his eye like he was about to rant. "Can you believe that wo..." he started before Sharon once again cut him off with her lips pressing against his, practically devouring him as their heated kiss continued for some time, Sharon feeling the full weight of Andy's anger behind it. "She's only saying..." Again Sharon cut him off by kissing him, this time his anger seemingly easing as his hands made their way into her hair, returning the kiss rather than just being silenced by it. "It's so like her to..." Once more she assaulted his lips with hers, kissing him long and hard until finally when they broke apart he was once again calm and more importantly silent.

"Are you done?" Sharon asked him. "Can you be quiet? Will you listen to me for a moment please?"

"Yes. Go ahead."

"Ignore her."

"But what..." Yet again Sharon attacked him with her lips, only breaking apart when she was relatively sure he was calm again.

Sharon wrapped her arms around him, drawing him as close to her as possible and locking eyes, ensuring he listened to everything she was about to say to him. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what she says about you. I've heard it all before" she stated. "Very recently in fact and you know what? I don't care. I don't care what happened thirty years ago. I don't care what sort of man you were then. I love you. I love the man you are now. The man who will be coming home with me tonight. The man I'm going to kiss every square inch of later regardless of what his ex-wife says about him in this house this evening or what he did over thirty years ago. Understand?" Sharon asked as she kissed him again. "I love you to distraction Andy Flynn and nothing Carol can possibly say will change that. Okay?"

Andy smiled but it didn't last long. "But Nicole and the boys..."

"Nicole has heard it all before too and guess what, she doesn't care either. She lived through it and she's seen for herself how much you've changed and she's given you a second chance."

"Second?" Andy asked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Okay, fiftieth, whatever" Sharon joked. "Neither do the boys care. All they know is Grandma Carol is mean to Grandpa Andy. Justin even asked her if she likes you, so don't worry about them, they love you. The point is Andy this is a real opportunity for you to come across as the good guy here. If you sit there and take it, take everything she has to throw at you without reacting then Carol is the only one who is going to look bad in this situation. She's the one that Nicole is going to be upset with for spoiling the evening while you say nothing in return."

"Okay. But what about Rusty? It's taken so long for the kid to trust me and now..."

"Don't worry about Rusty" she assured him. "I'll speak to him but it's not like he doesn't know about your past and that Carol is deliberately trying to embarrass you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Sit there and take it and everyone will love you all the more for it. For now kiss me." He smiled as he met her lips. "Take my hand, don't let go of it for a single moment and focus on the reward you're going to get from Nicole for biting your tongue."

"What about the reward from you?" Andy asked, never taking his eyes off the prize.

"I'll be honest you're getting that anyway but I'd prefer it if you made this effort first Andy."

Andy leant down and kissed her again. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yes I know that" Sharon said with a smile. "The feeling is more than mutual" she told him. "Feeling calmer?"

"I was perfectly calm" he lied.

"No you were silent but far from calm. You were squeezing my hand so tightly I thought I was five minutes away from a trip to the ER" she informed him as she shook her hand, it still hurting from the way Andy squeezed it.

"I'm sorry" Andy replied guiltily as he kissed her palm.

"That's okay. Just relax, for the sake of your blood pressure as much as for your family."

"And you."

Sharon took his tie into her hand, playing with it as she always used to do before things were more physical between them. "I was actually including myself when I talk about your family" she confessed.

"I'm glad to hear that Granny Sharon."

Sharon frowned at him. "I said the boys could call me that not you. Now give me those lips one more time" she ordered before devouring them yet again. "Smile and let's go back in." Andy smiled obscenely. "Not that big of a smile, they'll think we've been, you know" she said as she laughed.

"Good. It'll piss Carol off even more especially if we're both still smiling despite her best efforts."

Sharon took Andy's hand in hers once more, squeezing it lovingly before reluctantly heading back towards the living room. As they reached the door Sharon stopped dead in her tracks. "The wine!" she exclaimed as she remembered the 'reason' she had asked Andy to join her in the kitchen. Andy laughed as Sharon grabbed the nearest bottle and they ventured back into the lion's den. Upon entering the living room the first thing they noticed was that the boys were missing along with Michael which was a relief in one way as they'd no longer have to hear Andy being badmouthed but it was also worrying since Michael had a habit of accidentally starting fires with them. The second thing they noticed was that it was eerily quiet which made it hard for both of them to ascertain whether Nicole had spoken to Carol about her bordering on drunken behaviour in their absence. Ensuring he kept smiling Andy sat back on the couch while Sharon walked straight over to Nicole. "Would anyone like a top up? Nicole?" she asked, knowing she needed it desperately.

"Oh please." Sharon filled her glass up slowly, smiling at her reassuringly and letting her know she had calmed Andy down and he would be okay. With her blocked from her Mother's view, Nicole beamed up at Sharon and whispered "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'll take another glass" Carol announced loudly.

"I think you've had enough" Nicole informed her as she took the bottle off Sharon and put it behind her chair and out of reach of her Mom.

"Oh Nicole it's your Father that's the alcoholic, not me."

Sharon sat back down next to Andy, instantly taking his hand and bringing it into her lap. "He's been sober for twenty years Mom" Nicole pointed out until she was met with Andy shaking his head at her, telling her not to waste her breath in defending him with the mood Carol was in.

"Where's Michael?" Andy asked, surprised that Nicole had let him out of her sight with the boys given the warning she issued before he arrived.

"He's upstairs with the boys."

"Alone?" Andy questioned.

"What does that mean?" Carol asked angrily, choosing to be offended by what was a perfectly innocent question.

"Nothing. I just think it's great how good he is with them. How comfortable he is with young kids considering he's never had any children of his own" Andy replied honestly. In truth Andy realised that perhaps Michael got on so well with the boys because away from work, they were essentially the same age and liked the same things, playing with trains and cars and making them go as fast as possible but regardless he was excellent with them.

Carol glared at him, continuing to choose to be offended when she had absolutely no reason to be. "Yes well Andy not everyone can be a Father when they want. Then there are people who are Fathers but choose to drink and abandon their family instead."

"Mom! That is enough!" Nicole shouted as she took to her feet and marched across the room to face Carol, ensuring she fully heard what she was about to say. "I get it, you will never fully trust or even like Dad again but he is a very different man to the one you divorced. And since he has just sat there in silence since you walked through the door and let you abuse him you can do me a favour and shut the hell up."

"Nicole..."

"No! I've had enough. It's Christmas!" she exclaimed, making Sharon smile with their shared obsession with Christmas and a 'sense of occasion.' "Dad is a guest in my home and if you can't treat him with even an ounce of respect you know where the door is. Thank you." With that Nicole turned on her heels and walked back to her chair, smiling at Andy on the way.

The silence was deafening as everyone sat perfectly still, completely stunned by Nicole's sudden but perfectly warranted outburst. Carol on the other hand looked mortified, she had been determined to not ruin things for Nicole, she had, she really really had. She had spent plenty of time with Andy over the last two years without laying into him and yet when it mattered most she had failed spectacularly. She wanted to blame the wine but contrary to popular opinion she really hadn't had that much to drink. In truth she was a little bit upset when she arrived and that was the real cause of her behaviour. She had wanted Daniel to join them solely so he could spend time with Andy. She may want to set Andy's chest hair on fire because of how he treated her in the past, in truth how his drinking made him treat her, but regardless she wanted them to have to a good relationship for the sake of Daniel and even if it was only for an hour or two a family Christmas with everyone, including Andy there. Yet once again no matter how much she begged Daniel to join them he refused, not wanting to see his Father even at Christmas. It was clear to her that Daniel was distressed by his decision and seeing her son essentially cut his own nose off to spite his face broke her heart. She thought a corner had been turned when he went to visit Andy in the hospital but no progress had been made since, if anything their relationship had gone backwards, the complete opposite to the relationship Andy now had with the young man sitting in Nicole's living room, and that irritated her, irritated her more than she thought possible. She was calm when she arrived, planning on having a wonderful time with her daughter and making polite, if not forced, chit chat with her ex but seeing Andy happy, happy with Sharon and having a good relationship with Rusty (on the surface at least, she had no idea about the challenges he had faced and continued to face with him) made something in her head snap. She had come from seeing her son suffer to seeing the man who had caused it seemingly without a care in the world (when in truth Daniel's absence devastated him) with a new family and that just set her off, regretfully so.

The awkward silence was broken by a loud bang coming from above their heads followed by all the lights in the house flickering and buzzing loudly. At once their heads looked skyward to where they knew Michael was playing with the boys and doing God knows what. Nicole and Dean froze, hoping the situation didn't require their immediate attention, they were wrong.

"Erm! Nicole?" they heard Michael shout from upstairs. "Do you have a fire extinguisher?"

Three hours later with both fires completely out, the real one Michael had caused as he rewired the cars Justin and Robin had for Christmas and inadvertently set fire to their bedroom curtains and the more symbolic one in the living room caused by Carol's rather barbed tongue, calm and the holiday spirit had once again descended on the house. Nicole's iPod played quietly in the background, a mixture of Christmas songs all sung by her Father's favourite crooners picked specifically for him (Nicole had picked up Andy's taste in music very early on in life to Carol's displeasure since after she kicked him out of the house it still sounded like he was there. Then of course the other thing that annoyed Carol was Andy teaching her children the lyrics ' _Walking round in women's underwear_ ' rather than ' _Walking in a winter wonderland_ ,' something that both of them still sang to that day). Sharon still sat on the couch looking the very definition of the word 'content' in the glow of the Christmas tree lights with a glass of wine in her hand. Her eyes scanned the room, enjoying the sight she saw before her. Andy was fast asleep next to her, his head resting on her shoulder and still holding her hand in his. Similarly Dean was asleep in the chair in the corner with Justin and Robin sitting on his lap also spark out. It had been a long day for the boys and Dean, they'd been up since the crack of dawn and the excitement of the day had soon wiped them out. It was a beautiful sight, a Father with his sons, peacefully sleeping at the end of a long but wonderful family day. Gus was also asleep, sitting on the window seat, his head resting on the glass like a Garfield cat you attach to a car window. Sharon looked at him and wondered how long it had been since he had got a good night's sleep, the weight of the world having been on his shoulders for far too long, stretching back to before he joined the army. Nicole sat on the other end of the couch next to Andy, like Sharon she also had a wine glass in one hand and her Father's hand in the other, again like Sharon enjoying the peace and tranquillity and the company (although sleeping) of her family. On the floor Michael sat with Rusty playing with a Scalextric car set belonging to the boys, racing each other with cars that were going a lot faster than they should have been thanks to Michael's interference that led to the fire. The only person missing was Carol who had remained largely quiet since Nicole's outburst, embarrassed by her own behaviour.

Sharon looked at all the sleeping men around her and quietly laughed, not wanting to wake any of them. "Would you look at these guys. Such wonderful company" she said to Nicole.

"Boys will be boys. Dad always has been able to sleep practically anywhere. He took me to a ballet class once after he'd worked all night. I swear he fell asleep standing up."

Again Sharon laughed. "Oh I know. It's waking him up again which is the hard part. If it wasn't for the snoring I'd worry he was dead in the morning."

"I don't know Mom elbowing him in the face seemed to work pretty well" Rusty joked, the smile on his face revealing that he would _never_ stop laughing at the way she assaulted him after his first time in her bed.

"Yes thank you Rusty."

Nicole looked at Andy's face, trying to see if any remnants of his black eye remained. "I wish someone had taken a photo."

"I was too busy laughing while he iced it to take a photo" Rusty explained which was lie to a certain extent, he was far too shocked at stumbling across him in the middle of the night in his underwear to take a photo rather than laughing although he did find it pretty funny.

"Speaking of which Rusty, on behalf of my Father I must apologise for the nightmares caused by you finding him in your kitchen in the dead of night in his underwear."

Sharon looked at her surprised, well as much as she could look at her with Andy's head on her shoulder. "How do you know that?"

"I told her" Rusty announced, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

"He's my informant on all things _Shandy_ " Nicole added with glee.

"In my defence I've only told Nicole and Dr Joe that Andy started staying over...and that you beat the hell out of him the first night he did."

"What?" Sharon asked, a small part of her mortified that Rusty had been gossiping about her sex life to not only Dr Joe but also Nicole. She hated people thinking about her in that way, hated it above anything else but she didn't blame Rusty and didn't have that much of a problem with it to be honest, it wasn't like he'd taken an ad out in the paper, but still, wished he hadn't.

"Hey Sharon you're the one that encourages me to tell my therapist everything that's going on in my life."

"Your life not my life."

"When it's happening in the place I live it is my life."

"But not about...you know" Sharon said as she pointed between herself and Andy.

"Oh Rusty if I were you I'd tread very carefully" Nicole warned him as she laughed. "Now that you've got yourself a boyfriend, payback could be a bitch." Rusty's cheeks immediately went red, embarrassed by the attention on his burgeoning romance and relieved that Gus was currently asleep.

"Shandy?" Sharon finally asked, Nicole's use of the word finally registering in her mind.

"Yes you combine your names. Like Dean and I would be Nean or..."

"Dicole?" Rusty suggested.

"It doesn't always work" Nicole replied as her face screwed up, never wanting someone to aim the word 'Dicole' at her ever again. She thought for a second before her face suggested she'd thought of the best thing in the world. She pointed at Rusty and Gus. "Oooh! Oooh! Gusty!" she proclaimed.

"Shush!" Rusty shouted back.

"Calm down, he's dead to the world" Sharon reassured him, knowing he didn't like to discuss what was going on with Gus at this early stage.

"I blame the turkey" Nicole said as she realised that she was making Rusty feel more than a bit uncomfortable and trying to change the subject quickly. "It's the same after Thanksgiving. You always get two things: food babies and naps. Turkey has some sort of chemical in it that makes you sleep."

"If that were true why didn't the Doctor tell me to get my children to suck on a turkey leg when they wouldn't go down instead of a pacifier?"

"Because they're all mean" Nicole laughed. "I can't complain about the peace and quiet though while the children play with their toys" she said as she smiled at Michael and Rusty playing on the floor like two oversized babies.

"It is lovely" Sharon agreed, sighing contently as she rested her head on Andy's.

"You've worked two miracles in one day here Sharon, you've got Dad to behave himself and be quiet. What did you bribe him with?"

Sharon smiled. "I'd rather not say."

"And I'd rather not hear it" Rusty volunteered, correctly guessing to some degree what Sharon had promised Andy and making both ladies laugh.

"You should have threatened the safety of the turkey."

"Why didn't you suggest that earlier?" Sharon moaned as if what she had bribed Andy with was going to be so horrific for her to endure. "Before I sold my..."

"Still don't want to hear about it" Rusty said again.

"Oil wrestling is their national sport" Michael suddenly blurted out.

Sharon, Nicole and Rusty looked at each other and then back to Michael slightly confused. In reality Michael was the smartest person they knew, a leader in his field of choice, but what he lacked was any sort of common sense or filter on his mouth meaning no one knew what to expect him to say next. "What?" Rusty asked.

"I beg your pardon Michael."

"Oil wrestling" Michael repeated. "You get two bulky men stripped down to the waist, covered in olive oil and they grapple under the sun."

"That sounds like a good Friday night out if you ask me. What do you say Rusty?" Nicole said with a wink, still with no idea why Michael was talking about oil wrestling.

"It sounds like a dream I had except it was peanut butter and the two men were Aristotle and Genghis Khan and they were fighting over me. They wanted to braid my hair" Michael added before everyone laughed.

"That sounds...delightful Michael" Nicole told him, thinking she could start her own Twitter account called 'Weird Stuff My Step-Father Says.'

"Saint Nicholas was from Turkey. You know Santa Claus?" Suddenly Michael's face dropped, a frightened look adorning it like he had discovered the ghost of Margaret Thatcher standing behind him in full clown makeup and brandishing a meat cleaver. He slowly turned to look at Rusty before looking at Sharon. "Wait, he doesn't still believe does he?" he asked Sharon as he pointed at Rusty.

"I'm nearly twenty. I stopped believing a long time ago Michael."

"You know we were talking about the bird and not the country right? About how turkey makes you sleepy?" Nicole informed him after finally realising he was listing facts about the wrong turkey.

"The country?"

"The bird! The meat! The meat Michael!" Nicole said as loudly as possible without waking any of the boys up.

"Oh right. It's a myth" he replied quickly. "Turkey has high levels of tryptophan. Tryptophan is needed for the body to produce serotonin. Serotonin is used to help make melatonin which is a hormone that helps to control your sleep and wake cycles" he informed them and once again proving he wasn't as stupid as he first appeared.

"So it does makes you sleepy?"

"No. It has less tryptophan than chicken. Do you ever feel tired after eating chicken?"

"No" Nicole answered, realising he was right.

"Exactly. Chickens can distinguish over a hundred faces of members of their own species."

Nicole laughed. "Is that a fact?"

"The largest chicken egg ever laid was in China. It weighed 201 grams."

Again Nicole laughed. "Oh Michael, I do love you" she told him.

"Thank you Nicole. I love you too."

Suddenly Andy's head snapped forward, muttering "Cheese fondue" as he woke up.

Sharon, Nicole and Rusty all laughed, all of them having heard Andy say incredibly random things when he woke suddenly before. "What?" Sharon asked him, knowing he wouldn't remember what he'd said but asking all the same.

"What?" Andy looked at Sharon a little confused and disorientated for a moment as his sleepy brain slowly started to get up and running again.

"You said 'Cheese fondue'" Sharon informed him.

"Did I? What happened?"

"You were asleep."

"Was I?"

"Yes."

"Well blame the turkey."

"Actually..." Michael started, ready to repeat everything he knew about turkeys, Turkey and every other random fact that happened to be passing through his mind at that moment.

"That's fine Michael, play with the cars" Nicole encouraged, loving to hear him say the most random things but having had more than enough for one evening.

Sharon looked at Andy's tired face, running a hand down it. "Are you ready to go my boy? Get yourself some proper shut eye?" she asked. It was only nine o'clock but they didn't get much sleep the night before and with Gus to drive home first and the boys already asleep, it felt like the right time to leave.

"I wouldn't say no."

"Tired Dad?"

"Yes. I won't lie, going back to work and getting fit again has been tiring and that's without Rocky here waking me up" he confessed for the first time out loud (Sharon had seen that returning to work had exhausted him but getting him to admit it was another thing entirely) with a yawn as he put his arm around Nicole's shoulders. "Then on top of Midnight Mass I was woken _extremely_ early this morning."

Nicole shook her head. "Dad, the boys were awake every hour on the hour. You don't know what 'extremely early' is."

"I did warn you" Sharon laughed. "Come on, let's get going, make sure Gus gets home okay" Sharon said as she took to her feet.

"I'd best wake the troops to say goodbye" Nicole said as she looked tenderly at her pile of beautiful sleeping boys in the corner of the room, not wanting to wake them but having to all the same.

"I'm just going to get a glass of water."

Sharon took her empty wine glass and went into the kitchen. Sitting at the table was Carol, an empty wine glass before her but a three quarter empty bottle next to it. Sharon stopped briefly as she saw her before continuing to the sink, a slight hitch in her step as a result. "Hi" Sharon said with a smile.

"Hi. Don't mind me I was just hiding for a moment. I bet you can't imagine why."

Sharon put her wine glass in the sink before she got a water glass out of the cabinet. "I was just going to grab a glass of water before we head off home."

"Here have this instead" Carol said as she waved the bottle of wine at her.

"Really Carol I'm fine with water" she insisted. Sharon had switched between wine and water all day with getting drunk (if only slightly) in front of Andy once being one too many times in her opinion.

"There's not much left. I'm sure Andy won't mind waiting five minutes so we could have a drink together. Please Sharon."

The sincerity in Carol's voice made it impossible for Sharon to turn her down, the extra time allowing Andy to wake up a little more before having to drive home she thought. "Okay. Thank you." Sharon sat down at the table as Carol filled her water glass with wine. She smiled at the sight after having joked with Nicole earlier in the day that she should attempt to turn water into wine as her second miracle of the day after getting Andy to behave himself.

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

Carol sipped her wine, savouring the taste for a moment before smiling at Sharon and asking "So, 'Granny Sharon' huh?"

"Yes, it was the boys' decision."

"Of course, I didn't mean anything by it" Carol quickly confirmed. "Those boys already have four Grandmothers, what's one more. Besides without their Mother they can do with the all the love in the world."

"Agreed. Nicole is wonderful with them."

"I always knew she'd be a good Mother. I just hope one day she gets to experience all aspects of motherhood but Dean is naturally uneasy about the subject." Louisa's death had nothing to do with being pregnant and yet everything to do with it. Nicole loved the boys more than anything but she also wanted a child of her own with Dean but he was frightened. He wasn't scared of losing Nicole, after all it wasn't like Louisa had died during child birth but he was still scarred from the experience, not feeling like he'd be able to raise a child on his own again, not with two young boys already if something were to go wrong. He was slowly coming around to the idea though but it was taking some time.

"You can't blame him" Sharon offered, full of sympathy.

"No of course not but I don't want Nicole to miss out on something as wonderful as having a child of her own through fear. The sensation of life growing inside her. Looking into eyes of a person that she made. Plus the stretch-marks, the weight gain."

"The heart burn. The morning sickness" Sharon laughed.

"The labour."

"The screaming at Dean 'If you ever come near me again I'll drop you with a deer rifle.'"

Carol laughed, playing with the stem of her wine glass. "I'm sure Dean will be much better than Andy was in the delivery room. I don't know about you but when I was pushing a human head belonging to a 15 pound baby girl out of my clacker I wasn't in the mood for jokes."

Sharon gasped. "Nicole was 15 pounds?"

"15 pounds 2 ounces" Carol confirmed. "I never thought I'd sit down again."

"I can just imagine" Sharon said as she crossed her legs instinctively. "You've made my eyes water just thinking about it."

"Andy thought it was all hysterical. He's lucky he's still alive. I threw everything I could grab at him" Carol laughed as the memory of beating Andy with a balloon until it burst went through her mind. "What about your ex?"

"He was useless" Sharon sighed. "Not for the first or the last time he proved to be the most unreliable person on the face of the earth. The first time he fainted and he missed the birth of our son altogether."

"Stuck in traffic?"

"Passed out drunk on our living room floor" Sharon stated very casually as Carol began to realise that she had a lot more in common with her than she first thought. "I waited for him to come home and in the end had to drive myself to the hospital. Ricky came very close to being born in the footwell of my car a mile from the hospital."

"Sometimes I think lesbians have the right idea" Carol admitted making Sharon laugh. "Do you live far from here?"

"Just a couple of miles."

"So not far from Nicole then but pretty far from Andy."

"Yes, it is a long commute for him usually but Andy is staying with Rusty and me over the holidays so not today."

"A proper happy little family" Carol said, hoping that Sharon didn't think she was being rude or passing judgement with her words.

"Yes, I like to think we are." Sharon was a little uncertain about discussing Andy and her life with him with Carol because of how she had reacted when she arrived. Carol clearly had a problem with Andy still, even after all this time, not that she could blame her and Sharon didn't want to make matters worse.

"Good" Carol said with a smile. She was genuine. It was irritating but she wanted Andy to be happy. "I hope you're not leaving on my account."

"No, believe me we're not" Sharon said quickly. "We were in bed late last night because of Midnight Mass."

"You got Andy Flynn to go to church?" Carol asked gobsmacked. "You really can work miracles on him."

"It's bribery mainly" Sharon joked. "We also have to drop Gus off home first. It's his first day at a new job tomorrow. We want to make sure he gets home as easily as possible."

"He seems a nice boy. Polite."

"Yes" Sharon agreed. "I think Rusty may have found himself a keeper there."

"But what's with the hideous sweater?" Carol had spent too much time verbally trashing Andy to have chance to question why Gus was wearing something so abhorrent.

Sharon laughed. "That was Andy's idea of a…"

Carol held her hand up to stop Sharon, hearing all she needed to. "You don't need to go any further. I see he still thinks he's funny."

"He thinks he's hysterical" Sharon laughed, herself thinking Andy was funny, laughing together constantly.

"He always did which I suppose he was from time to time" Carol said a little wistfully.

"But then things stopped being funny."

"Inevitably when he was drunk all the time." Carol sighed, a sadness still there. As Sharon looked at her she knew exactly how she felt since she could have been describing her own relationship with Jack. They both remained silent for a moment, thinking about their separate histories with men who loved the bottle more than they loved them until Carol said "Can I say what a wonderful young man Rusty is. He's always so lovely and kind when I've seen him and he's great with the boys. I admire you Sharon. Nicole told me how you came to adopt him and it's an extraordinary thing you did, an act of pure unselfishness."

"Oh it was purely selfish" Sharon revealed. "He's been one of the great joys of my life. He's an extraordinary young man and it's been my pleasure to see him prosper."

On the other side of the closed kitchen door Nicole stood with her ear pressed up against it, her eyes wide as she listened to her Mom and Sharon talk. Suddenly Rusty appeared behind her, making her jump when he spoke. "What's going on?"

"They're talking to each other. And drinking. Talking and drinking" Nicole whispered.

"Should we tell Andy?"

"Only if we want to add screaming to the mix and I don't know about you but I think it'd be good and a nice change if Dad didn't pass out today. We need to keep him in the living room."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Rusty asked.

Nicole shrugged. "With a whip and a chair" she suggested before putting her hand on Rusty's back and getting him to lead the way back into the living room, leaving Carol and Sharon to talk for a bit longer.

"This is awkward so I'm just going to say it" Carol suddenly blurted out. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry Sharon. I'm sorry for my behaviour tonight but it won't come as a shock to you to learn that Andy Flynn has the habit of bringing out the worst in me" she explained without any need.

"You're not the first person to say that" Sharon joked.

"Or probably the last" Carol agreed. "I don't mean any offense to you at all and I hope my behaviour tonight, what I've said has not upset you" she added, more hopeful than optimistic as she took Sharon's hand. "That was never my intention. From what I've seen you're a lovely person and I'm so glad that you and Nicole get along as well as you do and you're here for her and those beautiful boys. I'm grateful for that and I really appreciate it."

"But?" Sharon encouraged.

"What makes you think there's a 'but'?" Sharon just smiled at Carol in silence, waiting for her to continue. "Okay. Honestly it is wonderful to see Andy so happy and settled and not least sober, it really is. I honestly mean that if for no other reason than for the sake of my children. It's important to me, really important to me that he's settled and sober for my children but I can't deny that it also irritates the crap out of me at the same time" she said honestly as she rested her head on the kitchen table.

"I know. I understand fully."

"Do you?"

"Carol you're not the only woman in this world to have had a lousy first husband. You're not the only woman in this room in fact" Sharon pointed out. "I was married for a lot longer than I should have been, legally separated almost as long and to see him settled, would be, I imagine, pleasing for the sake of my children but hard to take at the same time." In truth Sharon didn't know how she'd feel other than she hoped she'd react better than Carol had. She wanted Emily and Ricky to have the same relationship with Jack that Nicole had with Andy, she wanted him to be sober and settled but agreed with Carol that it would also be hard to swallow.

"Do you know what it is? And let me get this clear first, I love Michael, I do. He may not be the smartest man in the world, sometimes it's like living with Forrest Gump but I love him with all my heart" Carol said of the love of her life.

"He can't be that bad" Sharon said generously, having heard for herself just how stupid Michael could be at times.

"Sharon let's not lie to each other. It's beyond me how such an intelligent man can be so mind boggling stupid." Carol shook her head as Sharon tried not to laugh. "Ninety nine percent of what he does at work, at the university, I don't understand. Ask him anything about quantum mechanics and he'll blow your tiny mind with how smart he is and yet seven times I've had to buy a new microwave because he's put a soup can in it. Last week I bought an expensive bottle of wine to bring today. Before I left the house I asked Michael 'Where's the Cabernet?' Do you know what he said? 'Next to Cabin B.'" Again Sharon stifled a chuckle but unsuccessfully so. "Please, feel free to laugh, I do" Carol admitted as they shared a good laugh together. "Still, I love him. I do" she added, glowing as she said it. "But I look at Andy and I see him, so happy, so settled and suddenly a really good man, the man I always thought he could be, the man he was when we first got married and not forgetting sober and I have to ask 'Why couldn't he be like that for me'? What was it about me that made him drink? That made him so miserable? What made me so miserable? What was it about him, me, us that helped to make our marriage the train crash that it was? Why did that happen when it's the complete opposite for you? What's your secret?"

Sharon thought for a moment, processing every question Carol had asked about Andy and realising that she had asked many of the same questions herself about Jack. "There is no secret" she said finally. "It has nothing to do with me. We both met him at very different stages in his life. He's changed. I first met him at work before he stopped drinking and I've seen it for myself. He's changed so much and he's worked really hard" Sharon continued proudly. "He's worked hard to cut out bad habits, to stop drinking, to make amends with everyone in his life, to be a good Father. I've only come in right at the very end. Really I have no idea how much hard work it's taken, I just get to benefit from it now for taking a risk and choosing to be with him." Sharon smiled as she rested her hand on Carol's. "Carol believe me I've asked the same questions about my ex-husband except he hasn't even attempted to change like Andy has. One day I hope Jack will find a reason to be sober because I certainly wasn't enough to make him stop, neither were his children but Nicole and Daniel were enough for Andy. They were the reason he stopped."

"He's really sober now?" Carol asked.

"Twenty years."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"It's just I've heard this before" Carol told her, still wearing her battle scars like a badge of honour. "Many, many times in fact even after we got divorced."

"I know. I've heard the same thing from Jack but it never lasted long. In Andy's case yes he's sober and he intends to stay that way for Nicole and Daniel" Sharon assured her, her now knowing Andy better than Carol ever did.

"And you."

Sharon smiled. "Yes and me, I hope but also and more importantly for himself." Since Andy was sober for nearly two decades before they started dating no one would claim that he did it for Sharon but it was clear that she was now one of the reasons why he battled so hard to stay sober now more than ever.

"And you trust him when it comes to his drinking?" Carol asked, sounding suspicious.

"You say that like I shouldn't."

"Personally I wouldn't but I spent too much time with him when he drank. I was on the other end of too many broken promises. Too many lies." Carol paused as she smiled. "He does seem happy, really happy."

"I think he is."

"Now that's because of you."

"I wouldn't go that far" Sharon said even though Carol's words made her feel good about herself. "For lots of reasons. Work is going well, yes I hope I make him happy but he also has a really solid relationship with Nicole now."

"Well that's definitely down to you. If you hadn't come with him to her wedding and made him come I think it may well have been the last straw. Nicole will forgive a lot of things when it comes to her Father but she wouldn't have forgiven that" Carol rightly pointed out.

"I can't take the credit. He had already decided he was going to go before I offered to accompany him." As much as anyone likes being flattered it was vitally important to Sharon that Andy got all the credit he deserved and that Carol knew precisely that.

"But your presence helped" Carol made a point of saying, thinking Sharon deserved just as much credit. "It made him stay despite the best efforts of my family and now look at them, they're as thick as thieves. They're like they were when she was little, before he started drinking. A real Daddy's girl." Carol smiled. "It makes me so happy to see them. All I ever wanted was for my children to have a good relationship with their Father."

"I know the feeling but a lot of women wouldn't do that you know."

"Do what?"

"Push for their ex to have a close relationship with their children. In my line of work I see it all too often, Mothers poisoning their children against their Fathers."

"Believe me I've tried" Carol said, her words laced with regret.

"Me too but it doesn't make you feel any better."

"No it doesn't. They deserve to have a happy Father in their lives no matter how much I'd like to use a nail gun to pin his scrotum to the floor." After initially being shocked by Carol's words and the image that conjured up, Sharon couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry" Carol said as she put her head in her hands, not wanting to say these things but finding them escaping her lips regardless.

"No need to apologise" Sharon said as she continued to laugh.

"I do try to keep my opinions to myself and I've always encouraged them to see him, encouraged them to phone him, both of them" Carol explained having always put a good relationship between the Flynns ahead of her own personal feelings.

"How is Daniel?"

"He's fine" Carol replied brightly. "In line for a promotion at work which is all very exciting. Andy hasn't seen much of him?"

"Not since he came to see him at the hospital. In fact that's only the second time I've ever met him."

"He looks just like him doesn't he" Carol said, an understatement if ever there was one with Daniel looking like spit out of Andy's mouth they were so alike physically.

"Without a doubt. It's those eyes and that smile" Sharon gushed.

"And yet in every other way he takes after me. Nicole on the other hand takes after my side of the family physically but in every other way she's her Father's daughter. I'd hoped Daniel may come with us this evening, push them together a little bit but he opted for an evening with his girlfriend's family instead."

"You can't blame him for that" Sharon empathised although she suspected there hadn't been much of a debate about it with Daniel not even contemplating coming with them.

"No but I would have liked him to spend some time with his Father over the holidays" Carol sighed. "Maybe you can use your magic on him and Andy like you did with Nicole and Andy."

Sharon laughed. "There's no magic. I should be the one thanking Nicole. If she hadn't married Dean then Andy wouldn't have needed anyone to go with him. In many ways that was our first unofficial date which led to this" she said, relaxing more about discussing Andy with Carol the more she relaxed, despite the peril that his testicles were in from time to time.

"And a lot of lies in between" Carol smirked into her wine after having heard the whole gory story from Nicole the previous Christmas resulting in her grinning and laughing at Andy without him knowing why all Christmas Day.

"Not lies, just half-truths and I admit I may have contributed to the misunderstanding with my behaviour at the wedding."

"'May have'?" Carol asked with a raise of her eyebrows. "You had your hands all over him on the dance floor. Don't worry Nicole told me all about your initial bout of denial about whether you were an item. I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to claim him either" Carol added dryly before laughing into her wine.

"We weren't dating at the time of the wedding" Sharon stated.

"If you insist. Andy very much wears his heart on his sleeve and I could tell the last time that we went to the ballet together that he was in love with you. It's so completely shittingly irritating" she exclaimed as her head went into her hands again while Sharon smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I want him to be happy, honestly I do but if he could just not quite be this happy. Tone it down a little. I know that's selfish and I've no right especially since I got remarried first and I'm the happiest I've ever been but's it's…it's beyond irritating and frustrating" she confessed once again.

"There's really no need to apologise. I imagine I'd feel the same way if my ex ever decides to grow up, settle down and be a proper Father twenty years too late but sadly there's more chance of…"

"Of Andy going a whole day without calling someone an 'Idiot'?" Carol suggested.

"Indeed" Sharon laughed.

"Thank you Sharon."

"For what?"

"For taking care of the Father of my children" Carol said kindly. "I hate to see him so happy but I'm glad he is. I can see now why they all like you so much. Of course that makes it incredibly hard to hate you now but I'll try my very best" she joked making Sharon laugh. "Did you really give him a black eye?"

"Oh yeah. He woke me up right after I did it screaming like a pig" Sharon told her as she rolled her eyes at his reaction to the first gentle 'love tap' she gave him in the night. "After that I apparently punched him in the ear and kicked him in the crotch." Carol laughed hysterically as Sharon joined in with her. "Well I hadn't shared a bed with anyone in a while, I forget he was there."

"How I wish you could still see it. I would have loved that photo."

"He came to bed the next night in a hockey mask."

Carol shook her head and laughed. "Oh he always has been one to overreact. But let's go back a little, how could you forget he was in bed with you?" she asked beyond confused since she'd had more experience than Sharon in sharing a bed with Andy Flynn. "Sleeping next to that man is like sleeping next to a furnace…only a furnace covered in hair."

Again they both laughed. "I know. He must be the hottest person on the face of the earth."

"And the hairiest. I used to wait until he was passed out and put waxing strips all over his body" Carol confessed with glee. "Then when I wanted to make him wake up and suffer the most I'd rip them off. If only I could have recorded those screams, they'd be my ringtone."

"I've already warned him, the first time we have a proper argument he's waking up to find a waxing strip attached to his chest."

Carol closed her eyes, summoning up the image of Andy with bright red patches of skin on his chest after she'd ripped the strips off. "Words cannot express the pleasure you get from his screams when you do it. It's glorious."

"It actually wakes him up?" Sharon asked surprised.

"Instantly, it was the only thing I ever found that did."

"Other than holding his nose closed."

"I didn't do that. There was a very good chance I wouldn't release it again so I left it alone" Carol said honestly.

"He tells me he wasn't always a heavy sleeper, that he did his fair share of night time feeds."

"That is true but only after I'd kicked him out of bed to wake him up to do it" Carol joked. "Do you really keep punching him in your sleep?" she asked, enjoying the idea of it.

"Yes. Mostly by accident" Sharon replied making them both laugh.

Back in the living room with everyone now awake and Rusty and Gus ready to leave, Andy had finally noticed that Sharon went for a glass of water ten minutes ago and hadn't come back. "Where's Sharon?" he asked as he looked about the room as if she could be hiding behind a couch cushion or the Christmas tree.

"I'm not sure" Rusty said as he glanced at Nicole, beginning to panic.

"Didn't you say she went to get a glass of water?" Gus said.

Andy looked at his watch. "Ten minutes ago." He thought for a moment as he suddenly went as white as a sheet. "Wait. Oh crap! Where's Carol? Oh no!" he said as he set off towards the kitchen.

"No Dad! Wait! Boys grab his legs!"

Suddenly Justin and Robin jumped to their feet, chased after Andy and grabbed hold of one of his legs each, making it virtually impossible for him to walk with the weight. "What are you doing?" Andy asked Nicole as he tried to shake the boys off.

"Saving you from yourself. Look they're just having a little talk in the kitchen. Best leave them to it."

"You knew about this?" Andy asked horrified, worried he'd walk into the kitchen and find Carol standing over Sharon's lifeless body.

"Rusty and I may have overheard..."

"You knew?" Andy glared at Rusty. "Why didn't you warn me?"

"We thought it might be nice if you didn't pass out today. It is Christmas" Rusty shrugged.

Andy rolled his eyes, not for the first time irritated that people fussed about his health, making it seem like he kept collapsing on purpose before staggering to the kitchen door with the boys still attached to his legs. "Dad! Please don't overreact!" Nicole called after him.

When Andy reached the kitchen door he pressed his ear up against it. His relief was palpable when he heard Sharon talking and therefore still alive and kicking in there but slightly horrified to hear both her and Carol laughing together and he didn't need to guess about what.

Unaware of Andy's presence at the door, Carol continued to laugh as she told Sharon a story. "So there was Andy, standing in two feet of snow in nothing but a pair of socks and banging frantically on the door to be let back in."

Sharon joined Carol in laughing, wiping the tears from her eyes as she pictured the scene in her head. "I can't imagine how cold he must have been."

"Cold enough to ensure certain parts of his anatomy didn't put in an appearance again for over twenty four hours if you get my meaning."

As they both laughed hysterically once again Andy burst through the door looking frantic, both boys still attached to his legs, as he sought an end to whatever Sharon and Carol were discussing. Staring at them while they laughed Andy made a noise very much like Hannibal Lector after he had just finished talking about eating liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. "Oooooh, hello. What's going on in here?" he asked, breathing rapidly.

"Nothing much. We were just talking" Carol answered as Dean appeared behind Andy, beckoning the boys towards him and getting them out of the firing line and back into the relative safety of the living room as quickly as possible.

"What about?" Andy asked, knowing full well that Carol had been telling tales about him.

"About you mostly" Sharon said with a wink.

As beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead he managed to squeak out "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Carol asked, smiling at Sharon.

"Okay I think I'm having a stroke" Andy said as he held his head and leant against the kitchen island for support.

"We've been sharing notes" Sharon teased.

"Care instructions. How best to handle you" Carol added.

"Then we've been comparing all the characteristics you share with a bear."

"What?" Andy said again as his head started to pound.

"Like your fur coat" Sharon pointed out.

"Your ability to sleep almost all winter."

"And your incredibly bear like bad temper."

"Not forgetting that growl that he does..." Carol started as Andy's eyes widened.

"Oh yes, right when he..." Sharon continued.

"STOP IT!" Andy shouted incredibly loudly, tugging on his earlobe until it was red raw, stressed at being ganged up on once again by two women who knew him well, very well. As nice as it was that Carol hadn't in fact murdered Sharon and they had it seemed started to bond a little, what Carol could have told Sharon was a terrifying prospect.

"Oh calm down you big dope, I've got better things to waste my time on than talking about you with the future Mrs Flynn" Carol lied convincingly as she finished her wine. The silence as she swallowed gave Carol just enough time to notice how much Andy's was sweating. "Now I've caused him to panic. Look at that vain bulging on his forehead. Good luck Sharon getting him to commit."

Even though she was enjoying it Sharon quickly sought to calm and reassure Andy since he was nearly yanking his ear off. "Andy, trust me, there is very little that Carol could tell me about you that's worse than what Lieutenant Provenza let slip the other night" she told him as she stood to run her arm around his waist and squeeze him.

"Louie Provenza? That's a name I haven't heard for a while. Does he still look like a pug chewing a wasp? How is he?"

"Great" Sharon confirmed.

"Still at work?"

"Of course and getting married again" Andy told her as he began to relax a little, letting go of his ear and putting his arm around Sharon, not above using her as a human shield if need be.

"Again? How many is this now? Three? No four?"

"Six."

"Six?" Carol questioned, utterly gobsmacked.

Andy nodded. "Yes. Fifth wife, sixth marriage."

"Someone married him twice?"

"What's going on out here?" Nicole asked innocently as she slowly entered the kitchen, making sure the coast was clear. Quickly noticing that everyone had their limps intact she glanced at Andy and his somewhat anxious disposition. "Dad are you sweating? Are you okay? What's happening?"

"Nothing" Carol told her with a smile.

"Nothing at all" Sharon confirmed, also smiling wildly.

"Oh you're ganging up on him!" Nicole exclaimed with joy and a certain amount of relief as she jumped up and down. "Yes! Let me join in!" Seeing the distressed look on Andy's sweaty face she put her arm around him. "Oh God Dad, calm down, you look like you're about to pass out."

"I am if only to stop this conversation from going any further."

"Excuse me mister, we had an agreement" Sharon said as she jabbed him in the chest. "You promised me two days ago you were going to stop collapsing in front of me."

"Oh that's just Andy, he's full of broken promises" Carol said quickly. "Sorry force of habit."

Sharon laughed. "But you're right. I investigated him far too many times to not know that his promises aren't always as solid as they should be."

"You investigated him?" Carol asked, her interest peaking.

"Oh many many times when I was working in Professional Standards."

"What for?"

"You name it, he did it. It helped a great deal that I can tell when he's lying."

"Me too" Carol nodded. "It's usually when his lips are moving. I'm kidding."

After quickly glaring at her Mother despite the fact she was joking, Nicole turned her attention to Sharon and this intriguing development. "You can? How?"

"Well you see his..."

"Banana! Okay! Banana!" Andy cried pleadingly at Sharon as he rubbed his ear once more, not wanting Carol to have any more ammunition to fire at him.

Carol looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means he'd like us to change the subject." Sharon slowly rubbed his back as she leant into him, letting him know that she would put an end to his torment.

Nicole laughed as Andy continued to look like he was being tortured which in some way he was. "Look at your little face. This is the last time I promise but you're so adorable" Nicole told him yet again as she hugged him.

"I hate to break up the party here but Rusty and Gus are ready. Are you ready to go?" Andy asked Sharon, his eyes showing her just how desperate he was to leave.

"I am."

Carol took to her feet. "Let me go and say goodbye to them. Goodbye Sharon" she said as she hugged her gently. "It's been a pleasure once again."

"Likewise."

"Andrew. You've finally found yourself a good one here. Try not to be you and screw it up."

"I won't. Should you have left Michael on his own this long? He's probably eaten half the kitty litter by now" he replied, a smile on his face showing it was all good natured.

"Then he won't be the only man I've been married to that's full of shit will he?"

"True. After you've said goodbye to the boys can you move your broomstick so I can get my car out?"

"Touché!" Carol laughed. "It's lovely to see you looking so well. You had me worried for a moment. Take care, asshole."

"You too. Merry..." Andy paused for a moment before quickly saying, "Christmas Carol" and smiling.

Carol sighed, having heard him say that very same thing about a thousand times before. "It never gets old does it?"

"Never."

"Merry Christmas Andy" Carol said before kissing him on the cheek and heading out the kitchen to say goodbye to Rusty and Gus.

"My parents ladies and gentlemen" Nicole laughed as she followed her Mother.

Alone at last Andy sighed and turned to Sharon, worry marking his face more than it should for Christmas Day. "What have you been talking about?" he asked nervously.

"You" Sharon told him before pressing their lips together. "Naturally" she added, kissing him again.

"And?"

"I'm still leaving with you so you do the math" she told him before kissing him once more. "Come on, take me home" she added as she took his hand and walked into the hall where everyone was assembled waiting for them to say goodbye. Sharon released Andy's hand so she could hug Nicole, kissing her on the cheek first. "Thank you so much Nicole, for everything. I've had a wonderful day."

"No thank you for coming" Nicole replied, still holding her tightly. "And seriously Sharon thank you for everything. Thank you for making him so happy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you" she repeated as they broke apart and she took Sharon's hands. "You are my hero. There's Wonder Woman, Hilary Clinton and then you."

"Wonder Woman?" Sharon laughed.

"She has an invisible jet, who doesn't want one of those? "

"How exactly would one use the bathroom on an invisible jet?" Michael asked.

"Thank you Michael" Nicole said quickly before turning her attention back to Sharon. "I'm serious Sharon. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure" she smiled as she glanced at Andy standing next to her, himself wearing the largest of grins as he watched the two women in his life become so close.

"I can tell but don't say it too loud you'll give him a big head."

"He already has one" Sharon confirmed as she briefly took Andy's hand. "Dean, boys, thank you for a lovely day" she told them as she hugged and kissed them individually with Andy following behind and doing likewise. Finally Sharon hugged Carol again, telling her "It's been lovely to see you."

"I hope you lie better than this with murder suspects. Merry Christmas."

Sharon kissed Michael on the cheek and then went and stood next to Rusty and Gus by the front door as Andy finished his goodbyes. He shook Michael's hand before kissing Carol on the cheek. Everything about it was so friendly, the complete opposite from the start of the evening, the result being that Nicole smiled widely at them, hoping that this may be the start of more friendly gatherings with all her family in the future. Finally Andy turned to Nicole, hugging her tightly and lifting her off the ground a little like he did when she was a girl, making her squeal. "Goodnight sweetheart."

"Goodnight and Merry Christmas Dad."

Andy put Nicole back down before following Rusty and Gus outside, taking Sharon's hand along the way. Nicole watched them walk to the car with mission accomplished. Despite the small hiccup in the middle which she regretted not putting an end to earlier, it had been a wonderful day and exactly what she hoped for when she invited them over, a lovely family Christmas.

The journey to drop Gus home and then back to the condo was an uneventful one, filled with Christmas music on the radio and Rusty and Gus chattering away to each other in the back seat. When they got back home Rusty went straight to bed, exhausted from a late night and an early morning (and no sleep the night before as he lay in bed after his first date unable to do anything but think about Gus with Andy being perfectly right about that). Similarly Sharon and Andy were also shattered and after she phoned Ricky to make sure he hadn't ended up at the ER with a broken leg and had a shower they both got ready for bed.

Dressed for bed in one of Andy's shirts (the blue one she'd had her eyes on for several days and had finally stolen the moment his back was turned) Sharon finished up her nightly ablutions in front of the mirror above the sink in the bathroom. Applying moisturiser to her face, arms and hands she caught sight of Andy in the mirror. He was standing in the doorway wearing a t-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms (the first time Sharon had seem him clad in any sort of proper nightwear making her wonder if he was hiding his Christmas boxers underneath before they were unveiled for her pleasure later), leaning against the frame, a smile on his face, just watching her.

"Hey pretty lady."

"Hey yourself" she replied as she squinted at him in the mirror. Without her glasses she couldn't see him clearly but she could see enough to know that the look on his face suggested he was probably planning on doing something he shouldn't. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing."

"Yes you are."

"What makes you say that?" Andy asked innocently.

"That look on your face. It screams 'I'm up to no good and I'm happy about it.'"

"I'm just watching you. That's all. Watching you makes me smile."

"I thought bothering me made you smile."

"Well that too" he laughed. With Sharon still busy rubbing cream into her skin Andy walked up behind her, quickly wrapped his arms around her and blew a raspberry on her neck. Satisfied that she had squealed enough under his lips he walked across to the shower, sitting on the floor against the door, his knees in the air, an elbow resting on one with his head in his hand, watching her and smiling.

"Have you done all your man jobs?"

"Yep. Doors locked. Lights off" Andy confirmed. Since that first night he had stayed there Andy had insisted on doing these kind of jobs at night, calling them 'Man Jobs' and wanting to take care of her and Rusty in this small way. She'd told him before that she didn't need anyone to take care of her but in this instance she didn't object, she actually liked that he insisted on doing it for her.

"Are you okay?" Sharon asked.

"I'm fine" Andy replied if not in the usually bright way he normally did.

"You look...I don't know" Sharon mused. "There's a look of melancholy about your mischief tonight." Andy didn't reply, just shrugged his shoulders at her. "This isn't to do with what Carol said tonight is it? You've not let her get to you I hope."

"No. Far from it. Emotional day that's all" he said honestly and it had been. "You were right this morning, it's been over thirty years since I last woke up next to someone I loved...no...woke up next to someone that I was in love _with_ on Christmas Day" he admitted.

"Well let this be the first of many" Sharon told him before bending down to kiss him and then returning back to the mirror.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Good. I want you to." Andy continued to stare at Sharon in silence as she went about her nightly routine. "I was very proud of you today and I know I wasn't the only one" she told him to break the silence.

"I can't take all the credit. I was offered a hefty reward if I behaved myself" he smirked.

"I know that's not the real reason."

"No, I thought about what you said and you were right" he shrugged. "The more I just sat there and took it the better I looked and the worse she did. Not exactly in the spirit of the season but at the end of the day she's only got herself to blame." He paused for a second, playing with the string on his pyjama bottoms with his fingertips. "What were the two of you talking about in the kitchen?"

"You mainly." Andy immediately looked stricken. "Don't panic" she said with a smile. Seeing he needed her undivided attention Sharon sat down on the floor next to him, joining him in leaning against the shower door. "To cut a long story short for the sake of your children and their relationship with you she is thrilled that you're sober, settled and happy. But from a personal point of view she's..."

"Beyond pissed off?" Andy correctly guessed.

"Something along those lines. I won't use the exact words she did and if she ever comes near you with a nail gun run a mile and call me immediately but I can understand where she's coming from. If...no let's be optimistic about this, when Jack shows up sober and settled I'll be thrilled for Emily and Ricky but there may also be a little 'Why couldn't you do that for me?' at the back of my mind too. When I say 'a little' I mean a lot" Sharon explained, hoping Andy would understand where Carol was coming from.

"Well he's just an idiot but I will admit it's how I felt when Carol brought in my replacement and paraded him in front of me like the world's stupidest show pony" Andy said, his regret clear as day.

Sharon took Andy's hand in hers, drawing it into her lap and holding it tightly. For such a confident man it was always a shock to her to see just how insecure he still was when it came to his children. "Michael is hardly your replacement" she sighed.

"That's what it felt like when I could only watch while he got lost driving my kids to school and ballet classes and soccer practice and they wouldn't even give me the time of day."

"He'll never be their Dad and after watching Nicole with both of you today you have nothing to fear in that department believe me" Sharon smiled. There was no doubt that Nicole had a wonderful relationship with Michael but more often than not she looked at him lovingly but like a one eyed puppy she found in an alley. When Nicole and Andy were together she would inadvertently and unintentionally ignore everyone else in the room because all she wanted to do was talk to him, spend time with him, her face lighting up the moment she saw him.

"I suppose I should be grateful that Carol and the kids had someone that made them happy since I wasn't up to the job but it hardly helped me get sober" Andy admitted as he rested his head on the shower door.

"It's hard but yes, you should be grateful towards him. Regardless without any doubt Carol's loss is most definitely my gain." Sharon put a hand on Andy's cheek, turning him to face her so she could kiss him gently on the lips.

Their kiss lingered for a moment, Andy savouring the moment after what was on the whole an insecure few hours for him. He smiled at her after they broke apart before asking "After another five hours with him will you admit that I'm right about Michael?" He smiled at her smugly, waiting for her to crumble and admit that his replacement was so stupid it baffled people how he was still alive.

"Fine you may have a point about him" Sharon reluctantly admitted before laughing. "What was all that about with the horse? I thought Rusty and Gus were going to pass out they were laughing so hard. How can anyone so intelligent be so unbelievably stupid?" she questioned as she continued to laugh.

"I have no idea. The guy gets lost in his own college. Nicole told me they've painted a red line on the floor for him to follow because he kept getting lost between his office and the men's room."

"Well maybe it..."

"It's next door!"

Sharon laughed again. "I know you don't like him and you have every right not to and yes admittedly he is quite simply the stupidest person I've ever met but he is a nice guy."

"Yeah I know and I have to like him really. With what he does at work he's one mistake away from being the world's stupidest super villain."

Sharon smirked as she played with Andy's fingers in her lap, stroking them gently before meeting his eye. "You know Carol told me she did try to get Daniel to come today. She really did."

"I don't doubt it but he was never going to be there if I was. I feel bad, like I've robbed Nicole of some time with her brother" Andy revealed quietly and more than a touch penitently.

"Oh Andy don't be ridiculous. It won't be forever, trust me, not with Nicole and Carol whispering positive things in his ear about you. You just have to be patient."

"I know. I have no other choice."

Sharon smiled, resting her head on Andy's shoulder. "You could blame yourself, it's abundantly clear where he gets his stubborn streak from" she told him, squeezing his hand so he had no way of missing her point no matter how stubborn he was.

"That's the only thing he got from me. He's his Mother's son in every other way shape and form" Andy added with a rise of his eyebrows.

"You're forgetting his incredible good looks" Sharon winked.

"Well there is that" Andy smiled.

As he fell silent Andy kept his eyes locked on Sharon's. Andy had a look in his eye. A look she had seen from him countless times before over the course of their relationship. She knew he was about to or rather wanted to say something important, or at least important in his mind, sometimes it was utter nonsense but regardless it always something he desperately wanted to say to her. He gave her the same look as she was thrown out of his hospital room as he was suddenly prepped for surgery on Thanksgiving as, like her, he struggled to say 'I love you' for the first time. It was also a look he'd given her dozens of times before she was finally the first one to tell him that she loved him. She remembered the first time she'd seen it, the moment after they shared their first proper kiss.

After date number thirty and nearly two months together Sharon decided to take the next step with Andy and led the way since he was a little slow on reading her signals (a trait which had continued until very recently). Up until that point they had kissed each other very chastely and that was really it. After they bid each other a fond goodnight in the hallway outside her condo (Rusty was inside so any displays of affection were avoided altogether in his presence at that point) they shared their customary embrace and gentle coming together of their lips. Then Sharon smiled at him and said 'I think we can do better than that' before kissing him to within an inch of his life. It was a long kiss, filled with unbridled passion that Sharon had tried her best to keep at bay while she ensured their relationship was going to work before passing the point of no return. Sharon had no intention of taking things any further right there and then but while they were in the relative privacy of the hallway she allowed him to press up against her as her body banged into her front door (luckily Rusty was in his bedroom and didn't answer it thinking someone was knocking). Andy as always kept his hands to himself and let them vanish into her hair rather than sending them on a much more pleasurable journey south of the border like he desperately wanted. Sharon on the other had no such qualms as she let her hands venture to his backside and squeezed it like she was checking a cantaloupe for freshness, something she continued to do and had done that day. They were only interrupted (not that it was going to go any further on that occasion) by Sharon's neighbour Mrs Rose coughing loudly and clearly disgusted by the behaviour that she saw while unlocking her door after returning home from her book club. Sharon laughed hysterically as she remained in Andy's arms. She hadn't been caught making out like that since she was about sixteen years old. Andy on the other hand looked beyond surprised at this sudden and completely unexpected assault on both his lips and his backside. Once he'd come back to his senses Andy smiled before joining their lips together again but in a much more chastely fashion. Then his face changed, he had a look to him like he was about to say something but was perhaps nervous about saying it.

Suddenly he said 'Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be tomorrow.'

Yes it was a line spoken by a teenage girl and she knew he'd memorised it just to impress her when the opportunity presented itself (because Andy was many things but a fan of Shakespeare and _Romeo & Juliet_ in particular was not one of them) but Sharon couldn't help but fall for him a little harder in that moment. Since then she had become accustomed to that look, that look that said he had something he desperately wanted to say.

"Can I ask you a question?" Andy finally asked, a little bit of hesitancy in his voice.

"Of course" Sharon smiled, trying to encourage him. It was clear from the moment she noticed him standing behind her and watching her in the mirror that there was something bothering him and the sooner he spat it out and she could try to make him feel more like his old self, the better.

"I was speaking to Nicole today and she suggested that I was fretting over nothing and putting the cart before the horse and I'm not, I'm really not but she said I should at least mention it just to find out" he rambled, speaking quickly and not entirely coherently as a thousand thoughts passed through his mind and tried to flow past his lips at the same time. "I'm not planning on it imminently but I had thought about it for the future and that I guess has made me worry about aspects of it and how you'll react because first and foremost I respect you Sharon and what you believe and..."

Sharon had to cut him as she looked at him confused. "Andy you're rambling."

"I'm nervous. You make me nervous."

"Still?" Sharon asked surprised, still clutching his hand tightly in her lap.

"Still. Always. Until my dying day" he admitted shyly.

Sharon smiled at him before gently meeting his lips and asking "What do you have to..."

"Is marriage off the table?" he suddenly blurted out, opting to get it over and done with in search of an answer rather than prolong his agony, an agony he'd been in since he impulsively bought the ring and even more so since he had spoken to Nicole in the kitchen before dinner.

"What?" Sharon was thankful to Nicole had she had been forewarned about what was going on in Andy's head in regard to their future together but was still left surprised that it had been bothering him to the extent that he had felt compelled to ask the question while they sat on the bathroom floor as Christmas Day drew to a close.

"Between us I mean. Will we ever be in the position where we might one day get married? I'm not asking right now obviously" he said nervously as he briefly met her eye before looking away again, worried about reading anything into her facial expression that he wasn't yet ready to see. "We've only been together six months and we're clearly not ready but Nicole joking about it got me thinking and I guess fretting a little and I just wanted to know."

"It's very early to have this discussion don't you think?" Sharon said, trying to calm him down as much as anything.

"Not if it's ruled out from the get go" he said quietly. "I'm not saying that it's a prerequisite or that I'd end things if it wasn't a possibility. I'll be honest Sharon I want to marry you one day but if you don't feel like you can because of your...our religion then that's fine and I accept that because I just want to be with you. I love you more than anything and I want to spend the rest of my life with you but I need to know one way or another where this is going. Where this is headed. If it's heading to us just one day living together and that's it then fine but I need to know." As they had driven Gus home and then returned to the condo Andy had thought about nothing else, wanting to ask her the question but feeling like he would never have the courage. What he realised as he kept stealing glances at the beautiful women sitting next to him in the car was that it really didn't matter. If they couldn't get married then that was fine, in the great scheme of things it wasn't a problem. All he wanted was to spend the rest of his life with her and that could be accomplished without sliding rings on fingers. And yet he felt compelled to ask the question so that he would at least know, he wouldn't plan an elaborate proposal in his mind that he would never get to use.

"You're rambling again."

"I know." Andy took a deep breath, trying to compose himself enough so that Sharon would fully understand what he was asking her. "What I'm trying to say is if it's not a possibility I need you to tell me."

Once again Andy's obvious insecurities when it came to the people he loved floored her, insecurities that were a result of being completely cut out of his family's life at one point in his life until he made a meaningful effort to become sober. "Why would you think that?"

"Because we're both divorced and both Catholic, sort of. I know we're different in the way we approach things. You go to Mass and Confession and truly believe and I'm the choir boy who hid from Nuns and hates stepping foot in church" Andy said with a smile, a smile that had been sadly missing for most of this conversation. "I know how important your faith is to you and I thought that perhaps because of that, because there are no real grounds for an annulment and because we couldn't do it before God or whatever that it wasn't an option for us."

"Is this why you react like you do when Nicole jokes about it? Because you're worried I don't want to ever marry you?"

"Not don't, can't" he corrected her. "If your mind is set because regardless of your divorce you still feel married and in the eyes of God you are still married and so am I for that matter and we can never be together like that then that's fine but Nicole pointed out today that I should at least ask you to clarify things so I stop fretting about it at least. I feel like we should both be on the same page. If I see a ring sometime it would be nice to know if you'll wear it" he said, more than anything using it as a tester to see if Sharon had caught sight of the ring her had already purchased in his bedroom without him noticing. "If you can't marry me then that's fine and I'll accept that, not right not maybe but eventually and I'd rather get used to accepting it now rather than in eighteen months from now when you say no in a restaurant full of people."

"Oh Andy! Sometimes I forget what a stupid man you are" Sharon laughed as she kissed him quickly on the lips a couple of times.

"Thank you."

Sharon squeezed his hand again as she thought for a moment. "Andy, which do you think is more important to me? You or my religion?"

"I wouldn't want to hazard a guess."

"Andy I may not be ready for it next week or next month or next year but yes, marriage, marrying you is definitely on the table. You are without a shadow of a doubt the love of my life and along with my children you are the reason I get up in the morning. And one day when we're both ready, after we've made enough of those baby steps you like to grumble about I want to be your wife and I will slide a ring on this finger" she said as she singled it out and placed a kiss on where a ring would be placed. "It may not be recognised by my church or by God but that won't stop me from standing before my family and friends and proclaiming this is the man, that you are the man I want to spend the rest of my life with despite the fact that you're an incredible idiot" she joked before she kissed him again, her feeling his lips turn upwards as they moved against hers, knowing that when they pulled apart there would finally be a smile etched on his face.

"You always know the most romantic things to say."

"I learnt from you because you're also as beautiful as chicken feet" she laughed, kissing him once more. "So yes one day when you ask that question..."

Andy quickly cut her off, the old confident Andy finally putting in an appearance. "I still think you'll crumble and ask me first."

"And you were doing so well" Sharon told him before pinching the back of his knee. "One day when you ask that question I will say yes and I will marry you but more importantly right now, I want you to stop fretting about it when someone makes a joke because it is definitely on the table and there is nothing to worry about. Think of your blood pressure" she told him making him roll his eyes. "Live long enough to be able to ask me."

"Okay. That's all I needed to know" Andy replied happily, a large smile plastered on his face.

"You are an idiot" she replied, shaking her head before kissing him again.

"You do realise how often you use that word since you've been with me right?"

"Everyone told me you'd be a bad influence."

"You're worse" Andy told her with a grin.

"How?"

"I'm not wearing any underwear." They both laughed together before Sharon rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling up to him. "So, Gus. Now that he's no longer just the brother of our victim what do you think about your potential new Son-in-Law?"

"I think Son-in-Law is a bit premature" Sharon told him, getting ready to chastise him should he dare think about saying something similar in front of Rusty.

"So is 'Step-Mother' but that doesn't stop Nicole from saying it over and over again."

"Well that's different" Sharon smiled. "Eventually, one day, in the future I will be her Step-Mother" she confirmed once again. "I like him. I really do. He's funny, charming and a good fit for Rusty. I still can't believe you made him show up in that sweater."

"Come on it was funny. I paid for it didn't I? How much trouble am I in with Rusty about it?"

"None. Luckily for you they both found it funny and even if they hadn't you were already in their good books. I don't think Gus will ever fully be able to express his gratitude for what you've managed to arrange with Paloma's adopted Mother. Neither will Rusty for that matter or me."

"I made both of them a promise in the summer. This was the best I could do. I'm just sorry it couldn't be more."

"It's more than enough Andy." Sharon paused for a moment, guilt slowly washing over her. "Were you really on the phone to her when I drank your coffee?"

"Yes. I was. And last night when you unpacked my bag for me."

"Well now I feel guilty."

"Only now you're feeling guilty about it?"

"Oh shut up!" Sharon laughed. "You are a wonderful man. Don't let anyone tell you any different." She kissed him once more before he helped her to her feet so she could finish her nightly routine. As Sharon took her toothbrush from the cabinet and started to brush her teeth Andy just stared at her, a smile on his face. Between molars Sharon glanced at him, registering that he couldn't take his eyes off her. "Stop staring" she told him as she rinsed her mouth out, completely unsexily in her opinion despite the look on Andy's face.

"I can't help it."

"I'm only brushing my teeth."

"I don't care. It's a beautiful sight."

"Well I do. Stop staring."

"Yes ma'am." After a moment Andy struggled to his feet, his back aching slightly from the uncomfortable position he had taken up. He instantly moved behind Sharon, wrapping his arms around her and burying his nose in her neck. "Thank you" he said quietly.

"For what?"

"For today."

"It has been a wonderful day" she confirmed as she ran a hand down his face. Sharon opened the cabinet to put her toothbrush away, sliding it into the cup that was its home. Andy's toothbrush lay on its side on the shelf until Sharon picked it up and put it in the cup next to hers. Andy had once told her that Carol didn't like their toothbrushes to touch because she felt it was unhygienic, sure his tongue and other parts of his anatomy would be fine in her mouth but their toothbrushes couldn't touch. Andy kissed Sharon's cheek, appreciating this smallest of gestures.

"I've had the most perfect Christmas Day imaginable with my daughter and her kids and it would never have happened without you."

"It had nothing to do with me Andy" Sharon told him as she turned in his arms, running her hands around his waist. "That was all Nicole."

"Exactly. I know you don't believe it but Nicole is right. You've changed me Sharon for so much the better. I'm a better man because of you. The 'Sharon Effect' is there for everyone to see. If you hadn't come to her wedding with me and I hadn't..."

"Lied to her" Sharon grinned.

"Had a misunderstanding with Nicole," Andy said quickly with his embarrassment still there, "I would never have been invited to spend so much time with her. She wouldn't have seen us together and seen me in a different light, real or imaginary and I most definitely wouldn't have the relationship I have with her now. That is one hundred percent all down to you whether you agree or not" Andy stated, refusing to believe any differently. To him the math was simple, take Sharon out of the equation and he would not have anything like the life he currently had with Nicole.

"You give me too much credit."

"I don't give you enough. At the time I didn't see it. I didn't see what an important moment that was, you coming with me to her wedding. As I moved across the dance floor I was too busy trying to not fall in love with my Boss that I never noticed how I was coming across to my family" he admitted.

"Oh Andy" was all Sharon could say, a little emotional and overwhelmed by his words.

"Without a shadow of a doubt I would not be here now with you if you hadn't come with me that day, if you hadn't been my friend. I thank my lucky stars every day that you offered to come to the wedding with me because without it, two plus years later I'm not sure what sort of person I'd be now. It's like that Beach Boys song."

"What? _Kokomo_?"

"Nope. _God Only Knows_ because seriously Sharon God only knows what I'd be without you" he uttered, raw with emotion before he met her lips.

"Are you trying to make me cry?"

"Never, I hope. Sorry, I'm not the best person at trying to express how I feel. That's probably why I wrote it down at the hospital and asked Provenza to give it to you." He paused for a moment, searching for the words. "It's like when you became my friend you found me standing alone in the dark. Now I'm standing in a crowd on the surface of the sun. I adore you Sharon. I adore every square inch of you, every single pain in the ass quirk and every damn thing about you. I love you and I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"Well you don't have to because I'm not going anywhere. Let's be honest here, you're not the only one to benefit out of that whole 'misunderstanding' with Nicole. I know it took another seven months but without that push from Nicole and Rusty you're right, I'm not sure I'd be standing in my bathroom with you right now and that is simply unthinkable. I love you Andy Flynn. I love you more than I'll ever be able to express."

Their lips met again before Andy led the way in making them sway from side to side dancing on the spot as he sang quietly in her ear. " _I may not always love you, But long as there are stars above you, You never need to doubt it, I'll make you so sure about it, God only knows what I'd be without you. If you should ever leave me, Though life would still go on believe me, The world could show nothing to me, So what good would living do me, God only knows what I'd be without you, God only knows what I'd be without you_."

As they continued to sway Sharon wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye before returning to holding him tightly. "I love you...but you are the worst singer in the world" she joked before their lips met again.

"Well the acoustics in this bathroom are terrible."

"Then we should get out of here" Sharon suggested as she took his hand.

"What are you suggesting?" he asked with a raise of an eyebrow and a smirk, knowing full well what she meant.

"Come to bed. It's time to redeem your reward for your exceptional behaviour."

"In a minute. Go and reply to Emily first and look at her photos before you forget" Andy encouraged, rooted to the spot as Sharon tried to lead him back into the bedroom.

"Putting speaking to my daughter before sex?"

"Yes."

"Oh God I love you" Sharon exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and devouring his lips, not for the first time that day.

"She must be up by now. It's like Boxing Day or something like that there today isn't it?"

"What exactly is Boxing Day?"

"Beats me" Andy shrugged. "The day they save to fight with all their relatives so they don't ruin Christmas Day I suppose. Go on. I'll be out in a minute."

"Don't be long." Sharon kissed him one more time before walking back into the bedroom with Andy closing the door behind her a little, leaving it open just enough so he could hear her but preventing her from seeing him. Sharon climbed onto the bed, put her glasses on and picked up her phone from her nightstand before she flicked through the photos Emily had sent her of her day, replying to one every now and then with a comment on how beautiful she thought everything was and delighted she was having such a wonderful time. "She's sent photos from dinner" she called through to Andy. "Look at that! They've set the table up on the stage for the whole company."

"Where at?" Andy called back.

"The Royal Albert Hall."

"Fancy."

"They're all wearing paper hats."

As Sharon continued to stare intently at her phone the bathroom door finally opened and revealed Andy clad in the Santa suit from the trunk of his car, complete with beard and hat. He turned the bathroom light off and stood in the doorway, staring at Sharon and waiting for her to look up at him from her phone. "Sounds like she's having a great time" Andy said, hoping that she would look up.

"I should say so. Oh look at those decorations. It's such a beautiful view" Sharon gasped as she continued to look at the photos on her phone.

"Yes it is" Andy said, looking Sharon up and down, admiring the beautiful view and long legs he had before him.

"You haven't seen it yet."

"Oh yes I have" Andy growled back as he took a step closer to Sharon, hoping she'd see him.

"I wish she was here but I'm glad she's happy. Oh and she's heard from Jack."

"Good."

"You were right. He's in Paris or that's what he claims with his picture of the Eiffel Tower. Knowing him it could quite easily be Las Vegas." Getting tired of waiting and a little hot in his suit Andy cleared his throat loudly causing Sharon to look up at him. She immediately dropped her phone in her lap and covered her mouth as she laughed. "Oh my God!"

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Pretty lady."

"Why hello there Santa baby. Where did you get that from?"

"What?" Andy asked like he was still in his pyjamas.

"Oh like this is part of your regular wardrobe."

"It was just something I happened to have lying around for special occasions."

"How did you sneak it up here?"

"While you were in the shower I retrieved it from the trunk of my car and hid it in my garment bag." He may have had a lot of insecurities and worries on his mind as he walked into that bathroom ten minutes earlier but he was also trying to distract Sharon from the fact that he had snuck it in and hung it on the back of the door while she was getting herself a glass of water. "So Captain, have you been a good girl this year?"

"Oh most definitely" Sharon confirmed.

"Really? Because it looks to me as if you're top of my Very Naughty List."

"Oh no! What are you going to do?"

"Slip something in your stocking" Andy joked.

"Coal?"

"Something like that" he laughed.

"What is it I'm accused of doing exactly?"

Andy pulled a large piece of paper from his pants pocket and unfolded it, clearing his throat before reading "Top of the list..."

"You have an actual list?" Sharon laughed hysterically at the time, effort and thought Andy had put into this late night Christmas treat. "Hold on I need a photo of this." Sharon took a quick photo on her phone before appearing to type a message.

"Who are you sending that to?" Andy asked with a frown.

"Nicole." Andy's horror was instant and almost audible. "I'm kidding!" Sharon cried as she put her phone back on the nightstand.

"Something else to add to my list."

"Go on then, what else is on there?"

"Like I was saying, top of the list: Being the PAB Phantom Coffee Stealer" Andy read as he looked at her sternly.

"I believe I more than made up for that" Sharon protested.

"Not to Santa" Andy told her as seriously as he could. "Next, beating your poor boyfriend black and blue the first night you ever spent with him."

"Guilty as charged but he sort of deserved it."

"Why?"

"I don't know yet but I'm sure he'll do something eventually that's worthy of a black eye."

"Thirdly, swapping stories about God knows what with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. What do you have to say about that?" Andy asked as he put the paper back into his pocket.

"Oh you don't know the half of it" Sharon teased.

"You didn't swap phone numbers with Carol as well did you?"

"Of course not."

"Good" Andy replied relieved.

"I've already got it."

"What?" Andy shouted, horrified.

"I copied it from your phone while I was waiting to be let into your room at St Leo's so I could keep her updated since Nicole was out of the country."

"I never thought of that."

Sharon laughed again at the sight of Santa standing in her bedroom. "I'm trying to remember the lyrics to _Santa Baby_."

"If you're going to start singing let me warn Rusty before he starts worrying you're in pain" Andy joked.

Sharon instantly threw a pillow at him. "Oh shut up."

"Is that your justification for your actions?"

"Maybe? Is there any way for me to earn my way off the Very Naughty List?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"Come over here and let me show you" Sharon said with a husk as she patted the bed beside her.

"Are you attempting to bribe Santa?"

"Yes I am" Sharon replied enthusiastically.

"Oh good" Andy once again growled as he bounded towards her until he was stopped dead in his tracks by his cell phone ringing. "Oh crap!" he shouted as she stared at it on the other side of the room on his nightstand, considering the lateness of the hour believing it could only be bad news or perhaps a notification that the rest of the division had been rolled out and he needed to get down to PAB for their return.

"It can't be! Taylor promised" Sharon sighed.

Andy slowly crossed the floor to his cell phone, his face looking like he was walking towards the gallows. He picked up it up and stared at it blankly. "It isn't" was all he could say before he answered it, his back to Sharon as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey Dan" he said, a mixture of surprise and sheer unadulterated joy in his voice. "Merry Christmas to you too son. How are you? Good. Yeah I'm fine. Back at work. Yes, at Nicole's. No not yet. I'm staying with Sharon over the holidays. Yeah you met her at the hospital."

"Merry Christmas Daniel" Sharon shouted so he could hear as she shuffled to sit next to Andy.

"Did you hear that? He says 'Merry Christmas'" he quickly told Sharon before returning his attention back to his surprise caller. "Yeah I will. Sorry I missed you but I'll go home and get it tomorrow. Okay. Thanks son. It's been great to speak to you. Bye. Bye." Andy hung up his phone and just stared at it in his hand for a moment. "That was Daniel" he explained to Sharon, a little stunned.

"I heard. I told you" she said as she put her arm around his shoulders.

"He popped by my house on his way home and dropped off a card."

"That's wonderful" Sharon glowed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" he said with a smile, clearly overwhelmed.

"Do you want us to drive over to your house and get it?" Sharon offered, realising what an important moment this was for Andy and being fully prepared to make the circa one hour round trip so that he could have his card as quickly as possible.

"No. It's not going anywhere. We can go in the morning, I need my robe anyway."

"I don't know I thought you looked pretty sexy in mine" Sharon joked, kissing him on his neck and hoping to wake him from his currently quite dazed state. Instead Andy sat quietly for a moment while Sharon rubbed his back with her hand, giving him the time he needed. Two, three minutes passed by in silence before Andy let out a deep sigh. "Quite a day huh?" Sharon said finally.

"Yeah. Quite a day" Andy smiled, still more than a touch quiet for him.

"Now to finish it off with a flourish?" Sharon questioned as she moved back to her original position in bed, waiting for him in case he still felt like claiming his reward.

"I've lost my train of thought suddenly."

"Then let me refresh your memory. You were about to come over here and kiss me."

"Was I?" Andy asked, standing up to face her and becoming more like himself again.

"Yes."

"That doesn't sound like me."

"Oh that sounds exactly like you, now get over here."

Andy slowly walked over to Sharon's side of the bed, climbing on and hovering above her with a smile just about visible past his expansive beard. Sharon reached up and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him slowly down towards her as she sang " _Think of all the fun I've missed, Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed, Next year I could be just as good, If you'll check off my Christmas list, Santa Baby_."

"Did you just hear that poor cat screaming?" Andy joked.

Sharon quickly bonked him on the head with a pillow. "Like your efforts are any better."

"Choir boy" Andy said smugly.

"The important word there is 'boy.' Boy not man" Sharon said as she still clutched the lapels of his jacket while he loomed over her.

"But I thought I was your 'beautiful boy'?"

"You are, so shut up and kiss me beautiful boy." Quickly their lips collided in a searing kiss as they devoured one another as best they could with Andy's beard getting in the way. "And I thought Santa only came once a year." Andy immediately started laughing at Sharon's accidental innuendo. When she realised what she'd said she covered her face with her hands, completely embarrassed.

"What a filthy mouth you have Sharon Raydor" Andy continued to laugh.

"You know what I mean." Their lips met again as best they could, it proving to be a real battle because of Andy's beard. Sharon spat out a few hairs, pulling a couple off her tongue. "This beard! So much polyester in my mouth."

"Here." Andy lifted his beard up and off his face, enabling Sharon to get hold of his lips without obstruction. "This coat is made from the hottest material on earth" Andy stated, starting to sweat.

"Take it off."

Andy was quick to his feet, unbuttoning his jacket slowly as if he was doing a striptease act at an out of control bachelorette party. "Are you going to watch me strip?"

"Yes" Sharon said bluntly. Andy smiled seductively as he removed his jacket very very slowly before dropping it to the floor, revealing that once again he was holding in his stomach. "You're holding your stomach in again."

"I'm just trying to be sexy."

"You don't need to try, you just are." No sooner were the words out of Sharon's mouth than Andy tried to remove his pants, getting his legs caught as he tried to extract them and falling flat on his face. Sharon laughed at him hysterically, both because he fell over while trying to strip for her but also because of his delightful Christmas underwear, the pair she had discovered the day before and was hoping to see him in. "Well maybe not right now," she laughed, "but you're usually sexy." Andy stood back up, his pants bunched by his ankles, crossing his arms and frowning at her as she continued to laugh. "Loose the beard, keep the hat" she finally instructed with a smile.

With that Andy removed his beard and tossed it across the room. "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."


	16. Chapter 16

_And I'm back! My apologies for the delay. Since I posted the last chapter a few days before Christmas and then got distracted with hiding from various relatives and eating my bodyweight in chocolate I can't remember if I replied to all of your lovely reviews. If I didn't let me say now that I'm glad you enjoyed it and thank you very much for taking the time to read and review such a large chapter of nonsense and twaddle. If you'd like to leave a review today it'd be greatly appreciated or you can find me all day every day on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Since I last posted it has been confirmed that the other story I wrote_ _at the request of_ _ **Kadi219**_ _about Andy's heart attack,_ _ **Just One More Thing**_ _,_ __ _was pretty much what could have happened, therefore I will eventually be taking that story apart, expanding it across at least six different chapters and feeding it into this one. So should you read something and think 'I've read this before' you have, but I've tweaked it and expanded it slightly._

 _ **A couple of points to note**_ _: I know we've recently discovered the name of Andy's ex-wife but I've elected to keep the same name I used at the start of the story rather than replacing several chapters, mainly because I'm lazy. Also, and I've said this before, I've used the ages of the actors for the ages of the characters (except Rusty) so in some cases they are a little older in my story then they are on the show but it doesn't really matter. Finally I don't remember how far away the parking garage is from PAB other than Brenda really complained about it so I've gone for a couple of blocks._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _This chapter picks up on the Monday following Christmas between Penalty Phase 4x18 and Hindsight Part One 4x19. If you've not read the rest of this story this chapter will make no sense whatsoever. Oh and I imagine Provenza is probably right, much to Andy's annoyance._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Sixteen**

Arriving at the PAB parking garage a few minutes early Andy slowly pulled into his regular parking spot and turned off the engine. He sighed. It was a sigh heard the world over from people who were returning to work following a peaceful, relaxing and more importantly, enjoyable holiday period. It had been a long time since Andy had enjoyed the holidays, even longer since he had enjoyed them this much, honestly having the time of his life in those four bliss filled days.

The break they had been blessed with had been short but sweet with more (hopefully) to come over New Year. After quite possible the best Christmas Day he'd had since he was given a cowboy hat and gun at the age of five and later saw his Grandfather accidentally set fire to his own toupee (an incredibly violent sneeze caused it to fly off his head and land in the fireplace, bursting into flames, a blessing really since it looked like something you would pull from the shower drain after the Italian national rugby team had been in there) he enjoyed an equally enjoyable and relaxing weekend with Sharon and Rusty. On the Saturday, the day after Christmas, they revelled in a very lazy and at times toe curlingly enjoyable morning, only getting out of bed to fetch a cup of coffee until back ache forced them to get up, dress and finally start their day. After a leisurely breakfast they made the somewhat long drive back to Andy's house so that he could pick up a few more items of clothing for work should they be needed and more importantly the green bathrobe he had neglected to bring with him, the latter being a huge relief to Rusty since he wouldn't have to see Andy parading around in Sharon's pink, frilly robe anymore (as much as Sharon found it amusing and weirdly sexy to see him wearing it, Tony Curtis in _Some Like It Hot_ he was not). Rusty had once expressed the opinion to Sharon, with some horror, that the worst thing he could possibly see in the condo would be Andy in his bathrobe, sitting around the table eating breakfast. He was wrong. The sight of Andy in Sharon's bathrobe, sitting around the table eating breakfast was far far worse.

However the main reason for the trip home was for Andy to collect the Christmas card that Daniel had slipped under his door late on Christmas Day. As they pulled up outside his house Sharon could tell that there was a mixture of excitement and nervousness about him (to the extent that he reminded her of the car ride to Serve for their very first date), somewhat of a surprise to her since he knew the card would be waiting for him. Having Daniel phone Andy on Christmas Day was better than any gift that Sharon would ever be able to give him and seeing the look of pure joy of his face as he spoke to him (regardless of the Santa suit he was wearing at the time with his beard obscuring much of his face) almost reduced her to tears. The card itself was simple, a typical boring 'man card,' very much like the one Rusty had sent him, which featured a snowy river bank but it was the words ' _Merry Christmas Dad'_ in gold lettering emblazoned across the middle which made it special. Inside Daniel had simply written ' _To Dad, Merry Christmas, Love Daniel_ ,' the most important six words in the entire world to Andy at that moment in time. What was clear to Sharon as she reflected on the day before drifting off to sleep was that Daniel had delivered that card while they were still at Nicole's house meaning that Carol had spoken to him and encouraged him to do it before she arrived and proceeded to give him more abuse than a drag queen would receive at a tractor pull. It pleased her to realise that no matter how much Carol wanted to turn Andy into a woman using only her nails and teeth, she also wanted both of her children to have a healthy relationship with him, something Sharon could relate to whole heartedly. Daniel may have needed some quiet words in his ear and some encouragement over the dinner table on Christmas Day in order to reach out to his Father but Carol knew exactly what it would mean to him and with the effort Andy had made to change, knew he deserved it. Andy was a guy who lived for the small gestures with the people he loved, those little things that let people know he was thinking of them at all times (something Sharon was only too aware of and took the shape of flowers left in the top drawer of her desk and a cup of tea and the slightest coming together of their fingers as he handed it over during a rough five minutes at work). He had always been the same even when he was married to Carol. Case in point it didn't matter how badly their marriage ended and for a time how hostile they were towards each other Andy would still send Carol a bouquet of flowers without fail on Nicole and Daniel's birthdays and on Mother's Day, each time with a card that said ' _To Carol, Thank you for giving me the greatest gift of all. Thank you for my children. Love Andy_.' Now Andy was in a serious relationship (as serious as Carol had ever seen and she had seen Andy with a lot of women) and he still sent her flowers with a thank you for their children, how could she not encourage Daniel to do something similar on Christmas Day. With Andy spending the rest of the holidays at Sharon's condo he took the card back with him, standing it proudly on the nightstand next to his side of the bed, him treasuring it almost as much as Sharon treasured that piece of paper he had given her from the hospital.

After a late lunch out, Sharon and Andy spent the rest of the day on the couch (aside from when Nicole and Dean dropped by for a quick visit), neither wanting to do much else on a rare day off other than to cuddle up together and relax. Sunday continued in much the same vain but lunch included Rusty before he went off to meet Gus and Sharon and Andy once again returned to the condo to do nothing else but enjoy each other's company. The whole break had been heavenly, not least for the slow pace that it had in comparison to the day to day lives they lived at work or a usual weekend that involved errands and chores and all the running around that hadn't been accomplished during the week.

He sighed again as he glanced across to the passenger seat to see Sharon smiling back at him, herself a little reluctant to get out of the car and go to work. With a collective nod they both unbuckled their seat belts, dealing with all the possibilities that the day could have instore for them being the last thing either of them wanted to do while in such good moods.

Free from her restraints Sharon scooped up her purse from by her feet before reaching behind her to the back seat to retrieve a brown paper bag. As the very ends of her fingers brushed the paper Andy suddenly snatched it from her grasp. "Oh I don't think so pretty lady" he said with a smirk before blowing a raspberry on her neck and climbing out of the car.

Sharon remained seated for a moment as she laughed to herself and shook her head, her hand touching the spot on her neck where his lips had just been. Slowly she opened the door and climbed out. She was greeted by Andy as he held her door open, his eyes sparkling and filled with mischief. "I'm allowed to share a bed with you but not allowed to hold your sandwich?" she asked as a Detective from Narcotics passed by, overhearing and shooting them both a puzzled look. "That wasn't a euphemism" Sharon added quickly in the direction of the Detective with a look of alarm.

"It was" Andy smirked before he closed the passenger door and locked the car. "Sharon it's not about permission. It's more about," he thought for a moment, searching for the appropriate word before announcing with some authority "trust."

"Is this why you took it into the bathroom with you before we left the condo?"

Andy quickly took Sharon's hand in his as they walked towards the exit. It was irritating to everyone working in PAB that the parking garage was a couple of blocks away from the main building unlike the old Parker Centre (and no one complained more loudly or more vehemently about it than Chief Johnson, it being one of the thousands of reasons why she hated the new building so much) but the benefit of being a member of Major Crimes (unfairly some felt, Chief Davis for example) was having a parking spot on the ground floor. However more recently the walk into work afforded Sharon and Andy (whether they drove in together or separately) a few more moments of being just them before the professional wall came slamming down between them (driving in together since Andy still couldn't go into the field was also a bonus when he would stay over although they agreed it was going to be the exception rather than the norm because there were going to be days when Sharon needed her car). The only down side to this pleasant walk in the sunshine together was that they became a sort of _Ripley's Believe It Or Not_ exhibit as they made their way with other passing officers still baffled that the hot headed Lieutenant had seemingly been tamed by the rule obsessed Captain and vice versa. They both knew they were being looked at every day during that short journey to and from work but they didn't care, enjoying each other's company far too much to pay it any mind.

"I didn't like the way you were looking at it" Andy told her with a smile.

"I was rolling my eyes, at you to be specific, not the sandwich. You were the one who was looking at that thing like it was Brigitte Bardot in a bikini" Sharon explained as she recalled the sight of Andy pulling that sandwich from the fridge like it was the Holy Grail.

"'That thing'?" Andy asked with as much offense as he could muster.

Sharon laughed as she shook her head. "Have I offended you?"

"No not me, the sandwich. Don't ever speak to turkey that way again." Andy brought his sandwich closer to his face, looking at it with the same amount of love as he did Sharon. "It's okay the bad lady didn't mean it" he told it as he cradled it like a new-born baby.

Sharon laughed again. "I can't promise anything but I'll certainly try my best."

"See this is why we have trust issues."

"So let me get this right, you trust me enough to sleep in my bed with a loaded gun on my nightstand, somewhat of a risk considering how you insist on irritating me sometimes with your 'sense of humour,' but you don't trust me enough to hold your left over Christmas turkey sandwich as we walk to work?"

"Yes. You lost a lot of your food trust when you stole my cup of coffee before the holidays." Andy brought Sharon's hand to his lips and kissed the back of it with a wink as they made their way out of the parking garage, walking along the sidewalk at a leisurely pace in the sun.

"'Food trust'?" Sharon laughed.

"Oh yes, very different thing to actual trust. In terms of actual trust I trust you with my life but when it comes to food trust, well let's just say you have a lot of ground to make up. If you ever wonder why, just think of that coffee and remember how it tasted."

"Again with the coffee!" Sharon exclaimed, wishing not the first time over the last few days that she'd never let a single mouthful pass her lips in her life let alone the cup that belonged to Andy on the day following the Christmas party. "Do I need to call Behaviour Sciences for you? Get you some bereavement counselling?"

"No it's fine. I kinda like the way you make it up to me" he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. In truth Sharon made it up to him by simply apologising and multiple times at that. Her lack of underwear and subsequent lust filled encounter in his kitchen upon their return from Lieutenant Provenza's house had nothing to do with it, not that it mattered.

"Remind me to phone Nicole later and thank her again for sending over the rest of the turkey. Without it I would never have had this delightful conversation or caught sight of my boyfriend in his underwear eating a day old turkey leg in the dead of night."

The moment that Nicole delivered the leftover turkey to Sharon's condo Andy instantly became territorial about it, only just stopping short of urinating around it like a lion with a zebra carcass. Later that evening as Andy made himself a sandwich with the remnants of the breast meat Rusty swore he heard him growl at him like a dog when he walked past on his way to the fridge. Sharon wanted to believe that Rusty was exaggerating even though she'd heard Andy growl himself but under extremely different circumstances and in the privacy of the bedroom, but knew Andy far too well. It quickly reached the point where the only way she was going to separate Andy from that turkey was with a whip and a chair. Never in her life had she'd seen a man so in love with a hunk of meat with him picking it up and carrying it to the fridge like Rhett Butler sweeping Scarlet O'Hara off her feet and carrying her upstairs in _Gone With the Wind_. She almost felt jealous. Almost.

"Don't say it like that" Andy responded with a high pitched whine. "I couldn't sleep knowing it was in the fridge all cold and alone."

"Well what are you going to do with your sandwich today other than leave it all alone and cold in the fridge in the Break Room?" Sharon pointed out.

"Simple" Andy replied with a shrug. "I'll get it some company. I'll get a Patrolman to guard it. It's the only option I've got to stop people from removing my name tag and eating it."

"No Patrolman is going to waste their day guarding your sandwich Lieutenant" Sharon told him as she put a lot of emphasis on the word 'Lieutenant.'

"Nope. No. No Lieutenant thank you very much." Andy shook his head before he kissed her hand again as if to make a point about their current status on that walk as a couple rather than colleagues. "We established that unless we were walking to the car and about to roll out or go to the morgue or whatever then this little walk is out of work hours and therefore it's Andy and not Lieutenant thank you very much" he finished with a smile of smug satisfaction.

"For a man who complains about my obsession with the rule book you do a pretty good imitation of it yourself."

"Only when it comes to our relationship parameters so I don't miss a single moment with you rather than the Captain. So _Sharon_ , I'm going to get a Patrolman to guard my sandwich in the Break Room and there's not a single thing you can do to stop me." Again Andy smiled at her with complete smug satisfaction, delighted that he'd won this most recent battle over the rules with the Master.

Sharon shrugged. "I could speak to your Captain. I happen to know her pretty well and she always answers my calls." Sharon grinned as Andy's face dropped, defeat settling over him but not diminishing the glint in his eye. "Put it in your desk."

"I can't. Things have the habit of going missing from my desk" Andy replied with a wink, bringing up the stolen cup of coffee for the four hundredth time since she confessed she had taken it.

Sharon instantly rolled her eyes. It didn't matter what she said or did, it was quite clear that Andy was never going to let that tiny case of theft go. In all honesty she did feel a little guilty about the situation. It was the ill feeling that started when Andy accused Provenza of taking it that created the atmosphere that resulted in their argument during their disastrous double date. "Speaking of which I will apologise to Lieutenant Provenza for my small part..."

"Ha!"

Sharon quickly jabbed him in the gut with her finger, silencing him but not removing the smirk from his face. "For my small part in your argument and then it's all up to you. I want you to apologise to your boyfriend before things get further out of hand and start to have a detrimental effect at work."

"Stop saying things like that!"

"Stop saying what?"

Andy dropped his head closer to Sharon's ear. "Calling Provenza my 'boyfriend'" he whispered.

"I will, the moment the two of you stop acting like an old married couple."

"You make it sound like we braid each other's hair."

Sharon instantly laughed as she pictured the scene. "I've told you before, whatever you and Lieutenant Provenza get up to when you're alone, in the privacy of your own home when you're supposed to be watching the Dodgers is none of my business. All I care about is that you're careful." As the words left Sharon's lips a young uniformed officer walked past them, shooting a quizzical look at what he'd just heard causing Sharon to laugh and Andy to look absolutely mortified.

"See what you've done now! This is how rumours start."

"People are too busy talking about how the 'Wicked Witch' has tamed and neutered you to care about what else you get up to with your boyfriend" Sharon told him as she continued to laugh.

"Nobody ever called you that" Andy asserted kindly as Sharon just stared at him with disbelief. "Well not since you transferred to Major Crimes anyway."

Sharon hummed before adding "I'm sure."

"You get called much worse." With that Sharon immediately attacked Andy's weak spot, the back of his knee, pinching it and making him flinch. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

After a few moments of silence Sharon smiled, looking up at Andy. "So if this apology doesn't work and you and Lieutenant Provenza do end up splitting up for good this time does that mean I have to stop being friends with him too? Is that how this works? Do you get me in the divorce? Or do I get to see him a couple of hours each week, supervised visitations of course?"

"Very funny" Andy replied with a decidedly unimpressed expression.

"Who takes custody of your children?"

"Children?"

"The rest of the division" Sharon explained. "Who takes custody?"

"For the record I'm not listening."

"And to think people, and by people I mean specifically Lieutenant Provenza and Chief Taylor, were so worried that _our_ relationship would affect the harmony of the division. If only they knew" Sharon continued with a chuckle.

"Are you done?"

"Thinking about it, technically Mike, Julio and Buzz were already at Priority Homicide with Lieutenant Provenza before you transferred so I assume he has parental rights over them. You're more of their grumpy Step-Father. That just leaves Amy I suppose. I feel so sorry for her. Custody battles can be so unpleasant." Sharon laughed loudly to herself as Andy did nothing but stare at her with a scowl. "If I were you I'd give Gavin a call, see where you currently stand with it all" she added. "He might know the name of a good divorce lawyer for you to call. Did you sign a prenup? Will Lieutenant Provenza pay you alimony or will you pay him? I hope you didn't make a deal that involves your pension." Once again Sharon laughed loudly, wiping a tear from her eye with the back of her hand while Andy just glared at her.

"You think you're so funny don't you?" Andy asked once Sharon had stopped laughing.

"Gee I wonder where I picked that up from." Again they continued their journey in silence for a few moments before Sharon asked "What was Nicole whispering to you about in the kitchen?"

"When?"

"Saturday after she dropped off the remains of your beloved turkey. It was all very hush hush and secretive. You looked like you were plotting something the pair of you."

"Oh that" Andy said as he laughed. "Michael."

"What now? What did he set fire to this time?" Sharon asked, fearing the worst about Nicole's bordering on moronic Step-Father.

"For once nothing. She wanted me to do her a favour today that's all, on Michael's behalf."

"What kind of favour?"

"Well it seems Michael reported that his car had been stolen Saturday morning."

"And?"

"He forgot Carol had taken it to visit her sister" Andy explained as he grinned from ear to ear, overjoyed when his opinion of Michael was confirmed for everyone else to see.

"Without Michael?"

"Would you take him to see your family if you didn't have to?"

"Good point."

"Obviously or rather unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Carol was released without charge as soon as she was able to prove who she was and that she jointly owned the car but Nicole wants me to put a word in for him, stop him getting charged with wasting police time" Andy explained. "Idiot" he added as he shook his head and laughed.

Sharon couldn't help but join in with him as he laughed. "I know but Carol loves him. He's just her type. Some women like tall men, some women like funny men, Carol must have a thing for complete and utter idiots" she said quickly as she looked away, biting her lip so she didn't laugh while waiting for Andy to process her words and react.

Oblivious for a moment Andy remained silent until realisation and Sharon's meaning hit him like a sledgehammer. "Hey! "

Sharon laughed again, putting her free hand on Andy's arm as the other continued to clutch his hand tightly. "It's fortunate for you that I do too but I'll admit when it comes to stupidity you and Michael aren't exactly in the same league…"

"Excuse me? Forget league we're not even playing the same sport."

"Agreed but you can still be pretty idiotic at times."

"When?" Andy asked naïvely.

"The first instance..."

"Don't rush" Andy said quickly, cutting her off. "Please feel free to think about it first."

"I don't need time to think about it. The first instance has to be 'contraception'." Sharon smiled to herself. At the time of Andy's small lapse in judgement she had mixed feelings about it. There was part of her that was flattered. Flattered that when Andy looked at her he didn't see a woman who had not long turned sixty. He saw her as still being young and vibrant and capable of conception. On the other hand she also felt petrified and nervous because it also illuminated the not so insignificant fact that she was the oldest woman that Andy had ever dated. The oldest woman that he had ever seen naked (with the exception of his Grandmother when she chose, much to everyone's horror, to air dry in front of the fireplace after a bath). She worried that Andy was going to be expecting perky perfection and she was...well not. But at the time of his question she was also completely naked and since his lips and hands had covered every square inch of her in the moments leading up to that point and he hadn't run for the hills screaming at the sight of her body but had instead had a look on his face that could be compared to a mouse discovering he'd been locked in a cheese shop, those nervous and anxious feelings soon subsided. A while later as she lay in Andy's arms, out of breath and feeling better than she'd ever felt in her life she pondered what he'd said and concluded with a smile and quite a lot of laughter that the man she was in love with, a quite intelligent one at that in his own way, was quite possibly the biggest moron in the world if you added sex to the equation and looked forward to mocking him over it for the rest of their lives.

"A guy makes one unfortunate slip of the tongue in the heat of the moment and you never let it go" Andy exclaimed, failing to realise that he was doing the same thing with the coffee.

Sharon looked at him amused. "Slip of the tongue? Really?"

"What? It was. I was distracted. Given the circumstances I was lucky to know my name but if that's the most idiotic thing I've ever done then…"

"I didn't say that" Sharon explained, continuing to smile wildly. "I just said it was top of _my_ list, not the stupidest thing you've ever done. For a full list of your utterly stupid deeds and misfortunes see a transcript from your argument with Lieutenant Provenza the other night." Sharon laughed to herself, squeezing Andy's arm as he looked decidedly unimpressed. "It's a good job you're pretty."

"What does that mean?"

"That it's fortunate I don't want you for your conversation" she joked. As their journey continued Andy's scowl slowly turned into a beaming smile which didn't go unnoticed by Sharon. "What are you smiling at?"

"This dress. I like it."

"Thank you but you've seen it before at work."

"Yes I know but now that you've had your wicked way with me I know what's underneath it" Andy replied with almost a growl as he moved his lips to within millimetres of her ear.

"Oh shut up" Sharon said as she blushed, pushing him away while Andy couldn't stop himself from laughing at her embarrassment. "You enjoy making me blush don't you?"

"More than anything else." He paused for a moment and then asked "Do we have to do this?"

"What?"

"Go in to work?" Andy whined like a boy protesting about going into school.

"What do you suggest we do instead?"

"Call in sick" Andy suggested with a shrug of the shoulders.

"What both of us?"

"Yes."

"And you don't think people would find that a tad suspicious?" Sharon questioned. "Both of us calling in sick on our first day back after the holidays when everyone knows you've been staying with me?"

"They also all know about your aversion to your oven so we could quite easily say you poisoned us both." No sooner where the words out of Andy's mouth than the back of his knees came under attack again. "Or maybe not."

"Yeah let's go with that" Sharon said as she chuckled. "It's not like we work with the most elite division of detectives in the LAPD if not the world is it?" In all honesty Sharon felt exactly the same way. The last couple of days had been so wonderful and peaceful all she wanted to do was go back home, crawl onto the couch with Andy and not move until it was time for bed but that was something she would never admit to a subordinate even if he also happened to be her boyfriend.

"You give them _way_ too much credit. Think about it, what do they actually do? All Provenza shouts is 'It's always the husband, it's always the husband, it's always the husband' in between looking at cat videos, doing his crossword puzzle and finding new ways to get me into trouble" Andy informed her while keeping the smile from his face.

"I forgot it's always Lieutenant Provenza's fault, that you're never the cause of the trouble."

"It is! Trust me, I know, I was there" he protested. "Mike talks so much incomprehensible techno babble who knows if he's right or even if he knows what the hell he's talking about. Scary Sanchez can handle a gun and scowl and Sykes just sits there and looks pretty while Buzz films it all."

Sharon smiled. "I see. And what about your Captain?"

"Ah the Captain," Andy replied as he squeezed her hand, "well she just swoops in at the last moment and steals all the credit."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Happens all the time. I'd complain to Chief Taylor but you see she wears these skirts that _really_ show off her legs and they _always_ make me lose my train of thought."

"Funnily enough I had noticed" Sharon told him with a laugh.

"I'm the brains of this whole operation" Andy proclaimed with complete confidence.

"Oh really?" Sharon replied once she was able to stop laughing.

"Without a shadow of a doubt."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Need I bring up 'contraception' again?"

"Am I always as sharp as I should be? Probably not. Do I make mistakes? Sometimes. Do I mess up at work? Occasionally. Does the sight of a beautiful naked woman lying next to me scramble my brain? Of course it does."

Sharon laughed, easily losing track of the amount of times she'd heard a similar speech from Andy during the time she'd known him both professionally and personally. "Distracted with a scrambled brain? Is that your excuse?"

"A beautiful woman does strange things to me" Andy protested with a smile.

"That little fact was made abundantly clear during your little lovers tiff with Lieutenant Provenza the other night."

"Will you please stop saying that!" Andy shouted as he looked around to make sure she hadn't been overheard.

"I would but it's extremely hard for me to know that there will always be three people in our relationship. Sometimes it's a little too crowded. But as long as I never wake up and discover him in bed with us I can choose to ignore it."

Andy winked. "Don't worry, you've got better legs."

"I should certainly hope so."

Andy thought for a moment before smiling at Sharon with an air of superiority. "If we're going to bring up stupid things we've both said in the heat of the moment then frankly I think it's a tie."

Sharon stared at him puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Your reaction to me telling you I needed to take my blood pressure medication the other week. Considering what was about to happen for the first time between us it didn't exactly evoke a lot of confidence in myself" Andy explained, smiling from ear to ear.

Sharon laughed before lowering her voice to speak to hushed tones. "What did you expect? I ask you to spend the night with me and you immediately bring up a pill! What was I supposed to think?"

Andy smiled. "Why are we whispering?" he asked, matching her hushed tone.

"Because this is private."

"Unlike my 'mistakes'?"

"Yes" Sharon nodded. "I'm so glad you've finally worked out how this works."

Andy laughed. "At the time you were supposed to fuss over my blood pressure like you do every other day of my life" he informed her as he returned to full volume.

"Agreed but I was distracted."

"So that's an acceptable excuse for you but not for me?"

"Yes" Sharon proclaimed confidently.

"Why?"

"You've sown far more wild oats than I have, you should be used to it."

Andy dropped his head to Sharon's shoulder as they continued to walk to work, pressing his lips to her ear as he spoke. "How about we skip work today so we could sow a few more wild oats together, even without a pill? What do you say?" he growled.

"Not a chance" Sharon told him with a stony face but with her eyes betraying her.

"No one would miss us."

"I think Chief Taylor probably would" she pointed out.

"Yeah and he already has enough problems with us without giving him extra ammunition."

Sharon shook her head. "I don't think he has a problem with us dating as such it's more...how did Rusty describe it the other night? The two of us dating is 'as weird as a baby chick being friends with an alligator' I believe he said. He's more baffled and uncomfortable with that part of his job, being notified of such things than having actual issues with it." Sharon was absolutely right. As much as Russell Taylor liked the power and the pay rise that came with his promotion to Assistant Chief and regardless of how many people referred to him as the 'Gossip Queen of PAB' he loathed the relationship status updates that came with it. He'd once questioned why Chief Johnson had such issues when she was notified that Gabriel and Daniels were dating. Having faced a similar situation in Sharon's office when he was lured in there and told that she was dating Andy, he fully understood exactly where she was coming from. He _really_ didn't want to know and yet he had to.

"And he's right. Sometimes I do feel like I'm being pounced on by an alligator."

"Pounced?" Sharon laughed.

"And mauled."

"That sounds like a complaint."

"Never. I need to find myself a chicken costume to come to bed in instead of pyjamas" Andy said with a wink making her laugh.

"Please tell me you bought that Santa suit to dress up for Robin and Justin last year."

When Sharon was in college she had a friend who could best be described as having a 'thing' for Santa Claus and not because he brought her presents. Without fail the moment she caught sight a mall or sidewalk Santa that was under the age of thirty (or even over as long as they kept the hat and the beard on) she would make it her goal to sleep with them to the point where from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day the girl would permanently have a UTI and trouble sitting. Despite her best efforts Sharon could never understand it, repeatedly rolling her eyes and openly telling her that it was the weirdest fetish she had ever come across (since joining the LAPD she had discovered that as fetishes go, it was a Disney movie rated fetish especially in comparison to the couple she busted while still on patrol, a couple who liked to strip naked, smear their backsides with peanut butter and have sex in the produce section of their local grocery store). That was until she looked up from her phone on Christmas Day and saw that Andy had walked out of her bathroom in a Santa suit then suddenly it was the sexiest thing she had ever seen in her life even though he fell flat on his face trying to remove to his pants. With the photos that Emily had sent of her Christmas celebrations in London quickly forgotten Sharon came to realise that the unbelievably sexy Andy Claus was definitely someone she wanted to see again.

"Not exactly" Andy smirked.

"You bought it just for me?" Sharon asked. Andy didn't reply he just smiled and winked at her while their shoulders brushed together making her laugh. It was in that moment that her heart swelled and not for the first time she'd been close to him, knowing that he had planned something so wonderfully silly and surprisingly sexy just for her. "I see, interesting. So will I see Santa Andy again any time in the future?"

"Maybe next Christmas if you're a very good girl all year but before then you have Easter to look forward to" Andy told her with another wink.

Again Sharon laughed at him. Even in the happiest periods of their marriage Jack's idea of foreplay was taking him socks off, not going straight for the kill and making her laugh by dressing up like Andy did, his goal it seemed to make her laugh at least one hundred times a day, giving her the most fun she'd ever had in a relationship. "Is this your way of telling me you're going to walk out of my bathroom in a bunny costume in the near future?"

"You'll just have to have a little patience and wait and see…like on St Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving."

Sharon laughed, picturing Andy dressed as a Leprechaun and a turkey. "Nothing for Valentine's Day?"

"That all depends on if you find the sight of this body in nothing but a diaper while I shoot arrows at you a turn on" he explained making them both laugh.

As they continued on their way in a comfortable silence Sharon glanced up at him and smiled. He was happy. He was smiling. His sunglasses hid much of the sparkle in his eyes but she could still see it in his face. For so long around Thanksgiving those beautiful eyes of his started to show his age rather than the emotion and love she was so used to seeing in them. Sharon liked him in sunglasses but then again she liked him in anything, even a Santa suit or a garbage bag for that matter. She'd recently come to see just how good he looked in nothing but a sheet or a towel, even when she had to encourage him to stop holding in his stomach. Seeing Andy happy made her happy as they enjoyed that short walk. She felt swept away and it made her feel like she was in a number from a musical, like everyone around her was about to burst into song at any moment before Andy waltzed her across the street for the big finale.

Andy looked at her quizzically as she continued to smile up at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just enjoy seeing you smile like that that's all."

"Because I'm normally so miserable like Provenza?" he asked grumpily.

"No. Nothing like that. I don't know it's just a month ago you had me a little worried."

Andy sighed. "I thought you weren't going to worry about my health anymore."

"No I agreed to still worry about it but much more quietly instead, there's a difference" Sharon corrected him as if there was a clear distinction.

"Ah, of course. So what's the problem?"

Sharon squeezed his hand. "It's just you seemed so depressed during those last few days you spent in the hospital and then when I brought you back home to stay with me again you were clearly unhappy, you had me worried about you a little bit" Sharon confessed with Andy's mental state and how he might deal with that causing her as many sleepless nights as his physical injuries. "Your body was fixed but you mind seemed broken. I wasn't sure how I was going to get you to come back to me. I missed you."

"You never lost me" Andy told her sincerely before he pressed his lips to the side of her head. "I won't deny that I was a little unhappy for a few weeks around then but I had good reason. And I freely admit that I was perhaps a little upset and overreacted slightly at being perceived to be so weak and feeble in front of you but that's all" he reassured her.

"I never saw you as weak and feeble. I saw you as someone I loved who was injured and in need of care and support."

"I know but still having my girlfriend have to put my socks on every morning and take care of me rather than the other way around..." Sharon opened her mouth to speak but Andy quickly cut her off, knowing full well what she was about to say. "I know, I know you don't need anyone to take care of you and you never have done but that doesn't stop me from wanting to do it" he stated before once again pressing his lips to the side of her head.

"That doesn't stop me from wanting to do it for you either and it didn't, no matter what face you pulled or how bad tempered you became."

"I know, I remember the sponge baths you gave me quite vividly" Andy smirked.

"In your dreams buddy."

"Or my reality. Rusty is out tonight, if we get out of here at a reasonable hour I may let you scrub my back later."

Sharon scoffed, almost choking on her words as she laughed. "You 'may'?"

Andy winked. "It all depends on if you behave yourself today."

"What?"

"You heard me and that's another reason why I smile a lot more recently compared to when I was just your very patient patient" he concluded before leaning down and capturing her lips in a very short but sweet kiss. Sharon continued to smile up at him thinking that if only he'd taken one of her hundreds of not so subtle hints that she was trying to seduce him before his accident he could have been smiling throughout and wouldn't have had to have been anywhere near as patient and Rusty wouldn't have spent the entire time sleeping on the couch while Andy occupied his bed. "Plus there's this girl I love and she finally told me that she loves me too."

"Oh really?"

"Actually she sort of screamed it at me in the car while I was driving. It was kind of frightening" Andy joked.

"Frightening? You didn't exactly object if I remember correctly."

"I was too busy trying not to drive us off the road. So, that's why I smile a lot more now than I did when I was your patient" he confirmed before stealing another quick kiss.

"Good. I'm glad." No sooner where the words out of her mouth that Sharon suddenly started to limp. "Stop I have something in my shoe" she explained as they both came to a halt. "Here hold this" Sharon said before handing Andy her purse while she dealt with her footwear. Andy immediately put her purse on his arm as Sharon put her hand on his shoulder to steady herself while she removed her shoe.

Within seconds a Detective from Robbery Homicide walked past on his way to PAB, smiling at the sight he saw before him. "Hey Lieutenant. Nice purse" he exclaimed loudly for everyone in a two block radius to hear as he passed them.

Andy looked to the heavens and sighed. "You take your purse and I'll deal with your shoe."

Sharon smiled as she exchanged her shoe for her purse with Andy. "What about your sandwich?" she asked causing him to briefly look back and forth between his sandwich and Sharon like a dog looking between two divorcing masters and deciding which one to run to.

"Here" Andy said as he reluctantly handed over his precious sandwich to her. "Just please be careful."

Sharon laughed before reassuring him with "I'll be gentle don't worry."

"Don't ever say I don't love you." Andy quickly located the pebble in Sharon's shoe and removed it before kneeling before her, taking her foot and putting it back on as she continued to steady herself with a hand on his shoulder. "There you go Cinderella."

"Thank you. Don't get any ideas while you're down there" Sharon joked as Andy remained on bended knee before her.

"Oh I have lots of ideas. None of which I can share in public on the way to work." Andy took to his feet again, taking his sandwich back before their hands came together and continued their walk to work. After a moment Andy smiled and asked "I just want to check, you are..."

"If you ask about my underwear situation one more time I'll..."

"I'm just checking" Andy said defensively as he laughed.

They continued the rest of their short journey to PAB in a comfortable silence, enjoying the sunshine and the last few moments of closeness and physical contact with one another before the professional side to their relationship kicked in. As the steps that led to the building came into sight their hands instantly came apart and a distance of a couple of feet separated them. Neither one of them initiated it, it just happened naturally, instinctively as the line of Captain and Lieutenant came down and Sharon and Andy were put away until they left the building heading in the opposite direction. Andy straightened his tie as he spoke. "By the way if I have an hour to spare later Hobbs wants to see me."

"Why?"

"The review process into Slider's sentence is over so Judge Grove should be back in court today. Since he rarely vacates death penalty sentences Hobbs wants to start early and get ahead of Bobby Monroe and Slider's appeal process."

"Yes I remember now. She said she might need you at the Christmas party" Sharon told him as memories came trickling back to her through the fairly thick eggnog induced haze.

"As long as we don't catch a case of course. I don't want to leave you in the lurch."

"Don't worry, that's fine, this is more important and we can cope without you for an hour or so if need be."

As they approached the doors that led into PAB Sharon instantly spotted the rest of the division walking towards them and out of the building, clearing rolling out. It was well established that every one of them liked to arrive in the Murder Room before their Captain, something that would now prove to be difficult for Andy when they travelled in together, so it was not surprising or unusual for Sharon to roll in just as her squad were rolling out. As they crossed everyone said a quick 'Hello' and 'Good morning' with the exception of Provenza who came to a stop to speak to her as he pulled on his bucket hat.

"Ah good morning Captain" Provenza said as he tightened his tie, focusing solely on Sharon and acting as if Andy wasn't standing next to her.

"Good morning Lieutenant. Are we being rolled out?"

"Yes. It's been called in as a triple murder in Echo Park but that's all I know so far" Provenza explained.

"Okay. Keep me informed and when you're ready for me I'll meet you and our victims at the morgue with Dr Morales."

"Will do Captain." With that Provenza set off after the rest of the division and his car until he suddenly stopped and turned around, a finger raised in the air as if he'd remembered something. "Oh and Captain if our dedicated Desk Monkey would be so kind as to wait before joining you at the morgue, I may have a few records for him to chase up while we're working the scene."

"Not a problem Lieutenant."

Provenza turned and left without as much as a glance towards his partner. Andy glared at him as he walked away, burning holes into his back with his eyes while Sharon tried her best not to smile. After a moment Andy followed Sharon into the building removing his sunglasses and pocketing them, his fists clenched while his face turned red as he silently fumed at his most recent title of 'Desk Monkey.' Sharon tried her best not to laugh at him by avoiding his eye while they made their way through security and to the bank of elevators.

"Did you hear what he just called me?" Andy finally said as he jabbed the button forcefully to call the elevator.

"I did."

"'Desk monkey.'"

"You've been called worse and if you will persist on screaming 'Banana!' in the middle of conversations these type of aspersions will be cast."

"Desk monkey" Andy mumbled to himself as Sharon shielded her mouth with her hand.

"It won't be forever. You'll be back out in the field before you know it" Sharon told him after she composed herself, only eliciting a sigh of frustration in return. "Do you really think I like you stuck in the office all day with me? I'm used to having the place all to myself" Sharon lied. She actually loved having Andy on desk duty. Not only did she enjoy working with him professionally but she also found it beneficial having such an experienced officer on hand at all times to bounce ideas off especially when she had a witness or a family member to speak to while the rest of the squad was still at the scene. On a more personal note she liked having him in her eye line all day to keep an eye on him, just in case the worst were to happen once again.

"Why? What do you get up to when we're all out in the field?" Andy asked as they stepped into the elevator.

"That's for me to know and you to wonder about Lieutenant" Sharon told him, avoiding his eyes and trying not to smile as she removed some fluff from the front of her dress and effectively put an end to the conversation.

They travelled up to the ninth floor and into the Murder Room without another word being spoken until Sharon approached her office and caught Andy smiling at her, looking very pleased with himself indeed. She shook her head, instantly knowing what he was grinning about. "You can wipe that look off your face right now" she instructed him as she dropped her purse onto her desk while Andy followed close behind.

"What look?"

"That smug smile."

"Was I smiling?"

"You know very well. Just because work takes precedence over personal matters does not mean you don't have to apologise. As soon as everyone rolls back in you _are_ apologising to Lieutenant Provenza" Sharon stated in a tone which left no wriggle room whatsoever.

"In front of everyone?"

"Yes. An apology of this magnitude deserves an audience don't you think?"

"Do you want me to sell tickets?"

"You won't be the only one apologising" she reassured him.

Still not keen on the whole idea of having to apologise to Provenza in person following their argument Andy looked for every possible way out. "Sharon we've not managed to stay friends for this many years by apologising to each other."

"I'll be perfectly frank, I have no idea how you've managed to avoid killing each other let alone remain friends but for the benefit of this division you will be apologising to each other before things get further out of hand and it starts to have a negative impact on work."

"It won't impact on work."

"Really?" Sharon said in disbelief. "You've been in each other's company for less than thirty seconds today and you're already taking shots at each other." As amusing as she found Andy's reaction to being called a 'Desk Monkey' she knew that unless she made them apologise to each other and quickly it would only be the tip of the iceberg. Coupled with them spending the better part of Wednesday squabbling with each other over the coffee incident and then the argument over drinks, it was clear that very little work would get done with them in the same room without insults being pinged back and forth unless they cleared the air. "It ends today _Lieutenant_ " Sharon stated, emphasising the word 'Lieutenant' and making it clear that this was an order that she wanted him to follow for the benefit of work.

They just stared at each other for a moment in silence before Andy threw his arms into the air in resignation. "Fine! Aye aye Captain." He understood the problem and accepted that the air did need to be cleared but that didn't mean he wanted to do it or was happy about it. Sharon smiled and squeezed his arm, crossing that boundary between professional and personal for a moment before he sighed and she sat down behind her desk, examining a stack of paper that had been left for her over the holidays. "Since I've got a little time before the Desk Monkey is required to swing on his tyre, tea?" Andy asked.

"Please."

Andy nodded, secured the precious cargo inside his paper bag in the bottom drawer of his desk and headed off towards the Break Room. If there were no important and immediate matters at hand he always went to make them both a cup of tea if she hadn't had time to bring coffee with her (it so happened that she hadn't that morning as Andy had her otherwise occupied with other matters and more specifically what she had recently discovered he could do with just his little finger), something he had been doing for around eighteen months stretching back to before they were dating.

As soon as Andy was out of sight Sharon stood quickly, left her office and slowly made her way to his desk, hoping not to catch the attention of those uniformed officers that remained. She looked around for a moment to make sure that she wasn't being watched before she opened his top desk drawer and instantly smiled. There it was. Sitting on top of a stack of paperwork and odds and ends was a beanbag. The same beanbag that she had fired at a suspect some four and a half years earlier. The beanbag that Andy had confessed on Christmas Eve that he had picked up off the ground and kept in his drawer for all these years. She ran it beneath her fingers for a moment, wondering how many times Andy had sat there and done the same thing without her knowledge. Smiling again she quickly dug around in the open drawer and wrote an 'X' as a kiss on the solitary Post It Note she found in there and placed it next to the beanbag before closing the drawer. Hearing footsteps she hurried back into her office and sat down behind her desk, returning her attention to her paperwork as if she hadn't moved a muscle.

A few moments later Andy returned with a mug of tea in each hand. He walked straight into Sharon's office and placed her mug in front of her on her desk, turning the handle so it faced her. She looked up and smiled at him. "Thank you" she said before returning her attention back to her paperwork.

"You're welcome."

With Sharon preoccupied Andy stepped closer to her as he pretended to look out of the window while his hand gravitated towards the Christmas angels still sitting on the cabinet behind her. As his hand drifted closer to once again turn them around to look out of the window for his own amusement Sharon sighed loudly. "I'm warning you now, touch my angels one more time and lose a finger" she stated without looking up.

Andy stepped back around her desk. "Do you have eyes in the back of your head?"

Sharon looked up at him and smiled. "You have to in IA plus I know you far too well."

Andy walked towards the office door with his mug of tea in hand. "Open or closed?" he asked gesturing towards the door.

"Open. Thank you."

Andy nodded, leaving the door as requested before sitting down behind his desk. Once settled he sipped on his tea, pulling a face at the taste that he was still struggling to get accustomed to even though he was drinking far more of it than he used to. Stretching back as far as the 'misunderstanding' with Nicole there was an unspoken compromise between them. Sharon ate more vegetarian dishes and endless amounts of fish when they were together on their 'non-dates' and he drank more tea rather than coffee, acknowledging that it was probably better for him anyway. Placing his tea by his monitor his attention was caught by some paperwork left for him. He studied it for a moment before reaching for a pen from the pot on his desk. When no ink was forthcoming no matter how hard he scribbled with it, almost ripping the paper, he opened his top drawer and instantly saw the note that Sharon had left for him. He smiled, turning to look over his shoulder at her through the glass. He watched her for a moment as she continued to study the paperwork in her hands, smiling. Turning back around again Andy removed the Post It from his drawer just as Sharon looked up and saw him attach it to the bottom of his computer screen, grinning at him.

As they waited for more news from the rest of the division at the crime scene both Sharon and Andy busied themselves with paperwork they wished they had finished before they broke up from work for the holidays. A short while later Provenza called from the scene with some details and a warrant for Andy to run down before he reluctantly put his turkey sandwich in the fridge in the Break Room (minus a note with his name on because he had no Post It Notes left in his drawer since Sharon had used his last and he was in a hurry) and joined Sharon at the morgue to meet their victims, the morgue being the only place he was allowed to go other than court while he was on light duties.

The case they were working was that of three people found locked in the trunk of a car on the driveway to a house. Two women were found dead inside but a man survived although he was currently unconscious and being treated in hospital where Amy patiently waited for him to regain consciousness to take his statement. It became clear quite quickly (and in a large part thanks to the neighbour who had stumbled across the grisly discovery while walking their dog) that the older of the two women was the man's wife and other much younger woman was the family babysitter.

By the time the division (with the exception of Amy) assembled back in the Murder Room the much anticipated apology and clearing of the air was put on the back burner as they were far too busy with their case and under pressure to make progress quickly. However it instantly became apparent to everyone else in attendance that something had clearly happened between Andy and Provenza over the holidays with them being even snippier with each other than usual, creating an atmosphere, an atmosphere that was not helped by Provenza repeatedly making monkey noises at Andy while pretending he was coughing every time he walked past him and to the printer. Sharon chose to ignore it on the whole believing that their case was more important and because she still considered it to be a personal matter and work always had to come first in that building.

As Sharon stood in front of the murder board examining photos from the scene everyone else sat at their desks with the exception of Andy. He had always liked that his desk was away from everyone else, even back in the old Parker Centre days. He liked it even more recently since his day could instantly be improved by glancing over his shoulder and seeing Sharon (and her legs) in her office. The only problem was he never had anywhere to sit during these discussions at the murder board other than perching on the edge of a desk. However he once again stood at the back to prove a point about his health like he'd done from the first moment he returned to work following his operation, turning down chairs when offered to him because in his opinion he was fighting fit and ready to go back out into the field when required.

"So we're absolutely sure that the second female victim is the family babysitter?" Sharon asked as her fingers ran down a photo from the DMV.

"According to the neighbour" Provenza confirmed.

"Sophie Wilson" Mike read from a file in his hands. "Just turned twenty one. In her second year at UCLA. Originally from Portland, Oregon. No notification made to her parents as yet. We spoke to the housekeeper and they're in Oahu for the New Year."

"Lucky for some" Provenza muttered, his green eyes evident.

"Well you have to actually spend some money to go to these places" Andy shot at him in the twentieth such barb that had gone back and forth between them since they had settled to discuss what they knew of the case so far.

"Does she live in a dorm or off campus?" Sharon asked, choosing to ignore the latest remark.

"A dorm room according to the housekeeper but she didn't have an address to hand" Mike again confirmed. "We're running down the Dean of Admissions for the information but people are still away for the holidays."

Sharon moved to look at the photos of the car on the other end of the board. "And the car has definitely not moved from the driveway for three days."

Julio raised his hand. "No ma'am, again according to the neighbour."

"Which matches with the time of death that Kendal gave us meaning they've got to have been in there since some time on Christmas Day" Mike suggested.

"Maybe it was Krampus" Provenza added unhelpfully as he leant back in his chair with his hands on the back of his head.

Sharon ran her fingers down the DMV photos again, a puzzled expression fixed to her face. "She clearly wasn't babysitting on Christmas Day?"

Julio's hand shot up. "No ma'am. We checked. The kids are with the ex-wife in San Francisco and have been throughout the holidays."

Sharon nodded before turning back to look at the DMV photo of their youngest victim. "Sophie wasn't spending the holidays with her parents?"

"No. The housekeeper says she was staying in LA to celebrate with friends" Julio replied.

Again Sharon studied the murder board for a moment. "But cause of death was not suffocation. According to both Kendal and Dr Morales it was the blow to the back of the head with something wooden, possibly a bat. Dr Morales found wooden splinters embedded in the wound" Sharon stated as she took another look at the photo of the wooden fragments that Andy had taken and printed off from his cell.

"Baseball bat?" Provenza asked.

"No a fruit bat" Andy shot at him quickly, receiving a glare from both him and Sharon in return. "There was no weapon found at the scene? No baseball bats inside the house?"

"None that we found" Buzz told him.

"Did you look?" Andy asked, irritation clear in his eyes and his tone. It was not that he was irritated by his colleagues (well with the exception of Provenza) but rather the situation he currently found himself in. He had always been very hands on when it came to his job, personally looking over every square inch of a crime scene so he could see it for himself, getting everything settled in his own mind. At the moment that simply wasn't possible and although Buzz always did a thorough job with his video and everything was photographed for him to see, it just wasn't the same. It created some distance between him and the victim and as a result made him struggle to connect to the crime. As he battled with these issues he couldn't help but look at Sharon and once she knocked his socks off. She was in the same position as him, she never visited a crime scene unless she had to, leaving it up to Provenza to take charge (something she originally did to placate him and keep him in his job but later realised it was the perfect way for them to work in tandem with him being far more experienced in this regard) and yet she knew every crime scene, every detail, every witness like she had visited them and spoken to them herself. Andy needed to be there, on the ground, getting a feel for the crime and as a result the sort of person who could have committed it but Sharon could do all that, sometimes better than him without ever having left the Murder Room. It was just another reason to add to the millions that meant she took his breath away every time he looked at the beautiful woman he was fortunate enough to be sharing his life with.

"No Flynn we didn't think we'd bother" Provenza shouted with sarcasm hanging from every syllable. "Of course we looked! Do you think we're complete incompetents because you're not with us at a crime scene? Without you we just ignore bloody objects abandoned in the corner of the room that could quite clearly be the murder weapon?"

"Thank you Lieutenant" Sharon said forcefully, cutting in before Andy had chance to respond and yet another argument broke out. "But there was no blood in the house?" she asked, keeping the momentum going once again.

"None that we found. The doors and the windows were all untouched" Mike said as he attached three more photos to the murder board of the house interior. "Wherever the attack took place, it wasn't inside that house unless it's had one hell of a clean. SID are still going over it."

"No phones or other devices?"

Mike shook his head. "None in the house or on the bodies. No phones. No iPads. No computers. No nothing."

"Stolen?"

"Possibly but these days you tend to see the laptops missing but the power cords left behind. In this case everything was gone so whoever did this they weren't in a rush" Mike offered as he sat back down.

"We really need to locate her dorm room. What about the financials? Andy?"

"I got the warrants started before we went to the morgue so I'm expecting the bank to email me within the next ten minutes on Mr and Mrs Thomas. As for Sophie, well she was twenty one but we're looking anyway."

Sharon turned to look at the murder board again in silence as everyone else waited. "Both women, the wife and the babysitter were killed by a blunt force trauma to the back of the skull and yet the husband, Mr Thomas was just stuffed in the trunk seemingly unharmed with not a scratch on him?" she said to herself as much as anyone else. "Does that come across as odd to anyone else?" Sharon asked as she turned to face the group.

"Three days in the trunk with two bodies in the sun? That's a hell of a way to die" Andy said with grimace and a chuckle.

Provenza looked at him from the corner of his eye. "I don't know being stuck in a trunk with you for three days could be worse."

"Like you'd fit in a trunk" Andy scoffed.

Sharon sighed. "Come on guys. Focus please." As silence descended on the group for a moment Sharon was reminded of her first day on the job with Major Crimes and the fact that she had to rely on Chief Taylor to force her team to speak to her after she asked a question. Although it was at the back of their minds that perhaps Sharon dating Andy would mean that behaviour could slip and Provenza and Andy would be able to get away with more as a result but in reality nothing was further from the truth. When Sharon told Taylor that her relationship with Andy would not affect the good order and discipline of her division she meant it and that meant she was not going to allow this petty spat to get further out of hand.

"But he didn't die though did he?" Julio said as he attempted to pick up on Andy's statement before the latest squabble broke out. "And if someone wanted him dead why leave the car on his own driveway where he could be heard banging and calling for help? Why not just kill him like they did the other two and then stuff him in the trunk?"

Sharon nodded. "Exactly it just doesn't make sense."

"Maybe that was the point of it, maybe they wanted him to suffer" Andy suggested as he turned his attention back to work.

"Then why leave the car in a place where it could be found so easily? Drive it out to the desert rather than leaving it in plain sight?" Julio rationed as Andy nodded in agreement.

Again Sharon scanned the photos adorning the murder board. "And the car keys weren't found anywhere in the house?"

"No ma'am" Julio confirmed. "We've set up a grid search and have patrol still searching the surrounding area for the keys and any sort of murder weapon but at the moment, no luck."

Sharon looked at her watch. "How long until we get a print report back on the car?"

Mike quickly glanced at his computer screen before answering. "It shouldn't be too much longer but just looking at the dirt on it, it was covered in finger prints and that's without the ones from the neighbours as they tried to wrench the trunk open. It's going to take some time to eliminate the neighbours and our three victims before finding any potential prints from a suspect on the trunk." 'Covered' was an understatement. The car was absolutely filthy, looking like it had driven one hundred and twenty miles through a muddy field and then been offered as a prize during a 'hands on the car' radio competition.

"And the neighbours heard nothing for three days? Nothing at all?" Sharon questioned.

"Nope. The car is usually parked there for extended periods of time so that wasn't particularly suspicious to anyone. In fact there was no indication that anything was wrong until they happened to walk by first thing this morning and heard someone banging from the inside and calling for help" Mike replied.

"By the time they'd managed to pry the trunk open and the paramedics had arrived Mr Thomas was unconscious ma'am" Julio added.

"Are the hospital running a tox screen?"

"Yes ma'am" Julio confirmed.

"If he didn't start banging and calling for help for three days he had to have been drugged" Andy offered.

Provenza sat forward in his chair with a sigh. "Why don't we just stop all this now Captain and wait for Sykes to call and tell us that the asshole in the hospital has woken up and then we can ask the son of a bitch why he did it?"

Sharon looked at him for a moment, suppressing a smile. "What makes you think it's the husband Lieutenant?" she asked but knowing the answer.

Mike laughed. "Need you ask?"

Provenza raised his arms in the air. "Because it's always the husband, it's always the husband, it's always the husband" he said for the hundredth and (everyone hoped) final time that year making everyone smile and chuckle.

"How?" Andy asked. "He was locked in the trunk with the two dead bodies or did that fail to catch your notice."

Provenza swivelled in his chair to face him. "Strangely enough the smell that wafted from there when we opened up the trunk was a bit of a giveaway Flynn. It smelled like that vegetarian crap you inflict on us at lunchtime."

"This from a guy who eats garlic and anchovy pizza on stakeouts" Andy snarled.

"But why do that?" Julio cut in.

"Because he can't stand to watch me enjoying a hotdog that's why" Provenza grumbled.

"I meant lock himself in the trunk for three days with two women he'd just murdered."

"Because he was quite clearly cheating on his wife with the babysitter, the wife finds out and pop, he decides the best thing to do is kill them both" Provenza stated, not prepared to entertain any other explanation of the crime as he stood quickly and bowed before plopping down again.

"And then spend three days trapped in an enclosed space with no ventilation, in the sun with the bodies?" Andy asked with disbelief.

"Hey we've seen people do worse to get away with murder" Provenza quite rightly pointed out. "He could have easily climbed in there himself after he murdered them. He could have killed them, stuffed them in the trunk and then spent the next three days taking his time to clean everything up and dumping all the evidence before climbing in the trunk this morning and calling for help."

"Climbed in and then locked it?" Andy asked, not buying his explanation at all.

"Yes. It's not impossible."

"Then where's the key fob? It wasn't in the car."

"Maybe he swallowed it. In fact that's a good job for you, the division's very own dedicated Desk Monkey" Provenza suggested with a smirk. "You can wait to see if the key fob comes out of our so called third victim. We all know what an expert you are at raking through old shit."

"You're accusing me of raking through old shit? You?" Andy shouted as once again things started to get out of hand between them.

"Yes Flynn, are you deaf as well as stupid?"

"So I'm stupid now?"

"Since you can't even stick to the most basic of plans I should say so yes" Provenza shot back, still beyond irritated that despite all the effort they went to as they came up with a 'safe word' for their double date to avoid trouble, the whole evening had still blown up in their faces.

"I stuck to the plan perfectly, you're the one that opened your big mouth first" Andy cried with a point of a finger.

"Only because you blabbed to Patrice!"

As the bickering continued with Sharon unable to do anything but put her head in her hands and count to ten while taking several deep breaths, Mike, Julio and Buzz just looked at each other utterly perplexed. It was obvious to all three of them that there was a rather tense atmosphere between the two of them but they had no idea why. It wasn't like they had never seen them argue before, after all it was something they did as naturally as breathing, constantly bickering at times. But this was different, a situation which seemed even worse than when Julio returned to work in the Summer (and that was beyond uncomfortable at times). "What's going on?" Julio whispered to Mike while not taking his eyes off the bickering Lieutenants.

"I don't know but get ready to catch Flynn in case he faints again" Mike warned.

"How was I to know you'd never told Patrice that your garage attracts dead people?"

"Funnily enough Flynn, I don't know about you but corpses aren't usually high on my agenda for pillow talk!" Provenza bellowed back.

"So you decide the best course of action was to announce I have issues with commitment and that a woman superglued my testicle to my leg in front of Sharon?" Andy exclaimed as Mike and Julio laughed, not realising he was informing the rest of the division of something he'd previously kept to himself.

"What's the big deal? I thought you two told each other everything?"

"Why would I…"

Before Andy could finish his sentence Sharon's head snapped up to reveal that Darth Raydor had once again taken over her body, like she was possessed by the devil. "Banana okay?! Banana!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Everyone immediately fell silent, incapable of speech. Provenza's jaw dropped open, more than a little alarmed and annoyed that Sharon clearly knew the secret code, or rather the more ridiculous of the two secrets codes he had worked out with Andy. As calm descended Julio, Mike and Buzz looked at each other absolutely baffled not only by the argument breaking out in the Murder Room but also that both Andy and Provenza could be rendered silent with the use of the word 'Banana.' "Cut it out and I mean right now!" she added.

"But..." Provenza started but was soon cut off.

"Stop it! Enough! I've had enough!" Sharon continued, sounding less than impressed with their behaviour. "When it starts to have a negative effect on work this has gone too far. Come with me! Now!" she ordered. When neither Andy or Provenza moved a muscle Sharon closed the small gap to Provenza and grabbed hold of his tie, dragging him up and out of his chair and over towards Andy. Having led Provenza towards Andy like a stubborn dog not wanting to return home after a walk Sharon grabbed Andy's tie in her other hand, pulling him up and leading them both towards Electronics. "Follow me" she instructed with her voice taking on the quality of the possessed Dana Barratt from _Ghostbusters_ but since she was pulling them along (bordering on dragging them) by their neck ties and therefore giving them very little choice in the matter, it was more of an afterthought on her part than a genuine request.

As Sharon passed Electronics and continued to drag her squabbling Lieutenants towards the closest interview room, Mike, Julio and Buzz took to their feet and slowly followed, hovering just out of sight to ensure their presence wasn't known. Sharon led Provenza and Andy into the interview room before releasing their ties and standing by the door with her arms folded, blocking their only escape route short of them digging a tunnel like in _The Great Escape_. "I have had enough you hear me? You've got five minutes to sort this out without killing each other or I am suspending you both and don't think I won't" she warned them with levels of venom neither had seen from her in years. "It was bad enough you spent all day on Wednesday sniping at each other without having to put up with it again today."

With Sharon's threat lingering in the air Andy glanced at Provenza with his mouth hanging open before turning his attention back to his Captain, for at that moment she was anything but his girlfriend. "But we were only…"

"I don't want to hear it! Now both of you, woman the hell up!"

"Excuse me?" Provenza asked, almost choking on his own spit.

"You heard me. Make up! Now! You have five minutes and I'd better see a hug."

"A hug?" Provenza scoffed. "You expect me to hug him? No, no, no."

"What is it with you and forcing me to hug people?" Andy asked, his forced embrace with Rusty on Christmas Eve still fresh in his mind. "Do you want me to grab his ass too?"

"At this point I don't care if you put your tongue in his mouth. Just make up, now!"

"Listen Captain we've not stayed friends all these years by apologising to each other" Provenza told her, not realising that Andy had said the exact same thing to her that very morning.

"Yes I know, I've been told and why you two even talk to each other at all at this point is beyond me, just sort it out. Now!" With that Sharon stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind her. As she turned around she came face to face with Mike, Julio and Buzz staring back at her with a mixture of hope and expectance on their faces, their large, round pleading eyes making them look like Puss In Boots in _Shrek_. "It's like dealing with a couple of five year olds" Sharon said with exasperation as she put her head in her hands again. She sighed and looked up. "Buzz, the privacy sign please." Buzz nodded and quickly scurried off to retrieve the rather fake and pointless sign he had made a few years earlier.

"The privacy sign? Really?" Andy shouted from behind the closed door.

"That does not sound like an apology to me!" Sharon shouted back as Buzz returned with his laptop and handed her the sign. "Thank you" she told him as her tone softened before she hung the sign on the door. When she turned back around once again she was greeted with the same hopeful faces as they smiled at her. Sharon sighed again, thinking for a moment before walking straight into Electronics with everyone following behind her. As Sharon took up her usual seat in front of the monitors Buzz ran around to his chair and quickly put his laptop down before he switched on all the equipment while Mike and Julio hovered behind them with keen interest. When the monitors came on they revealed Andy and Provenza standing on opposite sides of the interview room, arms folded, just glaring at each other in silence, thunder clouds practically hanging overhead.

Silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity until Mike swallowed a brave pill and decided to ask the burning question. "What exactly is going on Captain?"

Once again Sharon found herself with her head in her hands as she sighed. "They had an argument the day before Christmas Eve" she confirmed.

"The coffee?" Buzz asked.

"It started with the coffee and it escalated out of control once we went over to the Lieutenant's house to have drinks with him and Patrice."

Mike, Julio and Buzz all looked at each other, biting on their lips as they desperately tried to stifle their laughter. "So…the double date didn't go so well then?" Mike questioned despite the answer being blatantly obvious to one and all. It had been the source of much merriment at the Christmas party that Provenza and Andy were being forced to go on a double date together, knowing it was obviously Patrice's idea and imagining the horror on both of their faces as Sharon jumped on board while they did their best to fake enthusiasm. Provenza and Andy and their various girlfriends always provided endless entertainment for the rest of the division over the years, never more so than now they were both in serious relationships with the Captain being thrown into the mix for good measure. They all expected their double date to end in disaster, how could it not, this was Louie Provenza and Andy Flynn after all, the clowns who couldn't go to a jewellery store without it becoming a disaster on the scale of the Hindenburg but since they were now more mature (in every way imaginable) and more importantly as settled as they'd ever been in their lives, it was still a surprise it had gone so spectacularly wrong.

"Not exactly" Sharon sighed.

Again the three men in attendance tried their bests not to laugh in the face of yet another 'Proflynnza' disaster for the sake of their Captain and the obvious torment she had and continued to suffer. "Should we get Dr Joe down here to help?" Buzz offered, trying his best to be helpful.

Julio looked at him quizzically. "He deals with children not adults Buzz."

Sharon turned to look at Julio with a cocked eyebrow. "And the difference here would be?"

"Good point ma'am."

Silence once again fell on the Electronics Room as everyone stared at the monitors where a matching silence and staring match was taking place. Sensing there wasn't going to be any change in the interview room any time soon Mike quickly opened the door and vanished. Sharon looked at her watch. "Godot will arrive before one of these two idiots speak."

Mike returned moments later with a bag of popcorn, completely unnoticed by everyone else as their eyes remained fixed on the screens, waiting for movement. The silence was broken by the sound of Mike crunching, making all three of them turn to look at him in unison. "Tao are you eating?" Julio asked pointlessly.

"Yes. Popcorn."

Sharon blinked a couple of times. "You have popcorn in your desk?"

"For occasions just like this" he informed them. He was immediately met with looks of complete surprise which he found completely unwarranted given the circumstances. Everyone had some sort of snack in their desks, they did work long and unusual hours after all and sometimes the odd sugar boost in the wee small hours of the morning was just what the doctor ordered but no one anticipated a quite large bag of popcorn to be hidden among them. "What?" Mike asked, not understanding their surprised expressions. "After the debacle with the flight attendants it's a prerequisite in the office surely just in case isn't it?" Slowly one by one they all nodded in agreement before taking a handful of popcorn each when Mike offered it.

For a few more moments the only sound was that of popcorn being eaten as Provenza and Andy continued to stare at each other with venom but without saying a word. Finally Julio laughed to himself. "Sykes is going to be so pissed she's missing this."

"I'm recording it, so she can catch up later" Buzz confirmed.

"Buzz!" Sharon shouted shocked.

"What? It's okay for us to watch but not to tape it?"

Sharon thought for a moment before nodding. "Just make sure that neither of them find out about it" she instructed, pointing a finger at all three of them.

The silence once again resumed with the only sound being the odd frustrated sigh from Sharon and the munching of popcorn. "Maybe you should have sent them in there with earpieces so you could prompt them Captain" Buzz suggested five minutes too late.

"Or a cattle prod." Sharon sighed again as she looked at her watch. At that moment time was a factor with the open case they had just started but since they were waiting for a variety of people to get back to them, not least for Amy to call from the hospital with news they had a rare window of opportunity with nothing much to do but watch Provenza and Andy attempt to sort out their differences. However, with her eye always on the ball, Sharon hadn't forgotten work completely. "Buzz anything back from SID yet?"

Buzz opened up the laptop in front of him and logged into his email. "Not yet Captain" he informed her with a shake of his head.

"While we're just sitting here see if you can hurry them along please." Buzz nodded and started to tap out an email after polishing off the remainder of the popcorn in his hand.

As Buzz continued to type the door suddenly opened. Sharon immediately cringed and covered her eyes with her hands. Without looking she knew who it was. With Amy still at the hospital and Mike, Julio and Buzz sitting with her as they watched the silent battle between Provenza and Andy it could only mean one thing. "There you all are" Chief Taylor exclaimed with an air of frustration of a man who had been forced into searching (albeit not very hard or far) for them. "Do you have a suspect in custody already?"

Sharon sighed again and slowly looked up and met his eye. "Not exactly Chief."

Taylor walked towards her, leaning forward to see what they were watching on the monitors. "Then who are you..." The moment he saw Provenza and Andy in the interview room, standing in silence and turning redder with each passing second his mouth dropped open. He straightened up suddenly, his finger moving back and forth between Sharon and the monitors before the words could form in his throat. "Why are Flynn and Provenza in there alone? Where's your suspect?" he asked decidedly unimpressed and fearing the worst.

"We don't actually have one at the moment Chief" Sharon told him more than a tad sheepishly.

"Then what's going on?"

Sharon swallowed, knowing that some very loud expletives were about to head in her direction. "Well you see Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza..."

Taylor waved his hands in the air to stop Sharon from talking. "Wait I've heard this story before. Dozens of times in fact. By putting you in charge of this division I hoped to never hear it again." Back when he was Commander Taylor he, like everyone else in the division bar Chief Johnson, found some of the trouble Provenza and Andy found themselves in all rather amusing and entertaining because he ultimately wasn't responsible for it with that honour falling to Chief Johnson and Chief Pope. When Taylor took over from Pope, Will wished him 'all the luck in the world' adding 'you'll need it' and none of it was in reference to his day to day job, it was all to do with the chaos he would have to deal with from time to time caused by Provenza and Flynn. When they offered Sharon Major Crimes both Pope and Taylor wrongly assumed that she would have more success keeping them both in line than Chief Johnson had. In a small way she had but their improved behaviour was largely down to them both suddenly 'growing up' during Provenza's brief stint in charge of the division. A few short years later Taylor had also foolishly assumed that since Sharon was now dating one of them that both would be more inclined to stay out of trouble for the rest of their careers. "What have they done this time? And how exactly has Flynn gotten himself into trouble when he's supposed to be chained to his desk on medical grounds?" Taylor asked.

"They haven't done anything" Sharon clarified.

"Then what's going on?"

"Chief this problem is more of a personal nature which was beginning to become an issue" Sharon explained being as careful as possible with the words she used.

Taylor's eyebrows shot up. "They're having a fight?"

"You could say that, yes."

"And you think this is a good use of your time?" he asked as he looked around the room and witnessed, as he saw it, six members of a highly paid division sitting around and doing nothing but eating popcorn when they had a double homicide to deal with. "For two of your Lieutenants to have a fight while the rest of you watch as two bodies lie in the morgue?"

"Popcorn?" Mike said unhelpfully with a smile as he offered Taylor the bag.

"At this moment in time Chief yes it is since their constant sniping at each other meant we were getting very little else done" Sharon replied as she battled to justify her decision.

"Captain..."

"Chief if you would please just hear me out for one second" Sharon said, cutting him off. "Detective Sykes is waiting at the hospital for our male victim..."

"Or as Provenza likes to call him, our suspect" Mike cut in.

"Let me guess, the husband?"

"You must be psychic" Julio laughed.

"Regardless Detective Sykes is at the hospital waiting for him to wake up and give us a statement as we speak. Patrol is searching the area around the crime scene for the murder weapon along with the missing set of car keys and any of their electronic devices should they have been tossed nearby. The family of our youngest victim live out of State and are currently out of town so we're holding off on the notification until we have more information. SID have printed the car and the rest of the house and we await their reports. Within the next ten minutes we're also expecting financials back on all of our victims which we hope will enable us to move forward in this investigation" Sharon explained as calmly as she could since her work and decision making was currently being brought into question. "Right now as we wait with five minutes to spare I thought it appropriate to get two vital members of my team to sort out their differences before they spiral out of control even further and prevent us from working efficiently."

Taylor thought for a moment as he processed all the information he had just been given. "Five minutes?"

"That's all I'm allowing Chief and then they either behave like adults and professionals or I'm suspending them."

Taylor looked at the monitor, seeing that neither Provenza nor Andy had moved a muscle much less started talking during the time he'd been standing there. "But they're not speaking."

"They will be when they hear me coming back in there in a moment" Sharon confirmed.

Again Taylor just stared at the monitor, a smile slowly forming at the corners of his mouth. "Are you taping this Buzz?"

"Yes Sir."

"Send me a copy when you're done. Keep me posted Captain." With that Taylor turned on his heels and left, closing the door behind him.

Once she was certain that he had really gone Sharon groaned and buried her head in her hands while everyone else again suppressed the overwhelming desire to laugh. After a few seconds of waiting for the banging pain behind her eyes to subside and briefly wondering how she had gone from witnessing debacles with the divisions two most senior Lieutenants from a safe distance to not only being involved in sorting them out but also involved with one of the main protagonists in less than four years, Sharon looked back up at the monitors. There was still no movement, not even a flicker. If it hadn't had been for their chests moving in and out as they breathed like bulls waiting to charge Sharon would have questioned if the picture had frozen. Deciding enough was enough as they started to quickly run out of time and she ran out of patience, Sharon looked at her watch. "Detective Sanchez if you would be kind enough to open the door for me for a moment."

"Yes ma'am."

Julio stepped to the door and opened it, holding it ajar as Sharon cleared her throat. "You've got less than one minute to start talking or I start work on your suspension papers" Sharon shouted loud enough for both men to hear. As she laid out her warning Sharon kept her eyes on the monitors and seeing both men flinch at her words caused Mike and Buzz to laugh and for Sharon to realise that her message had been heard and received. "Thank you Julio, you can close the door now." Julio closed the door and took up his position behind Buzz again but not before he exchanged questioning looks with Mike. No one was sure if Sharon meant it or not, not even Andy if he was honest with himself. In all honesty Sharon wasn't even sure if she would carry out her threat. After all Andy was her partner, the love of her life even but he was also her Lieutenant. Would she carry out her threat? Would she suspend him? Suspend them both? She had sworn to Chief Taylor as much as herself that she would not allow their relationship to affect work. She just hoped that Andy would quickly come to his senses and not put her in the position where she would ultimately have to make that decision.

Provenza and Andy both thought for a moment, their shoulders relaxing as they continued to just stare at each other. Finally Provenza broke the silence. "She wouldn't" he said, with it sounding more like a question than a statement.

"Wouldn't she?" Andy questioned. If it had been anyone else Andy would simply have called it an 'empty threat' and moved on but this was Sharon. He knew her far too well. He knew how obsessed she was about keeping work and private separate and not showing him any favouritism whatsoever, meaning she would go to extremes to prove that even if that meant going too far the other way and suspending him.

"Good point."

In Electronics all eyes immediately fell on Sharon as like Provenza and Andy they wondered if she would carry out her threat and suspend them if their continued bickering made work impossible. "Would you?" Buzz finally asked.

Sharon's eyes widened as she shook her head. "I hope I never have to find out."

Back in the interview room Provenza and Andy had returned to just staring at each other in silence. Finally Andy cleared his throat and slapped his hands on his hips. "One of us has to speak first" he said perhaps a little more aggressively than he intended.

"Then I guess it'll have to be me once again since I'm the one that phoned to apologise to the Captain before you bothered to phone Patrice" Provenza stated from atop of his high horse. "Once again it's left up to me to be the bigger man."

"I was busy with Sharon…" Andy started to protest before being cut off mid-sentence.

"Please spare me the details" Provenza insisted with an utterly horrified expression plastered to his face.

Andy just frowned for a moment before uttering "She was looking for her Christmas present."

"You didn't leave it in your house did you?" Provenza asked with complete disbelief. "Ye Gods Flynn even I know not to trust your girlfriend alone with anything wrapped in pretty paper around the holidays."

Sharon immediately slumped back in her seat, pleased that they were finally talking and that progress was on the cusp of being made but annoyed that her reputation was at the centre of it. "Anyone would think I unwrapped gifts at the beginning of November" she said with a disbelieving sigh.

Julio glanced at Mike for a moment before clearing his throat. "Erm...you did. Last year ma'am" he reminded her resulting in a glare heading back in his direction. Sharon could glare all she wanted but there was no denying that last year after the Christmas tree went up in the Murder Room the day after Thanksgiving and with the Secret Santa gifts following two days later, that her present (a scented candle from Amy which broke the ten dollar spending cap) was the only one to have its wrapping paper mysteriously and suspiciously ripped open and hastily taped back together again when she was alone in the office. It didn't take a genius to work it out even before everyone noticed that the glitter from the paper was all over Sharon's desk like Tinkerbell had exploded above it.

Back in the interview room Provenza rather dramatically took a step towards Andy. "Well go on then. I'm waiting" he said.

"For what?"

"For you to apologise."

"You'll be waiting a long time" Andy scoffed.

"You're such a child" Provenza replied petulantly.

"I know you are but what am I?" Andy shot back in equally childlike fashion causing Sharon to turn the volume down in Electronics for a moment, having had more than enough of listening to them bicker for one lifetime.

Mike laughed to himself as he sat back on the wall unit. "This is exactly like watching my boys fight in the back seat of the car…only with less hair pulling and everyone is on some sort of medication."

"Keep watching, it'll come" Sharon told him only half joking.

Mike laughed again. "I've never known two people fight so much without killing each other."

"Have you ever done surveillance in the back of a car with these two?" Julio asked with a tone that suggested the experience had perhaps traumatised him for life. "The longest four hours of my life" he added. "They're worse than children. 'You're sitting on my side.' 'Stop breathing on me.' 'You're getting crumbs everywhere.'"

Sharon and Mike both laughed while Buzz looked more empathetic but not in the way Julio expected. "Crumbs in a new car are a real problem Detective" Buzz explained like he was talking about the horrors of human trafficking. "You should have seen my car after it came into contact with Chief Johnson. It was like someone emptied the crumbs from thirty toasters in there. I was stalked by a flock of birds for weeks" he whined and not for the first time.

"It's just food crumbs Buzz" Julio replied, failing to see the comparison between crumbs and the constant squabbling between Provenza and Andy. "They were lucky I didn't just shoot both of them."

Buzz swivelled round in his chair to face Julio. "If we're going to complain about damage caused while in the company of Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza need I say anything other than pointing out the suspension I incurred and the damage they did to my car" he pointed out and not for the first time revealing that he still wasn't completely over the damage done to his beloved Prius.

"Why did you even go with them?" Mike asked, still surprised that Buzz agreed to go anywhere with them especially off the clock even if money was involved.

"I don't know. I should have known better when they started to talk to me in a whisper. No good can come from Lieutenant Flynn whispering." As Buzz finished Sharon couldn't help but smile. In comparison to him she always rather liked it when Andy whispered in her ear but that was for completely different reasons entirely.

Sharon turned the volume back up on the monitors just in time to hear Provenza cry "You're so immature!"

"Me?" Andy protested. "I've known foetuses with more maturity than you."

"And you've dated most of them" Provenza replied instantly making Sharon roll her eyes and turn the volume back down again for a moment.

"They could be worse" Mike offered Sharon.

"How?"

"My boys are big fans of 'Why are you hitting yourself?'"

"So were my brothers along with feeding me fistfuls of mud" Julio admitted.

Sharon laughed. "What?"

"That was nothing, my brothers used to pin me to the floor and see how low they could get a string of spit towards my face before sucking it back up again." Julio may have said that his brothers used to do it to him but when it came to the spitting game he was by far and away the king of the castle. Julio could not only get the string of spit to touch someone's face but also had the suction power to whip it back up again. Of course when his Mother caught him he spent the rest of the evening alone in his bedroom with an extremely sore backside and an empty stomach (it not helping when he questioned why it was okay for her to spit on a tissue and rub it on his face to remove a dirty mark before church but not okay for him to let a spit string touch someone's face) but that reaction was nothing compared to when he tried the same thing with Maria as a joke on their honeymoon.

"That's disgusting" Buzz exclaimed with horror.

"That's boys for you" Mike laughed. "Boys are disgusting and mine are no exception. It doesn't improve with age much either."

Sharon smiled. "Girls aren't much better. Especially when they have a brother."

"What did Emily use to do?" Mike asked.

"Lots but I could never seem to catch her unlike Ricky. Emily used to prefer to mentally torment Ricky. She once told him that it was illegal to ride in the passenger seat of a car until you were ten years old. Then of course on his tenth birthday she announced that there had been a change in a law and so on and so on until he turned sixteen and his brain finally kicked into gear." Emily was forever lying to Ricky about all manner of things. If she wasn't telling him he was adopted she was telling him that she and Sharon were a figment of his imagination and they disappeared every time he left the room. Emily's crowning glory however was convincing Ricky that time would speed up if he ran everywhere instead of walking. The result was he spent the next six months running absolutely everywhere in the hope that he would make Christmas arrive sooner.

"In my experience sisters are always the worst" Buzz added as he crossed his arms. "Mine used to paint, and that is the correct term by the way, used to paint my face in makeup and call me Elizabeth."

Everyone laughed before Julio smiled and asked "How is Cassie?"

Buzz paused for a second, eyeing Julio suspiciously. "She's fine Detective. Thank you for asking."

"Did you see her over Christmas?"

"Of course."

"Is she still in the city?"

"Until tomorrow."

"And you didn't bring her in to say 'Hello'?" Mike asked with a grin.

"Funnily enough no."

"Why not?" Julio questioned even though he knew the answer.

"Why not? How about because the last time I brought her here she was hit on more times than a piñata at a birthday party."

Mike and Julio both laughed. "But things are different now" Julio protested.

"How?"

Mike shrugged. "To begin with Chief Pope has better things to do these days than to spend all day hitting on your sister."

"Trust me, he'd still sense she was in the building."

"And Lieutenants Provenza and Flynn are both off the market" Julio added, hoping above hope that he might be able to convince Buzz to bring Cassie by even if it was just for an hour.

"Since when does that stop them?" The moment the words left Buzz's mouth he grimaced as he realised what he'd said and more importantly who he'd said it in front of. He glanced at Mike and Julio for help even though it appeared that Sharon hadn't taken much notice, her eyes focused on the monitors as Andy and Provenza started to talk again and making her turn the volume back up.

"All of this because of that damn cup of coffee which I never even laid my eyes on" Provenza grumbled.

Andy put his head in his hands, acknowledging that Provenza had been telling the truth about the coffee all along. "I know! I know! I know you didn't take it" he said. He paused for a moment before admitting "Sharon did."

"What?" Provenza cried.

Almost simultaneously Mike, Julio and Buzz turned to look at Sharon with complete shock, their jaws almost hanging open. Knowing she was being stared at and beginning to feel beyond mortified and a little hot under the collar Sharon's shoulders slumped as she buried her head in her hands. " _You_ took his coffee?" Buzz eventually asked.

"Yes" came the muffled cry from behind her fingers.

"I didn't quite hear that Captain" Buzz continued as they all battled not to laugh.

"Of course I took his coffee" Sharon exclaimed as her arms flew into the air. "Thanks to Julio and that eggnog from hell I was hung over at work for the first and only time in my life. Don't any of you tell Andy I admitted that" she warned as Julio looked back at her smugly, considering it a feather in his cap that he'd managed to get Captain Raydor as drunk as a skunk at a Christmas party on eggnog that he himself had stopped drinking after the first mouthful burnt his throat like it was drain cleaner.

"Yes ma'am."

"The Captain took your coffee?" Provenza asked shocked.

"She confessed she'd taken it after we got back to mine on Wednesday night."

"I hope she made it up to you."

Andy smiled, his eyebrows rising so high they almost pinged off his face. "You have no idea."

"Oh God" Sharon cried full of embarrassment as she rested her head on the console in front of her, mortified beyond belief by what was being revealed about her. Once again Mike, Julio and Buzz nearly hurt themselves trying not to laugh and therefore embarrass her further as they smiled at each other. After a few moments of waiting Sharon realised that the ground was not about to open up and swallow her no matter how much she wanted it to so lifted her head and looked at her watch, trying to turn their focus back to work as much as possible. "Julio call Amy and see if she has an update please."

"Yes ma'am" Julio nodded before stepping out of the door behind them in order to make the call.

In the interview room Andy rested his back against the wall and rubbed his face forcefully with his hand before asking "Why did you have to tell her about me being locked naked on that balcony?" his voice almost pleading despite the fact that the incident had come and gone.

"For the same reason that you told Patrice I'd turned one woman into a lesbian and another woman into a Nun" Provenza replied like it was any sort of justification.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble I was in?" Andy asked with a sigh, their conversation becoming more of a civilised discussion rather than an argument. "How many times I've been asked exactly what happened in Barstow?"

Buzz looked at the monitors puzzled before turning towards Sharon. "Barstow?"

"You don't want to know Buzz" Mike told him as he shook his head.

Sharon's eyebrows shot up out of surprise as she turned around to look at Mike. "You know about it?" she asked, at once desperate to know what had gone on while acknowledging that some secrets in a relationship were probably for the best, especially secrets that caused Andy to panic to that extent.

"Of course. I was there" Mike replied with a shudder rather than a smile. Suddenly he frowned. "Wait you don't know?"

"According to Andy these things are best kept to himself" she replied with a wry smile as she returned her attention back to the monitors.

"I whole heartedly agree. I wish I didn't know."

"Of all the things to tell her!" Andy cried with exasperation as he paced back and forth, his temper once again getting the better of him while his face turned redder by the second.

"I didn't tell her anything about Barstow!" Provenza protested.

"But you brought it up!" Andy shouted at full volume.

"Okay! Okay! Calm down!" Provenza all but ordered as he waved his hands like he calling in a plane to land. "We don't want you to have another one of your 'spells.'"

"Spells?"

"Yes. One of your fainting spells" Provenza replied with a raise of his eyebrows making Andy sound like a spinster librarian in a melodrama who fainted every time a man so much as placed a glance in her general direction.

"Jeez what is this? A Tennessee Williams play? I don't get spells."

Provenza scoffed. "Sure, you just fall down a lot" he replied, ignoring that at least half the time (and more recently) Andy had passed out from pain and injury. "I've seen fainting goats and new-born deer more stable on their feet than you are" he mocked.

Andy sighed. "I've only passed out a couple of times because of extenuating circumstances" Andy told him through gritted teeth with fists clenched beneath crossed arms.

"What like having an argument with your ex?"

"Wait have you been talking to Sharon?" Andy asked as his eyes widened, the fact that Sharon kept calling Provenza his boyfriend and joking about their argument ending in divorce still at the forefront of his mind.

"About what?"

Andy rolled his eyes. "She keeps calling you my 'boyfriend.'"

Mike and Buzz immediately started laughing hysterically with Sharon unable to hide her own smile. "Boyfriend?" Buzz asked, struggling to get the word out as he laughed.

Sharon shrugged. "As soon as they stop acting like a couple I'll stop calling them one."

As the laughter died down Julio walked back in with his cell in one hand and a sandwich in the other and closed the door. "He's still unconscious ma'am" he informed Sharon following his telephone conversation with Amy.

"Thank you Julio." Julio nodded in response before sitting back down on the unit behind her and taking a bite out of the rather large sandwich in his hand. With silence once again descending on the interview room Sharon sighed and turned to speak to Julio again about his conversation with Amy. The moment her eyes landed on him or more importantly the partially eaten item in his hand they tripled in size and her jaw dropped opened. After almost choking on her tongue for a moment Sharon finally managed to ask "What is that?"

Julio shrugged. "A sandwich I found in the Break Room fridge. It had no name on it."

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried as her head fell into her hands once again.

"What? It had no name on it. Everyone knows if it's in the Break Room and there's no name tag then it's up for grabs." If there were any rules that Julio knew better than his Captain they were the rules about food in the Break Room fridge. Food went missing from there all the time to the point where people had almost come to blows. In the end it was decided that if an item of food had a Post It Note with a name attached to it, you weren't allowed to touch it, if it didn't then it was up for grabs, as such people had taken to gluing name tags to bowls of pasta so that they couldn't 'accidentally' fall off.

"What?" Sharon asked in disbelief, her grasp on the rules and regulations of the fridge being not what they should be compared to other areas.

"Those are the rules" Mike confirmed.

"Surely you of all people know that" Buzz smiled.

After a moment of cradling her head in her hands and thinking about how much life had changed in four short years she looked up. "Are you deliberately trying to make my life a living hell?" she asked Julio. "That's Andy's leftover turkey sandwich or rather it was. I'm the one that made him put it in the fridge. I'm the one that told him he couldn't get a Patrolman to guard it."

Mike laughed. "Patrolman?"

"You have no idea what I have to deal with outside of work" Sharon told him earning a sympathetic smile and a small ripple of laughter from her colleagues. "I'm the one that used his last Post It Note so that he couldn't label it before we left to go to the morgue" she groaned as if she had committed a cardinal sin. "Why didn't he write on the bag?" Sharon's head instantly returned to her hands as she sighed, a sigh of a condemned woman, knowing the sort of reaction that was going to head her way the moment Andy found out what had happened to the love of his life, the turkey. Coming so soon after the incident with the coffee, three of her decisions had led to his beloved sandwich being devoured by another, firstly insisting that he left it unguarded in the fridge, secondly using his last Post-It and thirdly suggesting they travel to work in the same car that day so that when she was called to the morgue he had no time to label his sandwich before having to drive her. She sighed again, how could one man be that obsessed with turkey? It was bordering on unnatural but at least if the spark ever died between them (which at that moment seemed very unlikely) she knew that it would instantly be rekindled if she came to bed holding a turkey leg and smelling like she'd been basted. Sharon briefly wondered what Andy would be most upset about, Julio eating his sandwich or ever finding out that she had cheated on him (not that she ever would). The only way the situation could have been worse would have been if Julio had eaten those scraps of turkey while watching _Badge of Justice_. She sighed once more knowing it was going to take a lot to make it up to him this time, coming to bed that night in nothing but a whipped cream teddy being the most obvious answer and even that might not be enough.

"Oops" was all that Julio could muster in response as he continued to eat the sandwich without a care in the world, the damage already done.

"How can a vegetarian love turkey that much?" Mike asked, always highly amused by Andy and his usually unsuccessful attempts at healthy eating.

"Believe me I've had that conversation multiple times over the holidays. I'm just thankful he didn't bring the carcass to bed with him."

In the interview room Andy sat on the edge of the desk, facing away from Provenza as he rubbed his ear, knowing everyone probably had one eye on his blood pressure. "I think it's fair to say you gave as good as you got if not more."

Provenza looked at him like he had just sprouted wings. "Are you high on something?"

"What?" Andy stood and faced Provenza, still tugging on his earlobe. "Sharon didn't speak to me for a good hour after we left your place."

"Oh big deal! The silent treatment!"

"It is for us!"

"Yes I forgot you tell each other everything" Provenza said mockingly.

"Will you let it go! I only told Sharon we shared a bed on your wedding night, you told her you kissed me. As for everything else, I never said a word, unlike you" Andy said accusingly with a point of his finger, still in full denial that he and the broken filter between his brain and mouth was partly responsible for what happened on Wednesday night. "You know how important Sharon is to me. How desperately I'm trying _not_ to be that guy anymore and you tell her everything." Andy sighed, his shoulders sagging as he rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I have never seen her look more disappointed in me."

As Sharon watched she covered her mouth with her hand, quietly whispering to herself "I was never disappointed." It had come as a surprise to her to learn that Andy was more troubled by his past than she was and no matter what she said to him nothing seemed to fully reassure him. Yes she had been disappointed on Wednesday night but that was because his behaviour had helped ruin a perfectly lovely evening, not because of what he did when he was going through a divorce and she was unhappily married and bordering on becoming legally separated from another man.

The words that left Sharon's lips were nothing more than a whisper, so quiet that they were easy to miss if you weren't paying attention but they didn't go unnoticed by the other occupants of the Electronics Room. The extremely personal nature that the previously amusing argument had become made all them shift a little uncomfortably on the spot, that line between work and personal becoming even more blurred and making them prepared to leave at any moment should it become necessary to give their Captain privacy.

"That makes two of us" Provenza replied, his tone of regret matching Andy's following the disappointment he witnessed in Patrice's eyes. "And you really think you came off worse? Patrice made me sleep on the couch!"

"So did Sharon!" Andy lied as he battled to win this current round of one-upmanship.

With the words still echoing around Electronics, Mike, Julio and Buzz all turned to look at Sharon in unison. Feeling the bravest of them all Mike asked "You made him sleep on the couch?"

"No!" Sharon replied instantly. "Of course I didn't. To begin with we were at his house. I threatened it but that's all it was, a threat. He's lying, they both are."

"How do you know that?" Julio asked with a smile.

"Because I spoke to Patrice the next morning" Sharon confirmed. "Lieutenant Provenza didn't sleep on the couch. She gave him the silent treatment for an hour or so and then let him back in the bedroom."

"You phoned Patrice?" Buzz laughed, realising that Provenza's worst nightmare was indeed coming true, his Captain was starting to know more about his personal life than he did.

"Of course I did. It's what Mothers do when their children get into fights with their friends" Sharon laughed before quickly being joined by everyone else. It struck her in that moment that while raising two children completely alone she hadn't had to speak to a parent over a fight involving them as many times as she had since the day before Christmas Eve.

"Just to clarify are you their girlfriends or their Mothers? Sometimes it's hard to tell" Julio joked as he polished off the remainder of Andy's sandwich.

"Tell me about it."

Andy looked to the heavens, rubbing his hand up and down the back of his neck a few times before he looked Provenza square in the eyes and said, albeit reluctantly and through slightly gritted teeth "I'm sorry okay. I'm sorry." It seemed ridiculous that despite the length of their friendship (and before that just working side by side) this was the first time that either of them were really saying the words 'I'm sorry' for reasons other than consoling each other after a break up or divorce or Andy accidentally stabbing Provenza in his penis with a stray toothpick that he left in his back pocket during a game of basketball back when Provenza used to...well not run exactly but certainly trot (after being turned into a human cocktail wiener on a stick, Andy and George Andrews had to smuggle a bottle of bourbon into the emergency room for him to drink before he'd even allow a nurse to come anywhere near his impalement). Neither wanted to apologise, who really does, but Andy knew he wasn't getting out of that room without saying it, so if someone was going to make the first move it might as well be him, if for no other reason than to please Sharon.

"Finally! We have a break through" Sharon proclaimed as she raised her hands above her head triumphantly.

"I shouldn't have told Patrice about what happened in your garage," Andy started contritely before his tone changed abruptly, "but how was I supposed to know you hadn't told her."

Provenza sat down in the nearest chair with a thud, feeling he'd be able to summon the words 'I'm sorry' much more easily in a seated position. "For future reference Flynn before you open your mouth think to yourself 'Would I want the Captain to know this about me?'" Andy didn't say a word, he just nodded before running a hand down his face, longing to go back to any one of the relaxing four days that had just come to pass. They both remained silent for a moment until Provenza took a deep breath and finally admitted "I'm sorry I told the Captain that you perhaps had some commitment issues in the past. How much trouble did it cause?"

"Enough" was all Andy was prepared to say in response.

"I'm sorry."

"I know. Me too." After a moment Andy joined Provenza in sitting down, a smile suddenly etched on his face. "Those were a lot of good times" he added since if they both ignored the trouble they were in with their respective lady loves because of their argument, they did have fun talking about some of their more enjoyable evenings back when they were very single.

Provenza laughed. "Yes they were."

"You know we haven't been out together in the longest time" Andy mused, dropping a hint so loud people in the next building could hear it.

"And whose fault is that?" Provenza snarled, interpreting Andy's words as an accusation rather than an invitation to get planning.

"Well it certainly isn't mine?"

"Really?" Provenza scoffed. "Since you've been dating the Captain it's seemingly been illegal for you to spend more than five minutes apart." Provenza could complain all he wanted but it wasn't just Andy's fault, as always happened, the moment Provenza became 'attached' Andy saw less and less of him and his relationship with Patrice was no different.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm pleased you're happy, really I am, the both of you," Provenza clarified before sticking the knife in and twisting it, "but I've never seen you so whipped."

"I'm whipped? Me? What about you?"

"What about me?" Provenza asked beyond offended that anyone would dare suggest he was 'under the thumb' so to speak, least of all the utterly whipped Andy Flynn.

"It means I assume Patrice keeps your balls in a jar under the sink when she's not wearing them as earrings" Andy stated bluntly.

"I'm not whipped you are!"

Sharon sighed before shouting "Pair of idiots! You're both whipped" at the monitor even though neither man could currently hear her. Her use of the word 'idiot' increasing tenfold since she had agreed to go to dinner at Serve.

Andy smirked. "What do you call what Patrice did to your house?" Having spent more evenings that he cared to count asleep on Provenza's couch following a ball game over the years Andy knew that place like the back of his hand. It was pure Louie Provenza, it looked, smelled and even felt like the man. That was until the utterly fabulous Patrice Perry moved in and then Andy hardly recognised the place, neither did Provenza for that matter. What was important to stress was that the place looked better than it had ever done, better than Andy's house had ever done even and Provenza loved it but it certainly wasn't him, not the old him anyway.

"It's called moving in together and combining styles" Provenza explained like he was hosting an episode of _Extreme Makeover_.

"Combining?" Andy laughed. "Your duck lamps are here and everything else you own is in storage after paying Sharon's condo a quick visit. And yes she told me."

"Of course she did."

"Well forgive me for finding the love of my life!"

"Me too!"

"Fine!"

"Women!" was all Provenza could say.

"You got that right."

Sharon shook her head, unable to believe her ears. "I should have known this was all going to turn out to be my fault."

"Well you did take his coffee ma'am" Julio said rather unwisely. Sharon slowly turned around in her chair with as much drama and menace as a Bond villain before fixing him with her best Darth Raydor glare. Sharon acknowledged that the whole argument had stemmed from her drinking that damn cup of coffee but she didn't need to be reminded of it.

Satisfied with his apology and what he had received from Provenza in return, Andy was suddenly very keen to remove their audience so they could talk more privately, correctly assuming that not only was Sharon listening to their every word with interest but also Mike, Julio and Buzz. Andy pulled out his cell phone and quickly typed a note. He turned the phone around for Provenza to see. Once Provenza had grabbed Andy's wrist and moved the phone to a suitable distance where he could read without squinting or straining his eyes he read the words 'We need to stop Sharon from watching this. Play along with me.' He nodded at Andy, the message received. While Andy pocketed his phone again Provenza cleared his throat and then asked "So the Captain took your coffee huh?"

"Yes she did."

As she listened Sharon sat forwarded on the edge of her seat, suddenly feeling anxious as to what Andy might be about to say to his friend about their encounter in the kitchen once she had stopped giving him the silent treatment. She knew it wasn't the sort of thing Andy was likely to tell a colleague except Lieutenant Provenza wasn't just his colleague, he was also his best friend and telling _him_ wasn't out of the realms of possibility (Sharon wasn't to know that Provenza _really_ didn't want to know such things about his Captain and was extremely vocal in his protestations to Andy about it).

"And how exactly did she make it up to you?" Provenza asked, fearing the answer as much as Sharon did.

Andy immediately smiled like the Cheshire Cat. "Oh boy!" he said with glee, rubbing his hands together. "Oh wait until you hear this! It turns out she..."

Before Andy could go any further Sharon took to her feet, waving her arms violently in the air before turning the volume off. "Okay I think we've seen enough" she announced, not realising that Andy had stopped talking, himself unwilling to tell Provenza anything private about Sharon regardless of his feelings on the subject. "Buzz if you'd switch off the monitors please and stop recording." Extremely reluctantly Buzz did as instructed, stopping the recording and turning off the monitors. "Everyone back to their desks, we have a double homicide to solve" Sharon instructed before she pushed all three of them towards the door.

"But Captain..." Buzz protested.

"No 'but's. I think we've spied on them enough for one morning. Back to work" Sharon added as she heaved them all out of Electronics and shut the door behind her, blocking the route back in there with her body.

Julio looked at her pleadingly. "But the make-up sex is the best part."

"Not from my position in this rather bizarre threesome." As her marriage to Jack began to break up Sharon sadly got used to her husband sharing his affections with other women. It was something she never wanted to experience again and yet here she was in the middle of another love triangle but at least this time the other woman was in fact another man instead and, more importantly, absolutely no sex was taking place between them (as far as she was aware anyway). "Detective Sanchez get another update from Detective Sykes please and Lieutenant Tao chase up SID for that print report." Sharon remained outside Electronics as Mike, Julio and Buzz slowly turned and headed back to their desks, ready to resume work. Once they were out of sight she turned towards the closed door of the interview room, her hand ready to knock but never quite coming into contact with the door.

Provenza rubbed his head as he laughed. "You're going to pay for that later" he informed Andy, pleased as punch that he wasn't in any trouble for once unlike his counterpart.

"Oh I've talked myself out of worse over the last couple of days" Andy replied with a lot more confidence than he had. "Do you think they've gone?"

"Oh I should say so but regardless do _not_ finish that story. I don't want to know how the Captain made it up to you."

Before Andy had chance to respond, Sharon finally banged her fist on the door three times. There was a brief pause before she spoke. "You've got five more minutes and then back to work please Lieutenants."

"Yes ma'am" Andy replied as he smiled obscenely.

Provenza took one look at Andy's overly infatuated smile and rolled his eyes. "Ye Gods" he exclaimed with Andy's love sick puppy routine starting to wear a tiny bit thin. As Andy's smile faded Provenza looked at his feet, guilt settling over him and not for the first time since Wednesday night. The worst thing he could have done as he argued with his equally juvenile friend was to sow the seeds of doubt within Sharon's mind about Andy's fidelity and yet that's exactly what he did. He knew Andy better than Sharon currently did, he felt anyway and he knew how much he'd changed, he'd witnessed it first hand and knew he'd never do anything to jeopardise his relationship with her but did his Captain know that? It had kept him up at night recently, the image of his Captain's shoulders slumping as the words left his mouth. As the argument raged he had meant to get at Andy, not Sharon, if only they had kept telling embarrassing stories about each other instead of making it more personal. "I take it by that look on your face that everything is still okay between you two?" Provenza asked, his guilt evident.

"It's fine" Andy nodded.

"And the whole infidelity thing?"

Andy shrugged, not exactly enthusiastically. "She says she trusts me, made a big point of saying it as we lay on my kitchen floor."

"Why were you…" Provenza instantly grimaced worse than a teenager walking in on his parents having a 'lie down.' "Wait, forget it. I don't want to know."

"Agreed."

"But that's good isn't it? The Captain saying she trusts you is a good thing."

"Yeah but she shouldn't have to say it" Andy replied with a sigh. "She shouldn't even have to think about it. She shouldn't have to make a point of saying it, to make me believe it, to reassure me. I should have been a trustworthy guy to begin with."

Provenza laughed, hearing himself when he first started dating Patrice in Andy's words. "Short of quickly building a time machine there's nothing you can do about that now other than being that guy moving forward."

"I know."

"But you're both okay? The Captain seemed happy enough when I spoke to her on the phone. Everything was okay over the holidays?" Provenza asked, still annoyed with himself that he'd 'put his foot in it' so spectacularly.

"Yeah. We're fine. No thanks to you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. When it comes to screwing up each other's lives I think we can call it a tie" Provenza shot back, both of them having given as good as they got.

"Safe word. Lot of good that did."

"You told the Captain?"

"Well she was mildly curious why we were both shouting 'banana' at each other."

Provenza laughed, knowing he'd explained the same thing to Patrice but completely unprepared to admit that to Andy. "That was what she was most curious about?"

"Not exactly but we had a _long_ talk when we got home. One of things we spoke about…"

Provenza waved his arms, quick to cut him off. "Think _very_ carefully about whether I want to really hear this story before you continue" he warned, with not enough wine in the world able to make him forget any sort of personal antidote that involved his Captain.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. Trust me, you want to hear this." Andy shuffled forward in his seat and lowered his voice, on alert in case they were still being listened to. "Sharon said that when she and Patrice were talking about us in the yard..."

Provenza slammed the palm of his hand on the table making Andy jump. "So they were talking about us! I knew it!" he proclaimed as his face contorted to make him look like a bulldog sucking on a whole lemon.

"Of course they were. They got on like a house on fire. Almost as good as Sharon did with Carol."

"You saw her over Christmas?" Provenza asked innocently as he tried to stop himself from laughing in Andy's face, correctly anticipating what he was about to say.

"She showed up at Nicole's on Christmas Day."

"What happened?"

"What do you think happened? She took one look at how happy I am with Sharon and started to tear into me like a gorilla with a kitten."

"Oh Flynn, Flynn, Flynn!" Provenza chuckled. "Have you learned nothing from my years of experience? You never let your current girlfriend meet any of your ex-wives. Did I not make that clear to you?"

"Obviously not and it should be easier for me since there's only one of them out there."

"How did the Captain react?"

Andy smiled, thinking about how Sharon had practically assaulted both his lips and his backside in the yard and the kitchen when she was bribing him into good behaviour on Christmas Day. "She told me to sit there and bite my tongue and I'd be rewarded."

Provenza rolled his eyes. "Ye Gods! Do you two ever just watch television? I think I preferred it before you gave her that damn letter and you were horny but terrified to do anything about it."

"Anyway I took all the abuse she had to throw at me but that's not the issue." Again Andy shuffled closer after stealing a glance at the door like he might be able to see Sharon's silhouette under the door. "The issue is later on I walk into the kitchen and Sharon and Carol are in there talking, as thick as thieves."

"What were they talking about?"

"What do you think? Me, obviously" Andy practically shouted, still horrified by what he'd walked in on. "The next thing I know they're ganging up on me and talking about noises they've both heard me make when I…"

"STOP!" Provenza shouted with his hand raised in front of Andy's face like a Crossing Guard stopping traffic. "Do _not_ go any further."

"I wasn't going to. God knows what Carol actually told her but since I haven't been in the dog house over the holidays I'm choosing to let it go." Unable to hold it in any longer Provenza started laughing, knowing exactly what Andy was going through and thrilled that for once he wasn't at the centre of this sort of scenario. "I'm so glad this amuses you" Andy grumbled as he tugged on his earlobe.

"Think of it as payback for all the times you've laughed at me when one ex-wife accidentally bumps into another."

"Well if you didn't have so many."

"Let he who can keep his pants on cast the first stone alright."

"Yeah okay. Anyway back to Sharon and Patrice" Andy continued as the smile returned to his face. "Sharon told me over Christmas that Patrice told her..."

"Ye Gods it's like we're back in school."

"Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Not especially but since the Captain locked me in here with you, continue."

"Patrice told Sharon that whether you like it or not your wedding is going to be quick, simple and more importantly cheap."

"Excuse me?" Provenza asked, almost choking on his own tongue.

"If Patrice gets her way you're getting married over the street in between interviewing dirtbags and writing reports" Andy took great satisfaction in informing him.

"Over my dead body."

"Well I'm sure that'll trip her but it's not going to stop her."

"I don't believe this" Provenza said outraged. "She said this? Patrice actually said this?"

"According to Sharon. We were talking about your next bachelor party and Sharon said that we'd better do it sooner rather than later because if Patrice gets her way we won't have much notice."

"I knew this would happen! I knew it! The moment you started dating the Captain I knew it!"

"You're blaming me for this?" Andy asked confused, unsure why his love life had an effect on the sort of wedding his fiancée wanted.

"I'm blaming you for the fact that my Captain now knows more about my personal life than I do."

Andy sat back in his seat, shaking his head. "Will you let it go already."

"No I will not! All this professional and personal mixed together in one big blender might be fine for you but for me it's a horror show of epic proportions."

"You're looking at this all wrong."

"Really?" Provenza scoffed. "Do elaborate."

"Through Sharon you now have a window into what's going on inside Patrice's head" Andy informed him as he tapped his temple with his fingers.

"I don't need the Captain to be my 'window.' I know perfectly well what's going on with my fiancée thank you very much."

Andy smirked. "And yet you know nothing about her hitting you on the head and dragging you across the street by your foot for a quick wedding sometime in the very near future?"

Provenza thought for a moment, realising that Andy was probably right but not wanted to admit such a thing. "A window you say?" he finally said.

"She'll never be pissed with you again without us finding out why" Andy stated in a valiant attempt to sweeten the deal in Provenza's eyes.

"Trust me I don't need the Captain for that. I know when I'm in the dog house. I practically live there."

"Anyway we're moving away from the point. If you are going to end up having a very quick and unexpected wedding…"

"Which I'm not."

"Which you might, we have a very small window of opportunity to have a bachelor party. So I think next Saturday, we go out and we party like it's your last night of freedom."

"It will be my last night of freedom."

"For the sixth time" Andy replied dryly having been out on one of Provenza's 'last nights of freedom' several times before. "What do you say?"

Provenza thought for a moment, a smile slowly forming. "I admit I make fun of you but every now and then you have a brilliant idea."

"There's just one small catch."

"I knew it!"

"We're going to have to take Rusty with us."

"What?"

"Even when we were talking about it in theory certain concerns were raised, concerns that were heightened with everything we had to say about each other at your place. Look, Sharon and Patrice aren't idiots. Even before the other night they knew we had form for getting into trouble" Andy paused and cleared his throat before muttering "mostly your fault" under his breath so that Provenza couldn't hear. "Taking the kid with us might make them more amenable to letting us have a bachelor party."

They both stared at each other for a moment, pondering how ridiculous it was that they needed to ask permission before going out for the evening like a couple of school children. "Are you crazy?" Provenza finally said. "We can't take Rusty with us!"

"Why not? It'll stop Sharon and Patrice from worrying what we're getting up to and get them to agree to it" Andy pointed out, not really wanting to take Rusty with them but saw it as their only option if they wanted to have a bachelor party. "Besides it's not like we're going to be doing anything too crazy. It's just a few drinks at a quiet bar, not getting so hammered that we wake up in Mexico and discover we've been tricked into sucking donkey testicles."

"What?" Provenza asked, unable to let that comment pass without more information.

Andy shrugged. "When my brother got married we drank. A lot. Things got out of hand." Out of hand was an understatement. Aside from the incident with the donkey testicles, the soon to be best man ended up eating the entire contents of an aquarium on a bet in a scene very reminiscent of _A Fish Called Wanda_ except there was no torture involved and when he'd finished he immediately vomited them all back up, returning the fish to the fish tank but in a lot less healthy condition.

"Clearly" Provenza replied a little alarmed.

"But it's going to be more sedate this time. Good friends, good conversation, a quiet out of the way bar or four, no repercussions that force you into spending your wedding night in a bed with me and neither of us having sex ever again. It'll be great."

"I don't know," Provenza said with a tinge of disappointment. "I was hoping for perhaps something a little bit wilder than that. This is my very last night of freedom after all." He wasn't after an evening that ended with an arrest or matching tattoos or finding himself waking up in Canada completely naked and with a baby lamb handcuffed to his arm but something a little wild to mark the evening was the least he expected.

"I've heard that before."

"But this time I mean it" Provenza said with a level of authority that Andy finally believed for once, believing that this really was the last wedding he was ever going to have. "This really is my last night of freedom before my last ever wedding. We can't have Rusty spying on us."

"Would you rather have Sharon and Patrice phoning every five minutes to check up on us or worse, not being allowed to have one at all?"

Provenza thought for a second, sucking on the inside of his mouth. "Good point. Bring the kid."

Andy smiled. "So we're going to do this?"

"If we get permission. Absolutely."

They both took to their feet and shook hands. "It'll be great" Andy proclaimed. "What could possibly go wrong?"


	17. Chapter 17

_Once again thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, as always I really appreciate it. If you'd like a chat sometime you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _This chapter takes place sometime in the second week of January 2016 between 4.18 Penalty Phase and 4.19 Hindsight Part One and is pure unadulterated silly fluff._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy…_

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Seventeen**

In the two weeks that followed the return to work Provenza's bachelor party became the sole focus for every male member of the Major Crimes division with excitement slowly building in anticipation of a rare night out together (as for Sharon, well her sole focus was on making it up to Andy after the whole 'Julio eating his turkey sandwich' fiasco and his, as expected, over the top and typically hysterical reaction when he discovered what had happened). Although Provenza still insisted that his wedding to Patrice would be a spectacular and grand affair worthy of royalty with a six page spread in _People_ magazine and not, as Andy had suggested, cheap, quick and conducted over the road at the Courthouse during his lunch hour, he agreed that having an early bachelor party wasn't such a bad idea after all, just in case he was wrong (an admission that caused Andy to nearly faint from the shock given that Provenza never admitted he was wrong). Since Andy was his best man, once again, Provenza left all the planning up to him with nothing more outrageous than a few drinks at a couple of different bars on the docket to please their respective lady loves who had been somewhat less enthusiastic about the whole thing compared to their male counterparts. In order for both Patrice and Sharon to finally add the rubber stamp to their plans they had to agree to certain concessions with the main one being having to take Rusty with them so that he could keep a watchful eye on proceedings and (in theory) keep them out of trouble, with Gus also in attendance to keep an eye on Rusty, just to make doubly sure. It wasn't the perfect arrangement with both Andy and Provenza fearing their behaviour would be curtailed even further with Rusty in tow and potentially reporting back on anything untoward they did but if it was the only way they could have one then it was a compromise worth making in their opinion. It wasn't that everyone expected the night to end in disaster or with lawyers being called but this was Flynn and Provenza after all, the guys who could get into trouble in an empty room. They had a reputation and even if a lot of the unfortunate situations they found themselves in over the years weren't strictly their fault per say, Patrice and Sharon were still slightly nervous nonetheless. Regardless both Andy and Provenza were determined to have a 'night on the town' because they did it so infrequently since they'd been in such serious relationships, as was always the case with them (and one of the main reasons why Andy loathed every second Provenza spent infatuated with Lauren, suddenly his friend had no time for him anymore).

Aside from the frantic planning that Andy did singlehandedly, (like he was planning the D-Day landings with all the flair of the Oscars) mapping a route to the bars they wanted to visit so they could cover the most distance in the shortest amount of time, it was a relatively quiet couple of weeks. Chief Taylor had promised Major Crimes the holidays off work (apocalyptic disasters and assassination attempts on the Mayor aside) and he was true to his word, ensuring that they all had a few more days' vacation during New Year. The New Year celebrations themselves were an intimate affair for Sharon and Andy. With Rusty out of the condo and spending the evening with Gus they had the place all to themselves so opted for a quiet night in, waiting for Midnight and being able to ring the New Year in together, their first New Year as a couple. Andy cooked them both a three course meal before they danced the night away on the balcony on their final night together before Andy moved back home after the holidays and they spent a couple of nights apart. With the change in their relationship, from just dating to something much more physical before the holidays, and Sharon still very insistent on keeping a work and personal boundary between them like the Great Wall of China a compromise was reached. While Andy had quickly agreed that they wouldn't share a bed during active cases because, as Sharon pointed out to him, he may 'prove to be a distraction' (with his protests falling on deaf ears since he remonstrated with her while simultaneously snaking his hand up her thigh and kissing her neck from top to bottom making her forget the cheque she was trying to write and thus proving her point, he could prove to very much be a huge distraction) he did insist that they couldn't spend more than four nights apart regardless of work because potentially during certain busy periods they may not see each other away from work for weeks at a time. Andy would also stay at home and more importantly alone when he went to an AA meeting, him still adamant that Sharon needed to stay at arm's length from his recovery from addiction, wanting to protect her and Rusty from that side of his life since she had been forced into dealing with it all before. They agreed to play every other night by ear, making the decision as and when but realising that now they had reached this point in their relationship that they would more often than not spend most of them together and usually at the condo because they didn't want to be apart. It actually came as a surprise to both of them just how much they missed each other at night when they were apart. After so many years of sleeping alone (although Andy had plenty of company in that time he didn't actually like them to stay the night and would always make an excuse to get them out the door) both thought it would be an adjustment, taking time to get used to sharing a bed again full time but the truth was both now struggled to sleep without the other beside them despite the challenges they faced (for example the way Sharon accidentally punched Andy in her sleep and the fact that Andy was so hot it was like having the Human Torch spooning up behind her).

The following Saturday Andy decided to arrange another double date by way of an apology for the part he played during their argument before Christmas only this time he opted to take Sharon, Patrice and Provenza out for a meal in Westwood instead. Unlike their original double date this one went off without a hitch and several hours of silent treatment followed by a spell in the dog house. Both men were on their very best behaviour, unnaturally so Sharon thought, making even more effort than before to not say anything to put their feet in their mouths or upset the other and therefore provoking a reaction. Like the last time, Sharon and Patrice got on like a house on fire much to the annoyance of Lieutenant Provenza with his main objection still being that his Captain would know more personal information about him than he knew about himself, something that just didn't sit well with him even though his Captain was also his best friend's girlfriend and someone he actually liked and admired, even though he'd never admit it out loud. On the whole Patrice and Sharon ignored them and just enjoyed themselves. They talked, they laughed, they swapped stories that made both men cringe and briefly wish they were dead but a good time was had by all (well nearly all, Provenza slowly developed an eye twitch as the evening wore on, an eye twitch which lasted for a further three days and caused mainly by what Patrice informed Sharon he did in his sleep after a couple of glasses of wine).

Another fairly quiet week followed before a rather hectic weekend. After much pestering from the boys and several phone calls and text messages begging and pleading and nagging, Andy finally agreed to let Justin and Robin come and spend the night at his house on the Friday evening (providing he wasn't called into work, the main reason why they hadn't stayed over sooner), with him dropping them back off at home again on the Saturday afternoon before he would go to Sharon's condo and then on to the bachelor party. Once Sharon heard what Andy's plans were for that Friday night she insisted on joining him and wanted to help look after the boys, looking forward to spending the evening in the company of all three boys she was so immensely infatuated with. The Friday evening went smoothly enough considering how excited both boys were. They played games, helped Andy make pizza, heard every single 'Knock Knock' joke ever created and watched a movie before they went to bed exhausted and (thankfully) without complaint. By 6am on the Saturday morning Sharon was awake before everyone else and went in search of a glass of water. By the time she returned to Andy's bedroom she discovered that there were an extra two pairs of feet sticking out from under the covers with Robin and Justin joining Andy without waking him up (not a major shock since he'd slept through a rather large earthquake just five days before). Sharon climbed back into bed and after being presented with a book that the boys had brought with them spent the rest of the morning reading to them while Andy slept soundly by her side. As she read _The Twits_ aloud she couldn't help but occasionally glance at Andy and think about the last time she had read in bed with her own children. At the time Jack was long gone and she never had anyone to share those precious memories with, but now she had Andy, who luckily or rather unluckily (depending on how you look at it) woke up just moments before Robin kicked him in the groin as he laughed at the Twits gluing their heads to the floor, before he snuggled up to Sharon and the boys and listened to the story while he dozed off and on.

The Saturday continued to be a fairly lazy day with the boys until Andy drove them home around dinner time while Sharon went back to the condo with Andy joining her there later before setting off to Provenza's bachelor party. With some clothes for the weekend in a bag, Andy arrived at the condo and immediately jumped in the shower before setting about to do some ironing. Sharon sat on her bed, propped up in the middle of her mountain of decorative pillows in a pair of leggings and an old LAPD t-shirt, pretending to read a book as she watched Andy, dressed in nothing but that grey and white square patterned shirt that _always_ spelt trouble when he wore it (given rise to the question why he bothered to put it on in the first place, failing to notice he was wearing the exact same thing during the disaster with the Skybox tickets and then the night he thought he and Provenza had finally scored with a pair of flight attendants), ironing the jeans he'd selected to wear. In truth Sharon had started reading her book while Andy was in the shower but then it quickly became her screen and an excuse to ogle him unnoticed when he retrieved the ironing board and proceeding to take care of his pants, with Sharon quickly discovering it was one of the sexiest sights in the known world, especially the way he tended to bite his lip as he glided the iron around the denim.

With his jeans ironed and laid out on the back of the chair in front of the vanity along with his leather jacket, Andy collapsed on the bed, flat on his back still clad in just his shirt and boxers, resting his head in Sharon's lap as she remained propped up the headboard reading her book. It didn't take long for Andy's eyes to close as Sharon's hand found its way into his hair, absentmindedly massaging his scalp between turning the pages of her novel. Neither said a word as they both relaxed for half an hour, that was until Sharon's eyes widened at the text in her hand. "And that's another reason why you don't bring a car battery into the bedroom. Some people" she said to no one in particular as she turned the page and then returned her hand to Andy's hair.

Andy's eyes immediately shot open as he registered the rather bizarre words that had just echoed around the formally silent room. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"Something in my book. It's taken a turn towards the erotic and frankly bizarre" she told him with a shake of her head. Andy's eyes closed again with Sharon's hand continuing to move back and forth through his hair adding to his relaxed and mellow feeling. After a few more minutes of silence she looked away from her book and down at Andy, or to be more precise down at his legs. "Hadn't you better finish getting ready?"

"I am ready."

Sharon looked him up and down and smiled. "Andy you're not wearing any pants."

"I'm not?"

"No."

"Huh! I thought I felt a draft."

Sharon laughed as her attention was once again drawn to his incredibly hairy legs. Andy was without a shadow of a doubt the hairiest man she had ever dated if not the hairiest man she had ever met and she absolutely loved it. She was surprised when she first caught sight of his chest and instantly found it to be unbelievably sexy, loving to rake her hand up and down his chest from that point on whenever the opportunity presented itself. What was less of a surprise was how much she enjoyed making fun of him about it, often comparing him to a bear or a monkey or even Cousin It, threatening to wax his chest in the middle of the night when he irritated her. "A draft? On your legs? I find that very hard to believe Chewbacca." She smiled to herself, pleased with her latest comparison.

"Was that a _Star Wars_ reference?" Andy laughed.

"I believe it was." Andy opened his eyes again and looked up at her with complete surprise etched on his face. Sharon moved her book and met his eyes. "What? I wasn't always this age you know. I liked sci-fi in my 20s." Sharon returned to her book with a smile on her face. As a lover of strong, independent women Sharon had endless amounts of admiration for Princess Leia, encouraging Emily to dress up like her for Halloween instead of Cinderella (admittedly she went dressed as Princess Leia dressed as a ballerina but she still looked good and ready to save the galaxy at a moment's notice should the need arise). As she thought about the movie for a moment more it briefly crossed her mind to call Andy a 'walking carpet,' something oddly fitting but thought better of it and kept it for a later date.

"You're obsessed with my legs" Andy told her with no sense of irony as he closed his eyes again.

" _I'm_ obsessed with _your_ legs?" Sharon replied with huge amounts of disbelief in her voice. "Me? That's a little of the old pot calling the kettle black isn't it?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means my legs are the only part of my anatomy you ever look at" Sharon told him only part joking, his eyes forever following a path up her legs, something she rather liked if she was perfectly honest. "I'd be surprised if you could pick my face out of a line up."

Andy smiled, mischief evident. "I do not just look at your legs, I look at your..."

"Do not mention anything that begins with the letter 'B' I'm warning you now" Sharon told him as she cut him off mid-sentence.

Again Andy grinned as he paused before protesting further. "I don't just look at your legs."

"Really? What colour are my eyes then?" Sharon asked, making sure that her book continued to cover her face.

Andy's attention immediately shifted as his eyes gazed at her legs, his hand drifting to stroke the flesh exposed where her leggings had rolled up when she sat down. Without doubt they were his favourite part of her anatomy, what he loved to stare at as well as run his hands and his lips up whenever he had the chance. "They're..." he started before becoming too distracted.

"See you're doing it right now" Sharon laughed.

"I'm kidding. You know I'm kidding" Andy replied as he turned his attention back to the cover of the book that was still keeping her face from his view. "You have the most beautiful blue...brown...no green eyes I've ever seen" he joked.

Sharon laughed, knowing full well he was joking but opting to gently smack him on the top of his head with her book anyway. "Oops. Sorry! That was a complete accident" she said with a smile before kissing the spot where she had just hit him. "I have a whole closet over there filled with skirts and dresses that I haven't dared wear since Christmas because you won't take your eyes off my legs" she grumbled. It really wasn't that much of an issue and a slight exaggeration on her part but since their relationship had become physical just before Christmas and they were attempting to ignore that dramatic change between them at work and maintain their hard fought for professional divide (something that was a lot harder than for example the weeks following their first date. In truth keeping things strictly professional at work was already complicated enough at times with triggers like a waft of Sharon's perfume as she walked by his desk or watching Andy do practically anything with his hands coming into play and causing a huge distraction) Sharon had stopped wearing any skirts or dresses in order to keep Andy's eyes off her legs (something he openly admitted he was struggling with) and on work for the time being at any rate until the initial all-consuming feeling of lust that they both felt subsided a little. Neither of them really cared that his eyes tended to wander at certain points in the day because work still got done on time and with the same standard it always had been and if anyone else in the division noticed they didn't say anything because it simply didn't matter. The problem was Chief Taylor and while he still looked at them with more shock and surprise than if he'd walked into his bathroom and discovered Hitler riding a unicorn, Sharon would do anything to ensure that her professional decisions were not called into question because she was dating within her division.

"What's the big deal if I steal a quick glance every now and then?" Andy shrugged as his hand once again paid very close attention to her calves.

"The big deal? Chief Taylor has clearly noticed."

"Ah!"

"It would be nice to wear a skirt in the office again."

"Go ahead, I don't look at your legs at work anyway." Sharon moved her book and looked down at him with a smirk. "Okay maybe I've done it once or twice at the end of a long day when I needed a moment to relax but that's it."

"Once or twice?"

"Or thirty and forty times" Andy admitted sheepishly. "I can't believe I've been caught. I'll stop, I promise but it'll be hard. I'll need some sort of negative reinforcement to get me through the first few weeks of hardship" he joked. True to his word Andy didn't really do it all that much at work, only in a quiet moment or at the end of a very long, very hard day (on the same occasions when the rest of the division would glance at photos of loved ones on their desks, running their fingers down the glass covering the picture for a few precious seconds to keep them going in that moment but in the case of Sharon and Andy they didn't need to do that because they were already in each other's eye line, they only needed look at each other for that comfort), it just so happened that when he did do it he was caught by both Sharon and unfortunately Chief Taylor (with Taylor not battering an eyelid as for example Julio stared at the photo of Maria on his desk just moments before). As a result Sharon decided it was for the best to keep them covered and Andy's attention elsewhere until Taylor had forgotten all about it so he wasn't compelled to have yet another awkward conversation with them that was frankly unwarranted and unnecessary.

"How about any time you so much as think about looking at my legs within the confines of PAB you instantly imagine Lieutenant Provenza naked?" Sharon suggested.

"I said negative reinforcement not scare the crap out of me." Andy instantly shuddered at the thought while Sharon laughed. "I'll make you a deal. I'll stop staring at your legs at work if you stop laughing at mine when we're at home. What do you say?"

"Is this your irrational demand?" Sharon asked, it always being in the back of her mind that Andy still had a wild card to play to get her to do whatever he wanted without question or complaint at some point in the future.

"No, I'm saving that for something much better, something we can both enjoy, something that perhaps can wait until we're alone on a beach in the moonlight sometime."

Sharon dropped her book to her side as she smiled down at him, reaching down and gently meeting his lips a couple of times. "Do you want me to bury you in the sand?"

"How did you guess?" Sharon laughed, returning her hand to his hair and raking her nails across his scalp. "If you keep making fun of my legs you're going to give me a complex about them."

"Well we wouldn't want that now would we?" Sharon leant down and kissed him again but this time it was longer and sweeter. Still nose to nose she smiled at him before planting one more kiss to his forehead and turning her attention back to her book. Then as nonchalantly as possible she informed him "Anyway I don't make fun of your legs," she paused as her smile widened before adding, "I make fun out of your chest and arms as well...gorilla boy." As the words passed her lips she tried very hard not to laugh but unsuccessfully so.

"'Gorilla boy'?" Andy asked. "And I suppose that makes you Fay Wray right?"

"It depends on what sort of mood you're in my very handsome gorilla boy."

"You exaggerate." Andy lifted his legs into the air so he could look at them. "They're not that bad" he added in complete denial.

Sharon again moved her book to look Andy in the eye. "You're joking right? Andy some nights in bed your legs tickle me to death as they brush up against mine."

"I'd wear pyjamas but they're too hot."

"I know they are" Sharon said sympathetically as she returned her attention back to her book, knowing full well that some nights Andy struggled to sleep because he was so warm blooded. "Have you ever thought about seeing a Doctor?"

"About what?"

"About why you're so freakishly hot I could fry an egg of your chest some nights."

"No. Why? Is it a problem?"

"Yes" she asserted. "Now that I've discovered you're the hottest human being on the planet and on top of that covered in fur I no longer want anything to do with you." Sharon dropped her book and cradled his face. "Oh Andy don't be ridiculous. I love you, of course it isn't a problem." She quickly kissed him a couple of times on the lips as if to reinforce her point. "I'm only teasing and anyway I like that I can warm my feet on any part of your body in under thirty seconds."

"Even though I'm covered in fur?"

"Especially because you're covered in fur" she told him before pushing their lips together again. "Although you've either got to invest in some pantyhose to wear in bed or one of these days you're going to wake up and discover I've been driven mad by the constant tickling and shaved them in the night."

Andy scoffed. "Not without waking me you won't."

"Are we really going to have this discussion again? I could give you a vasectomy while you're asleep and you wouldn't wake up."

Andy's eyes widened for a moment as his hands unconsciously gravitated towards his crotch, covering everything for protection. "For future reference if you ever discover that I've come to bed with a soup bowl covering my privates this conversation is why. There are hairier guys than me out there."

"I find that hard to believe" Sharon said as she returned her attention back to her book.

"You said you liked it" Andy reminded her as he became a little self-conscious and not for the first time, him forever holding his stomach in around her. Although they shared many similarities, not least what addiction had done to their marriages and the relationships they had with their children, in this instance Andy and Jack were like chalk and cheese. Jack's insistence on shaving his chest drove Sharon crazy. It wasn't just that he hogged the mirror each morning as his 'man-scaping' got completely out of control, it was because he looked like one of those hairless cats and Sharon preferred someone more manly, wanting to be the only person in the relationship who shaved something other than their face. Little did Andy know that Sharon found it as sexy as hell, opting to keep that fact to herself since all of the blatant ogling she did of him already was quickly giving him a big head.

"I do but from time to time it tickles me to the point of madness," Sharon paused for a moment as her hand moved from his head and slipped down the neck of his shirt, running her nails up and down his chest as if to prove a point once again before adding nonchalantly, "and it also causes me concern about your safety."

Andy looked at her puzzled. "My safety?"

"I'm just saying if I were you I'd never go camping in the woods with the boys."

"Why?" Andy sighed, unimpressed. "In case a hunter tries to shoot me?"

"More like in case a bear decides to take you as his lover" Sharon managed to sneak out without erupting into laughter.

"His?"

"Or hers. Either way you'll be sorry you didn't let me shave your legs."

"Do you have any idea how much the guys would laugh at me if they found out you'd shaved any part of my anatomy?"

Sharon dropped her book again and looked at Andy absolutely bemused. "And how would they find out that I'd done it exactly?" she questioned.

"They might see, you never know" Andy shrugged.

"Do you often get naked in front of the rest of the division without my knowledge? Do you sneak off to Electronics with a 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine' type deal?"

"Not exactly" Andy replied with a grin. "Care to make that kind of deal right now?" Before Sharon could answer Andy suddenly sat up and leant in close towards her, virtually pinning her to the headboard as his lips loomed mere millimetres from hers. She smiled as he moved in for the kill, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You don't have time" Sharon informed him regretfully as she glanced at her watch resting on his shoulder.

"Sure I do. If you can be quick I can be quiet" he said with a wink before pushing their lips together.

Sharon couldn't help but laugh in her throat as their lips moved together. It wasn't exactly Deborah Kerr's famous ' _If you can paint then I can walk'_ line to Cary Grant in _An Affair to Remember_ but it was so typically silly and perfectly Andy, her Andy. As he pulled away from her she continued to laugh before pointing out to him "No, you can't." Andy was a lot of things in the bedroom but quiet was not one of them making them both thankful that at night if Rusty didn't have his earbuds in, he was wearing ear plugs just in case. Andy winked at her and then moved back in for another long lingering kiss. "You're supposed to be going out with Lieutenant Provenza" she reminded his quite easily distracted brain as the blood prepared to surge away from it and south of the border.

Andy nodded, acknowledging that she was right and he did have plans for the evening before kissing her one last time and then lying back down with his head in her lap, still not prepared to finish getting dressed and leave any time soon. "Ah, it's only his bachelor party, he'll have another."

Again Sharon lightly swatted him on the head with her book. "Oops! Sorry! Accident!" she said although it was anything but. "No he won't and don't get saying that to anyone else or I won't be showing you anything of mine again for the foreseeable future."

"I won't, I won't. I'm only joking."

"But oddly enough you're never funny" she lied as she pressed her lips to the spot on his head where her book landed. "So how are the rest of the division going to see that I've shaved you exactly?"

"What if one day I need to go undercover on an op and they see my suddenly balding legs on the monitors?" he asked as he crossed his legs, hiding them from people who weren't even in the building let alone in the same room.

Sharon thought for a moment. "I thought we weren't supposed to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Talk about work at home. I believe that was your rule. Paperwork is fine but no work talk."

"Only because if we're talking about work that means you can still boss me around and I don't get to complain about it" Andy muttered, feigning grumpiness but not really caring if they brought work home with them because regardless he was still spending time with her alone.

"I don't boss you around," Sharon protested, objecting to his choice of word, "it's called giving you an order Lieutenant and the rule was we don't discuss work at home, either home, let alone in the bedroom and definitely not anywhere near bed." As eager as they both were to keep their private life away from PAB, they were equally concerned with trying (and they did only try) to keep work away from their home life. It wasn't a problem for either of them if there was an overlap as such, but since they worked such long and erratic hours already, taking work home and losing some of the precious private time they had and while Sharon was insisting that they take their relationship slowly to begin with, he insisted on keeping work away from their home life as much as possible.

"I said we should try to keep it out of the living room but it has to stay out of the bedroom" Andy corrected.

"And yet here we are."

"Except we're not talking about work, we're talking about shaving my legs" Andy grinned.

Sharon laughed, accepting that Andy had bested her on this occasion. "Fine. Undercover doing what?" she questioned.

"I don't know," he shrugged as he thought for a moment, "with a prostitute maybe."

Sharon laughed, covering her face with her hand. "In what universe would I send one of my team undercover with a prostitute?"

"You'd have said the same thing about sending me and Provenza to apprehend a frozen head from Frankenstein's laboratory but we did it."

"That's more the exception that proves the rule" Sharon told him as she continued to laugh.

"Even so, just in case I need to keep my fur coat where it is."

As her laughter subsided Sharon put her hands on her hips and looked at him with a little bit of Darth Raydor behind her eyes. "Listen buddy, if we ever have to stage an op that requires someone to go undercover with a prostitute where they'll end up at the very least pant-less or even naked I am clearly going to pick Mike for the job, not you so you can stop worrying your pretty little head about your legs." With that Sharon gave him a quick kiss on the lips and picked her book back up again.

"Why not me?" Andy asked innocently with a smile. "Are you frightened about my 'heat' attracting too many women, having them throw themselves at me? Stalking me at all hours of the day and night."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Sharon hid her face in the pages of her book and laughed hysterically. "Yes you're right," she said when she was finally capable of speech once more, "I'm terrified of your heat." She laughed again, shaking violently and making Andy's head bounce up and down in her lap as he frowned at her.

"You'd be jealous wouldn't you?" he asked with complete confidence.

"No," Sharon replied as neutrally as she could, "I have no difficulty in maintaining our professional divide at work thank you very much Lieutenant Flynn." It was all very well and good in theory but regardless of what she said or how hard she tried to be professional all the time they were at work, trying to see him solely as her Lieutenant even in a quiet and personal moment between them, if something like that were to happen she knew she'd feel the pangs of jealousy but was loathed to admit it. "I wouldn't pick you for the job for the same reason as to why I wouldn't pick Lieutenant Provenza for the job either."

Andy immediately sat up, his face contorting with fake outrage and offence. "This is an age thing isn't it? You're calling us both over the hill aren't you? We're too old to go undercover with a call girl. Too old and decrepit to be attractive. Go on, admit it."

Sharon covered her face with her hand, trying hard not to laugh at him and his outrage. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation" she said, her words filled with mirth. "Firstly I happen to love that you're old and decrepit" she began with a smile which made Andy lie back down and return his head to her lap. "Secondly it's just that Mike is far more likely to get the job done and find out what we need without getting into any trouble along the way like you two morons probably would."

Not moving this time but still looking completely outraged, Andy asked "So if we need to trap a call girl you'd send Mike over me?"

"Every time" Sharon confirmed without so much as a flicker. "Followed by Julio. Then I'd see if I could borrow Lieutenant Cooper or Detective Oderno maybe."

Andy watched her closely for a moment as he slowly smiled, choosing to believe that Sharon was making this decision as his girlfriend rather than his Captain, no matter what she said to the contrary. "Because your eyes would be extra green if I went?"

Once again Sharon smacked him on the top of the head with her book. "Oops! Sorry" she said as she kissed the spot where her book had landed. "No," she maintained before admitting the truth, "well partly I suppose but also because, and I repeat, I'd trust Mike to get the job done without getting caught and having to send Amy in to rescue him from his naked and vulnerable position on the balcony, probably with a testicle glued to his hand for good measure." She smiled as she resumed reading her book, enjoying that she could use that little chestnut against Andy whenever she wanted to prove that he was a moron where women were concerned.

"Are you ever going to forget that?" he asked with a sigh.

"It's doubtful. The image is so very delightful" she grinned.

"I'll let you do it on your birthday."

Sharon looked at him for a moment, utterly confused. "Do what? Lock you out on the balcony naked? Oh I'm sure Mrs Rose would love that. Like she doesn't think of enough things to complain about as it is without her informing the condo board that I'm using the balcony for 'sex games.'"

"God no! I meant shave my legs."

Sharon laughed. "You really know how to spoil a girl don't you. Some women get given jewellery by their boyfriends, I get an offer to shave him."

"I'll even shave part of my chest for you" Andy told her as he winked.

"Really?" Sharon asked him suspiciously, sensing there was more to his statement than initially met the eye.

"Making an arrow pointing right at my..."

Before he could finish his sentence Sharon once again hit him on the head with her book. "Oops! Sorry" she said without kissing it better this time.

"I was going to say pointing at my heart" he protested as he rubbed his head, fooling no one.

"Of course you were." Sharon continued to eye him suspiciously, hiding her smile before continuing to read. The movement of her hand up and down Andy's chest continued as they sat in silence, his eyes closing and his body starting to feel heavy against her legs as he relaxed. "Are you going to put your pants on any time tonight?" she asked finally.

"In five more minutes" Andy replied almost sleepily.

"You said that over thirty minutes ago and yet you're still lying here, distracting me."

"Distracting you?" Andy's eyes shot open as he smiled devilishly. "How about I really give you a distraction?" Andy slowly sat up and turned around, grabbing Sharon by her hips and pulling her down the bed making her lie flat on her back. She couldn't keep the smile from her face as he slowly climbed up her body and hovered above her at arm's length. "Let's get your focus off that book and onto something much much better." He leant down and kissed her, not giving her chance to respond.

"Oh fine!" Sharon said with fake resignation as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders again. "If you insist and it's the only way I'm going to get you out of here and get any peace. Go ahead, I'm sure I won't lose my place." Andy gasped with mock offense as his mouth hung open. "I'm kidding" Sharon laughed, putting her finger in her book to mark her place before reaching up and giving him a long lingering kiss. In truth there was nothing she wanted more than a 'distracting' evening with Andy but he had other plans and people waiting for him.

"Give me that." Andy grabbed the book from Sharon's hand and its position digging into his shoulder, quickly noting what page she was on before he threw it over his head and onto the end of the bed. Slowly lowering himself down, their lips meeting again.

"The door is open you know" Sharon finally said, not wanting him to move but keeping in mind that there was also an easily traumatised teenager in the condo.

"Rusty's doing his hair. We've got a good hour before he surfaces again" Andy joked before their lips collided. Regardless of the door being open and Rusty being home their kiss was long and slow as Sharon's hand moved down his back and under his shirt, a small moan escaping her lips as they pulled apart.

"You're going to be late" she said regretfully, not really wanting him to leave.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No" she said simply, holding him tighter in her embrace. "But you have plans and Lieutenant Provenza is waiting for you to go and get him."

Andy nodded and reluctantly sat up followed by Sharon, propping herself back up against the headboard. He retrieved Sharon's book from the end of the bed, finding her page and handing it back to her before pushing their lips together one last time. "Gus isn't even here yet and besides I'm picking up the groom. I'm not late if I'm traveling with the groom." Still not ready to move Andy lay back down, returning his head to her lap as she continued to run her hand back through his hair.

"For the record that excuse definitely won't fly on his wedding day if you're both late and I'm trying to persuade Patrice into having a Valium to calm down while she puts a hit out on the both of you."

"She wouldn't."

"Wouldn't she?" Sharon questioned. "I would."

"Would you try to stop her?"

Sharon thought for a moment. "I suppose that would all depend on where you actually were. If you were in the hospital or dead on the side of the road then naturally I'd be on your side, anywhere else and I'd help her pay for the hit man" she added bluntly, letting him know that if he did anything to spoil the wedding after he opened his big mouth about the proposal, that he would be in serious trouble and it would take more than his smile and sad eyes to get him out of it.

"That's comforting." Joking aside if the pair of them failed to turn up for the wedding, whether it was big or small, then both Provenza and Andy would face some sort of _Gone Girl_ based retribution from Patrice and Sharon would do absolutely nothing to stop her. "Do I need to wear pants?"

Sharon laughed, having heard Ricky ask the very same thing when he was seven and they were leaving the house for Sunday Mass. "When? Tonight or at the wedding?"

"Both."

"Yes. People are supposed to be looking at the bride in awe, not staring at the best man and wondering why he isn't in the woods preparing to hibernate" she told him with a smirk as her obsession with making fun of his ridiculously hairy legs continued.

"I thought so but wanted I'd check."

"So who exactly is going with you tonight?" Sharon asked once she had managed to stop laughing. As much as she was desperate to find out what exactly he had planned for the night ahead, the phrase 'ignorance is bliss' was never far from her mind.

Andy shrugged. "The usual, just Mike, Julio and Buzz."

"You've not asked Chief Taylor?" she asked with an air of surprise.

"Nope" Andy replied simply causing Sharon to practically gasp at him. "What? It has nothing to do with me. It was Provenza's decision. It is his bachelor party after all."

"And what exactly has Chief Taylor done to miss out?"

"If was felt, by some, that we couldn't fully let our hair down with Taylor in tow." Provenza had insisted on only inviting people who weren't going to be a killjoy and sadly for Russell Taylor he fitted into that category like it had been designed especially for him, feeling that they wouldn't be able to relax on a social occasion with a commanding officer with them. To him it was bad enough that they needed to take Rusty and Gus in order to get Patrice and Sharon to agree to it without having Taylor there as well.

"Really?" Sharon laughed. "Let your hair down?"

"Hell I only just made the cut and I'm the best man."

Again Sharon laughed at the continued fragile relationship between her boyfriend and his 'boyfriend.' "Why? Lingering issues following on from your lovers tiff?"

"No, it's because I'm sleeping with the Captain" Andy explained as he looked up at her and smiled, waggling his eyebrows up and down and making her laugh. "Provenza was worried about our movements being reported back to our commanding officer who then in turn might inform Patrice about what we were doing and then before we know it Provenza's testicles are in a mason jar under the sink and mine won't be too far behind them."

Sharon laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's hard to imagine a bigger group of idiots. What about Lieutenant Cooper? What did he do to not warrant an invite?"

"Nothing. Amy said Cooper has been working with Robbery Homicide on something over the last couple of weeks or so and would be out all night." It was with some relief that Amy informed Andy and Provenza that Chuck wouldn't be able to join them. She'd hardly seen him herself for weeks because he was so busy with Robbery Homicide and the last thing she wanted was for a rare free night he had being used up on Flynn and Provenza and their shenanigans.

"That's a shame. No Chief Howard?"

As Andy's lips twitched, trying not to smile and give the game away he simply stated "He was invited but apparently he had 'other plans.'"

Sharon grinned, leaning back on the headboard while her hand moved from Andy's hair and covered her mouth. "He's not allowed to go is he?" she asked as she started to shake with laughter before she even knew the answer, picturing Brenda Leigh's reaction when the subject was raised.

"Nope" Andy laughed.

"And it's really not hard to work out why." As soon as Fritz mentioned it, waiting for Brenda to be suitably distracted by the quadruple whammy of Joel, a new pair of shoes, a glass of wine and a Dingdong before broaching the subject, she told him he had zero chance of going. She had sat opposite Will Pope far too many times having to explain the actions of Flynn and Provenza and how things had somehow managed to spiral out of control from a seemingly innocent situation to allow Fritz to get involved in one of their nights on the town. In truth Fritz wasn't that interested in going anyway other than a slight case of morbid curiosity as to what was going to take place, like slowing down on the freeway to look at a car wreck.

"Has he not invited his sons?" Sharon asked.

"No, not this time."

"Why?"

"I don't know" Andy answered honestly. "I guess he doesn't want them to see what he gets up to, besides this isn't exactly his first rodeo, they've done it all before, been on plenty of his 'last nights of freedom'" he added, using his fingers to make quotation marks.

Sharon thought for a moment, her face quickly forming a frown as she looked down at him. "Please tell me they weren't with you last time with the strippers and the cream and the handcuffs and the heaven only knows what."

Andy went to speak before grabbing hold of his nose so that she couldn't see his nostrils flare as he prepared to lie to her once again. "They weren't there."

"Oh Andy!" Sharon exclaimed with disbelief, swiping his arm with her book.

"What?" Andy laughed at her reaction. "It's not like they were children at the time and anyway, they helped me get the handcuffs on him, it was like wrangling an octopus." At the time of Provenza's last bachelor party Andy thought it was a great idea, possibly the best idea he'd ever had, handcuffing Provenza to a stripper, removing his pants and spraying him with whipped cream from a can. Then of course someone took a photo and produced it during Andy's speech at the wedding. One thing led to another and before the cake had been cut the bride and groom had their first argument as husband and wife and it was made abundantly clear that it didn't matter where Provenza slept that night as long as it wasn't in the bridal suite with his new wife. A restless night followed as Provenza shared Andy's bed and they spent most of the night arguing over whose fault it was and fighting over the covers. To add insult to injury the following morning when Provenza woke up he forgot what had happened and where he was and proceeded to spoon up behind Andy, kissing his neck. It was a situation Andy was keen not to repeat this time around.

"A little like trying to put a pair of socks on you then?" Sharon laughed, recalling the battles she had with him when his clot prevented him from bending over and doing that perfectly simple task himself.

"I don't think he's even asked them this time, not that I blame him."

"You wouldn't invite Daniel to your bachelor party if you got married again?" Sharon asked without really thinking what her question implied.

"My bachelor party?" Andy smiled, taking Sharon's free hand and linking their fingers together. "Does that mean way down the line when you propose to me on bended knee I have your permission to have one?"

Sharon sighed, not wanting to get into another debate with Andy about her proposing to him in the distant future. "I was talking purely speculatively. I have absolutely no idea who you might propose to in the future."

"Only you, only you" Andy winked.

Sharon blushed, quickly obscuring her face from view with her book. "Anyway, what do you mean have my permission? Who am I? Your Mother? Since when do you need my permission to do anything?"

"Well the general consensus of opinion is that I am pretty whipped and I need your permission before I do anything." Andy kissed her hand as he winked at her despite the fact she was still hidden behind her book.

Sharon thought for a moment. "Like what?" she asked, moving her book to look at him.

"Like yesterday."

"When I told you not to draw the blinds on the suspect's children in the conference room?"

"They were beyond freaky" Andy shouted animatedly.

"Andy they were adorable."

"No they weren't, they were like the girls from _The Shining."_

"No they weren't" Sharon laughed.

"You didn't see the way they looked at me when I took over babysitting duties from Julio. They had some sort of weird twin telepathy thing going on. They heard me coming and their heads turned simultaneously to stare at me. It's like they were trying to make me put my hand on my gun and shoot myself" Andy stated with complete seriousness, him having never been more disturbed by two children in his life. "And as for those little red coats they refused to take off, they were like that...that...whatever is was in _Don't Look Now"_ he continued with a shudder.

"Are you done?" Sharon asked, unimpressed.

"I think my point has been well made, yes."

Sharon put her book down and folded her arms. "Are you seriously telling me that you, Andy Flynn, Detective Lieutenant of the LAPD are frightened of two six year old twin girls?"

"Yes. They were terrifying" Andy maintained and making Sharon laugh. "What? It's okay to be scared of you but not scared of them?"

"Well I hope you're scared of me for very different reasons entirely" she informed him as he leant forward and met his lips. "Regardless no one would give you permission to draw the blinds on those girls moments after they'd just witnessed us arresting their Mother and their Father and that has nothing to do with being whipped."

Andy smiled. "I actually meant after we got back to mine and the boys went to sleep."

"Well that you most definitely didn't need my permission for yesterday" she replied in almost a whisper before their lips met. "You already had my full consent" she informed him, kissing him again. "As always" she added, kissing him a final time before leaning back against the headboard. "Who told you that you were whipped anyway?"

"Well you multiple times, then there's Rusty and Provenza, Nicole, Buzz, Mike..."

Sharon laughed. "Andy please don't take relationship advice off Lieutenant Provenza."

"Is this because of the rotary sander?" he asked, with no one still able to work out why Provenza thought Andy buying Sharon a sander for Christmas was an appropriate romantic first Christmas gift as a couple.

"Partly but also because I heard him tell Buzz the other day that 'Honesty is the key to a relationship because if you can fake that, you're in.'" Sharon picked her book up again and added as casually as possible. "Sometimes I think that both Patrice and I should have our heads examined."

"What does that mean?"

Sharon laughed, not willing to elaborate. "I can't believe he hasn't invited his sons to his bachelor party."

"You see this is where Provenza and I are different. Of course I would invite Dan if I had one but I don't think he'd come."

"You never know" Sharon replied optimistically, seeing that card delivered to his house on Christmas Day as a very big step in the right direction as far as Andy's relationship with his son was concerned.

Andy smirked, ready to tease Sharon once again. "I'll just have to wait for you to propose to me and then we'll find out" he said rather smugly.

"If you don't stop saying that" Sharon muttered as she looked to the heavens.

"Hey I said all I needed to say on Christmas Day. As long as I know that it's a possibility then that's fine with me. I can wait. I can play the long game and wait for you to crumble and propose to me" Andy said, teasing her again because he knew it irritated her, enjoying seeing that fire behind her eyes.

The truth to the matter was that regardless of the conversation that had taken place on the bathroom floor on Christmas Day neither Sharon nor Andy were really that bothered about marriage. At their age and standing in life it wasn't something that they needed to do or felt required to do for various reasons, they would only do it if they wanted to do it and that was something very much for the future and not barely six months in. What was important to Sharon was that she had come to realise the following morning was that the issues that both Nicole and Andy raised on Christmas Day had absolutely nothing to do with marriage and everything to do with Andy and his sense of security within their relationship. As he'd already told her it wasn't the be all and end all in their relationship and she felt the exact same way. It wasn't something she needed in her life, neither did he, although both were open to changing their minds about it down the road. As far as Andy was concerned, their conversation was more about security. He had never been an insecure type of person when it came to the women in his life, he was never insecure in relationships, always confident and assured. But with Sharon this was Andy's first real adult relationship in his life, as bizarre as that may sound. When he married Carol he was young, he was unprepared and ended up climbing into a bottle to cope. Every 'coupling' he had after that could hardly be considered a relationship like what he had with Sharon, it was more just fun and nothing more. So now that he was in an adult relationship for the very first time all he could do was worry about his future. The problem was that Sharon was such a fiercely independent woman, a woman who after all didn't need him or anyone and had told him as such (admittedly before they were romantically involved) and that meant he'd become slightly concerned, no matter how much or how often she told him she loved him, that she would survive without him, he wasn't needed and therefore potentially expendable in her life. Andy had dated a lot since his marriage ended, sometimes with an overlap, Sharon had not. There had been men here and there but not one of them constituted a serious relationship, serious enough to warrant an introduction to Emily or Ricky and she was content with that. She didn't need a man, she didn't need Andy but she wanted him, she wanted to be with him and knowing that left him feeling just a tad cautious should she change her mind. He didn't need a ceremony but he did need to know that they were on the same page and that this relationship regardless of any vows that they may or may not take in the future, was indeed forever. By telling him that marriage could be on the table in the future meant that she clearly saw what they had as a long term relationship, a partnership, till death do them part regardless of paperwork. Hearing those words lifted a weight from his shoulders and made him feel like he was on a more secure footing within their relationship, equal partners.

Sharon rolled her eyes and pretended that her book was getting her complete attention. She knew Andy only said these things to get a reaction and was determined not to indulge him. "Keep waiting, see what happens."

"Doves would be a nice addition" he mused.

"To what?"

"To your proposal" he said, once again making it sound like Sharon found him so utterly irresistible that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from proposing to him, possibly before the night was over. "It'll be classy. It'll be like that film."

"What film? _The Birds_? If you want an angry bird to peck your eyes out keep telling people you're waiting for me to propose to you, see what happens."

"You won't have to buy me a ring" Andy said like he was sweetening the deal. "I even know what I'm going to say" he added, unable to keep the smile from his face.

"Say to what?" Sharon replied as she turned the page on her book, not really reading it as she tried her best to ignore the smug man with his head in her lap, happily teasing her.

"When you propose. I've already got my response sorted out, so I'm ready because I figure I'm going to be surprised and emotional when you ask."

Sharon sighed. "I am not proposing to you."

"Yes you will and I know how I'll answer."

"'Oh look hell has frozen over'?"

"No." Andy paused, waiting for Sharon to respond but when she stayed silent he asked "Don't you want to know?"

"Fine." Sharon sighed again and dropped her book to her side. "How will you answer in this fantasy world you've concocted where women propose to the smug, annoying men in their lives?"

"Just like that."

"What?" Sharon asked confused.

"'Fine'" Andy informed her with a smile in a nod to the flustered single word response she had used when he asked her out on their very first official date.

Sharon paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and finding the appropriate words to stop Andy's endless teasing when it came to this subject. "This is the last time I'm going to say it, I will never propose to you, never ever. That's the man's job."

"That's very sexist of you."

"End of discussion" Sharon stated with an air of finality about it as she picked up her book and resumed reading the same page for about the sixth time.

"You'll crumble" Andy replied confidently.

"No I won't."

"Care to wager?"

Sharon looked at him with Darth Raydor desperate to burst forth. After a deep breath she leant down and gave him a long lingering kiss on the lips. As she pulled back she looked him square in the eyes from a few inches away and said "Be quiet."

"Yes ma'am" Andy nodded as she returned to her book. "Are you going to go to Patrice's bachelorette party?"

"She's not going to have one."

"Why not?"

"Why do you think?" Sharon said as she gave him a pointed look. Patrice had told her during their disastrous double date before Christmas that the reason she wanted a quick wedding was nothing to do with her family's opinion of her fiancé and everything to do with just wanting to be his wife as quickly as possible. In reality that was only about ninety percent true. Yes Patrice did just want to marry him as quickly as possible but knowing her family wasn't happy about it at all because of Keisha gave her extra motivation to avoid something potentially larger. She had similar feelings about a bachelorette party. She would have loved to have had one but envisioned her relatives spending the whole evening trying to talk her out of the wedding and in order to not fall out with them, thought it best to avoid a get together altogether.

Andy laughed. "This is unchartered territory for Provenza. It's usually after the wedding that the in-laws really start to hate him not before. I still say we don't need to rush this bachelor party though. Provenza maintains he wants a big wedding, like Elton John's birthday party type big because this is his very last wedding."

"And I'm telling you Patrice suggested otherwise and something tells me she'll end up getting what she wants one way or another."

"Women!" Andy shouted with an overly dramatic huff. "You think you can get us to do exactly what you want don't you?"

"And make you think it was all your idea, yes."

"I never figured Provenza for the big wedding type. I mean the guy can squeeze a nickel until Jefferson chokes."

"Maybe that shows you just how serious he is this time." Silence fell on the room for a moment until Sharon put her book down, a smile tugging on her lips. "Before I forget Nicole called me while you were in the shower" she stated very matter-of-factly.

Andy looked at her in silence before slowly asking "What did she want?"

"Like you don't know." Andy just shrugged, trying to look as innocent as possible. "Fine, play the innocent" Sharon said as she couldn't stop herself from smiling. "She wanted to know why when she told the boys to go and have a bath this evening that firstly they flat out refused to move from in front of the TV with Robin calling her a 'Dirt bag' and Justin adding that she was a 'Moron' before they both screamed 'Oh crap!' when she told them no TV for a week if they ever said anything like that again." As soon as the words left Sharon's mouth Andy started laughing hysterically, holding his sides from the pain. Sharon just stared at him, trying not to smile. "It's not funny Andy! They're not even eight years old yet and you've taught them that sort of language and behaviour. What if they say it at school to a friend? Or worse, to their teacher?" Andy didn't respond other than to laugh even harder. "Stop laughing. It's not funny" Sharon said as she crumbled, descending into a fit of giggles with him. "I could hear them in the background over the phone while she was talking to me. It was like listening to two irate baby Andy Flynns but without the accent." A couple of minutes passed by where neither of them did anything but laugh hysterically until Sharon finally managed to say "I can't believe you taught them that. Don't laugh when you speak to Nicole or she'll have your guts for garters and I won't be protecting you. She was not impressed."

"What did you say to her?" Andy asked once he was able to stop himself from laughing.

"I told her the truth that they weren't doing it while I was with them."

Andy's mouth dropped open. "You wicked woman! You ratted me out! They could have just as easily picked it up from you or anyone else for that matter."

"Really? That seems highly unlikely if you ask me."

"Hey your language has been bordering on obscene since you've been dating me" Andy pointed out. "I've heard you say 'crap' twice now."

"Look at your face. This is really not something to be proud of you know."

"So you admit it, they could have got it from you."

"No they couldn't" Sharon stated with no wriggle room in her tone whatsoever. "I told Nicole they'd been perfect little angels while they were with me so something must have happened while you were driving them home this afternoon, alone."

Andy grinned, his nostrils flaring like crazy. "What makes you think that?"

"Aside from the look on your face and the way your nostrils are flaring like you're about to breath fire? Do I need to explain further? What happened?"

"It was nothing" Andy replied with a shrug. He remained silent as Sharon's eyes started to burn two holes in the top of his head. Eventually he crumbled. "Okay some asshole cut me up and I may have accidentally shouted at him before I remembered the kids were in the car with me but they swore they weren't going to repeat what they heard." In reality Robin and Justin had picked up the least offensive words that Andy had used as he shouted at the driver who had caused him to slam on his breaks so suddenly. He was just about to chase after the guy and pull him over when he heard 'Grandpa Andy! You shouldn't use those words!' coming from the backseat of the car. After they pulled up outside Nicole's house Andy spent five minutes sitting in the car with them, bribing both boys with ice cream and more sleepovers if they promised not to tell anyone the sort of language he'd used in front of them. "They promised" he added, his pride in them evident.

"Apparently they lied. Look at your face. I've never seen you look prouder."

"You still don't know for a fact that they picked those words up from me? They could have just as easily heard it at school."

"Or more likely they heard it from their Grandpa Andy who uses those words at least a hundred times a day and that's when he's in a good mood" Sharon stated, still looking less than impressed with him.

"How pissed is Nicole?"

"She's not amused" Sharon admitted in perhaps the biggest understatement of her life. "You're in for a good reprimand when you next speak to her."

"Well I guess that confirms it then, she likes you more than me."

"Of course she does" Sharon laughed for a moment before realising that Andy was being serious. "Oh don't be ridiculous, Nicole adores you despite what regularly falls out of your mouth, you know that" she said kindly before kissing him again.

"Because of you."

"Because you're adorable." Andy's face immediately contorted with horror at once again being fixed with the label 'adorable,' something he hated even more than 'Desk Monkey.' "And what makes you twice as adorable is your face after we call you that."

"What about Dean?"

"He's more frightened of you but that'll happen when you pretend you're always armed and ready to shoot him at the drop of a hat."

Andy laughed. "No I mean what did he say about the boys?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "He currently thinks it's as funny as you do but I expect that'll change the first time they call his Mother a 'Dirt bag.'"

"Let's hope they can nip it in the bud quickly then."

"Yes and I'm sure a little word in their ears from you wouldn't hurt the situation either" Sharon said, knowing full well that the boys loved their Grandpa Andy so much that anything he said or taught them was bound to be repeated constantly for the next six months.

"Of course," Andy nodded until he smiled like the devil himself, "but not until after they've had chance to say it in front of Carol."

Not for the first time that evening Sharon smacked Andy on the top of his head with her book. "Oops! Sorry" she said yet again before kissing it better.

"You know I'm starting to think that isn't an accident." It didn't take long for Andy to start laughing uncontrollably once again. "Can you imagine if they call Carol a 'Dirt bag?' That'd really tip her over the edge. You'd come over to my place and the only signs of a struggle you'd find would be my bloody tongue nailed to the front door."

"I've already warned you, if Carol comes anywhere near you with a nail gun, please lock yourself in the nearest closet and call me immediately" she said only half joking, the threat Carol made to his testicles on Christmas Day still amusing her.

"Why?"

"The less you know the less you have to worry about" Sharon explained and making them both laugh.

"So what are you going to do tonight with the condo all to yourself?"

"Not a lot" Sharon shrugged. "I'm going to finish my book without any distractions," she said as her eyes sparkled before she planted a kiss to his forehead, "possibly in the bath with a glass of wine and some candles. If I've got time maybe watch a movie," she added before turning her attention to her book and speaking as nonchalantly as possible, "perhaps take a lover."

"That sounds like," Andy started before he fully registered what Sharon had just said, "Wait a minute! You're going to what?" he asked with alarm.

Sharon laughed. "I was just testing to see if you were really listening. I probably won't watch a movie, I won't have time."

"Not if you're bringing your lover boy up here the moment I step foot into the elevator you won't."

"Of course because I'll need to get him out of here and the place straightened up before you and Rusty come home and spoil all my fun later" she added with a smile, enjoying teasing him.

"And who is this fancy man if I may ask?"

Sharon smiled, pretending to think for a moment. "I'm not sure yet. I have options."

"Really?"

"Yes. Many options" she winked.

"Such as?"

"Well there's that Aiden guy from the third floor" Sharon started, bringing up the first man she could think of that lived in the building.

"Is that the guy who thinks he's a cat?"

"He doesn't think he's a cat he just likes to pretend he is a cat. There's a difference" Sharon pointed out as she rationalised the behaviour of one of her stranger neighbours.

As far as Andy was concerned Sharon lived on the top floor of weirdo central. It was a beautiful building, wonderfully maintained and more affordable than you might think for the area. Andy had quickly come to think of it as his home away from home, enjoying spending time there with Sharon more than at his own house, a surprise really considering there they would have zero interruptions from Rusty unlike the condo. It felt like a home to him which was all down to Sharon and the way she made people feel when they crossed the threshold. The only problem was her neighbours. First there was Mrs Rose, the angriest woman anyone had ever met and who hated Sharon with a passion without any real reason. She always found a reason to knock on her door and complain (usually because of noise) and that was before it emerged that a fellow occupant of the building was murdered so that a psychopath could gain access to that stray boy she one day brought home and never left. Any collection of strangers in one building was bound to reveal a few oddities here and there but Sharon's building had more than most. Aside from the man who liked to pretend to be a cat there was the woman who sang when she spoke, the child who would only speak through a ventriloquists dummy (a boy Rusty found beyond disturbing), the naturist couple and the teenager Andy kept an eye on for when he inevitably turned into a clone of Norman Bates. To Andy it was like Sharon lived in the highest turret of a castle, guarded by trolls and dragons.

"No there isn't. You know that freak tried to scent mark me in the elevator the other week" Andy said with alarm, finding the way that a strange man rubbed his face up his back in a half empty elevator cause enough to shoot him.

"He does that to everyone, you're not special" Sharon said dismissively.

"And that makes it okay?" Andy replied, utterly disturbed and making Sharon laugh at his discomfort. "He was purring so loud he almost gave me allergies. Why him? Why not the guy with the face tattoos?" Andy asked, referring to the very friendly but intimidating looking gentleman from the apartment directly below Sharon's.

"Oh no. I mean do I kiss him, do I read him? Who has the time to make these decisions?"

Andy eyed her with suspicion for a moment. "You've given this way too much thought."

"Well you were in surgery having that clot removed for a very long time" Sharon told him with a smile, a smile that was only removed when she joined their lips together in a prolonged embrace.

"Oh I see, it's like that is it?"

"I always have liked to be prepared for all eventualities" she said as she kissed him again with Andy's hand slipping into her hair and making it last longer than she initially intended. "Or there's Mr Johnson from downstairs of course."

"I see. Is that what gets your engine running these days? A guy with a walker, oxygen tank and no teeth?"

"He has teeth."

"But they're not always kept in his mouth" Andy pointed out. "I've seen him take them out in the elevator and put them in his pocket. I dread to think where he was headed."

Sharon laughed. "What can I say? I have a type when it comes to men. Why do you think I was attracted to you in the first place?" Andy immediately looked outraged making Sharon laugh again.

"Why you!" Andy cried before he rolled over, jumped to his knees and proceeded to tickle Sharon all over her body and sending her book flying from her hand.

"No Andy!" Sharon screamed as he virtually straddled her, tickling any part of her squirming body he could lay his hands on. "Anything but that!"

"Let's call it revenge for what happened to my sandwich."

"Please let it go!"

"Never!" The moment Andy walked out of the interview room with Provenza and discovered that Julio had eaten his sandwich Sharon tried to make it up to him. His immediate reaction was a lot more restraint than she initially anticipated, with him making a noise like a weasel having an orgasm and slumping down in his seat in silence rather than any real over the top and hysterical reaction. That wasn't to say all was forgiven. Julio would be punished eventually, probably at a point when he least expected it with laxatives in his coffee or something else equally disproportionate expected down the road. As for Sharon, well the silent treatment headed her way for the remainder of the day (aside from work matters), not helped by the fact she couldn't stop laughing and smiling at Andy's little sad face every time she looked at him. Since he came home with her and stayed, as planned, Sharon wasn't overly concerned as they ate in silence. Nor was she worried when they watched TV on the couch without so much as a word escaping his lips. It was when she emerged from the bathroom dressed in nothing but one of Victoria's less well kept secrets and a smile and instead of salivating at her like a dog like he usually did he rolled to face away from her with a huff that her concern began to grow. However it didn't last long, in a large part because of the way Sharon crawled up the bed and climbed in next to him, the single sexiest thing he'd ever witnessed in person. Andy managed a full further thirty seconds of ignoring her until he crumbled, pouncing on her like a cat playing with a feather and proving all was forgiven, even if she may need to repeat the trick for a few more nights just to make sure.

As the room became filled with Sharon's cries and squeals and Andy's laughter while he continued to tickle her, the sound of Rusty knocking on the partially closed door was hard to make out. "You guys have remembered that I'm here and the door is open right?" Rusty shouted while taking a step away from the door, disturbed by what he might see on the other side.

"Rusty! Help! He's tickling me."

Very slowly and reluctantly Rusty opened the bedroom door and took a few steps inside, his hand covering his eyes in case he saw something he would really rather not. "If you want my help you've got to confirm that when I lower my hand I'm not going to be traumatised by what I see." With the laughter and squealing continuing unabated Rusty lowered his hand and instantly registered Andy's lack of pants before anything else, screwing his face up. "Oh God! Where are your pants?"

"Sharon stole them" Andy lied as he stopped tickling her and sat down on the bed next to her.

Sharon immediately smacked him with a pillow. "I did not" she protested and indicated them draped over the chair before picking her book back up.

A fortuitous moment of silence enabled them all to hear a very quiet knock on the front door. "That'll be Gus" Rusty said with a smile before turning his attention to Andy. "Please put some pants on before I let him in."

"Don't worry kid I'll try to keep my animal magnetism under control around your boyfriend" Andy said smugly as he straightened his shirt, making Sharon laugh.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be on some sort of medication?" Rusty asked unamused.

"There is no pill for this" Andy stated with a wave of his hand down the length of his body.

"Mom? A little help here please" Rusty begged.

"I'll try my very best but I can't guarantee anything."

Rusty glared at Andy as he left to go and answer the door. Once again silence fell before Sharon started to laugh to herself. "What are you laughing at?" Andy asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all" Sharon told him as she continued to focus on her book.

Andy looked at her for a moment before resting his head on her shoulder and muttering "I have animal magnetism."

"Of course you do" Sharon said in a very patronising manner, kissing him on the forehead and returning her attention back to her book. After a moment she asked "Do you need me to help put your pants on?"

"I prefer it when you take them off."

"So do I but we've got to get you in them first."

Rusty stood by the door to the condo for a moment with his hand on the knob, taking a couple of deep breaths and trying to compose himself before opening it. After a deep sigh he swung it open to reveal Gus, standing rather nervously on the other side, clutching an overnight bag since Sharon had insisted he spend the night on the couch with a potentially very late night on the horizon and him living so very far away.

"Hey" Rusty said shyly with a smile.

"Hey."

Rusty stepped aside to allow Gus to enter and walk past before shutting the door. Gus quickly scanned the room for Sharon and Andy, spinning on the spot to face Rusty again. Gus smiled, taking a step towards Rusty as he realised they were alone. Very slowly and very tentatively their lips came together in a short but sweet kiss. When they pulled apart they smiled at each other, both releasing a very deep breath.

"Am I late?" Gus asked. He had seen Sharon and Andy briefly on New Year's Eve and while Rusty was finishing his hair Andy opted to have a little word in his ear, informing him that when it came to Rusty promptness was an incredibly big deal. Andy didn't want to go into too much detail, after all it was none of his business and if anyone was going to tell Gus about Rusty's past then it needed to be Rusty himself. Yet to ensure that their relationship stood a chance, Andy thought it best to just warn Gus about his time keeping, something that pleased Sharon a lot, seeing Andy look out for Rusty in this regard without her asking him to.

"No you're fine. Andy hasn't even finished getting dressed yet. You look great" Rusty said, his eyes closing for the briefest of moments as he took a deep breath of Gus, his cologne smelling intoxicating to the young man.

"You too."

They looked at each other for a moment, their relationship still new and Rusty still so inexperienced when it came to 'boyfriends.' "We can wait in my room until he's ready if you like" Rusty suggested, waving a thumb in the general direction of his bedroom.

Gus nodded. It was the first time that he had been invited into Rusty's bedroom and although it was for nothing more than dropping off a bag and waiting for a couple of minutes and wasn't a particularly significant moment it was for them in their relationship as Rusty slowly but surely began to relax into life with Gus. "Sure. Great. Lead the way" Gus grinned, following Rusty.

Hearing them coming Sharon looked up from her book and smiled while Andy remained, still pant-less, with his head resting on her shoulder. "Hi Gus" she said loudly and making them both stop in their tracks and take a step towards her bedroom door.

"Hey Sharon." Like Rusty, Gus instantly noticed that Andy was without his pants. He smiled at him. "Hi Andy. Nice legs" he added with a wink.

"Thanks Gus," Andy replied before adding, "I think." He sat up straighter, suddenly a little self-conscious with Gus in the room and paying compliments to his legs. "Sharon stole my pants." No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Sharon elbowed him in the ribs, shooting him a quick glare for good measure. "You guys both ready?"

"I think so" Rusty answered with a quick glance into the mirror, adjusting his hair yet again.

With one eye on his girlfriend Andy asked "Have you got your passport?"

Without so much as a beat separating Andy's words and Sharon's reaction she smacked him on the arm with her book. "Andy!" she cried with a glare as Rusty and Gus both laughed.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

"You'd better be" she warned. "If anyone I know wakes up in Mexico in the morning I'm holding you personally responsible and you will not like the consequences."

"And what would you do exactly?" Andy asked as he returned his head to her shoulder, looking at her lovingly.

"Why?"

"To judge whether it's worth it or not."

"I'll start with castration and work my way up from there" Sharon told him flatly, planting a kiss to his forehead before going back to her book. Andy studied her face for a moment in a desperate attempt to gage if she was telling the truth or not, the way he slowly crossed his legs and covered his crotch with his hand letting everyone know his conclusion.

"What are you doing tonight Sharon?" Gus asked.

"She's waiting for her other boyfriend to show up."

"Good for you Mom" Rusty said enthusiastically. "I always knew you could do better than this guy." As Sharon laughed and Andy looked gobsmacked, Rusty pushed Gus towards the door. "We'll be in my room when you've put your pants on Lieutenant." With that Gus followed Rusty towards his bedroom leaving Andy looking beyond offended while Sharon continued to laugh.

"'Could do better'?" Andy repeated.

"If I were you I'd keep a very close eye on those two tonight."

"I will, I will, I promise" Andy stated for the hundredth time since they had been granted permission to have the party. "Nothing will happen to them."

"That's not what I meant. I meant in case they decide to do a moonlit flit to Mexico for the sole purpose of getting you into as much trouble as humanly possible."

"I can do that without help."

"I know."

Andy thought for a moment. "Do you think Rusty would notice if I handcuffed myself to him?"

"You know I think he might."

Before Andy had time to respond his cell phone started to ring. He quickly grabbed it from the nightstand on his side of the bed and looked at the screen. "It's Provenza" he announced without much surprise. He swiped to answer before bringing it to his ear. "Hey." Instantly Sharon could hear Provenza on the other end ranting and raving at such volume it made her question if he needed to use his cell at all. "Okay. Calm down. We're setting off in the next five minutes" he told his irate partner while shooting a grin towards Sharon. "Don't blame me, blame Sharon. She's stolen my pants."

"Stop telling people that" Sharon shouted loud enough for it to be heard on the phone while beating him about the head with another pillow.

"Okay, okay, we're coming. Bye." Andy hung up his phone and jumped to his feet, not being able to drag out his departure any longer. He grabbed his pants from the back of the chair and started to pull them on, facing away from Sharon as he bent over and put his leg in all the while as she blatantly watched him from over the top of her book, ogling his boxer clad backside. "Stop ogling me Raydor" Andy told her as he stood up straight and pulled his pants up his legs, not having to look at her to know what she was doing.

"I'm not" Sharon protested.

"Yes you are."

"I'm reading my book."

"Then read aloud the next sentence."

"It's erm...erm...wait..." Sharon said as she scanned the pages before her, beyond flustered and red faced as she tried to make out any of the hundreds of words that were currently all blurring into one.

Within seconds Andy made a noise like a buzzer going off and shouted "Too late! You were ogling" in as smug a tone as he had ever used while he turned to face her.

"Oh shut up" Sharon replied, throwing a pillow at his head. Andy just laughed, grabbing his shoes and socks from the corner of the room and sitting on the edge of the bed to put them on. "I do hope you've got your best underwear on this evening" she added, once again returning her attention back to her book.

"Why does my underwear choice matter?"

"Because I'm putting even money on this whole fiasco ending up in the Emergency Room and if you go to the hospital you need to have your best underwear on."

"What?" Andy laughed, failing to see the link between good underwear and the hospital.

"It's why a woman always makes sure her bra and panties match."

"In case you go to the hospital?"

"Yes. In case I get run over and people see what I've got on underneath" Sharon stated plainly with it being yet another pearl of wisdom drummed into her by her Grandmother at an early age.

Andy laughed again. "I suppose that makes sense but it won't end in the Emergency Room, I promise. Besides I'm a guy. Guys don't have 'best underwear' we just have ones with more holes in than there should be and ones we've forgotten we own" Andy told her with a shrug.

"You don't have a lucky pair you wear when the Dodgers play?"

"Nope. I don't have a lucky pair other than the pair I was wearing when I asked you out" he said with a wink before leaning across and giving her a quick kiss on the lips and then returning to his shoes.

"Please tell me you don't know what underwear you were wearing that day."

"Of course I do. It's hanging up in my closet with the suit and tie I had on like a Sharon Raydor shrine of glory" he joked. "I rub my hands up the tie for luck."

Sharon laughed only half hoping he was joking. With his shoes on Andy stood and grabbed his leather jacket, sliding it on before he turned to face her now fully dressed and finally ready. Sharon smiled at him. "My Grandmother once told me...well she told me to stay away from men altogether but if I was going to date a man I should make sure he only wore large baggy underwear at all times."

"Why?"

"Because by the time he'd managed to wriggle out of them theoretically I'd have time to change my mind about the whole thing and go to bed pure and innocent like a good girl" she explained with an angelic smile as she crossed herself.

"All good in theory except you've removed them from my person more times than I have recently" Andy winked again. Sharon rolled her eyes and threw another pillow at him but only this time he caught it. Andy dropped the pillow to his feet and looked at the small pile she'd throw at him and hit him with in the last five minutes alone. "I've suddenly realised why you keep so many pillows on your bed."

Sharon patted the pile of pillows that she was still nestled in. "Keep it up, I've got plenty more" she confirmed as she threw another one at him. "My Grandmother also told me that I should pretend to faint on my wedding night."

"Faint?"

"Very melodramatically" Sharon informed him as she put her hand on her head and swooned like she was Doris Day falling into the arms of Rock Hudson.

"Why?" Andy laughed.

Sharon thought for a moment, trying to recall the conversation. She shrugged. "I'm not quite sure if I'm honest. So my husband would leave me alone I guess or do all the work while I laid back, closed my eyes and thought of the Pope."

"And did you?" Andy asked after they'd both stopped laughing.

Sharon shrugged again. "Well hindsight is twenty twenty."

Andy sat on the end of the bed and took Sharon's right foot into his lap, rubbing the sole with his thumbs as he laughed. "Which Grandmother was this? The one that made your Grandfather sleep down the hall…"

"She only did that on days ending in 'y'" Sharon clarified.

"Oh well that's okay then. So was it her or the one that knitted her own swimwear?"

"Take a wild guess. With a Mother like that it was a wonder my Mom ever had sex. Frankly it's a miracle I'm even here."

"A fact that I thank my lucky stars for every day." Andy winked, continuing to massage her foot. "Your Dad must have been very persuasive."

"Well they do say girls go for men just like their Fathers." Sharon had thought about it many times before and had concluded that Andy did indeed have an awful lot in common with her Father. His charm for example and his penchant for mischief and trouble making, only Andy had these characteristics down to a fine art and her Father's behaviour was often curtailed by her Mother. Andy winked and started to stand up. "What about my other foot?" she complained as she waved it in front of his face.

"I thought I was going to be late."

"This foot doesn't care about you being late. It only cares that it's been left out." Andy nodded, a smile curling his lips as he took her other foot in his hands, giving it equal attention.

"Did you ever pay attention to these pearls of dating wisdom from your Grandmother?"

"For a while before I went to college but then I discovered boys and it's become well established just how easily I can be corrupted by those."

"Thank God for that" Andy cried with a look to the heavens making them both laugh.

"What about you? Did your Grandfathers offer you any advice about women and the wide world of dating?" Sharon waggled her toes as they pressed against his chest.

"Not really, just the usual like opening doors, buying plenty of flowers and most importantly," he said as he looked up from her foot to meet her eyes, "to always treat a lady with respect."

Sharon smiled. "And how's that going?"

"I find I'm getting better and better at it the older I get" he confirmed as he raised her foot to his lips, planting a kiss to it before standing. "I better see if Rusty is ready."

"Before you do I have something to give you." Sharon opened the drawer in her nightstand and grabbed a small item, hiding it from view before taking to her feet and rounding the bed to stand in front of Andy. "Here" she said as she a little reluctantly and nervously opened her hand to reveal a key, a new key at that, glinting in the lamp light.

Andy looked at it in her hand for a moment, his mind leaping to the obvious and correct conclusion but like when she asked him to stay the night for the first time never wishing to be presumptuous when Sharon was concerned. "What's this?"

"A key."

"I see that. What's it for?"

"To open the door to my condo" Sharon confirmed, placing it in his hand and wrapping his fingers around it herself.

Andy looked her in the eyes at once slightly overwhelmed and surprised by this gesture. "I know that but Rusty has his and he can let himself back in tonight" he said, offering her the chance to back out of this step forward in their relationship if she wanted since her nervousness was clearly evident.

"I know but I wanted to give you one as well so you could just let yourself in whenever you wanted. Save you the time of knocking" she added, nervously biting on her lip.

"You're giving me a key to your place?" Andy wasn't simple, well not usually (except when Sharon was trying to put a move on him in the days before they slept together for the first time) but in this instance he wanted clarity.

"I am. Too fast?"

Andy smiled, moving a lock of hair behind her ear. "Not at all, just about perfect in fact." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing their lips together for a few moments as they swayed side to side. Sharon sighed contently as they broke apart, relieved that she'd finally plucked up the courage to give it to him and that it had been so well received. "I actually have one for you already cut but I've been a little nervous about giving it to you" he admitted. Andy had a key cut for Sharon after he moved back home following his clot, feeling that if she had easy and instant access to his house then she might relax about his health a little more rather than it being a grand romantic gesture, but as always with him, his nerves about ruining what they already had took hold of him and prevented him from moving forward.

Sharon laughed at him, staring into his eyes. "Nervous? Still?"

"Still. Always."

"Will you ever stop being nervous with me Andy Flynn?"

"Probably not but amongst other things it makes me appear incredibly vulnerable which I know you find as sexy as hell" he said a little smugly.

"Yes I do" Sharon nodded, joining their lips together in a prolonged embrace as her hands gravitated down towards his backside as they so often did when they were alone.

"Maybe. One day" Andy told her with a sparkle in his eyes. "Twenty years from now when we're old and grey," he continued before Sharon coughed to stop him, running her fingers through his already delightfully silver hair. Andy nodded in response. "Okay _greyer_ and we're an old retired couple in our dream home with Rusty waiting on us hand and foot, catering to our every whim and irrational demand, I'll stop being nervous around you. But only when I'm too deaf to hear you nag me and too incontinent to care."

"What a beautiful picture you paint" Sharon laughed, kissing his cheek. "I can hardly wait."

"I've also been slightly reluctant to give it to you because there's the concern about Mrs Williams and your safety as well" he admitted.

"Your neighbour? Has she still got the hots for you?"

"Do you even need to ask?" It wasn't that Mrs Williams had the 'hots' for her handsome neighbour exactly, like how someone might have the hots for a handsome actor on television, it was that she was completely and utterly obsessed with him to the point where if she could lick his face and get away with it, she would. The moment she saw him she wanted him and that only increased when she saw his badge and gun hanging from his hip. Despite being a small, elderly lady with quite severe arthritis she squeezed his backside (and Provenza's if she caught sight of him) like it was a stress ball. Such were the constant assaults on his posterior Andy would often check to make sure Mrs Williams wasn't waiting for him on her porch before running from his house and leaping in his car, driving off to the relative safety of work as quickly as possible. "You've got your hands all over my best feature" he pointed out making her squeeze his cheeks with her hands.

Sharon laughed, having had a couple of run-ins with Mrs Williams already and received looks from her that could turn milk sour. "You make a good point. If she sees me letting myself in she's likely to call 911 before I've closed the door."

"I was going to say shoot you but whatever makes you feel more comfortable." Andy smiled, himself letting out a contented sigh, as happy as he'd ever been not only in life but also in how he felt about himself. "Thank you" he said, pocketing the key and meeting her lips.

"You're welcome." In the great scheme of things it wasn't a massive gesture like moving in together for example but it was significant enough for them. It was a sign to Andy as well as to Sharon that she wanted him there in her home more often than not and that no longer required knocking or advanced notice. It meant she wanted him to treat her home like his own and so it seemed vice versa.

"So am I using it to let myself back in tonight?"

"Have I not made that perfectly clear?"

Andy laughed shyly. "Well it's on record that I'm not the best at reading your signals."

"Don't I know it" Sharon said a tad ruthfully. Of all the things she expected when she started dating Andy, the man who had slept with more women than she'd eaten hot dinners, it was not discovering that he could be so shy and nervous around her and completely oblivious to her signals when she was trying to seduce him.

"You should come with a user's manual" Andy joked.

Sharon huffed, swatting the back of his head with the palm of her hand. "I'll give you a user's manual" she muttered, her eyes sparkling. "Try reading this." With a hand planted on either side of his face she drew him towards her, their lips colliding together in a long lingering kiss, leaving very little for him to miss this time. "Yes the plan is for you to let yourself back in tonight although Rusty will probably do it for you because you're not going to let him out of your sight are you?"

"Of course I won't. Now I have another reason why I need to get everyone home and in bed as safe as sound as quickly as possible."

Sharon just stared at him for a moment before shaking her head, looking like she was mentally chastising herself. "I keep wanting to say to you 'Please don't get too drunk tonight' and then I remember."

"The only benefit of dating a recovering alcoholic."

"Believe you me my beautiful boy, I've discovered that there are many many benefits to taking a chance and dating this particular recovering alcoholic." She kissed him again before leaving the warmth of his embrace to get her robe from her closet and walking into the bathroom. She pulled the door partially closed behind her so that they could still hear each other while maintaining her modesty should Rusty or Gus walk by the open bedroom door. "Still I hope you're all going to behave yourselves tonight" she called.

"Of course we are" Andy reassured her less than convincingly as she began to hum to herself. Satisfied that Sharon was distracted while she changed, ready for a relaxing soak in the bath he quietly bounded towards the bedroom door. Checking behind him to ensure the coast was clear he stuck his head out of the door and as quietly as possible called "Rusty, come here."

Rusty responded similarly and stuck his head out into the hallway. "What?" he asked.

"Quiet" Andy whispered with a grimace, checking all around him should Sharon had snuck up behind him with the precision and silence of a ninja.

Rusty looked at him a little confused, sensing that trouble was afoot and walked towards him. "What?"

"Wait there." With Sharon still in the bathroom Andy tiptoed to the closet and opened it quickly thus ensuring the squeak that came with any slower movement was avoided. At first Andy went to crouch down but anticipating his knees cracking, he bent over instead to open the zip of the gym bag at the bottom of the closet, the bag he brought clothes back and forth to the condo in. Suddenly Sharon stopped humming, making Andy momentarily freeze, lifting his head like a gazelle around the watering hole that sensed a lion was close. A moment later Sharon's humming resumed. Andy let out the breath he was holding while he pulled what looked like a deflated swimming pool floaty from the bag. Closing the door with the same speed he opened it with, Andy again checked the coast was clear and then bounded back to Rusty, thrusting the inflatable into his hands. "Take this."

"What is…" Rusty started as he looked at the plastic in his hands with confusion.

"Just take it" Andy instructed as he pushed Rusty back towards his room and went back inside Sharon's bedroom to act like he hadn't moved a muscle.

Gus stood by the open door in Rusty's room having yet to really make himself at home since it was his first time he'd been in there and they were both feeling a little awkward about it. He turned to see Rusty coming back towards him with the inflatable in his hands. He looked at it and frowned, not expecting to see him to come back with something like that. "What is that? Are we going swimming?"

"I don't know" Rusty responded while he pushed the door closed behind him with his foot. "Andy just thrust it into my hand and pushed me back down here." He exchanged a baffled look with Gus for a moment and then unfolded the inflatable, quickly discovering that it was indeed a blow up doll. "It's a doll. Of course it is! I should have known."

"Well it is a bachelor party!" Gus laughed.

Rusty couldn't have looked more disgusted as he looked into the eyes of that doll, a doll with a haunted expression on her face that looked like Goldie Hawn after spending seventeen hours in a wind tunnel and then repeatedly hit in the face with a frying pan. Suddenly feeling like he wanted to wash his hands in bleach Rusty gripped the doll by its toe, holding it aloft to examine it further. "I am not blowing this thing up."

"Why not?"

"Why do you think?"

"Well neither of us are exactly, what you might call, in the vagina business" Gus shrugged making them both laugh.

"God knows where he's been keeping it or the horrors it's seen" Rusty muttered with a shudder, dropping the doll to the floor and stepping away like it was the dirtiest of dirty diapers.

"Give it here. I'll do it." Gus picked up the doll, examining it closely. "Where's the valve?"

Rusty joined Gus in inspected the doll all over, searching for the valve to enable them to inflate it. Eventually Rusty started to laugh. "Found it" he said, turning the doll upside down and showing Gus the valve that was conveniently (or rather inconveniently) located at the apex between her legs.

"Of course it is" he laughed. Bringing the valve to his lips Gus put a leg on both of his shoulders and started to blow. One big blast of air later he covered the valve with his finger and laughed hysterically. "Well this is something I never thought I'd ever do." They both laughed again with Gus turning his attention back to inflating the doll, not an easy task with his face turning red as he struggled to blast air into it. "This tastes disgusting. It looks so old. I wonder where he's been keeping it."

"Locked in his closet at home I guess."

"Or in his hamper. It tastes like a damp sock" Gus complained, wiping the valve with his sleeve to improve the taste of the plastic.

"Are you trying to upset it?" Rusty laughed as Gus continued his battle to inflate it. "I have to take a photo of this."

"Don't you dare!" Gus warned.

"I'm sorry I have to" Rusty insisted as he produced his cell from his pocket and took a quick photograph.

"Do not put that on Facebook or anywhere else that Paloma's adoptive parents might see it" Gus instructed, not that he needed to. Rusty would never do anything to risk any potential future contact between Gus and Paloma but was unable to resist the temptation of taking a photo, after all how often would something like that take place. As Gus continued to fill the doll with air its legs grew bigger and bigger and finally smacked him on the ears, almost crushing him with her thighs. He covered the valve again as they fell about laughing. "You know before I met you I never ever thought I'd have my head crushed by a woman's thighs, even an inflatable one."

As the boys laughed hysterically Sharon, now clad in just her robe, peered out of her bedroom door and towards Rusty's room, smiling. Not paying any attention to the commotion down the hall Andy pocketed his cell phone and then attached his badge to his belt, something he was only taking with him to ensure that Rusty and Gus were allowed into the bars he'd selected without any problems. "Things still seem to be going well with Gus" Sharon said joyfully as she turned to see Andy looking at himself in the mirror.

"They do. How do I look? Does my butt look big in these?"

Sharon walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Enormous."

"That's why you can never keep your hands off it."

"You know me so well. Your fly is undone."

"You shouldn't be looking." Andy turned in her arms as he pulled up his zip. "You hate this shirt don't you?" he asked having felt her eyes looking at it with dismay since the moment he pulled it on.

Sharon dropped her head to his chest, muffling her response. "I'm sorry but I do. I really really do" she said honestly.

"Why? This is a great shirt."

Sharon pulled back and smirked at him. "One, if I stare at it too long my eyes start to go out of focus and I get a headache. And two with the frequency I've seen you in it both before and after we started dating this is quite clearly your," Sharon paused looking for the appropriate expression, "I don't know, 'Lady Killer' shirt. Your 'trouble' shirt" she explained giving him a pointed look.

"What?"

"This is the shirt you used to pick up women with," she said tugging on the collar, "I assume because the hypnotic pattern had them in your arms before they realised what was happening to them." Sharon said it mainly tongue in cheek but she was one hundred percent correct. That shirt always put in appearance when he was 'on the prowl' but likewise he wore it a lot when he just simply went out with Provenza. It wasn't that Sharon had an issue with it (other than it was so ugly for a man with usually impeccable taste in shirts) after all she trusted him implicitly but liked to tease him about it since he had changed so much on the inside but not seemingly on the outside.

"That's not true" Andy exclaimed, protesting his innocence.

"Really?"

Andy thought for a moment before shrugging. "Well not completely true. Yes it's a shirt I've worn a lot when I've gone out with Provenza but that has nothing to do with picking up women."

"Okay" Sharon said simply and highly suspiciously.

"Honestly."

"Sure." Sharon kissed his cheek and then stood back to admire his ensemble. "Well you look very handsome as always and off to spend the evening with other women." Despite all the guarantees she had been given and promises made neither Sharon nor Patrice expected the night to pass without at least one stripper being involved. If that was the case neither were going to be very impressed by it, at all but with Rusty and Gus in attendance they were sure any 'dance show' they saw would be PG rated.

"What other women?" Andy asked naively. Sharon just glared at him, not believing his claims of innocence for a second. "It's a bachelor party. No girls allowed remember otherwise you'd definitely be coming along." Andy grabbed her by the wrist and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Look the last thing I want to do is spend the night with Provenza and the guys rather than here alone with you."

"That's not what you've been saying for the last two weeks."

"A guy can change his mind can't he?" he said with a waggle of his eyebrows and a kiss to her lips.

"Okay enough. You have successfully wooed me so you can lay off with the whole 'I'd rather spend time with you' spiel. I'd heard it all before." It was a tactic Jack had used on her countless times before things started to get really difficult between them. Before she fell pregnant with Ricky he would always claim that he'd rather be at home with her and Emily but work would always get in the way. Then of course he would inevitably arrive home drunk and completely broke with Sharon instantly realising he hadn't been anywhere near work and he'd rather be anywhere else but at home with his wife and child.

Andy tightened his grip on Sharon's waist, drawing her even closer to him. "But once again let me point out that I am not him and really would much rather be spending the evening watching you read your book than do anything else in this world" he admitted honestly, his sudden reluctance to leave being proven over the last hour in the way he refused to move his head from her lap and finish getting dressed.

"Why?"

Andy sighed contently as he gave her a beaming smile. "It relaxes me and once you find the one you love you don't stop trying, you only try harder."

She couldn't resist kissing him in that moment and didn't, moving her lips against his as she gripped him tightly. "I'm sure you'll forget all about me after you lay your eyes on your first pair of breasts, and it better only be your eyes" she added as she jabbed him in the chest with her finger. She knew he only had eyes for her, he said it often enough and she believed him, trusting him completely but that didn't mean it didn't hurt to give him a little reminder and a warning from time to time.

"The only way I'm seeing breasts tonight is if Provenza gets drunk and takes his shirt off again," Andy once again asserted, making it clear that there would be no women coming near them at all that evening before adding, "unless of course I get to see yours later." He winked at her and then stole a quick kiss. "Trust me, it's a quiet few drinks with good friends and the kid and his boyfriend. What could possibly happen?"

"Yeah right."

"Seriously."

"Uh-huh. I believe you, thousands wouldn't, just please don't get into any trouble, I beg you and look after Rusty and Gus."

"I will. I will. What trouble do you really think is likely?"

"Do I need to make a list?" Sharon asked dryly.

"But it's different now" Andy insisted. "Provenza is off the market…"

"And that fact has stopped you from getting into trouble in the past?"

"You've got a point there but we've matured since then, like a fine wine."

Sharon gave him a sceptical look. "When it comes to you and your boyfriend it's more a case of 'Murphy's Law.' Everything that could go wrong will go wrong."

"In the past but not now. Look Provenza is engaged and Mike is married. We've got a gay couple in tow and I have the most beautiful woman in the world waiting for me to come home."

"Sitting by the door waiting for you to come home like a dog?" Sharon asked a little put out at the insinuation as she saw it.

"No. Why would I get myself into any trouble when all I want to do is race home to you?" he asked with a kiss. "I can't speak as to what Julio and Buzz will get up to but they're single and not my concern."

"But you will make sure they get home safe?"

"Of course" he nodded. "I'd still much rather spend the evening with you, dancing at that place we found by the beach in the moonlight" he added with a wink before taking her hand in his and starting to slow dance about the room.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking the opportunity to dance with you now" Andy explained while swaying them from side to side.

"Without music?"

Andy smiled, his eyes twinkling as he moved his lips to her ear and started to sing. " _Got my tweed pressed, got my best vest, all I need now is the girl_ " he started as they continued to sway from side to side. Before long Sharon removed her hand from the small of Andy's back and covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. It's like Frank Sinatra is in the room with me."

"You forget I was a choirboy."

"How could I forget? The Nuns, the prostitutes" Sharon rattled off, wondering and not for the first time how he found time to sing in the church choir as a boy such was the amount of mischief he got involved with.

" _Got my striped tie, got my hopes high, got the time and the place and I got the rhythm, now all I need's the girl to go with 'em_ " Andy sang as he continued to dance Sharon around her bedroom, ending it with a kiss as she laughed at him.

"You are an idiot" Sharon told him as she smiled at him adoringly.

"You picked me."

"That I did" she confirmed with a kiss.

"Are you going to wait up for me?"

"No."

"No?" Andy repeated surprised.

"I was hoping you'd find an inventive way to wake me up when you get back."

Andy smiled. "Inventive?"

"Oh very."

"Challenge accepted" Andy stated, finally taking one of her not so subtle hints.

"Go on" Sharon instructed as she released him from her hold. "Time to get out of here before you have Lieutenant Provenza on the phone again. You don't want to be late."

"Yep." Andy planted his lips to Sharon's one final time before shouting "Boys are you ready?" Andy led the way leaving the bedroom before coming to an abrupt halt when he saw Rusty and Gus walking towards him with the now fully inflated doll. After making a noise like an asthmatic dolphin receiving bad news Andy waved them away and back towards Rusty's bedroom. With Sharon hot on his heels Andy spun on the spot, pulled her into her arms and covered her mouth with his, almost knocking her off her feet while the boys disappeared again. When Andy broke the kiss Sharon stared at him a little stunned and out of breath but before she could open her mouth to speak Andy asked "Can you just see if I left my watch in the bathroom please? I forgot to put it on."

"Sure" Sharon said still stunned as she walked towards the bathroom.

Andy waited until she crossed the threshold into the ensuite and then practically sprinted to Rusty's bedroom where he found him and Gus sitting on the bed with the doll between them. "What have you done?!" Andy screamed while keeping his voice at a low register.

"We've blown it up. Like you said" Rusty said.

"I said take it not blow it up. Take it! What part of that was unclear?!" Andy flailed. "We're supposed to be smuggling it past your Mom not making it bigger!" he cried while burying his face in his hands.

"Well how was I supposed to know that?"

"Isn't it obvious?! Why do you think I gave it to you while Sharon was in the bathroom?" Still with his head in his hands Andy crouched on the floor, practically turning himself into a ball. "I suppose I should just be grateful you didn't fill it with helium." In reality he blamed himself. If he hadn't been in such a rush to get upstairs to spend some time with Sharon before going out he might have remembered to leave it in the trunk of his car.

"You mean I put my head between her legs for no reason?" Gus stated, lightening the mood and making them all laugh.

"Sorry Lieutenant."

Andy took to his feet and sighed. "Don't worry about it kid but we've got to find a way to smuggle her out of here."

"'Her'?" Rusty questioned.

"Don't."

"Can't we throw her out the window?" Rusty suggested, picturing sending Gus downstairs first before hurling the doll out of the window for him to catch.

"And let her get blown into traffic?" Andy pointed out. He thought for a moment, formulating his own plan before Rusty came up with another idea and putting the elaborate escape from _Argo_ to shame. "No. Look I'll distract Sharon and you two take her and leave her outside the front door."

"How are you going to," Rusty started before looking absolutely disgusted. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

"Okay, you ready?" With the boys nodding at him Andy slowly walked back towards Sharon's bedroom, staying close to the wall with Rusty, Gus and the doll following close behind. As they approached Sharon's door a high pitched whistling sound started to come from between the doll's legs as she started to slowly deflate. Andy turned to look at Rusty with an expression which asked 'Are you trying to get me murdered?' "What are you doing?"

"It's not my fault" Rusty whispered. "There's something wrong with the valve, she keeps going down on me." Andy and Gus immediately started to wet themselves laughing, biting their hands to muffle the sound from Sharon while Rusty just looked at them completely lost as to what was so funny. "What's so funny?" he asked naïvely.

"Nothing" Andy replied as he continued to sneak along the corridor.

"Your watch isn't in the bathroom" Sharon announced, leaving the ensuite and heading for the bedroom door. Like a bullet from a gun Andy ran to her to stop her from leaving. She grabbed his wrist and pushed his jacket sleeve up to reveal his timepiece. "Andy you've got it on. Are you going senile?" Stepping past him Sharon went to leave her room only for Andy to grab her waist and practically assault her lips once again, spinning on the spot so she faced away from the door. Sharon was once again almost knocked off her feet in a kiss that was all teeth and tongues, almost chipping a tooth in the process. After a moment the three faces of Rusty, Gus and the doll peered around the doorframe like the Three Stooges to see if the coast was clear. With his eyes open but his mouth otherwise engaged Andy frantically waved at them to get moving making them scurry past and towards the front door. Once they were gone Andy released Sharon, leaving them both out of breath and Sharon once again stunned. "What has got into you?" she asked, flexing her jaw after this latest attack it had experienced.

"I'm just going to miss you that's all" Andy told her as innocently as he could and kissing her a lot more gently. "Like I said, I'd rather spend tonight with you."

"And you will, later."

"Is that a promise?"

"It's a certainty." As the words left her lips Sharon's head snapped around, hearing the sound of the front door closing. "Was that the door?" she asked, leaving to go and see before Andy answered, him following close behind with an incredibly anxious look on his face. By the time they reached the door to the condo Rusty and Gus were standing in front of it looking highly suspicious. "Was someone just at the door?"

Rusty and Gus looked at each other for a moment before turning to Andy for help. "Oh yeah it was me" Rusty said finally. "I thought I heard someone outside. It must have been Mrs Rose doing her daily noise check."

"Oh that woman!" Sharon shouted, beyond fed up with the constant complaints about everything and nothing that came from her nearest and most miserable of all neighbours. "I swear I'm going to…" Sharon started as she moved to open the door before both boys blocked her way.

"No!" they shouted in unison with Andy stupidly joining in for good measure as he tugged on his earlobe instinctively. Sharon turned to look at all three of them absolutely baffled. It really wasn't hard for her to work out when someone was lying to her, it was part of her job after all, but Andy and Rusty were particularly easy to read.

"There was no one there Mom. I must have been hearing things."

Sharon eyed them all with suspicion but since there was no blatant cause for their behaviour chose to let it go and accept Rusty's explanation. "Okay" she said, ensuring she drew out every single letter and letting them know she knew they were up to something.

"So you boys ready?" Andy asked, suddenly eager to leave.

"Yep. Let's go."

"Not yet." Sharon looked at the three men standing before her and slowly walked up and down the line, adjusting their collars and giving them all a kiss on the cheek as if she was waving them off to war. "Now no drinking. You hear me? None. I want you to look out for each other and Lieutenant Provenza. Make sure he gets home to Patrice safe and sound and then the three of you come back home here to me. You hear me?"

"Yes ma'am" Andy replied with a wink.

"Take care of each other."

"We will" Rusty assured her, his job having changed from a buffer between Sharon and Andy to a chaperone for Andy and Lieutenant Provenza in just over twelve months.

"Say it again."

"We will" Rusty repeated.

"Thank you. Off you go." Before any of them could move there was a knock on the door with Sharon being the first one to open it. As she swung the door open she came face to face with her neighbour Mrs Rose looking absolutely outraged and brandishing Andy's inflatable friend by her very fingertips. Andy covered his eyes with his hands while Sharon surveyed the scene before her completely baffled. "Mrs Rose. What…?"

"When a police officer moved in next door I expected a lot of things Mrs Raydor, but not the horrendously uncouth behaviour associated with leaving these kind of sex toys abandoned in a public hallway!" Mrs Rose shouted, shaking the doll in her face for added emphasis.

"Excuse me?" Sharon said, completely taken aback.

"Remove it instantly while I disinfect my hands."

Mrs Rose thrust the doll into Sharon's hands and then stomped off down the hall to her own apartment, slamming the door behind her. Sharon stood for a moment in stunned silence, staring at the doll in her hands before closing the door. She slowly turned on the spot to face the gaggle of incredibly guilty looking men standing behind her with Darth Raydor instantly putting in an appearance. Sharon just glared at them in silence, biting her lip as she tried not to laugh, registering their guilt and the obvious lengths they'd gone to in order to hide the 'other woman' from her. "Andy I think I found that girl you were looking for" she finally said in reference to the song he sang her not five minutes ago.

"I can explain this" Andy announced like he'd had a brilliant idea.

"I can't wait to hear it."

"You're going to laugh" he added as he started to laugh but suddenly stopping when he realised that no one was joining in with him.

"Oh I'm sure."

"Well you see," Andy started, looking to the boys for help but getting only blank expressions in return. "I have no idea how it got there."

Sharon just started at him speechless for a moment. "That's your explanation?"

"Yes" Andy confirmed, grabbing hold of his nose so Sharon wouldn't be able to tell if he was lying by how much his nostrils were flaring, despite it being blatantly obvious.

"Take your hand away from your nose."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because of that smell" Andy said after a moment of thought.

"I don't smell anything."

"I can. It must be Rusty's cologne."

"Hey!" Rusty cried, bringing his shirt to his nose to sniff it.

"Right well we'll get out of your hair, leave you to your night of luxury, pampering and the overly spry Mr Johnson" Andy announced as he made a desperate attempt to walk past Sharon and to the door, only to be stopped by her hand on his chest.

"Wait, you were explaining" Sharon told him, not prepared to allow him to leave without torturing him to the point of madness.

"I thought we were done with that."

Sharon shook her head. "You were oh so wrong my friend."

Andy sighed, realising that he wasn't getting out of the building without concocting some sort of believably tale and quickly at that. "It's easy to explain. The easiest thing in the world" he said continuing to flounder.

"And yet you're still struggling" Sharon smiled.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Andy asked as he looked pleadingly at Rusty and Gus for help. He was again greeted with blank stares in return, beads of sweat starting to appear on all of their foreheads. "It must have been Mrs Rose" Andy finally announced. "The woman is crazy. She's clearly losing her mind, she's deranged, she's old, she's..."

"My age" Sharon cut in.

Andy swallowed hard, almost choking on his own tongue. "You didn't let me finish. She's still a vibrant woman, full of life just like you and..." he started as he back peddled so quickly he all but made a beeping noise.

"I can explain" Gus suddenly announced.

"Oh thank God" Andy cried, the sweat started to pour from his forehead and his earlobe in danger of dropping off he was pulling it so hard. Sharon looked at him from the corner of her eye, practically tying herself in knots so she didn't laugh at his evident discomfort before facing Gus and smiling.

"You see Sharon this is my first ever bachelor party and I thought this was the sort of thing you brought with you, you know for fun" Gus explained calmly.

"In the 1980s maybe" Sharon replied.

Andy laughed, his shoulders relaxing. "Yeah it's so..."

"Be quiet" Sharon instructed him with a glare, stopping him dead.

Gus paused for a moment, giving himself time for the words to formulate in his mind so he didn't make the situation worse. "So I brought it but left it outside because as I was walking up here I became embarrassed when I realised that it's so unbelievably sexiest to women and I didn't think you would approve."

Sharon smiled, not believing a word Gus said for a second. "Really?"

"Yes."

"So it was definitely you and not Andy."

"Absolutely" Gus confirmed with confidence.

"Then who was at the door?" Sharon questioned.

"That was me too. I was just checking to make sure it hadn't been stolen."

"Why didn't you say something earlier? And here I was giving poor Andy a hard time" Sharon said warmly as she wrapped her free arm around Andy's shoulders, luring him into a false sense of security while not believing a single word.

"Oh that's okay," Andy said as he relaxed, "I'm used to getting into trouble that's not my fault with women."

"Oh I know it's like we all gang up together in some sort of conspiracy against you" Sharon told him sympathetically before pushing her lips to his.

"I didn't want you to see me in a bad light for my very poor misjudgement" Gus continued. "A guy always wants to make a good impression with his boyfriend's parents you know."

Sharon smiled kindly. "Oh Gus I would never see you in a bad light for something like this and I admire you all the more for trying to protect Andy."

Gus looked at Andy a little confused. "I'm not protecting..."

"It's okay I know you're lying" Sharon stated plainly, removing her arm from around Andy's shoulders and dropping it to her side. Sensing that trouble was afoot Andy reached out to take Sharon's hand only for her to slap it away with some force.

"What makes you think..."

"Rusty hasn't opened his mouth, Andy's nostrils are flaring like crazy and this young and I expect very abused young lady," she said as she looked at the 'woman' standing next to her, "has _'Property of Andy Flynn Robbery Homicide'_ written on her back in black magic marker." Sharon turned the doll around so that all three men could see her handwritten tattoo before thrusting it into Andy's hands.

Andy's eyes closed for a moment missing Sharon smirking while she battled to not laugh at him. "You enjoy torturing me don't you?" he asked when he finally looked at her.

Sharon laughed. "Since the day I first handled your package."

"Oh God!" Rusty cried with utter disgust, the first time he'd managed to open his mouth and have words fall out since Mrs Rose had put in an appearance. "Do you have to?"

"His package at work" Sharon clarified, not that it helped matters in the slightest.

"I still don't want to know. Come on let's go" Rusty said to Gus as he opened the door to the condo. Before they could make their escape Andy handed Rusty the doll to take with him so he could attempt a goodbye with Sharon without it.

"Behave and look out for each other" Sharon instructed for the final time.

"We will" Rusty confirmed. "Bye."

"Bye Sharon."

"Bye boys."

Andy watched Rusty and Gus leave with the doll before he turned to face Sharon. He shuffled on the spot for a moment, looking at his feet as Sharon just glared at him, trying her hardest to appear mad at him. When Andy looked up he did the best smoulder he could muster and asked "How much trouble am I in?"

Sharon laughed, amused not only by Andy's guilt at something so utterly stupid, something so utterly him but also that he was under the misapprehension that he could get out of any sticky situation with her by simply smiling or giving her a smouldering look. "None."

"Really?"

"Really." Sharon stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you know the one thing that's wrong with you Andy Flynn?"

"There's only one?" he joked.

"You can be too predictable." Sharon had anticipated that something like this would happen with Andy planning everything, that the bachelor party would have extra company but she didn't expect their guest to be inflatable and that Andy would bring it into her condo only to have to smuggle it back out again. As long as he kept his hands to himself and she didn't know the finer details Sharon wasn't really that concerned with what he might get up to that evening, especially with Rusty in tow. She smiled, the man in her arms was an idiot, but he was her idiot.

"Do you know what's wrong with you?" Andy asked.

Sharon rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Andy was going to say having attempted to use this line on her twice before, the last time being as he dragged his feet getting out of the car before that awful double date at Provenza's house. "This again?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Oh shut up" Sharon told him with a shake of her head before she kissed him. "Do you really think you can use that line to get you out of trouble every single time?"

"Well I had rather hoped."

"Then I've got bad news for you."

Andy laughed. "Am I still waking you up later?" he asked, acting a little unsure of himself and whether his brand new key was about to be taken off him temporarily.

Sharon jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "And it better be in the most inventive way imaginable but your little friend is staying in the car, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am. Enjoy your evening with Mr Johnson" he said with a wink.

"I will."

"Try not to kill him."

"I haven't killed you yet."

"It's not for lack of trying." Andy moved Sharon's hair out of the way and then blew a long loud raspberry on her neck before walking to the door.

"Have fun. Behave."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Stepping out into the corridor Andy closed the door behind him and met up with Rusty and Gus who had already started their journey towards the elevator in order to give them a little bit of privacy. "Well that went well" Andy announced sarcastically.

"The next time you complain about how long it takes for me to do my hair Lieutenant, just remember how long it takes you to say goodbye to Sharon" Rusty pointed out as he called the elevator.

"Yeah yeah" Andy muttered.

Rusty stood the doll against the wall as they waited for the elevator, rereading Andy's name on the back and wondering how he and Gus had missed it earlier while it was being blown up (because they were laughing too hard as Gus had his head crushed by its thighs being the most obvious answer). "Why do you have your name written on it?" Rusty finally asked.

Andy rubbed his hand down his face, stalling before he answered. "Look it involved a few drinks, maybe a few more after that, a drawer at the morgue and if we're not going to go backwards in our relationship kid, don't ask any more about it."

Rusty nodded, not wanting to know anything about his Mom's boyfriend that would only traumatise him more than finding him in the kitchen in his underwear in the dead of night that first time. "Sure thing Lieutenant."

Seconds later the elevator doors opened and all four stepped in (well to be precise the doll was carried in by Rusty), riding down to the ground floor and the parking garage in a comfortable silence. When the doors opened they came face to face with a man who could only be described as looking like the spitting image of Carl from _Up_ with the exception of the oxygen tank attached to his walker. This was Mr Johnson and without pausing for a second to allow the occupants of the elevator to exit he charged towards it with his walker and pushed his way in, making Andy, Rusty and Gus scatter to the sides to avoid being mowed down. No one said a word, Rusty and Andy more than used to the incredibly rude behaviour of a man who immediately brought up his war record if you said anything disparaging to him. Squeezing past him and out of the elevator Andy allowed Rusty and Gus to walk by him before he turned towards Sharon's 'other boyfriend.'

"Mr Johnson, if you want to head up to the eleventh floor, Sharon is waiting for you" Andy told him as the elevator doors closed. He laughed to himself all the way to the car, not expecting the old man to have heard him let alone understood him.

The drive to Provenza's house was a lot quieter and more awkward than Andy wanted or anticipated. Although Rusty and Gus had been dating for just over a month and things were going well, Rusty was still unsure what he was doing and the mere presence of another person (even if it was Andy or Sharon) had the habit of rendering the young man mute, completely unsure what to say to Gus when they had company. Andy tried his best, telling Gus what the plan of action was for the evening and encouraging Rusty to talk to him but he was fighting a losing battle. The only topic of conversation that seemed to get everyone involved was the trouble Andy was in with Sharon over his 'flotation aid' and how funny it was. Gus assumed that since Andy had clearly had that doll a while (after all it had been over ten years since he was last attached to Robbery Homicide regardless of what it said on his name tag on his desk) and had written his name on it then it must be important to him and therefore opted to seat her next to him in the back seat and put the seatbelt across its lap.

In reality the cause of the stunted conversation was Andy himself with Rusty doing everything he could to avoid engaging him in discussion while it was just the three of them. Rusty was no idiot. He knew that with Andy he had hit the 'Mom's boyfriend' jackpot. From bitter experience Rusty knew the sort of jerks (and abusive ones at that) that were out there and Andy wasn't like a single one of them. Andy was kind and considerate towards him. He tried to engage with him and was never not in the mood or too tired to play chess with him. He tried to understand what he was doing with his vlog and even though he didn't agree he helped with Slider. It was abundantly clear just how much Andy loved Sharon and also to a lesser degree that he might actually also love Rusty. No man had ever loved Rusty before, well not like that anyway and even though he knew it was mainly because of Sharon it was also because Andy genuinely wanted to try with him. He wanted to make up for being a less than stellar Father in the past and Rusty was his way to do that. He was loving and sincere and perfect for Sharon. He was also perfect for Rusty, the perfect Step-Father material even though he was initially resistant to the idea (but that had nothing to do with Andy and everything to do with his history with his Mother's boyfriends). It was somewhat of a surprise to Rusty when one day he realised he liked having a man in his life and a stable man at that, someone to look up to. It had also occurred to Rusty that Andy was now someone he could rely on for the rest of his life. This was clearly it for both of them whether it ended in marriage or not, his Mom and Andy would be together until the end. Once upon a time Rusty hadn't given much consideration to a legal family and what that meant but with how important Sharon was to him, he now thought about it a lot and that made him realise that if anything were to happen to Sharon, if she were to become sick or God forbid anything were to happen at work, then he would still have Andy there for him. He would have another adult who would love him and take care of him and vice versa. Yes it was true that Provenza and Buzz also filled that role but with Andy it was becoming different. He was becoming the man who would always be there for him even if Sharon one day wasn't. He was someone to protect him, to look out for him, something that was a very big deal to a young man who once had no one and nothing at all. Although he still wasn't the best at expressing it vocally or even in some of his actions Rusty was glad that Andy was there in his life, there for Sharon, to love and take care of her but he was also glad he was there to do the same things for him. With all that in mind there was however just one small problem with Andy: he thought he was funny. No scratch that, Andy didn't think he was funny, Andy thought himself utterly hysterical and Rusty was petrified every time he was in the same room as Gus should he open his mouth and try to be 'funny.' Sharon had spoken to Andy early about this matter, rather drunkenly after the Christmas party in fact but she didn't really need to. Andy knew Rusty was sensitive and while trying so hard to make him like him and accept him in his life he would never do anything to jeopardise that even though he was desperate to make fun of Rusty in front of Gus.

By the time they pulled up outside Provenza's house Andy let out a huge sigh of relief that he finally had someone else to talk to and with less pressure on Rusty's shoulders, he might relax a little. As they all climbed out of the car Andy asked "Gus hand me our inflatable friend will you?"

Gus leant across the doll and unbuckled the seatbelt, pulling her out of the car and holding her out for Andy to take. "Here you go."

Instead of taking the doll Andy took a step back and open the trunk, looking towards the house to make sure Patrice wasn't watching. "Put her in here."

Rusty looked at him baffled. "Why?"

"In case Patrice comes out to wave us off. We don't want a repeat performance from earlier" Andy explained having already been tortured enough for one evening.

Gus laughed. "You've done this before."

"How can you tell?" Andy stepped aside to block the trunk from view from the house as Rusty and Gus attempted to stuff the doll in. Sadly for them the fact that she was now full of air meant that every time they stuffed one limb in the trunk another one popped out like she was desperate to escape. "Jesus she's like an octopus. You had to blow her up" Andy shouted accusingly at Rusty not knowing that Gus was the real culprit.

"Push her leg in" Gus instructed Rusty as he was hit in the face by one of her arms again.

Getting frustrated by the ridiculous battle Rusty turned to Andy and asked "Can't we just let her down?"

"Never let a woman down kid."

"You know what I mean" Rusty replied with a roll of the eyes.

"I've already blown her up once I'm not doing it again" Gus informed them both while he wrestled both arms and her head into the trunk only for them to pop straight back out again.

"Okay on the count of three you two push everything in and I'll shut the trunk" Andy instructed, standing between them with his hands on the lid ready to slam it shut. "Mind your fingers. Ready? One. Two. Three." In one quick frenzy of movement, like it has been choreographed as part of a Broadway dance number Rusty and Gus stuffed the doll in as far as they could and jumped out of the way before Andy slammed the trunk shut. "Perfect. Now let's do the same thing with the groom and we can get out of here." With their companion dealt with they walked side by side up the driveway and to the front door until Andy suddenly stopped. "Just to be clear, don't mention our inflatable friend in front of Patrice."

"Lieutenant do you think we're idiots?" Rusty asked resulting in Andy just staring at him with high levels of disbelief. "Aside from blowing up the doll of course" Rusty clarified, admitting that it wasn't his finest decision.

They finished the short journey to the front door where Andy pressed the doorbell. The bell had barely finished ringing before the door flung open and Patrice stood before them with her arms open and her usual loving smile on her face. "Good evening boys." Patrice kissed Andy on both cheeks and then stood aside to allow him to cross the threshold. "Just so you know, you're late and that means he's in a bad mood."

"When is he not in a bad mood?" Andy remarked.

"Come in. Welcome" Patrice said to the boys, waving them into the house and shutting the door behind them. "So you've been dragged into this too huh Rusty?"

"I see my role more as a chaperone and as a reliable witness in court" Rusty told her only half joking.

"I suspect you've got your work cut out for you."

"Now Patrice, you know me and Provenza..." Andy started as he went to sit down in Provenza's recliner only to be pulled straight out of it again by Patrice, a clear indication that she had heard her fiancé complain once too often that evening about his partner's tardiness and wanting all four of them out of the door as quickly as possible.

"All too well so it happens Andy."

"We're perfect angels and there will be nothing but good behaviour all night" Andy maintained as he crossed his heart with his finger.

"Pull the other one it's got bells on it" Patrice told him dryly, knowing they were both as bad as each other. "Well it's nice to see you anyway Rusty" she told him before kissing his cheek and then removing the lipstick mark left on there with her thumb. "And I assume that this tall and very handsome drink of water is Gus?"

"Yes ma'am" Gus confirmed, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

"Oh don't ma'am me" Patrice warned him as she scooped him up into a bear hug. "It's a pleasure to meet you Gus. Call me Patrice." She kissed him on the cheek and then released him before walking towards the corridor that led to their bedroom and called "Don Ho! Your little friend is here!"

Rusty instantly started laughing, beyond amused at the way that both men, over three times his age, were treated like children by the loves of their lives. Andy just shook his head at him. "Don't" he muttered before turning his attention back to Patrice. "He's got that shirt on again?" Andy didn't need to ask. Provenza had some horrible horrible shirts, seizure inducing shirts, shirts that made you want to poke your own eyes out but he only had one that made him look like he was about to sing a rendition of _Tiny Bubbles_ while digging up a dead pig from a pit in the back yard.

"Of course he has. No fighting" Patrice warned him with a wag of her finger. Andy opened his mouth to protest but before the words could form she added "I know, I know, he started it." Patrice rolled her eyes. She knew that for every time she heard Louie say that everything was Andy's fault, Sharon had heard the reverse from Andy about him.

With all the grace and stealth-ness of a giant Provenza came stomping into the living room clad (as Andy had correctly anticipated) in his blue Hawaiian shirt or as Provenza called it his 'lucky shirt.' "Where the hell have you been?" he shouted at Andy and not allowing him to answer before continuing "Forget it. I don't want to know anything about the Captain and your pants. Your trousers arrangements are really none of my concern."

As if a stink bomb had just gone off Andy started to waft under his nose with his hand, pulling a face like he'd fallen head first into a pile of pig excrement. "Jeez Provenza what the hell is that smell?"

Provenza sniffed his shirt. "It's my cologne."

"Did you bathe in it?" Andy asked in between coughing fits as it stung the back of his throat.

"It smells like flowery vomit" Rusty added, his own eyes starting to water from the smell as he blinked rapidly like it was his only means of communication.

"Or ode to monkey fart" Andy suggested much more bluntly.

Provenza just glared at him. "Like you can talk" he grumbled having been trapped in the car with Andy doing surveillance on more than one occasion after a date had been cancelled at the last moment with Andy smelling like someone had tried to drown him in a bathtub full of Old Spice.

"What? Sharon says I smell 'delicious'" Andy informed them all rather smugly. He wasn't exaggerating, Sharon just couldn't get enough of him. Even without cologne Andy just smelt good, something that _always_ worked in his favour with women.

"Excuse me while I vomit" Rusty said with utter disgust.

"I'm right behind you" Provenza confirmed to the young man as his cheeks puffed out like he had a mouth full of vomit. "It's called 'Stallion'" he added about his current and rather pungent aroma, confirming the rumour that he was the kind of guy who purchased things like cologne from a gas station rather than a department store, only in this case it smelt more like a spray you'd use around your yard to keep cats away.

"And I'm sure the next horse you come across will find it wonderfully alluring but until then stand downwind from me please" Andy instructed while taking two large steps away from him, almost using Rusty as a human shield.

While the debate about the cologne took place, Patrice (whose nostrils had thankfully long since become immune to Provenza's taste in fragrances) collected her cell phone from the kitchen counter. "All of you stand together" she instructed, waving her arms to push them closer.

"No. Have you smelt him?"

Patrice's shoulders slumped. "Andy I live with him" she pointed out.

"What does that mean?" Provenza asked with great offense.

"Nothing. Now stand together and let me take a photo of you all."

Provenza shuffled next to Rusty, putting his arm around the young man's shoulders and doing his best to…well not smile exactly but ensuring he wasn't scowling or looking too annoyed. "We're not heading off to Prom you know."

"I know. It's just something to give to Missing Persons" she informed him with a smile as they gathered together, looking more like they were lining up in an identity parade than four people who actually knew each other and were heading out to a bachelor party.

"I think Robby Oderno knows what we look like" Andy pointed out as he smiled brightly for the camera.

"I meant for when you end up naked and glued to a donkey in Mexico." Patrice took a quick couple of photos, smiling as she checked them over to ensure everyone's eyes were open and that they didn't look too much like criminals. "Now behave yourselves" she ordered while herding them towards the door.

"We've already heard this from Sharon."

"Good then maybe it might have sunk in." Patrice stopped Provenza with a hand on each shoulder as she faced him. "Louie honey, enjoy yourself but please be careful." She kissed him on the lips a couple of times, then met his eye, making sure that not only had her instruction been heard but that it had sank into his brain.

"I will, I will."

"Andy, take care of him. I mean it."

"You have my word" Andy replied with a hand on his heart and the other in the air like he was pledging allegiance in class. He led the way towards the door before stopping dead in his tracks, making Rusty bump into his back. "Hey Patrice, text that photo to Sharon for me."

"Will do." Patrice watched from the door as one by one they filed outside and began walking towards the car.

"And so it starts" Provenza muttered as soon as he was sure he was out of earshot from Patrice.

"What?" Andy asked confused.

"Could you be more henpecked?" he asked in reference to Andy's request in regard to sending the photo to Sharon, confirming his suspicions that the Captain would be kept up to date with their movements throughout the night.

"Just get in the car will you."

"What about the...?" Rusty said as he pointed towards their companion locked in the trunk.

"Later" Andy replied subtly.

As they walked to the car, finally ready to leave and distracted by a variety of factors, not one of them noticed the patrol car that was parked just behind them with two very young, very serious looking Patrol Officers walking towards them. Both of them had one hand on their guns while the other held a flashlight, aiming it at the car as they slowly approached with caution.

"Good evening gentlemen" the taller of the officers said friendly enough as he shined his flashlight directly into Andy's face.

"Hey how you doing" Andy replied as he rounded the trunk to head to the driver's side door. He squinted as he moved, shielding his eyes from the flashlight.

"Is this your car Sir?"

"Yes it is."

"Would you mind opening the trunk for me?"

Andy glanced at Patrice from the corner of his eye who was still positioned on the doorstep, watching them leave. He visually stiffened making the Officer addressing him tighten his grip on the handle of his service weapon. "As a matter of fact yes I would" Andy replied.

"Let me rephrase that, Sir, open the trunk."

Within seconds Patrice came marching out of the house and towards the confrontation to establish what was going on, assuming that this wasn't part of the bachelor party celebrations. "What the hell is going on?" she asked, getting a shrug back from Provenza who couldn't understand why Andy didn't just open the trunk.

"Ma'am if you could step back please" the Officer ordered while the other moved closer to Provenza, Rusty and Gus, never taking his eyes off them. "Sir, the trunk."

"Look Officer," Andy started as he stepped towards the young man and read his name badge, "Reynolds, I'm Lieutenant Andy Flynn, Major Crimes and this is Lieutenant Provenza" he said indicating his partner before placing his hand on his jacket to reveal his badge on his belt.

The moment Andy's hand touched his jacket the Officer reacted, drawing his gun immediately and aiming it at him with the other Officer following suit and pointing his weapon at Provenza. "Hands where I can see them! Now!" he instructed at full volume making Andy instinctively put his hands in the air.

"I just wanted to show you my badge, show you you're making a mistake."

"I don't care who you are asshole" the Officer responded having never seen Andy or Provenza before in his life. In truth he did catch sight of what looked like a badge behind Andy's jacket but didn't let that deter him from doing his job. "We have a job to do. We're responding to a 911 call reporting three men matching your description stuffing the body of a woman in the trunk of this car. Now I'll ask you one last time, open the trunk" he instructed with each word he used loud, clear and controlled.

"Officer..." Patrice began.

"Ma'am stay where you are" the Officer dealing with Andy ordered, not taking his eyes off him for a second while he spoke to her.

"If anyone moves I will shoot you" the second Officer shouted, clearly out of his depth. Provenza waved his hand at Patrice and the boys, letting them know that the situation was in hand and to do what they were told so they didn't make things worse. While Patrice looked outraged by what was happening Rusty and Gus were a mixture of nervous and terrified.

"Look you're making a mistake here" Andy again reiterated.

"We'll see. Now slowly, open the trunk." Andy nodded, currently more focused of calming the situation down and not ending up shot by an overly enthusiastic young officer following every rule to the letter (something he knew his girlfriend would be proud of) than avoiding Patrice discovering what was in his trunk. He slowly walked towards the trunk, followed by the Officer with his gun still drawn and aiming at him. He sighed as he opened it up, praying that perhaps when he slammed the lid shut the damn thing had burst. No such luck. When the trunk opened the doll shot out of them with such force that it was fortunate the Officer didn't instinctively shoot it. Andy looked to the heavens, wishing he'd never seen the God forsaken thing in his life. As Patrice and Provenza looked towards him, completely baffled, he hid his face behind his hands.

"What is it?" the second Officer asked, not taking his eyes off the rest of the group long enough to see what had popped out of the trunk.

"Let them go." Smiling like he'd won the lottery on the same day that Jennifer Lawrence had asked him on a date, the Officer holstered his weapon and slapped Andy on the back. "We're sorry for the confusion…Lieutenant Flynn, right?" he asked as Andy's heart sank, knowing full well this story was about to spread around every division of the LAPD like a wildfire and therefore get back to Sharon before the sun had risen. "Have a good night." The Officer indicated for his partner to follow him before walking back to their car. It wasn't long before words were exchanged and laughter could be heard as they glanced back at Andy who was still frozen to the spot, praying for a quick and painless death.

Andy remained hidden behind his hands until he heard Patrice thundering towards him making him try to close the trunk as quickly as possible. "Hold it right there Andy. What the hell is going on?" She managed to reach the trunk before Andy closed it, wrenching it open and coming face to face with the doll, whose shocked facial expression now matched her own. She turned to face Andy, slowly, methodically like she'd been taking lessons from Sharon and shot him a smirk combined with a glare as he just shrugged back.

"What?" Provenza asked as he peered into the trunk to see what the big deal was, taking a step back from surprise when he finally saw the extra member of their party.

"Quiet drinks huh?" Before either of them could answer Patrice set off back into the house.

"You don't think I knew anything about this?" Provenza shouted after her. She didn't respond with the exception of stepping inside the house and slamming the door behind her before erupting into laughter. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked as he turned towards Andy, slapping him on the arm.

"Just get in the car." Andy grabbed the doll, ripping her from the trunk by her neck and threw her at Rusty clearly blaming him for everything that had gone on so far that evening. They all climbed into the car in silence, the doll sitting between Rusty and Gus in the back seat. No one moved for a moment, the silence deafening.

"Well, at least nothing else can go wrong" Gus said brightly, making everyone turn to stare at him.

He was wrong.


	18. Chapter 18

_Once again thank you so much for your kind reviews, I really appreciate each and every one. If you'd like another chapter of this nonsense and twaddle please let me know, I can always be found on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _This chapter picks up a couple of hours after the last one ended, during the second week of January 2016 between 4.18 Penalty Phase and 4.19 Hindsight Part One and is more of an assemble piece than most of the other chapters._ _ **Please note:**_ _This chapter features one use of what could be described as_ _ **M**_ _rated language towards the very end. It felt wrong not to use it but I didn't want to change the rating so please heed this warning if you're particularly sensitive about these things._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Eighteen**

Ordinarily a group of men at a bachelor party, sitting around a table in a crowded bar on a Saturday night wearing plastic antlers was nothing of note but that wasn't where the oddities ended with the male population of Major Crimes as they sat drinking and celebrating Provenza's sixth 'last night of freedom.' The oddest of the lot was without doubt Andy who sat closest to the bar around the circular table, a pair of handcuffs attached to his wrist with the blow up doll, the bane of his existence that evening, cuffed to him by her neck. But that wasn't it. Andy's shirt was unbuttoned and hanging open while everyone else sat around the table watching and laughing at him as Rusty filmed the proceedings on his cell phone. A closer inspection at Andy's gapping shirt revealed two very red, very angry, very bald patches of skin on his chest and a waxing strip attached to him and covering his nipple ready to be ripped off. Provenza sat on his left and was half in the bag, drunker than anyone else there and the drunkest he'd been for a very long time. Julio sat next to him missing not only his jacket but also his pants and socks, all of which were piled high on the middle of the table next to a large brown paper bag. Beside him sat a very annoyed looking Buzz, annoyed because he currently had three cocktail sticks glued to his face, all of them wobbling every time he spoke. Next to him was Mike, who like Rusty seated on Andy's right, were both dripping with sweat and currently completely out of breath and not just from laughing. Gus sat between Mike and Rusty and looked out of place precisely because there was nothing unusual about him other than the plastic antlers on his head.

"No, wait please. Just give me one more second" Andy pleaded as he wiped copious amounts of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

"A second to do what exactly?" Provenza asked, slurring his words a little from the two bottles of wine he'd already drank.

"To prepare. To brace myself. Haven't you got a wooden spoon or something I can bite on?"

"Why would we bring a wooden spoon out on a bachelor party?" Mike laughed.

"Why would you bring waxing strips and super glue?!"

Julio shrugged. "For fun" he said simply.

"Now, are you ready because this one is really going to sting?" Provenza stated unsympathetically as he grabbed hold of the end of the waxing strip on Andy's chest and prepared to yank it off with all his strength just to make sure his friend suffered as much as humanly possible.

"No. Wait, wait" Andy shouted as he smacked Provenza's hand away from him. "Please be gentle." Bracing himself for the impending agony Andy gripped onto the edge of the table and started to pant like he was eight centimetres dilated and he was only now regretting not having the drugs when they were offered to him.

"Ye Gods Flynn, it's just a little wax, you're not actually giving birth you know."

"How would you know?" Andy shot back clearly annoyed. "You have no idea what this feels like, any of you. I'm basically sitting here with a group of hairless cats instead of real men with actual hair on their chests."

"Well 'real man' it's time to grow a pair because," Provenza started before ripping the waxing strip from Andy's chest without warning, causing Andy to practically scream in agony while everyone laughed uncontrollably before he continued as merely an afterthought, "this is coming off." The now bald patch of skin on Andy's chest was bright red as he buckled over in pain, taking in gulps of air so he didn't call Provenza a four lettered word he never wanted to use in front of Rusty. Despite the obvious pain he had just caused Provenza just shrugged at him and placed the strip on the table in front of Andy like he thought he might want to keep it as a souvenir. "It's like someone ran over a rat" he added without so much as an ounce of sympathy.

"You son of a bitch!" Andy finally managed to say through gritted teeth as he glared at Provenza, trying to murder him with his eyes. "God!" With his breathing exercises in mind following his accident and subsequent broken ribs Andy started to breath very slowly and shallowly as he battled through the initial pain. "A little warning next time please you asshole. Christ! I think you've ripped my nipple off with it" he added as he covered his chest with his hand with still no sympathy coming from anyone as they continued to laugh. "Kill me! Just kill me" he exclaimed making everyone laugh even more at what they deemed an extremely over the top reaction to a little waxing. "I'm so glad you all find this so funny. What the hell is Sharon going to say when she sees this?" The moment the name 'Sharon' slipped from his lips Andy's eyes closed with absolute horror, his stomach dropping to the floor while his so called friends laughed even harder. "Crap!" he shouted as his head came crashing down onto the table.

"Forfeit!" Provenza shouted with glee, taking to his feet and gesturing towards Julio like he was about to be presented with a sword in order to give Andy a knighthood. "Julio if you would be so kind as to do the honours please."

"Yes sir, it will be my pleasure." Julio pulled another waxing strip from the box in the paper bag next to his pile of abandoned clothes and then squeezed past Provenza. "Where are we going to put this one?" he asked as he examined Andy's chest, looking for an appropriate place to affix it as he warmed it between his hands.

"Back in the bag" Andy said sternly as he started to button up his shirt and shield his chest from Julio and the wax.

Provenza smirked. "Oh I don't think so my friend."

"Come on Provenza, give me a break."

"You want us to stop waxing your body then stop saying the Captain's name, it's as simple as that" Provenza instructed. "You've only got yourself to blame." After taking another large swig of his wine Provenza looked Andy up and down for a moment. "On the other nipple I think Julio, to even him out. We can't send him home to the Captain looking lopsided."

"Can't you at least finish one of my legs or something first?" he pleaded. They had started the evening by removing one strip off each of his legs before moving to his chest and removing it in random patterns partly because it amused them and also because the randomness was making Andy all the more irate by what was happening to him.

"Where's the fun in that? Julio, nipple!" Provenza instructed.

Buzz laughed. "There's something I never expected to hear you shout in a bar."

Before Andy could react and protect his chest Julio quickly slapped the waxing strip on his other nipple. "Son of a bitch! Who the hell thought this game was a good idea?"

"That would be you Lieutenant. In fact you insisted on it" Julio replied with a smile as he sat back down and picked up his beer.

"That was before I lost the forfeit coin toss."

"You were all for it when Detective Sanchez started gluing cocktail sticks to my face" Buzz pointing out with every word he uttered making them waggle on his face like they were dancing.

"But that was funny" Andy laughed as the cocktail stick attached to Buzz's chin found its way up his nose as he closed his mouth.

"So is this Lieutenant" Buzz shot back with a smile.

The rules of their game were straight forward enough, they all had to do a forfeit when they used a certain word or did a certain thing which was selected by the group. Once the trigger word or action was decided upon for each member of the bachelor party they had a draw to decide their resulting forfeits. It was decided that Provenza needed to finish his drink in one go whenever he yelled or become angry (something that he was now doing deliberately so that he could be bought another bottle of wine). Buzz had to glue a cocktail stick to his face every time he mentioned his Reserve Officer training (or rather Julio did it for him since he had brought the glue and the waxing strips with him, the game being his idea with Andy quickly jumping on board and making everyone else join in). Julio had to remove an item of clothing every time he raised his hand before speaking, something he did far too often in a social setting (everyone thought it was odd enough in the Murder Room that he would raise his hand before making a point like he was still in school but to do it in a bar was just plain weird). Mike had to do twenty push ups if he mentioned _Badge of Justice_. Andy had to have part of his body waxed if he mentioned Sharon's name (something which amused them all as everyone soon came to realise that he just couldn't stop talking about her no matter how hard he tried). Rusty had to run a lap of the bar at full speed when he used the word 'like' in a sentence when he didn't need to. Finally Gus had to stand on the table and sing when he mentioned work, something that he had yet to do but Rusty was convinced it was the perfect idea since Gus was so excited about his work in the restaurant and it was all he could talk about.

"Who wants to pull this one off?" Mike asked, looking around the table for the next volunteer.

"I think that honour should fall to young Mr Beck here" Provenza announced. "The kid does have to put up with his crap in his own home all the time now as well as at PAB. What do you say Rusty?"

Rusty immediately leapt to his feet. "Trust me Lieutenant I've been looking forward to this all evening" he said as he rubbed his hands together with anticipation.

"Oh come on Provenza it's," Andy started to protest before Provenza once again ripped the strip off his chest without warning. "You…" he growled with venom before lowering his head to the table and chuntering to himself like Joe Pesci in _Home Alone_ , essentially preventing himself from using any language he didn't want Rusty to hear while he banged his fists on the table making their glasses rattle. As they watched him everyone single person at the table couldn't stop themselves from laughing with beer actually coming out of his nose in the case of Julio he was laughing so hard. "Stop laughing! It isn't funny."

"Then stop saying her name" Provenza again shrugged. "You can get the next one Rusty and with the way he's going it won't be long until you get your chance."

"Forget it! I'm not opening my mouth again for the rest of the night" Andy whined as he examined the damage, the red patches of skin on his chest looking beyond angry.

Provenza raised his glass into the air with celebration. "Who knew waxing had such wonderful side effects? Cheers! We should have tried this year's ago."

"Look at me" Andy exclaimed as he pointed at his chest, his silence lasting a whole three and a half seconds.

"Well that didn't last long" Provenza replied with little surprise.

Julio pointed at Andy's chest. "It looks like a face, like Bigfoot" he announced making them all laugh with the exception of the man with the very sore chest.

Andy quickly started to button up his shirt before they had chance to attach another strip to his body. "And I'm sure the _Captain_ ," he said, emphasising the word 'Captain' to prove that he had finally learnt his lesson but six waxing strips too late, "is going to find it just as funny as you all do when she sees what you've done."

"I don't know, I think she's going to find it pretty funny Lieutenant" Rusty laughed.

"Me too" Provenza agreed.

"I'm sure she'll even thank us" Julio asserted, not believing for a second that his Captain wouldn't be even the slightest bit pleased that they had sheered her boyfriend for her.

Gus leant forward to put his hand on Andy's arm. "Don't worry Andy you still look sexy as hell" he said with a wink making everyone chuckle to themselves as Andy looked back at him a little worried and more than a touch uncomfortable.

"Thanks Gus," Andy started before thinking about the latest in a long line of strange and oddly intimate compliments that he had paid him that evening before adding "I think."

"The Captain might even prefer you this way" Julio offered.

"I don't think so" Andy smiled. "She actually thinks it's sexy. She likes to..."

"Do not finish that sentence!" Provenza shouted with a raised finger as he cut him off. "We have glue and we're not afraid to use it" he warned.

"What? It's okay for you guys to talk about the women in your lives but not for me?"

Provenza looked at him aghast for a moment, in disbelief that he couldn't understand their objections. "Yes because she's our Captain."

"And Mom" Rusty was quick to chime in.

"Right she's our Captain and his Mom and we don't want to know. We don't care that she finds your connection to a yeti attractive. We don't care if she has a thing for bears. We don't want to hear about it. If anything Flynn because she's our Captain we feel the overwhelming desire to protect her from the likes of you" Provenza said sternly while everyone else nodded at him in agreement. "In fact you're a very lucky that we let you anywhere near the Captain to begin with so zip it, understand?" Andy just stared back at them all with surprise.

Every one of them to a man was overly protective of their Captain whether she needed it or wanted it or not. It was hard for them all to pinpoint when exactly they started to feel that way. Right from the very beginning before they even liked her, before they even tolerated her, back when she was following them around in the field with her clipboard and being a pain in their backsides they would always have looked out for and protected her and back then that obviously had nothing to do with her being in a relationship with their friend. But now it was different. They would lay their lives on the line for her, do everything they could to stand between her and harm's way. She was their Captain and by now they would follow her into the bowels of hell if she asked them to. If they sat down and thought about it, it was probably Rusty that was the catalyst for the change, seeing that softer side to her through him and the way she took him in and loved him unconditionally without much in return to begin with couldn't help but alter the way they saw her. Then of course there was Jack. They all knew him. Most of them liked him initially (Provenza and to a lesser extent in the beginning Andy aside) but seeing him mess Sharon around right to up and even beyond their divorce made them all very aware of wanting to protect her whether she wanted it or not. But now she was dating their friend, their colleague for over a decade and longer in some cases, they would do anything for her, even if that meant protecting her from him if the need ever arose.

"And on that note I think it's time for a toast" Provenza announced as he drunkenly took to his feet at the second attempt, raising his glass in the air. "To my wonderful, beautiful Patrice, to Cathy," he added as he gestured towards Mike before doing the same with Andy and Rusty, "to the Captain, to…Mrs Sanchez, to….to…." he went on as his wine marinated brain struggled to focus.

"Buzz's sister?" Julio asked.

"Absolutely, to Buzz's sister Casey," Provenza continued before turning to Gus and smiling with great warmth, "and to...to...and to Paloma. The wonderful women in our lives and the reasons why we get up each morning. Cheers." Provenza took a swig of his wine and virtually fell back into his seat as everyone else joined in toasting the women he had listed and taking a sip of their drinks.

"How long have you guys worked together?" Gus asked as everyone settled their glasses back on the table.

"Too long" Andy snarled with a glance at Provenza.

"I had jet black hair and the youthful complexion of Rusty when I met him" Provenza told Gus as he pointed a finger at his partner. "That was eighteen months ago."

"Don't listen to him, he's always looked that old. It's all the wives he's had" Andy shot back.

Gus laughed before asking "Do you ever wear your uniforms at work anymore?"

Everyone turned to look at Buzz, waiting for him to mention his Reserve Officer training before the inevitable forfeit. Instead Buzz just slumped back, his shoulders dropping as his mouth stayed clamped shut, trying his best to remain dignity personified. "Nothing to say Buzz?" Julio asked with a cocktail stick primed in his hand.

"I'm not falling for that one Detective."

Provenza laughed, thumbing in Buzz's direction. "Only Reserve Officer Watson here."

Mike smiled, his eyes twinkling. "You know Cathy likes it when I'm in uniform" he informed them. It was actually the understatement of the century, Cathy didn't just like her husband in his uniform, she absolutely loved it. Mike only had to come out of the bathroom wearing his hat and Cathy was putty in his hands, something that worked to tremendous effect when he found himself occupying the dog house.

"Please for the love of God tell me you've never got your cuffs out and 'arrested' her" Andy asked with a grimace, knowing full well Sharon was the exact same way, unable to keep her hands off his shirt front and tie when he took Buzz on his first tour of duty and that was before they were even together.

"No."

"Thank God."

"We never get that far" Mike confirmed smugly.

"Oh God" Julio responded with disgust.

"Patrice likes me to come to bed in my uniform."

"Oh jeez, Provenza!" Andy cried having heard this tale twice too often.

"But usually I'm just wearing my hat" Provenza winked.

Mike shuddered. "Oh God, the images!"

"That's too much information Sir" Julio confirmed.

"And it's never on my head. It's on my..."

"STOP!" Andy cried before anyone else had chance. "On behalf of all of us here let me say, stop right there because there isn't enough alcohol in this bar to make everyone forget or erase the memory." As he spoke Andy's chest grazed the edge of the table, rubbing where he had been waxed and making him crumple over in pain. "Jesus that hurts!"

"At least you can cover yours up!" Buzz cried as he pointed at his face while the cocktail sticks continued to waggle. "What am I supposed to do? What if they don't come off? I could be permanently disfigured."

"Me too. You know it's never going to grow back the same."

"Then we'll just have to do the rest of you so it matches" Julio announced as he reached across the table to pull at Andy's shirt.

"Get your hands off me."

Mike smirked. "Feeling colder Andy?"

"I'm the one that's cold" Julio complained as he brandished his pants that were still sitting in the middle of the table.

"Ye Gods will you all stop complaining!"

"Forfeit!" Julio cried. "Sir, no shouting, finish your drink."

"I don't mind if I do." Provenza immediately polished off his remaining half a glass of red wine in one large gulp, rather enjoying his forfeit especially since he was spared from putting his hand in his pocket all evening as the groom. In comparison Buzz rather gingerly pulled at the cocktail sticks on his face, hoping they may come off without any real pain or force required. Likewise Andy clutched his chest, it stinging more than he remembered the only other time he'd had it waxed, not surprisingly as the request of his lady love at the time.

"It would have been more humane just to pour candle wax all over my body" Andy again grumbled.

"Actually Lieutenant it's a completely different kind of wax. I learnt during my Reserve Off..." Before Buzz had chance to finish his sentence and explain how wax could be used to examine gun shot residue on a suspect's hands Julio covered yet another cocktail stick with glue and slapped it to his forehead.

"Forfeit!" Julio cried as an afterthought.

"Ow! Detective Sanchez!"

"What? I'm only following the rules of the game" Julio protested.

"Then according to the rules of the game you shouldn't be sitting on your hands to stop you from raising them" Buzz pointed out and not the first time that evening as he revealed he was firmly of the opinion that Julio was blatantly cheating.

"Don't worry Buzz they're hardly noticeable and it's not like they're going to be stuck to your face for like a month or anything" Rusty informed him as he laughed into his drink.

Buzz smiled back, immediately picking up on Rusty's use of the word 'like' when he didn't need to. "Or maybe only as long as it takes for you to do another lap of the bar."

"Why?"

"'For like a month.'"

Rusty's shoulders instantly slumped as he realised what he'd done. "I hate this game" he complained with a sigh as he took to his feet. "This is like so unfair."

"Forfeit! Two laps!"

"You want to talk unfair?" Andy complained further as Rusty squeezed past him to start his two laps of the bar. "My chest is on fire and it looks like it's smiling up at me." Rusty simply rolled his eyes at him before starting his jog as Andy turned in his seat to watch him, never taking his eyes off him as per his promise to Sharon at the beginning of the evening.

"Can I exchange my pants for my t-shirt? My legs are seriously getting cold."

"Sure, the moment you glue the hair back to my chest."

"I can't. I need all the glue for Buzz's face" Julio smiled.

"It could be worse Buzz. You could be green _and_ have cocktail sticks stuck to your face" Mike told him with zero sympathy and a very big grin.

Buzz crossed his arms, trying his best to look as angry as he currently felt. "I'm supposed to be having dinner with my Mother tomorrow."

Mike patted him on the back. "Then she needn't worry about having an unmixed drink."

With his two laps of the bar complete Rusty joined the group again, slightly out of breath and sat down with a sigh. With his would be step-son now seated Andy swivelled back around in his chair before picking up his cranberry and soda. As he brought the glass to his lips he bashed himself in the side of his head with the doll still attached to his wrist and not for the first time. He looked at it with utter frustration, it ruining his evening thus far. "Is this really necessary?" he asked, waving it in the air. "Provenza is the groom not me. And why did you have to glue the valve closed?"

"Because you kept trying to let her down" Julio pointed out. With no key to remove Julio's handcuffs from his wrist, Andy's only alternative was to let all of the air out of the doll so he could slip her neck out of it. It didn't take long for everyone to notice Andy's continued attempts to open the valve and let her down so they had no alternative but to glue it shut.

"That's his speciality, letting down women" Provenza explained with a rather barbed tongue.

Andy scoffed. "Like you're any better."

"Is it possible for you two to go more than five minutes without arguing?" Buzz asked but already knowing the answer since he'd worked with them both long enough.

"Don't blame me, blame him" Provenza and Andy said simultaneously as they pointed at each other.

"Since you're clearly so attached to her that you've given her a tattoo it's probably for the best in case she blows away or gets lost" Mike said in reference to the doll attached to Andy's wrist.

"I didn't give her a tattoo."

"And yet she has your name written all over her" Rusty said as he turned the doll around to show Andy where his name was printed on her back.

"I didn't write that."

"No I did" Provenza announced with some pride. "I did it right before we locked them both in a drawer at the morgue."

"Why?" Gus laughed.

Provenza shrugged. "In case he was slow waking up the next morning and they wanted to know who he was before the autopsy began. I'm not an idiot."

"Then why didn't you write it on the Lieutenant rather than on the doll?" Rusty asked.

"We'd run out of room on his face after he passed out." On the evening in question, less than two weeks before Andy hit rock bottom and bounced spectacularly and finally sought to clean up his act and get sober, there was not a single area of skin left on his body that hadn't been drawn on after he passed out in the men's room with his face in a puddle of someone else's urine.

"No kidding" Andy said ruthfully. "I woke up on the slab with balls all over my face."

"With what?" Rusty asked with alarm.

"Detective O'Shea and I took it upon ourselves to write 'Balls' on his body about five hundred and fifty times. It was the most fun I've ever had without a woman or the Dodgers being involved" Provenza laughed.

"With permanent ink. I had to wait over a week for it to fade. It made a wonderful impression with my wife and her lawyer and the judge when I was in court trying to gain access to see my kids again."

"Moan, moan, moan" Provenza muttered, not for the first time having zero sympathy for Andy about this matter. "What about me? I nearly had carpel tunnel syndrome from the effort, you never heard me complaining."

"What are you doing now?"

Rusty laughed. "You know Mom is right, you guys argue more than most married couples."

"I meant why did you lock him in a drawer at the morgue to begin with?" Gus clarified, coming back to his original question.

Again Provenza shrugged casually. "Why not? It was a Friday night and we were drunk."

"How much had you had to drink to be dumped at the morgue without realising?" Julio asked, only ever having worked with a completely sober Andy Flynn.

"I don't remember. Provenza?"

"Who knows? It was 1995, it was easier to fart a unicorn than it was to keep track of your drinking habits at that time but I do remember you standing on the bar and polishing off an entire bottle of cherry brandy in one go before you vomited on that Sargent from IA and got your foot stuck in a bar stool."

Everyone laughed except Rusty as Andy shook his head. "I have absolutely no memory of this."

"Shocking" Provenza said with little surprise.

"And there are no photos?" Gus queried.

"Back then young man not everyone had a camera attached to their cell phones" Provenza started to explain. "In fact not everyone had a cell phone. It was a good time, a happy time, a blessed time."

"And to capture those good, happy, blessed times there was a man on hand who painted it on the cave wall of whichever bar they happened to be in for posterity before they caught a dinosaur ride back home so everything worked out well in the end" Buzz joked, eliciting a glare from Provenza in return.

Rusty swallowed as he just stared at Andy, desperate to ask a question. "Does Sharon know about…" he started finally before Provenza cut him off.

"Oh they tell each other everything!"

Andy sighed. "It was just one…"

"Do not have this fight again!" Mike warned, feeling like he'd spent most of his adult life listening to Provenza and Flynn have the same argument.

"So does she?" Rusty asked, not giving up until he got an answer. He was fully confident that Andy didn't drink now and hopefully would never drink again and yet that strong urge to protect Sharon, to protect her in a way he could never protect his real Mom kicked in once again.

"She used to work in Professional Standards kid" Andy said as if that was all the explanation he needed at that moment in time.

"I'm pretty sure the Captain knows _everything_ these two used to get up to Rusty" Mike laughed.

"I'm pretty sure it was ninety percent of her job description" Julio joked as he started to sort through his clothes stacked on the table as if he was looking for something. "Damn it! Has anyone seen my…my…" he said as if he was struggling to find the correct word because of the excessive amounts of beer he'd consumed.

"Your what?" Miked asked.

"The thing. Attached to my pants."

"Your belt?"

"No. The other thing."

"Your badge?" Mike asked, trying to be helpful.

"Boom! Forfeit!" Julio cried. Everyone laughed as Julio put his hand in the air to give Provenza a high five, satisfied that he'd managed to trick Mike. "Drop to the floor and give us twenty Tao!"

"That's not fair! I was trying to help you."

"So was I earlier and yet look what happened to my face" Buzz cried as he pointed to the cocktail stick glued to his forehead.

Mike suddenly started to smirk at Julio with smug satisfaction. "Wait did you just put her hand in the air?"

"Sure but only to high five the Lieutenant."

"I don't think it matters. Provenza? As the groom it's your decision."

"Oh come on Sir" Julio protested to Provenza, hoping for a reprieve.

"Julio as the groom it makes me judge and jury around here. It's a forfeit. Take your shirt off." As Julio started to slowly unbutton his shirt, leaving him in just his t-shirt, boxer shorts and shoes, Mike reluctantly dropped to the floor to do twenty press ups, both of them annoyed that they'd been caught out in such easy fashion.

Changing the subject Gus smiled at Andy, determined to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible to exact a little revenge on him over the Christmas sweater he made him buy and wear to Nicole's house. "You know Andy if this was a gay bar everyone would take one look at your chest and call you a 'bear.' You'd be the most popular guy in here." As Andy thought about that statement for a moment Gus winked at him.

"I'm not sure I really wanted to know that Gus but thanks."

"It's a compliment and you're welcome" Gus told him as he winked again.

His forfeit done, Mike stood up, examining his hands with disgust. "Could you have picked a sticker place to do this?" he said as he wiped his hands on a napkin. "Still it will always come in handy if we run out of wax."

With Mike seated again next to Gus, Andy turned his back on the group as he took out his cell phone. Hiding the doll from view and under the table he took a quick photo of himself and the gathered group before starting to type a message. This was not the first time he had done it that evening but nonetheless that didn't stop Provenza from rolling his eyes at him. "For God's sake Flynn stop sending photos to the Captain."

"It's only so she doesn't worry about us" Andy informed him, pocketing his phone again.

"Ye Gods does she have you whipped" Provenza stated with exasperation as Rusty laughed.

"What?"

Rusty laughed again. "It's true she does."

Andy looked at him surprised for a moment. "Oh and like you're not terrified of her."

"She's my Mom. Of course I'm terrified of her but I can win her around with a sad face and a hug in under thirty seconds."

"Yeah well don't worry about me" Andy assured them. "I have my own little ways of winning her round."

Although he didn't mean it the way it sounded, that didn't stop everyone around the table grimacing with disgust, not wanting any details of their Captain's (or Mom's) sex life. "Too much information Sir" Julio announced on behalf of the group.

"Get your heads out of the gutter. I meant with my smile."

"Oh yes I forgot you were Clark Gable" Provenza said dryly.

"Hey this smile has got me out of a lot of trouble in my life, not just with the Captain" Andy explained, being very careful to use the word 'Captain' and not Sharon's name and thus earning himself another forfeit. "It's not my fault your mouth is permanently fixed in a scowl."

"You do have a really sexy smile Andy" Gus announced with another wink, chewing on his lip so he didn't laugh and let him know he was only messing with him.

"Thanks Gus," Andy replied before he paused, "I think." As Andy shifted uncomfortably in his seat, still unnerved by the compliments that Gus was paying him everyone else laughed at his discomfort, that was everyone except Rusty who continued to be confused by his boyfriend's overly flirtatious attitude towards the man he may one day think of as 'Dad.'

Shaking the baffled feeling off and turning his attention to the groom Rusty asked "Are you enjoying yourself Lieutenant?"

Provenza chuckled to himself, ready to impact another pearl of wisdom onto the impressionable young man. "You'll come to realise Mr Beck that when you reach my age you don't actually enjoy anything."

"And with emotional statements like that a second career writing greetings cards awaits you" Buzz stated, receiving another glare in return.

Gus laughed, enjoying himself even if Provenza wasn't and picked up his cell phone off the table. He switched on the camera and put his arm around Rusty's shoulder. "Hey Andy get in on this." Andy nodded, leaning across to get in the photo, his hand resting on Rusty's shoulder as he again hid the doll from view, should Sharon end up seeing it.

"Ye Gods enough with the photos already."

"Do you ever take selfies Lieutenant?" Gus asked as he pocketed his phone.

"Do I do what?"

"Selfie?"

Provenza paused, pointing a finger at both Rusty and Gus. "I know you young men today have it easy in this regard with what you get up to and what not and are more open about such things but to my generation what a man gets up to in the privacy of his own shower is his own damn business." As soon as he had finished talking everyone burst out laughing, enjoying the confusion too much to need to suppress any images Provenza had conjured up.

"It's a photo Provenza" Mike explained as he laughed.

"A what?"

"A selfie. It's when you take a photo of yourself but thanks for the traumatising imagery" Andy added with a shudder.

"If it's a photo then call it a photo. Everything has to have a name this days."

"Life was much simpler I imagine when you were young and vocabulary consisted of a series of grunts while pointing and nothing more wasn't it?" Buzz asked, earning yet another glare.

"Julio can't you glue his lips shut?" Provenza shot back, unimpressed.

Mike took a quick swig of his drink before raising his hand in the air, wanting everyone's attention. "Okay I know this is well worn territory by now but since I'm sat here with two _extremely_ reformed characters on their best behaviour I have to ask you both a question."

"Oh jeez" Andy said quietly, rolling his eyes.

"Here we go."

"When you picked up those flight attendants, did you _really_ think they liked you?" Mike asked, managing to just about get his question out before he started laughing. They'd discussed it countless times over the years, it being Mike's favourite disaster from his colleagues colourful past but he was still baffled. It was simply beyond him how either of them would fall for it, would believe for even a second that anyone that young would want them.

"They did!" Andy protested.

Provenza nodded. "They really did!"

"Mostly" Andy added, suddenly seeming uncertain.

"Until Provenza found the body in the tub" Mike laughed.

"And then they liked us even more" Provenza was quick to point out, the whole matter with the drugs and stealing his car aside, he was still convinced that those women really wanted them for their bodies and not as bodyguards.

Julio shook his head as he laughed. "Only because they wanted protection."

"Is it so hard to believe that two young and beautiful women would find us attractive?" Provenza asked, sounding every bit as offended as he was.

"Yes" Mike nodded.

"Absolutely" Buzz confirmed with no hesitation.

Provenza slumped back in his seat. "Well I have to say I'm hurt."

"Why do you guys keep bringing this up?" Andy asked, sick of talking about it.

Julio smiled. "Because it's funny."

Mike shuffled forward in his seat. "Okay I have another question. Did you take that pill before or after you discovered the body?"

"What do you think?"

"I thought I was going to have to take him to the Emergency Room." At the time Andy was only going to give Provenza another ten minutes before he insisted he see a Doctor. When that time elapsed without much change in Provenza's 'trouser arrangements' he eventually took to his feet and waddled to the door as Andy followed, laughing hysterically.

"Do you know how they treat it? They use a needle to…"

"STOP!" Provenza shouted with a hand in the air, cutting Mike off in his prime. "No one wants to think about it Tao" he informed him as every man at that table unconsciously crossed their legs at the mere thought of a needle coming anywhere near their unmentionables.

A moment later Julio smiled and pointed at the two Lieutenants with glee. "Wait, are you two wearing the same shirts?" Provenza and Andy both looked down at what they were wearing, looking back up at Julio and shrugging. "You are?" Julio cried before laughing.

"What? This is what I wear on a night out" Provenza explained, smoothing his excessively bright Hawaiian shirt down with the palm of his hand.

"Me too. What's wrong with this shirt?"

"Have you ever thought about updating your wardrobes?" Buzz asked.

Andy smiled, nodding at Provenza. "Only when he meets a new woman. The first time you know Provenza is in love is when the pocket squares put in an appearance."

"And I thought you burnt them all when…"

"Don't!" Provenza shouted, again cutting Mike off midsentence. "Don't say her name."

"Who's name?" Rusty asked.

"Unless you want to see me cry don't ask" Provenza said grumpily as he turned his attention back to the bottle of wine he had on the table, refilling his glass. Sipping on his merlot he smiled into his glass as he watched Andy scratch his head and accidentally bash himself in the face with the doll on his wrist. "Be careful with our special guest Flynn, you wouldn't want to burst her."

"Yeah wouldn't that be a tragedy" Andy replied still unhappy he was chained to her.

"You know if she's going to be spending the rest of the evening with us we really should give her a name" Mike suggested much to Andy's further annoyance.

"You're right. I think we should call her…," Provenza thought for a second before shouting "'Sharon.'" He smirked as he looked at Andy, not in any way using it as a slight towards his much loved Captain but knowing full well that by calling the doll 'Sharon' it increased the likelihood even further that Andy would slip up, say her name and then they would get to wax him again. "That's a good name."

Andy just frowned at Provenza until he muttered "We are not calling her that."

"Too late Flynn." Provenza (slightly unstably) took to his feet and moved to the other side of Andy, putting the doll's arm around his shoulders and raising his glass. "Hence forth let it be known that this young lady shall be called 'Sharon.' A toast everybody to Sharon."

Everyone with the exception of Andy raised their glasses to toast, all crying "To Sharon" as they did it before laughing at Andy's miserable face.

"Are you not going to toast her Flynn?" Provenza asked.

"Do you think I'm a moron?"

"Usually" Provenza responded as he sat back down.

"I've got to ask," Gus smiled, "why don't you guys ever call each other by your first names?"

"I am not having this discussion again" Provenza instantly shouted.

Julio looked at him with confusion. "Why when did you last discuss it?"

"With Patrice on our double date before Christmas."

"Ah the famous double date" Mike said with delight. All these weeks later they still had no idea what had actually gone on that ended with an argument at work but that didn't stop them from speculating.

"Yeah what exactly went on that night that resulted in the Captain having to lock you both in an interview room for half an hour until you made up?" Buzz asked.

Andy remained silent, not wanting to bring it back up again since it had caused so much trouble. "It doesn't matter and I don't want to talk about it" Provenza said instead.

Buzz looked to the young man across the table with some hope. "Rusty?"

Rusty shrugged still not one hundred percent sure himself what had actually happened but hearing the odd snippet here and there along the way. "All I know is it involved a fight that got out of control and something to do with Andy being naked on a balcony and Lieutenant Provenza dating a man."

Provenza immediately slapped Andy across the arm. "You told Rusty I dated a man?"

"No, Sharon did" Andy said with a roll of his eyes as everyone else laughed.

"Forfeit!" Provenza cried, more than a tad pleased with himself that he'd managed to trick Andy so easily.

"Oh come on you asked a question!"

"It doesn't matter. Julio, the waxing strips." While Julio pulled another strip from the bag on the table and warmed it between his hands Provenza looked Andy up and down, deciding where to wax him next. "I think we'll go for a leg again this time." Andy's shoulders slumped, offering zero resistance this time as Provenza lifted his leg and pushed his jeans up. Seconds later Julio slapped the strip on his leg, pushing it down and rubbing it as hard as he could to ensure every inch of it stuck to him. "Rusty, the floor is all yours."

"Thank you Lieutenant." Rusty stood up with some excitement and put one hand on Andy's knee and the other one on the strip as he prepared to rip it off, meeting Andy's eye for a moment.

"Rusty you don't have to do this you know" Andy said almost pleadingly, hoping to change his mind.

"I'm sorry but I really think I do Lieutenant."

"And what if we were to make a deal?"

"Like what…" Rusty started before ripping the strip off while Andy was distracted causing him to once again crumple up in pain while everyone laughed at him.

"Son of a…" Andy started before cutting himself off since it was Rusty.

Rusty just laughed at him, enjoying every second of the torment he was allowed to inflict on his Mom's boyfriend. "How about we call us even for the trauma of, without warning may I add, finding you in the kitchen in the dead of night in just your underwear that first time. That makes us about square I think." As Andy thought it over once again everyone laughed. With the exception of Provenza not one of them knew about Andy and Rusty's first chance encounter in the kitchen and with knowing them both very well and how unbelievably awkward it would have been, they couldn't help but find the whole situation highly amusing.

"I think that's a fair trade" Andy said finally as he shook his hand.

With Rusty standing and out of his way, Gus leant across the table and rubbed his hand up Andy's very red and very bald skin on his leg. "Underneath all that fur you have very silky legs Andy" he told him with another wink.

Not for the first time that evening when presented with such a personal compliment from Gus, Andy just stared at him with confusion and concern. "Thanks Gus…I think."

Rusty looked at Gus for a second, himself a little concerned and confused by his actions all evening. "I need another drink. Gus?" he said gesturing towards the bar.

"Here. I'll get it" Andy offered as he gave Rusty some money from his wallet, ensuring he paid for the drinks of both boys all evening as part of the way he took care of them.

"Thank you Lieutenant." Rusty took the money and with Gus close behind walked towards the bar. Andy immediately swivelled in his seat so that he can see the pair of them at all times, keeping his promise to Sharon.

The very close and careful attention Andy was paying both boys did not go unnoticed by the rest of the table as they exchanged smiles, enjoying seeing Andy get closer to Rusty since they all knew what a rocky beginning their new relationship had had. "So how's co-parenting twenty years on treating you Andy?" Mike asked.

"Do you really need to ask?" Andy continued to stare at Rusty for a moment and then turned to face the group again. "It's getting better, finally," he said honestly, "but it couldn't get any worse." Andy hadn't discussed Rusty's early resistance with anyone other than Sharon and Provenza but he didn't need to, Mike, Julio and Buzz could see if for themselves every time Rusty stepped foot into the Murder Room. It was clearly visible in every roll of the eyes, every sigh and every unimpressed look that suddenly went Andy's way after they all learnt he was dating the Captain properly.

"With his past you can't blame the kid for being a little wary" Julio said.

"Don't worry about it, you'll get there eventually, after all you have common ground" Mike offered much to the confusion of everyone else since on the surface it seemed like they had very little in common indeed. Mike shrugged. "You both love the Captain and that's a start."

Andy smiled and nodded, turning his attention back to Rusty and Gus at the bar for a second. "I'd just settle for being his friend right now but I'm more focused on not pissing the kid off."

"I've got bad news for you, you're sleeping with his Mom so that's never going to happen" Provenza stated bluntly. After a moment everyone nodded in agreement of his assessment of the situation, knowing that would have been a stumbling block for any of them before Andy joined in, himself agreeing.

At the bar Rusty stood next to Gus looking at him with slight concern as he leant forward trying to get the bartender's attention. Rusty knew he had nothing to worry about as far as Gus and Andy were concerned, to even suggest such a thing was laughable but something was clearly going on in terms of Gus' attitude towards him. Seeing him practically flirt with Andy was beyond odd and in truth a little traumatising. Rusty swallowed hard, trying to pluck up the courage to speak. "This is going to sound weird but are you flirting with the Lieutenant?" he finally asked.

"Which Lieutenant?" Gus replied, knowing full well who Rusty was talking about but wanting to make a point to him since the opportunity had presented itself. "We're out with three of them?"

"Flynn. Lieutenant Flynn."

"Would it kill you to call him 'Andy' just once?"

"I call him Andy, sometimes." Rusty sighed as he looked at the floor for a moment. "Look Gus let me tell you something..."

"No let me tell you something, I may not have known them long but from what I've seen it's obvious that whether you like it or not Andy is going to be your Step-Father sooner rather than later so you'd best get used to the idea of having him around."

"You're right you haven't known them very long and what you don't know is that my Mom isn't exactly what you'd call committal. I mean she doesn't rush into things, at all, like ever" Rusty clarified like he was using it as an excuse to protect himself and not get too close to Andy should their relationship suddenly end. In reality Rusty knew that was never going to happen, Gus was right, Andy was going nowhere and he was beginning to become pleased about that and yet he still found himself unconsciously putting some distance between him and Andy, usually with the way he addressed him.

"Maybe but she quite clearly loves him and vice versa and it will happen someday Rusty and you can't be walking around calling your Mom's husband, your Step-Father in case you hadn't noticed, 'Lieutenant.'" To Gus the situation was completely straight forward, Rusty needed to make an effort before they ended up accidentally having an awful relationship that they struggled to repair. But it wasn't just that, Gus liked Andy. He liked him because he was there for him during Slider's trial, he testified at the trial. Then there Paloma. He had found Paloma if not in the way he wanted but found her he did and arranged for him to see her even if that was only in the form of Facebook photos. Finally he had also enabled him to have a decent night's sleep for the first time in months if not years when he offered him his couch for the night as he dealt with Hobbs. Since he had known him Andy had had his back at all times and that had earned him a great deal of respect and admiration so for his sake he felt compelled to encourage Rusty as far as Andy was concerned.

"I know you don't understand but I feel…"

Gus smiled sympathetically. He knew all about Mother's boyfriends and Step-Dads, after all he had split open the head of one with a cutting board. "Rusty you don't need to explain. Look I know there are horrible things that have happened to you that you're not ready to tell me about yet and likewise there's stuff I'm not ready to tell you about yet either but my experience tells me that Andy is one of the good guys."

"I know he is but it's just hard."

"If it helps Rusty it's not about you" Gus pointed out. "It's about your Mom. It's about doing it for her. It's about accepting him and trying to like him for her."

"It's not that I don't like him it's...it's...it's complicated okay." They had reached the point that Rusty really did like Andy, he liked him before they started dating but now he liked him in this different role, as potential Step-Father. Sadly though it was just going to take more time, more sessions with Dr Joe, more games of chess, more small talk over the breakfast table before he was fully comfortable with a man in his life, a man who wasn't going to hit him.

"Okay" Gus said simply, full of understanding as the bartender approached them. "Hi, can we get two Shirley Temples please?" The bartender just stared at Gus for a moment before shaking his head and laughing as he walked away. "Thanks."

"Shirley Temple?" Rusty questioned with a smile.

"It's the closest we can get to having an actual cocktail but to get back to your original question, yes, yes I am flirting with Andy."

Rusty nodded, still confused. "Okay. Why?"

"To get him back over the Christmas sweater he made me buy."

As the penny dropped Rusty started to laugh. "Oh okay, now it makes sense."

"Is it a problem?"

"Not at all. Carry on. In fact do it more because it's like clearly really freaking him out." They both laughed as the bartender brought over their drinks and placed them on the bar in front of them.

Back at the table Andy once again had his cell phone in his hand, his index finger moving back and forth across the screen as he sent a text message while he kept one eye on Rusty as he stood talking with Gus at the bar for a moment longer. "Who are you texting?" Provenza asked even though he suspected he knew the answer. Andy didn't respond other than to look up at him and smirk. "Ye Gods! Can't you be out of contact with each other for more than five minutes without going into meltdown?"

"I'm just telling her that we're having a good time and that Rusty is okay that's all" Andy said as he pocketed his phone while Provenza rolled his eyes at him. "Look we've been spending virtually twenty four hours a day together more often than not recently and I…"

"Exactly!" Provenza shouted, cutting him off. "Give the woman a break! I'm sure she could use some alone time."

"She doesn't want a break and neither do I." Andy glanced at the remaining group who were busy chatting away to each other before shuffling closer to Provenza, their body language showing everyone else that this was more of a private discussion. When it came to Sharon Andy didn't reveal a lot to Provenza. Firstly he knew that Provenza didn't want to hear it, neither would Sharon be impressed if he was openly gossiping about her and their sex life, it being the one thing she hated more than anything else. Secondly it was also difficult because of the fact that they worked together, with Andy very careful about keeping that professional line between his partner and his Captain for both of their sakes. On the whole Andy tried to play his cards close to his chest when it came to his relationship with Sharon but every now and then he did feel the need to open up to Provenza and discuss things especially when something good had happened, much like everyone else in the world, regardless of the complicated situation he found himself in. "She gave me a key to her place tonight."

"Who?"

Andy rolled his eyes. "Who? Meryl Streep, who do you think? Sh.." he started before correcting himself, "the Captain."

Provenza initially smiled, pleased for his friend but that smile soon turned into a scowl as suspicion and concern descended over him, quickly jabbing Andy in the chest with his finger. "You better not be panicking about this I'm warning you now."

"I'm not. Jeez! Something good has happened and I wanted to share it with you, that's it. Is that okay with you? Trust me I have no intention of panicking" Andy assured him. Indeed panic was the furthest thing from his mind. Joy was his overriding emotion when Sharon presented him with that key, to the extent that he wanted and needed to tell someone about it since Sharon (and Chief Pope) would frown upon him standing on the roof of PAB and screaming it for all the world to hear. Admittedly in the past this sort of action from a woman he was dating was like waving a red rag at a bull and a sign to Andy that he needed to end things and quickly because they were getting too serious. With Sharon though serious was all he wanted, given the chance in his mind they would already be living together.

"Good for you" Provenza said with a smile, offering out his hand to be shook. "But tell me if you think this is weird" he said quickly changing the subject onto himself. "Last week I had an early night…"

Andy shrugged. "Well you're not as young as you used to be so I'd say it's more natural than weird."

"I hadn't finished" Provenza snarled. "Last week I had an early night and I woke up to discover Patrice had painted my nails." Provenza looked at Andy absolutely baffled, receiving a similar look in return. It was not unusual for Provenza to have an early night after a long day. He was not a young man anymore as Andy had pointed out, he wasn't a middle aged man for that matter either. Despite the fact that he didn't run or jump or climb or do anything more physical than delegating, work was still taxing both mentally and physically and during certain cases he would arrive home completely wiped out with Patrice encouraging him to get an early night for the sake of his health if he insisted on working until he died at his desk with a stapler in his hand. On this particular occasion however he woke back up after an hour, instantly regretting that extra cup of coffee he'd had that evening while he finished his paperwork. As he opened his eyes he saw Patrice looming over him looking like a deer caught in the headlights of a big rig. It was then that he noticed the smell of the nail polish and the brush in her fingertips.

"She'd what?" Andy laughed.

"You heard me. She'd painted my finger and toe nails while I was asleep."

"She touched your feet?" Andy asked with disgust.

"Yes because that's the most important issue here."

Andy thought for a moment. "What colour did she paint them?"

Provenza looked at him with absolute exasperation. "Why does that matter?"

"I'm just trying to picture the scene."

"Well don't."

"Why did she paint your nails?"

Provenza shrugged. "She's going out with her sister tomorrow night and she wanted to test out some colours. I'm her guinea pig apparently."

"What did you say?"

"What do think I said? 'What the hell are you doing?' Then she told me to hold still and not to get eyeliner on the comforter."

Andy laughed. "What?"

"She'd painted my face up like a clown. Apparently she's been testing out her nail polish and the odd eyeliner on me when I go to sleep for months" Provenza told him outraged, taking a quick glance at Julio, Mike and Buzz to make sure they weren't listening.

Andy suppressed a smile as he glanced down at Provenza's feet as if he might be able to see some evidence of it through his shoes. "Are your toes painted now?"

"No!" Provenza shouted as Andy smirked. "Only one foot and its purple before you ask."

"Purple? How very fetching. Are you wearing a matching slip as well?"

"Said the man who's so under the thumb it's a wonder he can stand up straight" Provenza shot back, not accepting that kind of ridicule from Andy of all people, the man who stuck to every rule Sharon gave him, asking 'How high?' every time she asked him to jump.

"Hey at least I don't get painted up like a drag queen in my sleep."

"No you're just the guy that gets the crap kicked out of him all night long."

Andy just frowned for a moment before nodding, accepting Provenza's point. "And you didn't feel her doing it?" Provenza shook his head in response. "How is that even possible?" Andy asked beyond baffled even though he himself would probably sleep through Sharon giving him a tattoo on his stomach.

"You're one to talk, Mr slept through a bank robbery and gun fire while parked outside the front door conducting surveillance" Provenza replied in a very sing song manner.

"Don't blame me, you left the car!"

"I went to get coffee! You can't stay awake for five minutes while I fetch a cup of coffee?" In hindsight it was probably their worst faux pas at work when a woman wasn't involved. In Andy's defence they had been set up outside that bank for three days without a break when the incident happened. He was also four weeks sober and that had taken a lot out of him so it was no surprise that he slept through the actual robbery. Luckily for them both as soon as Provenza returned to the car, dumping both cups of boiling coffee into Andy's lap to wake him up, they set off in pursuit, rounding the corner and running down both robbers and thus becoming the heroes of Robbery Homicide rather than the villains. "But that wasn't the worst of it."

"Yeah I think the jewellery store getting robbed while we were in it with Liz and Frank was probably the worst of it."

"I didn't mean that, I meant with Patrice. After I washed my face I saw the scissors."

Andy did a double take, alarmed at what he was hearing. "In the bedroom?"

"On the nightstand."

"Vasectomy?" Andy laughed.

"Trust me it's not needed. Sharon practically did it with her teeth before she filed for divorce against me the second time."

"I'm proud of you Provenza" Andy said as he patted him on the back. "It's a new record for you, you've usually been married a couple of months before your wife brings a pair of scissors to bed with her."

"She was planning on cutting my hair."

"While you were asleep?"

"Horrifyingly enough yes. How about you?"

"No one's ever tried to cut my hair in my sleep."

"No I meant have you and the Captain, you know found your sleeping rhythm yet?" he asked, still endlessly amused by the bruises Andy kept coming into work with.

"Sleeping rhythm?" Andy laughed. "It's not dancing you know."

Provenza winked. "It is the way I do it."

"Oh jeez" Andy wretched.

"Well have you? Has she stop punching you yet?"

"Almost." Andy lowered his voice and moved a little closer to Provenza, ensuring no one else overheard them. "Don't say anything to her but the reason I hadn't stayed over since Tuesday before last night was because I needed some recovery time."

Provenza recoiled in horror. "Ye Gods! Don't go any further!"

"Not like that. She woke me up sleep shopping."

"Sleep shopping?"

"Yeah" Andy said with a smile, enjoying the rare chance he got to talk to his friend about the love of his life. "She lists things from the grocery store in her sleep. You'd think it would be annoying but I actually find it really relaxing listening to her yammer away quietly in her sleep. So anyway there I was just lying next to her, listening to her work her way through the fresh produce section and all of a sudden she punched me in the balls so hard I'm not kidding I saw my life flash before my eyes. I thought I was going to die" Andy said as he eyes started to water at the mere memory.

Provenza laughed. "Are you absolutely sure she's doing these things by accident?"

"She's asleep."

"Are you one hundred percent certain about that?" Provenza asked, causing trouble.

"Well up until now for Christ's sake" Andy exclaimed as he started to genuinely wonder if Sharon really was doing these things by accident or rather was taking out her frustrations on him.

"Maybe she's working off her pent up anger on your gentiles because of something you've done during the day and only pretending to be asleep. Have you ever thought about that?" Provenza added as he laughed behind his hand, enjoying Andy's torment.

"Why would you even say something like that to me?"

"To scare the crap out of you. Did you piss her off on Tuesday?"

Andy thought for a second, recalling every second he spent with Sharon at work and then at her condo. With no case at work it had been nothing more than a paperwork day meaning they had hardly spoken to each other all day until she invited him home to spend the night. After dinner and a game of chess with Rusty she dragged him to her bedroom by his tie and proceeded to maul him, giving him no indication that anything might be wrong. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Are you sure?"

"Well no more than usual."

"Maybe if you stopped thinking you were funny these things wouldn't be so uncertain." After a moment Provenza started to laugh, smacking Andy on the back. "Admit though, I was right wasn't I?"

"Right about what?"

"About the divorce. I told you the Captain was divorcing Jack because of you."

Andy shook his head. "It had nothing to do with me."

"Said the man who's just been given a key to her condo."

"It was for Rusty and the adoption," Andy clarified, "and we didn't start dating for another twelve months after that as you well know."

"Only because you were too chicken shit to ask her out in the first place."

"Because you kept telling me not to" Andy shot back, putting the blame squarely on Provenza's shoulders as the reason why he wasn't already living with Sharon and on his way to getting married.

"Well I can't always be right" Provenza muttered quietly.

"I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that. Can you repeat it?"

"No" Provenza stated with zero wriggle room. "What a pair we make. At the wrong end of middle age and you're being assaulted in your sleep and I'm being painted up like the world's ugliest hooker." They both laughed at the idea of it, both men completely content in their lives, happier than they'd ever been.

"We are two lucky, lucky guys."

"Yes we are" Provenza agreed as he shook Andy's hand.

Andy and Provenza sat back up and moved away from each other slightly as Rusty and Gus came back to the table and sat down, their private chat over. Andy glanced at his watch and sighed. They were already behind the schedule he had arranged. It was close to 1am but the plan was to go to at least another two bars before calling it a night and as much as he enjoyed an evening out with the guys, he had just been given a key to Sharon's condo and he wanted nothing more than to go back there, wake her up as instructed and celebrate. "Can you guys hurry up and drink? We've got two other bars to get to tonight."

"Are we in a rush Flynn? Do you have some other place to be?" Provenza asked.

"Yes actually."

"Where?"

Andy shrugged. "Sharon's condo." Although it was partly true that Andy wanted to get to Sharon's and climb into bed with her as quickly as possible, he had just been given a key to her door and it was a massive moment for them after all, he was also eager to leave because he had quickly realised at the start of the evening that keeping his promise to both Patrice and Sharon to keep Provenza out of trouble was perhaps going to be more trouble than he anticipated.

"Oh jeez. He's on a promise" Provenza rolled his eyes. "Drink up guys, we've got to make sure our over-the-hill Romeo here gets home at a reasonable hour before the Captain changes her mind."

Rusty stared at them both with absolute disgust and horror written all over his face. "You know this is beyond traumatising right?"

"If I could shoot him for you Rusty I would" Provenza said sympathetically. "Instead all you can do is make sure you use up all the hot water in the morning before he drags his lazy ass into the shower and take every opportunity you get to blackmail the crap out of him."

"Are you done?" Andy said annoyed, not needing Provenza to give Rusty any ideas.

Silence descended on the table for a moment as everyone tried to finish their drinks before moving on to the next bar. Julio belched loudly as his eyes widen like he'd just thought of something important. "Before we leave who won this round? How many phone numbers did you get Buzz?"

At the beginning of the evening, after the forfeit words and punishments were decided they all had a little bet. With Julio and Buzz being the only single men at the table it was agreed they would have a competition to see which one of them could get the most phone numbers with everyone else betting on the outcome. In reality it had proven to be a lot harder than either of them imagined, partly because of their appearance from their forfeits and also because they kept sabotaging each other. "How many women gave me their phone numbers in here? None! That's how many Detective! None!" Buzz shouted, the cocktail sticks on his face continuing to waggle.

"I got three" Julio said smugly.

"That's because you don't have cocktail sticks glued to your face" Buzz pointed out with every single woman he approached immediately looking like they were going to mace him in the face if he didn't leave them alone.

"No but he's not wearing any pants" Mike said.

"Actually I think that helped. I have good legs."

"Cough it up Provenza" Mike said with a beaming smile, holding his hand out in front of him and waiting for his money.

Provenza reluctantly pulled his wallet out of his pants (the first time anyone had seen it all night) and rather secretively flicked through the notes contained within before slapping ten dollars onto Mike's hand. "That's the last time I put money on Buzz. Have you learnt nothing from my vast experience with women?"

"Yes I have. I think to myself 'What would Lieutenant Provenza do?' and then I do the complete opposite."

"Let me give you some pointers" Andy said, trying to be helpful.

"No. No thank you" Buzz replied instantly. "The last people I'd come to for dating advice is you two idiots and I sincerely hope I can say the same for Rusty. In fact all advice for that matter. Rusty never listen to a word either of these two tell you."

Rusty shrugged. "I try not to listen to them Buzz but some of it still gets through."

"Can I put my pants on to travel to the next bar?" Julio asked as he gathered his belongings from the middle of the table.

"Sure as soon as you remove these from my face" Buzz moaned.

With their drinks finished and everyone ready to move on they all stood, grabbed what remained of their possessions from the table and headed towards the door with Andy stealing another quick glance at his watch. "Will you stop looking at your watch for five minutes?" Provenza complained. "Where has the care free Andy Flynn gone from my last bachelor party?"

"He died after you kissed his neck."

Provenza nodded. "Point taken."

They all headed outside and into the parking lot, walking towards Andy and Mike's cars which were parked side by side as the designated drivers. "Can you uncuff me so I can drive?" Andy asked as he unlocked the door, the doll getting in the way when trying to complete even that simple task.

"No" Provenza informed him flatly. "Just let her sit on your lap."

"She's going to have her head in my lap."

"Then make sure you take her out for dinner and a movie afterwards" Provenza said with little sympathy. "So where to next?"

"Finnegans on West..."

"How about over there?" Julio said cutting Andy off as he pointed across the street.

Everyone turned to see the bar what Julio was pointing at on the other side of the road. A quick glance revealed that it was a small strip mall that had a bail bondsman situated between a liquor store and more importantly a rather run down a seedy looking strip club.

Provenza saw it and smiled, raising his arms in the air like he was signally a field goal. "Perfect!"

"No! Wait! We can't go in there!" Andy shouted, trying to make it clear that he was in charge and it was absolutely not going to happen.

"Why not?" Julio asked. Without waiting for an answer he immediately set off jogging across the street thanks to an appropriate break in the traffic. Everyone else just stared at him in awe like he was the first man to discover fire. "Come on" Julio shouted with a wave of his arm to get them to join him.

Provenza and Mike glanced at each other, knowing they both (aside from Andy) had the most to lose should Patrice and Cathy discover that they'd been in a strip club that evening. Shrugging almost simultaneously they blindly set off with Buzz across the street after Julio followed closely behind by Rusty and Gus. Only Andy remained by their cars, frozen to the spot, tugging on his earlobe and looking beyond stressed by what was taking place especially after he promised Sharon they wouldn't be going anywhere near any women let alone near any half-naked women. "Stop. Wait!" he shouted before running to join them. Everyone waited in the parking lot for Andy to catch up with the exception of Julio and Buzz who had already walked straight inside without much thought to Andy's protestations.

"What's the problem?" Provenza asked as Andy joined them.

"I can't take the kid in there!"

"Why not? He's gay!" Provenza reminded him as if the presence of his boyfriend was not reminder enough. "It's not like he'll be getting a lap dance although if you want one…"

"No thanks Lieutenant, I'm good" Rusty said quickly.

"Provenza that's not the point" Andy shouted.

"But Julio and Buzz are already in there."

"So what? They're big boys. I think they can take care of themselves in a room full of strippers and dancers" Andy rationed all the while as Provenza and Mike inch by inch moved closer to the door.

As the debate continued in the parking lot Lieutenant Cooper and his partner Lieutenant Greg Shaw sat no more than one hundred feet away, out of sight in the back of a surveillance van outside the liquor store watching the action unfold on their monitors. "Oh crap! What the hell are they doing here?" Cooper exclaimed as he zoomed in their cameras just to make doubly certain he wasn't seeing things (the blow up doll, the antlers and the fact that Julio had walked in there carrying his pants making him wonder if he was hallucinating from lack of sleep because of the extreme amount of night shifts he'd done recently).

"Should we go and speak to them?" Shaw asked.

"Not right now. Number One is walking towards his car." As if on cue an extremely tall and tattoo covered thug walked out of the club and sat on the trunk on his car opposite the entrance, his cell clutched in his hand and no more than a metre away from what remained of the Major Crimes division. Cooper picked up his radio and said "Be advised everybody Number One is outside. Standby to follow him should he make a move." No undercover operation was a good one to stumble across especially when half of the group were varying degrees of drunk but in this case it was potentially catastrophic. Vice and SIS had been setting it up for weeks with a group operating out of that club being involved in drugs and sex trafficking with murder, robbery and blackmail being thrown in for good measure. Taylor wasn't going to give them much longer to make some serious progress before kicking it up to Major Crimes to handle when they finally had a break in the case. They knew that a large deal was imminent but they were as yet unsure if it was going to involve drugs or the sex trade or when exactly it would take place. Regardless no deal would happen at the club but it was always the starting point and the perfect place to follow their suspect. The plan was simple. They were going to wait for their target to make contact with his buyer (something they hoped to pick up with cameras and microphones positioned outside the club since he was smart enough to use a batch of burner phones but not to do business somewhere more private) and then follow him to the exchange point and grab their target, his minions and the buyers, taking them all down together, the biggest bust Vice would have in years. But as Andy was finding out that very evening, plans don't always come to fruition no matter how good your intentions might be. Cooper and Shaw and several other SIS undercover officers had been positioned outside of that club for close to two weeks after sending people inside proved fruitless and a waste of man power since all business took place away from his club clientele and in all that time this was the first sighting of 'Number One' doing anything other than coming to and from work and occasionally scratching himself. Cooper and Shaw looked on with some concern, unsure of what to do for the best. Provenza, Andy and the rest had no idea what was going on but it would only take one of them to announce that they were a cop and it could inadvertently tip their suspect off that he was being watched. Cooper couldn't leave the safety of their van to alert them to the presence of the op because that would risk blowing his cover and again letting their target know he was under surveillance so that only left calling them directly on their cell phones but with half of them drunk and determined to go inside regardless of Andy's protests and the rest of the group now within earshot of their target that option was also seemingly ruled out for the moment.

"We can't let them go in" Shaw said.

"We can't stop them and what harm will it really do anyway?"

Shaw looked at Cooper in utter amazement. "Have you met these guys before?!" he shouted, Provenza and Andy's reputations for mischief and disaster proceeding them.

In the parking lot the debate continued. "But we need to go in there and protect Julio and Buzz" Provenza offered like they'd just walked into a bear pit wearing underwear made of bacon.

"From what?" Andy asked.

"Strippers" Provenza shrugged. "I know for a fact that Julio is highly allergic to peach scented body glitter. We need to save him before he has some sort of reaction" he maintained without cracking a smile.

"Well we've all got to die from something. Let's go." With that Andy turned on his heels and started to walk back towards the road, waving for Rusty and Gus to follow him.

Provenza coughed, making Andy come to a halt and turn to face him with a reluctant sigh. "If memory serves you were told by Patrice and the Captain not to let me or Rusty out of your sight for even a second" he said with a smile while Andy slowly traipsed back towards him, dragging his feet and the doll.

"So?"

"So we're going in and unless you want to break your promise you'd better follow us" Provenza stated as Mike nodded along in agreement. On the whole Mike decided he was going to try to remain neutral on this matter, not wanting to stick his neck out because he knew full well that if Cathy discovered he'd been anywhere near a strip club that she would potentially stab him in his sleep with a carving knife. And yet if he _had_ to go in there to keep an eye on Provenza and rescue Julio and Buzz from the clutches of some glittery dancing ladies then it was a risk worth taking.

"But Sharon will kill me!"

"Forfeit!" Provenza cried with his arms in the air triumphantly. "Time to get waxing."

"I am not doing it here."

"Just get on with it Flynn" Provenza demanded, the vast amounts of alcohol in his system meaning he was like a dog with a bone on this subject.

"Julio has the strips" Mike pointed out.

"Ah!" Provenza proclaimed with added exuberance. "Another reason to follow them in there. Let's go."

As the debate continue to rage on, 'Number One,' the main target of Cooper and Shaw's operation was still no more than a metres away from them, sitting on the trunk of his car talking animatedly on his cell phone with him paying as little attention to the arguing group as they were to him. Meanwhile in the surveillance van Cooper and Shaw held their headphones tightly to their ears, desperate to hear what their target was saying and more importantly if he was talking to his buyer and arranging the deal. "Who's he talking to?" Cooper asked, his frustration evident.

"I don't know, all I can hear is these idiots arguing" Shaw sighed, the voice of their target barely noticeable over Provenza and Andy shouting at each other as not the for the first time they cursed their luck that he didn't use a cell phone they could get a warrant for.

"Can't you turn the sound up?"

"They're standing too close to the car" he stated. "You've got their numbers. Call one of them" Shaw said.

"Not while they're in ear shot of this guy" Cooper rightly pointed out. He knew that if he called Andy and explained what was going on that he was still going to have an equally hard time getting everyone to leave and he couldn't exactly get out of the van to help. Half of them were at the 'broken volume control' stage of being drunk so there was no guarantee they wouldn't repeat what they were being told and very loudly at that and that's even if they believed Andy to begin with and didn't assume it was just another excuse because he didn't want to go inside. Regardless the whole situation was currently too precarious with their target standing so close to them that all they could do was sit and wait and see what happened.

"Fine," Andy shouted with resignation, "we'll go in but just so you know if she finds out what we've been up to Shar…the Captain will probably kill me."

Provenza smiled. "For taking Rusty into a strip club or because you've been in one?" he asked smugly before laughing at his incredibly 'under the thumb' friend. "She really does have your balls in a vice doesn't she?"

"Provenza not in front of the kid" Andy growled, not wanting that discussion with Rusty listening.

Rusty laughed. "It's true, she does."

"Admit it you're terrified of the Captain" Provenza grinned.

"Like you're not frightened of Patrice finding out. Or Cathy for that matter."

In the surveillance van Cooper and Shaw were laughing themselves silly at the three very whipped men they saw arguing on their screens in front of them, unable to do anything else under the circumstances. "I never thought I'd see the day when Flynn and Provenza were both so whipped" Cooper laughed.

"What about you?" Shaw said with a sly smile.

"What about me?"

"Well Sykes does have you dancing to her tune ninety percent of the time."

"No she doesn't" Cooper protested. "I'm my own man. I wear the pants in our relationship."

"But she tells you which ones to put on" Shaw correctly pointed out, rendering Cooper speechless for the briefest of moments.

"Hey when you're dating someone whose phone number you didn't find in a bathroom stall come back to me and we can talk."

"If you're not whipped then why aren't you out with these guys tonight?" Shaw asked.

Cooper rolled his eyes. "Because I'm at work with you genius."

"And if you weren't, would Amy have allowed you to go?"

Cooper thought for a moment, screwing up his face. "Just shut up and watch the monitors. Anyway it doesn't matter, it seems I've ended up attending Provenza's bachelor party after all."

With the debate over who was most frightened of their partner laid to bed (the result was they were all equally terrified of them finding out and how much trouble they'd be in but none of them were willing to admit that in front of the others) their attentions turned to how they would keep the whole thing secret. "Then we'd better make sure they don't find out and the only way they will discover what we've been up to is if someone blabs to the Captain" Provenza stated bluntly as he turned to look at Rusty and Gus with a glare.

Gus held his hands in the air. "Don't look at me. I see nothing. I hear nothing."

Provenza pointed a finger in Rusty's chest. "If we take you in there to discover what the breeders get up to on a night out you don't say a word about it to your Mom or Patrice or Cathy. Right?"

Rusty smiled and crossed his arms. "What's it worth?"

Provenza looked at him dumbstruck for a moment before asking "Have I not brought you out for the evening?" like that was compensation enough for his silence.

"To a strip club."

"And when it's your bachelor party I'll do what you like but until then it's my decision and you pair keep it quiet. Do we have a deal?" Provenza stuck out his hand for Rusty to shake.

"What are we supposed to do in there?" Rusty asked.

"I don't know. Sulk with Flynn or talk to the ladies about interior design" Provenza said unhelpfully as he started to walk into the club with Mike. Andy sighed and gestured for Rusty and Gus to follow him as he plodded after them.

With the group now finally moving away from their target, Shaw started to slap Cooper on the arm excitedly to spring him into action. "Ring him, ring him now!" he shouted. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then their target hung up his phone and started to follow Andy, making neither of them want to risk it.

"Crap" Cooper shouted as everyone disappeared into the club. He looked at his phone still debating what to do. He didn't want to nor could he send anyone in there and risk blowing the cover of an officer they may need later but still it was for the best to get them out of the club just in case. He could still call Andy, that was definitely a possibility even though they would no longer know if their target was in earshot but since Andy couldn't stop them from going in, what were the odds on him being able to get them out again without assistance.

Once inside the door of the club Andy flashed his badge at the doorman which thankfully went unnoticed by Cooper's target as he followed them in, looking at his phone with quite considerable amounts of anger. Andy gestured towards Rusty and Gus. "They're with me" he said as they walked in past a curtain which separated the club from the foyer where the doorman was stationed, like they were walking into the big top at a circus. Cooper's target immediately pushed past them, nearly knocking Rusty off his feet as he marched towards an office door at the end of the bar, slamming it behind him. Andy looked around the club for a moment with a sigh. As strip clubs go it was a hovel and not surprisingly, giving it's over all incredibly run down condition, half empty. There were holes in the roof, buckets catching water from a broken pipe, rips in the chairs, broken glass everywhere, half the lights were broken, every single woman working in there had seen far too many summers to still be dancing around with virtually nothing on but underwear and a smile and the clientele looked like they'd gone from jail to their seat in the club without more than thirty minutes elapsing between the two. The only thing that seemed to be working was the sound system which was so loud the base from the music essentially burst through their bodies like an extra heartbeat. Andy's eyes scanned for room through the darkness for the rest of the group. Julio sat closest to him in front of the stage which ran down the centre of the room with Provenza sitting facing him on the opposite side, a dancer with two teeth missing and a scar from more than one caesarean sliding down a pole between them. Mike sat at the bar to the left, keeping himself away from the action and out of trouble, while Buzz hovered a few feet away by the door looking every inch the fish out of water in such a place. Andy turned to Buzz and sighed again, hoping for help.

"Could Julio have picked a crappier place?"

Buzz shrugged. "Come on Lieutenant how often do you get to spend the evening with someone called Cinnamon who actually smells of cinnamon?"

Andy stared at him less than impressed. "Wonderful. Maybe you can have that written on my tombstone." With Rusty and Gus not moving from Andy's side he again scanned the room only this time registering the half-naked women everywhere rather than where the rest of the bachelor party were located. His hand instantly gravitated to his ear, him rubbing it feverishly making him hit himself in the head with the blow up doll with each movement.

Back in the surveillance van Cooper suddenly smiled. "I have an idea" he announced, taking his cell phone from his pocket and instantly going to his list of favourites and touching Amy's name. Hitting dial Cooper waited while the phone rang four times. When it was answered the other end remained silent with the exception of a slight groan and the rustling of bed covers. "Hey sweetie" Cooper said lovingly, opting to speak first while Amy fully woke up from her slumber.

"Hi babe" Amy said sleepily as she sat up and looked at the bedside clock. She sighed when she saw the time, flopping back down into her pillows. "Aren't you working?"

"Well about that" Cooper said with a smile and a glance towards Shaw. "Are your division out on the town tonight?"

"Did you just say 'out on the town'?" Amy asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Well some of them are getting on in years."

"Don't let them hear you say that. Yes they've gone out for Lieutenant Provenza's bachelor party. Why?"

"Why?" Cooper looked around him for a moment, thinking how best to phase it. "Because I'm set up outside Cockortwo and…"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Do I even need to ask?" she sighed.

"It's a strip club babe."

"Yes I gathered. What about it?"

"Well there's a gang operating out of here involved in robbery, murder, extortion and drug and sex trafficking, some really, really unpleasant guys."

"And?" Amy asked unsure why he was ringing her about this when she was catching up on some desperately needed and long overdue sleep.

"And I've just seen your entire division, minus your Captain obviously, but with Jump Street and another guy I don't recognise head inside."

Amy immediately sat bolt upright in bed. "You're kidding?"

"I wish I was."

"A strip club?" Amy questioned, at once surprised but expecting to hear something along these lines when she returned to work on Monday morning and discovered at least three of them had got matching tattoos.

"Well it is a bachelor party."

"So?" Amy shouted, letting Cooper know that if he ended up having a bachelor party one day in the future (one day being the important phrase there) that she would _not_ be impressed if it involved strippers, likewise she knew her Captain and Patrice would also be less than happy about the whole situation.

"It's Provenza's last night of freedom. He's got to take full advantage while he can" Cooper shrugged but knowing full well that his justification simply wouldn't fly.

"Thank you for that wonderful image."

"You can't blame him."

"It's his sixth last night of freedom" Amy pointed out. "I assumed he'd be doing something much more sedate instead like…I don't know…wine tasting."

"Wine tasting?" Cooper laughed.

"I don't know" Amy sighed.

"Trust me no guy wants to go wine tasting during his bachelor party. But you've raised an interesting point. Provenza has made it down the aisle five nearly six times now and we haven't even..."

Amy sighed, cutting him off before they had that particular conversation for the twentieth time. "Oh Chuck please don't start again." Shaw was right in his assessment earlier, when it came to Cooper and Amy's relationship Amy really did wear the trousers and she made all the decisions. Cooper wanted to get married, Amy didn't. Cooper wanted to have children, Amy didn't. As far as Amy was concerned that was the end of the matter with nothing else left to discuss and Cooper either wanted her and the life they had or he wanted those things with someone else. It was as simple as that. "So why are you phoning and telling me all this at past one in the morning when I was asleep and enjoying having the bed all to myself?"

"We've been setting this up for weeks" Cooper explained. "The last thing we need is for these idiots to mention what they do or flash a badge and blowing the whole op. If they see one cop in there, even just having a drink they could change their whole base of operation and this deal we're waiting for in hopefully a couple of hours could be dead in the water."

"You've got to be kidding me?"

"I wish. We can't break cover and go in there and drag them out obviously and I can't afford to lose any of my guys so…" Cooper tailed off, hoping that Amy would pick up on his hint.

"So?"

"Can you come down here or maybe call your Captain and..."

"Wait, wait, wait" Amy shouted as she got out of bed and started pacing. "You want me to call my Captain and ask her for help pulling her boyfriend and her son and her whole division out of a strip club at 1am on a Sunday morning because you've got an active SIS operation set up outside?"

"If you could?" Cooper said sheepishly.

"No! Just go in there yourself, even though I'm sure it'd be a chore for you."

"I can't get out of the van without the possibility of breaking my cover" Cooper rightly pointed out, after all if it was as simple as just getting out of the van and speaking to them he would have been able to have stopped them from stepping foot in there but it wasn't worth the risk.

"Then just call them and tell them to get their asses out of there. Explain what's going on."

"Not possible. With the exception of Flynn and the kids they all look about ninety percent proof. He's just spent ten minutes in the parking lot trying to stop them from going in and lost. He's not going to get them out of there on his own. He's going to need some help. Like..."

"Like me maybe?" Amy said with a sigh, beginning to realise that she had no choice in the matter, she was the only hope Cooper had.

"Exactly babe."

"How could you tell they are drunk from your van?"

Cooper looked at Shaw and laughed. "Sanchez isn't wearing any pants, Buzz had something stuck to his face and Flynn is cuffed to a doll. It's not that hard to work out."

"Oh God. The idiots. But what am I supposed to say when I get there? I can't just walk up to them and whisper in their ears without it looking slightly suspicious."

"Then I don't know, scream at them a little. Pretend you're Sanchez's girlfriend and drag him out by his ear. Pretend you're dragging me out of there. I'm sorry sweetie but in order to be safe than sorry we need them out of there."

Amy sighed. "And I was having such a good dream as well."

"Denzel?"

"And Ryan Reynolds. Fine. I'll be right down."

Almost immediately their target emerged from the club again, walking to his car and sitting back down on the trunk, his cell phone in his hand but not using it. "Better get here quick because we've got some movement" he said as he watched the monitors with interest.

"I'll be as quick as I can."

In the club Buzz had joined Julio, a beer in both of their hands as they observed a 'dance class' in front of them while Andy, Rusty and Gus remained by the door as Andy decided what to do for the best. After a moment he turned to the pair of young men and said "You two come with me." They followed Andy obediently as he marched straight over to Julio and Buzz who were watching a woman with cross eyes swinging around a pole on stage. "One drink and then we're going" he instructed.

"Oh come on Lieutenant, let your hair down a little" Julio said, revealing (not that he really needed to) that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"Buzz?" Andy said almost pleadingly.

"These places are disgusting and demeaning to women" Buzz stated as he crossed his arms.

"So let's go."

"But I've also never been in one before so I'm good for a drink or two at least until everyone else is ready to leave" he said with a smile, interested more than anything by what actually goes on in a strip club rather than wanting to partake in anything. Julio nodded at him and smiled, giving him a high five at waist height to avoid having to pay another forfeit.

Andy looked to the heavens, grimacing as he noticed the holes in the ceiling before a drip from a leak hit him between the eyes. "I'm going to go and talk to Mike. You two sit and keep an eye on Provenza" he said to Rusty and Gus as he gestured towards a booth that was empty of people but the table was covered in half empty glasses, the occupants presumably leaving before they got tetanus from the rusty corners on the metal tables.

"What do you think he's going to do?" Rusty asked naïvely, not seeing what trouble was to be had in a strip club.

"Nothing because you're going to watch him."

Gus looked around, sniffing the air. "It smells really weird in here."

"Yeah. It smells of strawberries and regret" Rusty added.

"Tell me about it." Andy sighed as he wandered over to Mike at the bar while Rusty and Gus sat opposite each other in the booth, pushing the glasses that littered the table into the middle while never taking their eyes off Provenza, taking the job they had been given very seriously. Andy walked over to Mike and waited while he spoke to the bartender (and occasional dancer), a bartender who was essentially wearing three pieces of dental floss and eyes patches as underwear.

"So you're a cop" the bartender said as she leant on the bar, pushing her cleavage towards Mike who tried incredibly hard not to look despite the fact it nearly filled his entire field of vision.

"That's my day job but I also have a side line. I consult on a TV show called _Badge of Justice_ , maybe you've seen it?"

"Oh my God! I love that show!" the bartender squealed as she jumped up and down, her breasts so big and her bra so unsupportive she almost gave herself two black eyes.

"Jeez!" Andy cried alerting Mike to his presence. "Can't we go a whole day without hearing about it? Mike come on, help me get these guys out of here."

"Why? They're all in one place and what trouble can they really get up to here?"

"I'm sure they'll find something."

"Just relax" Mike said with a smile. "The Captain is not going to find out."

"I'm more worried right now about Patrice finding out" Andy lied, although to be fair he was equally scared of what Patrice might do to him with her long sharp fingers nails as he was what Sharon would do if she found out. "We promised them a quiet few drinks in a bar and that was it."

"We're in a bar, we're having a quiet few drinks, what's the problem?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the half-naked women on every surface?"

"So what does a consultant on a TV show do exactly?" the bartender asked and effectively putting an end to Andy and Mike's conversation.

"I offer technical advice and also tell the actors how to speak to make them seem more like real cops but more recently I've become more hands on. I've even helped write an episode" Mike bragged, sensing Andy scowling at him from out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh my God you're a writer?"

"Oh jeez!" Andy cried again as he moved a few seats away from Mike and sat down, taking out his cell phone and shaking his head. "Badge, badge, badge."

"It's called 'Haters Gonna Hate'" Mike explained.

Andy rolled his eyes as he looked at his cell in his hand. Ignoring Mike as he prepared to explain every single aspect of his Hollywood job he continued to stare at his phone for a moment, focusing on the time. It was late but not too late for the person he wanted to speak to. After making a quick decision he hit one of the names on his favourite list and brought his phone to his ear. Hardly hearing it ring because of the music playing in the club he put his finger in his other ear, smacking himself in the head with the doll once again. As the phone continued to ring he glanced at Rusty and Gus who were thankfully still sitting where he left them.

"Can I get you a drink handsome?" a very blonde, very busty bartender asked him.

"A cranberry and soda. And can you mix a couple of non-alcoholic cocktails please."

"Sure thing."

As the bartender walked away Andy's phone continued to ring until suddenly a familiar voice appeared on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hi" Andy replied with a grin, his shoulders visibly relaxing as he heard her voice wash over him, soothing his stress instantly.

"Hello." Sharon's smile was almost audible as she sat in a bathtub full of bubbles, a glass of wine in her other hand and candles flickering to illuminate the room. She knew who was going to be on the other end of the line without even looking, mainly because Andy hadn't gone more than five minutes without sending her a text message or a photo all evening.

"Guess who?"

Sharon smiled and without her glasses she squinted at her phone before putting it back to her ear. "Well my caller ID says 'Andy' so I'm going to guess that it's a Doctor at the Emergency Room informing me that one of you has died whilst doing something stupid."

"Very funny. What are still doing up?"

"Probably because someone keeps calling and texting me every five minutes." Although she'd made it quite clear she wasn't going to wait up for them to return home, she had been dragging her feet all evening, ensuring she went to bed as late as possible. It wasn't that she was worried about them no matter how she joked before they left but she was always going to wonder. Keeping herself distracted all evening with a variety of tasks seemed like a much better option than going to bed and not sleeping while she waited for them especially with a lie in to look forward to in the morning. "What are you doing calling me when you should be having fun doing," Sharon thought for a moment and rolled her eyes, "God knows what?"

"I missed you that's why."

"Sure you did" Sharon replied, not believing a word as she sank down further beneath the bubbles.

"I mean it" Andy told her honestly. "I told you earlier I'd rather spend the evening with you watching you finish your book than acting like a Kindergarten teacher to some oversized children while they all get drunk and run around" he said grumpily as his eyes scanned the room to locate his fellow party goers.

"That's not what you said when you were planning it."

Andy shrugged even though Sharon couldn't see him. "It's different in reality when you're the only one apart from Mike and the kids sober."

Sharon laughed as she sipped on her wine. "It sounds like you're having a great time," she joked, understanding where he was coming from, "but I wish you were here too. Is the Lieutenant enjoying himself at least?"

"I should say so" Andy smiled.

"Then that's the most important thing. What's he doing?"

Andy turned to see that Gus had left Rusty alone in the booth and was now standing on the stage down the middle of the room with Provenza, dancing. Andy's jaw hung open as he watched them. Provenza didn't dance except on his wedding days and when his divorces were finalised. It was almost like he was allergic to public displays of rhythm and yet here he was on stage dancing with his Captain's would be son-in-law. It was a testament really to not only how much he'd had to drink that evening but also that he wasn't the least bit interested in the women in that club with his beautiful fiancée at home but agreed to go in regardless for the sake of his reputation. "Oh jeez" Andy cried, putting his head in his hand.

"What?"

"Erm...he's dancing believe it or not."

"Dancing?" Sharon laughed in disbelief. "Lieutenant Provenza is dancing?"

"Yes he is."

"On his own or..."

"With Gus."

"Gus?"

"Yep."

"Lieutenant Provenza is dancing with Gus?" Sharon asked, making sure she was hearing Andy correctly.

"On a…erm..." Andy paused knowing full well if said they were dancing on a stage that it would give the game away instantly. "On a table" he said finally.

Sharon paused for a moment, picturing the scene. "And you've not taken a photo?"

"No."

"Andy you've sent me photos of the men's room. Now something interesting has finally happened and suddenly you've gone all photo shy?"

"I've been too preoccupied."

"With what exactly?" Sharon smiled.

"Talking to a pretty lady on the phone."

Sharon blushed slightly as she rested her head back on the edge of the bath. "I see. And Rusty?" she asked, double checking that Andy was still keeping an eye on him.

"In my eye line, don't worry. I haven't let him out of my sight all evening." Andy glanced at Rusty just to make doubly sure he was where he left him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting in the bathtub" Sharon told him, stretching her left leg out of the water for a moment before settling back down in the tub. After dinner and finishing her book she had done a few household chores that were long overdue before finally retreating to the relaxing bath she'd promised herself. Admittedly it was now later than she anticipated but knew Andy and Rusty probably wouldn't be back for hours and since she was going to struggle to sleep with them still out it didn't matter if she took her time and enjoyed having the place all to herself.

"With Mr Johnson?" Andy smiled.

"No he just left."

"Worn him out already?"

"Yes he only brought one oxygen tank up here with him and that ran out pretty quickly" she said, maintaining that she had other options for male company when Andy was out of the condo.

Andy laughed. "Rookie mistake. From personal experience I know you need at least two to keep up with you."

"You do know he knocked on my door not long after you left this evening don't you?" Andy instantly laughed, slamming his free hand on the bar with merriment. Sharon just shook her head, still unimpressed even a couple of hours later. She simply couldn't believe it earlier, she was just settling down to have something to eat and there was a knock on the door. Expecting to see Mrs Rose standing there with members from the Condo Board to explain what she had found in the hallway earlier in the evening and to give her a reprimand, she nearly fell over when she opened the door and saw Mr Johnson on the other side, especially since she had joked with Andy just thirty minutes earlier that she would be spending the evening with him. Mr Johnson's confused state as to why he was there and what she wanted with him quickly made Sharon realise that Andy must have sent him up there as he left. Sharon had no option but to walk Mr Johnson back down to his own apartment in her bathrobe where she was once again caught by Mrs Rose (a woman who seemed to hover by her front door waiting for her to walk past so she could yell at her) who proceeded to call her a 'nymphomaniac.' "I'll take that laughter as a yes. Did you send him up here?" she asked seeking clarification in case it was just the coincidence of all coincidences.

"We passed him getting out the elevator."

"What did you say to him?" Sharon asked while trying her best to sound less than impressed despite finding the whole situation amusing.

"Nothing."

"Andy."

"I may have mentioned in passing that you were waiting for him but he's so deaf I didn't think he'd actually heard me" Andy said quickly, justifying his actions.

"Just you wait" Sharon warned.

"For what?" Andy asked with a cheeky smile Sharon could almost hear over the phone. "Are you going to beat me again later?"

"Like I'm tenderising meat but that's the least of your concerns right now buddy."

"Oh yeah? Why? What are you going to do?"

"Let's just say you'd better hope I don't meet Mrs Williams again in the near future. If I do you'll quickly discover the reason why you find her naked in your bed one evening."

Andy shrugged having already found his neighbour in his home before, looking like a shrimp in a negligee and a cape when he was foolish enough to leave his front door open while taking the trash to the curb. She always claimed she was in there because she'd run out of milk or sugar but that was hardly believable when she was caught riffling through his underwear drawer. "It won't be the first time."

Sharon laughed. "Well I'll let you get back to your little friends."

"Okay. I think Gus is flirting with me" Andy said quickly before Sharon had chance to say 'goodbye' and end their call.

"Why?"

"He keeps paying me odd compliments. What do you think that means?"

"I think it means he's flirting with you" Sharon said plainly, not offering the comfort he was searching for at that particular moment in time.

"I know that but why?"

Sharon thought for a second as she sipped on her wine. "My guess would be revenge."

"Revenge? Revenge for what?"

"For tricking him into buying that sweater over Christmas."

Andy's face relaxed for a second as he realised Sharon was right. He looked at Gus across the other side of the room, him appearing to be teaching Provenza the Macarena on the stage, and glared at him for a moment. "You make a good point. So what do I do?"

"I don't know, flirt back" Sharon suggested without much thought.

Andy laughed. "Flirt back?" he repeated, not expecting that response.

"I don't know I've had a couple of glasses of wine."

Andy sighed with disappointment. "I'm missing boozy Sharon?"

"She'll still be here when you get home and will probably be even boozier."

"You are a brilliant woman Sharon Raydor but you can't hold your liquor" Andy said as he chuckled.

"I like that about me."

"So do I. So I should flirt back?" Andy asked as the bartender placed his drinks in front of him and he slid a twenty back to her.

"But know this, if you two end up married in Vegas by the morning I won't be happy and neither will Rusty" Sharon joked.

"I won't be best pleased either."

Sharon paused for a second, biting her bottom lip as she closed her eyes, imaging Andy being there with her at that moment. "How are you going to wake me up later?" she asked in almost a whisper, the anticipation killing her.

Andy smiled. "That's for me to know and you to wonder about but know this, it won't happen unless you're asleep when I get there" he teased.

"Am I talking to Andy or Santa Claus? Have you got your Santa suit in the trunk of your car?"

"You'll just have to wait and see" Andy told her after swallowing a mouthful of cranberry and soda. "Well I'll let you get back to your evening of relaxation." He paused for a second, playing with the small straw in his drink. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Andy hung up and pocketed his phone before turning to see Mike staring at him with a smile, a smile that said he was pleased for his friend, pleased to see him so happy but also a smile that read 'Forfeit!' Andy frowned, realising how many times he'd just said 'Sharon' with Mike probably overhearing it all but since he had mentioned _Badge of Justice_ to the bartender several times, figured a deal could be reached between them. "Not a word to Provenza or Julio" Andy stated like a warning.

Mike held his hands up. "I saw nothing. I heard nothing. But for the record you said it twice."

"And you've mentioned _Badge_ to the bartender how many times?"

"Like I said, I saw nothing. I heard nothing."

Andy stood, scooping up all three drinks in his hands and walked towards Mike. "One drink and you're helping me get them out of here." Mike nodded at him until Andy walked away, changing his nod to the shake of his head at the bartender, quite content where he was currently situated for time being. Fumbling with the drinks as the condensation on the outside of the glasses made his hands slick, Andy hustled towards Rusty's booth and put them on the table. He looked at Rusty and then at Provenza and Gus with another exasperated sigh. They were still on the stage, they were still dancing, they were still making his blood pressure go sky high.

"Gus is keeping an eye on him" Rusty said.

"I've noticed." Sensing that Provenza was starting to settle in for the evening and knowing that he could dig in like a tick when he wanted to, Andy walked around the stage to have a word in his ear. By the time he joined them the doorman had finally spotted what was going on and was looking up at Provenza and Gus, his expression far from happy.

"Sir I don't care if you're a cop, no one is allowed on the stage. Don't make me tell you again" the doorman said as he walked away, giving them five more minutes before doing the job he was paid far too little to do.

Gus immediately jumped down, helping Provenza off the stage seconds later. "Provenza one drink and we're out of here. You hear me? One drink. Gus will you help please" he begged as he made his way back around the stage to speak to Julio and Buzz.

As Andy approached them a woman dressed in next to nothing danced in front of Buzz as he tried to speak to her. "Do you know what sort of sound system you use in here?" Buzz asked the gyrating lady before him.

"What?" she asked somewhat confused. She had been asked many strange questions while working in that strip club, not least 'Why do you never see a baby pigeon' from a particularly inebriated newly divorced salesman but none about the sound systems they used.

"The sound system. The base in here is really quite dreadful. If you got your hands on a semi decent woofer then that vibration you're probably feeling when you hang upside down from that pole will be gone, giving you a much more comfortable experience while you're dancing and may be beneficial medically in the long term" Buzz explained.

"Is that so?"

"Do you want me to talk to your boss about it?"

"No. That's fine sweetie."

Andy looked at Buzz absolutely baffled, in complete disbelief at what he was hearing. "What are you talking about?" he asked, feeling like he and Provenza should have taken Buzz under their wing ten years ago when it might have helped him.

"I'm only trying to be helpful" Buzz shrugged.

"One drink and we're going. Understand?" he said pointing at Julio and Buzz. As they pretty much ignored him Andy sighed yet again, walking back over to Rusty and sitting down opposite him with a thud. "Jesus this is going to be like herding cats getting these guys out of here. I should have brought a butterfly net and some sedatives with me."

Rusty stared at his arms and hands for a moment. They were completely covered in body glitter despite the fact that he had hardly touched anything or anyone since the moment they walked in there. "I'm covered from head to toe in glitter. How is that even possible? And why is everywhere so sticky?" he asked with disgust.

"It's best not to ask those sort of questions in a place like this" Andy said with a shake of his head.

"Mom is going to know where we've been if we both arrive home covered in glitter" Rusty quickly pointed out and inadvertently letting Andy know, much to his surprise, that he would take the secret of where they'd been and what they'd been doing that night to the grave.

"You don't think she'll buy that we stumbled into a gay bar?"

"And they sneezed glitter on us?" Rusty asked, trying his best not to roll his eyes.

"Yeah probably not. Well then you check me and I'll check you before we get out of the elevator, problem solved."

"That's a statement I never wanted to hear from your mouth." Whether it was checking for glitter or checking prostates, Rusty still wasn't too keen on that kind of intimacy with Andy, not yet anyway.

Andy laughed. "But of course this is your perfect chance to get rid of me for good you know" he told Rusty with a raise of his eyebrows, surprised he'd not thought of it himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Tell your Mom I brought you to a strip club, perhaps embellish what happened a little and what I've been doing and see what happens."

Rusty laughed. "I think she likes you enough to only give you the silent treatment for a few days rather than dump you after removing parts of your anatomy."

"Fingers crossed."

Rusty met Andy's eye for a moment, crossing his arms and slowly smiling. "But what's it worth?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Surely you can't expect me to keep a secret like this without some sort of bribe."

"Jesus what is it with you and bribes?" Andy asked shaking his head.

"You were all for it when you were trying to stop me from waxing your leg and besides I find they work and they're beneficial for both parties involved."

"A bribe?" Andy asked after a moment of just staring at each other.

"I think so."

"I see."

"We've had this discussion before about how easily I can be bought" Rusty shrugged.

"When?"

"Right before I went out to dinner with my," Rusty paused not knowing which expression to use before opting for, "my sperm donor."

"Oh yeah" Andy laughed as he remembered the moment way back when. "Fine. What did you have in mind kid?"

"There are so many options" Rusty said thinking perhaps he should ask him to stop calling him 'kid' in return but knowing that's what Andy had always called him and probably always would even when he was forty. "There's a simple cash transaction of course or alternatively I could do with a new camera to film my vlog."

"Really?" Andy asked, almost choking on his drink at Rusty's sudden boldness.

"I am sitting in a strip club, covered in glitter while Lieutenant Provenza and my boyfriend dance when you swore to Sharon and Patrice it was going to be nothing more than a couple of quiet drinks" Rusty quickly pointed out.

"You make a strong case but I have an alternative" Andy said as he leant forward, ready to make a deal.

"Go on" Rusty said, mirroring his position.

"How about you forget that we ever came here and I'll forget that you once ran away from me at the bus station." Andy smiled as Rusty sat back in his seat again. At the time it was an odd moment in their relationship. Rusty was clearly heartbroken, who wouldn't be given the circumstances and underneath the panic that Andy felt when he couldn't find him, all he could feel was sadness for the boy, wanting to protect him, to help, to spare him from feeling that way if he could. Andy had already began to care for Rusty before he ran away from him as they spoke in the conference room before they set off to the bus station. It was then, while he quickly came to respect Sharon as his commanding officer but long before he was friends with her let alone had fallen for her that he, along with the rest of the division, started to feel protective over Rusty. That feeling was only reinforced after incident with Daniel, with Andy being just as irate as Sharon when Cynthia suddenly dropped him on them and instantly knowing that something just stank about him, wanting to protect both Rusty and Sharon long before Daniel even had chance to lay a hand on him. The Monday after Daniel hit him Sharon sat everyone down and explained what had happened to them in the Murder Room before Rusty arrived after school. In the moments that followed it was all she could do to stop Andy and Provenza from going straight over to Daniel's house and shooting him (much like what she wanted to do). In many ways it was an awful relief that Judge Cully was shot and the quest for the Ghost gave them something else to focus on almost immediately so when Daniel finally dared to show his face they were all suitably calm and distracted enough to not say anything to him and more importantly, not lay a finger on him.

"You remember that?" Rusty asked, clearly embarrassed.

"I'm not senile. Of course I remember that, you scared the crap out of me. I had a new Captain who didn't exactly love me and with good reason and I went and immediately lost her foster kid."

"And yet you've managed to turn that around" Rusty said with a smile.

Andy shrugged smugly. "Well I can pretty much talk my way out of anything."

Rusty smiled. "Only time will tell" he said as his eyes sparkled with a warning.

"Except this I'm guessing. I had a new Captain and my job could have been on the line and I was given one job to do which was take care of you. Even if you were an irritating little bastard."

"Yeah well you were no picnic to be around either and by the way I still don't sing and dance" Rusty said still unimpressed but making Andy laugh anyway. Rusty paused for a moment, playing with a lose piece of cotton on the edge of his shirt. "You were really kind to me that afternoon despite the fact that I'd been nothing but a pain in the neck to all of you and I never said thank you because of what happened. So thank you I guess for being there for me and trying to help my Mom. I guess I also need to say I'm sorry that she ended up ripping you off and I ran away from you."

Andy raised his hand, sorry he'd brought the subject up even though it was merely in jest. "You didn't need to apologise then kid, you don't need to apologise now. I would have done the same thing. Water under the bridge."

"Did you all really put in to buy that bus ticket?" Rusty asked, speaking about the incident for the very first time since it had happened with someone other than Dr Joe.

"Yep."

"Even Lieutenant Provenza?"

"Even Lieutenant Provenza" Andy nodded.

"Wow!" Rusty said with genuine surprise, knowing Provenza a lot better now than he did back then. "And he doesn't give money to his own kids. I guess he really wanted rid of me huh?"

"Well he didn't know you then and now he's being taught to..." Andy's words trailed off as he turned to look at Provenza as he continued to dance with Gus. "What are they doing exactly?"

Rusty looked at Gus and Provenza with a fair amount of surprise as Gus encouraged him to crouch down slightly and stick out his rear end. "I believe they're twerking."

"Right," Andy said, turning his attention back to Rusty before he became scarred for life, "now he's letting your boyfriend teach him how to 'twerk.' People change, people grow and we're all glad we still have you in our lives."

"Sure but you have to say that because of Mom."

Andy smiled, acknowledging Rusty's comment was partially correct. "Maybe but it's still true."

Rusty looked down, playing with the straw in the glass before him. With the exception of anything to do with his vlog and more recently Andy's health any conversation between Andy and Rusty consisted of either small talk or Sharon (case in point that first night Andy stayed over at the condo and Rusty had interrogated him about his intentions towards Sharon before opening up a little and discussing dating and more specifically Gus) when they were alone. If Sharon wasn't with them they had never really sat down and talked to each other properly, opening themselves up. The main reason for that was Rusty simply wasn't ready and Andy didn't want to push him but as he sat there and avoided eye contact and with Gus' words from the previous bar ringing in his ears he saw it as an opportunity he shouldn't give up. He looked up finally, uncomfortably meeting Andy's eyes. "You found all that information on my...on my...on my sperm donor as well right?"

"Well not personally but I sweet talked someone I knew at DCFS to get if for me yeah. Why?"

"Did you do all that stuff, find out about the sperm donor and sort out the money for my Mom and take me to the bus station, did you do that stuff to get rid of me or because you liked Mom back then and you were trying to get into her good books?"

Andy smiled, sensing another interrogation on the horizon. "Neither."

"Neither?"

"Yeah. I did it because you were a kid right in front of me that I could help and that's my job" he stated plainly. "Believe me it made a nice change to be able to help someone who was actually live enough to be grateful for it. I only wish I could do it more often but this is what happens when you work homicides." Andy paused for a second, eyeing Rusty before opting to pursue his chosen line of enquiry. "You've not mentioned your sperm donor in a long time. Want to..."

"No" Rusty stated bluntly.

"Okay."

Again Rusty played with his straw giving Andy a clear indication that he was slightly uncomfortable but wanted to talk about these things regardless. "Why do you think my...other Mom hasn't been in contact with me? I mean you've been there right? You've been on just the other side of sober. Why wouldn't she call me?" Rusty asked, knowing Andy was the only person who could offer any real insight into such things.

Sharon had finally decided to tell Rusty about his Mom's release the week after Christmas when she felt he was ready. As always Sharon felt these things seemed to happen when Rusty was at his most settled and since she discovered Sharon Beck's release the day Rusty had finally asked Gus out and it was Christmas, she didn't want to immediately burst his bubble. When she finally told him she offered him all of the information on where she was staying should he want to make the first move and contact her but he quickly turned it down, opting to allow her to be the one to initiate things moving forward. It was a difficult situation for Rusty and immediately made him worry. While she was locked up he could at least console himself with the fact that he knew where she was and any trouble she could find herself in would at least be contained. But now, now that she was free in the world once more, anything could happen and probably would.

"From my experience kid you've got to be able to cope on your own before you attempt to make amends to your family" Andy said simply.

"Is that what you did?"

"I did plus I knew I had no alternative. When I first got sober I knew any contact from me would not go down well with my kids so I held off, eased into it."

"And how did that go?"

"Well I'm still easing my way in as you've seen."

Rusty nodded, not wanting to push it any further. He had seen for himself how close Andy and Nicole now were and as such couldn't quite comprehend the damaged relationship they once had but then there was Andy's son. This mystery guy that Rusty had never even seen a photo of and Andy hardly ever spoke about because it was a painful subject. Yet it was clear to Rusty with the way that Andy treasured the Christmas card he'd received from Daniel just how much work he'd got to do even twenty years later. "But you think she'll contact me?"

"When she's ready, sure. Is that something you want?" Andy asked, he like Sharon never wanting to deny the boy a relationship with his Mother but realising that welcoming her into their lives was like inviting a destruction of feral cats to live in your trousers.

Rusty sighed. "If I'm honest Lieutenant I have no idea."

Andy looked him and simply had no response. He didn't want to push Rusty into a decision one way or another and knew Sharon wouldn't appreciate that if he attempted to. Instead Andy remained silent for a moment before changing the subject. "Ignoring the whole bringing you to a strip club thing for a moment, if you really wanted to find an easy way to get rid of me and out of your life for good you've missed your chance" he said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Rusty asked confused.

"You had the perfect opportunity to see the back of me for good and you blew it big time."

Rusty laughed. "When?"

"When I passed out in the bathroom. If you'd really wanted to get rid of me you could have left me unconscious and bleeding on the floor until Patrice came to take over. Maybe I'm not as annoying as you first thought?" Andy grinned as he sipped on his cranberry and soda.

Rusty shook his head. "Yeah maybe but it was more like since Mom instructed me to _not_ let you out of my sight for more than a couple of minutes, letting you bleed to death on the bathroom floor would have reflected poorly on me."

"I see."

"It was a self-preservation thing. It's not like I like you or anything" Rusty joked with a smile.

"Of course not" Andy nodded as they both laughed. "Even though without me you'd have no one to play chess with most nights" he pointed out.

"You say 'play' but I say 'wipe the floor.'"

"You do realise I let you win right?" Andy lied.

"No you don't. You're far too competitive to throw a game of chess for me."

Andy smiled, enjoying teasing Rusty in a rare relaxed moment between them. "Maybe I'm throwing it for Sha...," he started before correcting himself, "for your Mom to look good in her eyes, did you ever think of that?"

Rusty laughed, ready at a second's notice to shout 'forfeit' and get Julio's attention if Andy slipped up again. "If that were true you wouldn't move my bishop every time I leave the board to go to the bathroom or use my phone."

"I've never touched your bishop!" Andy protested loudly before jumping as a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up to see a scantily clad waitress standing next to him with a tray full of half empty glasses and several five dollar bills sticking out of her minimalist underwear.

"Whatever you say Daddy" she said as she leant across Andy, almost pushing her breasts into his face to collect a couple of empty glasses from the vast array on the table.

With his discomfort evident and not just because Rusty was sitting opposite him while he had boobs in his face, Andy leant back as far as he could, raising his arms in the air to avoid touching any part of her even by accident. As Rusty watched he couldn't help but laugh. "We're talking about chess. He's my girlfriend's kid."

"Oh that's so sweet!" the waitress cried as she stood back up and ran her free hand through Rusty's hair, silencing his laughter immediately. "Bringing him for his first lap dance. Can I get you anything hon?"

"No thank you" Andy said quickly before she left to return to the bar.

"Daddy?" Rusty said horrified.

"Let's not go there."

"And how is that sweet? This is like the complete opposite to sweet."

"Like I said, let's not go there. Anyway back to the matter at hand, I've never touched..."

Before Andy could finish Rusty leant forward and pointed at his nose. "Your nostrils are flaring."

"So?"

"Mom told me you move my pieces when I'm out of the room and that your nostrils flare like that when you lie."

Andy sighed. "Great. What else did she tell you about me?"

"Nothing" Rusty said before he started laughing to himself again. Andy just smirked in response, knowing that Sharon liked to encourage Rusty to gang up on him with her and enjoying it, enjoying being part of a family like that again. As Rusty chuckled away to himself Andy pulled his cell phone from his pocket and looked at the screen for a moment. "Mom?" Rusty asked, assuming he had just received another text message.

"No. My speech."

"Your speech? Your best man's speech?"

"That's right" Andy nodded as he stared at the screen with a frown.

"You've started it already?"

"The moment he told me he was going to propose." In reality knowing that he had a best man's speech to write saved his sanity while he was in hospital. Yes Sharon would come by before and after work for a few hours and sometimes during the day if there was no active case and Rusty would see him every day but he still spent an awful lot of time alone, bored and frustrated. To combat that and to stop himself from stressing that he was about to have a stroke or anything else he could diagnose himself online and keep his blood pressure down he mentally worked on his speech.

"How far have you got?" Andy turned his cell around to reveal just three short lines on a note and that was it. "So not far then?" Rusty laughed.

"After all this time and _so_ many weddings it's hard to keep the material fresh."

"Are you going to include anything from tonight?"

"The last time I did that I woke up with him spooning up behind me so no, I won't be doing that" Andy replied with the wide eyes of a man who had learnt his lesson before pocketing his phone. Andy took another sip of his drink as he looked around the room. With Mike still sitting at the bar, Buzz and Julio still together and Provenza now sitting with Gus he turned his attention back to Rusty. "So how do you think it's going?"

"Since we've only been out five hours and we're already..."

"I didn't mean tonight" Andy butted in. "I meant you, me and Sh…your Mom. How do you think it's going? It's not been too bad having me in your life more permanently has it?" he asked with a shy smile.

Sharon had once spoken to Rusty in her car outside the condo about civility and treating her with the same civility that she showed him. Rusty thought about that a lot as he dealt with Andy as a potential Step-Father in the early days of their relationship when he still felt very uncomfortable with the idea of having him in his life as something other than Sharon's friend and colleague, regardless of how he once joked with them about dating and not knowing it. Once Rusty was passed the initial fear over having a Mother's boyfriend in his life again and accepted that Andy was a very different guy to what he had dealt with in the past, he thought about what Sharon had told him and became determined in the very least to treat Andy in the same way he treated him.

As for Andy, two weeks into his relationship with Sharon he had fallen asleep at home in front of the baseball. When he woke up, aside from having a slice of cold pizza stuck to his face, a film was just starting. He didn't know it but he was watching _The Way Way Back_. As he slowly woke up and picked the cheese from his hair he observed Steve Carell talk to his girlfriend's son and asked him how he saw himself on a scale from one to ten. The boyfriend said he thought the young man was a three and he couldn't have been a bigger asshole about it. Andy watched the next half an hour with interest before getting ready to take Sharon out to a movie and although he hadn't given Rusty much thought at that time and how to get him to like him (sure it was clear to both him and Sharon that Rusty wasn't happy about the whole situation but they both assumed he would get over it soon enough and regardless the first hurdle as they saw it, aside from doing everything they could to make their relationship work, was telling Taylor about what was going on once Sharon was certain they were going to make a go of it, for Andy was certain a long time before that but simply lacked the courage to ask her out in the first place) but as he watched the beginning of the movie he saw the sort of 'Mom's boyfriend' he didn't want to be. No matter how hard Rusty pushed in those early days Andy made is abundantly clear to him that he wasn't going anywhere and that Rusty had to simply like it or lump it. That being said he was eager not to anger the young man and accommodated him as best he could while he adjusted to the change in Sharon's life but he had no intention of going anywhere unless God forbid Sharon told him otherwise. This was it for him. He was never going to be Rusty's best friend and he would probably never think of him in a fatherly way (although he still hoped that one day he might) he wanted to make sure they had a relationship where Rusty could talk to him about anything, that he would always be there for him and wanted Rusty to know that. He only had one chance to get it right when it came to his hopeful future stepchildren and he was determined to do it.

Rusty shrugged, a smile tugging on his lips. "No it hasn't."

"I'll be honest, since you had forty seven questions to ask your sperm donor over dinner, I think I've got off pretty lightly with the three you asked me that one night you found me in the kitchen" Andy laughed.

"You're misinterpreting the data. I had no time to prepare when it came to you" Rusty said simply like he'd been conducting an experiment. "Had I known I was going to find you in the kitchen that night in your underwear, icing your face I may have had more questions prepared. A lot more."

"Thank God for that" Andy stated making them both laugh. "I think it's going okay" he added, downplaying his relationship dramatically. In terms of his relationship with Sharon things could not be going better with each day better than the last but the same could also be said with how he and Rusty were now getting along, after a rocky start each day was a lot better than the last even if he still called him 'Lieutenant' much of the time.

Rusty smiled. "You know how to play chess and you've got the dishwasher stacking down the way Mom likes which is always an important thing" he joked. Again Rusty paused, playing with the straw in the glass in front of him awkwardly. "Do you know how many boyfriends my Mom had before Gary, before the zoo?"

"I have no idea kid, lots I assume."

"I don't know either. I lost count she had that many and they were all the same like they came from some sort of douchebag factory and she got a discount for buying in bulk. They all drank, they all did drugs, they were all beyond horrible excuses for human beings. They all hit her or me or both of us. They all made life a living hell." Once more Rusty paused until he sighed and looked up to meet Andy's eye. "Andy you're better than all of them put together without even trying" he said honestly.

Andy smiled, not just at Rusty's words but also because it was one of the rare times that he called him 'Andy' rather than 'Lieutenant' and he wasn't knocking on death's door or had Sharon standing next to him for it to happen. "Thanks kid" was all he could muster in response with a nod. "You know if you ever wanted to talk about what Gary did to you with someone other than your shrink I'm here."

"I know Lieutenant but I don't think our relationship is at that stage just yet."

Andy realised instantly that he'd made him feel uncomfortable because of his switch back to 'Lieutenant' again. "I understand but just so you know I have experience with that stuff if you ever wanted to talk to someone else."

"Someone used to hit you?" Rusty asked surprised. In his eyes Andy was this tough, macho guy regardless of age and the idea that someone once laid a hand on him really did shock him.

"Sure."

"Who?"

"My Dad."

"Really? Your Dad used to hit you?"

"More often than not" Andy said with a sigh. "He was drinker, a heavy drinker, I guess that's where I got it from."

"Why did he hit you?" Rusty asked but knowing full well in these situations the answer was simply drink and the old 'asshole gene.'

"Why not? He was drunk."

"Did you ever fight back?" he inquired, that being the reason why Gary and his Mom left him at the zoo when they did, because he had finally fought back the last time Gary had hit him.

"No. I wanted to but I figured rather he hit me and my brothers than my Mom or my sister" Andy said with a sigh. "So that's something we have in common at least."

"Yeah, I wish it was something else though."

"Like a knack for winning the lottery" Andy suggested making them both laugh.

Rusty looked across at Gus before asking "You tell Mom everything right? I mean that's what Lieutenant Provenza says, that you tell each other everything."

"Yeah pretty much" Andy replied, making it clear even before they got together that the older he got the more he didn't think there should be secrets in a relationship. "When you reach my age kid and you've got so much shared baggage you realise secrets only do more harm than good in a relationship and I want to be honest with her. Why'd you ask anyway?"

Rusty paused for a second and then admitted "I haven't told Gus about Griffith Park or any of that stuff yet. He doesn't know."

"Oh" was all Andy could stay in response. He knew better than to say much more on this subject, it being the one thing Rusty didn't want to talk about and as such it was not much of a surprise that he hadn't told his boyfriend of just a month.

"I mean he knows I spent some time alone and that I was involved with DCFS before Sharon took me in but that's it." Rusty acknowledged that it was something he would potentially tell a boyfriend in the future and he hoped that would be Gus but since their relationship was still so new, he wasn't sure when he should bring the subject up. "You really don't have any secrets from Sharon?"

"Other than tonight?" Andy laughed. "No. Well there may be a few things here and there she doesn't know about me but that's only because I haven't thought to tell her, it hasn't come up in conversation," he explained, ignoring the infamous incident in Barstow that he wanted to take to the grave with him, "not because I'm deliberately keeping it from her" he was quick to clarify in case Rusty was testing him.

"So you're saying I should tell him?"

Andy thought for a second, never expecting to have this kind of conversation with Rusty let alone in a strip club of all places. "No. I'm saying it's your choice kid and only your choice" he said clearly so he understood. "Only you can decide how honest you want to be with him and it's not like you're telling him you once broke your leg, this is obviously a really big deal. Personally, like I said, the older I get I don't like there to be secrets so rightly or wrongly I've told Sharon everything there is to know about me because I love her and more importantly I trust her. I've taken the risk and laid all my cards on the table, the good and the very very bad and ensured there weren't going to be any surprises in the future." He wasn't lying to him. He had told Sharon every single horrific, mortifying moment of his life so that she knew it all and he could never be accused of keeping things from her. Naturally Sharon responded in the same way, telling him everything that had gone on with Jack that he didn't already know, some of it making his blood boil, wanting to track him down and immediately knock him out with one punch if he could get away with it. They both had a lot of baggage, a lot of scars and sharing that with each other, being honest with each other, proving that they trusted each other enough to share that kind of thing brought them closer together.

"What like?"

"Everything. I've told her everything I got up to when I was drinking although I suspect she knew a lot of it from working in Professional Standards. Word gets around you know. She knows about how I hit rock bottom...and bounced, several times. She knows I have a less than stellar past when it comes to my kids or even women for that matter but she also knows that I work hard every single day of my life to try to change that."

"But all that wasn't your fault though right?" Rusty asked, trying to understand.

"Of course it was my fault" Andy told him, not shirking the responsibility for his actions even for a second, accepting that it was his fault and the blame should solely rest of his shoulders. "You can't blame your addictions on other people kid. You've met Carol so you know but it wasn't her fault that I did what I did, it was my fault and my fault only."

Rusty nodded. "So do I tell Gus?"

Andy struggled for the words for a second, wondering what Sharon would want him to say to the boy. "The way I see it is like this, firstly it is entirely your decision, no one can make it for you and no one is going to pressurise you into going one way or another but if you can see yourself spending the rest of your life with this guy then when you're ready and that may not be until years from now, I would tell him. He's a good guy, he'd understand and he'd know you better but you're still at the early stages of being together so you have plenty of time to wait first and see how it goes before you make your decision." Andy realised that what Rusty wanted to tell Gus and what he told Sharon was like comparing apples to…well a shark armed with a machine gun, they weren't alike at all. Their relationships were also very different. Andy was in love long before that first date and they were edging towards the ends of their lives whereas Rusty and Gus were young and hardly knew each other. Telling Sharon everything and quickly at that seemed like the logical idea because what were they waiting for? But Rusty and Gus had plenty of time ahead of them, enviably so in Andy's eyes so there really wasn't any rush in his opinion.

"Okay."

"But like I said, only you can make this decision. Life is too damn short not to do what you want to do in this life so if one day you want to tell him, tell him."

"I'm still not sure."

"There's no rush. Take your time. But something this big that happened to you, eventually when you love someone, you will want to tell them." Rusty shuffled awkwardly in his seat and it was easy for Andy to pick up on his uncomfortable demeanour so opted to change the subject again. "But that's for the future, how's UCLA?"

"It's good. Great actually."

"Better than Santa Monica?"

"Like a billion times better. Did you go to college before joining the Academy?"

"Sure I did. I went to UCLA" Andy informed him as he raised his glass.

"Really? You went there as well?"

"Oh yeah. On an athletics scholarship" Andy said rather proudly.

Rusty smiled, knowing Andy was fit but not thinking of him as exactly athletic. "Athletics scholarship?" he smirked.

"Hey I was once a fit young man I'll have you know. I played football in college."

"Why Los Angeles? Why not stay in New York?" Rusty asked.

"After Henry Russell Sanders and the 'Golden Age' of athletics at UCLA it was _the_ place to go and play football but I primarily went across the country to stay out of trouble."

"Trouble as in…?" Rusty didn't finish his sentence and didn't need to, the look on Andy's face being all he needed. He laughed. "Does Sharon know you were almost a criminal?"

"No."

"So you don't tell each other everything then?"

"A few details here and there may have been neglected along the way" Andy explained as Rusty laughed. "You know how much she likes the rules."

"Why didn't you go back to New York after college?"

"I already knew I wanted to be a cop so stayed out here to join the Academy to make things easier on me and my family."

"Easier how?"

Andy smiled. Rusty may not have had a list of forty seven questions to ask him like he did his sperm donor but he'd certainly asked him a lot since they'd been sitting together. "Like not having to arrest my Dad half a dozen times during my first year on the job alone."

"Arrest him? What for?"

"Possession of stolen goods mostly."

Rusty sat up straight, completely shocked by what he was hearing. "Your Dad was a thief?"

"Not exactly. He'd just hold onto this stuff for 'friends' until they could move it and inevitably always got to keep a couple of items as payment."

"And he never got caught?"

"A couple of times but nothing stuck."

"How did they catch him?"

"Well it wasn't that hard kid" Andy laughed remembering one of the thousands of times the Police would appear at their door and his poor Mother simply asked the Officers 'Which one this time?' before pointing them in the direction of her husband or one of her sons. "When the guy had one son who had to wait until his brother's feet grew so he could inherit his shoes it's a bit obvious that all is not completely kosher when his wife, mother, mother-in-law and daughter are all walking around in brand new fur coats in the middle of summer."

"Oh my God" Rusty laughed, in disbelief that anyone could be so stupid.

"Hey I never said the Flynns were smart."

Rusty thought for a second as he smiled at Andy. "The shoes, that was you wasn't it?"

"Yes it was."

Rusty slumped back in his seat. "God it's like listening to Oliver Twist sometimes."

"Hey you're not the only one with sad childhood stories you know" Andy told him, not for the first time letting him know that they had more in common than he first thought.

"But mine aren't anywhere near as depressing" Rusty insisted. "Let me guess did you sleep in a shoebox for the first three years of your life? Did you work in a mill from the age of five? Were you a chimney sweep?"

Andy stared at him decidedly unimpressed. "Got anymore funny guy?"

"Not right now."

Andy laughed before suddenly asking "Is Gus flirting with me?"

"So you've noticed."

"How could I not. Your Mom doesn't compliment me that much. The sweater?" he asked.

"Did you think he was just going to forget about it?"

"Well I'd hoped. Your Mom says I should flirt back to freak him out."

"As funny as that would be I'm already like in enough therapy without my Mom's boyfriend hitting on my boyfriend in a strip club" Rusty said bluntly.

Andy smiled, immediately picking up on the use of Rusty's 'like' when he didn't need to, the third such instance since they'd been talking. "Do you like just say 'like'?"

Rusty shoulders slumped. "Oh man! Do I have to?" he shouted.

"Let me remind you what you did to my leg for one moment" Andy told him, raising his leg in the air and pulling his jeans up so Rusty could see the bald spot he had given him just below the knee.

"I'm not running around here" Rusty stated as he glanced around the room of half-naked women and scary looking gentlemen.

"Fine then do what someone else is doing. I'll get the glue" Andy joked.

"No way!"

Andy laughed. It amused him no end that Rusty would think he would even consider doing something like that to him, knowing that Sharon would literally have his guts for garters if he allowed her son to arrive home with random items glued to his face. "Then what do you suggest?"

"You could wax my chest."

Andy frowned. Since Rusty only seemed to shave his face once every three and half weeks he immediately ruled that one out. "Do you even have any hair on your chest?"

"One or two."

"Since I'll probably be dead by the time you've got enough to wax, I don't think so. I know, do what Provenza is doing and finish your drink in one, including the ice and the fruit."

"Okay" Rusty said with a smile, feeling as if he was getting off lightly. He picked up the glass in front of him and started to drink it all as quickly as possible. As he gulped it down his face started to contort with some disgust, struggling a bit as it poured down his chin, with Andy assuming that was from swallowing the ice cubes and the cherries. With his glass empty Rusty slammed it upside down on the table as a final flourish. "Oh my God!" he cried before belching long and hard as he continued to pull a revolted face. "That was disgusting. That's the weirdest tasting..."

Suddenly Andy's face dropped, the smile as Rusty completed his forfeit quickly disappearing as he looked at the table full of glasses before him. "Oh shit! Rusty that wasn't your glass."

"What do you mean?"

"I think that's your drink" Andy said as he pointed towards the glass next to the one that Rusty had just drunk from, the contents a near identical colour. "That one was already on the table I think." Andy picked up the empty glass and sniffed it, the incredibly strong smell of the alcohol instantly hitting him as he put it back down and swallowed, hard. "Oh crap! You've drunk alcohol before right kid?" he asked without thinking as Rusty just frowned at him. "Right, sorry, stupid question."

"Really stupid question Lieutenant. Well what will happen now?" Rusty asked, his breathing becoming heavy as he began to truly freak out.

Like closing the stable door after the horse had bolted, Andy belatedly moved all the half empty glasses that were already on the table to the edge and away from them should a repeat performance occur. He smiled at Rusty and shrugged, hoping not to take him panic. "Other than catching something off the glass you'll be fine. You'll be fine. I promise." Again Andy smiled at him but less than convincingly as Rusty put one hand on his stomach, looking like an alien was about to burst from his chest rather than he was about to feel the effects of a unknown quantity of alcohol.

Thirty minutes later and after realising that the drink Rusty had downed in less than ten consecutive gulps contained more shots than the average NBA game, Andy rushed him outside of the club as quickly as his feet would carry him. Rusty looked green, like he was about to projectile vomit everywhere as Andy held him up and helped him walk, something that was a lot harder for him to do than it should be because of the doll still handcuffed by its neck to his wrist. As they headed across the parking lot and towards the road to cross the street to where Andy's car was parked outside the last bar, Rusty turned to look at the middle Andy out of the three he was currently seeing before him. "I don't feel so good" he slurred.

"Don't panic. I'll take you back to my place and get some coffee into you and you'll be fine" Andy told him, a little panic stricken himself as he realised he didn't have that much time to sober Rusty up and get him past Sharon without being caught.

"What about Gus?" Rusty asked, the 's' on the end of 'Gus' lasting about ten seconds and making him sound like an angry snake.

"I'll call Mike as soon as I get you in the car and tell him what's going on."

"I really don't feel good Lieutenant" Rusty told him, coming to a stop as he felt his stomach.

Still situated in their surveillance van and waiting for their target to make a move so they could follow him, Cooper and Shaw immediately saw Andy and Rusty come out of the club. "What the hell is going on over there?" Cooper said as he zoomed in with one of the cameras to get a better look. "Is Jump Street drunk?"

"It looks that way to me."

With Rusty now moving again they had made it as far as the row of parked cars but it was clear with the condition he was in they weren't going to break any land speed records any time soon. "What did I drink?" he asked as if Andy, as a recovering alcoholic, would be able to tell by just looking at him.

"My guess would be everything" Andy sighed.

"Stop! I'm going to throw up" Rusty suddenly shouted, shrugging Andy off him and running to the nearest parked car. He bent over and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach next to but also slightly on the car as he fell to his knees. Sadly for Rusty and Andy this was the same car that Cooper and Shaw were set up outside watching, the car their suspect had been sitting on as he made his phone calls earlier in the evening.

Andy sighed as he looked at the young man on all fours being as sick as a dog. "Bring it all up kid" he said as he patted him on the back. As Rusty continued to be sick Andy racked his brains about what to do and how on earth he was going to get Rusty home without Sharon finding out. He had two jobs to do all evening, make sure everyone had a good time and return everyone home safe and sound. He cringed as he pictured how infuriated Sharon was going to be with him if she found out. Allowing Rusty to get drunk of all things, even if it was by accident. Would she even believe him? He was having a hard time believing it himself and he saw it happen. Forget the dog house, forget ever seeing her naked again, Andy felt he'd be lucky if Sharon ever spoke to him again after this.

"But Sharon" Rusty mumbled as he continued to wretch.

"I'll take you home and you can sleep it off while I wash your clothes. Your Mom will never know. You won't get a lecture and I won't get dumped before getting murdered" Andy told him, again less than convincingly.

As Andy continued to pat Rusty's back, doing it more to reassure him than anything else given the circumstances as he continued to vomit up everything he'd ever eaten in his life, the target of Cooper and Shaw's operation, the gentlemen they had unwittingly crossed paths with earlier walked out of the club and towards his car as he spoke on his cell phone. "I've been waiting for you for…" he shouted down his cell as he crossed the parking lot, until he came to a halt, spotting both Andy and Rusty and the vomit on his car. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he bellowed as he hung up and pocketed his phone. "That's my car. Have you puked on my car?"

Sensing trouble almost immediately Andy stood bolt upright and turned around to face the extremely angry gentleman as he squared up to him, putting himself between Rusty and any potential danger. "Look sorry pal, the kid had too much to drink and…"

"Do I look like I care? You'll clean that off now or you'll be picking your teeth up off the ground." With that he tried to push past Andy and grab Rusty until Andy once again stood between them, making absolutely sure he didn't lay so much as a finger on the young man.

"Get your hands off him" Andy instructed as calmly as possible so as not to provoke him further.

"Or else what Grandpa?"

Back in the surveillance van Cooper and Shaw sat forward, staring at the monitors with wide eyes. "Shit! What do we do? What do we do?" Cooper shouted.

"We can't go over there" Shaw said simply, putting the two month long operation ahead of protecting their fellow colleague. "Cooper, listen to me, we can't go over there. He'll know he's under surveillance."

"He's about to get his ass kicked" Cooper pointed out, seeing their target towering over Andy who was not a small man in his own right. "Shit! Where the hell is Amy?" Cooper pulled out his cell phone and dialled.

"Calm down will you" Andy said with his hands raised should he need to defend himself.

"Don't tell me to calm down asshole! Stand up!" he shouted as he again made an attempt to grab Rusty only to be prevented by Andy as he blocked him with his body. "Move Grandpa!"

As the argument continued and the tension increased almost simultaneously Amy drove past and started to turn into the parking lot while Provenza, Mike, Julio, Buzz and Gus all walked out of the club, finally deciding to see where Andy had suddenly dragged Rusty to without warning or notifying them. "And let you hit the kid?" Andy said as he failed to notice the rest of the bachelor party step out of the club.

"How about I just hit you instead?" came the instant reply. Before Andy could react Cooper's target punched him in his left eye with such force he knocked him off his feet, spinning him around and making him clip his forehead, just above his eyebrow on the corner of the car. Instantly Andy's head began to pour with blood, as head injuries tend to do, his eye swelling up.

"Holy crap!" Mike cried as Andy fell to the ground next to Rusty.

Within a heartbeat of Andy hitting the floor the rest of the group sprinted to his aid (including Provenza and considering that he never ran and was currently eighty percent alcohol it was very much a surprise), throwing themselves between Andy and Rusty and the assailant. Seconds later and finally having to respond to what was now a clear and unprovoked assault on an off duty cop with everyone else pilling in, Cooper, Shaw and the now parked Amy leapt from their vehicles and ran towards the ruckus before it could escalate into a full bloodied brawl.

Andy lifted himself up, sitting next to Rusty and leaning back against the car as the rumpus took place around him, his head pounding. He looked at Rusty still on all fours, surrounded by vomit and grimaced. Another grimace followed as he carefully brought his hand up to his face, pulling it away and seeing his hand covered in blood. He shook his head and looked to the heavens. "There's no way I'll keep this from Sharon now."


	19. Chapter 19

_During my last chapter I went past 100 follows and 300 reviews. The fact that one person wants to read my nonsense and twaddle blows my tiny mind let alone 100. Thank you. Thank you all. If you'd like to leave a review for this chapter it would be appreciated or you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover. Chapter 20 will be set on Valentine's Day 2016 and if you want to read it, let me know._

 _This chapter takes place the following morning after chapter 18 between 4.18 Penalty Phase and 4.19 Hindsight Part One and once again features one use of_ _ **M**_ _rated language so take heed if you're sensitive to that sort of thing._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Nineteen**

The Saturday night of Provenza's sixth and (hopefully) final bachelor party could have quite easily been turned into a book entitled _'Major Crimes and a Series of Unfortunate Events.'_ In the cold light of day with everyone starting to get sober and thinking rationally, to a man not one of them had actually done anything wrong that evening (although Sharon, Patrice and Cathy would beg to differ considering that their respective boyfriend, fiancé and husband had gone to a strip club after each and every one of them had sworn they would be going out for a quiet few drinks and nothing more with no women involved whatsoever). They had stepped into that club not knowing that there was an active Vice and SIS operation taking place no more than ten yards away and with Cooper struggling to find a way to alert them to his presence and request that they stay clear without blowing his cover how were they to know? Although it would be hard even for Provenza to believe, Rusty had truly gotten drunk completely by accident and only because of how slow they were at bussing tables in what was without doubt the most run down and crappy strip club in the whole of southern California if not the whole State. The fight that brought the evening to a close was also not their fault and merely as a result of Andy trying his best to defend and protect Rusty from harm with not a single member of the LAPD (much to their credit and Julio's continued anger management sessions) laying a hand on anyone.

Regardless of their intentions and justification of their actions, events had conspired against them and as Cooper, Shaw and Amy swooped in to stop things from escalating further and to prevent any more punches being thrown in their direction things were definitely less than ideal in every way imaginable. With Captain Raydor now in charge rather than Chief Johnson the whole of Major Crimes had become more accustomed to following every rule to the letter over the last four years, acting completely by the book at all times and doing exactly as instructed by their commanding officer or face the dire consequences and that Sunday morning was no different but for very different reasons entirely.

With the fight stopped before Cooper's suspect had chance to hit anyone else, the only real causalities were Andy's rather battered and bloodied face and the recently waxed car that Rusty unfortunately emptied the contents of his stomach over (although Rusty's shoes had also seen better days and a date with the garbage surely awaited them). However that didn't really matter in the great scheme of things and Lieutenant Cooper was instantly faced with a dilemma in the seconds that followed as he took charge of the situation. After a brief consultation with his partner, Amy and a fellow Lieutenant from Vice who had been heading the operation from their side, he only had one choice: he had to arrest them all and _hope_ it was believable enough to trick their suspect.

The evening had started so well for everyone involved. Andy had left Sharon's condo on top of the world having just been given a key to her door and an invitation to wake her up in a very inventive manner when he returned to her. The bachelor party had also been going well (forfeits involving wax and superglue aside) and they were all having a great time, sending Provenza off into married life in style. Andy and Rusty had been getting on better than ever, having a true heart to heart and a serious conversation for the first time (admittedly in a strip club but the location really didn't matter). The operation outside the club was also going completely by the book. Cooper and Shaw and several other members of SIS had been set up outside waiting for their suspect to arrange a meeting place for his deal to go down for weeks and after sitting there so patiently they'd finally been rewarded and caught sight of him for the first time with the deal hopefully moments away until those two worlds collided in spectacular fashion and Provenza's bachelor party got in the way of proceedings. With the whole of the male population of Major Crimes forming one side of the 'scuffle' and Cooper's suspect forming the other half, not blowing the whole operation was his sole priority. Maintaining the premise that he and his partner were off duty at the time and just parking up for a drink and a 'dance class' in the club and that Amy just so happened to be driving past on her way home from work when she saw the fight breaking out, a couple of black and whites were called as backup. While Cooper's suspect was being driven away to PAB to be processed he quickly let the merry band of drunken idiotic revellers in on what was going on and what they had inadvertently stumbled into and almost blown.

Listening to Cooper and realising just how much accidental trouble they were actually in regardless of any real wrongdoing on their part they cooperated fully to help sort out the mess they had helped to create and hopefully repair the damage. The first thing they did was to allow Cooper to 'arrest' them, being taken to PAB and processed at a safe but importantly _visible_ distance from his suspect to continue to maintain the premise that he wasn't under surveillance and this was indeed a genuine arrest after seeing them brawling in the parking lot. With Andy being very quickly and easily persuaded not to press charges against his attacker for the benefit of the case (although since he was clearly assaulted without any real provocation and the whole incident had been caught on camera he would have been perfectly in his right to seek the appropriate punishment) the plan was to release their suspect, citing not enough evidence to charge him, after Cooper had chance to set up another team outside the club (since he and Shaw and the van they had been sitting in had been blown in coming to Andy's rescue) in the hope that the anticipated deal and arrest would still go down the following evening if not that morning with him being none the wiser about what was actually going on and just being relieved that he hadn't been charged with assaulting an off duty police officer because of a little brightly coloured vomit on his car.

By seven o'clock on the Sunday morning, Cooper's suspect had been released, their fake arrest for his benefit finally over. After taking Buzz's mugshot because it was just too funny to resist since he still had the cocktail sticks glued to his face and Andy had received some much needed medical treatment to the cut above his eyebrow with a couple of butterfly stitches being used to close the wound, there was nothing that any of them wanted to do more than just go home and go to bed (and in Andy's case beg Sharon for forgiveness on his hands and knees for several hours, for he was not above grovelling at that point). Sadly that was not the case with Cooper leading them all to an interview room in Vice and being told to wait there until 'the Chief' could speak to them without any clarification as to which Chief that was and what exactly they wanted to speak to them about (although they had a pretty good idea with the general feeling being that regardless of any misdeed on their part they were in far much more trouble if Chief Pope put in an appearance rather than Chief Taylor) but it was clear that statements would be required about the op they had stumbled across, if for no other reason than to get the whole sorry tale on paper in case it was brought up by the defence when the case eventually went to court.

Once inside the relatively small interview room in Vice (in comparison, the interview rooms they had in Major Crimes looked like suites at fancy hotels) there was nothing else for them to do but sit and wait for whoever it was that wanted to speak to them. Provenza instantly made himself at home, sleeping flat on his back, snoring away on the table as his hangover prepared to strike with vengeance at any moment with Rusty also sleeping peacefully but curled into a ball in the corner of the room looking more than a tad worse for wear. Gus sat next to him on the floor and kept an ever watchful eye on his sleeping form. Buzz, Mike and Julio occupied the three plastic and incredibly uncomfortable chairs left for them while Andy paced the floor by the door like a caged animal. Buzz still had cocktail sticks stuck to his face (not surprisingly since they were attached with superglue and not one officer they encountered all night particular eager to assist him in removing them) while Julio remained half naked but still wearing his antlers as if he was not yet prepared to stop the bachelor party just yet even though the location had changed and they had been semi arrested by a colleague for the sake of an ongoing operation. The biggest change from the club to the interview room involved Andy and the quite horrific black eye he now sported from the punch to the face and a nasty looking cut above his eyebrow from the contact with the corner of the car as he fell to the ground, a fair amount of blood covering his shirt for good measure. He still had 'Sharon' fully inflated and cuffed to his hand, dragging her behind him like she was a corpse and he was in a bizarre chain gang. Since Provenza was using the table as a makeshift bed the floor was littered with paper coffee cups and breakfast burrito wrappers that Cooper had left them with when he dumped them in there like naughty children and told them not to leave until the Chief had spoken to them.

The room was quiet aside from the sound of Provenza's snoring and Andy's footsteps going back and forth on the tiles, practically echoing around the tiny room, still dragging the doll behind him. Mike and Julio watched him with amusement, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling, desperately suppressing the urge to laugh at what they deemed an over the top reaction from him. Andy looked panic stricken, no scratch that, he wasn't panic stricken, he looked bordering on hysterical, like he could scream like a banshee and wet himself at any moment. It was clear to both Mike and Julio as they sat there fairly relaxed that although the whole situation was highly embarrassing and their Captain would be less than impressed by the damage done to the division's reputation once again they hadn't done anything wrong professionally speaking and when they had discovered what was going on they had quickly cooperated fully to ensure that Cooper's op could be salvaged. And yet Andy was still as white as a sheet and it wasn't hard to work out why.

Andy was going to be in trouble, of that there was no doubt but he was in trouble on two fronts. He was going to be in trouble with his Captain, like they all were, for embarrassing the division and nearly ruining an op, regardless of the fact that it was accidental, but it was something that was going to be easily explained away and pushed to one side sooner rather than later, though her embarrassment at their behaviour may take a little longer to subside. But that wasn't the end of it, oh no, he was also in trouble, big trouble with his girlfriend, the love of his life and that's what worried him the most as he paced around that tiny room.

He had promised both Sharon and Patrice that he would take care of everyone and get them home safe and sound. Instead they'd been to a strip club, Rusty had got drunk and he'd ended up getting into a fight. It was hard to imagine how things were going to get any worse for him unless he ended up running over Ricky and Emily when he went back to pick up his car from outside the bar. Just the thought of Sharon's angry and disappointed face made his pacing speed up, running a hand through his hair before tugging on his earlobe, stressed to the point that his head hurt and not from his latest injuries. All he wanted to do was speak to Sharon and explain his side of things and start to grovel until she forgave him but as every second ticked by he knew she would only be getting madder and madder at him. Sharon had to know what had happened by now he thought to himself, beads of sweat starting to appear on his forehead. She had to. He hadn't called her that morning despite having access to his phone because firstly it was early and he didn't want to wake her if she was still asleep and secondly he realised that a phone call was no way to break that kind of news to her. She hadn't called him either. Sharon was an early riser, in fact she didn't sleep that much at all really and never had done since Emily was born. Whereas in the past she would get up and read or run or do some domestic chores more recently she was quite content to spend that time in bed, loving the warmth and feel of Andy against her back as he slept, happy to just lie there and listen to him snoring quietly in her ear, his arm draped around her middle, it was like heaven on Earth. He glanced at his watch. He wondered whether he'd ever get to share a bed with her again. It was past eight o'clock in the morning so he knew for a fact she'd be awake by now and yet she still hadn't called him, she hadn't phoned any of them to ask where they were, not even Rusty for that matter. That could only mean one thing, someone had called her first and let her know what had happened and where they were, it was the only possible explanation. It was almost like he could sense her in the building, Darth Raydor stomping around and preparing to give him another black eye or worse, remove a part of his anatomy that he was really rather fond of with just her fingernails and teeth. She hadn't been to see them either. He knew that she'd probably be busy trying to explain and justify their behaviour to Chief Pope and Chief Taylor but that wouldn't prevent her from just checking in on them, checking to see if they were okay. She was clearly avoiding them because she was angry and he couldn't blame her for that. No matter what he thought, how he sliced it, what passed through his mind to tell her, it was going to take her a long time to forgive him, if she ever really would.

What worried Andy most was that this was potentially going to be the first real fight they'd ever had (outside of work, after all they'd fought like cat and dog when Sharon was still working at FID) and if he knew Sharon, which he obviously did by now, she was going to be livid about the strippers if nothing else so a fight was definitely imminent. Yes they'd had cross words here and there since they'd been dating, such things were unavoidable and Sharon had managed to ignore him for more than an hour after he helped to ruin pre-Christmas drinks at Provenza's house but that was it and that wasn't a fight, not really. Complaining that she'd tripped over his shoes for the twentieth time or him losing his temper while he had to rely on her to do basic tasks for him like putting his shoes on when he had his blood clot could hardly be classed as arguments either but he couldn't foresee avoiding one in the very near future. He'd never been particularly good when it came to arguing and fighting with a spouse either, it was one of the reasons why he ended up drinking so much during his marriage. He was good at the making up part and make up sex, finding his way out of trouble with a smile and a smoulder and his usual charm but that never came until after his mouth and his attitude had run away from him and made whatever small thing he'd been arguing with Carol or whoever about in the past ten times worse. Their first real argument as a couple and it was going to be caused by strippers, Provenza, random glasses of alcohol and a punch to the face. How he kept ending up in these situations he simply didn't know.

As Andy continued to pace, Julio rocked back and forth in his chair on its rear legs while he tapped out a tune on the underside of the seat with his fingers. After a moment he began to sing quietly and much to Andy's annoyance, not for the first time that morning. " _The warden threw a party in the county jail. The prison band was there and they began to wail. The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing…"_

"Julio!" Andy cried, coming to standstill to glare at him. "If you don't stop singing I swear to God I am going to murder you. To begin with we're not even in jail." Before that morning Andy had no idea there were so many songs that featured the word 'jail' or 'prison' much less that Julio knew them all by heart. He had been singing off and on since Cooper 'arrested' them and Julio's best Elvis Pressley impression combined with how agitated he was about Sharon was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Julio laughed. "Come on Sir lighten up."

"Lighten up? Lighten up?! Do you have any idea how much trouble I'm going to be in with Sharon when we..." Before Andy could even finish saying her name Julio had immediately pulled another waxing strip out of the bag by his feet and held it in the air. "Julio if you come anywhere near me with another waxing strip I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"Oh come on Lieutenant, the Captain might even like it" Julio suggested.

"After last night the only thing she's going to like is turning me into a eunuch as quickly as she can lay her hand on a pair of scissors!" Mike and Julio just laughed at him as he buried his head into his hands, flinching slightly when they came into contact with his latest injury. He then looked to the heavens as if they may offer some comfort and help. "Oh God! I'm going to be in so much trouble with Sharon when we get out of here. She's going to keep my balls in a display case on her desk for the rest of my life."

"Isn't that where they're kept now?" Mike asked with a grin. "Sorry, Provenza would have wanted me to have said it on his behalf since he's incapacitated."

"Don't worry you'll talk her round Sir," Julio stated before being extremely unhelpful and adding, "eventually."

As Mike and Julio were trying their best but ultimately failing to reassure Andy that he might live long enough to see the sun rise one more time, Buzz had been desperately trying to pull the cocktail sticks from his face yet again but with little success. "They're not coming off" he announced for what was about the twentieth time since the first one had been glued on.

"Of course they're not. We glued them on" Julio shrugged, still with little sympathy.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Not let Detective Sanchez glue cocktail sticks to your face in the first place?" Gus offered, adjusting his position on the hard cold floor to something a little more comfortable.

"That's really helpful Gus, thank you" Buzz spat out with huge amounts of sarcasm. "Can't you tell Gus is the only one out of us that isn't in any trouble over this? Meanwhile I'm probably going to get suspended and I'm scarred for life!" he shouted, not for the first time worried for his job after an incident involving Flynn and Provenza.

"Oh calm down! No one is getting suspended! We didn't do anything wrong" Mike reassured him dismissively and with full confidence.

"Other than potentially ruin a two month undercover operation for Vice?" Julio replied.

Mike laughed. "Yes other than that." Buzz just frowned at them both, less than certain that they were right and he wasn't about to lose his job.

"Mike's right," Andy confirmed only with a lot less confidence, "we haven't technically done anything wrong. We didn't know what they were doing in that club, we didn't even know Coop was there. Once we've had chance to explain our side of it we'll be fine." He said it as calmly as he could but that didn't mean he really believed it. At the very least their stupidity was going to damage their reputations once again and that was without what Sharon was going to do to them and more specifically to him because of his involvement.

"Then why are you so stressed?" Buzz asked, seeing Andy's agitated state as indicative of the trouble they were in as a whole rather than the strife he was in personally with his girlfriend.

"Do I really need to explain?" Andy asked. He was greeted in return by blank faces as they enjoyed his torment. Andy pointed at the hungover Rusty on the floor followed by Provenza on the table as all the explanation he really needed. If he could get Sharon to see past the strip club and the op they'd nearly ruined, Provenza was still one drink away from needing a new liver, Rusty was also drunk and he'd been in a fight. It was not an easy fix.

Buzz nodded, relaxing a little and beginning to realise himself that Andy's worries were more personal than professional and he was potentially going to be fine. He smiled which made the glue on his face stretch his skin a little painfully and made him remember what he currently looked like. "And what about my face?"

"Buy a bottle of nail polish remover and they'll soon come off" Andy told him, really not seeing what Buzz had to complain about given the predicament he currently found himself in.

Buzz frowned. "How do you know that?"

"He used it when some woman he cheated on glued his testicle to his leg" Provenza informed them without opening his eyes.

"He's alive!" Mike shouted.

"Welcome back to the land of the living Sir!" Julio added.

"Not so loud!" Provenza complained, holding his head as he sat up very very slowly. "I feel like I've got a Greek orthodox wedding going on inside my head."

"I did not cheat on her" Andy protested.

"Then what do you call sleeping with her sister?" Provenza asked as he continued to rub his head, feeling like it could possibly fall off at any minute should he move it too quickly.

"They were identical twins! I got confused."

"Keep telling yourself that and one day you might actually believe it." Provenza finally looked up, very slowly raising his head to glance about the room as he squinted through the brightness. His eyes instantly landed on Buzz, laughing once again at the cocktail sticks on his face.

"It's not funny" Buzz grumbled.

"Oh but it is" Provenza asserted.

Buzz crossed his arms. "Not from where I'm sitting."

"Then you should try sitting here" Provenza laughed.

"Why did I have to have my mugshot taken? No one else did" Buzz again complained.

Provenza pointed at his face as he smiled. "Because I want that photo on a t-shirt." As they were pretending to be processed for booking it was quickly decided that under the current circumstances how could they not have Buzz's mugshot taken for posterity with every single person they encountered immediately laughing the moment they saw his face and wanting to take a selfie with him.

"Get a grip Buzz" Andy shouted with an exasperated sigh. "At least you'll be able to get those things off your face by the end of the day. What am I going to say to Sharon about my legs and chest?"

"We got any waxing strips left Julio?" Provenza asked as he gingerly turned to face him.

"Provenza, so help me!" Andy warned.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that Flynn" Provenza began kindly. "If we all know the Captain and I think it's fair to say that by now we all do, it'll have grown back _long_ before she even contemplates letting you see her naked again." Immediately everyone started laughing with the exception of the sleeping Rusty and the incredibly pissed off Andy who just glared at him with venom.

"Thanks Provenza. That's really the confidence boost I was looking for right now."

"How is he anyway?" Provenza asked, gesturing towards Rusty but not turning to look should the movement make his head hurt even more than it already currently was.

"How do you think? Hungover" Andy said plainly, still in a state of shock by what had happened as everyone else looked at Rusty with amusement, thinking of their own first ever hangovers and how dreadful the boy must feel.

"Why did you let him drink in the first place?" Buzz asked, as one of Rusty's many 'co-parents' his disapproval evident.

"I didn't!" Andy protested. "He said 'like' and he didn't want to run around the club..."

"With good reason" Mike agreed, the run down nature of the club being one of the many reasons why he kept himself to himself and sat at the bar the entire time they were in there rather than joining in with the 'festivities.'

"So he downed his drink like Provenza instead."

Provenza, Mike, Julio and Buzz all looked at each confused, not seeing how Rusty got from finishing his drink as a forfeit to being drunk and vomiting on a car. "And?" Provenza asked, looking for the rest of the story.

Andy shrugged, shaking his head with disbelief despite having seen the incident unfold with his own eyes. "He picked up the wrong glass off the table. God knows what he drank or who it actually belonged to." Everyone immediately started laughing, slowly realising that Andy wasn't at fault but expecting their Captain to blame him nonetheless.

"I think the Captain might actually murder you this time" Julio stated bluntly.

"Thank you Julio. Thank you so much."

"I hate to agree but it'll be next Christmas before you're having sex again" Provenza told him and offering, what was in his opinion, a conservative estimate. "How's the eye?"

"Painful. It's killing me. Is it too noticeable? Will Sharon see it?" Andy asked. Although he had been looked over by an EMT who patched him up and he had seen the blood on his hands and shirt, he hadn't actually seen himself in the mirror. He was hoping that it was only the smallest of cuts despite how it felt and that his eye was swollen because he was tired and not because he can been punched by a guy who had fists as hard as Captain America.

"Only if she stands in the same room as you" Mike informed him, not sugar coating the situation in the slightest.

"Perfect!"

Julio smiled. "Play your cards right and it could work for you, sympathy wise Lieutenant."

"You're not helping" Andy replied, resuming his pacing of the floor.

"I still think you might need some proper stitches in that cut Andy" Mike offered with genuine concern.

Julio immediately put his hand in his bag. "Do you want the glue?"

"Back away from me, all of you! It's fine. They said these would do."

Gus smiled at Andy and winked. "I think it makes you look rugged."

Andy rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Okay stop it" he shouted, long since fed up by Gus and his revenge flirting.

"What's going on?" Buzz laughed. "Why have you been flirting with the Lieutenant all night?"

"Revenge mainly" Gus replied, confirming Sharon's theory finally.

"Revenge?" Buzz questioned.

"You see Andy thought it would be a good idea..."

"From my experience stories that start this way never end well" Provenza interrupted.

"It was funny!" Andy protested. "Everyone thought so even Rusty and Sharon."

"Wax!" Julio cried, taking to his feet and running the five short steps to Andy.

"Get away from me" Andy snarled. Julio just laughed at him as he sat back down, he had no intention whatsoever of waxing him again but with quite a lot of beer still in his system, he enjoyed torturing Andy just for fun nonetheless.

"Andy told me that his daughter had a crazy Christmas tradition where everyone had to show up to dinner in hideous sweaters so I went out and bought one" Gus explained as everyone laughed that he would fall for something like that from the likes of Andy.

"And you believed this guy?" Mike asked.

"For the last time yes."

After he sat back down Julio had been staring at Buzz's face with a smile, until finally moving his hand to pull on one of the cocktail sticks attached to it. "Ow!" Buzz cried, slapping Julio's hand away from him. "Detective Sanchez will you please stop pulling on them. I don't want half my face to go with them."

"Do you want them off or not?"

"Yes but I'd rather not have to make an appointment with a plastic surgeon afterwards."

"If it makes you feel any better I have a real burn in my arms" Mike announced as he flexed his biceps after his one hundred or so press ups, his being by far the easiest of the forfeits any of them had to do.

"Yeah and I was almost cold in the club" Julio added, picking up his pants from the floor and flinging them over his shoulder.

"Oddly enough it doesn't" Buzz frowned.

After a couple of moments of silence Mike smiled at Andy and Provenza before announcing "You know I have to apologise to you both."

"To who?" Andy asked.

"To you two" Mike confirmed, pointing at the pair of them. "For years now I've sat behind my desk laughing hysterically at some of the…let's say 'disasters' that you've gotten yourselves involved with and thought to myself 'How do these guys always end up in these situations?' and now I've found myself caught up in one too."

"Yeah" Julio nodded. "I feel like I've failed somehow. Like the first time you go to the dentist and he tells you you have a cavity only on a much larger scale and with strippers and a fight and with Rusty getting drunk."

"Yes thanks Julio, thanks for the recap" Andy muttered, not needing a reminder.

"It's not fun is it?" Buzz laughed. "And all you could do was laugh when..."

"Say one more word about your damn car and I'll glue your lips shut" Provenza cut in.

"I'll say this, it seems it's far easier to get into trouble with you two than I thought it was" Mike confirmed. For years he was baffled, truly baffled that these disasters, these beyond ridiculous situations would keep happening to Flynn and Provenza, looking forward to the next one as he enjoyed the last. The last thing he expected was to ever end up involved with one but Buzz had said the very same thing when that body landed on the roof of his car.

"Exactly!" Andy cried. "Thank you!"

"That's what we've been saying for years. It's never our fault" Provenza confirmed.

"Well not entirely" Andy added, suddenly less than certain.

"I agree although I don't suppose Cathy will buy that excuse for a second if she ever finds out" Mike said with a wry smile. "Or Patrice. Or even the Captain for that matter."

Andy frowned at Mike, his hand raised in the air. "What do you mean 'If she ever finds out'?"

Mike shrugged. "I sent Cathy a text" he informed him with a smile. "Told her that there had been a murder, we'd been called into work and not to expect me home."

"What?!" Andy cried, suddenly realising that he might be the only one out of the three attached men in trouble with the love of their lives.

"So did Provenza" Mike added. Andy stared at the pair of them shocked and clearly annoyed, annoyed that they'd managed to find a way out of the dog house before they'd even been shown the way in when that simply wasn't an option for him. "What? You didn't expect me to tell her the truth did you? It's only the Captain that'll know the truth. Sorry."

"Great! Perfect!" Andy shouted. "Yes thank you for that Mike. Luckily for me this wasn't a real arrest and they didn't take my shoelaces and belt away from me so there's a good chance I'll be swinging from the rafters before the morning is over."

"Still it's something to tell the Grandkids," Mike said with a smile, "the day old Grandpa Mike got caught up in a 'Proflynnza' escapade."

"A what?" Andy asked.

"Are you having a stroke Tao?" Provenza questioned.

"Proflynnza. It's a mixture of Provenza and Flynn. You see you combine the names of a couple to make..."

"We are not a couple!" Andy shouted cutting Mike off, fed up of the way Sharon had seemingly got everyone referring to Provenza as his 'boyfriend' over the last month.

"Blood pressure Sir" Julio said, only resulting in Andy looking more annoyed than ever. "If you faint on this floor you're going to crack the other side of your head open."

"Thank you Julio but I can promise you now I am not collapsing in this building ever again." Andy looked at Rusty and Gus for a moment, them both still on the floor. "Are you okay Gus?" he asked, still taking his responsibility to look after both boys very seriously.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking, it could have been worse. A lot worse."

"How?" Andy cried with exasperation.

Gus shrugged. "We could be in Mexico."

Andy sighed, his pacing picking up speed. "At this point fleeing the country and getting a sex change may be my only recourse."

"But I thought you could talk the Captain around with just a smile" Julio laughed.

"A smile might not be enough this time" Andy said quietly, still having no idea how he was going to talk his way out of this with Sharon. Seconds later the door finally opened and Amy walked in. Everyone immediately looked up to face her, a mixture of relief that they might finally get the ball rolling and leave and trepidation over what was about to happen washing over them. "Finally! Sykes what the hell are we still doing here?"

Amy smiled, beyond amused at the rather unorthodox appearances of her five usually impeccably dressed colleagues. "Captain's orders I'm afraid Lieutenant."

Andy's faced immediately dropped. "Sharon knows?" he asked. He knew she had to know by now, there was no alternative but while he didn't have confirmation of that fact he still lived in hope that she was fast asleep, none the wiser and he'd be able to keep it that way.

"Forfeit!" Julio cried.

"Julio I swear to God!"

"Of course she knows!" Amy replied with a roll of her eyes, surprised but at the same time not by their idiocy levels. "Did you not expect her to be mildly curious as to why neither you nor Rusty had made it home last night?"

Andy shrugged. "She could have slept in. I was hoping that I might have been able to explain everything to her first before..."

"Before she orders your headstone?" Amy asked, having already spoken to her Captain and knowing full well just how mad she was about the whole situation.

Andy sighed, resignation over his impending doom hitting him. "How much does she know exactly?"

"All of it" Amy confirmed. "Well everything except that" she added, pointing at Andy's eye, pulling a pained faced as she examined it again, realising how much it must hurt a man who wouldn't be able to take strong painkillers.

"See, the sympathy card may work for you after all Lieutenant" Julio again suggested.

"Great! Just perfect!" Andy shouted again. "Where is she?"

Amy smiled at how flappable her usually calm colleague now was. "She's been summoned to Chief Taylor's office to explain all of this. She's having a meeting with him and Cooper right now."

Andy buried his head in his hands. "Kill me. Just kill me now."

"The Captain wouldn't allow it. She wants to do it herself" Amy laughed, eliciting a small chuckle from everyone other than the man currently occupying the dog house. "I've been told to tell you to go up to the Murder Room and wait."

"For what?" Provenza asked, eager to go home before he expired.

Amy crossed her arms, looking like she was ready for work despite her casual attire. "Some guys from Vice want to speak to you in case you heard or saw anything of use while you were," she sighed as she thought of the appropriate phrase, "doing whatever it was that you were doing last night."

"Why can't we speak to them down here?" Andy asked, knowing Sharon was on that floor and wanting to avoid the inevitable anger directed at him for as long as possible.

"Because the Captain wants a word first" Amy informed him, her eyes sparkling.

Provenza laughed. "And I think I can guess which word that is."

"Come on" Amy said as she turned to leave, gesturing for them to follow her. "I've been asked to escort you up there."

"Does she think I'm going to run away?" Andy questioned, his tone that of resignation.

"Yes" Amy responded brightly but bluntly. One by one they slowly took to their feet, lack of sleep and or alcohol clearly having an effect on their speed and in some cases balance. After Gus had woken Rusty and helped him up, putting an arm around his shoulders they started to file out of the room and past Amy as she waited by the door to close it behind them. As Buzz walked past her Amy stared at his face and laughed.

"It's not funny" Buzz grumbled.

"If you say so."

"You should see Lieutenant Flynn's chest" Julio smiled.

They walked along the corridor and out of Vice in silence only to be greeted by members of the division lining the walls around the corner, slowly applauding and whistling at them sarcastically, all of them looking beyond annoyed that not only had Major Crimes nearly ruined their case but as a result they'd been called in incredibly early on a Sunday to try and help salvage it. As they continued their march to the elevators, all of them now looking a little embarrassed if for no other reason than how they looked (no pants, black eyes and cocktail sticks glued to the face for example) Provenza raised his hands in the air. "Thank you, thank you. Hold your applause please" he said trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

Two flights up on the ninth floor in Chief Taylor's office, Darth Raydor sat alone in front of his desk, for Sharon Raydor had died somewhere between receiving an unwelcome early morning phone call from Amy and arriving at PAB an hour later, the Dark Side completely consuming her. She was seething, absolutely seething, almost shaking with rage and looking a mixture of anger and absolute fury, her legs crossed and her foot tapping on the floor, a physical manifestation of her outrage about what had happened. She never tapped her foot, hated it really watching men giggle their legs but it was either that or snap one of the wings off of Taylor's favourite plane such was her rage. She was dressed casually, in just a pair of jeans, a plain cream blouse and her brown leather jacket, her hair not its usual brand of perfect, a clear sign of lack of sleep and having to rush down to PAB. She assumed something was wrong when she finally drifted off to sleep but hoped she was overreacting. As the clock ticked around to 3am she knew they should have been home by then but was at odds with herself over what to do. Andy had long since stopped texting her, no surprise really given the hour and her insistence that she wasn't going to wait up for him so she couldn't very well text or call him because how would that look? She had told him she was going to go to sleep but if she texted him to ask him where they were it may appear that firstly she didn't trust him and secondly that she was waiting for him, desperately not wanting to appear like she was nagging him. In the end she had fallen asleep simply because she could no longer keep her eyes open, waiting and worrying.

Despite her worry that something was wrong she had gone to sleep expecting to be woken by Andy sooner rather than later and to then pounce on him like a hawk with a mouse when he finally did. Sadly that didn't happen. Instead she was woken by Amy with a phone call at close to 6am. The moment she opened her eyes and saw the time without feeling Andy's heavy and incredibly hot body in her bed beside her she knew something was terribly wrong. Her heart sank in that moment, expecting to see an unknown number and hearing the voice of a Doctor on the other end of the line. Instead she saw 'Detective Sykes' and her worry soon turned to dismay and anger as she became aware of what had happened. By the time she arrived at PAB she had been presented with some but not all of the facts, clouding her judgement somewhat. She had been told that while attending a strip club all of the male members of her division, including her son and his boyfriend, had blown an active Vice and SIS operation, that they had gotten into a fight in the parking lot and been brought in to sort everything out. That had easily made her mad but more than anything, accepting that they didn't know what was taking place at that club she was completely embarrassed by their behaviour. Sharon Raydor had standards, she had a reputation and those things mattered to her, they mattered to her a lot. This kind of behaviour from her division, even if they were off duty at the time flew in the face of that and she was not happy, not happy at all. On a more personal level, and it was impossible not to see two sides to the story since her boyfriend and son were involved, she was also angry because she'd been told by Amy that Rusty was drunk. That truly made her blood boil. It was one of the last things she said to them before they left the condo (before Mrs Rose arrived with the doll and the evening started to go sideways early on) 'No drinking.' She was angry he would be so stupid as to not only drink but drink to excess and she was absolutely livid that Andy of all people would allow it to happen and in a strip club of all places.

She knew exactly where they were, that they were in an interview room in Vice to lend them a hand in sorting out of the mess that they had created, so could have gone down at any point to check up on Rusty, to see that he was okay but at that moment she was just too angry, disappointment winning over Mamma Bear for once. Likewise she could have called Andy the moment she hung up the phone from Amy to get his side of the story but she was not ready to speak to him yet, not without saying something to him that she might regret later. She needed to calm down first and speak to everyone else involved, mainly Cooper to ensure she had all the facts before ripping into Andy and making him wish he'd never been born.

Sharon had been sitting in Taylor's office for what seemed like hours when he burst through the door, dressed in equally casual attire and looking just as mad as she felt. The sound of the door opening with such force immediately had Sharon taking to her feet. "What the hell has been going on?" Taylor shouted as he slammed the door behind him.

"Chief…" Sharon started only to be silenced by Taylor's raised hand.

"I honestly hoped that by putting you in charge of this division that it would be the end of this sort of thing" he said with disappointment as he moved to stand behind his desk, hands on hips. "That never again would I be hearing about another disaster involving Flynn and Provenza and even worse it's not just them getting themselves into trouble, they've potentially blown a two month operation along with the rest of your division."

"I know Chief and I…"

"Two months!" he cried before a knock on the door rendered him silent and composed for a moment. Without waiting for a response Cooper entered with his laptop under his arm, his presence noticed by both occupants of the Assistant Chief's office but not formally acknowledged by either.

"Chief believe me I know and I'm just as angry and mortified about it as you are" Sharon informed him, not that she needed to, the look on her face was evidence enough.

Cooper took a step towards them, him being the only person in the room in full possession of all the available facts. "Chief, Captain we have the whole incident recorded so that you can both see for yourselves what happened" he stated, trying to put out the fire before one of them exploded from rage. "But I was there and I assure you, none of them did anything wrong, I can promise you that."

"You'll see why I find that hard to believe Lieutenant" Taylor scoffed as he crossed his arms. Sharon remained silent, allowing Taylor to take the lead in questioning Copper since she was quite clearly conflicted as one of her division was also her boyfriend.

"I know but it's true. They had no idea that we were set up outside when they went in."

"Then why didn't you stop them?" Taylor asked, pushing some of the blame Cooper's way since there was so much to hand around.

Cooper nodded, realising that he might get some of the blame when he chose to allow them to enter the club without feeling the need to sacrifice one of his team to stop them. "Our target was hanging around in the parking lot not five feet from them" he explained. "I couldn't go in there without blowing my cover so I called Detective Sykes and asked her to come down and yank them out. We wanted to stop them from going in but I decided I'd rather let them go inside than risk alerting anyone to our presence since I didn't think it would be much of a problem. It was a judgement call, I made it, I thought it would be best to wait for Detective Sykes to arrive as an angry girlfriend and pull them out." Cooper sighed. "In hindsight it was the wrong decision but I had no other option and how were we to know Jump Street was going to puke on the guy's car?"

"Why didn't you just call any one of the idiots you saw walking in there?" Sharon asked, able to stay silent no more. "They all have cell phones unless I'm mistaken."

"Honestly Captain with the exception of Lieutenant Flynn, Rusty and Gus they all looked completely hammered before they even walked in there" he informed her with a shrug of the shoulders. "After Flynn lost the battle in the parking lot to stop them from going inside in the first place," he said with a glance towards Sharon, trying his best to help Andy out of a difficult situation a little, "I figured he was going to need some help rounding them up and herding them out. If he couldn't stop them from going in, he wasn't going to get them out until they were good and ready without assistance. Since that couldn't be me or Shaw, we waited on Detective Sykes. She was just a little too late unfortunately."

"Okay," Taylor said, calming down a little and taking a seat on the edge of his desk, "accepting that they didn't know what was going on and that Flynn was going to need some help getting them out and that couldn't be you because of your cover, how did it end up in a brawl and with them all under arrest?" he asked.

"Well we only did that not to blow our cover Chief and I think it worked" Cooper replied with genuine optimism, him about eighty percent sure that the fake arrest ruse had worked and their suspect was none the wiser. "The deal didn't go down last night which is not entirely unexpected but as he left here we still had the guy under surveillance and if it doesn't happen this afternoon it will definitely go down tonight, perhaps tomorrow. We kept them all here as long as possible to make it convincing and look like a genuine arrest and so that we could set up another team outside for when we let him go."

"So it's salvageable?" Taylor asked, his relief palpable.

"Absolutely Chief. He was none the wiser and frankly too relieved that he wasn't being charged with assaulting a police officer to be overly suspicious as to why we were there so quickly after the fight started."

"Wait, he actually assaulted one of them?" Sharon asked, suddenly concerned, this fact being one of the biggest that Amy had neglected to tell her, not wanting to worry her further. "I thought it was just a scuffle?"

"It was once everyone else got involved."

"Well who got assaulted?" Sharon asked, instantly fearing the worst.

Cooper paused for a moment, knowing it was a delicate situation. "Lieutenant Flynn."

It became instantly crystal clear to both Cooper and Taylor that Sharon didn't have the slightest inkling that anything like that had happened, that her boyfriend (since they were talking about an off duty incident) had been assaulted. Her shoulders instantly became tenser as her mood and anger towards him began to soften with this new information. It briefly crossed her mind if this was the reason why he hadn't called her himself to tell her what had happened. Was it because he was hurt and unable rather than him being too frightened of her reaction? It was obvious by her face that she wanted to ask Cooper if he was okay but regardless of when the incident occurred she was now at work and as such was Andy's commanding officer not his girlfriend and wouldn't be the one to ask in front of her own commanding officer. Taylor looked at her, smiling warmly as he sensed her worry. "Flynn? How is he?" he asked on Sharon's behalf.

"He's fine" Cooper was quick to reply, directing his response at Sharon despite the fact that Taylor was the one that asked the question. Sharon nodded, biting on her bottom lip anxiously. "A black eye and a cut to the head which we had treated when we brought them in. He's too busy fussing over Rusty to give it much thought. That kid is going to have one hell of a hangover this morning" he added laughing.

"So what exactly happened?" Taylor asked.

"It'll be much easier if I just show you." Cooper put his laptop down on Taylor's desk and opened it up as Taylor and Sharon stood either side of him to look at the screen. Cooper pressed play. After a couple of seconds of silence and no action onscreen other than a stationary shot that encompassed the suspect's car and the club entrance, Andy could be seen slowly helping Rusty walk across the parking lot. "Andy brought the kid outside," Cooper narrated, "he said because he was going to take him back to his place to sober him up and then this happened." Cooper crossed his arms as the footage played with Sharon and Taylor both taking a step closer so they could see what was happening more clearly.

" _I don't feel so good."_ Sharon shook her head as she looked at the screen. It was one thing hearing that Rusty was drunk but it was another thing entirely to see hear him slurring his words and seeing Andy have to virtually carry him and that was without catching sight of that blow up doll once again.

" _Don't panic. I'll take you back to my place and get some coffee into you and you'll be fine."_

" _What about Gus?"_ As the action continued to play out on screen Cooper had one eye on the screen and the other on Sharon watching her reaction, knowing full well just how angry she looked and how worried Andy was about her finding out what had happened.

" _I'll call Mike as soon as I get you in the car and tell him what's going on."_

" _I really don't feel good Lieutenant."_ Sharon sighed and put her head in her hands. The sight of Rusty so drunk and looking simply awful was a shock to her, upsetting her even. However despite that there was a slight flicker at the corner of her mouth, a smile trying to burst forth as she watched Andy so carefully look after him.

"What the hell were they thinking letting the kid drink?" Taylor asked.

"Don't think that's not going to be the first question I ask Chief" Sharon replied sternly.

" _What did I drink?"_

" _My guess would be everything."_ As Sharon listened to her son and her boyfriend talk her shoulders slumped slightly, the realisation hitting her that everything might not have been as clear cut as she initially thought it was.

" _Stop! I'm going to throw up."_ All three of them immediately grimaced as they watched Rusty sprint the few steps to the parked car and proceed to vomit his guts up.

"I'll be honest Captain with how he feels I don't think you need to worry about him doing it again" Cooper laughed, knowing exactly how the boy currently felt, recalling the reason why his parents banned him from going to prom as punishment for stealing a bottle of vodka at his cousin's birthday party.

" _But Sharon."_

" _I'll take you home and you can sleep it off while I wash your clothes. Your Mom will never know. You won't get a lecture and I won't get dumped before getting murdered."_

Cooper and Taylor immediately turned to look at Sharon, trying not to laugh and eager to see her reaction to Andy's statement as she just stared at the screen with interest. "Huh!" she said, folding her arms. "Time will tell. Time will tell."

"How does this end in a fight?" Taylor asked, beginning to get impatient.

Cooper pointed at the screen. "You see that car Rusty is emptying his stomach over? That's our suspect's car. And here he comes."

" _I've been waiting for you for…What the fuck do you think you're doing? That's my car. Have you puked on my car?"_

" _Look sorry pal, the kid had too much to drink and…"_

" _Do I look like I care? You'll clean that off now or you'll be picking your teeth up off the ground."_

" _Get your hands off him."_

" _Or else what Grandpa?"_ As Taylor moved in closer to the screen, wanting to see everything to make sure that Cooper was right and there was no wrongdoing on the part of his officers, Sharon's eyes widen at the size of the man and the threat he promised, her worry clearly evident as he towered over Andy and Rusty, his fists clenched.

"Why didn't you go out there? You could see he was in trouble" Taylor asked, sensing what was about to happen.

"And blow the op? What were we supposed to do Chief?"

" _Calm down will you."_

" _Don't tell me to calm down asshole! Stand up! Move Grandpa!"_

"See Flynn was only defending the kid," Cooper was quick to point out, "putting his body between Rusty and danger. He did nothing wrong like I said...other than not ducking in time."

" _And let you hit the kid?"_

" _How about I just hit you instead?"_ The moment they saw Andy get punched in the face and then hit the car they all immediately flinched as if they'd been punched themselves, even Cooper although it was not the first time he'd seen it happen. However no one flinched more than Sharon, her hands flying up to her mouth in absolute horror, her worry over him now overtaking her anger at what had happened as she looked at the blood. They continued to watch the action in silence as the rest of the division piled in and stood between Andy and Rusty and the suspect before Cooper, Shaw and Amy arrived on scene to break it up. With the scuffle over Cooper stopped the video and closed the laptop.

"Aside from some underage drinking and being compete idiots they didn't do a single thing wrong in my opinion" Cooper offered, prepared to testify to that effect if need be. "The whole situation was just, I don't know, unfortunate. Not one of them even returned a punch, they just made sure he didn't lay a hand on Flynn or Rusty as they sat on the ground."

Composing herself as best she could Sharon cleared her throat. "Still I'd like Professional Standards to see this video before they all make statements just to be completely above board. The last thing we want is for this incident to come back and haunt us at a later date like we were trying to hide something" she stated, playing by the rules as always.

"That sounds like a fair compromise to me Captain, if you'd like to give them a call" Taylor confirmed, sitting behind his desk.

"Ma'am aside from clearing up any wrongdoing they may have done we've also kept your division here because some of the guys from Vice would like to speak to them" Cooper explained.

"About?"

"Not only were they in the club with our main target but they were also only a few feet away from him outside when he was talking on his cell phone to whom we assume was his next buyer. He uses a different burner phone each week so we can't get a warrant and we couldn't pick up the audio because they were standing too close to our mic arguing about which one of them was most frightened about their girlfriends or wives finding out where they were" he went on, trying his best to keep a straight face as Taylor smiled. "And having spent time with them this morning I can now confirm which one of them it turned out to be" he joked, making Taylor laugh but not getting a flicker from Sharon, her completely professional shield coming back down once again.

"So Vice would like to see if they saw or heard anything of use?" she asked for clarification.

"Yes ma'am, now that they're more sober."

"Very well Lieutenant" Sharon nodded, seeing it as their responsibility to help regardless of tiredness or hangovers given that they had caused the problems in the first place. "I've had Amy take them upstairs because I'd like to speak to them first. I'll let them know they'll be required to make statements before they can leave today."

"Thank you ma'am."

Sharon turned towards Taylor and said "Thank you Chief" before heading towards the door.

"Oh and Captain," Cooper said, stopping her with her hand on the door handle, "I hope you don't mind me saying but you should be proud. Andy had no hesitation whatsoever about putting himself between Rusty and danger. He didn't even blink."

Sharon sighed, appreciating what Andy had done and Cooper's defence of him but still with bigger and more personal issues between them at play. "And yet he's got himself injured once again. Has he been looked at by a paramedic?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Thank you Lieutenant." Sharon left, closing the door behind her.

After a moment, making sure that Sharon had gone, Taylor looked at Cooper and smiled. "I wouldn't trade places with Andy Flynn right now for all the money in the world" he said making them both laugh. Both of them in the knowledge that although the black eye and protecting Rusty would work in his favour, Andy was still in monumental amounts of trouble with his girlfriend, and his Captain was not best pleased with him either.

In the Major Crimes Murder Room Rusty sat in Buzz's chair, flopped on his desk, not asleep exactly but more like 'dying' and that was before Sharon got hold of him and really let him have it. He felt dreadful, utterly dreadful, like something you'd scrape off the sole of your shoe. His head was throbbing, his stomach felt like he could be sick at any moment despite having absolutely nothing left in his system other than his internal organs and he was convinced he could actually hear his hair growing, a noise which made him want to cry it was so loud. Why anyone did this to themselves out of choice he simply didn't know, it was beyond all comprehension. His Mom had spent most of his life drunk which he had never ever understood, he understood it even less now that he was experiencing a hangover except possibly the reason that she stayed drunk was to avoid ever feeling as bad as he did in that moment. He groaned. The light was coming in through the window like a vindictive God was aiming the world's largest flashlight directly into his brain. He just wanted to die. Why couldn't he just die? At least it would be over then, at least he wouldn't face Sharon's disappointment if she didn't believe the tale he and Andy had to tell about how he ended up in such a sorry condition.

Gus tried to help him, sat perched on the desk next to Rusty, rubbing his hand up and down his back but that only made him feel more nauseous, like he was sea sick. If he was capable of coherent speech he would have told Gus to stop but that was physically impossible at that moment in time. Mike and Julio occupied their usual chairs behind their desks looking by far the most relaxed of the group, not feeling like they'd done anything wrong and not expecting any punishment at home either for their late night excursion. In contrast Provenza sat at his desk with his head in his hands, like Rusty, feeling rougher than a badger's backside as he now regretted having that much to drink. However like Mike and Julio he felt relaxed about life. He had texted Patrice and lied about being called into work so she wouldn't be suspicious and once they'd received a lecture from the Captain, all would be well, he could go home, have some sleep and all would be right with the world. Buzz however was still fretting, worried for his job. He occupied Amy's chair as she sat perched on her desk, carefully pulling on the cocktail sticks still glued to his face, hoping to remove them as gently as possible. The only person missing was Andy who had gone to fetch Rusty and Provenza some water.

"Why did you let them do this to you?" Amy asked Buzz as she continued to gently pull on the cocktail sticks, them not moving without taking his skin with them.

"I didn't have much choice when Detective Sanchez had them attached to my face before I even knew what was happening to me" Buzz complained as she swivelled to look at his assailant while he laughed himself silly.

Amy sighed with amusement, turning Buzz back around to face her to continue to try to help him. "What we're you thinking even going in there?"

Buzz shrugged. "I'd never been in a place like that before."

"Don't worry Buzz your reputation is still intact" Julio announced. "He spent the entire time talking to the ladies about the sound system."

Provenza's head snapped up, an action he instantly regretted when the pain behind his eyes increased for a moment. "The sound system? Ye Gods!" he cried. "Have I not taught you anything about women over the years?"

"As we established last night, no" Buzz stated unamused.

"What do you mean?"

"We had this discussion last night" Buzz clarified.

"When? I don't remember" Provenza said with an element of surprise as he slowly realised there were gaps in his memory from the previous evening.

"Do you remember dancing with Gus?" Mike asked.

"He was dancing with Gus?" Amy laughed, trying to picture the scene.

"I taught him how to twerk" Gus announced a little too loudly for Rusty's ears, making him groan and cover his ears with his hands.

"Oh my God!" Amy exclaimed with glee. "And no one took a photo?"

"I don't remember any of this" Provenza stated, utterly bewildered.

"That may have been the two bottles of red wine you drank yourself Lieutenant" Julio correctly pointed out.

Amy smiled. "Which raises a good point, how did Rusty end up this drunk?" she asked, lowering her voice so he wouldn't know they were talking about him.

"We don't know" Buzz shrugged.

"He was with Andy" Mike confirmed, none of them still really certain what happened other than it had something to do with the wrong drink, an excuse they didn't honestly believe so knew their Captain would struggle.

"This is exactly why Chief Howard wasn't allowed to go and I'm glad Cooper couldn't" Amy sighed, giving up trying to help Buzz, nail polish remover being his only hope.

Provenza looked up again, this time a lot more slowly and looked at Amy with suspicion. "Don't act like you've always been as pure as the driven snow at bachelorette parties Sykes."

"Maybe not Lieutenant but none of them have ended up like this. None involved glue or fighting or getting arrested or…Sanchez why aren't you wearing any pants?" Amy finally asked, it being perhaps the least noteworthy oddity about her male colleagues.

Before Julio could answer the sound of Sharon's very distinctive and deliberate footsteps could be heard walking towards them. They all froze, even Amy since she knew just how angry she was over the phone a few hours earlier. Seconds later Sharon slowly walked into the Murder Room, stopping not far from her office as she turned and surveyed the scene before her. Since leaving Taylor's office she had been trying her best to compose herself at his secretary's desk before confronting them. Things had certainly changed since she was first woken with the news of what had happened. Now in possession of more but not all of the correct facts, her mood had begun to soften. As Captain of the division, the division that had nearly blown a two month long operation for another department she was still a little angry but more disappointed with them, a change that came from listening to Cooper and seeing the video, realising much to her relief that they hadn't done anything wrong. To ensure that fact went on record she took the time while she composed herself to call a contact from Professional Standards, calling in a favour and getting someone over to talk to them and take statements as quickly as possible even if it was early on a Sunday. She knew that Provenza would complain and once again point out her obsession with the rules but her thinking was that Mike, Julio and even Buzz would one day want to advance in their careers and she didn't want something like the previous night's activities holding them back because of embarrassing rumours about their involvement. Despite how tired and hungover most of them probably were she felt it was for the best to get everything on paper and cleared up as soon as possible, only thinking of their futures.

Sharon's personal feelings had also softened quite a lot since she was calling Andy every name under the sun as she drove to PAB. She was still annoyed that her boyfriend had been to a strip club, taking Rusty in with him and she was absolutely livid that Andy had allowed Rusty to get drunk but those feelings were also tinged with concern and worry now. Seeing Andy get punched like that shocked her, making her feeling cold to her core as she watched it. Watching that level of violence against anyone was always horrific but even more so when it was the love of her life on the receiving end. Yet it also made her a little angry. She had seen for herself on the video that it wasn't in any way Andy's fault and that he could do little to stop it but with it coming less than two months after his surgery, to put himself in that position, to risk it again and at the same time to repeatedly tell her not to worry about him, well it made her both angry and distraught at what could have happened to him.

Within seconds of Sharon coming to a halt and staring at them all in full Darth Raydor mode, a mode that even made Gus feel a little uncomfortable despite Andy having already warned him about her 'death stare,' Andy appeared with two cups of water, still dragging the doll attached to his wrist, not noticing Sharon or the uncomfortable silence as he walked over to Rusty. "Here you go kid." After placing one of the cups in front of Rusty he looked up, seeing Sharon for the first time and instantly froze to the spot.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, Sharon's expression never changing as she looked him up and down despite the condition his face was in. It took all she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the sight of that doll chained to his wrist, making her want to throw it out of the window with Andy still attached to it but that soon subsided and faded into the background. Inwardly she cringed, almost taking a step back in shock when she saw the full extent of the damage to his beautiful face, it being in a much worse state than she imagined. Once again her mood softened further. Believing what Cooper had told her and what she had seen for herself her anger was now solely of a personal nature, that they had been to a strip club and that Rusty was drunk. Yet at that moment her anger was outweighed by her worry for both Rusty and Andy and the sorry states they found themselves in.

Continuing on his journey finally, Andy moved over to Provenza and put his water in front of him while Sharon slowly walked towards Rusty. "Is it just me or did it get cold in here?" Provenza asked quietly so only Andy could hear.

"Don't" Andy muttered with a shake of his head. He sighed. Just seeing Sharon's face showed him more disappointment and anger from her than he ever wanted to see aimed in his direction. He thought he'd changed, thought these incidents were behind him and that Sharon would never again look at him like that. He was wrong but little did he know that not all was as bad as it seemed. Andy put his head in his hands and then committed the ultimate cardinal sin, he sat down on the edge of Provenza's desk facing the murder board, a murder board he might appear on as a victim before long unless he could talk Sharon around he thought. Provenza looked up at him, usually immediately moving someone along if they sat on his desk but given the circumstances, given that it was Andy and how both of them currently felt, he opted to let it slide.

Seeing Rusty looking so ill, Mamma Bear immediately kicked into gear instinctively as Sharon rubbed his back in circles and crouched beside him. "How are you?" she asked quietly and lovingly.

Rusty lifted his head and looked at her with incredibly bleary eyes. "I just want to die" he stated melodramatically.

"Well that's hangovers for you" she replied, her sympathy waning as she continued to rub his back.

"Why do people do this to themselves?"

"Why indeed?" was all Sharon could say in response. Now really wasn't the time to read Rusty the riot act, not at PAB and not in front of everyone, that would wait until later, when he was well enough for it to sink in. Sharon lowered her voice and directed her attention to Gus. "How did this happen?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sorry Sharon I just don't know" Gus said in equally hushed tones but also as bright as a button, revealing that he hadn't touched a drop of alcohol and thus confusing Sharon more as to what had happened for why would one drink and not the other? "I was with Lieutenant Provenza, keeping an eye on him and then suddenly Andy and Rusty were gone from the table and then it all went a bit crazy outside."

"Okay" Sharon nodded, smiling warmly at him. "Take him into the Conference Room and get him to drink this and I'll arrange for a patrol officer to drive you both home. Will you stay with him until I get back?"

"Of course."

"Thank you Gus." Sharon ran her hand up and down his arm, thanking him before dropping a kiss onto the back of Rusty's head. Summoning all the strength he had left Rusty dragged himself to his feet, picked up his water at the third attempt and allowed Gus to lead him (and help him) to the Conference Room.

With the boys gone the room was silent again as everyone waited for their Captain to launch into her lecture. Instead Sharon remained silent as she walked slowly towards her office with her arms folded, the only sound being her shoes clicking on the tiles. Without explanation she walked straight into her office and shut the door behind her. Everyone watched as she sat behind her desk, picked up her phone, dialled and started to speak.

"I wonder who she's talking to" Andy asked, having turned to face her the moment Rusty left the room, waiting for his professional and personal reprimand.

Provenza shrugged. "Probably Dr Morales, asking for his help to cover up your murder."

Andy stared at him agog for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder why I even speak to you at all."

A few more seconds of silence passed by at a snail's pace as everyone waited with baited breath. They were all still relatively confident that they'd done nothing wrong on a professional level but every moment of silence from their Captain that went by made them less certain of that fact, making them all a little nervous. Sharon hung up her phone, stood with the utmost composure and dignity and walked out of her office again. She stood by her door for a moment, glaring at them all, her face showing nothing but Darth Raydor in full force, each one of them expecting a little 'throat hug' imminently. The only person unaffected was Amy who tried desperately hard not to laugh, knowing that a large part of her Captain's demeanour was for effect and oh boy was it working.

"Lieutenant Tao, Detective Sanchez, Reserve Officer Watson," Sharon said finally, "If you would all be so kind as to join me." Before anyone moved Sharon spun on her heels and walked back into her office, immediately settling behind her desk and patiently waiting for them to join her, looking directly ahead with her hands in her lap. A few cautious and bordering on panic stricken looks were exchanged between the summoned three before they took to their feet and walked into her office like their executioner awaited them inside. "Shut the door please" Sharon instructed. Buzz immediately complied with her orders but all three remained standing. "Take a seat." Julio and Mike sat in front of her desk while Buzz dragged a chair over from the table and joined them. Sharon just stared at them for a moment before sighing. She slowly stood and then burst into life, suddenly pointing and waving her arms at them like she was completely outraged, her blinds deliberately left open so Andy and Provenza could see what was happening. "Right now I want all three of you to lower your heads like I'm yelling at you" Sharon explained quietly and calmly as she continued to gesture wildly.

"Excuse me?" Mike asked beyond confused.

"You heard me. Lower your heads please." After a couple of confused glances at each other all three of them did as instructed, hanging their heads in apparent shame. "Now look as crest fallen as you can while I tell you about my conversation with Lieutenant Cooper and Chief Taylor as I look really really angry."

"Wait. We're not in any trouble?" Julio asked, trying to meet her eye without raising his head.

"Unless I've been misinformed you didn't technically do anything wrong did you?"

Mike shrugged. "Well no but..."

"Exactly" Sharon replied sweetly despite her physical demeanour, the relief washing over the three men in the room. "Chief Taylor agrees and as soon as Detectives from Vice and Professional Standards come up here and you make your statements you're free to go. That doesn't mean that I can't torture those two idiots out there a little bit first," she clarified, "who it seems did do something wrong of a much more personal nature. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am" Julio nodded.

"Now what happened?" Sharon asked, her wild gesturing calming down as she sat on the edge of her desk in front of them. "I've heard it from Lieutenant Cooper and seen a video of the fight but I'd like to hear it from you too please."

"Well to begin with Captain we had no idea that SIS were set up outside" Mike was quick to confirm, that being the most important issue at hand from his point of view.

"The first we knew something was amiss was when as we were trying to stop that guy from hitting Lieutenant Flynn again and Lieutenant Cooper and Sykes appeared from nowhere" Julio added.

Sharon nodded. "Go on, but like you're grovelling please."

As Sharon continued to hear the tale from Mike, Julio and Buzz, Andy and Provenza remained as before, sitting at Provenza's desk and watching everything unfold on the other side of the glass with great concern as Amy looked on. "Is Sanchez crying?" Provenza asked, seeing Julio's head drop even further.

"Don't worry. I've got this covered. I can talk her around. No problem" Andy said dismissively, wanting to sound confident but not coming across that way in the slightest.

"That sounded less than convincing it you don't mind me saying Lieutenant" Amy smiled before turning her attention back to Sharon's office as Buzz continued to speak, his head bowed.

"Then we went outside to see where they'd both gone and the next thing we knew Lieutenant Flynn had been punched in the face" Buzz explained.

"And the rest you know or rather seen on the video" Mike added.

Again Sharon nodded, accepting that indeed everything had been perfectly innocent, well three _very_ attached men visiting a strip club aside. "Okay. How exactly did Rusty end up drunk?"

"Sorry Captain, we really don't know" Mike replied, deliberately choosing not to divulge the half story they'd heard from Andy on the matter should it muddy the waters further. "He was drinking the same as Flynn up until we got to…our final destination."

"Then he was sitting with Gus" Julio confirmed.

Mike nodded. "Right up until Gus started dancing with Provenza."

"And Lieutenant Flynn?" Sharon queried. She felt ridiculous calling him 'Lieutenant Flynn' but leaving their personal relationship to one side for a moment, she was asking his colleagues how some underage drinking had taken place so felt better about the situation by keeping it professional.

"Ma'am the moment we stepped foot in there Lieutenant Flynn ran around like a killjoy trying to get us all out of there and I'm not saying that just to get him out of trouble" Julio pointed out.

Sharon tried to suppress a smile, appreciating Julio's valiant attempt to defend and protect his friend and colleague. "Julio trust me it's going to take a lot more than that to get him out of trouble."

A few sly smiles were exchanged between the group before Mike picked up the baton and the tale where Julio left off. "Then he came to sit next to me at the bar. He was on the phone. I assumed he was talking to you from the conversation."

"He was. He did call me."

"Then he went and sat with Rusty in a booth and they didn't move from there until they suddenly both ran outside and all hell proceeded to break lose about forty five minutes later" Mike explained.

"Okay" Sharon nodded. "Thank you all." She stood up and walked to the door, placing her hand on the handle before turning back towards Mike, Julio and Buzz, smiling at them. "If you could keep everything we've discussed to yourselves for a moment until I've had chance to speak to Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza it would be appreciated" she explained, her eyes sparkling as her intent was fully understood. She wanted to torture her boyfriend and his friend, she wanted to torture them as much as humanly possible and ensure they never went anywhere near a strip club ever again.

"Yes ma'am" Julio nodded, taking to his feet.

"Would it help if we looked…worried?"

"That would be perfect Mike thank you. Someone from Professional Standards and Vice will be up shortly to take a couple of statements to get you out of here as quickly as possible."

"Thank you Captain and again we're so sorry" Mike asserted as he stood.

Buzz joined them on his feet before asking "Captain, you wouldn't happen to have any nail polish remover in your office would you?"

Sharon smiled, biting on her lip so she didn't laugh. "I'm sorry Buzz I don't."

"Never mind" he sighed in response.

Sharon gave them all a second to compose themselves as they battled not to laugh at Buzz before opening the door. One by one Mike, Julio and Buzz walked in silence to their desks and sat down, none of them looking up or revealing anything other than they'd just received a severe ear bashing from their Captain. Andy and Provenza looked at them with hope, trying to get any indication as to what Sharon had said to them and how much trouble they were going to be in themselves, knowing full well that if anyone was going to get the blame for the events of the previous evening it was them and not the three gentlemen she had just spoken to. Despite their pleading looks Andy and Provenza got nothing in return, the three recently reprimanded men keeping their heads down and playing their parts to perfection. As Andy and Provenza finally looked up and away from their colleagues they saw Sharon staring back at them with menace. They both swallowed, hard, fearing the worst.

"Stay still. She might not see us if we don't move" Provenza whispered, only moving his mouth.

"She's not a dinosaur you know" Andy replied as he stood up, clearly annoyed.

"You two!" Sharon shouted, making them both jump out of their skins.

"You had to move!" Provenza snarled back to Andy.

"In here! Now!" Sharon shouted, not waiting for a response before she walked back into her office and sat down behind her desk.

"You had to get engaged again!" Andy exclaimed, pushing the blame on Provenza.

"You're blaming me for this?"

"Who else is there?" After Provenza finally stood up he and Andy slowly walked towards Sharon's office and their date with destiny. "Don't worry. I can talk her round" Andy asserted again, still without any real conviction to his voice.

Getting a little impatient Sharon stood. "Lieutenant Flynn!" she shouted, making him jump once again. "What part of the word 'now' was unclear to you? Do you need me to get you a dictionary?"

As they continued their journey Provenza just smirked at Andy, enjoying how much trouble he was in. "Talk her round can you? Where's your winning smile now Clark Gable?"

"I just need to give it time to kick in."

"I think she'll kick you before that happens."

Finally in her office, Provenza and Andy stood to attention in front of her desk, realising that they were currently dealing with their Captain and not Sharon. "Shut the door please." Andy quickly obliged, shutting the door and giving Amy an almost fearful look as she vanished behind it. "Sit down." Following orders they both sat, a little gingerly so, both of them with very sore heads but for vastly different reasons. Again Sharon stared at them in silence, Darth Raydor putting in a further appearance to terrifying effect as they fidgeted uncomfortably in their seats.

Sharon sighed, opening her mouth like she was about to speak but Provenza spoke before she had chance. "Captain before you go on, you don't happen to have the phone number for Dignitas on your person do you?" Sharon simply stared back at him, blinking with exaggeration as she processed his words. "I thought not but wanted to check." Sharon continued to stare at him in silence. "How about aspirin?"

Sharon sighed again. "No but Detective Sykes has some in her desk drawer. Ask her when we're done here Lieutenant." She sat back in her chair, folding her hands into her lap, looking every inch their composed and calm commanding officer. "Officers from Professional Standards and Vice will be up here shortly to take statements from your all."

"Professional Standards? What for?" Provenza exclaimed, extremely unimpressed as Andy remained silent, deciding it was his best tactic under the circumstances.

"For brawling in the street with the suspect of an ongoing joint SIS and Vice investigation Lieutenant, that's why."

Provenza shrugged. "Well technically what was Flynn and not me."

"It wasn't a brawl" Andy explained, not knowing that Sharon had seen the whole incident on film. "He hit me and I just…"

Sharon cut in, not allowing him to explain his way out of it just yet. "Detectives from Professional Standards need to see the footage Lieutenant Cooper took of the altercation and according to the rules you all need to make statements to get you on record in order to cover your backs."

"Ye Gods! The rules!" Provenza shouted, instantly regretting it as his head pounded.

"Rules that are there to protect you Lieutenant should you be accused of any wrongdoing and cover ups in the future so officers from Professional Standards will be up here shortly to take statements." Sharon finally turned to look Andy in the eye, trying her very best to remain looking angry for the time being and not concerned, a feeling that was increasing by the second. "According to Lieutenant Cooper the man who hit you had been speaking on his cell phone not far from you when you were apparently arguing in the parking lot."

"And?" Provenza asked with far more attitude than the situation warranted, a sign of his hangover and the fact he was possibly still a little bit drunk.

"And they couldn't hear what he was saying because, again according to Lieutenant Cooper, you were arguing over who was more frightened of their partner right next to where he had his mic positioned" Sharon explained.

Provenza covered his hand with his mouth and mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear "Right now that would be Flynn."

"Shut up Provenza!" Andy shot back.

"Both of you be quiet!" Sharon ordered. She sighed, trying to remain as composed as humanly possible. "They would like to know if any of you caught what he said or if you saw or heard anything inside the club that may help their case since they were unable to make their arrest last night."

"The deal didn't go down?" Andy asked, distressed by what they'd stumbled into.

"Not since he's been released, no but that was only just over an hour ago. They're hoping that it might still go ahead this afternoon or more likely tonight."

Andy nodded. "Has Cooper's cover been blown?"

"They don't think so thankfully" Sharon replied, smiling for the first time. "It would seem that he bought that a group of moronic LAPD detectives just happened to be in his club with Lieutenant Cooper and his partner joining the party a little later rather than he was being kept under surveillance and a group of morons just so happened to be in attendance at the same time."

"I think morons is a bit strong" Provenza objected.

"Is it Lieutenant?" Sharon asked. "Is it really?"

"That's a relief" Andy cut in, moving the conversation back to work.

"I'll say."

"But do we really need to speak to Professional Standards Captain?" Provenza whined. "My head is killing me. You used to work with them, can't you have a word?"

"No. I'm the one that called them Lieutenant" Sharon informed him making Andy smile, knowing full well she would have called them, more recently loving her even more because of her rule obsession. "Under the circumstances and since we may have a future Lieutenant Sanchez or Captain Tao out there I want everything done by the book so it doesn't come back to haunt them in the future and damage their careers. You're just fortunate that I was able to pull a few strings and get someone down here so quickly at this time on a Sunday otherwise you could be waiting all day. Be grateful for that." Sharon sighed again. "I suggest you go and start your written statement. The sooner you get it done the sooner you can go home and get some sleep."

"Yes Captain."

"Yes Captain."

"This is what happens when you don't take Chief Taylor with you" Sharon told them a little smugly.

Provenza looked perplexed and a little annoyed, quickly working out that Andy had told her the reasons why he hadn't invited Taylor. "How would Taylor have helped?"

"He knew what was going on in that place to begin with."

Provenza nodded. "Point taken."

Andy smiled. "Next time..." he started only to be cut off in his prime.

"There won't be a next time" Sharon and Provenza told him almost simultaneously, both of them certain that this was indeed Provenza's very last marriage.

"Off you go" Sharon said with a nod to the door.

Both men slowly stood up, it being a struggle with how their heads hurt them and made the short journey to the door. Andy opened the door but before he could leave Sharon spoke again. "Not you Lieutenant Flynn. I'd like to speak to you further."

Provenza grimaced at him, not even attempting to hide it from his Captain. "I'll tell your kids you loved them." With those words lingering in the air, Provenza patted him on the back and then walked to his desk, moving at a speed rather quicker than expected given his very delicate condition but wanting to get comfortable before the anticipated fireworks began.

"Shut the door" Sharon instructed with a nod as she stood up. Andy quickly followed her instruction and then moved back to the middle of the room, hovering by his chair but not sitting.

"Do you want me to close the blinds?" he asked, very aware that they had an audience.

"Why? Are you frightened of being yelled at in front of your partners in crime?" she asked. By now Sharon's worry for Andy's welfare had started to catch up and surpass her anger, anger which was now solely caused by Andy allowing Rusty to get drunk, the strippers and getting himself punched in the face but she was still angry nonetheless.

"I was going to say stabbed but okay" he joked but was only met with silence and a stony face. "At least you don't have to see this shirt ever again" he added, pointing at the vast amounts of blood that now stained it. "I think the blood has pretty much ruined it. Silver linings and all that."

Sharon stared at him in silence for a moment before turning around, facing away from him and sitting on the edge of her desk, looking out of the window with her arms crossed and her head resting in her hand. "Put that thing outside."

"What thing?"

"Your _friend_ " Sharon sighed, making it clear she meant the blow up doll.

Andy looked at the doll attached to his wrist. "I can't."

"What?"

"I can't get the damn cuffs off and they glued the valve shut so I can't let it down" he explained. Very slowly and very calmly Sharon stood, grabbing something from her desk drawer and hiding it behind her hands before turning around to face him. Andy watched nervously as Sharon approached him, taking half a step backwards without realising it. Suddenly without warning the object in her hand was revealed to be a pair of scissors and before Andy had chance to process what was happening Sharon stabbed her namesake in the stomach, instantly deflating her and making the neck slip out of the handcuffs and slipping to the floor. Andy just stared at her for a moment, utterly gobsmacked, a mixture of shock and arousal doing battle across his face. With the doll 'dead' Sharon quickly walked back around her desk, dropping the scissors and giving herself space so she didn't smack him. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Why indeed."

Back in the Murder Room everyone watched from their desks with their mouths hanging open. "Holy crap!" Mike shouted.

"Did the Captain just stab 'Sharon'?" Julio asked, not believing his own eyes.

"I think she did" Buzz nodded.

Julio shrugged. "At least she's not turned him into a eunuch."

"Yet" Amy laughed.

"Oh poor Flynn." Provenza laughed, unable to contain himself "The Captain is going to tear into him like a monkey with a cupcake."

"Got any popcorn Tao?" Julio asked with a smile.

As if on cue two Detectives from Vice entered and stood behind Provenza with smirks on their faces, effectively ending their fun. "And here they are, the Major Criminally Moronic Division. We have some questions for you" the older of the two Detectives announced.

"Now?" Provenza said with exasperation.

"Yes, now."

Provenza sighed. "You people have the worst timing."

"Excuse me?" the Detective scoffed. " _We_ have the worst timing?"

Provenza thought for a moment and then nodded, agreeing with them and dragging his focus away from the conversation taking place in the Captain's office. "Just when I was beginning to enjoy myself."

"You were enjoying yourself?" Mike asked, surprised.

"So that's what it looks like on your face" Amy commented.

Back in Sharon's office not a word had been spoken since the other Sharon's demise with Andy allowing her time to calm down before daring to open his mouth should she feel compelled to reach for the scissors again. Not feeling like he could leave it again longer he declared "You're mad. I can see that."

"How very perceptive of you" Sharon replied dryly.

"Can I sit?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't." It came out meaner than she wanted. She was currently still conflicted, a constant battle between her sympathy and her anger with anger currently winning but that could change second to second.

"Okay."

Sharon began to pace back and forth behind her desk in silence, occasionally stopping and taking a step towards him to speak before changing her mind and continuing to pace back and forth again. Eventually she stopped directly in front of him, looking him square in the eye. "I can't believe you could be so stupid. I'm just so...so..." Unable to find the appropriate words other than of the four lettered variety that she never ever used, Sharon simply stooped down, grabbed the doll's leg and proceeded to beat him about the head with it, being very careful to avoid his obvious injury.

"Ow!"

Sharon dropped the doll. "That's the least you deserve."

"I'm just grateful you didn't stab me like Sharon." Upon hearing her name associated with the now dead doll Sharon glared at him, her eyes almost burning a hole in his brain. "Provenza named her not me. It was part of a game" he was quick to point out. Sharon rolled her eyes, sitting on the edge of her desk in front of him and burying her head in her hands. "I'm sorry okay? Am I an idiot? Of course I am. Did I allow things to get slightly out of hand last night? Maybe. Was it my fault? Absolutely not. Did we nearly blow a two month operation? Almost. Could it have been avoided? Possibly. Have I…"

"Stop. Please stop" Sharon said, raising her hand. "I've heard a version of this speech many times before."

"And you'll probably hear it again before they put the tag on my toe and close the drawer but it's done now and I can't change that. All I can do is apologise."

Sharon looked up to meet his eye, shaking her head in disbelief. "When I told you I wanted you to wake me up in an inventive way I didn't mean this! I meant...Andy! How could you be so stupid?"

"I'm sorry okay? I don't know what else to say and I know you and Taylor and Pope have heard this enough times from me in the past but it really wasn't my fault this time."

"Really?" Sharon replied, her scepticism evident. "With your reputation combined with Lieutenant Provenza's you'd see how we'd all be suspicious of your claims."

"I know and I understand fully but give me a second and I'll explain." Andy paused for a second, wondering where best to begin. "Buzz and Julio started it."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Passing the buck already? How original."

"No. Look for clarity before I go any further can you confirm who I'm talking to please."

"What are you talking about?" Sharon asked, concern etched all over her face. "How hard did he hit you?" Sharon stood and moved towards him, running her hand down the side of his face tenderly.

"Really hard." Andy carefully touched his eye. "I think my brain is still rattling around inside my head. The guy was like a superhero. I think his bones were made out of steel."

"Do you need me to call the paramedics?" Sharon asked, putting her hand on his shoulder and getting him to sit down.

"No I'm fine" Andy reassured her as she crouched beside him. "What I mean is am I explaining myself to my Captain or to my girlfriend first because I suspect that they're mad about very different things?"

Sharon sighed. "Given that it's a Sunday morning and you're without sleep and the fact that you've got to make a statement to Vice and Professional Standards before we can leave how about you talk to both of us at once to save time." She stood and sat back down on the edge of her desk, her concern over Andy's health easing slightly.

"Okay. Like I said Buzz and Julio started it." Sharon instantly rolled her eyes, feeling like she was listening to Ricky blame Emily for painting on his bedroom wall. "I know, I know but they did. Look we left the bar and we were heading to the cars to move on when Julio spots that place across the street and heads over there. The next thing I knew Buzz was following with Provenza and Mike in tow." Sharon sighed, accepting his explanation but still not happy about it. "You told me to not let him out of my sight so I didn't."

"Oh Andy!"

"I know that's a lame excuse but we had a ten minute debate in the parking lot about going in there" Andy explained. "I said I didn't want to and couldn't take Rusty in there but with Mike happy to follow Provenza I had no choice in the matter. I spent what seemed like forever chasing them around..."

"The women?" Sharon asked, cutting him off.

"No, the guys. I tried to round them up and get them out of there as quickly as possible but it would have been easier to train a racoon to cook a stir fry. In the end I gave up, told them we were only staying for one drink and one drink only and after I called you I sat down with Rusty." Andy laughed. "It was good actually, we ended up having a really good talk about stuff" he smiled.

Sharon couldn't help but smile in return, pleased that they were more than just getting along now, they were starting to have a real relationship. "Really?"

"Yes. He even apologised for running out on me at the bus station, remember back when with his Mom."

Sharon's smile quickly faded as she shook her head. "Then how did he end up drunk?"

Andy sighed, knowing he was going to have a problem getting Sharon to believe the next part of his story. "There were a ton of half empty glasses on the table when we sat down." As anticipated Sharon instantly rolled her eyes at him with disbelief. "There was!" Andy protested. "Look sometimes they're not as quick to clean tables as they are in other places because they get...well…distracted."

"I'm sure I wouldn't know."

"Anyway Rusty and I were talking and he said 'Like' so he had to do a forfeit and…"

"Wait. What?" Sharon asked confused.

"We were playing a game all night where if you said the wrong thing you had to do a forfeit. Everyone had their own word and if we said it we had to do whatever our selected forfeit was. Rusty's word was 'Like' and when he said it he had to run a lap around the bar."

Sharon laughed quietly to herself, the random appearance of some of her squad suddenly making perfect sense. "Wait a second, what was your word?"

Andy smiled as he met her eyes. "'Sharon.'" Again she rolled her eyes at him in disbelief. "Honestly it was."

"I see. And your forfeit?"

"My what?" Andy asked, making out like he hadn't heard her as a stalling tactic.

"Your forfeit. I assume this is the reason why Julio isn't wearing any pants and Buzz has cocktail sticks glued to his face."

"It is." Andy paused and sighed. "They waxed me" he said a little reluctantly.

Sharon almost swallowed her tongue with surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. They waxed me."

Sharon covered her mouth with her hand, trying very hard not to laugh. "Where did you get it from?"

"Julio brought some waxing strips with him along with the super glue for Buzz's face just for the occasion. I dread to think what else he has in that bag of horrors."

"So it's okay for Julio to wax your legs but not me?" Sharon asked, the conversation they had about that very subject the evening before looming large in her mind. Then suddenly mimicking Andy's voice as best she could Sharon said "'What if I ever have to go undercover with a prostitute and everyone sees on the monitors that you've waxed me?'"

Andy looked decidedly unimpressed. "It was a forfeit, I had no choice in the matter and it's not just my legs" he admittedly, looking at the ground for comfort.

"What?"

"They did my chest as well."

Sharon's hand moved even further across her mouth, desperate to laugh, almost making her lip bleed she was chewing on it so hard. "Interesting. Well let me see" she said with a beaming smile as she uncovered her face.

"What?" Andy asked, confused by the smile on her face having excepted her to be furious about what they'd done to him.

"Show me" she said again like she asking to see a dog do a new trick.

Andy looked around, seeing not only the rest of the squad but also the two Detectives from Vice half watching him through the glass. "Here? At work? With everyone watching?"

"We're not at work," Sharon replied in almost a whisper, "it's nine o'clock in the morning on a Sunday and it strikes me they've all already seen everything you've got under there so show me."

Andy sighed as he very slowly took to his feet. "What do you want to see first?"

"Let's start with your legs and work our way up from there." Andy nodded before bending down and pulling up the legs of his jeans to reveal the bald and still very red patches of skin. Sharon's hand instantly went back to her mouth, covering it as she tried very hard not to laugh, her ribs and her stomach hurting as she kept her mirth at bay.

"Just so you know, Rusty took great pleasure in doing that one" he said, pointing to the spot just below his knee.

"Okay" Sharon nodded when she was able to fully compose herself. "And your chest." Andy stood up straight and began to unbutton his shirt from top to bottom, his actions very slow and deliberate like he was performing a striptease act. He kept his shirt front together until the very last moment when he opened it to reveal his very unusually patterned chest. It was instantly too much for Sharon, she burst out laughing, snorting like crazy as she bordered on wetting herself at the sight she saw before her. Aside from the fuss he made about keeping his 'fur coat' intact, Sharon knew what a ridiculously big baby Andy could be when it came to pain so imagined the sort of scene he made as they waxed him, making her laugh even more. It was also clear that he'd been waxed at least nine times, meaning that despite the threat he faced, he simply couldn't stop talking about her, a fact that pleased her no end.

"It's not funny" Andy protested as a small smile spreading to his face, relaxing himself as Sharon laughed.

"Oh but it is."

"My chest feels like it's on fire" he complained while clutching the patches of skin that still looked very angry.

"You look like a squirrel with mange" Sharon told him through the laughter, her eyes filling with tears.

"Thanks for the sympathy."

Instantly the laughter stopped as Sharon pointed a finger at him. "You've been to a strip club and got my son drunk. You don't deserve my sympathy right now."

"Okay. Fair enough." Sharon couldn't look at him any longer, her laughter starting again. "Stop laughing. It's not funny."

"It's like your whole body is smiling at me" she added, laying a hand on his chest to feel the difference, scraping her nails up and down him like she so often did.

"That's what I said but you can trust me it isn't. Provenza nearly ripped my God damn nipple off." Still annoyed Andy began to button his shirt back up again, knowing that if he managed to talk Sharon round that morning that this would not be the only time she'd laugh at his deformed body.

"With the wax?"

"Of course with the wax."

"Well forgive me but I don't know what else you got up to last night. Considering you assured me you were going out for just a couple of quiet drinks and nothing more it seems like you did everything but" Sharon stated and letting him know just how unhappy she was about the whole situation on a personal level.

"Yeah well things escalated. I'm in agony."

"Until you've given birth you don't know what real pain is. Now back to the reason you went from being waxed to letting Rusty get drunk."

"I didn't let him I…" Andy started with a raised voice before composing himself, realising he had no right to be angry. "Rusty didn't feel comfortable running around the club which isn't exactly surprising so I told him to finish his drink in one go like Provenza."

Sharon moved to the glass and stared at her second in command, currently the butt of the jokes from those in attendance from Vice. As he took it all, he sat with his head in his hands looking truly awful, focusing as best he could on the piece of paper in front of him, trying to make his statement. "Which explains why he's so hungover."

"Exactly and I don't know he must have picked up the wrong glass I guess. The moment he did it and the taste hit him he realised what happened" Andy was quick to add, desperate to dig both of them out of the hole they currently found themselves in.

Sharon nodded, again accepting the explanation being offered to her until she suddenly frowned. "Then why didn't he stop if he realised it tasted funny?"

Andy shrugged, still a little confused about that himself. "You're better off asking him that not me."

"Oh believe me I will as soon as he stops looking quite so green." Sharon crossed her office to check on Rusty and Gus in the Conference Room. Rusty sat asleep with his head on his table while Gus looked at the photos on his phone, occasionally encouraging Rusty to drink his water. Sharon sighed as she looked at her son. "Well he's paid the price for it now."

"No kidding. You've got no worries about the kid ever drinking again. If being surrounded by abusive alcoholics wasn't enough to put him off for life he really doesn't have the stomach for it" Andy joked, stating the obvious. "My plan was to get Mike to keep an eye on Provenza while I took Rusty back to my place to wait for him to sober up, put him in the shower and wash the vomit from his clothes before coming back to pick Provenza and Gus up but we didn't make it that far. Rusty emptied the contents of his stomach on some guy's car who took exception to it and hit me when I tried to stop him from touching Rusty and then the next thing I know everyone else had joined us and it was a free for all. I had no idea SIS were set up outside until Coop and Amy were there and arresting us along with the asshole that hit me so their op wasn't blown." As Andy fell silent Sharon sighed again and sat back down on the edge of her desk facing him. "So? Tell me, how much trouble am I in?" he asked almost afraid to look up and meet her eye.

"In what capacity?"

Andy looked up. He was a sorry sight if ever Sharon had seen one. He looked exhausted and in pain and worst of all he could take nothing for it. But aside from all of that he looked worried. Despite his best efforts he'd done the one thing he swore he'd never do, he'd let Sharon down, in his mind at least anyway. "The one I care about the most."

Sharon folded her arms. "Well Chief Taylor..."

"That's not what I meant" Andy said quickly. "I've reached the point in my life where I can do without my job and in the cold light of day we did nothing wrong professionally but personally...well I can't live without you."

Sharon smiled at him, a smile that make his knees weak, a smile for the first time that morning (laughing at his chest aside). She shook her head at him. "You're right. On a professional level you didn't do anything wrong."

"And on a personal level?" he asked, hoping that smile meant he was going to be let off the hook.

Sharon laughed. "You really are an idiot."

"Ah the 'Andy Effect' strikes once more" he said, winking with his good eye. It was no exaggeration to say that since they'd been dating, and even when they were just friends, Sharon's use of the term 'idiot' and 'moron' had multiplied tenfold. Andy put it down to him rubbing off on her like she had rubbed off on him but since every time she used either word she aimed them at him, Sharon put it down to him just being a colossal imbecile.

"Oh shut up" Sharon said, desperately trying to hide her smile. "It has nothing to do with you having an effect on me and everything to do with you being the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life."

"I know but you wouldn't have me any other way I hope" he replied as he edged closer to her, pushing his luck a little.

"I haven't got much choice, old dogs and new tricks and all that."

"Dog?"

Sharon smiled. "In every way imaginable and not just because the boys think you look like a human version of the dog from _Lady and the Tramp_."

"Actually they said we look like both of..."

"We're not talking about me" Sharon stated at she cut him off, not at all keen on the comparison no matter how amusing Andy thought it was. On New Year's Day Andy and Sharon had spent the afternoon with Nicole, Dean and the boys at their house (Sharon was very quick to take them up on their invitation, only too pleased to spend time with them and encourage every single bit of contact between Andy and his children). While the adults (and sometimes that term was used loosely to describe Andy and Nicole when they were in a certain mood at the same time) chatted away and got to know Sharon better the boys sat on the floor watching cartoons. After _Pinocchio_ had finished (a film which traumatised both of them and Andy for that matter) _Lady and the Tramp_ came on when the boys, quickly followed by Nicole, noticed the striking similarities both physically and in terms of personality that Andy and Sharon shared with the two leading dogs. Although she agreed that in every way shape and form Andy was the Tramp, Sharon was a little put out by her comparison with Lady but by then it was too late. Whether they liked it or not the whole family was quickly beginning to think of them as those dogs in human form.

"So I'm not in any trouble?" Andy asked again, desperately seeking clarity.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"Okay" Andy nodded. "Lay it on me. I can take it."

"Well for starters you're definitely grounded."

Andy laughed. "I'm what?"

"You heard me. You and your little friend out there" she added pointing at Provenza rather than as expected the rather ill looking Rusty. "You're both grounded."

Andy smirked. "Patrice knows?"

"Are you kidding? Of course Patrice knows. You didn't expect her to call me when she woke up and realised he hadn't come home?"

"I guess I hadn't really thought about it" Andy shrugged. "I was too busy being worried about Rusty and you" he said, trying his best to grovel until he shook his head and suddenly remembered what Provenza had told him earlier. "But he said he'd texted Patrice and told her there was a murder and we'd been called into work last night."

"Apparently not until after she had called me to see if I knew where you were while I was getting dressed."

Andy covered his mouth and proceeded to laugh until his sides hurt, knowing full well that Provenza was going to be in even more trouble than him now that Patrice knew he'd blatantly lied to her. "She's going to murder him."

Sharon again looked towards her doomed second in command only to see the eyes of everyone in the Murder Room paying her far too much attention, more than she was comfortable with given the conversation she was having. Sharon quickly moved to the window and closed the blinds, seeking immediate privacy but leaving them open to the Conference Room so she could see Rusty. "Oh I think that was highly likely even before he lied to her." She paused for a moment, meeting Andy's eye. "Too worried about Rusty and me?" she asked, going back to his earlier comment.

"Of course" Andy replied quietly and, more importantly given the situation, sincerely.

Sharon chewed on her lip as she battled not to smile at him. "Yeah well I appreciate you looking out for Rusty but you're still grounded" she confirmed.

"Okay" Andy laughed. "What does that mean exactly?"

"The next time you even so much as think about going out with your boyfriend..."

"He's not my..." Andy started to protest.

"I hadn't finished. The next time you even so much as think about going out with your boyfriend you can think again."

Andy nodded, accepting it gladly if that was his only punishment. "How long for exactly?"

"At least a couple of months."

"You know I think I can live with that" Andy smiled, his relief obvious. "Anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Like me losing my 'broadband privileges' for the next six months for example" he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows and a smoulder to ensure his euphemism was fully understood. He wanted to hug her, was desperate to wrap his arms around her and whisper how sorry he was in her ear but given the glint in her eye and how annoyed she was about the strippers, left it up to her to make the first move.

Sharon tried not to laugh, failing miserably. "Not at the moment." Andy just smirked in response, attempting to close the gap between them further. He didn't make it far. Sharon stretched out her arm and placed a hand on his chest, ensuring he kept his distance. He may have explained everything away and earned an awful lot of sympathy because of his eye but he'd still spent the evening at a strip club. "But that situation could change at any given moment Lieutenant" she warned, her eyes sparkling.

"Okay. Understood" Andy nodded. "So the odds on me ever having sex again are like what? Sixty percent? Seventy?" he asked, shooting for the moon under the circumstances.

"More like twenty."

"Twenty?" Andy repeated, that figure not reaching the moon, not even getting past Earth's atmosphere.

"Strippers Andy! Strippers!" Sharon reminded him loudly.

"Okay" Andy said in response with an extremely hang dog expression and eliciting even more sympathy and affection from Sharon as she smiled at him despite trying very hard not to.

"But keep telling me your eye hurts and you were only trying to defend and protect Rusty and those numbers might change in your favour."

Andy grinned as he tried to contain his glee. "Okay. That's fine. I'll take twenty percent. It's no less than I deserve."

With that Sharon crumbled, unable to keep him in the dog house and keep her hands off his battered and sorry form a moment longer. "Oh come here." Sharon stood, opening up her arms to him. Within a flash he was in them, wrapping their arms around each other tightly as they held each other (aside from a quick flinch from Andy caused by his sore chest coming into contact with her body).

"Careful."

"Your eye?" she asked with concern.

"No, my chest."

Sharon rolled her eyes, knowing she was going to have to listen to him complaining about his sore chest for weeks. They continued to hold each other in silence for what felt like an age, both of them swaying from side to side slightly as they buried their faces into each other's neck. Emotional sighs left their mouths, their first real 'discussion' for it was hardly an argument over. They'd been worried, both of them. Andy was genuinely worried that his own stupidity and history of mischief and disasters had ruined his relationship, feeling so out of his depths in what was his first adult relationship, constantly fearing breaking it. Then there was Sharon who had been almost beside herself with worry from the moment Cooper told her that Andy had been assaulted and that was before she'd witnessed it and seen the damage caused. She couldn't help but run the 'What ifs' through her mind. What if it had been worse? What if Cooper and Shaw and everyone else hadn't made it to him in time? What if he'd had a weapon? It didn't bear thinking about and yet it was all she could think about now that she held him in her arms. "You're covered in glitter" she said finally.

"I know. We all are. It was everywhere and I mean everywhere."

"It's very fetching" she laughed as her hands slipped underneath his leather jacket and started to move up and down his back, clutching him as tight as she could.

"I feel like I've had an all over body vajazzle" Andy replied a little ill advisedly.

Sharon pulled back a little and looked him in the eyes with a frown. "And how do you know what one of those is exactly?" she enquired like she was in an interview room.

Andy shrugged, that smug but oh so sexy smile on his face. "I know stuff."

"Far too much stuff if you ask me."

He sighed, rubbing his hands up and down her back in response. "I'm sorry."

Sharon smiled. "I know you are but do you think you'll ever be able to go out for a quiet evening and not have it end up as a disaster of apocalyptic proportions and getting beaten to a pulp?"

"I can only hope. Are you going to trade me in for Mr Johnson?"

Sharon laughed. "It's highly likely."

"I knew I shouldn't have sent him up to you." Andy fell silent for a moment as he studied her face. She looked tired, an obvious sign that she'd been waiting up for him and he went and ruined it all. "You're really not mad?"

"About what? I have so many options. There's the fact that you almost blew an SIS operation, you took my son into a strip club, you allowed my son to get drunk..."

"Accidentally" Andy was quick to remind her.

Sharon nodded. "Right. To accidentally get drunk and then you got involved in a fist fight all when you swore you were going to be doing nothing more than having a quiet drink."

"Yeah well..."

"A fist fight when you're still on light duties!" Sharon suddenly shouted, concern written all over her face as she looked at his latest injuries. "Light duties Andy!" she repeated, hoping that it might sink into his brain what her biggest problem was. "What were you thinking? I can't believe you would do something like that while you're still not even cleared for the field!" Unable to control herself any longer Sharon released him, took a step back, picked up 'Sharon' off the ground and proceeded to beat him about the arms and chest with it once again.

To his credit Andy just stood there and took it, beginning to understand (strippers aside) what Sharon was most upset about. It was clear to him that she was pleased and beyond proud of the way he stood between Rusty and danger but in doing so he had put himself in the firing line yet again and had the scars to prove it. "Ow!" Andy said rather pathetically once Sharon had stopped beating him.

"I'm sorry."

Andy smiled. "I have very sensitive nipples now. It's something you'll have to get used to."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Of course you do you big baby." She dropped her namesake to the floor and grabbed him again, her arms going back under his jacket as she held him close, their bodies flush together, inhaling his very distinctive scent. "Why did you let him hit you?" she asked finally, her lips mere millimetres from his ear. "What were you thinking?"

"Duck mainly" he joked. "I didn't think he was actually going to hit me. I was too busy trying to protect Rusty to think about what he might do to me. Anyway, rather me than the kid right?"

Again she pulled back slightly to meet his eyes so she could be certain he was listening to her and understanding what she was saying to him. "Andy you're still recovering from lifesaving surgery following a blood clot. What if the impact with the car has caused it to happen again? What if this latest 'dust up' results in another blood clot? You tell me not to worry about your health and your blood pressure but when you keep doing..."

The worry on Sharon's face was clear for him to see. He'd been an idiot. He knew she loved him and it should have occurred to him earlier to warn her about how he looked, how hard he'd been hit. She had never stopped worrying about his health from the moment he didn't return from the airport and this was only going to make it worse. "I'm fine" he said as he stroked her face with his fingertips, lying through his teeth. His head was currently pounding like a giant was stomping on it but he didn't want to worry her further. "Sharon I'm fine. A little sore which is mainly from where I've been waxed but otherwise fine."

"That's what you thought last time and then it almost killed you." Andy shushed her for a moment, pulling her back towards him and holding her so tightly it was hard to tell where he ended and she began. "I just..."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll make an appointment with my Doctor as soon as we're done here just to make sure that we don't have a repeat performance, okay?"

Sharon sighed. "Thank you."

After a few more moments of closeness Andy pulled back a little. "So taking all of that into account to save time, it still sounds like I'm in a lot of trouble."

"Well once again my division looks like it's out of control and populated by overpaid morons but if you're telling the truth..."

"Which I am" he was quick to clarify once again.

"Which I believe and with the video that Lieutenant Cooper has of the whole incident to back you up and Rusty honestly picked up the wrong glass then none of it was your fault so aside from me being annoyed that you've spent the evening with a group of strippers…"

"It was hardly the evening. It was more like an hour maximum" he stated until he saw Darth Raydor staring back at him. "Not that it matters. Sorry, please continue."

"Taking all that into account you're in no real trouble with me."

"Which 'me' is that exactly? The location suggests my Captain but your hand on my ass suggests my girlfriend" he said with a smouldering smile.

"My hand isn't anywhere near..."

"It could be."

Sharon jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "Don't push your luck."

"Yes ma'am."

"I'm not mad about anything other than the strippers" she declared finally, letting him know it would be a while before that little fact was fully forgiven. "These things happen but I wish they'd stop happening to you with such alarming frequency."

"You're not the only one."

Silence once again fell on the room as they moved a little closer, each resting their heads on the other's shoulder again. After a moment Sharon pulled back and gave him a questioning look. "And what happened at Lieutenant Provenza's house exactly?"

"Nothing" Andy replied quickly, his nostrils flaring as it became obvious quite quickly that he was lying.

"You weren't nearly shot by a couple of patrol officers on his driveway?"

"How do you know about that?"

"I looked into my magic mirror. How do you think? Patrice called me after you'd left."

Andy puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "Damn it! I hate it when Provenza's right" he sighed. Provenza had warned him multiple times from the very first moment they'd begun dating properly that allowing Sharon and Patrice to become friends was a mistake. He knew that would lead to them calling each other all the time, sharing information and telling tales meaning that neither gentleman would ever get away with anything ever again. Andy told him he was crazy but evidently he was wrong, that was exactly what was happening and if he was honest, unlike Provenza, he liked it.

"Pardon?" Sharon asked, confused.

"Nothing. It was nothing really, just a huge misunderstanding."

Sharon frowned. "It seems like you had a lot of those last night."

Andy looked at 'Sharon' lying on the floor with her legs wrapped around her neck. "We were hiding my sadly deceased friend from Patrice by stuffing her in the trunk. Not Patrice but the..."

"I understand Andy."

"Anyway it seems like someone saw us and maybe called 911."

Sharon shook her head while she smiled at him. "You really are an idiot."

"Don't blame me for that. Rusty was the one that..." he started before Sharon started to glare at him, not allowing him to pass the buck where his inflatable friend was concerned. "Yes I really am an idiot" he confirmed.

Sharon slowly and carefully ran her fingers down the side of his face, brushing his bruised and swollen eye. "Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital to have that looked at properly? You could have a concussion."

"No I'm fine" he replied, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips, kissing the very end of her fingertips tentatively given their location. "Honestly. Trust me it's not like the last time. I promise."

"Okay. If you say so. I'm going to have to start wrapping you in bubble wrap."

"Bubble wrap?" Andy laughed.

"For your own protection."

"Not a bad idea. I think I did more damage to the car than it did to me."

"That's no surprise. I remember what you did to my bathroom floor tile with that big hard head of yours."

"I've fixed it haven't I?"

"Not really no" Sharon pointed out. Andy thought for a moment and since he had installed the new tile upside down because he claimed Sharon had 'distracted him' by merely standing in the doorway, watching him and ogling him, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"How bad does it look?"

"My bathroom floor or?" she asked with a smile as she again gently touched the side of his face. "I'll be honest it looks pretty bad. Thank you for getting it checked out and getting yourself some sort of stitches at least." She sighed as she just looked at him, enjoying having him so close and staring into those dark beautiful eyes. "You really can't go more than a couple of weeks without having a black eye recently can you?"

"Well one of them was..." he started as he prepared to remind her of the black eye she inflicted on him that very first night they slept together.

"Don't" she warned him sternly.

Andy laughed. "I'll get some aspirin off Amy and ice it. I'll be fine."

"Luckily for you Lieutenant, you happen to look pretty damn sexy with a black eye."

"'Damn'?" Andy asked, his eyes blinking rapidly with mock shock. "What a dirty mouth you have Captain as the 'Andy Effect' strikes again."

"Oh shut up before you have a matching bruise on your other eye."

Andy smiled, taking her threat seriously since he knew the damage she could do when she was asleep, let alone when she was awake and extremely pissed off. He moved a lock of hair behind her ear as he tilted his head and smiled in a way that would normally drive her wild with desire in a more private setting, knowing exactly what he was doing and what it would do to her. With that in mind he asked "So do you still like me?"

"No" Sharon stated, knowing exactly what he was trying to do to her.

"No?"

"No" she repeated. "I don't like you right now but I'm very proud of you and I still love you and that'll have to do for the time being."

"Okay" Andy nodded, continuing to smile at her in a way that had previously got her into bed instantly without any words needed for extra encouragement.

Sharon stared back at him, unimpressed and unmoved by his attempt to get back into her good books and seemingly back into her bed. "Don't."

"Don't what?" he asked, his smile becoming a smoulder.

"You know what."

"I'm not doing anything" he protested but not changing the look on his face.

"Stop looking at me like that. You won't be able to smoulder your way out of this one."

"It was worth a try. But you still love me?" he asked again.

"Despite my best efforts yes, yes I do. It's fortunate for you that that eye is giving you a lot of sympathy, not least because you got it standing between my son and danger, protecting him like he was your own."

"One day he might be and what else was I going to do? I wasn't going to let some asshole lay a finger on him."

"Thank you. But I'm still mad about the strippers" she said quickly.

"I know" he nodded, accepting that he had a lot to do to make it up to her about that small transgression even though it really wasn't his fault.

Andy winked at her again with his good eye and that was it for Sharon, she couldn't keep her hands off him any longer. With flats on she was noticeably shorter than him so taking to her tiptoes she rose up and planted her lips to his. It was long and it was lingering and filled with emotion and she simply didn't care they were technically at work. The blinds were closed, it was a Sunday and it really didn't matter. All that mattered was after arriving at PAB very angry, obtaining the full facts and discovering what had happened, discovering how events had spiralled out of his control and against him, that regardless Andy had protected Rusty at great expense to himself, despite all of that, he was okay, he was there in her arms and she loved him. When they finally broke apart she moved her hands from his back and rubbed his arms a couple of times. "Go and make your statements so we can get out of here."

"What about Rusty?"

"Gus is going to take him home and stay with him until we get back."

Andy went to move before he suddenly processed the words Sharon had just used. "Wait, did you say 'we'?"

As Andy grinned at her Sharon tried her hardest not to respond. "I figured my place is closer since you've been up all night and might need the sleep. Plus I still want to keep an eye on you just in case you have a concussion." Andy smiled again. "If I were you I'd stop smiling now before I change my mind."

"Yes ma'am." Andy crossed the small gap to the door but paused with his hand on the handle. "I am really sorry" he said again. "I didn't know, about any of it. I'm sorry we've embarrassed you and the department and I'm sorry if I made you worry about me again. But more importantly I'm sorry I broke my promise to you. It will never happen again, I swear."

"I know. I know you won't. And I know it wasn't your fault but regardless I'm always going to worry about you for the rest of my life Andy because I love you. Go on." Andy nodded with a smile and a huge sigh of relief, leaving her office and closing the door behind him. Alone at last Sharon looked around her, being in work and sorting out this mess was the last thing she expected to be doing that morning. She glanced at Rusty and Gus in the Conference Room and went to pick up her phone to call and see where the Patrolman was she had requested to take them home when it started to ring. "Oh what now?" she cried before picking up her cell and answering it. "Captain Raydor, Major Crimes."

"Yes Captain Raydor" an unfamiliar voice said on the other end of the line. Sharon looked puzzled, pulling her phone away from her ear and looking at the number on the screen, it being as unfamiliar as the voice. "Good morning, my name is Walter Hibbert."

"Good morning Mr Hibbert."

"How are you on this beautiful Sunday morning Captain?"

"I'm fine thank you" Sharon replied, glancing at Rusty again before turning her attention to her watch and sighing at the time.

"Good, good. I hope you don't mind me calling you but one of your former colleagues was kind enough to give me your cell number."

"Of course not" Sharon said kindly but still a little confused. "Forgive me Sir for being rather blunt but I'm actually at work this morning and rather busy at the moment so if you could cut to the chase. What is it I can help you with?" she asked, not wanting to sound rude but having little time for strange phone calls with strange men.

"Oh you're at work? I'm sorry. Since it's a Sunday I was hoping to avoid calling you when you were busy but okay, time is a factor, I get it so I'll get straight to the point." He paused for a moment making Sharon think the line had gone dead. "Captain Raydor I'm calling from the NFL headquarters in New York." He paused again. "I have a job offer for you."

Sharon's eyes widened, shocked and surprised by what she was hearing. Had this been five years ago while she was still at FID and the bane of every cop's existence in the LAPD she would have assumed it was a practical joke. The NFL? She was far too old to be drafted as a running back for the Packers. She blinked a couple of times finally, looking around her as if someone was about to leap out at her from behind a chair and laugh like she was featuring on a hidden camera show. "Excuse me?" she asked, utterly bewildered by what she was hearing.

"Have you got five minutes for us to talk? I think you're going to want to hear this."


	20. Chapter 20

_Once again let me start by saying thank you for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter, I really appreciate them. To the Guest who informed me that I "suck ass" I have to be honest, I gave that up in the Spring of 1999 because it kept giving me chapped lips. If you'd be so kind as to leave a review for this chapter I'd appreciate it or you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Now I've made some character decisions in this chapter that I'm sure not everyone will agree with but it's the way I wanted to go. We will never see a situation like this on the show (I'm assuming) so we've got no idea how Sharon or Andy would react, this is just the way I see the characters reacting and in truth there's a lot of me in both characters._

 _I said some time ago that since my other story_ _ **Just One More Thing**_ _fitted with what happened on the show after Andy's heart attack perfectly, that I would eventually feed it into this story. I'm nowhere near that stage yet obviously but some of that story has found its way into this chapter, so if you think you've read a small section of this before, you probably have if you've read that other story._

 _This chapter is split into three with the first story (Rusty and Gus) and the third story (Provenza and Patrice) being a LOT shorter than the middle story (Sharon and Andy). I'm guessing some of you won't like the first story, if you're one of them don't worry it's not very long but they are all sort of connected._ _ **A big thank you to Kadi219 for letting me play with her sperm (since I asked you in January it's taken me a long time to get to this point).**_

 _This chapter takes place on Valentine's Day 2016. The next chapter focuses on the NFL job offer and will take place directly before the start of Hindsight. If you'd like to read it let me know._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty**

He tapped his foot on the floor and looked at his watch for what must have been the tenth time in the last two minutes. Gus was annoyed. He didn't get annoyed very often, always deciding to err on the side of calmness and relaxation because in most situations, what good did anger do anybody? He'd also learned fairly quickly that if he was indeed going to enter into a relationship with someone like Rusty Beck then he needed to be incredibly patient and not get irritated at his behaviour quite as quickly as perhaps he would with other people but even so, on this occasion Rusty's behaviour had annoyed him. He sighed as he looked at his watch again, no more than five seconds had passed since the last time. Rusty was now over an hour late without so much as a text message to warn him or explain his tardiness. Gus started to pace, going back and forth from the doors of the movie theatre at The Grove to the fountain a few steps away and back again, the now redundant movie tickets clutched in his hand.

Coming to a stop he took a long look to his left and to his right, searching for Rusty through the crowds of people. It was busy, very busy but it was Valentine's Day and everyone was having a date night to celebrate, everyone except him and Rusty so it seemed. He walked back to the doors and took out his cell phone, checking again to see if Rusty had called or sent him a message which he hadn't heard due to the fairly loud hum of couples enjoying themselves as the sun began to set. There was nothing, no text, no missed call, no explanation, no nothing. He sighed again as he pocketed his phone.

Gus had just decided he was going to give Rusty five more minutes before leaving and not speaking to him again for a week (once he was certain that he wasn't dead in a ditch or injured) when he saw him walking very slowly towards him. Like Gus, Rusty was dressed very smartly for a simple night at the movies but unlike Gus he had a bright red and fully inflated heart shaped balloon attached to his hand. Rusty looked up and met his eye from a distance as he closed the gap between them, he looked more than a tad sheepish and like he'd rather be anywhere else in the world than where he currently found himself.

Within an instant Gus stomped towards him, an angry expression on his face, the movie tickets now scrunched up in his clenched fist. "Rusty! Where have you been? The movie started over thirty minutes ago!" Gus shouted, not caring a jot who heard him as he fumed, had he been a cartoon character there would have been smoke coming from his ears.

"I'm sorry. I was…" Rusty started awkwardly. "I was here early but then I was…I'm sorry."

Gus looked at him with utter exasperation as he processed his words, blinking like he'd just discovered how to do it for the first time. Rusty had arrived early but ended up getting to him an hour late? Gus shook his head in disbelief. When they had started dating Rusty made it clear to him that he had no idea what he was doing in a relationship, that he was completely inexperienced and as it turned out that was an understatement of epic proportions. The simple truth was he had no idea how to date but who really does in the beginning? This feeling of confusion and being utterly lost and bewildered extended to Valentine's Day and although Rusty did have experience with spending that particular evening in the company of a man, it wasn't a good experience and not exactly what you'd call a real date. In the past Rusty had never celebrated Valentine's Day properly, not a massive surprise really since Gus was his first ever real boyfriend. The previous 'date' he had been on for Valentine's Day was at the Morris Grand Hotel and came almost six months to the day before that fateful night in Griffith Park that ultimately changed his life forever. It was not a good night for him. He was compensated well for his services which meant he got to eat for the next week and got to spend the night in a fabulous hotel room with a comfortable bed, TV, room service and a shower but he was forced to do something that he had never done before, had never done since and didn't want to think about ever again.

As Valentine's Day approached he tried to speak to Sharon about it, to ask her what to do on that kind of date, what was expected of him and what the protocols were but as so often happened she became too busy with work and he never felt like he could interrupt her when she was so focused for something so trivial. In the end he had a rather uncomfortable conversation with Andy in the kitchen during a chance encounter at 2am when neither of them could sleep (Rusty because he was worried about his date and Andy because Sharon had punched him in his ear as she rolled over in her sleep, causing it to throb and ring). They had been getting on a lot better of late, talking more freely when they are alone since the bachelor party and the long talk they had to kill time in the strip club but Andy was far from ideal when it came to discussing these matters. Yes Andy had lots of experience when it came to dating so if Rusty was going to speak to anyone he was the perfect person in that regard but Andy was less than keen. He had no issues with Rusty being gay, far from it but when it came to Gus he had absolutely no idea what to say to him and simply felt out of his depth and uncomfortable. Despite that Andy was actually a help, telling Rusty to think of it as any other arbitrary date on the calendar and to just treat the evening like every other date but to make sure he sent a card and bought Gus a small gift.

"You were here early?" Gus cried, turning away from him for a moment as he tried not to lose his temper. He simply couldn't believe that Rusty could be so late and more importantly so completely thoughtless. Andy had warned Gus before their first date that time keeping was incredibly important as far as Rusty was concerned but didn't elaborate further, feeling that it was up to Rusty to explain when he was ready. Since then Rusty had opened up and told him that his Mother and Gary had abandoned him at the zoo and then he'd been stood up by her at the bus station and suddenly Gus knew exactly why Andy had spoken to him, thankful for his advice. The only thing left for Rusty to tell him was how he survived on his own for all that time. Following his conversation with Andy in the strip club it was coming and Rusty was preparing to tell him, but he wasn't ready, not just yet anyway.

"Yes. I was…" Rusty confessed.

"Then where have you been? I've been standing here for over an hour, looking like I've been stood up and you were here early?"

"Gus I'm really sorry but I was…I should…I should probably go." Rusty quickly turned on his heels and started to walk away, his shoulders slumped. Gus sighed with a quick look to the heavens before chasing after him at speed.

"Rusty! Rusty!" Gus called as he chased after him through the crowds. "Rusty will you stop!" Rusty came to a halt, turning back around to face him, his eyes looking anywhere but at Gus. "Since when does running away solve anything? Talk to me please. Will you tell me what the hell is going on? I've been here for an hour. I've bought the tickets. It's Valentine's Day. The least you owe me is an explanation."

Rusty sighed, looking Gus in the eye for the first time. "I'm sorry it's just my Mom has been acting really weird recently and the Lieutenant and I and everyone else we've all been really worried about…"

"No, no!" Gus said as he cut him off with a wave of his finger. "Your Mom acting funny does not explain or excuse you turning up an hour late on Valentine's Day, do you hear me?" Gus buried his face in his hands before running them through his hair. "Why do I feel like I'm your parent sometimes rather than your boyfriend?" He sighed again, looking to the ground for a moment before meeting Rusty's nervous eye. "Rusty do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get this evening off work? It's Valentine's Day! I work in a restaurant, not like McDonalds but a really fancy restaurant. The place has been completely booked out for months. The Pope himself could not get a table anywhere in Los Angeles tonight unless he'd booked months in advance. Everyone is busy. Everyone wanted to spend the night with their partners. We drew straws to see who got Valentine's Day off work. Despite winning I still had to beg and plead and promise to work every Friday and Saturday night for the next two months so I could spend tonight with you, so we could spend our first Valentine's Day together. Then you show up late and give me some crap about your Mom?"

"Yeah but she's been like acting really weird" Rusty maintained, using Sharon's rather odd behaviour recently as an excuse rather than it being the real reason he was late. There was no denying that Sharon hadn't been herself over the last couple of weeks, ever since the bachelor party and indeed everyone close to her had noticed and speculated between themselves as to the cause but that was not the reason that Rusty was late.

"I don't doubt it and if you'd been here on time we could have discussed it and I would have tried to make you feel better," Gus said kindly, "but right now I don't care. It's not an excuse for really poor timekeeping on my only night off this week on what is supposed to be the most romantic night of the year."

"I'm sorry Gus. I just…"

"Just what?"

"I've told you" Rusty said as he looked at his feet. "I don't know how to do this" he informed him and not for the first time.

"Do what?"

"Date. Valentine's Day. Be with someone" he explained. "I don't know what I'm doing here."

Gus laughed as he looked at his rather sorry looking boyfriend, still holding the balloon in his hand, looking like a rather sad and sorry clown. "Clearly if you think bringing a balloon to a crowded movie theatre is a good idea."

Rusty looked up at the balloon, realising Gus was right. "I never really gave it much thought."

"I suppose I could have trapped it under my seat."

"It was Andy's idea" Rusty said quickly, passing the buck.

"Bringing a balloon to the movies?"

"No, buying one. I didn't know what to buy or do so Andy gave me some pointers."

Gus laughed again, being unable to stay mad at him given the reasons for his lateness and obvious anguish. "After seeing what happened at the Lieutenant's bachelor party I suppose I should just be pleased that you're here at all and not handcuffed or glued to anything."

"See I can't even get that right." Rusty punched the balloon before walking over to the nearest trash can and stuffing it in.

"Oh my God Rusty, sometimes dating you feels like a full time job." As soon as the words left his mouth Rusty looked at him absolutely horrified. "Wait, wait but in a good way" Gus informed him quickly as he retrieved the balloon.

"How can that in any way be good?"

"It is, trust me" Gus told him with a beautiful and warm smile. "But you need to recognise that there are two people in this relationship and it's not always about what you want, I'm here and my time is worth something too. Rusty you're so obsessed with not being any good at dating and looking for reasons to push me away that you fail to realise that all I want is you, that's it. You don't need to make a big effort or to be someone you're not or ask Andy for advice. All you need to do is show up and be yourself."

"There has to be more to it than that."

"Maybe but I'm not asking for more" Gus shrugged. "I'm just asking for you to show up and be the guy I first met at that café, the guy I want to spend time with."

"Okay. I'm sorry. Really Gus I'm so sorry" Rusty said once again as his shoulders began to relax.

"Don't be" Gus told him as he put his hand on his shoulder and smiled. "You're here now and that's all that matters."

"But the movie."

"Don't worry about it. _Deadpool_ doesn't exactly seem like the most romantic of movies in the world anyway especially when you're dating a guy that doesn't like violent films. Maybe we could just go for a walk instead" Gus suggested.

"Okay" Rusty smiled as they slowly started to make their way out of The Grove.

"The beach? Santa Monica pier?"

Rusty nodded. "Sounds great."

A few moments of silence passed between them as they walked towards the parking garage and Rusty's car. "Why didn't you sign your Valentine's card?" Gus asked before erupting into laughter followed quickly by Rusty.

"I don't know" he replied a little shyly as he shrugged. "I thought the point was they were supposed to be a mystery."

"When you're not dating someone and you have a crush" Gus explained like he was informing an alien about earth dating customs. "When you're in a relationship it's kind of traditional to you know actually sign the card you bought for your boyfriend otherwise they spend most of the day thinking they have a secret admirer and wondering how best to let them down gently because you're already dating someone." Had it not been for the fact that Gus didn't recognise the handwriting he would have assumed that his card was from his boss Aiden, the guy who had asked him out for drinks three times now and each time he'd had to shoot him down as gently as possible so as not to effect his job prospects. Ruling out Aiden's handwriting which was nothing like the scrawl in the card, he assumed it was from Rusty because who else knew where he lived in LA but still he didn't have concrete proof.

"I'm sorry. I told you I'm new at this. I don't know how you do it."

Gus nudged his shoulder with his own as they moved. "Don't worry, you're doing great but no more cards signed from 'You Know Who' okay?"

"Sorry. That was weird wasn't it?"

"Just a bit. I opened it and thought 'Why the hell is Voldemort sending me a Valentine's Day card?'" he laughed as he was met with a blank expression in return.

"Who?"

"Oh man Rusty I really need to introduce you to _Harry Potter_." For a brief moment Gus was tempted to reach out and take Rusty's hand in his but quickly changed his mind, worried about pushing Rusty into anything even that innocent before he was ready, opting to stuff it in his pocket instead so he wouldn't be tempted. "So, what's wrong with your Mom?"

Across town Sharon was looking in her bedroom mirror and groaning at the frankly horrific reflection her bleary eyes saw staring back at her. She rubbed her hand down the glass. Maybe Andy or Rusty had left a picture of an old hag on there as a practical joke she hoped. When she felt the coldness of the mirror beneath her hand she knew that really was her reflection and she really did look that old and ill. She sighed. How had things gone so pear shaped so quickly? She had started to feel a little unwell at lunch time the day before, a Saturday, while at work but initially put it down to the smell emanating from the bag of garbage that Mike had retrieved from a dumpster behind their crime scene and emptied on his desk as they looked to wrap up their current murder enquiry that had sadly filtered into the weekend.

Her general upset stomach could also be explained by the crime scene itself. It was a horrific sight and after the bodies had been left undisturbed for close to three weeks in a room with little to no ventilation, the smell was enough to upset even the sturdiest of stomachs. It was like a scene from the movie _Se7en_ with the killer being inspired by the works of Dante and leaving the most upsetting and disturbing crime scene that even Lieutenant Provenza, with all of his vast experience in homicides, had ever seen. Given the nature of the crime it was one of the rare occasions when Sharon had to attend the scene and see it all for herself but Andy was still confined to PAB on medical grounds following his clot. As expected it was not something that sat well with him especially when he saw Buzz's footage and felt awful that everyone, even Sharon, had stood in the middle of it and he hadn't but he was more likely to spend the afternoon giving birth to a giraffe than getting Sharon to bend the rules slightly and allow him to attend despite the fact that he was going to be in no physical danger and simply standing in a different room. Luckily for them all their suspect was an idiot, possibly the biggest idiot they'd ever come across and a confession was quickly forthcoming once they had him in custody, him almost bragging to Sharon and Andy in the interview room about the people he had murdered and mutilated just because he felt like it, not caring if he was caught because he'd had fun making a 'masterpiece' with the bodies.

With the case wrapped up late on the Saturday evening everyone's Valentine's Day plans for the following Sunday were saved. Originally Sharon and Andy were going to celebrate their first Valentine's Day together by going out for the evening but Andy had other ideas, going straight home from work on the Saturday after opting to change their plans and have an intimate evening alone at his house instead. He did this partly as an attempt to spoil her rotten and make her forget both the appalling nature of the case they had just closed and also everything that had happened at Provenza's bachelor party now that his black eye and cut above his eyebrow had vanished along with any lingering sympathy he earned as a result. Although Sharon didn't know it he also had another motive for changing their plans and choosing to celebrate completely alone rather than in a crowded restaurant, he had something very important that he needed to discuss with her.

Rusty was one hundred percent right in what he'd told Gus when he eventually met up with him outside the movie theatre, Sharon had indeed been acting oddly for weeks now, ever since the bachelor party and they'd all noticed, every single one of them. Whether she was at work or at home, more than once an hour she would be caught staring into space, a vacant expression on her face and clearly distracted by something but never revealing what was happening or what had her mind elsewhere. Aside from that she seemed fine, working as normal and being her usual self at home until she would suddenly be lost in her own thoughts. The reality was her new job offer, Head of Security for the NFL, had completely thrown her for a loop and as she thought about it and pondered what that would mean for her and her life with Rusty and Andy if she accepted it, she kept it to herself, wanting to get a handle on it and how she felt about it before revealing it to anyone else and seeking their input. In the meantime if anyone asked her if something was wrong, why she was suddenly so distracted and in a world of her own, she said she was fine with that usual smile on her face as she returned to normal because that's how she felt, not realising she was acting unusually at all, until that same vacant and distant expression would return moments later as her mind drifted back to the new possibilities that potentially lay before her.

Both Rusty and Provenza had spoken to Andy about it, both of them concerned, suggesting he ask her if everything was okay like he hadn't already thought of it himself. He had asked her multiple times, both at work and as they lay in bed together, if anything was wrong and each time he received the same cheery response and yet he knew that wasn't the truth so he had finally resolved to sit her down and discuss it properly, not letting her off the hook until he got the real answer. He initially thought, because of the coincidental timing of it, that her behaviour was directed solely at him and assumed it had something to do with the bachelor party but quickly changed his mind. She was like it at work as well as at home and Sharon wasn't the sort of person to hold onto things like that anyway, her upset over the various incidents soon over (although his Valentine's Day plans had it covered just in case he was wrong) so Andy was at a complete loss to work out what was actually wrong. The result was this intimate dinner at home, assuming she would feel more comfortable opening up to him there if anything was truly wrong, like his biggest fear for example that in fact she was actually seriously ill and struggling to find a way to tell him.

As far as the misadventures at Provenza's bachelor party were concerned it took just over a week for Sharon to fully forgive him for what had taken place with everything coming in stages. Andy was instantly forgiven for nearly ruining the active operation taking place outside as were they all and he was also forgiven for the fight as soon as Sharon had all of the available facts and realised that he had done nothing wrong while protecting her son. Likewise when it was explained just how Rusty had accidentally ended up so drunk she forgave him even if it did come with a roll of the eyes. The only thing that remained were the strippers and although she accepted that he didn't really want to go inside, he still had. He had still had his eyes on an awful lot of perky breasts that evening as she saw it (little did she know that they were anything but perky after having breastfed at least a couple of babies each) after he swore he wouldn't be going anywhere near another woman so that took a week for her to stop being pissed about. That didn't mean they didn't share a bed in that time, far from it, she had resolved to never be that petty with Andy, learning from her mistakes in the past when she perhaps helped to push Jack towards the door before he gratefully walked straight through it without turning around to say goodbye. They spent three nights together in the same bed during that week but it was like the wall of Jericho from _It Happened One Night_ settled between them with it being made abundantly clear to Andy that Sharon would not be happy if he tried to cross it until she was ready. It all changed on that third night as she climbed into bed and was truly shocked by her reaction to Andy simply humming as he turned the page of the book he was reading beside her. A hum, that was it, a simple hum and the result was she he wanted him, desperately. After being so long without a man-made orgasm she became alarmed and to some extent amazed by how badly she missed something she went for so long without and essentially mauled him that evening before he'd even had chance to mark his place and close his book.

With Andy busy getting a head start on their dinner plans for the Sunday evening, Sharon went home from work on that Saturday night alone, something she was grateful for since she felt truly awful but was still blaming it on the crime scene from the day before. By the time she fell into bed without the energy to even brush her teeth she was vomiting for both accuracy and distance with an obvious case of food poisoning or maybe even stomach flu. In such situations Sharon was more than accustomed to taking care of herself without any assistance and not wanting to bother or worry anyone, she didn't tell Andy she was ill when he phoned to say 'Goodnight' before bed like he always did when they were apart. Likewise she was glad that Rusty constantly had his earbuds in and was often oblivious to the feelings of others to notice how ill she had become. Yet regardless of how dreadful she felt Sharon was determined. She was going to go to Andy's house on that Sunday night and she was going to have a romantic first Valentine's Day with him, they were going to eat, dance, laugh and finish the night in each other's arms (which was the sole reason why she had a pack of Dramamine in her purse should she suddenly start to experience motion sickness once they reached the bedroom portion of their evening) stomach flu or no stomach flu and if everything went to plan he would never know she felt even the slightest bit unwell.

With Rusty out from very early that Sunday she was left to her own devices and so lay on the bathroom floor until it was time to get ready for her date, something that took over two hours since she needed to lie down every couple of minutes with not a single ounce of energy to spare. As she prepared to leave the condo she'd frankly looked better, it would have been hard to look much worse. The best thing she had to say about herself as she looked into the mirror one final time was that she didn't have vomit in her hair but she still looked like she'd spent several hours in a wind tunnel. Regardless she was wearing new and incredibly uncomfortable underwear bought just for the occasion and just for Andy and a fabulous purple lace dress that showed off every curve perfectly and one which he simply adored her in but equally couldn't wait to get her out of. Had Sharon been thinking even the slightest bit rationally at that moment she would have realised that she was being utterly ridiculous, there was no way she could expect to go out on a date in that condition. She needed to call Andy, tell him what was happening and ask him to come and take care of her. The only problem was, she wasn't thinking rationally, she was only thinking of Andy and the perfect evening she wanted to have with him. With that in mind and a little bit of luck, Sharon hoped, she'd be able to distract Andy with what she was (and later wouldn't be) wearing long enough so he wouldn't notice she wasn't eating anything and looked a little green around the gills at the mere mention of food and the evening would pass the way they both wanted it to.

As Sharon pulled up her car onto Andy's driveway she took a couple of deep breaths before swallowing a handful of breath mints to cover any lingering vomit breath that brushing her teeth five times hadn't covered. She closed her eyes, clutching the steering wheel and tried her hardest to pretend she wasn't feeling as sick as a dog. She simply couldn't believe it was happening to her, of all the nights to be ill. Valentine's Day! Combined with Andy's accident and resulting clot and the way he never noticed her coming onto him in the early days she was beginning to wonder if she'd broken a mirror lately, perhaps run over a black cat or walked under a ladder. Maybe it was all three, it was the only explanation for the rotten luck she and Andy had experienced from the moment they went out on that first date (a first date where she went out in odd shoes and Andy set his menu on fire). Still she was determined, her plan was in place and if she did her best, Andy would never know anything was wrong.

Thankfully Andy was distracted in the kitchen as she arrived and didn't see the way she practically crawled out of her car on her hands and knees and towards his house with the motion along the forty something minute journey causing her stomach to churn like the sea. Sharon had thankfully managed to avoid vomiting for the last two hours but that didn't mean she was going to avoid it for the rest of the night. As she knocked on his door, lacking the strength to find and use the key he had given her, she looked to the heavens and prayed for help as she supressed the urge to paint the wall a different colour.

Andy frowned as he heard the knock on the door, wondering why she hadn't just let herself in as expected but at least it gave him the opportunity to swing the door open and greet her with his signature smoulder that usually made her putty on his hands. After a deep breath as he composed himself, he opened the door quickly before immediately leaning up against the doorframe and smouldered at her with George Michael's _Faith_ playing quietly in the background, backlit by dozens of candles in the living room. He looked simply gorgeous. His jacket was missing, the sleeves rolled up on his lavender shirt from where he'd been cooking as he just smiled at her, that smile that made her want to do unspeakable things to him and not care who was watching. Sharon swallowed as she tried to convince herself that she didn't feel hot and cold at the time and looked at the sight before her. He'd worn that shirt on purpose because he knew she'd be wearing that dress. She smiled at him as best she could, hoping to cover the fact that she was on the verge of vomiting.

"Hey gorgeous" Andy growled as he took a step towards her. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then he finally noticed that despite the way she was dressed Sharon was pale, trembling and clearly very unwell. "Oh my God Sharon! What's..." he started, incredibly concerned but before he could finish his sentence Sharon heaved her purse towards the couch and lunged forward, attacking him with her mouth, kissing him to within an inch of his life as her hands fumbled with the button on his pants after removing his suspenders from his shoulders. Then just as suddenly she pulled away, leaving him a little stunned. "Well hello to you too pretty lady" he said breathlessly as he flexed his jaw.

Suddenly Sharon's face dropped as she felt her stomach lurch, knowing that she needed to get to the bathroom faster than a bullet from a gun. Her hand covered her mouth. "Oh my God! I'm going to throw up" she blurted out before running straight past Andy, almost knocking him over in the process and heading towards his bedroom and the bathroom.

Andy turned and watched her leave, an utterly bewildered look on his face. "Heaving while trying to remove my pants. I've got to be honest Sharon I'm getting mixed signals here" he called after her. Very quickly Andy shut the front door before buttoning up his pants and putting his suspenders back on his shoulders. He then switched off the stereo before setting off towards his bedroom at speed. Once inside his room he was not surprised to see the bathroom door shut and given Sharon's appearance and announcement seconds earlier neither was it a surprise to hear the sound of her vomiting emanating from within. He put his ear to the door and grimaced before very gently knocking on the wood. "Sharon?" he asked as he put his hand on the door handle and prepared to enter.

"No don't come in!" came the instant response from the other side of the door.

"Sharon... "

"No!"

"But I can help" Andy reasoned.

"No! You hear me? No! I mean it! Do _not_ come in this bathroom" she ordered before the sound of her heaving filled the following the silence.

"But..."

"No buts!" Sharon replied with the sound of her voice echoing, a clear indication that she currently had her head in the bowl. "Andy Flynn if you so much as open that door an inch I will set your chest hair on fire the first chance I get and don't think I won't."

"But I need to see that you're okay."

"You can hear I'm okay from there" she told him before heaving again.

"You don't sound it," he replied with another grimace, a grimace of concern and sympathy rather than disgust, "you sound really ill and in need of someone to help take care of you. I could help clean you up, hold your hair back while you're sick, catch the alien after it bursts out of your chest" he joked. Within a heartbeat the door banged as Sharon threw a roll of toilet paper at it. "Was that it? Should I call Sigourney Weaver?"

"Go away Andy" Sharon sighed. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Okay fine" Andy said very agreeably without so much as moving an inch. He paused for a second, continuing to listen to her groan on the other side of the door. "Do you want your dinner in there on the floor or do I leave it on the table?"

"Andy please just go. I don't want you to see or hear this."

Andy laughed. If she could help it Sharon wouldn't even belch in front of him because as she saw it not only was it un-ladylike but it was an indication of being far too comfortable and relaxed in a relationship and a sign that they were 'letting themselves go,' something she was not prepared to let happen just yet so he knew the fact that she was being so violently ill in front of him must be just as distressing as the illness itself. "As unaccustomed as I am to having my bathroom sound like a third world abattoir I'm coming in whether you like it or not" he announced before opening the door and stepping inside before she had chance to respond.

"No! Andy turn around! I mean it, turn around" Sharon instructed immediately before he had chance to lay eyes on her rather prone position, lying stretched out on the floor with her head wedged between the toilet bowl and the wall.

Andy nodded with his hands in the air as he reluctantly turned around to face the wall. "Okay, okay I'm turning around although I've absolutely no idea why."

"Why do you think? I don't want you to see me like this."

"Why?"

"Because I'm vomiting and I look terrible."

"Come on Sharon, I've seen you first thing in the morning and believe me sweetheart you've looked worse, a lot worse." Andy laughed. He was clearly joking, hoping to make her feel a little better and she knew that but it didn't stop her from throwing another roll of toilet paper at the back of his head.

Her hands covered her face. "Why did I have to start dating someone else who thinks he's funny? Why? Why? Why?!

Andy laughed and shrugged. "Because you think I'm cute."

"Right now you've got three of those letters right" she replied rather bluntly and rudely for her before lifting herself up to put her head on the rim of the toilet, worried she was about to be sick yet again.

Andy immediately laughed uncontrollably and understanding that there was perhaps an 'N' missing from his statement. She might not have used the actual word but her meaning was more than understood by him which came as a massive surprise to Andy. Sharon never cursed, never, not even when she was really mad at him so if he wasn't already aware by her physical appearance just how awful she felt, it became crystal clear by her mood. "What a dirty mouth you have Sharon Raydor!" he said with a real sense of surprise. "I'm suddenly feeling a lot less special. How many other hysterical men have you dated exactly?"

"You mean men who mistakenly think they're hysterical?" she asked as she lay back down.

"You say potato."

"Well there's you obviously and Jack and briefly a guy in college" Sharon rattled off as she recalled all the men she'd dated who picked the wrong moment to try and be funny, not that she currently minded it. She was thus far refusing to let Andy so much as look her let alone help her so knew he would try to help her by distracting her and that meant as usual, he would try to make her laugh.

"What happened with him? The guy in college?"

"I broke it off" Sharon explained, her hand gravitating to her forehead as it pounded, still feeling both hot and cold at the same time.

"Well you do have a grip like steel when you're angry."

"You're not funny!" came the instant reply before she threw a towel at him, it being the first thing she could lay her hands on from that position on the floor. "I'm so sorry" she said very quickly and contritely as her hands covered her face again. "I'm ill. I get cranky when ill."

"I had noticed."

"Oh like you were any better!" Sharon barked back.

Andy laughed. "And mean."

"I'm sorry" she said again, mortified that she was snapping at him so much when all he was trying to do was help.

"Cranky and mean but still absolutely beautiful. Now will you let me help you or not?"

"No. I'm fine" she insisted before heaving into the bowl again.

"Oh yeah you're just fine and dandy."

"Shut up."

"What's brought this on?" Andy asked, his concern obvious.

"I don't know. I'm sure it's just something I've eaten or stomach flu or something."

Andy leant his hip against the sink as he folded his arms. "I'm just checking, there's no chance you could be pregnant right?" he asked in as serious a tone as he could muster. Sharon didn't respond immediately as he smiled, trying his best not to laugh but knowing full well that when she did speak she was likely to be even crankier.

Sharon sighed as lay back down on the floor. "Andy I'm really not in the mood for this."

"It's a possibility."

"No it really isn't."

"But it could be" Andy again maintained as he chomped on his lip.

"No it couldn't. Do I have to explain to you how the menopause works again?"

"Hey I'm just throwing it out there, seeing what sticks."

"Well don't or I'm going to punch you so hard when I'm better you'll think you're pregnant" she threatened. Again she knew he was joking and trying his best to distract her and make her feel better since she wouldn't allow him to come near her but that didn't mean she found him funny or wanted to play along. Had she been feeling okay she might have joked along with him but she currently felt like she wanted to die and was in no mood for Andy's sense of humour despite his best intentions.

"I know I didn't pay that much attention in biology class but I don't think that's how it works and I just wanted to make sure. Miracles do happen you know" he offered.

"Only in _The National Enquirer_." Sharon stretched her leg out which enabled her to poke him in the backside with the heel of her shoe, an attempt to let him know she appreciated him even if she wouldn't allow him to turn around. "And what makes you think even if a miracle had happened that it's yours anyway?"

"I'm choosing to ignore that."

Sharon laughed, clutching her stomach as she did it. "Good. I'm choosing to ignore you. Suddenly life has become so much quieter and peaceful."

Andy sighed and shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have sent Mr Johnson up to knock on your door when I left for the bachelor party."

"That'll teach you."

Silence fell for a moment before Andy suggested "Maybe I'm one of those guys."

"One of what guys?" Sharon sighed, knowing she hadn't put an end to this conversation. "One of those guys that get stabbed with the heel of his girlfriend's shoe?"

"No. One of those really fertile guys" he replied enthusiastically. "One of those guys who can get a woman pregnant with just a smile and using the same bar of soap."

"Trust me, you're not and what the hell are you doing in the shower without me?"

"I may have unbelievable Superman sperm."

Sharon stared at the back of his head for a moment with a scowl. "If this is your way of telling me that there are potentially dozens of other little Andy Flynns running around Los Angeles then you've really picked a bad time for it."

"I'm just saying my Dad was a very fertile guy. My Mom got pregnant practically every time they shook hands."

"Which is why everyone should carry a bottle of hand sanitiser with them."

"Maybe I've inherited it off him. I've inherited his sperm."

Sharon sighed. "If you pull a jar out of that cabinet I won't be impressed" she warned.

"I didn't mean it like that." Silence again fell as he thought for a moment. "I bet that's it" he said with high levels of fake excitement. "I bet I'm so incredibly fertile I've managed to you know...jump start your nether regions."

"I beg your pardon?" Sharon laughed, making Andy smile to know that his unusual and frankly irritating distraction technics were beginning to work. "Jump start my nether regions?" she asked.

"Yes. It's possible" Andy again asserted.

"For the last time no it isn't."

"I had a dream once," Andy went on, completely ignoring Sharon's protests that he wasn't the most potent man in the world, "where literally anyone could get pregnant if someone blew in your ear."

Sharon laughed again. "What?"

"People were walking around in earmuffs to protect themselves. It was the only form of contraception."

"You really do live in a little world all of your own sometimes don't you" she laughed as once again her hand gravitated to her throbbing forehead.

"Provenza had triplets after getting pregnant when Mike whispered in his ear at a Dodgers game. He breast fed them in your office. It was beyond traumatising" he went on with a shudder as the imagery played through his mind once again.

"If I throw up on you in the very near future, this conversation is the reason why."

Silence fell again as Sharon closed her eyes against the harshness of the bathroom light above her and Andy continued to think. "You never know. This could be morning sickness." He looked at his watch, noting the time. "Very late in the day morning sickness."

"In every way imaginable. It's not morning sickness. I am not pregnant. It's food poisoning or something. It has nothing whatsoever to do with your magical sperm" she confirmed once again, far from amused.

"Superman sperm not magical sperm. Those are two different types of sperm completely."

"Stop saying sperm before you make me vomit again!" Sharon shouted, making him jump.

"Why? Is my sperm somehow vomit inducing to you?"

"Stop saying sperm!" she shouted as she threw another towel at his back.

"I'm only kidding" Andy laughed, realising that he had taken this particular joke perhaps a little too far and he needed to make another attempt to help her.

"And yet I'm still not laughing."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now shut up before you talk your way into never having sex again."

Andy laughed, he knew it was an empty threat but opted to fall silent anyway. After a few more moments of quiet passed between them he asked "Can I turn around yet?"

"No."

"Okay but can you at least explain to me why not?" He was still confused by what was happening. Yes Sharon was an incredibly independent woman and always had been and he was slowly getting used to that. However he never imagined that her fierce independent streak would extend to taking care of her when she was so clearly ill as well especially considering the way she insisted on looking after him before and after his clot.

"Because if you see me like this then that's it, the mystery is gone and the magic is dead between us" she explained, her concern genuine. As she saw it her refusal to let Andy even look at her had nothing to do with being independent and being used to taking care of herself and everything to do with her looking and sounding truly awful and not wanting Andy to see her like that. "Then the next thing you know I'm coming to bed with food stuck between my teeth and you're sitting on my couch in just your underwear, belching and scratching your bits without a second thought."

"And they say romance is dead" Andy laughed, suddenly understanding what was going on.

"Exactly! That's my point! I mean it Andy. I will not let the magic die between us, not yet anyway."

Andy shook his head. "The magic won't die because of a little bit of vomit on your face and if you're that concerned about it try pulling a rabbit out of the toilet bowl and the mystery will instantly return."

Sharon sighed as her hands landed on her forehead. "I hate you so much sometimes."

"And the other times?"

"I tolerate you because you have a nice smile" she joked.

"Nice?" Andy replied with offense as he pointed towards his mouth. "I could win awards for this smile. I could charm birds from the trees with this smile."

"Okay you're going to make me sick again."

"What are you even doing here in the first place if you felt this sick?" Andy asked with his concern again clearly evident.

"Is that your polite way of saying I should have stayed at home so you couldn't catch it?" Sharon snapped back, missing the point of his question entirely.

"No. It's my way of saying why did you drive for forty five minutes, painting the inside of your car with vomit in the process to come here when you could have called me on the phone and said 'Hey Andy, sweetheart, light of my life, the cream in my coffee. I'm not feeling so good. In fact I'm five minutes away from my head spinning around and levitating like the little girl out of _The Exorcist_. Can you come over here instead and take care of me you hunk of burning love.' You know something like that."

Sharon sighed, unimpressed by Andy's completely correct and valid question given the circumstances. "Are you done?"

"For now."

"Because I thought I might be fine. I thought you wouldn't notice I was ill and we could carry on with our plans as normal" Sharon explained, her logic sounding utterly ridiculous to her now that she said it out loud to Andy.

"Well aside from the horrific amount of vomiting your hair looks like you've had a squirrel living in it for close to a week which is fairly noticeable but still absolutely beautiful" Andy pointed out as politely but bluntly as possible. "Now can I turn around and come closer and help you?"

"I just want to die."

Andy laughed. "But you still have so much to live for."

"Oh shut up."

"So I can turn around?" Andy asked, slowly edging around regardless.

"Yes. No. Yes. Just don't look directly at me" Sharon instructed as she tried her best to tame her wild hair with her fingers.

"Why? Will I turn to stone? Do you have snakes coming out of your hair?" Very slowly Andy spun on the spot to face her with a beaming smile on his face. He stared at her for a moment with nothing but love in his eyes as she remained with her head wedged between the wall and the toilet. "There she is. Hey beautiful."

"Oh yeah I'm sure I look fabulous. I look like my Grandmother and she's been dead thirty years."

"You don't look that bad. More like road kill meets Whistler's Mother." Again Sharon threw a towel at him, hitting him in the face. "I'm kidding. I'm healing with humour."

"And yet you're just not funny."

"Have I died? Because all I can see is an angel in the room" Andy winked, trying his hardest to cheer her up in any way he could.

Sharon chuckled to herself, not having seen anyone use that much cheese since the obsession with cheese fondue in the 1980s. "Has that line ever worked on anyone?"

Andy folded his arms. "Not yet but there's still time."

"Trust me there isn't unless you intend on replacing me with a newer, younger, perkier model sometime in the near future."

"A newer model?"

"Yes. A newer model that doesn't look like they looked directly into the Ark of the Covenant" Sharon replied as she hid her face from him with her hands, fearing she looked far worse than she actually felt.

"Well that's clearly never going to happen" Andy told her emphatically with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it" Sharon smiled back as she started to look around her for a moment. "When was the last time you cleaned this floor?"

Andy shrugged. "About a month ago. Don't worry you've only got your head in a small amount of pee" he joked.

"Come closer so I can kick you."

"I'm kidding" Andy confirmed without any real need. "Do you really think I'd invite my girlfriend around for Valentine's Day and not clean the bathroom? You could eat your dinner off that floor" he informed her as he slowly edged closer only to be stopped by Sharon lifting her leg and pressing her foot against his knee.

"Not anymore. Don't come too close in case this isn't food poisoning. I don't want you to catch it."

Very gently Andy raised up Sharon's foot from his knee and removed her shoe, placing it on the vanity. "If you didn't want me to catch it you shouldn't have pretended everything was okay when you arrived and put your tongue down my throat" he explained without much concern for his health as he tapped her foot to make her switch, repeating the action in removing her other shoe and putting it on the vanity with its mate.

Sharon instantly covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my God Andy I am so sorry. I didn't think. I'm such an idiot." She was suddenly mortified. How could she be so stupid? Why did she think she could just drive to his house and pretend everything was okay without passing it on to him if she was contagious? She shook her head as she closed her eyes, blaming her complete thoughtlessness on lack of sleep and her illness.

"Don't worry about it" Andy replied dismissively as he began to rub her foot still in his hand. "I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about. I'm not sure if I should help you or euthanize you."

"Euthanize. Definitely euthanize. Just make it quick."

"I'll pencil it in for later. But seriously why didn't you call me? I could have come to you."

Sharon sighed, her stupidity becoming clearer to her with every passing second. "Because I hoped I was going to be fine by the time I got here and it's Valentine's Day and our first one and I didn't want to ruin it and then that's exactly what I've done and probably made you ill as well in the process. Ah! Please just shoot me."

"You've not ruined anything. Come on let's get you up." Andy let go of her foot before he bent down to offer his hand and help her up off the ground.

Sharon held her hand up to stop him, not feeling ready to move away from the toilet for the time being. "For the sake of your soft furnishings I don't think I should move from the bathroom floor just yet."

"I have soft furnishings?" he joked. "Okay but let's at least get your head off the floor. Let me grab you a pillow."

Before Andy had chance to move Sharon grabbed hold of his foot and made sure he didn't go anyway. "No it's fine, I'll just lie on your belly." The moment the words left her mouth she covered it with her hands. She was forever telling Andy to stop holding his stomach in when he removed his shirt, that she really didn't care that despite how fit he actually was he still carried a little extra weight around his middle and yet here she was accidentally comparing his stomach to a pillow. "I didn't mean it like that" she said quickly.

Andy laughed. "I know. Is this why you tell me to stop sucking in my stomach?" With two large cracks coming from his knees Andy crouched and then lay down on the floor, resting his head on the vanity as he propped himself up into more of a seated position. Once settled he gestured for Sharon to come towards him. She didn't need to be told twice and very slowly started to crawl towards him like the girl from the video in _The Ring_. "That's it. Come on Lassie, good girl." Sharon stopped in her tracks and looked at him unamused. "I'm kidding." Seconds later Sharon flopped face down on his body, resting her head on his chest. Andy left her for a moment to get comfortable before starting to stroke her back with one hand and feeling her forehead with the other. "You're burning up."

"That's funny because I feel like I'm frozen solid" she informed him as she draped her arms over his body, clutching him tight, his warmth making him her own personal heating source.

"I don't think this is food poisoning. You've caught this off someone. Who have you been kissing behind my back Raydor?"

"Too many people to count" Sharon mumbled, much more comfortable than she was before allowing Andy to help her.

"I thought as much you saucy minx. Let me get you something to cool you down."

"Please don't move in case you make me sick again…and besides, I'm finally comfy."

"Okay. No problem. Let's get rid of your glasses first." Sharon lifted her head for a moment to allow Andy to remove her glasses before he put them on top of his own head, instantly making her more comfortable as she lay on him and also ensuring that they didn't go for a swim in the toilet by accident. He then leant forward as far as he could and kissed her on the back of her head before reaching up and opening the vanity drawer above his head.

"If you hand me a box of Animal Crackers I'm going to heave right on you."

Andy laughed as he pulled a cooling gel strip, designed to help ease the pain from migraines, from the drawer and removed the plastic from the back of it. "Here" he said as he attached it to her forehead, the cooling effect instantly hitting her and making her pounding head feel better.

"Is this a migraine strip?"

"It's the only thing cool in my reach."

"It's perfect," Sharon said with a smile, "thank you but why do you have these? You don't have migraines."

"No but you do" he replied simply, kissing her head once more. "I wanted to be prepared just in case."

"God I love you" Sharon told him as she squeezed him. Sadly the moment the words left her lips she shot bolt upright and rushed to the toilet, a hand covering her mouth to be on the safe side. Just as quickly Andy followed her, scooping her hair away from her face as she once again emptied the remaining contents of her stomach. She had told him before, many times in fact, that she didn't need anyone to take care of her, though that was not the reason she initially resisted his help at the start of the evening. At the time she meant she didn't need anyone to take care of her at work but it also extended to her home life, a side effect of having spent so many years solo and taking care of herself and everyone around her single handedly after Jack left (and even when he was home to be truthful). But now she had Andy and much to her surprise she loved it when he took charge at home and took care of her, locking the doors, cooking, doing her ironing. She knew he was the kind of guy who would do things like that for her, a macho, protective guy who would do anything to take care of her in any small way and not repeat the mistakes of the past unlike Jack, but actually experiencing it was even more wonderful that she imagined and realising that Andy wanted to help and wasn't about to be put off by her appearance, although she was still fiercely independent she wanted nothing more than for him to take care of her for the rest of the evening and the rest of her life.

"Likewise" Andy said with a kind smile as he wiped her mouth and then lay back down to allow her to flop back on him again. "I have those nausea pills too if you think they may help" he asked as his hand resumed stroking her back.

"I've already taken two."

"This is after two? Are you sure you don't need to see a Doctor."

"No."

"Or an exorcist?"

"No. I'm sure it's just a 48 hour thing."

Andy smiled. "Or it could be..."

"I am not pregnant!" Sharon shouted, knowing what he was about to say.

"I could get you one of those sticks to pee on just to make certain."

Sharon huffed into his chest. "I'll pee on you in a moment."

"Sharon Raydor!" Andy laughed. "Who knew you were so filthy. It's not something I've ever been interested in in the past but don't say I'm the kind of guy who's unwilling to try new things for the woman he loves" he added before leaning forward and kissing the top of her head, still laughing to himself as Sharon's head bounced slightly on his body.

Sharon sighed. "You know you're really nowhere near as funny as you think you are."

"I'm going to ignore that because I know you're cranky and you're not thinking straight."

"Oh I am thinking perfectly straight" she replied as she briefly opened her eyes to give him a death glare. "For the last time I am not pregnant and if you mention your magical sperm or Superman sperm or whatever it is one more time you might find that I've suddenly decided I'm allergic to it and can't have it anywhere near me for the rest of my life for health reasons." With her point more than well made her eyes fell shut again as she smiled into his chest. She had discovered very early on in their physical relationship that she could get him to do pretty much anything, even shut up, if she brought sex or rather a lack thereof into the equation even when they both knew full well that she was only joking.

Andy's eyes widened at her empty threat. He knew she was joking but given how she currently felt opted to play along regardless. "Okay shutting up." He just stared at her for a moment, stroking her hair with the palm of his hand before again reaching forward to plant his lips to her head. "I can't believe Rusty let you leave the house like this. What was he thinking?"

"He doesn't know" Sharon confirmed. "He's been out nearly all day in preparation for his big date with Gus tonight and as much as I love that boy he can be beyond oblivious to others when he's caught up in his own issues."

"That's an understatement" Andy laughed, kissing her head again. "I'm going to kill him when I next see him for not noticing you were like this."

"You'll do nothing of the sort. He's going to feel bad enough as it is without you adding to it. You hear me?"

"Yes ma'am." He smiled at her as he continued to stroke her hair. "Is there anything else I can get you right now?"

"No. I just want to lie still for a while, with you" she said with a weak smile as she raised her head off his chest as high as possible, completely drained of all energy.

"Done" Andy nodded while his hand continued to alternate between stroking her back and stroking her hair while the other rested on top of hers on his chest.

"What did your Mom do for you when you were sick as a child?" she asked after a few more moments of comfortable silence.

"My Mom? Nothing. My sister used to take care of me."

"Really?" she asked, once again smiling into his chest.

"Yep. I was the baby of the family and she used to treat me like her baby. All the time. She'd give me baths, get me ready for bed, feed me. She treated me like I was her child but not in a _Chinatown_ type way" he clarified and making Sharon laugh.

"I gathered that or I assume you would have told me earlier."

"Yeah I guess that sort of information is kind of second date material" he joked.

Sharon opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him as best she could giving her rather prone position as she lay on him, as comfortable as she'd been all day. "I bet you had her at your beckon call, running around after you, catering to your every whim. Wrapping women around your little finger from the very beginning."

"Yes I did" Andy confirmed proudly resulting in Sharon chuckling again. "She would fetch me drinks, rub my back, put a cold cloth on my head. Maybe do my homework as well."

"Why am I not surprised."

"Hey I made us all square after she developed cancer" Andy was quick to point out. "It was my turn to help take care of her." As Brenda had quickly found out with her Father, patients with thyroid cancer have a tendency towards mood swings. Andy's sister, Elizabeth, had told him multiple times that she didn't want or need his help as she recovered but this was Andy Flynn and she was his sister so he felt compelled to help her. After taking a couple of week's unpaid leave he flew to New York and spent much of the first three days sitting outside her brownstone in Brooklyn waiting for her to let him in such was her anger that he'd dropped everything and flown across the country when she'd specifically told him not to. When she eventually relented she was a less than stellar patient but that didn't deter Andy who gave as good as he got as he took care of her in any way he could.

"Did you really?"

"Well I tried at least" he shrugged. "Not surprisingly given the type of cancer she had she was obstructive and didn't want any help and I had to fight her every step of the way to do it, a little like tonight" he added quickly.

Sharon looked at him unamused. "Wow, really? I'm obstructive? Me? I've got no idea what dealing with a moody, reluctant and obstructive patient called 'Flynn' must be like" she replied sarcastically, Andy's behaviour after he returned to live with her following his surgery still fresh in her mind.

"Very funny but can I remind you how long you kept me waiting on the other side of that door just now."

"That's different" Sharon replied as she turned more onto her side to face him.

"How is it?"

"Not wanting you to see me like this, like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards is a _lot_ different to the fuss you made while in the hospital and over me trying to take care of you while you recovered" Sharon stated plainly.

Andy shook his head in complete disbelief at what he was hearing aimed in his direction. "'Fuss while in the hospital?'" he quoted.

"Yes."

"I didn't make a fuss."

"Sure, and your eyes aren't brown either."

"I had a bright yellow 'Fall Risk' wrist band and they cathed me because I wasn't allowed to stand and go to the bathroom on my own in case I fell down" Andy shouted, still annoyed at the way he was treated despite it being perfectly warranted given what was wrong with him and the side effects he'd experienced.

"So?"

"So they shoved a rubber hose right up my junk! Up my junk!" he shouted complete with hand gesture should Sharon not immediately register his point and obvious distress. "All the way up! I could almost whistle a tune with it."

Sharon laughed, not just at the fact that in her opinion he was a big baby when it came to health matters but also at his youthful vernacular. "Junk?"

"I don't know I heard Rusty say it the other day. Have you ever been cathed?"

"Yes I have actually. It was nothing" she replied dismissively.

Andy shrugged. "Well it's different for a man."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Oh really? Andy have you ever had stitches to repair the rip in your vagina after pushing a human head out of it?" she asked.

Andy paused as he thought about it, grimacing slightly at the thought of what that much feel like. "No, I can't say that I have."

"Exactly so shut up."

"I forgot. Never have a pain conversation with a woman because it always comes back to childbirth." As soon as the words left his mouth he flinched, at the very least expecting a poke in the ribs in retaliation.

Instead Sharon just glared at him in silence for a moment. "Until you've pushed a pot roast out of your nostril without any pain relief you have no idea buddy."

"How many stitches exactly?" Andy finally asked.

"Enough" Sharon replied as she closed her eyes, trying not to remember that exact moment from Emily's birth. "Jack said it was like watching his favourite bar burning down." With that Andy started laughing hysterically, for once agreeing with Jack about anything. Sharon's eyes shot back open as she glared at him. "Don't laugh at that! Andy! Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll stop" Andy assured her before breaking down again.

"And yet you're still laughing."

"I'm sorry but he is kind of right. That's what it was like watching Nicole being born."

"Men!" Sharon exclaimed. "Anyone would think you didn't have a hand in putting the baby in there to begin with. Anyway having a catheter fitted and wearing a wristband in hospital made you a short tempered and obstructive patient once I brought you back to my place to recover because?" Andy thought for a second, momentarily lost for words and enabling Sharon to add "It was a completely different situation to now."

"If you say so" Andy replied, sceptical to say the least.

"I do say so and I'm sick so that means I'm right, you're wrong and you need to shut up and do what I say" she stated bluntly as she snuggled even closer to him, linking her left hand together with his right and squeezing it tightly.

Andy laughed. "Aye aye Captain" he replied as he kissed her head. "Then of course there was my Grandmother who always cooked me soup when I was ill."

"That's sweet. What kind?"

"The kind that had chicken feet in it and tasted like it had been boiled in a gym sock."

"Sometimes I wonder how on earth you managed to survive your childhood" Sharon laughed.

"That makes two of us."

"Do you have any normal memories from growing up? Like a nice family picnic? A birthday party? Going to church and not being chased by a flock of Nuns?" she asked.

"A flock?"

"Okay. Herd?"

They both laughed before Andy replied with "Sure I do. I just can't think of any right now."

"You can't think of a single picnic?"

"We really weren't the 'picnic' type of family" Andy explained although he didn't really need to, Sharon had heard enough stories from Andy's youth to realise that his upbringing was anything but orthodox and it explained so much about his personality and attitude now that he was older. "We were more the 'every person for themselves and if you must get arrested don't blow my alibi' type of family."

Sharon laughed. "What have I gotten myself into?"

"The best years of your life hopefully."

"Yes, hopefully." They smiled at each other as Andy adjusted the hand that was holding hers, linking their fingers together instead.

"What about you? What did your Mom do for you when you were sick?"

"Looking for tips?" she asked.

"Maybe. I'll do whatever it takes to try and help my girl feel better."

"She used to do pretty much the same as your sister only she used to bundle me up in a warm blanket that her Grandmother had made her and held me while she sang."

Andy smiled, sensing an opportunity. "She sang? What did she sing?"

"All sorts. Whatever happened to pop into her head at that particular moment."

"And it worked?" he asked as he smirked, suddenly remembering the old Monty Python song _Every Sperm is Sacred_ and wondering if singing it was worth the inevitable assault on the back of his knees as retribution.

"Well it was certainly a distraction."

"Well then" Andy stated brightly as he cleared his throat and prepared to sing.

Sharon's hand immediately flew up and covered his mouth, almost poking him in the eye in the process. "Nope. No. I already feel bad enough, please don't sing as well." In truth she did _love_ it when Andy sang to her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as he sang quietly into her ear while they danced together. However despite his claims about being a choir boy in his youth he was now pretty awful at it and with her head pounding it was the last thing she wanted to listen to as she lay on that bathroom floor with him. "I love you but please no singing." Underneath her hand Sharon felt him trying to speak, adjusting her hand to prevent him. "Not another word about being a choir boy either."

As Sharon's hand finally moved away from his mouth and slowly moved down his chest, it coming to rest on his hand again, he laughed. "I'm going to call my sister."

Sharon's eyes immediately opened and sparkled at him. "And invite her to stay over Easter and meet me?" she asked, still beyond keen to finally speak to one of his siblings on the phone let alone meet one of them in person.

"No. Nice try by the way."

"Is there a particular reason you're keeping me away from your family? Am I in some way an embarrassment to you? Are you ashamed of me?"

"No of course not. I'm embarrassed by them and what they're likely to tell you."

"You can't keep us apart forever."

"No but I can certainly try for as long as possible" Andy grinned. "Anyway she has all of my Mom's old crap in her basement. I know there must be a couple of recordings of me singing in church in there somewhere."

"Ah! Again with the choir boy!" Sharon exclaimed as her free hand covered her face.

"I used to reduce people to tears" he again insisted.

"With laughter?"

"I thought I wasn't funny."

"You're not so be quiet" Sharon replied a little snipper than she intended.

"Should I just go?" Andy asked. He had absolutely no intention of going anywhere and wasn't complaining about Sharon's cranky mood in the slightly because not only was she really quite ill, as Sharon had pointed out to him on more than one occasion he was an utterly dreadful patient himself but at that moment in time he simply didn't know what to do for the best. It reminded him of when Carol was in labour and he simply couldn't do right for doing wrong and as usual in those situations he tried to make her laugh which, like with Sharon, didn't go down very well. He currently felt like he was trying to hug a gorilla armed with a machine gun that wanted nothing more than to kill him, but try to hug it he would.

"No, no, I'm sorry, please stay" Sharon replied quickly and very apologetically, realising that she hadn't been treating him very well but simply couldn't help it. She kissed his chest and squeezed him tightly. "I love you Andy. You annoy me more than I ever thought was possible but I want to spend every single irritating second with you for the rest of my life."

Andy laughed before reaching down and kissing her cheek. "Wow! Have you been talking to Provenza? That was beautiful. You could almost use that in your wedding vows?"

Sharon again covered her face with her hand as she sighed, realising that she was a complete and utter nightmare of a patient. Since they had first told each other 'I love you' they had both said it a lot but not nearly enough in her opinion. With it being Valentine's Day and the first one in over twenty years that she'd spent with someone she was in love with, she was determined even before she was sick to let him know just how much she loved and appreciated him. "I love you to distraction Andy Flynn. Don't ever leave me" she asked, her illness making her sound clingier than she'd ever wish to appear normally.

"There's about a zero percent chance of that happening sweetheart, have no fear."

"I'm sorry. I'm clingy but I'm mean and I know I'm a mess. I'm sorry" she said again. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally and knew it was having a major effect on her mood but was unable to do anything about it.

"Don't be" Andy said kindly as he kissed her cheek. "Shout at me, beat me with your shoe if you want to as long as it'll make you feel better." He kissed her again. "I love you too and I'm not going anywhere ever, even if you are mean to me."

"Even if I vomit on you?"

"Even if you vomit on me" he confirmed while he moved her hair away from her face and gave her a gentle smile. "I remember once I was so ill from eating some month old potato salad Provenza gave me that I thought I was going to die. I was vomiting for both..."

"Andy you're really not helping my stomach" she pointed out as she cut him off mid-sentence.

"Sorry."

"Me too."

"For what?"

"I'm sorry for ruining everything" she informed him, distraught that the perfect evening they had planned had ended up in his bathroom with a thin layer of vomit seemingly coating the air.

"You've ruined nothing" he insisted.

"That's blatantly not true, I've ruined our first Valentine's Day together."

"It's not like you've done this on purpose and besides you're looking at it all wrong. One day in February is not special, but you are, what we have every day after this is, so don't worry about it" he added before kissing her head once again.

"I love you."

"I love you too and believe me there's no better way to spend Valentine's Day than lying on the bathroom floor with a pretty lady."

"What am I missing out on?" Sharon asked after a few moments of silence between them.

"What do you mean?"

"What did you cook?"

"Lasagne."

"Really?" Sharon asked with a groan.

"Yeah well there's only so much fish and vegetables I can eat without growing gills so I thought it would make a nice change since it's a special occasion."

"Oh no!" Sharon cried with huge levels of disappointment. "I love your lasagne. I love it almost as much as I love you."

Andy laughed. "Only 'almost'?" he asked, having cooked it specifically because he knew just how much she enjoyed it.

"Okay slightly more but it is delicious."

Andy laughed again. "That's better but to be completely honest I tweaked it slightly just for you since I wanted to make sure I pampered you thoroughly this evening."

"Tweaked it how?"

"I cooked two. I cooked my usual tuna one for me and one with beef for you."

Sharon looked at him with surprise for a moment. "You cooked meat for me?"

"I did."

"Oh Andy!" Sharon cried, even more disappointed about what she was missing out on.

"What? It's not that big of a deal. It's not like I shot and skinned a cow for you. I only went to the grocery store and cooked two" he maintained. Andy had no problems with meat or cooking it, he was simply a vegetarian for health reasons but liked to cook it for Sharon when the opportunity presented itself.

"I know but even still you didn't have to do that just for me."

"Yes I did" Andy insisted. "If I can't make everything perfect for the love of my life on Valentine's Day then when can I?"

Without warning Sharon suddenly sat bolt upright. "I'm going to be sick" she declared as she buried her head in the toilet bowl.

"Oh I don't know I thought that was a good line" Andy joked as he moved to grab her hair.

"False alarm." Andy was quick to resume his position on the floor to allow Sharon to lie back down on him. Once settled and comfortable again she took his hand back in hers as he resumed alternating between stroking her hair and her back. "I can't believe I'm missing out on your lasagne" she said finally.

"You can still take it home with you. You can have them both."

Sharon smiled. "Dinner and a doggy bag, perfect. Dessert?"

"Oh yeah. I might have a refrigerator full of chocolate covered strawberries" Andy replied with a wink. Sharon was not a lover of chocolate or sweets on the whole but if you took a simple strawberry and covered it in chocolate then she practically drooled.

Sharon groaned at the thought of the evening going to waste. "What else did you have planned?" she asked, choosing to imagine their perfect evening even if they couldn't live it.

"Well after dinner I was going to pour you another glass of wine..."

Sharon instantly cut him off. "How many times do I have to ask you to stop buying me wine?" They'd had the conversation more times than she could count and each time he completely ignored her wishes. It wasn't that she didn't trust Andy and his sobriety, she did and if he were to slip she would support him and help him get through it without question but that wasn't the point. She didn't feel it was fair to drink in front of him, least of all when they were alone. At parties and on Christmas Day she would have a glass of wine and Andy would always order her a drink when they went out for something to eat but it never sat well with her, doing something that he couldn't, feeling like it was almost taunting him.

"At least once more."

"Please don't buy wine just for me" she begged, appreciating the offer but really not needing him to do it for her.

"Too late it's already done and chilling nicely for when you're feeling better. I was going to pour you another glass of wine and invite you outside into my yard, show you the gardening I've done."

Sharon looked surprised. "You've been gardening?"

"Well weeding mainly. The point is it no longer looks like _The Jungle Book_ out there." When it came to his yard Andy had the best intentions but very little time or inclination to do anything about it. That was until Sharon agreed to go on a proper date with him and then Andy's constant need to impress her when she came over kicked in. They would often take advantage of sitting outside in his yard of an evening but despite his best efforts it still looked like someone had played a game of _Jumanji_ out there and lost the dice before they had chance to finish.

"Well that's a start I suppose" Sharon laughed.

"And then I was going to try to seduce you."

"Only try?"

"Well I would have succeeded without much trouble" Andy proclaimed confidently.

"Oh you're that confident of that are you?"

"Absolutely." Andy smiled and leant forward to whisper in her ear. "I've got lots of moves you haven't seen yet."

"Really?"

"Ooh yeah. Big moves" Andy said proudly.

Sharon laughed. "I can't wait to see them."

"Are you laughing at me?"

"A little bit yes."

"Hey I've got plenty of razzle dazzle left in the tank to charm you into my bed, don't you worry" Andy announced as he tried to sound as offended as possible.

"Razzle dazzle? Are you secretly Billy Flynn?"

"No that's my brother" Andy winked, making Sharon laugh. "There's a lot of candy left in this piñata" he added as he gestured along the full length of his body.

"I can't wait to see these moves when I'm better."

"Good and you will need to be better too because they will knock your socks off."

Again Sharon laughed at Andy's frankly completely warranted confidence. "You have a very high opinion of yourself."

"I have good reason to especially when I introduce you to 'The Naked Pretzel'" he explained with a waggle of his eyebrows and making Sharon erupt into laughter.

"The what?" Sharon laughed. "The Naked Pretzel?"

"Yeah. It's some sort of tantric sex thing."

"And what do you know about tantric sex?"

"I heard Sting on the radio."

"What was he saying?" Sharon asked.

"He was singing _Fields of Gold_."

Sharon immediately laughed as Andy joined in, him more than happy that he was able to distract her and make her feel a little bit better. "This was all a lot of effort just to get me to put out."

"Oh it has nothing to do with that."

"Really?" Sharon asked, unable to hide her surprise.

"Yes. I'm too irresistible to you so I knew you'd put out anyway" he announced with a touch of fake arrogance to go with his confidence and resulted in Sharon inevitably pinching the back of his knees as he laughed. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?" Sharon asked intrigued.

"Nothing major. It can wait until you're better." Andy's plan was to wait until they sat outside in his yard with dessert and she'd drunk a couple of glasses of wine before he finally asked what had been wrong with her of late. With his plans foiled and temporarily put on hold he was suddenly more focused on having to explain to Provenza and Rusty what had happened and why he hadn't spoken to her then he was planning his next attempt to confront her. In truth he was actually rather relieved that the evening had worked out the way it had and he now didn't have to speak to her about it, thinking that ignorance was bliss after all.

"Okay" Sharon nodded. In an instant she was also a little relieved, fearing that, since it was Valentine's Day, the thing Andy wanted to talk to her about was related to the ring box she had noticed in his sock drawer before Christmas, feeling nowhere near ready for that kind of conversation. "Thank you for the flowers you sent by the way. They're lovely" she said, quickly changing the subject. Andy had sent her a very large bouquet of roses, lilies, daisies and carnations which were thankfully delivered first thing in the morning meaning that Rusty took receipt of them, placing the arrangement on her desk before he left while Sharon lay on her bathroom floor and prayed for a quick and painless death.

"Good. You're welcome. There's another bunch in the kitchen for you."

"You didn't need to do that" Sharon insisted while still appreciating the gesture.

Andy shrugged. "Apparently I didn't need to do a lot tonight. I could have saved myself a lot of time and money according to you. But I wanted to do it, for you."

"I didn't mean that."

"I know" Andy smiled, enjoying teasing her as much as possible.

"I'm glad you went to so much effort even though it's gone to waste. Thank you."

"Do you want me to fetch your card?"

"No I'll...oh damn it!" Sharon cried as she covered her face with her hand. "I left you card at home." They had agreed between themselves that while they wouldn't buy each other anything, they would exchange cards so Sharon wanted to kick herself. It was the only thing she had to bring with her but given how she felt as she left it was lucky she remembered her shoes let alone his Valentine's Day card.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it. I can get it tomorrow when I take you home."

"Take me home?"

"I'm not letting you drive like this, even if you are feeling better" he insisted. "So where have Rusty and Gus gone?"

"They've gone to the movies. He took a balloon with him."

"He took it with him?" Andy asked with disbelief.

"Yes. Wait, why do you say it like that?"

Andy looked a little sheepish for a moment. "I may have given him a couple of pointers about Valentine's Day the other night" he admitted.

"Oh God!" Sharon cried, imagining the worse.

"Hey it was either me or Provenza giving the kid advice. Which would you have preferred?" As Andy fell silent Sharon thought for a moment. "Do you even need to think about it?"

"Yes to be frank. Couldn't you have pointed him in Mike's direction? What did you tell him?" Andy went to answer but Sharon cut him off first. "Wait, do I want the answer to this?"

"I can be trusted to give the kid advice about romantic gestures you know. I don't want to and I'd rather he didn't bring up dating with me at all but I am capable."

"Why?"

"Why do you think? What do I know about being gay? Nothing" he explained as once again he confirmed he didn't think he was the best person to be giving Rusty that kind of romantic advice.

"Even with all your vast experience with your boyfriend?" Sharon asked as she supressed a smile, still finding Andy's reaction to her calling Provenza his 'boyfriend' beyond amusing.

"Will you stop calling Provenza my boyfriend! You've got Mike and Julio doing it now."

"They're just jealous" Sharon said with a wink. "And what does it matter when it comes to giving advice that Rusty is gay? Dating is dating, it's all the same."

"I guess" Andy said, still uncertain.

"What did you tell him?"

Andy grinned. "I showed him some of my moves."

"Oh God."

"I'm kidding. I just told him to relax and enjoy himself. The kid was getting himself into a tizz about not knowing how to date and what to do on Valentine's Day so I just gave him a few pointers."

"Like taking a balloon to the movies?" Sharon laughed.

"No not that. After what happened with the sadly deceased 'Sharon' I thought he was staying away from everything inflatable" he said with a wry smile in reference to the blow up doll Sharon had stabbed in the aftermath of Provenza's bachelor party. "I told him to treat it like every other date and just enjoy himself. To stop putting so much pressure onto his shoulders."

"Good advice" Sharon said with a nod.

"Such a tone of surprise."

Sharon smiled. "Thank you for talking to him."

"You're welcome." Andy continued to stroke her back in silence before finally asking "Are you sure it's not my Superman sperm?" Without answering Sharon sat up, grabbed hold of his suspenders and snapped them really hard against his chest. "I'm going to take that as a no."

"I would if for no other reason than your own safety" Sharon replied as she got comfortable again.

"Okay and by the way ouch!" Andy complained as he rubbed his chest through his shirt.

"If you didn't want me to twang them then you shouldn't wear them."

"Oddly enough my main focus in wearing them is keeping my pants up."

"But you know they make you look as sexy as all hell right?" Sharon asked.

"Oh yeah" Andy replied as they both laughed. "But it doesn't stop my nipples from hurting when you twang them, especially lately."

"Oh not again" Sharon complained.

"What? Provenza nearly ripped them off with that wax" Andy went on, still complaining about what had been done to him as a forfeit at Provenza's bachelor party. "They still hurt. Suddenly I've become one of those guys with really sensitive nipples."

Sharon smiled sweetly. "They just need to be kissed better more regularly."

"Oh really?" Andy asked.

"Yes. Why don't you ask your boy..."

"Ask my boyfriend" Andy nodded, unimpressed.

"I'd do it but I'm too sick plus they might not be quite so sensitive if you'd stop constantly scratching your chest. Don't think I didn't notice you rubbing yourself up the corner of your desk yesterday."

"Since it started to grow back properly it's been really itchy. Like insanely itchy" he whined.

"Maybe you should apply some lotion. I know you could ask..."

"Ask my boyfriend" Andy said with a roll of his eyes. "We've got to get you a new routine. You've started to repeat yourself."

"And yet it's still very funny" Sharon laughed.

Again they both fell silent as Andy continued to stroke her hair and her back. "Are you sure there's nothing else I can get you? Anything that'll make you feel better?"

"Well there is one thing" Sharon said, meeting his eye.

"What is it?"

"A _Badge of Justice_ marathon."

"So what condition is your car in?" Andy asked, completely ignoring her last statement.

"What do you mean?" she questioned while laughing at the childlike way he ignored her.

"How much cleaning have I got to do before it's useable again?"

"None. It's fine."

Andy smiled at her. "You saved it all for me?"

"Of course I did."

"How thoughtful of you." Sharon laughed while Andy kissed her head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. So what song did you choose for me?"

"Didn't you hear it?"

"No I was too busy trying not to empty my stomach down your shirt front."

"I see. _Faith_ " Andy explained.

Sharon looked up at him confused. "What's that?"

Andy cleared his throat very dramatically as he prepared to sing to her. " _Well I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body. I know not everybody, has got a body like you"_ he sang before kissing her head as Sharon couldn't help but laugh. "I thought it was fitting given the moves I had planned for you later."

Sharon reached up and cupped his face. "You always pick the perfect song."

"For the perfect girl."

On evenings when Sharon would be staying the night at Andy's house he liked to plan every single aspect of the evening down to the very last detail to make it as perfect as possible and more often than not his plans for Sharon's arrival involved music. Andy had a very limited range when it came to music as he stuck to the tunes from his youth, this meant he listened to everyone from Tony Bennett to Frank Sinatra to Bobby Darin, all the crooners he heard floating into the street from open windows in his neighbourhood on long hot summer evenings in Harlem (with his stories making his childhood sound like a cross between _The Godfather_ and _Goodfellas_ but with Nuns and prostitutes and dog-eared copies of _Lady Chatterley's Lover_ ). However when it came to Sharon and more specifically her arrival at his house, he had a habit of finding random and often fairly modern songs to put his point across, his point being 'I'm going to seduce you tonight whether you like it or not' (not that Sharon ever objected).

At first it started as a joke between them as Andy attempted to make Sharon feel more comfortable in his home. She had never felt uncomfortable there before, spending lots of time at Andy's over the previous twelve months but when they first started dating officially a certain level of pressure was heaped onto their shoulders during dinners that were perfectly relaxed in the past but that was before the word 'date' was suddenly affixed to them. Sharon was openly nervous about spending time with Andy alone in his house during those first few weeks of dating. She was not worried or nervous about Andy applying any extra pressure to her in order to speed up their relationship, he was the perfect patient gentleman in that regard, she was worried about herself. She wanted to take their relationship slowly because she really liked him but given that they were already friends and she was his commanding officer, felt that going slowly was the only way they could ensure that they wouldn't ruin everything else they had if it didn't work out between them, though both were utterly determined to make it work. But despite her general nerves about the relationship she was about to embark on with Andy, Sharon feared that her 'go slow' request may completely fall apart the first time Andy smiled at her with those smouldering eyes since she was already facing an uphill struggle to keep her hands off him as it was despite the slow pace they were going at being solely her choice. She wanted him. She'd wanted him for a long time before that first date and keeping her hands to herself as everything else fell into place during those early days was difficult (hence why she laid the groundwork with Rusty and potential 'overnight guests' long before she felt their relationship was ready to move to that step, wanting everything in order for when the moment finally arrived).

After her confession during their first meal at his house that she was indeed nervous about all aspects of their new found relationship (obviously omitting that she was having a hard time not doing him right then and there on the kitchen table and emphasising that her nerves were as a result of dating her closest friend), Andy resolved to do something about it the next time she came over for dinner. To make Sharon feel less nervous, more comfortable and to get her to relax and laugh Andy went down the musical route. When she pulled up outside his house she instantly heard Marvin Gaye's _Get It On_ playing loudly and escaping through his open windows. She immediately laughed, knowing full well that Andy wasn't going to apply any pressure to her and his song choice was solely to amuse her which it did, greatly. Ever since it had become something that he did whenever he picked her up to go out (choosing the perfect song to be playing on his car stereo) or when she arrived at his house, it always making her laugh as he waggled his eyebrows at her and making her relax, the lyrics of his choice always contradicting his actions as he continued to be the perfect gentleman.

More recently Andy had used his musical welcome to great effect when he invited Sharon to his house one evening to make up for the bachelor party incident (something she insisted he didn't need to do but regardless he was still determined). With his black eye still very much visible, they were going to go out to dinner before returning to Andy's for the night but at the very last moment he phoned her and told her they were going to stay in instead and to come over as soon as she was ready, the growl in his voice making her marginally close to breaking the speed limit on her journey as she, after letting him out of the dog house the week before, began to think with a part of her anatomy that wasn't her brain. When she arrived at his door she discovered a handwritten note stuck to the outside which read ' _Come in! PLEASE come in!'_ in his now trademark scrawl which was a rather dangerous decision given how much Andy's elderly neighbour Mrs Williams wanted him. Sharon opened his door and was immediately greeted by Andy's song of choice blasting from his iPod. She didn't know the artist or where he'd discovered it but the general gist of the chorus was _'If you want it to be good girl, get yourself a bad boy.'_ That was it, any lingering annoyance over the bachelor party and to be more precise the strippers he'd spent the evening with was gone. She laughed hysterically and wanted him desperately and she hadn't even clapped eyes on him. She eventually found him cooking in the kitchen wearing nothing but an apron and the tie she had bought him that very first Christmas when they were still 'just friends' (and no it wasn't around his neck).

In return Sharon had started to do the same thing, music wise. Romantic dinners alone at the condo were at a premium what with work and with Rusty usually in attendance and joining them so when opportunity presented itself Sharon called Emily to help her pick an appropriate song for Andy's arrival (something that made Emily squeal so loudly with excitement as they Skyped each other that two birds on Sharon's balcony started to attack each other, wanting nothing more than to help her Mom in any way possible when it came to the man she desperately wanted to call her Step-Dad because he seemed to make Sharon so unbelievably happy, something her Father never did). The first time that they had the condo to themselves after Christmas Sharon invited Andy over for dinner and greeted him with Rhianna's _Only Girl_ which had lyrics he complied with even before dinner had finished cooking despite the sound of Sharon's neighbour Mrs Rose banging on the front door and complaining about the 'obnoxiously loud music.'

Sharon smiled up at Andy as best she could, clearly disappointed that she'd ruined their plans and was not only missing out on a delicious meal but one of Andy's typically funny and romantic evenings and yet despite the vomiting and how awful she felt, she was still having a good time with him, lying on his chest and talking about anything and everything. Suddenly her face changed. "Oh God! Here we go again." Sharon jumped up and began heaving as soon as she was in close enough proximity to the toilet. Again Andy followed her, scooping up her hair and making sure it stayed out of her way as he gently rubbed her back.

"How much more can be in there?"

"I don't know. False alarm."

"Good because from this point on you can only be bringing up organs." Andy lay back down quickly to enable Sharon to resume her previous position on top of him. "I'm thinking I should probably call someone."

Sharon pointed at him. "Do _not_ call the paramedics for stomach flu."

"Actually I meant the World Record people," Andy joked, "because I don't know what the record for projectile vomiting is, but you've definitely broken it since you've been here."

Sharon sighed. She was happy that Andy was trying so hard to distract her and make her feel better but she was also vomiting in front of the love of her life for the first time and that was still mortifying her to the point where she didn't need to be reminded of it. "I'm begging you just for five minutes stop trying to be funny."

"I don't need to try it just happens."

Sharon didn't respond other than to curl into a ball a little more as her head slipped down his chest slightly, her stomach continuing to roll and make her feel ill as Andy rubbed her back, it being the only thing he could really do under the circumstances. "Just kill me. I'm serious. Please put me out of my misery. I beg you" she pleaded, her illness as much as her embarrassment that it was happening in front of Andy contributing to her request.

Andy smiled, stroking the hair from her face. "Is that an order?"

"Yes Lieutenant" she nodded. "Please put me out of my misery and that is an order."

"Okay. Not a problem. How do you want me to do it? Smother you? Shoot you? Drown you?" he questioned before pausing and then suggesting "Orgasm to death?" with a waggle of his eyebrows and his trademark smoulder.

Despite the way she felt Sharon couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry did you mean laugh to death?" she joked with a wink.

"No I meant orgasm" Andy repeated as he again waggled his eyebrows at her, looking more like Groucho Marx than anyone else. "What do you say?"

"Well I admire your optimism and I'd certainly like to offer you the chance to try if I wasn't afraid I'm vomit on you."

"Oooh sexy" Andy said sweetly as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

Again Sharon laughed at him, causing her to take in a large gulp of air and a large gulp of Andy's rather potent cologne to go with it, making her cough. "Or you could just kill me with this revolting cologne. What the hell is this? It's like that air freshener Dr Morales insists on using at the morgue. Have you bathed in it? It's making my stomach churn" she ranted. Andy laughed, knowing that she didn't mean it and she was just cranky because she was ill but that didn't stop Sharon from covering her mouth with horror, realising just how awful what she had just said sounded. "I know! I know! I'm so sorry Andy. I'm sorry. I'm horrible when I'm ill. I'm rude and cranky and miserable and it's no wonder that Jack used to leave me on my own to get on with it when I was like this." With that she squeezed him tightly as she lay on him as her way of letting him know that she loved and appreciated everything he was doing for her even though she might not currently sound like she did.

"He used to leave you alone to fend for yourself when you were as sick as this?" Andy asked completely shocked although with everything he knew about Jack it really shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Of course he did, this is Jack Raydor we're talking about."

"Even so, is the guy crazy?"

"Are you serious? This is the same man who passed out on the floor in a drunken stupor and made me drive myself to the hospital while I had human head hanging out my twinkle" Sharon said bluntly, Ricky's birth being memorable for a variety of factors, not least because of how she got to the hospital. "Not that I can blame him," she added, offering Jack more of an excuse than he deserved, "I was no picnic to be around when I was in labour either."

It was universally acknowledged that Sharon Raydor was as fierce as they come. Back in her FID days people feared her not only because if she was on the scene it meant you were being investigated and if you'd so much as passed wind when you shouldn't have she would find out but also because she was as tough as nails, frighteningly so some would say. But that was only at work, at home she was a soft, calm and loving woman unless you happened to cross her, as Jack discovered to his peril, or of course she was ill or in labour and then it was like she was possessed by the devil as Andy was slowly finding out. She didn't do 'ill' well, turning into a completely different person as she suffered, snapping, yelling and driving everyone away. The same happened when she was giving birth, using words she wouldn't normally dream of using as she told Jack that if he ever came near here again she'd remove his scrotum with her bare hands. After Emily was born she calmed down somewhat but was obviously left exhausted and just needed some sleep so really wasn't impressed when Jack's Mother arrived and wouldn't leave her alone. Already criticising her as a Mother after just over an hour in the job, Sharon's blood began to slowly boil, this coming after very little sleep, labour, six months of swollen ankles, back ache, heartburn and spending two weeks unknowingly wearing two different types of shoes. After using a word she'd never used before and has never used since to make her leave, Jack's Mother insisted she was never going to speak to her again until Jack managed to smooth things over and explain that after sixteen hours of labour Sharon was a little tired.

"Who is? Let me tell you this Sharon," Andy started, suddenly sounding more serious than he had all evening, "that had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with you. Nothing. Jack used to leave you to fend for yourself because he's an asshole of epic proportions. No matter what you say, no matter what you do, I am not going anywhere because I love you and I try very hard every day not to be an asshole..."

"Well it depends on if you're in one of your 'funny' moods or not" Sharon joked with a smile as she took his hand in hers once again and linked fingers.

Andy laughed. "Okay point taken but right now I'm not an asshole," he said confidently, "I hope. I'm your boyfriend who loves you and as your boyfriend who loves you I'm going to take care of you no matter what, if you'll let me of course."

"Even if I'm horrible to you and incredibly cranky?"

"Especially if you're horrible to me and incredibly cranky" Andy replied before reaching down and kissing her forehead. "Sweetheart you have every right to be as cranky as you like when you're feeling this bad. In fact, if I think about it, Mean Cranky Sharon might be my second favourite of all the Sharons."

"You make it sound like I have a multiple personality disorder."

"Well…" he started before Sharon made a dart to pinch his knees. "Not the knees. Please not the knees."

"So who is number one?"

Andy smiled. "Need you ask?"

"Boozy Sharon?" she asked, knowing full well just how much Andy enjoyed himself at the Christmas party and when they returned to the condo following the large amount of very strong eggnog she'd consumed.

"You know it."

Sharon laughed. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being the most wonderful man in the world."

Andy shrugged, a smug smile on his face. "I'm not going to lie to you it's a tough job but someone has to do it. Now I know you're more than used to taking care of yourself and you don't need me to do it but on this one occasion will you let me please?" he asked, still feeling that the bathroom floor wasn't the best place for her to be if only she'd let him help her and move her to somewhere more comfortable.

"Yes" Sharon replied without a moment's thought.

Andy cupped his ears as if to amplify the sound. "I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that."

"Yes" she repeated with a roll of her eyes.

"Good. Now are you sure you wouldn't feel better after a nice hot bath?"

"Not right now. I don't have the strength or the energy."

"I can help you if you'd like," he suggested, "get in with you."

"Even with help and you to prop me up there's still a ninety percent chance I'd drown in it."

"I'm sure I've got some water wings in the garage somewhere."

"Water wings?" Sharon asked with a chuckle, imagining what she might look like sitting in Andy's bath, looking like she was at death's door while wearing inflatable armbands.

"Yeah, they were Nicole's. I have nothing newer since you murdered my inflatable friend."

"Andy if any part of your brain thinks giving your ill girlfriend an inflatable doll as a flotation aid in the bathtub is a good idea, you might want to give Dr Joe a call and see if he can refer you to a specialist" she informed him with a scowl.

"I see your point. What about the water wings?"

"Well as inviting as sitting with you in a bathtub while wearing water wings to stop me dying sounds I think I'll pass. I just want to lie down in bed and for you to cuddle me if that's okay. I just want you to hold me."

"That sounds perfect" Andy nodded before reaching down to kiss her forehead. "That I can do. Perhaps a cup of tea as well to see if that helps settle your stomach?"

Sharon smiled appreciatively. "You have all the best ideas."

Andy smirked as he lowered his head and as seductively as possible said "And I really think I need to get you out of this dress…and into something much more comfortable."

"Oh thank God. It's cutting off the circulation to my legs" she complained, having chosen appearance over comfort when she was picking her outfit.

"But it's been oh so worth it" Andy confirmed, letting her know that he appreciated her discomfort for his sake.

"Good."

"Now come here." Andy scooted out from underneath her and stood. He then bent down and scooped her up into his arms and carried her into his bedroom, a bit like the ending to _An Officer and a Gentleman_ but without the uniform and the added lingering smell of vomit. Once inside his bedroom Andy placed her very gently onto his bed in a seated position. "What can I find you to wear?"

"Anything warm. Anything of yours."

"You know since you brought that bag of your clothes here you've worn virtually nothing but my clothes" he pointed out with Sharon invariably choosing to slip on one of his t-shirts and pair of shorts than anything she owned.

"It's not my fault your wardrobe is comfier than mine for laying around the house in."

Andy frowned. "It kind of is."

"Oh just be quiet and dress me."

Andy laughed. "Yes ma'am." He kissed her on the top of her head before encouraging her to lie down and pulling the comforter on top of her to keep her warm while he found her something to wear. With Sharon wrapped up and settled he moved to his closet and retrieved a plain white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. When he returned to her he removed the comforter, helped her sit up and started to unzip her dress and remove it.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined you removing my dress this evening" Sharon said a little ruthfully as he left her sitting in just her purple lace underwear for a moment while he rolled up the legs of the sweatpants to make them easier to pull over her feet.

"I didn't expect the first night I spent at your condo to be in your son's bed but I guess we've never exactly been what you might call a conventional couple" Andy replied as he began to help her on with his sweatpants.

"Conventional? You make us sound like a Jerry Springer special." Sharon sighed as she lay back while Andy continued to dress her, her hands covering her face. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I've ruined Valentine's Day" she muttered beneath her hands, beyond distraught.

Aside from the romantic evening together with zero chance of being interrupted by a moody teenager or even work (since Rusty was on a date with Gus and they had worked all day Saturday wrapping up the most foulest of foul cases) Sharon had other plans for that evening. She had known about her job offer from the NFL for close to a month but other than a couple of phone calls she had yet to meet with anyone to discuss it face to face. What was clear from the outset as she spoke to her potential future employers on the telephone was that she was on a shortlist of one. They wanted her badly and they were determined to get her so really didn't mind that they needed to wait a little as she mulled it over in order to catch her, showing even more patience than Andy did if that's not too hard to believe so allowed her even more time to think it over. After giving herself some time to let the idea run through her mind without distraction, Sharon's plan was to discuss it with Andy over dinner. As the possibility of making a dramatic career change at such a late stage in life caused her unknowingly to behave a little erratic and seem constantly distracted it was obvious to her that she was not prepared to make any decision without Andy's input into the discussion and being completely on board, backing her all the way.

Andy smiled. Abandoning the sweatpants half way up her legs he climbed on the bed, a hand either side of her head as he hovered above her. "Oh sweetheart you haven't ruined anything" he said as he kissed her neck, her face still completely covered by her hands.

"I beg to differ" she sighed as she moved her hands to cup his face. "Your bathroom is practically swimming in vomit and the night isn't even over yet."

"Well yeah there is that but there are plenty more Valentine's Days in our future to make up for it so don't worry about it."

"I know but my underwear."

"I know! What a shock!" Andy joked as he stood back up and offered his hand to pull her into a sitting position. "You've actually left the condo wearing underwear" he joked, never letting her forget the night she arrived for Christmas drinks at Provenza's house minus her underwear.

"God I hate you" Sharon replied as she took his hand and sat up.

"No you don't."

"No I don't which is why I bought new and really uncomfortable underwear and everything just for tonight and just for you" she stated, gesturing towards her matching set. "I feel like I've got cheese wire under my breasts."

"Sexy" Andy said with a waggle of his eyebrows as he crouched back down and started to pull the sweatpants up her legs.

"Is that all you've got to say?"

"Sorry, let me rephrase. You bought new underwear just for me?" he said brightly.

"Yes. Can't you tell?"

"Sharon at the moment I'm too busy trying to get my sick but oh so beautiful girlfriend dressed and ready for bed to look at her underwear."

"Typical," Sharon exclaimed with frustration, "the one time you don't check me out."

"I'm not going to check you out when you're this sick" Andy stated, standing up.

"But it was expensive."

"It doesn't mat..."

"Andy just look at my underwear!" Sharon shouted with annoyance.

Andy laughed. "Okay, okay. I'm looking." He smiled as he stared at the very ill looking but still absolutely beautiful almost naked woman on his bed, looking her up and down as instructed. "You look absolutely beautiful as always."

"Okay that's enough ogling I'm sick."

Andy laughed again as he helped her stand for a second to pull the sweatpants up and over her hips before she sat back down again with a tired thud. "For the record I want you to know that I've also got my best underwear on tonight, just for you" he told her with a wink.

"You said you didn't have any 'best underwear.'"

"And I didn't until you mentioned it before Provenza's bachelor party so I went out and I bought some."

Sharon smiled. "You bought special underwear just for me?"

"Yes I did."

Sharon reached for him and grabbed his tie, playing it through her fingers. "Andy Flynn you old romantic."

"Less of the old please" he replied with a grimace. "Anyway I wouldn't get too excited they only read..."

"Don't, don't ruin it."

Andy laughed. "If you're conscious later I may let you see them."

"Something to stay awake for."

"You have no idea." Andy winked as he rolled up the t-shirt he'd selected for Sharon to wear before pausing and dropping it back on the bed. "Permission to remove your bra?"

"Since when do you need permission to remove my bra?"

"A gentleman should always ask."

Sharon laughed. "Is this something else your Grandfather taught you?"

"Maybe. Except he would call them 'foundation garments' and this fabulous piece of lace definitely does not fall into that category" he pointed out.

Sharon laughed again. "Permission granted but for the record a gentleman shouldn't be able to undo it with one flick of his little finger through my cardigan while we're sitting on the couch watching the television" she pointed out with Andy sometimes doing it just because he could do it completely unnoticed and enjoyed waiting for her to discover what he'd been doing behind her back with an exasperated and amazed 'Have you undone my bra again?'

"I thought you liked magic tricks."

"That's not magic, that's showing way too much experience."

Andy put his hands on his hips, a little put out. "This coming from the woman who can undo my pants without me noticing."

"Well sometimes you're still a little slow on the uptake when I'm putting a move on you" she shrugged in reply as Andy reached behind her to unhook her bra.

"I'm just grateful you're not wearing my nemesis otherwise I'd be doing this all night" he grumbled as he pulled the straps down her arms and dropped it to the ground. Andy's nemesis was black and plainer than the lacy affair he had just removed and for some reason he simply could not undo the clasp no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't that it was fiddly or anything like that because Sharon had no issues with it, he just couldn't do it and didn't know why, his frustrations growing with each failed attempt. It was a bra that Sharon wore a lot, mainly for work because it was comfortable and not something she wore while anticipating that he might remove it later but where bras were concerned, Andy wanted to undo them whether anything was going to happen between them that evening or not like some sort of compulsion, a 'There's a bra in this room, I must undo it' type of thing. It was also just something he did for her without asking or thinking when they were getting ready for bed in the same way that she would often remove his tie for him or retrieve his blood pressure medication and yet he'd spend ten minutes swearing and muttering to himself while battling with that particular piece of underwear while Sharon tried not to laugh.

"Seriously Andy I have never known a man have so much trouble unfastening a bra" Sharon laughed, wearing it for her own amusement at times when she knew he would be spending the night.

"It's impossible that's why" Andy complained as he rolled up the t-shirt to pull it over her head.

"I can do it."

"But you're a woman, it's easy for you" he pointed out as he pulled the t-shirt over her head and began to help put her arms in it. "It was clearly designed just for women and to be impossible for men to open. It's like an upstairs version of a chastity belt. Women in castles probably wore ones just like it to keep knights away from them."

Sharon laughed. "Well maybe it should give you a hint for the future, if I'm wearing it I'm really not in the mood." With her arms now in the t-shirt, Andy pulled it down her torso until she was finally dressed. "Thank you my beautiful boy."

"You're welcome" Andy replied before leaning down and meeting her lips with his own.

"Don't kiss me" Sharon said, covering her mouth with her hand as their lips parted. "My breathe must be horrific and I don't want you to catch it."

"If this isn't food poisoning then I think that ship has sailed but regardless I don't care" he stated with a shrug as he kissed her again, gently pushing their lips together.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" she asked as she lay back down, lacking the strength to keep herself upright a moment longer.

"You may have mentioned it once or twice in passing...after you'd mentioned how much you love Yoohoo" he joked, enjoying teasing her about one of her many aborted attempts to say 'I love you' before she finally told him that first time.

"Oh shut up."

Andy laughed. "And the beautiful cranky love of my life is back. Now can I get you a sweater or straight to the tea?"

"Tea please."

"Your wish is my command." Andy leant over her, slipping his arms underneath her to give her a quick cuddle while pushing their lips together again. Sharon instantly responded to him by wrapping both her arms and legs around his body, linking her heels together behind the small of his back and her arms behind his neck. When Andy stood again, much to his surprise, Sharon came with him, clinging to him as he quickly wrapped his arms around her back to make sure he didn't drop her. The way he stood up with ease made it look effortless but with his knees and back it really wasn't regardless of how light she actually was. "I suddenly feel a lot heavier than I did earlier" Andy announced as he stood upright, Sharon still clinging to his front like a sloth with her arms and legs meeting on his back.

"I don't know why" Sharon said as her eyes slipped closed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Are you going to stay here or come to the kitchen with me?"

"If you don't mind I'd like to stay with my own personal furnace."

"Okay. Not a problem." Andy's hands slipped to Sharon's backside so he could hold her to him more securely as he walked towards his bedroom door. "You know you're the first woman to cling to me like this since Nic was five."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Me too" Andy replied as he kissed the side of her head.

"Are you coping a feel?" Sharon asked as Andy adjusted his hands again on her backside, losing his grip slightly as she continued to cling to him like a toddler or Yoda.

"Maybe a little" he joked. "It is Valentine's Day after all."

"Good to know." They were both silent as Andy walked them through the candle lit living room and towards the kitchen until Sharon announced "If I ever complain that you're too hot again you have my permission to slap me."

Andy smiled. "I have a feeling you'll be revoking that when you're better and you're throwing the covers off the bed and fanning yourself with a magazine."

"Never, never again."

As they entered the kitchen the evidence of Andy's hard work was clear to see. The oven was on with both lasagnes cooking, his cutting board and various dirty utensils stacked on the counter and ready to be washed. The table in the centre of the room was set with a tablecloth, some red roses in a vase in the centre with candles and rose petals scattered all around them. A bottle of red wine and a jug of water and another of cranberry and soda joined them on the table. In the background Ella Fitzgerald sang _Heart and Soul_ from Andy's iPod to complete the intimate but romantic settling however all of it went completely unnoticed by Sharon as her eyes remained closed from sheer exhaustion, her head still resting on his shoulder.

Andy crossed the room and sat Sharon down on the kitchen counter. "Sit there while I make the tea" he instructed but when he went to move Sharon remained clinging to him. "Or not, that's fine" he laughed as he kissed her head again. He smiled. It would be a lie to say that he didn't like the position he currently found himself in despite how disappointed he was with how the evening had turned out. Sharon was always so fiercely independent that he never expected her to need him in that way, to just want him to hold her when she was at her most vulnerable and he was overjoyed that after all the weeks she had taken care of him in the past, he was able to return the favour although in not quite the same way. Andy was a macho guy, he always had been and simply couldn't help but enjoy being wanted and being needed by Sharon as she clung to him for warmth and comfort with the last bit of energy she had remaining.

Andy rested her on the edge of the sink as he reached behind and grabbed the kettle, a new kettle he'd bought specifically because Sharon liked tea at the end of a troublesome day, and filled it up, placing it on the stand to boil. He picked her back up as he moved to a nearby cabinet, using one hand to retrieve two mugs and put a teabag in each. He grabbed a spoon from the draining board before moving to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down while Sharon remained clinging to his front. As he sat and waited for the kettle to boil his hand rubbed up and down her back as he kissed her hair. "Feeling any better?"

"A little" she replied without opening her eyes. "I'm glad to be free of that dress."

"Good." He kissed her head again as the kettle slowly came to the boil. As the whistling died down he stood back up, taking Sharon with him and continuing to support her with a single hand while resting her on the counter. Andy made the tea as quickly as possible considering he was working with one hand before picking up Sharon's mug and taking both her and her tea back into his bedroom.

Andy put Sharon's tea on the nightstand next to her side of the bed before pulling the covers back and sitting her down on the edge. She opened her eyes and smiled at him before he brushed her hair from her face and kissed her cheek again. She lay down on her own, settling on her side and facing the edge of the bed as Andy pulled the covers over her, tucking her in. "I'll be right back. I won't be long, I promise."

He kissed her head again before walking back out of the bedroom and straight into the kitchen. He looked around the room at the mess he'd created and sighed. The evening had definitely not worked out the way he'd hoped but it didn't matter to him, choosing to try to make the best out of a bad situation as much as he could. At least they were together, at least he'd been there to help and comfort her. He turned off the oven before blowing out the candles on the table and switching off his iPad. After a moment he crouched down under the sink and pulled out a bucket. Finally he picked up his tea, sniffing it before adding more sugar and milk in an attempt to make it more appealing to him. With his tea and the bucket in his hands he left the kitchen, switching the light off with his elbow as he went past.

Once in the living room he did likewise, blowing out all the candles and turning out the lights before kicking off his shoes by the front door and grabbing Sharon's purse from the couch, tucking it under his arm. Back in his bedroom he put his tea next to Sharon's before taking her glasses from the top of his head and placing them within her reach on the nightstand should she require them. Next was her purse, opening it up, removing her cell phone and switching it to silent before placing it next to her tea and glasses, never knowing if Rusty might call late at night with an emergency. Finally he placed the bucket on the ground by the bed just as Sharon opened her eyes to see him.

"Just in case" he said with a smile as he gestured towards the object at his feet.

"Thank you, now get in here and wrap your arms around me please."

"Just one more second." Andy moved around to the other side of the bed and quickly removed his tie, shirt, pants and socks, leaving him in just his boxer shorts and t-shirt. After scooping his clothes up from the floor he unceremoniously dumped them in a pile on a ratty old chair in the corner of the room, (that chair being the only thing he'd taken from his former home with Carol aside from his clothes, it being the chair he'd sat up nights with Nicole and Daniel in when they wouldn't go to sleep), before picking up Sharon's dress from the bed. Unlike his own clothes Andy went to the closet and selected a coat hanger, sliding the dress on and hanging it up carefully, taking much better care of her clothes than his own. With everything dealt with Andy pulled back the covers and climbed in, kicking his feet and legs out from underneath before spooning up behind Sharon, draping his arm around her and holding her close to keep her warm. "How's that?"

"Utterly wonderful."

"Good."

Andy kissed her on the shoulder as her hand slipped behind her, grabbing hold of his backside and running her hands up and down his new and best underwear. "Satin?" she asked with a smile.

"Yep."

"You bought satin underwear for me?"

"I most certainly did." Sharon laughed as she brought his hand to her lips and kissed it.

They lay in silence for a minute or two and just cuddled until Andy started to clear his throat with exaggeration. Sharon's eyes shot open, knowing what was coming and that he was about to sing to her. "Oh God!" she cried. "Sing anything with 'sperm' in it and I will stab something very sensitive with my finger nails. I'm not kidding."

"What song has 'sperm' in it?" he asked with complete innocence.

"Oh I'm sure you know something at the back of that very warped brain of yours."

Andy smiled and laughed as his hand moved to rub her stomach. After a moment he started to sing very quietly in her ear. " _Did you ever see a dream walking? Well, I do. Did you ever hear a dream talking? Well, I do. Did you ever have a dream thrill you with 'Will you be mine?' Oh, it's so grand, and it's too, too divine! Did you ever see a dream dancing? Well, I do. Did you ever see a dream romancing? Well, I do! Did you ever find heaven right here in your arms, saying, 'I love you, I do!' Well, the dream that was walking, and the dream that was talking, the heaven in my arms was you."_

As Andy fell silent Sharon leant back into his body and turned her head to try to see him. "I love you Andy Flynn."

"I love you too."

Sharon smiled again as Andy planted another kiss to her shoulder. "Again" she said.

"Again?"

"Yes."

Andy grinned to himself before kissing her shoulder one more time. " _Did you ever see a dream walking? Well, I do."_

Forty minutes away from Andy's house an equally unsuccessful Valentine's Day date was taking place for Provenza and Patrice. As Andy held a very poorly Sharon and sang in her ear in an attempt to make her feel that little bit better, Provenza and Patrice sat in his car outside a McDonald's. Both were dressed to the nines, Provenza in a tux and Patrice in a blue strapless dress that made her look like she'd just stepped foot off a catwalk, making them stick out like a sore thumb at a fast food joint. Provenza stuck his head out of his window as he shouted at the microphone in a loud and exaggerated manner while Patrice just scowled at him.

"And a large fries" he shouted before turning to Patrice. "What would you like?"

Patrice simply rolled her eyes at him. "This is hardly what I call healthy eating Louie."

"But it's our only option. We either eat here or find something at home."

"Fine" Patrice replied reluctantly and through gritted teeth. "I'll have a Big Mac."

"That's my girl" he exclaimed gleefully, taking her hand and kissing it before turning his attention back out the window. "And a Big Mac." The adolescent on the other end of the microphone responded in unintelligible English as the speaker crackled and popped. "What?" Provenza asked only to be met with another round of cracking sounds and broken English. "I'll just drive to the window" he shouted loud enough for them to hear inside without the aid of the microphone. Mumbling to himself about technology throughout Provenza drove to the next window, paid for their food before putting it in Patrice's lap and driving to the nearest empty parking bay and turning off the car engine.

Patrice stared at him with irritation. "And now we're just going to sit here? In the parking lot and eat this crap?"

"That is the plan" Provenza confirmed as he took the bag of grease from her lap and put it on the dash in front of him.

"What's wrong with going inside?"

"We couldn't do this inside" he said with a smile as he reached across her and left her a little uncertain of his current intentions.

Patrice held her hands in the air. "Whatever you're thinking Louie you've got a lot to make up for before we reach that point" she warned.

"I'm just trying my hardest to make the best out of a bad situation here. Now let me do this." Provenza pushed Patrice's seat back until she was almost lying down before unbuckling both of their seatbelts and doing the same with his own seat and then opening the sunroof. "See? Dinner under the stars" he said as he gestured towards the heavens above them and smiled before putting the car stereo on and filling their ears with Billie Holiday. "This isn't so bad right?"

Patrice smiled, her attitude towards him softening slightly. "I guess not."

"I am really sorry" he said after a few moments of silence. "I honestly did make a booking at the restaurant. I didn't forget" he insisted.

Provenza had been promising Patrice a special dinner for weeks, ever since his disastrous bachelor party. He had a lot to make up for, not least for lying to her about what had happened, texting her first thing in the morning to say they'd been called into work when Patrice had already called Sharon and discovered the truth. It was as mad as he had ever seen her as she marched into the Murder Room on that Sunday morning just as he completed his statements for Robbery Homicide and Professional Standards. Much to his embarrassment she really let him have it in front of everyone, livid at him because not only had he spent the previous evening in a strip club but he'd also blatantly lied to her about it. His head had been banging all morning, it only felt worse as Patrice dragged him from the building by his tie in front of everyone, making him look like a schoolboy who had been caught looking up a girl's skirt during recess, an incident no one, least of all Andy, was ever going to let him forget.

With all that in mind he was determined to make more of an effort than usual (he'd decided several decades before that one of the reasons why his marriages hadn't worked out was because he made little to no effort on days like Valentine's Day. The reason behind his lack of effort was because he thought it was all a scam on behalf of greetings card companies along with objecting to the notion that they were telling him when he should be romantic. In truth he had a point, being told and forced into being romantic on a certain date hardly made it romantic at all compared to a spontaneous gesture on any other day of the year but his former wives tended to disagree when all of their friends were being sent flowers and being taken out to dinner and all they received was a mumbled 'It's not romantic if I'm being forced into it' instead). He had made all the arrangements himself. He booked the restaurant (a place that cost more per head on average than what he spent on his first car) and even bought Patrice a dress he'd seen her eyeing in a window shortly after Christmas. At the start of the evening clad in his tuxedo and with a bunch of flowers in hand he left the house via the backdoor without Patrice noticing and rang the doorbell, waiting for her to answer like he was picking her up on their very first date (aside from the meal he bought her immediately after Keisha's arrest). Patrice loved it, right up until the point they reached the restaurant and realised that something had gone horribly wrong with their booking. She was absolutely fuming with both Provenza and the maître d' as both swore blind that it wasn't their mistake and pointed their fingers at the other. With the place completely booked out along with the rest of the city, it was Valentine's Day after all, their only options were McDonalds (or somewhere else equally grease covered) or returning home to a fairly empty refrigerator and a frosty atmosphere.

Patrice smiled at him kindly and took his hand in hers. "That's okay Louie I believe you and I'm sorry I got mad at the restaurant. The important thing is that we're together, it doesn't matter where." She cupped his face and gently pushed their lips together, unable to stay mad with those sad big brown eyes staring at her a moment longer. "Now eat your Big Mac and accept that this is your next five cheat days rolled into one."

"Five?" Provenza asked, truly horrified.

"Care to make it six?"

Provenza thought for a moment before quickly caving in and agreeing to her terms. "No five sounds about right" he nodded before starting to hand out the food from the paper bag.

Patrice laughed. "So what are Andy and Sharon up to this evening?" she asked, taking a large bite from her rather sad looking hamburger since she was now completely famished what with the lateness of the hour.

"He's invited her over to his place so they can be completely away from people."

"Well it is their first Valentine's Day."

"No it's not that, well it is but it's also because he wants to ask her something." The second the words left his lips Patrice's face lit up as she pictured a proposal about to take place and a wedding invitation landing in their mailbox sooner rather than later. Provenza instantly realised that she'd very much got the wrong end of the stick. "Not that!" he was quick to clarify. "She's been acting...oddly for a couple of weeks now. We've all noticed, even Morales. He's finally going to sit her down tonight and get to the bottom of it" he added, his concern evident from not only the tone of his voice but the fact that he hadn't yet touched his burger.

"Oddly?" Patrice questioned, turning to face him more.

"Yeah. Has she said anything to you?"

"Since you've been behaving yourself of late I haven't had to speak to her recently. What do you mean 'oddly'? What has she been doing?" Patrice asked. In reality she really didn't know Sharon that well and vice versa having only met her a handful of times, two of which were essentially double dates so wouldn't be able to gage any odd behaviour herself. What she did know of Sharon however was that she was an incredibly calm, controlled and dignified woman whereas her fiancé was often oblivious to other people's emotions so if he'd noticed something strange about her, it must be serious indeed.

"She's just been strange" he explained unhelpfully. "Like she's distracted by something but I mean really distracted. I've asked her if she's okay and she smiles and says 'Fine' but there's something there" he added with a frown prompting Patrice to run her hand down his worried face. "Flynn's worried she might be keeping something from him."

"Like what?"

Provenza shrugged. "Like she might be ill."

Patrice sat in silence for a moment as she studied his face, seeing how much worry there was in his eyes. "Louie" she said sweetly as she took his hand and brought it into her lap, clutching it tightly. "You sound really worried about this."

"I have to admit that I am. If anything were to happen to her I'm not sure that he'd cope" he stated as he leant his head back and closed his eyes, a sigh escaping from his lips. Yes he was worried about his Captain, there was no denying that. Over the years the woman that he had once loathed with every fibre of his being, he had gradually begun to love and that was long before she started dating his best friend but more than anything he was worried about Andy. At the time they were not that close to be truthful, hardly what you would call friends but when Andy finally hit rock bottom it didn't come as a surprise to either of them that his so called 'friends' were not lining up around the block to help him so Provenza took charge, unable to leave his colleague without at least one person to help him through it. And take charge Provenza certainly did. He found him an AA meeting close to work and the apartment he was renting at the time, he drove him when he needed him to, he gave him the names of all of his divorce lawyers and he was always on the other end of the phone when Andy was tempted and needed to be talked down from the ledge because Carol was keeping him away from his kids. At the time Provenza cared about him as his colleague and just as fellow human being, how could he not when faced with this broken man who desperately needed help, but it was different now, much different. He was his partner, his best friend, his mischief maker in chief and the guy who always had his back regardless of any danger to himself. He knew how much Andy loved Sharon, he knew perhaps before Andy had realised it himself and if anything were to happen to her Provenza wasn't sure he'd be enough to help him get through the darkness and live his life again without her in it.

"I'm sure you're all worrying over nothing" Patrice assured him. "If there was something really wrong with Sharon I'm sure she would have told Andy and her kids for that matter by now. You're worrying over nothing" she said cheerily, focusing on getting Provenza not to worry until he knew there was something to worry about.

"You think so?"

"Oh I know so" she smiled. "Do either of them know you care this much about them?"

"I don't care," Provenza shrugged in complete denial about his feelings, "I'm just tired of hearing about it that's all." Patrice laughed feeling that perhaps he was protesting a tad too much. "But I'm sure Flynn would say the same thing about me and the wedding."

"Well there's a simple way to stop that. We could just pick a day and go across to City Hall and..."

"Patrice, for the hundredth time I am not getting married across the street in my lunch hour" he stated with no wriggle room whatsoever evident in his tone.

"It doesn't have to be during your lunch hour. It could be on your day off" Patrice replied as they had the same conversation for about the thirtieth time.

"I know but this is without a shadow of a doubt my very last wedding. I want it to be as beautiful as my bride and a day we will always remember."

"As long as I'm marrying you Louie, it doesn't matter where or how it takes place, it will still be a perfect day and one to remember" she informed him, sealing it with a kiss.

"Then why won't you let me make a fuss of you? Spoil you?"

"It's not about that Louie."

"Is it about your family? Because they don't like me and you want to avoid a big wedding and possibly a scene because of Keisha? Is that it? Because I can behave myself if they will and those God forsaken dogs aren't in the vicinity."

"Who would bring a dog to a wedding?"

"I wouldn't put anything past your sister just to annoy me."

"No Louie. Not at all. It doesn't have anything to do with Keisha. And they do like you...only in small doses" she clarified. "Very small doses."

"Like they're the friendliest people in the world."

"It has nothing to do with family or money or any other reason you can summon up from your very vivid imagination."

"Then what is it?"

Patrice sighed before smiling and meeting his eyes. "I just want to marry you Louie. That's it. The sooner I become Patrice Provenza the better in my eyes. That's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted."

"I know and that's what I want too but I also want to give you a special day. The day you deserve. What if I help out?"

"Help out with what? The wedding?"

"Yes. What if I pull my weight and make sure you don't have to lift a finger?" he asked, prepared to do whatever it took in order to have a grand and lavish wedding rather than stepping foot in City Hall.

"You said that about decorating the house and then guess who did all the work."

"Your designer friend" Provenza blurted out a little ill advisedly.

"With my help thank you very much."

"Look I mean it. I'll do everything" he insisted. "Just give me a chance to prove it to you and to make everything as beautiful as my bride, that's all I ask."

"And I ask that you don't take too long about it."

"Okay. It's a deal" Provenza proclaimed as he brought Patrice's hand to his lips.

"But if I end up doing it all on my own we go back to doing things my way and..."

"Patrice there's..."

"And, listen to me," she said cutting him off, "you do it without complaint. Understand?"

"Okay" Provenza nodded. "We have a deal" he confirmed before leaning across and kissing her sweetly on the lips.

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day my darling Patrice."

"Oh I love you Louie" she said with a beaming smile as she settled back into her seat.

"I love you too." Once again Provenza leant across and joined their lips together before settling back into his seat. There they sat, their heads resting as close together as they could, food in their laps as they held hands, gazing up at the stars through the sunroof as Billie Holiday sang _The Very Thought of You_ on the car radio.


	21. Chapter 21

_This chapter takes place immediately before the start of 4x19 Hindsight Part One. Since the narrative in Hindsight takes place over the course of about a week but was broadcast over five weeks, to get any sense of time I have chosen to set this chapter during the second week of March 2016, leading up to Provenza's wedding during the third week of March 2016 when Part Five was actually broadcast._

 _I freely admit that I know absolutely nothing about the NFL or American Football. I only know what I can glean from Twitter conversations between_ _ **Kadi219**_ _and_ _ **Kate04us**_ _and that every now and then a game is played at Wembley where they ruin the pitch and every time someone makes a tackle there's an immediate five minute tea party while everyone seems to recover. That being said I have tried my best and if what small amount of information I've included is wide of the mark please remember that I am very English and would much rather watch cricket._

 _I don't have anyone to proof read these things for me and since they're so ridiculously long it's getting harder to do, so if any typos have got past me I apologise but after a while I start to experience twaddle blindness._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty One**

As the elevator does opened on the eleventh floor Rusty tiptoed out, doing his best to move as quietly as humanly possible, stealth like you might even say so as not to disturb her, that woman, the dragon lady, Mrs Rose. Sharon's neighbour had never liked him, not one bit, in fact 'loathe' might be a more accurate description of her feelings towards him. She'd never liked Sharon that much either to be perfectly honest but she reserved a special piece of hatred in her heart just for Rusty. The first time he met her and Sharon introduced them Mrs Rose looked at him as if her neighbour had brought home a grizzly bear, a grizzly bear who might break into her condo and rip her to shreds at any moment. It was an instant dislike and he hadn't even opened his mouth to take a breath. That sense of loathing only increased and intensified when there was a murder in the building, a murder caused by a mad man trying to gain access to the boy himself. However even before that if Mrs Rose could find something to complain about when it came to Rusty she would, usually speaking to the condo board and claiming that he was 'too loud.' A young man who only played music with his earbuds in was too loud! In fact Rusty was so quiet Sharon had to check if he was home on multiple occasions. Like Sharon, Rusty was under the opinion that Mrs Rose didn't sleep or do anything at all really, instead she waited by the door to her condo, probably perched on a stool with a notepad and pen and waited for a reason to complain about her neighbours.

With that in mind and with the time fast approaching Midnight he walked as quietly as possible down the corridor, appearing like he was moving in slow motion like a character from _Baywatch_. With his key to the condo already removed from the car keys in the elevator to avoid an unnecessary noise Rusty slowly slid it into the lock and turned it. He smiled as he opened the door, relieved that he'd managed to get home once again without upsetting Smaug the Terrible next door, until he heard that familiar creak of her door opening. The noise instantly made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, a sensation he'd not felt since the last time he came face to face with Philip Stroh. Did that woman never sleep? He had two options and very little time to make a decision, he could be yelled at by Mrs Rose now and get it over and done with or run inside and shut the door and allow her to accost Sharon in the morning. He thought for a moment and did what every other nineteen year old would do in similar circumstances, he ran into the condo and quickly locked the door behind him.

He cringed as the sound of the door slamming echoed around the empty condo, worried that he may have woken his Mom or Andy…well maybe not Andy. He knew Andy well enough by now to know that he could give him a nipple ring in his sleep and he wouldn't wake up. Rusty took his car keys out of his pocket and put them next to Sharon and Andy's on the table, alongside Andy's gun and badge. It was no longer a surprise to see those things on the table when he walked into the condo, in fact it was now weird to walk in and not see them, to know Andy wasn't spending the night in his Mom's bed.

Satisfied that his entrance had been quiet enough to not wake Sharon, Rusty started towards his bedroom when he heard a clatter coming from the kitchen. "Hello?" he said, surprised that either of them were still awake.

"In here kid" Andy called from the kitchen. He was clad only in his t-shirt and boxers, his hair wet which made it look darker, the evidence of his very recent shower as he poured himself a glass of water.

Rusty rounded the corner to see him and nodded his greeting. "Hey" he said as he dumped his rucksack on the couch and hovered in front of it to speak to his would be Step-Father. "What are you still doing up?"

"We fell asleep on the couch in front of a movie" Andy replied while getting his blood pressure pill from the bottle on the counter.

Rusty laughed. "Wow the fun never stops for you does it Lieutenant? Life is one long party."

Andy looked back at the youngster unamused. "Hey one day kid you'll be my age and you'll see that there's nothing wrong with a nap with the love of your life in front of the TV at the end of a very long day." Work had been somewhat long and tiring, the fifth and unprecedented straight day of nothing but paperwork (something that became more draining than an active case as they spent all day hunched over their desks without stepping foot outside) and in truth Sharon and Andy didn't have any grand plans other than a relaxing evening and perhaps an early night so it was no surprise that either of them fell asleep in front of the TV before Cary Grant had even had chance to lay eyes on Ingrid Bergman in _Notorious_. "What are you doing home anyway?" Andy asked, a little hint of concern in his voice as he couldn't hide his surprise at seeing him. "I thought you were staying with Gus tonight." It was not a common occurrence by any means because their relationship was still at a relatively early stage but Rusty had started to spend the night with Gus because of how far away Gus lived from the condo, it making common sense in that regard to stay there. However Rusty slept on his bedroom floor, neither of them really ready to share a bed with the other just yet.

"Why?" Rusty questioned a little anxiously with a grimace. "Am I interrupting your plans?"

"Yeah didn't you know? We always sleep in your bed completely naked and eat jam when you're not here" Andy joked as Rusty immediately pulled a beyond disgusted expression. "Have you never noticed the whole room smells of strawberries when you walk in there?"

"Oh God!" Rusty cried as a hand covered his face and Andy laughed hysterically at his apparent discomfort. "There's an image Dr Joe will have to spend several weeks helping me to repress before the nightmares stop." Rusty paused as he looked up at Andy, registering once again that he was wearing next to nothing. "Speaking of which, where is your robe?"

Andy shrugged. "At home."

"And you don't own another?"

"Nope. Sorry kid."

"Well at least now you know what you're getting from me for your next birthday" Rusty informed him with a grin. By now Rusty liked Andy, he liked him a lot. He was kind, funny, clearly made Sharon happier than he'd ever seen her and unlike other 'Mother's boyfriends' he had known in his life he had a lot of time for Rusty, talking to him, offering him advice and always available for a game of chess regardless of whether he'd rather cuddle up on the couch with Sharon instead. If Rusty sat down and thought about it he might even go as far as to say that he was growing to love Andy and not just as a friend but as a Father figure. And yet despite that, despite how much he did like him and enjoyed his company and vice versa, as he'd told Sharon when she initially brought up the idea of a plan for 'overnight guests,' he was still disgusted by the idea or the image of Andy wearing anything other than a suit (at the time he was horrified at the thought of discovering Andy in just his bathrobe around the breakfast table one morning but now that he had moved back home after his surgery along with the rest of his wardrobe he wore even less, always in just his t-shirt and boxer shorts because that's all he had at the condo, something that Rusty made a point of complaining about, really not needing to see Andy in his underwear) and anything that might take place between them behind his Mom's closed bedroom door other than sleeping.

"Hey I could always put Sharon's back on" Andy suggested with a wink. When he came to stay over Christmas he remembered to pack everything, even his Santa suit to surprise Sharon with on Christmas Day but forgot his robe. To appease Rusty after he balked at the sight of Andy in his underwear as they unwrapped their gifts on Christmas morning, he slid on one of Sharon's robes which only served to traumatise Rusty more. Andy's big hairy legs sticking out underneath that frilly satin pink robe was more than Rusty's stomach could handle.

"As horrifying as that was the last time I think I'll pass. Not to labour a point here but where are your pyjamas? I know you own them. I've seen you in them. You stayed here and wore them before you checked into the hospital" Rusty pointed out.

"Sure," Andy shrugged, "I just don't like to wear them." When they agreed to start keeping clothes at each other's places the one thing Andy didn't pack (other than a robe because he only owned one) was pyjamas because firstly he wasn't packing a bag in case he needed to go to the hospital and secondly he simply didn't like wearing them. It was different when he was staying in Rusty's room, wearing pyjamas to keep himself covered up because at that point he and Sharon had shared plenty of heated kisses but little else and was still a little self-conscious about his body around her since they hadn't yet slept together.

"Why not?"

"They're too hot" Andy said plainly, feeling hot as it was and he was wearing next to nothing and standing on a cold floor for good measure.

"Too hot? Are you going through the 'change' Lieutenant?" Rusty asked as he laughed.

"Only if it lasts fifty years."

"You can't be that hot." With that Andy quickly smirked and went to speak before Rusty cut him off. "Do not say a word to me about what Mom thinks about your ridiculously hairy body or I may vomit."

Andy laughed. "Touch me" he said, holding his arm out for Rusty to take.

"What?"

"Find out for yourself. Go on. Touch me." As Andy continued to hold out his arm for him to take Rusty looked at him like he'd rather lick peanut butter off the buttocks of a body in the morgue than grab hold of his Mom's semi naked boyfriend shortly after midnight in the kitchen. Seeing Rusty's slightly alarmed face Andy smiled. "Look if it makes you feel any better pretend you think I'm dead again and you're checking to see if I have a pulse."

Rusty rather reluctantly closed the small gap between them and grabbed hold of Andy's arm, his jaw immediately dropping open. "Oh my God" he exclaimed as he pulled his hand away and inspected his palm, like he was checking for burns. "That's insane. You're like a freak of nature." Rusty had never heard Andy complain that he was hot but Sharon had mentioned it from time to time and the evidence was there from how he chose to sleep but Rusty was now wondering why there wasn't a long line of Hobbits standing outside of the condo door waiting to throw a ring at him. "How does Mom stand to share a bed with you?"

"Now you know why she's always beating the crap out of me in her sleep. She's trying to kick me out of bed because she's too hot and she wants me as far away from her as possible" Andy joked.

Rusty laughed, still enjoying the fact that Sharon would beat the living daylights out of Andy some nights. "Is she still doing that? I haven't heard you squealing like a pig in the middle of the night for a while."

"Every now and then. Not enough that she's left a mark where you can see it but so regular that I might put a mattress on the floor so I have a softer landing when I roll off the edge of the bed trying to escape her."

Rusty laughed again. "Funny."

"Forgetting my night time attire and physical attacks or lack thereof for one moment, tell me about Gus" Andy started. "So what gives? Why aren't you staying over? You've not had a fight I hope?" he asked as he swallowed his pill and began to drink his water. It would be lying to say that despite how much Rusty liked or even loved Andy that they were getting on like a house on fire because they weren't but conversation had certainly been a lot more free flowing between them ever since the bachelor party. Even so Rusty was still calling him Lieutenant much of time but that seemed to be more force of habit that anything else although everyone but Rusty found it slightly strange to hear him use it away from PAB.

"No, no, nothing like that" Rusty assured him as he sat on the back on the couch. "I was supposed to stay over tonight after we'd been to the movies but he got called into work to cover a shift before we even made it there. I hung around for a while and I was going to wait for him to come home but it's a private party so Gus won't be home for hours and I can't deal with his weird roommate all on my own."

"Weird? Weird how?"

"Well to begin with the guy like never sleeps, ever, and he's like super loud. I'd get more sleep lying on a bed of nails under the freeway in a thunder storm then I would with him banging around until dawn."

Andy laughed. "What does he do all night?"

"We don't know" Rusty replied with a completely baffled expression. "I've told Gus that he should install a hidden camera to find out. He just seems to wander the apartment all night long making as much noise as humanly possible. Try sleeping with Bigfoot stomping around outside your bedroom door for eight hours straight Lieutenant." As far as roommates and cheap accommodation in Los Angeles were concerned, Gus was more than grateful to take whatever he could get but his roommate, Will, was weird and his night time exploits were the main reason that Rusty slept on Gus's floor rather than the couch in the living room as they were both a little uncertain what Will was doing all night long.

"Okay well I can see how that could be a problem."

"Then there are his hobbies."

"Hobbies?" Andy smiled. "I'm scared to ask."

"He's like really into taxidermy. Like Norman Bates type obsessed. His backpack is filled with roadkill he's picked up in the neighbourhood and the smell is like beyond disgusting."

At once Andy's grimace matched Rusty's as they both wondered if this was not perhaps the first step on the road to being a serial killer that Major Crimes would one day investigate. "Please tell me he doesn't stuff them in the kitchen."

"No he does it in his bedroom thank God. But when he's finished with them he displays them in all the communal areas. Everywhere you look there are these horrible, tiny, dead vacant eyes staring at you like they're screaming for help. It's so creepy" Rusty added with a shudder.

"Tiny, dead, vacant eyes huh? It sounds like Provenza when he's about to get married."

Rusty laughed. "So I figured I might as well just come home and get some sleep at the very least and see Gus tomorrow." He paused for a moment as he looked at his feet. Very slowly he lifted his head to meet Andy's eye and asked "So have you asked her yet?"

Andy sighed as he shook his head. "No not yet."

"What? Why not?" Rusty asked a little annoyed. "That was one of the reasons why I cleared out tonight, to give you the chance to do it without me here."

"I know but I told you we fell asleep earlier" Andy explained as he tried to justify his actions.

"That's just another excuse, you've been going to ask her since Valentine's Day and you still haven't done it."

"In my defence she was really ill on Valentine's Day."

"That was one day. What about the rest of them? You've had close to a month since then."

Andy smiled to himself for a moment. He currently felt like he was sitting opposite Sharon in an interview room at PAB. For two people who weren't actually blood related, they were so alike in so many ways. "I know but I can never seem to find the time."

"Find the time? To ask her one question? You guys talk for like hours when you go to bed" Rusty pointed out, forever hearing them talking when he happened to walk past Sharon's bedroom door on the way to get a glass of water, wondering when they ever found time to actually sleep.

"How do you know that?"

"How could I not know more like" Rusty said with a frown. "You forget I sleep only a few feet away from your bedroom. I hear you both laughing all the time, for hours. Surely the two of you have got nothing left to talk about at this point."

Andy smiled, relieved that by being friends first and taking things slowly that he and Sharon would never stop finding things to talk about. "You'd be surprised."

"I don't know why you bother going to bed in the first place since all you do is just talk endlessly about God knows what for hours."

"We like to unwind after work and that's how we do it okay" Andy said a little defensively. He'd never been one for pillow talk in the past mainly because towards the end of their marriage Carol wanted to stab him in the face rather than talk to him and most of the women he dated afterwards were less than intelligent, in fact most of them would assume that _A Farewell to Arms_ was a diet book. That all changed with Sharon though. It wasn't just that he liked to talk to her and vice versa, they both found it a relaxing way to end their day, always finding something to chat about and enjoying that time together as they cuddled together in bed and talked until they fell asleep.

"That's great but since you're already talking couldn't you work it into the conversation somehow?"

"I've tried Rusty, honestly I have but I'm...I don't know." Andy rubbed his hands through his hair before slumping down on the counter, pushing his forehead against it.

Rusty waited for a moment, realising that Andy was stressed about it and his interrogation wasn't helping matters. "What's the problem?"

Andy looked up to meet his eye. "The problem? Isn't it obvious? I'm worried by what her response will be. I'm terrified. It's been keeping me up at night" he replied, raising his voice as much as he dared so that Sharon wouldn't hear him.

"Blood pressure" Rusty said quickly, trying to calm him down but choosing the only two words in the English language that would actually make him more stressed.

"Don't you start kid. I've just taken my pill" Andy stated as he shook the bottle at him with irritation.

"Maybe you should take another one just to make sure."

"I'm fine and so is my blood pressure. I've tried to ask, it's been on the very tip of my tongue for weeks and then just as I'm about to say something this crippling fear spreads over me and I realise I'd rather not know."

Rusty nodded, knowing exactly how Andy felt. "Ignorance is bliss and all that."

"Exactly."

"But isn't asking her, helping her and providing comfort better than ignoring it?" Rusty reasoned as he tried his hardest to help Andy help his Mom.

"Yes. Yes it is but knowing that and having the courage to do something about it are two different things entirely."

Rusty paused before asking "Do you want me to ask?"

"No I can't have you doing it for me" Andy replied, though he greatly appreciated Rusty's kind offer. "Look I said I'd do it and I will. I'll do it tonight. I promise and if it's not too late I'll come and tell you the answer as soon as I have one to put your mind at rest."

"Really?"

"I promise."

"Okay. Thanks." Rusty picked up his backpack from the couch and slung it over his shoulder as he turned back to face Andy. "Good luck."

"Thanks kid. Goodnight."

"Night Andy." At a moment when ninety nine times out of a hundred Rusty would usually have called him 'Lieutenant' because Sharon wasn't around (and sometimes even if she was depending on if it just slipped out or not) he opted to make sure he called him 'Andy,' sensing that the older man needed support during this rather stressful situation.

Andy waited until Rusty had vanished into his bedroom and closed the door behind him before he moved. He then put his empty water glass in the dishwasher and moved his blood pressure medication to the end of the counter so he wouldn't forget to put it back in his jacket pocket in the morning. As Andy set off towards Sharon's bedroom he wished, along with Rusty for that matter, that he had been encouraging him to ask a positive question, like asking Sharon to move in with him or even a marriage proposal but the truth was much more troubling.

For some time now it had been noticeable that something was clearly very wrong with Sharon. Everyone had noticed, even at work with every single member of the division even Dr Morales asking Andy if everything was okay with Sharon since she maintained that all was well with her usual smile but appeared to be anything but. It was difficult to put their finger on what exactly was wrong with her. Sharon was working normally, getting her job done in the same way she always did but there was a light missing behind her eyes. It wasn't that she was distracted as such but more like she wasn't fully present and the problem seemed to be getting worse with each passing day.

Initially Andy dismissed it and put it down to some lingering anger over what had happened at Provenza's bachelor party but Rusty didn't, he thought he knew her better than that. The first time that Rusty put the thought into Andy's mind that Sharon might be ill he began to secretly panic, attending an extra meeting or two that week in order to cope with the demons waging war in his mind. That concern that perhaps she was ill was reinforced by Provenza on the Tuesday following Valentine's Day when they returned to work and Andy had to explain to him that he hadn't asked her what was wrong because she had been so violently ill, with Provenza claiming that was all the proof Andy needed. That was until Mike, Julio and Buzz revealed that they had also been struck down with the same illness at the same time, an illness that soon spread to Amy, Provenza and even Rusty by the end of the day. In fact the only person who wasn't ill was Andy which was a massive surprise given his close proximity to Sharon on that Sunday evening and even more of a surprise after she put her tongue down his throat upon her arrival. This led to Andy feeling like he was immune to such things and potentially immortal as long as he stayed well clear of moving vehicles.

Regardless the moment Rusty put the thought into Andy's head that Sharon might be ill and that was the cause of her rather distracted behaviour he couldn't get rid of it again. Andy's immediate worry was that she may have cancer and began to look for the signs whenever they were together. And yet Andy was left confused because he felt that if Sharon was indeed seriously ill and she didn't want him to know about it just yet she may keep him at arm's length to stop him from discovering the problem, feeling any change in her body for himself for example but she didn't do that, in fact it was the polar opposite. Sharon may have seemed a little off and distracted a lot of the time both at work and at home but when they were alone, in between distant spells, it was like she was a completely different person. During that past week in particular they hadn't spent a single night apart and Sharon couldn't keep her hands off him to the extent that he was actually worn out and struggling to keep up. It was not unusual for Sharon to initiate things in the bedroom, after all she'd been trying desperately to sleep with him for weeks before their first time without him noticing, but she initiated it every night and every morning for that matter during that week as she worried about her job offer and how accepting it would mean spending so much time away from Andy, creating distance between them as she travelled for work just when she was becoming so used to having him with her and sleeping by her side nearly every night.

As Sharon continued to maul him the moment they climbed into bed that week Andy naturally assumed that had she been seriously ill, had she been hiding something from him then she would surely be avoiding him, avoiding being intimate with him, at least that's what Andy hoped because the alternative was simply unthinkable and made him begin to worry about his sobriety as well as the cause of Sharon's odd behaviour. He couldn't help but think that they'd been in that position before, only last time it was he himself who was keeping secrets about his health. On the whole Sharon and Andy trusted each other implicitly which was a very big deal for both of them, not least because Sharon showed such faith in a man who had a less than stellar reputation and past (sometimes dating women with a slight overlap) and also because Sharon had been so let down in that regard by Jack over the years. Sharon had long decided that anything Andy did prior to her becoming his friend and attending Nicole's wedding with him was absolutely none of her business and therefore trusted the man that she currently knew, the man he was now but that trust fell away slightly when it came to his health. If she was completely honest she didn't trust him at all when it came to health matters. Andy knew all was not well with him long before Sharon helped him pack his bags to move back home after the initial dust up with the car. He looked fine and he felt fine but as we all know sometimes looks can be deceiving. His Doctor had been trying to get him to go back in and see him for a couple of days but Andy had dismissed it and maintained that he simply didn't have time because after all he felt fine other than his ribs were taking their time to fully heal. It wasn't that he was bothered about Sharon mothering him again or being seen as weak and feeble in her eyes at that point, he kept it from her solely because he simply didn't want to worry her as he waited to find out what the Doctor wanted to see him about so desperately. Now here he was, fully recovered from his surgery, moving on with his life, his life with Sharon despite his lingering blood pressure issues, worried to the point of madness that Sharon was now keeping a similar secret from him because she didn't want him to worry and continued to fret herself over the state of his blood pressure.

Andy took a deep breath as his hand gripped the handle to Sharon's bedroom door. He had put it off long enough, he had to know what she was keeping from him if for no other reason that his own sanity. He opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Sharon sitting on the edge of her bed in a pair of pink satin pyjamas (for once not opting for one of Andy's shirts, thankfully so now that Rusty had come home unexpectedly), staring at the closed doors of her closet. She didn't hear him come back in or close the door as she frowned, her mind playing through the logistics of living out of a suitcase for half the year and leaving so many pairs of her beloved shoes behind.

Ignoring her distracted state for one moment and easing into the conversation, Andy took a step towards her. "Hey beautiful. What you thinking about?" Andy waited for a response but when nothing was forthcoming he moved even closer. "Sharon. Sharon." Still nothing as she remained focused on her closet and how many pairs of shoes would fit into a small bag. "Sharon!" he finally shouted in an attempt to wake her from her daze.

Sharon immediately jumped at the sound, turning her head to see him. "Oh Andy! God you scared me" she said as she laughed and clutched her chest. "I thought you were still in the shower" she admitted, having missed him getting dressed and going to the kitchen as she pondered living in a space no bigger than the room she sat in while on the road.

"I was in the kitchen."

"Where you? What for?"

"Medication time, medication time" Andy repeated like Nurse Ratchet from _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_.

Sharon smiled, a sparkle in her eyes suddenly. "Your Viagra?"

They both laughed before Andy jokingly nodded. "Of course. How else am I supposed to keep up with you?" He winked at her which brought a beaming smile to her face before she again turned back to face her closet and that vacant expression returned. Andy just watched her for a moment as this transition took place before announcing "Rusty's home." Once again he didn't get a response. He folded his arms across his chest as he frowned. "Sharon?"

"Yes? Sorry" Sharon said as she smiled at him.

"I said Rusty's home."

Sharon looked at him puzzled. "I thought he was staying with Gus tonight."

"He was but he got called into work so he came back. Don't ask him about the kid's weird roommate. You'd be sending him over there with pepper spray in his pocket" Andy joked.

"Is Rusty okay?"

"He's fine. Complaining about my lack of pyjamas and robe again, so nothing new there."

Sharon laughed. "You could always borrow a pair of mine" she winked.

"I think that would only traumatise him further at this stage. He says he's going to buy me a robe for my birthday." Andy laughed but quickly realised that Sharon had long since stopped listening to him, her attention back on her closed closet again like she was waiting for a monster to leap out. "Are you okay? Sharon? Sharon!" he shouted to finally get a response.

"Yes?" Sharon said brightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned. "You seem a little distracted."

"I'm fine. Wonderful" she insisted as she took to her feet and slowly approached him. "Just letting my mind drift a little while I waited for you to join me in bed." When she was finally close enough she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her, their lips colliding in an almost frenzied kiss as Sharon attacked his mouth, her tongue running along his teeth as he groaned into her mouth. As her hands slipped down his back and grabbed his backside squeezing it, as they so often did when they were alone, it was clear to Andy that Sharon was letting him know that despite Rusty's unexpected return home and her somewhat distracted state, she still had plans for him for the rest of the evening. When they finally broke apart she pecked him gently on the chin and gently slapped his cheeks with the palm of the hands. "Sink's free" she announced as she walked back to her closet, staring at it like Narnia lurked on the other side of her clothes and she was waiting for Mr Tumnus to leap out and play the flute at her.

Andy just stared at her for a while, a little dazed by not only the sudden and unexpected assault that had just taken place on his lips but also by Sharon's continued odd behaviour. After a few moments he nodded and walked into the bathroom, pushing the door to with his foot but not closing it completely. He picked up his spare toothbrush that now lived in Sharon's condo in the cup next to hers behind the mirror above the sink and began to brush his teeth, trying his best not to overthink things, only he couldn't help it. He stopped with a mouth full of toothpaste and just stared at himself in the mirror with a hand either side of the sink, a valiant attempt to psych himself up. He knew he couldn't allow it to go on any longer, it shouldn't have gone on this long. He had to talk to her and talk to her now, facing whatever problem she had head on and trying to resolve it.

He finished brushing his teeth before rinsing his mouth and rubbing a towel over his hair one more time to remove any final remnants of his shower. Regardless his hair still looked wet, the grey looking darker and making him look that little bit younger, a look that Sharon was rather partial to. He turned off the light and opened the door. Sharon was still staring at her closet, the door now open as she stood with her hands on her hips. Andy just watched her, leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom with his arms folded, a smouldering look on his face. "Hey" he said in a voice like silk that usually had Sharon leaping on him. Instead once again Sharon hardly registered that he was in the same room. Andy looked at her confused. When she sent him off to finish getting ready for bed she was all hot and heavy and ready for him and yet a few minutes later she was off in her own little world again. Choosing to ignore it for the time being and trying to pick up where they left off just moments ago he walked up behind her, running his arms around her waist and kissing her neck, slowly working his way up to her ear. He was just about to move his lips to her earlobe when she stepped out of his embrace and moved further towards her closet, like she hadn't even noticed he was there.

Andy frowned again, his worry increasing. Before he could finally ask once and for all what was going on he needed her to acknowledge his existence first, something that was proving difficult as she realised that nothing in her wardrobe would go well with a short stay in Wisconsin during the winter months. He again walked up behind her, ran his arms around her waist and moved his lips to her ear, opting for the tactic that never failed to get her attention, singing to her. " _I'm in the mood for love, simply because you're near me. Funny, but when you're near me I'm in the mood for love. Heaven is in your eyes, bright as the stars we're under. Oh! Is it any wonder I'm in the mood for love?"_ Unusually for Sharon she didn't so much as flicker. Andy was forever singing to her when they were alone, usually as part of his seduction plans and she loved it. She loved it because he only sang to her and also because she found it unbelievably sexy even though he was so very bad at it despite his talk of being a choir boy in his youth. Andy looked at her surprised that he'd got absolutely no reaction, beginning to worry even more. "Sharon are you okay? Sharon?" Again she didn't respond, making him shout. "Sharon! Are you okay?"

Sharon turned in his arms and smiled up at him. "I'm fine. Why?"

"You're acting like you're away with the fairies."

"I'm just looking for something" she informed him as she turned to face her open closet again. While she turned in his arms he held her tightly, not letting her go anywhere. Sharon smiled, rubbing her hands along his arms as they gripped her.

"What are you looking for?"

"I don't remember" she lied, looking for anything other than her ski stuff that might suit a much colder climate than Los Angeles.

"Well maybe I could jog your memory" he suggested as again he tried to pick up where they'd left off before he went to brush his teeth. With his arms still wrapped around her his hands moved under her pyjama top, delicately dancing across the soft flesh beneath as his lips moved up and down her neck but it was all to no avail as Sharon remained completely oblivious. Seconds later she moved out of his arms and took a step closer to her closet, moving a couple of old wedding hats on the top shelf, placing one on her head to make a little extra room. Andy sat down on the edge of the bed with a thud as he watched her and let out a sigh, more worried than frustrated.

Andy smiled as he looked at the peach hat on her head. "What's the matter Bo Peep? Lost your sheep?"

For once Sharon heard him first time. "What?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"The hat."

Sharon removed the hat from her head and looked at it with surprise. "When did I put that on?"

Andy laughed. "A moment ago." Sharon tossed the hat onto the bed next to Andy, quickly followed by half a dozen others that she found on the shelf. "Why do you have so many hats anyway?" She didn't answer. "Sharon? Sharon!"

"Yes?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"The hats. Why do you have so many?"

"Isn't it obvious? You can't go to a wedding without a good hat."

"You didn't wear one to Nicole's wedding."

"That was different" Sharon insisted. "I needed to know the bride better to warrant a hat. Had I known at the time I was going to end up sharing my life with the incredibly handsome Father of the Bride I may have put a little more effort into my wardrobe choice" she added with a smile.

"Regardless, you looked absolutely beautiful."

"Well I do love weddings" she admitted and not for the first time. Andy laughed as Sharon walked towards him, bending slightly and running her hands around his neck, kissing him passionately once again and confusing him further with her distant behaviour followed by another assault on his lips.

"Yes you most certainly do" Andy smiled as his hands ran up and down her hips while Sharon grabbed one of her hats, a purple flowery number, and put it on his head, smiling at him.

"There! Perfect" she said as she kissed him again even though he looked like an extra from the wedding scene in _The Birdcage_. Before things had chance to progress any further or get too heated Sharon broke off the kiss and returned to her open closet, still trying to arrange things in her mind before she dared bring it up with Andy and Rusty. Reaching up and examining the top shelf, looking for anything that could be considered 'wintry,' she knocked a small box of old photographs off the shelf and sent it crashing to the floor with the photos scattering everywhere like confetti. "Damn it!" she cried, cursing for the first time in weeks.

"Language!" Andy laughed loudly. "What a dirty mouth you have Raydor" he joked, enjoying teasing her when she used her version of 'filthy language' and always calling her 'Raydor' when he jokingly chastised her. Once again Sharon completely ignored him, her eyes fixed on the closet. She shook her head, trying to stop herself from being too preoccupied for a moment as she registered she was not paying Andy any attention. With her eyes still locked on the top shelf of the closet she walked towards the bathroom, walking into the open closet door. She closed it as Andy sighed, enough was now enough. "Okay that's it" he announced with an air of finality about it. "I've had enough. Sharon, tell me what's wrong."

"What makes you think something's wrong?" she asked innocently with a smile.

"That's the second time this evening you've walked into a wall alone and that's ignoring the way I'm having to all but set myself on fire to get you to notice that I'm even in the same room as you."

"Sorry. Have I been ignoring you?" she asked, taking a step towards him.

"No, not at all," Andy clarified, not wanting her to think that was the issue, "but Sharon something is clearly occupying your mind and has been for weeks. Don't you think it's about time you told me what's going on so I can at least try to help?"

Sharon opened her mouth to speak before changing her mind again and changing what she wanted to say. "I love you Andy, you do know that right?" she asked. Her biggest concern about this job offer, aside from the fact that it would be such a dramatic change to her life at such a very late stage, was that Andy would see it as her running away from him, leaving him just as they were as close as they had ever been. In her mind she had worked out a very long list of pros and cons with the cons currently outweighing the pros as to why she shouldn't take the job but aside from abandoning Rusty for potentially weeks at a time she was worried that Andy might feel like she was abandoning him too.

"I do. I love you too."

"It's just sometimes I don't think I say it to you enough." She slowly closed the gap between them and cupped his face with her hands. "Andy Flynn I love you so much sometimes I feel like my heart may burst" she exclaimed before meeting his lips, missing the confused and worried look on his face as he felt convinced she was about to break some very bad news to him.

"You say it plenty sweetheart but right now I need to know why you currently sound so worried when you're saying it. What's going on?"

"I...er..." Sharon started before looking away from him a little flustered. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"Come here." Andy grabbed Sharon by the hand and pulled her towards him, not prepared to take 'No' for an answer. "Sit" he instructed and Sharon immediately obliged by sitting next to him. As his arm slid around her shoulders he took her hand in his other and brought it to his lips, kissing it a couple of times and making her smile. "What's going on? Tell me. You can tell me anything, you know that" he said, his serious tone somewhat offset by the purple wedding hat that was still sitting on top of his head.

"It's nothing. It's..." she started before trying to stand until Andy stopped her.

"Sharon!" he shouted, tugging on his earlobe as his stress levels built. "Sit. You're really beginning to worry me now" he said in as serious a tone as he had ever used with her, after all this was the same man who managed to smile and laugh in her office while he explained that he had a blood clot in his neck that could potentially kill him but now he was deadly serious. "This has been going on for weeks. Tell me what's going on."

Sharon sighed and closed her eyes, it was time to bite the bullet and tell him what was going on. "I've had a job offer" she confessed. The moment the words left her mouth it was like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The change was instant and Andy saw it too. She looked and felt like a completely different person, the old Sharon, the Sharon before the morning following the bachelor party was back. As the initial relief washed over her, despite not having Andy's response yet, Sharon had absolutely no idea why she hadn't told him earlier.

"What?"

"I've had a job offer."

"A job offer?" Andy repeated, his own shoulders relaxing as he began to realise that perhaps things weren't anywhere near as bad as he and Rusty first feared.

"Yes. Away from the LAPD" she clarified.

Andy paused, relief washing over him from head to toe. "That's it?"

"What do you mean 'That's it?'" she asked with agitation. "This is a big deal. I've received a job offer and it's all I've been able to think about for weeks."

"Nothing, nothing. Ignore me" Andy said as he kissed the side of her head, his relief almost palpable. His first instinct was to celebrate before asking her for more details but he knew that couldn't happen until he'd spoken to Rusty and put him out of his misery first. "I know it's a big deal and I want to hear all about it in a moment. Just erm…stay right there for a second." Andy kissed her on the lips before standing and walking straight to the bedroom door.

"Andy? Where are you going?" she asked utterly gobsmacked that he had up and left almost immediately after her revelation, the exact reaction she was worried about and one of the reasons why she hadn't told him sooner.

"Hold tight, I'll be back in a minute." With that Andy walked straight out the door and made his way to Rusty's bedroom. The door was closed which wasn't a surprise so Andy lightly knocked on it, not wanting to wake Rusty if he had managed to go to sleep already. "Rusty? You got a minute?"

"Yeah, come in" came the voice from within, a mixture of surprise and worry in his voice. Andy opened the door and found Rusty standing to attention behind the chair at his desk, his anxiousness evident as was his confused expression at seeing Andy with a rather large and feminine hat on his head. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Panic over. It's a job offer" Andy stated quickly rather than dragging it out further.

"What?"

"She's just told me. She's received a job offer."

"A job offer?" Rusty repeated, more confused than relieved at that point.

"A job outside of the LAPD."

As Rusty felt the storm clouds lifting from above him he smiled. It was true that in many regards he was now an adult, he couldn't drink but he could vote for example but in many ways he was still a child and nowhere near ready to be on his own. When she first came into his life Sharon was his safety net and his saviour but he always saw life after her in those early days. Now she was his Mom legally and he simply didn't know what he'd do without her. Like Andy he had been panicked by her sometimes odd behaviour over the last few weeks and he was the first one to point out that she might be ill. As that idea began to fester and grow in his mind the more he realised he didn't know how to live without Sharon in his life. The woman he had once treated so badly as she tried to help him, he now loved more than anyone. Yes, it was true that if anything were to happen to Sharon he now had Andy and they could lean on each other, but he wasn't sure what either of them would do without her.

With the relief hitting him and his mood lifting he couldn't help but laugh at Andy and his current unusual choice in headwear. "I'm sorry. I can't take you seriously with that on your head" he laughed.

"What?" Andy asked, having completely forgotten that he was wearing it. He looked up and saw the rim and smiled, taking the hat off his head and running it though his hands. "Oh that. Well you said you wanted me to wear more clothes around here."

"That's not what I meant" Rusty said dryly, making it abundantly clear that he'd rather see Andy in just his underwear than Sharon's clothes. "So it's a job? Just a job?"

"Yep."

"Nothing else?"

"Nope."

"She's not sick?" Rusty asked, seeking one hundred percent clarity.

"It doesn't seem so" Andy sighed as he rested against Rusty's dresser.

"That's it? That's what's been wrong with her this whole time? A job offer?"

"Apparently. Look that's all I've got so far. I wanted you to know right away so you can stop worrying about it and get some sleep."

"What…"

Andy held his hands up to stop Rusty from speaking, more focused on getting him to finally have a good night's sleep (especially since that's the reason he came home rather than waiting for Gus) than elaborating on a subject which he himself currently knew very little. "Any details beyond that you can discuss with her yourself in the morning. The important thing is you can stop worrying about her now and get some sleep. Okay?"

"Okay" Rusty nodded. "Thanks. Goodnight Andy."

"Night kid." Andy left Rusty's room and shut the door behind him. As he made his way back to Sharon's room he took a deep breath. On the surface it seemed like the panic was over but they still had lots to discuss with his focus on why this offer had her behaving in a way so unlike her and more importantly why she had kept it from him for so long. He opened the door and discovered Sharon pacing around the room clearly agitated. Andy stepped inside and closed the door, dropping the hat to the ground by the closet.

"Where did you go? I tell you I've had a job offer and the first thing you do is run off."

"I didn't run off" Andy laughed with Sharon making him feel like he left the room with his arms flailing and screaming loudly. "I was talking to Rusty not ten feet from where I'm standing. Now come here." Andy grabbed her by her shoulders to stop her from pacing and brought her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her head.

Sharon instantly responded by holding him tightly for a second or two before registering what he had just said and pulling away. "Talking to Rusty? About what?"

"What do you think?" he asked before meeting her lips, kissing her out of relief more than anything. "Sharon you've been acting really weird for weeks now. He's noticed like I have, like everyone has. Rusty thought you were sick" he said before pausing and moving a lock of hair behind her ear and adding "We both did."

Sharon's shoulders slumped again. In truth she had absolutely no idea that she had been behaving oddly at all over the last few weeks, thinking she'd hidden it really well. Yes she found herself constantly thinking about the offer, the good and the bad but she didn't think it had affected her to the extent that other people would notice. She was horrified, horrified that she'd made both Rusty and Andy worry about her to such an extent. "Oh my God" she cried as she buried her face into Andy's chest, her fists clutching his t-shirt in the small of his back. Andy smiled, kissing the top of her head and letting out a huge sigh of relief, a sigh she couldn't fail to notice. "He really thought that…? I need to..." she started as she gestured towards Rusty's bedroom.

Andy kissed her again and pulled her close to stop her from moving an inch. "It's okay, I've just told him" he reassured her as he started to rub his hands up and down her back. "You can explain more in the morning after you've both had a decent night's sleep okay. He knows, he's fine, everything else can wait until tomorrow" he added before meeting her lips with his own again.

Sharon's hand flew up to her head, the realisation that the worry she'd caused slowly giving her a headache. "Andy I am so sorry if I've made you worry about me."

"Don't be" he said kindly before kissing her again. "It's fine, you're fine, we're fine and like I said you can explain it all to the kid in the morning. In the meantime," he started as he led her towards the bed by her hand, "Come here, assume the position and tell me all about this job offer of yours."

Sharon smiled and gave the corner of his mouth a quick peck before climbing into bed and lying on her side, looking behind her and waiting for Andy to join her. Andy quickly cleared the bed of the wedding hats that were still festooned on it and placed them on the floor by the closet. With the bed clear Andy climbed in and spooned up behind her, kicking his legs and feet out from underneath the covers before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her shoulder. When Andy told her to 'assume the position' that was exactly what he meant, lying on her side so he could cuddle her and they could talk. It was something they had been doing for many months now when she needed to talk about anything that was bothering her. Before they slept together and before their levels of intimacy were increased to the point that were currently were, it would take place on the couch, where they would lie down together, her usually facing away from him as she began to unload what was on her mind but it actually started long before that.

It actually started the night that they discovered that Rusty had been hiding the letters from Wade Weller from them all. Andy had already comforted her in her office earlier that day as she felt nothing but grief and distress for being unable to save Brandon North and stop him from shooting himself. They were all distraught when they learnt that not only was Rusty in so much danger, and Sharon too for that matter, but that Rusty had been carrying it all on his own for months. That evening with Rusty's future still very much hanging in the air, Andy texted her from outside the condo and asked if it was okay for him to come up and check on them both. At that point with Nicole's wedding behind them they were fast becoming friends, enjoying going out for dinner and the movies together so it was not unusual for Andy to come over to the condo. Sharon was more than pleased to hear a friendly voice when she called him back and told him to come on up, especially since Rusty was already in bed, the young man beyond distraught that he may yet end up in the witness protection programme after all, losing the life he had as well as Sharon and of course because Kris had broken her promise to him and in his eyes betrayed his trust. When Andy came upstairs he had a big bag of Chinese takeout with him (knowing she wouldn't have eaten when she got home) which Sharon appreciated but hardly touched such was her worry. With the food cleared away they retired to the couch where he listened as she spilled her guts to him about Rusty. There was no physical contact between them other than a pat on the arm as he left but he was there for her for the very first time like she had been there for him at Nicole's wedding. Not only did that evening serve as a beginning for how they would later discuss important things between them but also laid the foundation for what would inevitably be their friendship that ended with Andy holding Sharon in her bed as she prepared to unload her problems on him once again.

Over the intervening years the conversations still took place but the levels of intimacy changed. In the past it would always take place on the couch and they would just sit closely to begin with. As time wore on and they became closer friends it changed to arms on the back of the couch with the ends of their fingers touching as they talked things over. That soon evolved into Andy putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close and allowing her to unload about what was bothering her which at that time was a long list that consisted of Rusty, Sharon Beck, her divorce from Jack (discussions prior to that about Jack had a great effect on Andy's relationship with him, going from smiling at him and being glad he was back when he returned from Las Vegas to twelve months later when him going out with Sharon was a regular occurrence and scowling, rolling his eyes and shooting him death glares becoming the norm), Rusty's adoption (something else which she kept to herself for a long time which again had a small effect on her behaviour. Andy noticed immediately but Sharon wasn't yet ready to inform him of her plans, needing to do everything in a particular order meaning she needed to notify Emily and Ricky first before she unloaded on, the guy who was by now, her closest friend) or by the time they reached the cuddling on the couch stage, Phillip Stroh's release to the free word.

"There, that's already better" Andy said sweetly as he kissed the back of her shoulder a couple more times. "Comfortable?"

"Absolutely" she said as she brought his hand to her lips and kissed it before returning it to her stomach.

"Okay now spill. So you've had a job offer?"

"I have."

"From the FBI I assume?"

"No. From the NFL."

Andy paused for a moment, wondering if he'd misheard her. "The NFL?"

"Yes."

"The NFL? Seriously?"

"Yes."

"As a Running Back for the Packers or...?" Sharon instantly sighed, unamused and smacked him gently around the back of his head. "Ow! Quarterback then? With some of the bruises you've given me with your foot in the middle of the night you'd make an excellent Kicker."

"You're not funny. This isn't working for me. I need to see your face to know what you're thinking while we talk about this." Sharon rolled over to face him, their arms immediately landing on the others hip and pulling each other closer.

"Better?"

"Much."

"So which position and which team?"

Sharon sighed, she knew this was just the start of Andy's jokes on the subject. He was going to be proud of her, there was no mistake about that and she knew it but she also knew he was going to enjoy making fun about it as well. "None and all. It's Chief of Security for the NFL."

"Wow! Really?" Andy asked, his face reading nothing but complete surprise. He had naturally assumed that if she was going to leave the LAPD it would be for the FBI or another branch of law enforcement but the NFL? That was a shock.

"Yes. I've been headhunted for the job." She studied his face for a moment, confused by the shocked expression she was seeing staring back at her. "What are you thinking? What does that face mean?"

"I thought you could read me like a book?" he replied with a smug smile before kissing her on the lips. "What does that entail exactly?"

"Tell me what you think about it first."

"I don't know yet, I need to know more about it. To be honest Sharon at the moment I'm so relieved that you're okay I'm struggling to really process what you're saying." He smiled at her weakly. He now knew there was nothing seriously wrong, health wise at any rate, but it was going to take a while for that panicky feeling in the pit of his stomach to disappear completely (a lot like how Sharon felt after his surgery). "Rusty had me convinced that you were sick" he admitted with a shrug before kissing her again.

"Andy I am so so sorry" she said as she began to well up, giving him a prolonged kiss on the lips. "I didn't mean to worry you, either of you" she added before kissing him again. "I'm sorry." They held each other tightly in silence for a moment, relief washing over both of them but for very different reasons.

"Don't worry about it. You're fine, and that's all that matters to me" he replied, brushing his worry off until the appropriate moment and kissing her again.

"Why didn't you say something before?"

"Why didn't you?" Andy shot back as they both laughed, both of them realising that they could have alleviated a lot of worry if they'd only spoken up sooner. "I tried" he admitted, "I changed our reservation for dinner on Valentine's Day so I could talk to you at home but that plan went out of the window when you couldn't keep your head out of the toilet. After that I've asked you almost daily if you were okay and each time you said you were fine. I tried to believe you but I'd be lying if I said I haven't been worried. I know we can talk about anything and everything but at the time I was concerned by what you might be hiding from me and it got to the point where I thought I'd rather not know. As Rusty just said to me tonight 'Ignorance is bliss.'" He kissed her again, unable to stop now that he knew everything was okay. "I knew there was something wrong. I thought maybe you were sick" he continued as a smile began to creep across this face, "or perhaps..."

Sharon instantly jabbed him in the chest with her finger, anticipating what he was about to say by the smile on his face. "If you bring up your magical sperm one more time you'll be spending the night locked on the balcony."

"Superman sp…"

Sharon flicked him on the end of his nose to stop him from speaking. "Do not even" she warned.

Andy laughed. "You used to shut me up by kissing me."

"But that only encourages you to be more annoying" she pointed out but kissed him again anyway. "I am so sorry" she repeated as she hid her face in his chest.

As he held her he shook his head but ensured she wouldn't be able to see or feel him do it. He should have known that it was something to do with her career that had got her so distracted. If it was anything else, anything to do with Ricky or Emily or even her own health of course she would have told him, they virtually told each other everything. But when it came to her career, she was so ambitious, so independent, so driven, of course it was the sort of thing to drive her to utter distraction, but why hadn't she told him? For now that was a question that could wait until later, right now he was just relieved and interested to hear what she had to say. He lifted her face up and kissed her again. "Forget about it. Tell me more about this job offer. Give me the specifics."

"Well like I said the position is Chief of Security for the NFL. I'd be solely responsible for all security matters for the whole organisation across the country, for each franchise and the Super Bowl."

"Wow, impressive. Lots of travel?"

"Yes. I'd naturally have to travel to each franchise to assess their security procedures and implement changes in line with the rest of the organisation."

"Pay increase?" Andy asked with a smile.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"Oh I would. That's why none of us can afford to retire yet, well everyone except Provenza but that's more because he won't retire out of principle."

"Out of principle?" Sharon asked a little confused. She was actually relieved that Provenza showed no signs of retirement because not only would she miss his help with Rusty and his constant stream of one liners to brighten even the darkest of days, she simply didn't know how she would continue to do her job without him. The man who once loathed her and now neither of them could imagine coming into work each day without the other but regardless she was intrigued to know the reasons why he stayed in the job when he quite clearly didn't need to. "Does he have something against lazy afternoons of golf and gardening?"

"Gardening? Provenza?" Andy exclaimed loudly like the two words together made an oxymoron, with Provenza being the 'moron' part of that particular expression. "He's more likely to take up stripping than he is gardening. No in his divorce settlement he promised to split his pension with Liz."

"And Liz is?"

"Wife number one."

Sharon thought for a moment before remembering which one of Provenza's ex-wives they were talking about. "The one with the dog!" she cried, remembering the incident with Frank and the jewellery story fondly.

"That's the one."

"I liked her."

"Yeah she's my favourite of all of his ex-wives."

Sharon took hold of the bottom of Andy's t-shirt in her hand and raised it slightly, allowing her to rake her fingernails along his stomach. "I'm sure she'd say the same about you."

"I am not his boyfriend" Andy said with a hint of annoyance.

"Of course you're not. With how long you've been together you've entered into the realm of common law wife by now" Sharon pointed out as she laughed. Andy just glared at her, looking anything but impressed which only served to make Sharon laugh even more. "How much of his pension will you get if your relationship ends up in a divorce court? Enough for us to retire on?"

Andy closed his eyes tight. "I'm choosing to ignore you."

"Good luck with that" she retorted with a smile. No sooner had the words left her mouth then her hand began to move up and down his torso, scraping her nails along his flesh in a way that always drove him wild with desire. She continued to smile as Andy did his very best not to react. "Still ignoring me?"

Andy opened his eyes and glared at her. "Cheater" he declared before pushing their lips together.

Sharon laughed, her hand continuing on its journey up and down his torso. "That's not cheating. I just know all the tricks in the book to get your full and undivided attention."

"That's easy. You just need to show up" he replied with a wink.

"You know side by side, I have never seen two species look more alike in my life."

"What do you mean?" Andy asked confused.

"Lieutenant Provenza and Frank, they looked like twins but then they always say that people tend to pick dogs that look like them or in this case like her ex-husband" Sharon laughed as she recalled Provenza pulling a miserable face that matched Liz's dog like they came from the very same litter.

Andy's mouth dropped open. "I cannot believe you just said that!"

"What?" Sharon said innocently. "They do. Come on don't tell me you don't see it?"

"Of course not!" Andy lied.

"You liar! I promise I won't tell your boyfriend if you admit it."

"I admit nothing. Comparing Provenza to a dog? I don't believe it. That's it, I'm calling him and telling him." Andy rolled over and attempted to grab his cell phone from the nightstand before Sharon grabbed him by the top of his boxer shorts and pulled him back.

"Oh no you're not" she told him as her hand instantly slipped back under his t-shirt again when he was settled once more in his original position. "Apart from anything else it's far too late to call him."

"He's a night owl. I'm going to…" he said as he attempted to make another move for his phone. Once again Sharon stopped him but this time opted to kiss him to distract him like she so often did. When they broke apart Andy stared at her for a moment with a look of confusion. "I know I was about to do something but I've suddenly completely lost my train of thought."

"Funny that" Sharon laughed. "It works every time."

Andy smiled as he moved her hair back behind her ear. The change in her had been instant after confessing all to him and he was overjoyed to see the old Sharon back in his arms. "Provenza would rather die at his desk with a stapler in his hand than give Liz a penny more of his _hardly_ earned money."

"Hardly?" Sharon laughed. "I'm sure he'd retire if Patrice asked him to."

"As much as he loves Patrice, I'm pretty sure he resents Liz more" Andy pointed out, feeling the same way about his own ex. "Trust me, I've known him longer than you have. He'll never retire. He'll still be there long after we've both retired and started doing nothing each day but laying around the house together and waiting for the kids to call."

Sharon laughed. "It sounds like bliss."

"Yes it does" Andy agreed, sealing one possible version of their future with a kiss. "So how much of a pay increase are we talking here?"

"Triple the salary."

"Holy cow! Triple?" Andy cried before smiling with a far off look on his face.

"What are you thinking now?" Sharon asked, her hand stilling on his chest.

"About the Porsche you can afford to buy me for my birthday" he grinned. "Super Bowl tickets?"

Sharon laughed, suddenly realising that there were aspects of this job offer that Andy was going to be thrilled about. "Of course. That was your first question wasn't it?"

"It may have been." Andy smiled for a moment and shrugged. "Well you do love football."

"I do love football."

"And I love you in football jerseys" he said with a smoulder and then attacked her lips with his own. A few days earlier they had been watching the play-offs at Andy's house when Sharon disappeared into his bedroom and came out moments later wearing nothing but his Giants jersey (you can take the boy out of New York but you can never take the Giants out of a New York boy). The football was soon forgotten along with Sharon's confusing and often distracted behaviour as she went from staring into space and hardly watching the game to running her lips over every square inch of his body on the couch.

"I know you do" she said before kissing him again. "So what do you think about it?"

"I think it's a fantastic opportunity."

"Yes but what do you think?"

"It doesn't matter what I think all that matters is what you think" Andy replied unhelpfully as he deliberately avoided answering her question.

"No it doesn't. Andy we're supposed to be in this together, the good and the bad, that's what you said. This is going to affect both of us and I wouldn't dare dream about making a decision as big as this without you being completely on-board with it first."

Andy nodded as he thought about what Sharon had just said to him. He was still confused. If Sharon wasn't prepared to make this decision without him, then why hadn't she said anything to him for well over a month, in fact closer to two? He sighed. "Sharon, I love you" he stated plainly before pecking her lips. "I want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted. The fact that you've chosen me to help make that happen makes me the luckiest guy on earth. Now if taking this job also makes you happy and if it's what you really want than I'm here for you and I'll support you one hundred percent" he said with a smile. "When's your interview?"

"All being well tomorrow over lunch. I've only spoken to them on the phone so far."

"But they want you?"

"I'm on a shortlist of one which is why they've been so patient as I've mulled things over" she explained, feeling good about herself because of the way they pursued her.

"So seriously stiff competition then?"

"Yes I don't think I have to worry about getting it if I want it." Sharon paused as she studied his face. There was a beautiful smile etched across it but his eyes betrayed it slightly. "What's wrong?"

"How long have you known?" he asked, unable to keep it in any longer.

"About the offer?"

"Yes. When did they first call you and offer you the job?"

"The day after Lieutenant Provenza's bachelor party. That morning in fact while you were off complaining about your sore nipples and making your statements to Professional Standards and Robbery Homicide" she laughed.

"Oh okay."

"Why?"

"Nothing it's just...why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, never taking his eyes away from hers for an instant. "It's clearly been bothering you. Why didn't you speak to me about it? Like you said we're supposed to be in this together and you can tell me anything and yet you've kept it to yourself for nearly two months."

"I know, I know" Sharon cried as she removed her hand from underneath his t-shirt and covered her face with it. "I do know that and I'm more grateful for that fact now than you'll ever know but I was worried."

Andy pulled her hands away from her face and made her look him in the eyes. "Worried about what?"

"About this. You, me, us."

"Why?"

Sharon sighed as she struggled for a response, mainly because she didn't honestly know the answer. "Because I wasn't sure how you'd react when I told you. I wanted to tell you on Valentine's Day but as you've already pointed out I made that impossible." She paused as she ran her hand down his face. "I didn't want you to think that I was running out on you just as things were starting to get really serious between us."

There was no denying that Sharon had deliberately kept it from him, opting to withhold the information rather than never finding the time or being worried about bringing it up, it was a conscious choice but the reasons behind it were unclear to her. She told herself that she had kept it from him and Rusty until she had chance to fully process everything and figure out in her own mind what taking the job would mean not only for her but for her family as well. In that regard it was very much like what happened with Rusty's adoption. She wanted to fully flesh out the idea and get all her ducks in a row before bringing it to him (until sadly Jack got there first), likewise it was how she approached it with Ricky and Emily and even Andy for that matter, having it all laid out in her mind before sharing the news with her friend. However unlike Rusty's adoption, working it out in her own mind and keeping it to herself resulted in quite a lot of stress and worry with her main concern being that she would be leaving not only Rusty for weeks at a time (and neither were quite ready for that yet) but she would also be leaving Andy. Despite how long they had been friends and danced around each other in regards to starting a relationship and were now in love with each other, they had actually only been together for a very short period of time, just eight short months and she didn't want him to think that she was running out on him.

As she continued to keep it all to herself she maintained that she wanted to process every aspect before bringing it to Andy for his input. That didn't mean to say that Andy's input would be secondary, far from it, she would never make such a huge decision, a decision that would undoubtedly affect them both without Andy being not only involved in the decision making process but obviously being completely on board with the idea. That's what she told herself anyway. In reality she had no idea why she hadn't told Andy immediately or as immediately as she could after he had finished giving his statements, had a decent amount of sleep and she was sure he didn't have a concussion. It was slowly dawning on Sharon that sharing her life with someone again was proving to be a lot harder than she thought it would be. There were no problems on a day to day basis, Andy slotted into her life perfectly like there was an Andy shaped hole just waiting to be filled, him in her home, sleeping in her bed, the odd suit in her closet, his toothbrush next to hers in the bathroom and he filled a hole in her heart that she didn't even know was there. But emotionally, opening her heart and soul to him to discuss things that she was so used to keeping to herself and sorting out on her own was proving to be another thing entirely.

She wanted to be more open with him, of course she did, but she often found that she was forcing herself to do it when she realised that she hadn't done it automatically. It was something she was determined to do and was working hard on it but it was far from coming naturally as she desperately hoped and all other aspects of their relationship had. As silly as it sounded it had taken a long time to slowly realise that the man lying in her bed was nothing like the most unreliable man on the face of the earth, Jack Raydor. She knew his ex-wife would have very strong contradictory opinions about that statement and clearly he once was like Jack but he definitely wasn't anymore. In fact he couldn't be much different to Jack and the proof of that was on Valentine's Day. Sharon had ended the night clinging to him, both physically and emotionally. There was no doubting that Jack had had a serious impact on her in every way imaginable and how she reacted to men around her, the men in her life and keeping things to herself, not telling Andy about the job offer was part of that. The simple truth of it was that she wasn't used to discussing important matters like that with a man, neither was she used to a man trying to take care of her in the way Andy did on Valentine's Day either. After so many years of fending for herself she was suddenly presented with a man who not only didn't run at the sight of a little vomit but also didn't run when she was so unbelievably horrible to him, staying regardless because at the end of the day she needed him whether she acknowledged that fact or not. To have someone like that after so many years of being ignored and having no other choice but to take care of herself with no one to rely on, it was such a shock to her system and a dramatic change that she simply couldn't let him go. Yet despite that she still had trouble being completely open with him. Not since about her third year of married life had she felt like she could rely on a man. Any men in between Jack and Andy weren't the sort of relationships serious enough to warrant an introduction to her children so they were hardly 'lean on me' material. And then there was Andy Flynn who was that guy, he was the guy she could lean on in every way imaginable and had been for years and yet she still struggled. It was like every time she had leant against a wall in her life it had collapsed so that now she didn't dare even try to do the same thing for fear the same thing would happen even though she desperately wanted to.

Andy kissed her forehead a couple of times. He knew the scars were there, the scars that Jack had left her with but they were easy to overlook since they were scars he couldn't see. "Oh Sharon I'd never think that. All I want is for you to be happy."

"I know but I was just scared. I wanted to wrap my head around it, establish how I felt about it first before I broached the subject with you."

"But I thought I was supposed to be the guy that you came to first with problems. I thought that was the whole point of being in a relationship, so that we could always be there for each other."

In that moment Sharon realised that after too many years of being alone, of not wanting or needing any help, relying only on herself, that she was still keeping Andy at arm's length in the way that matter the most. She kissed him, letting out a long sigh as her hand moved from his chest and to his back, continuing to rake her nails along his flesh. "It is but I just...I don't know. I was afraid. I would never have brought this subject up with Jack or expected his support and..."

"For the hundredth time Sharon, I am not Jack" Andy stated a little annoyed, tired of the comparison when he tried his hardest every day of his life to be the complete opposite to Jack not just with Sharon but in his relationship with his children.

Sharon nodded, regretting her choice in words. "I know you're not and thank God for that." She sighed again, she had no more explanations to offer him since she couldn't fully explain her actions to herself. "I'm sorry" she said again before kissing him. "And I'm sorry I made you worry and I promise you I will never let it happen again."

"Good" Andy said simply, attempting to draw a line through the subject. "I'm just relieved that you're okay. I was afraid I was going to lose you. I can cope with losing you for a week at a time as you travel the country, making it safe for football but I couldn't cope with losing you altogether."

Sharon's heart broke, distraught that she had clearly made not just Andy but Rusty worry about her. She kissed him deeply, her hands cupping his face. "I'm sorry" she repeated before repeating the contact with his lips.

"Stop apologising."

They just stared at each other in silence for a few moments as she ran her hand up and down his face. "I wish I'd met you earlier" she said finally. In truth they'd known each other for over twenty years but it was only in the last five years that they'd really grown to know each other in the way that they now did. "I wish we'd had longer together, that we were going to have longer together."

"No you don't. I used to be an asshole."

Sharon smiled. The word 'asshole' wasn't strong enough to aptly describe what he was like when she first met him, long before he stopped drinking. Ignoring the quite horrendous way he came onto her the first time he clapped eyes on her, he was rude, disrespectful and an all-round unpleasant human being and yet he was still the most handsomest man she'd ever laid eyes on. "I don't care. I like assholes" she joked and making them both laugh. "You know what I mean. I would have moulded you into the man I wanted given enough time" she stated confidently with a wink as her hand moved back under his t-shirt and began stroking his back.

Andy laughed, feeling like a ball of clay. "Oh really?"

"Absolutely. I'd have had you whipped into shape in a matter of weeks, like you were at a boot camp for troublesome teenagers. Lieutenant Provenza would hardly have recognised you."

Andy nodded. "Well you've done a pretty good job so far." It was an argument he'd had more times that he cared to admit with Provenza, both of them claiming that the other was more 'under the thumb' than the other. The truth was they were both whipped, they had both changed from the men they were before they fell in love and they were both happy about it.

"I think we've both done a good job because you've certainly had an effect on me."

"In a good way?"

"In a very good way. I like who I am when I'm around you" Sharon admitted.

"Good because I like you when you're around me too" Andy joked and making her laugh before he silenced her with a kiss. "But let's be honest here whatever amount of time we end up having together it won't nearly be enough. Not by a long shot. We could have ninety years together and I'd still feel like I met you too late, that I was missing out."

"Exactly! And that's precisely the reason why I can't do a moonlit flit around the country for the next couple of years even if I do love football."

"You can only travel in moonlight?"

"Andy" Sharon sighed, needing him to be serious for a moment as they discussed it.

"I know but I don't want you to not do something that you really want because of me. You've already had one man do that to you in this life. I will not be the second."

Sharon covered her face with her hand, beyond conflicted. "I just don't know."

"Let's look at the facts" Andy said, trying to take emotion out of it and looking at it more logically, something he knew Sharon would appreciate. "Sharon you never wanted to do this as a career, you never really wanted to be a cop. Let's say 'circumstance' robbed you of the chance of doing what you really wanted, of going to law school."

"Yes but it ended up being the right decision in the end. I missed out on law school but I've been happier in my job than I think I'd ever have been as a lawyer. I didn't get to make it myself but it ultimately was the right decision for me not only professionally but personally as well" she rightly pointed out as her hand continued to caress his back. She was right, not only had it turned out to be the perfect decision for her professionally, had she stayed at law school there was a chance that she would never have met Andy at all and Rusty certainly wouldn't have come into her life.

"It did turn out to be the right decision and you've helped countless more people as part of the LAPD than you ever would have done if you'd become a lawyer instead."

"Do you really think so?"

"Absolutely...in the past four years anyway, not so much at IA when you were just a pain in the ass" he joked before Sharon immediately pinched the back of his knees with a grin. "Ow! I'm kidding! I'm kidding. But that doesn't really matter. Rather than doing what you wanted you supported your husband, raised two and now three children virtually on your own and saved lives. Now it's time for you to do what you want. This is a second chance for you to have the career you want, don't pass it up if that's what you want to do."

"Andy I just don't know."

"Why don't you at least speak to them face to face, see what they have to say?"

"Do you think I should?"

"What harm would it do to just hear them out?" he suggested. "You're not committing to anything, it'll just be an interview and see where it goes from there. Kind of like a first date."

Sharon smiled. "Yeah well my last first date escalated rapidly."

"And maybe this will too and maybe it won't. The point is you don't commit to anything on a first date you just see how things are going."

"Really?" she asked with surprise. "Because I was pretty committed on our first date."

Andy smiled. "Me too but I was talking in general. I don't want you to think about Rusty or even me for a while, I just want you to think about yourself. How do you feel about this opportunity?"

"And how do I do that exactly when you and Rusty are all I can think about?" she asked, deliberately avoiding his question.

"Let's begin with a list of the pros and cons to this job."

"At the moment I can only see cons."

"Okay you do the cons and I'll do the pros." Andy thought for a second before smiling. "Pro: A big bump in your salary and I get to become a kept man of leisure with a Porsche and a hot girlfriend taking care of me."

Sharon tried not to smile, choosing to frown at him instead. "A Porsche? Really?"

"Hey a guy can dream can't he?"

"And that's all it would be," she informed him with a quick poke to his chest, "a dream. I'm not buying you anything that will lead other women to throw themselves at you." They both laughed. "Con: I'd be leaving a job I adore."

Andy nodded, knowing he was going to have to try to find a positive in every con Sharon came up with so that she could look at her options more neutrally. "True but you'd also be going on a new adventure and opportunities like that don't come around very often."

"Is that your pro?"

"Nope. Pro: Lots of different hotel rooms."

"Oh yeah, well the next one is simple. Con: Never knowing which city I'm waking up in. Being so disorientated from all the travel that I can never find the bathroom" she pointed out with not wanting to live out of a suitcase being one of the biggest turn offs of the job.

"Are you afraid that you might accidentally pee in the coffee pot?" he joked.

"Something like that" she laughed, more worried about falling over her suitcase and wetting herself on the way to the bathroom than doing it anywhere else.

"You could leave yourself a little note on the nightstand to remind you were everything is before you go to sleep, after you've spent an hour talking to me on the phone of course."

"Exactly which leads me to my next con…"

"No, wait, it's time for a pro" Andy said cutting her off.

Sharon smiled. "Come on then, dazzle me."

Andy grinned obscenely before offering his next positive. "Pro: Lots of hotel room sex when I come to visit you" he said with a wink before practically assaulting her lips with his own.

Sharon laughed as they pulled apart. "I should have known."

"That's a pretty good pro right?" Andy grinned before kissing her again. "Room service, big hotel beds, Jacuzzi bath, pool, no grumpy teenager down the hall complaining about the noise and being traumatised by your incredibly loud screams of ecstasy" he added before kissing her again despite Sharon laughing hysterically.

"'Screams of ecstasy'?" she asked while still laughing uncontrollably.

Andy waggled his eyebrows at her. "Oh yeah" he confirmed as he held her even tighter.

Sharon laughed again. "You're not getting confused with laughter are you?"

"Hey!" Andy shouted with lashings of fake offense. "I do all my best work in hotel rooms I'll have you know" he insisted.

"Oh then I have to take the job" she joked. "Is that why you end up getting locked naked on balconies?"

"No."

"Is this what it all boils down to for you? Super Bowl tickets and lots of hotel sex?"

"Did you say 'lots'?"

Sharon shrugged as her hand continued to dance up and down his back. "Well since there will be long periods of abstinence in between I was thinking there would probably be lots when you come to see me, yes" she confirmed, sealing the pledge with a searing kiss. "Why waste precious time together?" she questioned before kissing him again.

Andy nodded. "You make a good point."

"But your talents and my 'screams of ecstasy' aside you've raised an important point and the main one really. Con: Leaving Rusty. Leaving you" she said in almost a whisper.

"But it wouldn't be forever" he replied, not wanting to be the reason that Sharon didn't do something she wanted to do.

"It would be for long enough."

"I know. Sharon I won't deny that you being away for more than a day at a time will kill me because it will" he said, for the first time offering his true feelings on the subject. Kill him was an understatement. He didn't know how it had happened to him or even when but he genuinely worried that he would struggle to breathe without Sharon in his life. Of course he wouldn't say that to her. His feelings were secondary. This had to be her decision and her decision alone and he would never lay a guilt trip on her, something he was sure Jack would have attempted. If she wanted to go he would let her go but that didn't mean he had to like it. "We work side by side and that's ignoring the time we spend together away from work. It will feel like a piece of me is missing but I don't want you to think about me, I want you to think about yourself and to do what makes you happy."

"This decision would be so much easier if you weren't so perfect."

"I'll try to do something about that. Would you like me to belch in your face?" he joked.

"No."

Andy laughed. "Pro: Lots of travel. Seeing the country."

"Con: Uprooting my life to travel the country" she shot back.

"Yeah but think about it, they play games in London now don't they?"

"Yes."

"So would that be part of it?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Then think about how great that'll be" Andy said enthusiastically. "A few days in England a year. Walking through the parks, seeing the palaces, drinking lots of tea, maybe going to the theatre."

"But what's the point if you're not there with me?" she asked, her enthusiasm somewhat lacking in comparison to Andy's.

"This isn't about me" he said again. "It's about you. Pro: Going to New York because of the Giants and being able to spend some time with Emily and going to San Francisco for the 49ers and spending time with Ricky. That's a pretty good pro right?"

"It is, it really is" Sharon smiled but that smile quickly faded. "Con: Feeling so exhausted from all the travelling that I'm too tired to enjoy my time with Ricky and Emily and even with you or Rusty when I come home."

"We'll need to get you some amphetamines."

"Be serious" Sharon sighed with a quick swipe to the back of his head. "Having to spend a day in bed to recover every time I come home is hardly living my life."

Andy smiled. "I don't know, it sounds pretty good to me" he said, confirming it with a kiss.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. Pro: Meeting Aaron Rodgers."

"Well I'm not going to deny that one is certainly an intriguing prospect" Sharon confirmed with an almost dreamy expression on her face.

"I didn't think you would." As Sharon continued to think about a certain Quarterback she might be able to make the acquaintance of Andy frowned at her. "Actually I'm starting to feel a bit worried about all of this."

"Why? "

"I've seen what some of these guys get up to during their down time. How long until you're on _Sports Centre_ caught in the middle of a huge scandal?"

Sharon smiled, the idea intriguing. "What sort of scandal?"

"The sort that involves a gaggle of football players, a hot tub and a beautiful woman in charge of their security wearing nothing but a bikini."

"Oh that sort of scandal" Sharon replied before laughing at the mere idea of it.

"Is that all you've got to say?"

"Well if I'm feeling lonely without you and Rusty and I'm invited to spend some quality time in a hot tub with a bunch a chiselled, incredibly fit young athletes it would be rude to refuse wouldn't it?"

"Well now I'm never going to let you out of my sight ever again" he stated as he held her to him even tighter, their bodies pressed flush against one another.

Sharon laughed. "You wouldn't be jealous by any chance now would you?"

"What at the thought of you in a hot tub in a bikini and a load of guys with their massive hands all over you? No, of course not" Andy lied.

Sharon smiled. "You know what they say about men with big hands."

"Enlighten me."

Sharon thought for a moment, the loveliest cheeky smile on her face. "Big gloves."

"Is that right?"

"Oh yes. Anything else you'll have to wait to find out until after I come back. If I come back" she teased, her eyes sparkling at him.

"You're all about the young guys aren't you?"

"Naturally" Sharon winked.

"Young guys like Jon Worth."

"Oh without a doubt. Just the thought of some of these guys in a hot tub is enough to make me…"

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Andy asked, cutting her off since he didn't want to hear any other thoughts Sharon had on young and attractive famous men.

"Almost as much as when I'm emitting 'screams of ecstasy' with you" Sharon laughed.

"You're mocking me aren't you?"

"A little bit."

Andy sighed, pleased that Sharon suddenly sounded enthusiastic about the idea of this change of career while still unable to avoid the sadness if she left the LAPD. "You'll become this famous football cougar while I stay at home, too depressed to work and eating cereal out of my belly button on the couch."

"Well now I have to go just to see that sight."

"Oh I'd smarten myself up before you got home."

"I meant the idea of Tom Brady in a hot tub" she joked.

Andy shook his head. "It's all about the Quarterbacks with you isn't it?"

"Well they are very good with their hands."

"I always thought I was rather good with my hands."

"You are" Sharon confirmed as she reached behind her and took his hand from her back, bringing it to her lips and slowly kissing his fingertips. "You're excellent with your hands" she added before moving her lips from his fingers and to his mouth. "Don't worry you should have no fears about me running off with a young handsome stud."

"Oh really?" Andy asked while waiting for Sharon to make fun of his age.

"Yes. Grey haired old codgers are much more my style" Sharon winked.

"Hey!"

"But just to be fair I'd be willing to give the young ones a quick once over just to see."

"Yeah one look and it would be all over for me."

"Never" Sharon replied before she kissed him again.

Andy laughed. "But seriously you'd have a great time."

"It all sounds like you think I should take it."

"I didn't say that" Andy clarified, still intent on making Sharon make the decision that was best for her without his feelings coming into it. "I want you to do what you want. I would miss you like absolute crazy both at work and at home but if it's what you want to do then I'll support you with every fibre of my being. Lots of travel, football and extra money, if you want to do this I honestly don't see a downside for you. Plus leaving the force makes you even more of a badge bunny which I kind of like."

"A what? A badge bunny?"

"Yeah."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"It's someone who goes out with cops" Andy explained with a wink.

"So what am I now?"

"Well you're still a badge bunny" he insisted.

"Even though I'm also a cop?"

"Yep."

"What does that make you then since you're also currently dating a cop?"

"Unbelievably lucky" Andy said with a smile.

Sharon just laughed at him for a moment before the reality of any dramatic change at this stage in her life hit her again. She frowned. "I still can't get past the distance it would create between us though. It would mean so much travelling, for so many months of the year. Without work we'd see each other even less than we do already."

"It wouldn't break us. I wouldn't allow it" Andy declared with determination.

"And how would that work exactly? Long distance relationships never work."

"It wouldn't be long distance all the time. And if it became a problem I could quite easily retire and follow you around the country like a little lost puppy if need be" he lied but hoped Sharon would fall for it anyway.

Sharon immediately shook her head. "You can't afford to retire and even if you could you can't do that, you can't give up work, not for me."

"It wouldn't be for you, it would be for us."

"Andy, be serious."

"Okay maybe not but if this is what you want you'd be a fool to deny yourself that. I could take some leave, come with you from time to time."

"I know but Andy..."

"No buts" Andy stated, not wanting to be the reason she turned this offer down. "Listen, Sharon sweetheart you are the love of my life and I will follow you to the ends of the earth...or Pittsburgh so that you can be happy. If this is what you want, we will make it work. It is my mission in this life to make you as happy as possible until my dying day and if this is what will make you happy you have to do it."

"But what about Rusty?" Sharon asked, turning her attention to what was the biggest obstacle. "I can't leave him alone. He's still so vulnerable."

"He wouldn't be alone and neither would I for that matter. We'd have each other. I think by now we can cope with each other for a couple of weeks at a time without killing each other. He could come and stay with me for a few nights or I could come here while you were gone."

"I don't know what he'd think..."

"Look if you want to know what Rusty is thinking let's get him in here" Andy suggested.

"He's probably asleep."

"Asleep? Really?" Andy laughed. "You really are distracted by all this aren't you?" he said as he kissed her forehead. "It doesn't take a detective to work out he's been standing outside the bedroom door and listening to everything for the last five minutes" he pointed out, having heard the floor outside the door creek at least four times since he'd told Rusty what was going on. Andy sat up in bed before calling the young man. "Rusty!"

"Has he really?" Sharon asked surprised. "Rusty?"

"Hi" came the quiet reply from the other side of the door.

"Get in here kid" Andy called.

Rusty rather sheepishly opened the door, sheepish because he'd been caught, and stepped inside as Sharon joined Andy in sitting up in bed. "I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear, I was just…"

"I know, I know it's okay. Get in here" Sharon said as she waved him towards them. Rusty slowly walked towards the bed and went to sit on the end. "Move over" Sharon instructed Andy as she nudged him towards the edge of the mattress. Andy quickly complied, pulling the covers back over his legs as Sharon moved to the middle of the bed. Sharon then smacked her hand on the area of the mattress she had just vacated, indicating Rusty should sit there instead. "Sit down." Rusty sat down next to her, stretching his legs out to match the way that Sharon and Andy wear sitting. After a moment Sharon took Rusty and Andy's hands in hers and rested her head back with a sigh.

Rusty and Andy peered around Sharon to look at each other for a moment, both of them never expecting to share a bed with the other, even for a couple of minutes. "And here was me worried I was starting to run out of things to talk to Dr Joe about" Rusty joked.

Andy nodded towards Sharon's closet. "If it helps I can put on your Mom's..."

"No!" Rust cried. "Do not finish that sentence."

Andy laughed as he looked at the way the three of them were sitting. "Before we start to get into this I need to say, if this is going to be a regular occurrence from now on we're going to need a bigger bed."

Sharon laughed. "Who would have thought four years ago that the three of us would end up sitting here like this?"

"Not me."

"Me either."

Sharon smiled as she brought both of their hands into her lap, clutching them tightly. "This is nice. Having both my boys in my bed."

"Or weird, either way" Rusty suggested.

"I feel like I'm in an episode of _The Waltons_ " Andy added.

"Be quiet. Don't spoil this moment for me." Sharon squeezed their hands even tighter and just enjoyed the moment with her two boys together. After a moment she put her head on Rusty's shoulder as Andy kissed her hand. "I could fall asleep like this."

"I couldn't" Rusty said quickly.

"Me neither" Andy confirmed.

Rusty pointed at Andy. "And if your freakishly hot body comes anywhere near me I'm screaming."

Andy winked at him. "You could always switch places with Sharon and be the cream in our little Oreo as we drift off to sleep."

Rusty shuddered. "You don't care if I ever get out of therapy do you?"

Sharon laughed. "He's only joking" she told Rusty before turning her attention to Andy. "You are aren't you?"

Andy just grinned for a moment before sighing, clearly overheating. "Sorry kid. I tried" he said as he pulled the covers off his legs, unable to cope with them on him any longer.

"You can't be that hot already" Rusty said with disbelief and a shake of the head.

"Oh Rusty you have no idea" Sharon told him, herself only now becoming accustomed to how hot Andy was after spending just under four months sharing a bed. At first she couldn't believe it and often ended up wriggling away from him in her sleep (with a small part of her wondering if that's why she hit him so often in her sleep, because he was so hot and she was trying to escape his clutches). It was actually a good indicator as to what she'd been up to in her sleep because unless Andy had a visible bruise he wouldn't tell her that she'd hit him. If she woke up hotter than the devil's crotch she knew Andy was pressed up against her back and she'd had a relatively quiet night. If she woke up cooler and Andy was perched on the edge of the bed and as far away as possible she knew she'd attacked him in her sleep again. In truth though she actually liked it, liking that warmth and missing it when Andy stayed at home. She smiled at Andy, noticing the puzzled look on his face as he looked around. "What's that face? What are you thinking?"

"I'm just trying to remember the last time I was in bed with two people."

Rusty instantly rolled his eyes. "Unless you want me to start screaming do not finish that thought. It's bad enough I heard about hotel rooms and hot tubs and God knows what while I was listening by the door" he added with a shudder.

"Well that's what you get for eavesdropping" Andy pointed out.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," Rusty protested, "I was just concerned about Mom and anyway you try sleeping with two people down the hall endlessly talking about nonsense all night long."

"I know Rusty, she just doesn't shut up" Andy joked before Sharon smacked him across the arm and taking his hand again. Yes she was mainly responsible for the amount of pillow talk that went on between them every single night but Andy didn't exactly object, more than holding his own when it came to continuing their often random conversations. "Other than when the boys stayed over I think I was about eight" he said, going back to his earlier thought.

Again Rusty rolled his eyes. "This story isn't going to involve Nuns or prostitutes is it?"

"No, it's not. All four of my grandparents lived with us when I was a kid so I not only shared a room with two of my brothers but we also shared a bed for a time." The Flynn household was like a competition not unlike how many clowns can you fit in a Mini Cooper but in their case it was how many members of the same family can you squeeze into a tiny house in Harlem. Sadly since the only similarity that it shared with the TARDIS was a blue front door, everyone had to double up (only stopping just short of all four of his Grandparents sharing a bed like in _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ ) and in the case of Andy and his brothers, doubling up meant sharing a bed during the Winter of 1957.

"Oh my God!" Rusty exclaimed. "Seriously Lieutenant each story you tell gets more depressing than the last."

"Depressing? What's depressing about that?" Andy asked confused, remembering his childhood fondly primarily because of the mischief he got involved with.

"Really?" Rusty scoffed. "It's like listening to the memoirs of _Oliver Twist_."

Sharon laughed uncontrollably before kissing Andy's cheek. "He is right Andy" she chuckled but it didn't last long. Her face suddenly dropped as her attention returned to the reason why she currently had both her boyfriend and her son in her bed. "So, how much do you know?" she asked Rusty, squeezing Andy's hand as she said it.

"Just what Andy came into my room to tell me, that you've been offered a job away from the LAPD?"

"I have, it's a job with the NFL."

"The NFL?" Rusty asked, his surprised matching Andy's from earlier in the evening.

"Yeah she's been drafted by the Patriots" Andy blurted out before laughing to himself.

Sharon just stared at him unamused for a moment while he continued to laugh, still unsure why he found it all so amusing. "Why do you think that's so funny?"

Andy kissed the back of her hand before responding. "Because regardless of size or age…"

"Are you calling me old?" she asked with fake offense.

"Never!" he winked. "But regardless of size or age the moment you gave any of those guys one of your Darth Raydor death glares they'd run a mile. You'd smash every Running Back record going."

Rusty nodded in agreement having wanted to flee from Darth Raydor more than once himself before laughing. Sharon's head snapped around to face him, realising that two of her boys were about to gang up on her again. "Don't laugh at that."

"But he's right" Rusty pointed out.

Sharon sighed as her eyes narrowed, her head going back and forth like she was watching a tennis match as Darth Raydor glared at them both. "Yeah a little like that" Andy winked.

"You, be quiet" Sharon told Andy before turning her attention to her son. "Look Rusty, before I go into detail I want to apologise to you if I've made you worry about me."

"As long as you're okay it doesn't matter."

"I told you there was nothing to worry about" Andy told Rusty, as if he'd been completely calm and worry free over the last couple of weeks and had been trying to calm Rusty down rather than they'd both been as panic stricken as each other.

"You told me nothing" Rusty shouted, leaning forward so he could see Andy's face. "You were panicking just as much as I was."

"I was not."

"Take another blood pressure pill" Rusty muttered, a smile on his face.

Andy glared back at him. "Shouldn't you be out tonight and letting Gus's roommate stuff you in a weird pose?" he asked, bickering with the young man like he was Provenza, something they did more and more as they got closer, despite the fact that it irritated Sharon.

Sharon's eyes widened. Her first instinct was to tell them to stop arguing yet again but Andy's statement was too odd to ignore. "What? Stuff you how? What does that mean?"

Rusty shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

Sharon's head banged against the wall as she sighed. "See how can I leave you two alone for weeks at a time. You'd skip work and college just to stay at home and bicker like a couple of idiots all day long." The truth was Andy and Rusty got along just fine but making fun of each other and arguing playfully was just something that they did. There was no anger or malice behind their words, it was just how they got along.

"Leave for weeks?" Rusty asked, frowning.

"Yes. The job is Chief of Security for the NFL which would mean a lot of travel."

Rusty smiled. "That's incredible."

"It comes with a big pay increase" Andy quickly pointed out.

Sharon shook her head at him. "You don't have to lead with that."

"How big?" Rusty asked, his excitement obvious. "Like I can get a new car big or…"

Andy laughed at how Rusty seemed to be on the same wave length as him while Sharon's mouth dropped open as she stared at him. "How long were you listening at that door?" she asked. "That's one of the first things he said to me."

Rusty went to answer before his face lit up, an idea suddenly dawning on him. "Super Bowl tickets?" he asked with glee. In reality he wasn't that much of a sports fan but even he wouldn't turn down a chance to go to the Super Bowl. The moment the words left Rusty's mouth Andy sat forward and stretched out his arm in front of Sharon to give him a celebratory fist bump, celebrating in the same way they did after the adoption papers were signed.

"Oh my God" Sharon cried as Rusty bumped his fist against Andy's. "That's what Andy asked too. You two could be related."

"That's possibly the meanest thing you've ever said to me Sharon" Andy joked.

"Me too" Rusty added.

"You're more alike than you think" Sharon insisted.

Andy nodded. "We know." Andy smiled at Rusty and was pleased to see it returned. They didn't need to be told that they were alike in some ways, they already knew it. They could fight like cat and dog and have polar opposite opinions on most things but as Andy revealed in the strip club, their pasts had many similarities.

"So what's the problem?" Rusty asked, unsure why taking the job wasn't a foregone conclusion.

"The problem? How about leaving a job that I love, where I do vital work and abandoning both you and Andy to travel around the country."

"But Super Bowl tickets though" Rusty repeated in a dreamy voice.

Andy laughed at Rusty before turning serious again. "Before I go any further let me just clarify that I'm talking to Sharon and not Captain Raydor now, right?" he asked.

"Given the fact that you're in my bedroom, in my bed with both me and my son I think it's a safe assumption to make that I'm not currently your Captain" Sharon laughed.

Andy shrugged. "I don't know, I'm pretty confident I'd be able to get my Captain into bed."

"STOP!" Rusty cried, looking utterly disgusted. "Stop right now!"

"Sorry kid" Andy laughed. "Sharon you are incredible at what you do, you really are but it won't come as a shock to learn that you're not the only person in the world who could do it. I'm not saying that the change wouldn't be hard on the division and that if you left all of the paperwork would get done correctly or even on time for that matter and I wouldn't find myself in trouble more often that I do right now but we would muddle ourselves through without you while you go on this new adventure."

Sharon sighed. It all sounded wonderful and if she ignored the feeling that she was just abandoning Rusty and Andy, her other issue was her enjoyment of being a police officer. "I know but I enjoy making a difference."

Andy quickly put his arm around Sharon's shoulders, taking her hand in his other. "Sharon you'd still be making a difference but making a difference somewhere else. Plus, who knows they might finally give Provenza the job."

"Has that been your plan all along?" she asked as her eyes narrowed at him. "Seduce me and get me to retire so your little friend could take over and let you both have the run of the place?"

Andy nodded. "He's going to split his pay rise with me before we install a pizza oven and stripper poles in the conference room." Rusty laughed while Sharon rolled her eyes at both of them. "Look I'm sure I speak for Rusty as well here when I say we just want you to do what makes you happy. That's it. Right kid?" Andy looked at Rusty with his eyes sparkling, making it very clear to him that he wanted him to agree with everything he'd just said whether he wanted to or not. In Andy's eyes the most important thing was that Sharon made the decision for herself, the best decision for her without any pressure or guilt from either of them.

"Absolutely" Rusty said enthusiastically when he realised what Andy wanted from him. "Whatever choice you make, as long as you're happy we'll both support you one hundred percent."

Sharon smiled at both of them, squeezing their hands. "I just don't know."

"The first step should be having your interview and hearing what they've got to say, then you'll have a better idea of what your options are. You're not committing to anything by just speaking to them" Andy said again before kissing the side of her head.

"Okay. You're right, you're right" Sharon nodded. "I hope I don't need to say it but I'd appreciate it if you both kept this information to yourselves for the time being. That includes Lieutenant Provenza."

"Of course."

"I won't say anything" Rusty confirmed.

"The last thing I need is for Chief Taylor to suddenly find out that I'm considering jumping ship before I've had chance to really think about it and come to a decision."

"And the fact that the whole building will know what's going on fifteen minutes after he found out" Andy pointed out.

"Is he really that bad?" Rusty asked, unable to equate the man he knew, the man who had in the past had so much say over his future and the man being described to him.

"Oh you have no idea" Sharon laughed. "Everyone seemed to find out in a matter of seconds last time."

"Last time?" Rusty asked.

"I've told him I was retiring before. It was just a ploy to find a leak within the division." Sharon smiled. "I've never seen Lieutenant Provenza look happier than he did when he thought I was retiring and getting out of his hair for good" she added before shooting Andy a glare. "I seem to recall you smiling a little bit as well."

"I was just pleased for you."

"Of course you were" Sharon nodded, not believing a word he said.

"Chief Taylor can't be that much of a gossip" Rusty insisted.

"Let's just say that PAB has a grapevine that Ernest and Julio Gallo would be envious of and it all starts from the lips of Russell Taylor" Andy explained, making them all laugh.

Sharon squeezed their hands, appreciating their support. "Thank you. Both of you and again I'm sorry I worried you."

"Don't be" Andy said again as he pressed his lips to the side of her head.

"It feels good to finally get it all off my chest and not keep it to myself any longer."

Andy nodded. "Good."

As Rusty sat there and thought about what Sharon had just said 'It feels good to finally get it all off my chest and not keep it to myself any longer' his face painted a very clear picture of anxiety, a picture that was sadly missed by both Sharon and Andy. Realising that Sharon was in fact okay and she wasn't about to drop dead on him his main focus of concern shifted from her to what he'd seen in his rear view mirror over the last couple of days. The first time he realised he was being followed he panicked, thinking that perhaps it was Stroh and his days were numbered but very quickly the figure in the car behind him started to look like Gary, something that was equally upsetting to him but for very different reasons.

With silence descending over the room Rusty was just about to speak up and tell them both that he had a potential stalker in the form of his Mom's former boyfriend when Andy's cell phone starting ringing and vibrating on the nightstand. The moment it started ringing Andy's face immediately lit up like it did when Sharon agreed to go to Serve with him on their first date. In complete contrast Sharon looked like someone had just set her favourite pair of shoes on fire.

"Oh no!" she cried with horror.

"Oh yes!" Andy shouted back with glee.

"But it's nearly one o'clock."

"And that can only mean one thing." Andy quickly bounded out of bed and stood to attention as he grabbed his phone from the nightstand, his smile only growing wider as he looked at the locked screen. He swiped to answer and then brought it to his ear. "Lieutenant Flynn. Hello? Okay. Sure" he said as he virtually bounced up and down on the spot like an overly excited child who been informed he was going to Disneyland. "Text me the address. I'm on my way." Andy hung up his phone before rubbing his hands together.

Oh how the tables had turned. At the start of the evening Andy had been the one crippled by fear and anxious about Sharon and her welfare but now it was her turn to feel the exact same way about him. Sharon had been waiting for his moment with a knot in the pit of her stomach for nearly a week now, waiting for it ever since the moment Andy came bouncing into the Murder Room with his signed piece of paper from the Doctor, a signed piece of paper which confirmed he was now medically fit enough to go back out into the field. She wanted to go with him for that final appointment to see his Doctor to get all of the information first hand (for her own sense of peace of mind rather than not trusting him to tell her the truth as both his Captain and his girlfriend), but they had a suspect in custody and Andy was forever complaining about being mothered so he went alone. She knew what was going to happen as she waited for him to return, that he would be cleared, he was fine and it time for life to finally return to normal, to how it was before he decided to have an argument with the pavement. When he did finally return she watched from her office as the rest of the division applauded him as he paraded that piece of paper around the room, lofted high. They applauded again when Provenza, as his supervising officer, added his signature to it with a dramatic flourish of his pen (almost having Amy's eye out in the process). With Provenza's signature in place Andy quietly whispered to him 'Now for the hard part' as he set off to see if Sharon would sign it as easily and as quickly given that he was hurt in the first place during the line of duty and then that escalated into something much more serious. With a sigh and a series of 'Good lucks' ringing in his ears Andy went in to see Sharon and much to his surprise she signed his paperwork immediately. She couldn't understand why he was so surprised since she would have signed off (and had signed off in the past) that quickly for every other member of her division but admitted as his girlfriend (and it was growing increasingly hard to separate the two sides of herself when his health was involved) she wasn't that happy about it, always going to worry about him regardless.

After Sharon signed his papers which allowed him to return to the field he rather shyly produced some more paperwork from his pocket for her to look at. Andy had made the decision over Christmas that he wanted to give Sharon all the various powers of attorney should anything happen to him again that led to a spell in hospital. From his point of view, their relationship had progressed rapidly since Provenza took charge when he was admitted to hospital the last time and it only seemed right that Sharon should now have a say in what happened to him from now on if faced with a similar situation. Andy got in touch with Gavin and asked him to draw up all the relevant paperwork for him despite the fact he liked to grab his ass when he saw him these days (whereas in the past Gavin used to avoid Andy and his stories like the plague after defending him in court on numerous occasions, Andy now tried to avoid Gavin because not only was he overly protective of Sharon and threatening him about breaking her heart but also wanting to torture his friend's boyfriend just for fun).

Sharon was initially shocked and a little overwhelmed as she glanced at the paperwork before her but quickly told Andy that she'd keep the papers and they'd talk about it later, out of work hours when they could discuss it properly (aside from work not being the time and place to have that discussion they needed to discuss the whole painkiller issue and what exactly he wanted her to do if he was ever in the situation where he might need to take a narcotic for his own good, like if he ever had a heart attack for example). That night she invited herself over to his house with the paperwork and a bag of take-out so that they could discuss it rather than him just springing it on her. The night ended with the papers signed and them both in each other's arms, celebrating his return to full duty and another huge step forward in their relationship after he effectively signed his whole life over to her, on paper at least (something she was only too happy to do if for no other reason than because of what Provenza did with his paperwork last time, nearly giving her a heart attack when she saw he'd written DNR on every line).

Since he was already dealing with Gavin (and he really only wanted to do that once without Sharon there to protect him) Andy also took the opportunity to alter his will, the first change since his divorce from Carol was finalised. His money (what little there was and any money generated from the sale of his house) was still going to Nicole and Daniel although he had informed Gavin that it would change again in the future should he eventually get Sharon to agree to move in with him. A small amount of money was left for Rusty should he need deposit money one day or something similar, at that stage in his relationship with Sharon and Rusty where he wanted to take care of the kid in the future. All of his worldly possession and his work benefits however he had now opted to leave to Sharon (with the exception of his Father's watch which he was leaving to Daniel and his Grandmother's ring which would go to Nicole, a ring that his Grandmother had smuggled into the country and through Ellis Island in her 'Scooby-Doo.' The reason for this concealment would forever remain a mystery but it had been run through the dishwasher several times over the years).

It had come as a surprise to Sharon, the speed with which he was effectively signing his life over to her but at the same time it wasn't that much of a surprise at all. They may have only been together for eight months but they were committed to each other long before they went on that first date. Neither would have admitted it but they loved each other a long time before they started dating and if it didn't work between them for some reason, if forces conspired to put an end to their relationship that would be it for them. There wouldn't be anyone else. There was no plan B. If they couldn't be together then pining after each other and the life they could have had together for the rest of their lives was their only option. So although she was anxious by this rather large step forward in their relationship, like she had been every step of the way so far, she was also excited by what it meant for them.

With all the paperwork signed and submitted and Lieutenant Andy Flynn officially off desk duty and no longer the designated 'Desk Monkey,' the Major Crimes division didn't get rolled out once that week (little did they know what was about to happen). Andy was beside himself, desperate to escape that building finally and get into the field. By the time Friday rolled around he had become so twitchy that Provenza sent him out on a coffee run instead to get him out of PAB with Provenza secretly hoping that if they were rolled out it would be while Andy was out of the building and otherwise occupied since he himself was a little concerned for his welfare these days. Not rolling out once in a week was unheard of but all of that changed with Andy's cell phone ringing.

"We're rolling out" Andy announced as he flung open the closet and grabbed his suit and tie that was dangling from the door.

Sharon climbed out of bed instantly and stood behind him, her hand on his shoulder like her presence could make him stay. "What for?"

"It's been kicked over to us from South East Division. Looks like gangs" he informed her as he closed the closet with his suit in hand. "A red SUV has been shot up driving through a Diablo neighbourhood. Two shot. That's all I know. I'll speak to Sanchez on the way, he's closer to the scene."

"Maybe I should come..." Sharon started as she opened the closet again and went to grab her preselected outfit for the following day.

"No! This isn't how this is supposed to work" he stated as he draped his suit over the back of the chair in front of the vanity. Putting his hands on Sharon's shoulders and turning her around to face him, he closed the closet with his foot. "The _squad_ has been called to the scene not you. Should _Captain Raydor_ be required I'm sure her second in command will call her to let her know but for now you go back to bed" he instructed, giving her a quick kiss on the lips before picking his suit back up.

"If there's a chance I'm going to be woken up in an hour or so anyway what's the point of going back to bed now?"

"The point is you may not but if this does turn into something big you need to take the chance to sleep while it's on offer."

"But I can't just go back to bed."

"Yes you can" Andy told her while dropping his suit again. "It's easy, here let me show you." Andy quickly led Sharon back to bed, forcing her to sit down on the edge before swinging her legs around and pulling the covers over them. "There you go. See? That was easy." Sharon just frowned at him unimpressed. "Don't look at me like that, these are your rules, I'm just following them."

They'd had the discussion in bed that night that he was signed off to return to the field. They both acknowledged that it was going to be difficult, Andy leaving their bed in the middle of the night to attend a crime scene while Sharon stayed at home but if their relationship was going to continue to work both at home and at work then it was something that needed to be done. Sharon needed to react like his girlfriend and be sad that he had to leave at such an hour but let him go and go back to sleep regardless like the partner of every other cop or firefighter across the country. She couldn't act like his Captain and go to the scene with him unless called in because that's just not what she did. It's what Chief Johnson used to do but Sharon wasn't her and opted to delegate to her second in command to make him more agreeable to her in the early days as he felt aggrieved that he'd been passed over for the job and also because she acknowledged he was far more experienced and knew what he was doing. She couldn't change that now just because she'd started to share a bed with one of her subordinates and found the situation uncomfortable. Still it was going to be tough and although she thought she would be able to handle it without issue she didn't really know until the first time it happened.

"I know and it was all very well and good in theory but in practice, this is the first time you've actually rolled out in the middle of the night when we've been together" she pointed out although it wasn't strictly true. The only other time it had happened was the night before Andy's accident. Just as it looked like Andy was going to make a move under his own volition for the very first time and they might just be about to sleep together with things moving quickly on Andy's couch, his phone rang and he was rolled out to attend to four bodies abandoned in the trunk of a car in front of a hospital before they had chance to make it to the bedroom. "I'm sorry but I'm going to worry about you."

"Don't. You promised you were going to stop doing that" he said with a point of his finger. "I'm fine, I even have a Doctor's note to prove it and I promise not to do anything stupid, besides this is not my first rodeo."

"It's your first since you decided it was a good idea to jump on a moving car and audition for the role of James Bond."

"And failed. Spectacularly" Rusty chimed in quickly.

"Yeah thanks kid" Andy said dryly, not needing to be reminded of how stupid he was on that particular afternoon. "Sharon I'll be fine. I'm just going to work like people do and you're going to bed to get some sleep. Rusty, sit on her if you have to." With that Andy grabbed his suit and his socks from a drawer in the dresser and headed into the bathroom.

Sharon and Rusty sat in silence for a moment with him just staring at her worried face as she stared after Andy. Eventually Rusty took her hand again. "He'll be okay Mom."

Sharon sighed. She knew she was being ridiculous, after all how many times had he rolled out over the course of his career and come back with not a single scratch on him. He was only visiting a crime scene, what could possibly happen to him? If she knew Lieutenant Provenza like she thought she did he'd probably send Andy instantly to the hospital or the morgue anyway, keeping him as far as possible from any perceived danger during that first night. "I know he will but it just doesn't feel right for me to lie here in bed when he's going to work."

Overhearing everything, Andy stuck his head out of the bathroom. "Tough! If this is going to work then this is what needs to happen, the boss lady stays in bed while the minion goes to work" Andy told her with complete authority before vanishing back into the bathroom.

Sharon thought for a moment before climbing out of bed. "I need to...stay here so we can talk about the logistics of this job offer a little more" she told Rusty.

"Okay."

Sharon smiled at Rusty appreciatively before walking into the bathroom. Inside she found Andy sitting on the toilet lid pulling on his socks. She leant against the wall as she watched him. "Hey there. Need any help?"

"Thanks for the offer but I got the whole dressing myself thing down years ago." With his socks on Andy stood, kissing Sharon quickly on the lips as he appreciated her concern and then began to pull on his pants.

"That's not what you said when you had your clot. Back then you couldn't even put your socks on without assistance." Andy smiled at her as he began to pull on his shirt and went to button it up. "Here let me get that for you" she insisted. Andy dropped his hands to his sides and smiled as he watched Sharon button it up for him, realising that she needed to do it for him in the same way she needed to button up Rusty's shirt on the morning of the first day trying to catch Wade Weller. Once she was finished with his buttons she reached up and planted her lips to his, kissing him for a lot longer than he would have anticipated given that he was in a hurry.

"Thank you" Andy said quietly as they pulled apart, giving her a wink and a quick kiss to the cheek before pulling up his suspenders and grabbing his tie from the towel rack. He turned to face the mirror above the sink and started to tie his tie. Sharon just watched him for a moment smiling at the concentration on his face, concentration that made him bite on his bottom lip for the briefest of moments. Before he was finished Sharon stepped in close behind his back and wrapped her arms around him, pressing the side of her face into his back and closing her eyes. With his tie on Andy wrapped his arms on top of Sharon's and sighed. "I'm going to be okay you know."

"I know. I know you are" Sharon nodded, her tone oozing confidence even though her eyes told a different story. She released him seconds later to allow him to pull his jacket on. As he turned to face her she straightened his tie as she always did, it becoming more than a substitute for a kiss now, it being just what she did because she loved him. "Perfect" she said with a smile as she smoothed it down his body one final time and pushed her lips against his. With a nod towards the door she said "I'll be out in a minute."

Andy nodded, leaving her alone for a moment as he went to find his shoes and finish getting ready for work. Once she was sure he was gone Sharon leant forward to look at herself in the mirror, a hand either side of the sink as she sighed, the exact same way that Andy did earlier in the evening as he worried about her. It was not the first time that she had worried about her team rolling out. She'd experienced it twice before after all, when Amy was assaulted and of course after Julio was shot but it was still a new experience for her. It was the sort of thing that was never on her radar during her time with Professional Standards, the fear that a member of her team might not come back when she sent them out. But now she had it, she'd had it since the moment she sent Amy to that school and she left again in the back of an ambulance. That fear however had multiplied tenfold since Andy's accident and just how close they had become since. She thought she loved him then, when he failed to return from the airport that day and the fear and worry took hold of her but it was a completely different ball game to how she felt about him now. By now life without him was unthinkable. Added to that she had got more than used to having him at PAB with her all day where not only she enjoyed working with him but she could also keep an eye on him and although she had promised she wouldn't worry anymore, it was a promise that she was struggling to keep.

Sharon stared at herself, a frown forming on her face. "Pull yourself together Sharon" she growled at herself with a wag of her finger. Her feelings weren't going to vanish that night, they would probably never fade until he retired but the least she could do was hide them for Andy's sake. A sigh later she left the bathroom with a fake smile plastered to her face to see Andy walking back into the bedroom with his shoes on. "Have you got your gun? Your badge?" she asked brightly.

Andy opened his jacket to reveal his gun and badge on his hip as he flashed her a smile. "I feel like a kid being sent off on his first day of school."

"Have you got everything?" Sharon asked again, ignoring his statement.

"Yes" Andy replied with a sigh. Once again he crossed the floor to stand by her side, putting his hands on her shoulders so he could manoeuver her back into bed. She sat down somewhat reluctantly as Rusty watched on before Andy swung her legs around and pulled the covers over her like he was dealing with a toddler who kept getting out of bed. "Okay I'm off. Kid cover your eyes." Andy leant down and kissed Sharon on the lips a couple of times. Despite the roll of his eyes Rusty didn't look away. Public displays of affection were now common place in front of him but Andy still joked about it, telling him to look away as advanced warning before he kissed Sharon in his presence. By now Rusty didn't much care, he was fine about it although to him it felt like he was watching Leia kiss Luke in _The Empire Strikes Back_ if he was honest. "Now go to sleep. Both of you" Andy instructed with a wave of his finger at both of them before heading towards the door.

He didn't get very far before Sharon cried "This is ridiculous! I can't go to sleep now if you're rolling out" and again tried to get out of bed.

Andy opened up his jacket and tapped his badge as he edged back towards her. "Captain, let me say it once more since you're struggling to wrap your head around it, if you're needed tonight or rather this early in the morning I'm sure my supervising officer, Lieutenant Provenza, will call you." Andy kissed her again before helping her back into bed. "And if that is the case, get some sleep while you still can."

"Okay" Sharon nodded, finally giving in. "Stay safe."

"I'm not a rookie. This isn't my first roll out" he repeated.

"It's your first for four months. I'm just saying be careful that's all."

"Always."

"Have you got your key so you can let yourself back in if you get stood down?"

"Of course." Andy removed his car keys from his pocket and rattled them, the key to Sharon's condo being among of them. "Bye" she said before kissing her one final time. "Goodnight kid" he added before finally leaving the bedroom.

"Don't jump on any moving cars!" Sharon shouted after him.

Andy poked his head back around the door and smiled. "Hey, it's me."

"That's what concerns me!" Sharon confirmed as he disappeared again.

A few seconds of silence passed between Sharon and Rusty as he desperately tried to think of what to say to her to offer some comfort. "Just think, if you take this job you won't know when he rolls out and you won't have to worry" Rusty suggested unhelpfully as Sharon's attention was drawn by the sound of the condo door opening.

"Thank you Rusty but that doesn't help." After less than a heartbeat she climbed back out of bed. "I'll be right back." Travelling with no great speed but very real purpose she headed into the living room and straight to the door just as Andy was leaving. "Andy" she said to stop him before he turned to face her. He knew exactly what was going on in her head and she honestly felt ridiculous about it but at that moment in time, since it was the first time that he'd rolled out since his accident she simply couldn't help it. She grabbed him in a bear hug, hugging him to the point where it almost stopped her from breathing she held him so tight. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too" he replied.

"Please be careful."

"I will" he confirmed once again as they pulled apart. "Don't worry. I'll probably see you in a couple of hours anyway."

"Meet you at the morgue?"

"It's a date" Andy said with a wink and kissing her a final time.

"You really know how to spoil a girl." Sharon watched him leave before closing and locking the door behind him. She sighed as she leant her back up against the door. "Please be careful" she said again, almost in a whisper.


	22. Chapter 22

_Let me start by saying that my updates are going to be much more infrequent from now on. When I took a break between December and March it was to get the dialogue for the next seven chapters locked into place and this is sadly the last of those seven chapters. I have outlines for the next 30 chapters already written but whereas the proposal chapter is already at around 11,000 words of dialogue, chapter 26 is only 3,000 words long currently, so I'm not sure when my updates will come other than on a Friday as usual. I'll try to keep posting every couple of weeks but I can't guarantee it._

 _ **Note:**_ _I've made the decision to change the name of Andy's ex-wife in this chapter. Since we now know her name is Sandra I've made the switch. Only the name changes however, the crazy, bitter character that wants to see Andy chased into a volcano by a gang of spiders remains._

 _This chapter picks up immediately after the end of Hindsight Part Five. Much of the chapter that takes place in the condo was written immediately after the episode aired in March 2016 so I've been thinking about this one for a while. It also includes what's basically speculation from Hindsight Part Three. In the command vehicle outside the church during the funeral the edit is fairly sloppy and clearly Andy at the very least hugged Sharon if not kissed her before leaving to find the mystery phone but that didn't make the final cut (I'm sure you all noticed too) so that's what the characters are referring to within this chapter. The first half of this chapter was never in my mind to write when I suddenly realised I was missing a massive opportunity and honestly I spent more time writing this speech than I did the one at my sister's wedding (but it was her third)._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty Two**

Small, large, in a church, on a beach at sunset, at City Hall, with huge numbers of family and friends in attendance or just with two witnesses and a minister, it didn't matter, Sharon Raydor just loved weddings. The beauty, the romance, the sense of optimism and hope for the future, she loved it all, her heart swelling as she watched two people, completely in love with each other, declaring that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. She'd always loved weddings as she'd once told Andy when she invited herself to join him at Nicole and Dean's nuptials but she loved them even more now that she had found herself so completely smitten with a man she could honestly see herself marrying one day and felt such love from him in return.

She shed more than a few tears during the ceremony itself, listening to Provenza and Patrice vow to be there for each other in sickness and health for the rest of their lives as they sat in the front row of the small gathering and Andy draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him and occasionally pushing his lips to the side of her head as the simple ceremony took place. With the vows made, rings exchanged and the bride well and truly thoroughly kissed, warm applause filled the beautiful room to the very rafters (thanks in a very large part to Andrea and the strings she had managed to pull at such short notice to arrange it all for them) before the registry was signed with both Andy and Sharon being asked to serve as their witnesses. In truth they only needed one person to witness their marriage but since there was a space for two witness names it only seemed right for both Sharon and Andy to do it together, something else that caused a tear to slip from Sharon's eyes as she took the pen from Andy and signed her name next to his. From how Sharon and Provenza had started again as colleagues just four short years ago to where they were now, she was dating his best friend and witnessing his marriage, she couldn't help but look at her second in command and feel nothing but unconditional love for him (a feeling that began to grow inside him once he stopped treating her like his nemesis and actually got to know her. But that feeling really hit both of them, a feeling that they loved each other as they sat holding hands and waited for Andy to get out of surgery just a few short months earlier). As Buzz continued to film the happy group and the Mayor sadly had to vanish to continue with his day, hugs, kisses and congratulations were shared around after the photographer had taken some quick photos for posterity of the bride and groom and the best man with Sharon.

"Now that all the formalities are out of the way I think it's time for a much needed drink" Taylor announced as he rubbed his hands together, his fingers itching to pick up a glass.

"After the week we've had we're not going to argue with you about that Chief" Sharon replied, with all of them looking more than a tad tired and ready to kick back and relax as soon as humanly possible.

"Follow me" Andrea instructed as she lead the group to the back of the room where two members of staff stood ready pour drinks for the guests. She had done a fabulous job pulling everything together at the last moment. Aside from having the Mayor conduct the proceedings and bringing along a photographer, she had arranged a small tower of finger food and hors d'oeuvres with chocolate covered strawberries to finish, not a lot in the great scheme of things but just that little bit extra to help Provenza and Patrice make the day that much more special. Sharon and Andy waited a moment and stood at the back of the group behind Provenza and Patrice, like they were shepherding them towards the gathering, never letting go of each other's hand for even a second. When they reached the table the drinks were already being handed out. "We've got champagne for those that want it and sparkling apple cider for everyone else" Andrea added with a nod towards the two recovering alcoholics in the room along with the young man under the age of twenty-one.

"It looks absolutely wonderful Andrea" Sharon smiled as she approached the table of goodies, thrilled that she had offered to help a man she so frequently found herself arguing with.

"I'm glad I could help out," she replied after taking a sip of her champagne, "and of course it's all courtesy of the DA's office so no worries about that."

Still not letting go of Sharon's hand Andy gave her a glass of champagne from the table before taking a glass of cider for himself, with both boys quickly following suit since Rusty had no intention of going anywhere near alcohol ever again after what had happened at Provenza's bachelor party. With everyone else holding a charged glass, Taylor took control and handed a drink to both the newlyweds as they all hovered around the table. "One for bride and one for the groom."

"Thank you" Patrice said a little overwhelmed as she took the glass. "It's all so beautiful."

"Like my bride" Provenza added proudly before Patrice kissed him gently on the lips.

"Well I think a toast is in order don't you?" Taylor again announced like he had decided to become the unofficial Master of Ceremonies for the afternoon. "What do you say Flynn? You are the best man after all right?"

Andy let go of Sharon's hand for a moment as he straightened his tie and glanced down at his feet, preparing himself. When he looked back up he was smirking, a twinkle very much present in his eye that spelt nothing but trouble. "I'm sure I can think of a few words to say" he grinned making everyone but Provenza laugh. Andy looked at Sharon and winked before putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him.

Mike smiled to himself, he'd been looking forward to this moment from the very second Provenza announced he was getting married again. He took a few small steps towards Rusty. "How long has he been working on this?" he asked him quietly.

"Weeks" Rusty confirmed, having known Andy was thinking about it (even as they sat in the strip club during the bachelor party) but hadn't seen or heard what exactly he was planning on saying, that being a very closely guarded secret.

Mike exchanged amused smiles with Julio and Buzz, all three of the expecting the worst to slip from their colleague's lips and get him into trouble with not only the groom and his new bride but in all probability his girlfriend as well. "Oh boy."

Taylor raised his champagne glass in the air and tapped it with his wedding ring to get everyone's attention, not that he needed to, the mere mention of the words 'Flynn' and 'toast' had already rendered everyone virtually silent in anticipation anyway. "Some quiet please for the best man."

Before Andy had chance to open his mouth Provenza pointed at him with his glass in hand while his other hand gripped Patrice's tightly, a scowl fixed to his face in a very threatening manner. "Before you open your mouth Flynn, let me remind you about what happened the last time you did this" he stated, not wanting to have another one of Andy's speeches end with his new wife not speaking to him and having to spend the night fighting over the bed covers with his best man since he had nowhere else to sleep.

"Like I could forget" Andy shuddered. "I still wake up screaming."

"And may I add," Provenza went on but with his scowl quickly turning into a sly smile as he anticipated making him squirm, "that despite my _very_ best efforts to discourage you over the last couple of years, there seems to be an extremely good chance that I may have the opportunity to return the favour sometime in the near future." As if to emphasis his point Provenza went back and forth pointing at both Sharon and Andy, making everyone laugh. "Payback can be a bitch my friend so be careful what you say" he warned as the gathered group continued to laugh, even Sharon although she chomped on her lip and hid her face in Andy's shoulder as she did it, more than a little embarrassed by the attention and implication.

"You know if you don't like what you hear Louie you can always put an end to it by screaming 'Banana!'" Patrice joked making the whole division laugh since all had been explained after Sharon had shouted it at them to stop their argument straight after Christmas.

Taylor looked around the room confused. "Banana?" he asked. "What does this have to do with a banana?"

"Trust me Chief you don't want to know" Sharon laughed.

When the laughter eventually died down everyone fell silent and looked towards Andy expectantly as he thought for a moment. He had been thinking about his speech a lot since the very moment Provenza told him of his proposal plans (with Provenza confiding in him while he was recovering from his surgery in hospital as an attempt to cheer him up since he knew his announcement would amuse him and amuse him it did while giving him something to think about as he waited for Sharon or Rusty to visit) and had made a lot of notes but hadn't written anything down properly. "Well with that threat lingering in the air before I begin I'm going to get the housekeeping out of the way first." Andy turned to Buzz and raised his glass in the air in thanks. "Buzz thank you for taking the time to film all of this on your afternoon off. Patrice appreciates all of your hard work and effort even if Provenza doesn't."

Buzz smiled shyly. "It's been my pleasure."

Andy then turned his attention towards Andrea, again with his glass raised to toast her in thanks. "And Andrea thank you for pulling a few strings at such short notice to make this such a beautiful occasion. You've done a wonderful job."

"Here, here" Fritz added while everyone else murmured in agreement.

Andrea shrugged, already downplaying her role. "Well having the Mayor on speed dial had to come in handy sooner rather than later and it was the least I could do, really."

"Regardless thank you," Andy repeated again, "and on behalf of Provenza and Patrice thank you one and all for coming over here to be part of their special day at the end of a week such as this one when I know everyone wants nothing more than to go home and catch up on some sleep."

"Ye Gods! They can just nap during this speech" Provenza suggested grumpily which again made everyone laugh.

Again Andy paused for a second as he thought about what he wanted to say next. "Let me start this by saying that Provenza is living proof of that old phrase 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again' and have an exceptional divorce lawyer on speed dial" he joked and was rewarded with a ripple of laughter. "Now I could start this toast with some words of wisdom about marriage, declaring that marriage is the only institution in the world that lets you annoy one person for the rest of your life and we all know from personal experience just how good Provenza is at annoying people." Again everyone laughed with the exception of Provenza who just narrowed his eyes at his partner, expecting it only to get worse from that point on. "Or that marriage is a relationship where one person is always right and the other person is the husband."

"You've got that right" Provenza agreed a little ill-advisedly considering he'd been remarried a grand total of fifteen minutes and his new bride was standing next to him, clutching his hand with her nails suddenly digging into his palm.

Everyone laughed at Provenza's stupidity as Patrice slowly turned to look at him with all the menace of a Chucky doll, an irritated look on her face and a new record for Provenza, upsetting his new wife so early in their marriage. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"But in your case Patrice I'll gladly always be wrong" Provenza grovelled with a wink and a quick kiss to the back of her hand.

"That's because you always are" Patrice stated bluntly with a smile that made everyone laugh again.

"I'm not going to say that ninety percent of being married is shouting 'WHAT?!' at each other from another room" Andy went on, "and I'm not going to suddenly start screaming 'What are you thinking Provenza? You've made a terrible terrible mistake!'" he shouted to much laughter from the group while Sharon poked him in the ribs. "I'm not going to do that" he confirmed, looking at Sharon.

"Which is a good job Lieutenant" Andrea chuckled.

"A very good job" Sharon added like a warning with another poke to his ribs.

"I'm not going to say those things," Andy repeated innocently with a smile, "because firstly there's an incredibly beautiful lady standing next to me right now," he said before kissing the side of Sharon's head, "who loves weddings more than anything in this world…except perhaps bossing me around," he added quickly but it still resulted in Sharon pinching the back of his knees, "and whom I'm really rather fond of myself and I don't want to piss her off too much especially when she's in such a good mood."

"Too late" Sharon replied with a stern look that didn't spread to her eyes.

Andy winked at her before turning his attention back to the group again. "And before you say I'm whipped let me say, yes, yes I am and very happily so" he stated plainly as again everyone laughed at him.

Provenza shook his head. "How do you put up with him Captain?"

Sharon glanced up at Andy, chewing on her lip for a moment as she smiled. "Counting to ten and white wine mainly Lieutenant, just like you" she said while not taking her eyes off Andy for even a split second.

"I also don't want to say those sort of things because it's well known within this group and the great State of California that Provenza and I have somewhat of a record of getting each other into trouble, usually unintentionally and Provenza usually always starts it" Andy said quickly as everyone but Provenza laughed again. "I could share more Provenza stories but after six weddings and six best man toasts including a couple by myself there really aren't that many left to tell. Also I don't want to spend another one of Provenza's wedding nights sharing a bed with him because we're both in the dog house." Everyone laughed again but with Provenza finally joining in with them. "But since it's now out in the open I can confirm that yes Provenza did indeed kiss my neck on his last wedding night and yes he's a gentle, considerate and sensitive lover" he joked. "Right Patrice?" he asked with a wink.

Again everyone laughed but no one more than Patrice. Provenza's mouth dropped open as he turned to face her. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing" Patrice replied as she battled to compose herself, the hand holding her glass covering her face as she continued to laugh.

"I could say all of these things but I won't mainly because of this beautiful woman standing before us today." Andy gestured towards Patrice with a kind smile. "True Patrice you're not Provenza's first wife or even his second or third or..."

"Alright we get the picture" Provenza butted in unamused.

"But you are the most important," Andy continued despite the interruption, "because after all this time, after so many wrong turns and mistakes and…"

"And marrying Sharon twice" Provenza sighed.

"Well I wasn't going to say that but yes, after all that Provenza has finally found the love of his life." Andy glanced at Sharon and smiled for a moment before continuing. "I'm not the sort of person who believes in love at first sight or going out and finding love because I don't think people chose love, I believe that it chooses us and whether that's after twenty four years," he said as he again smiled at Sharon, "or just twenty four hours," he added with a nod to the bride and groom, "when it happens we are absolutely powerless to stop it." Andy paused as he smiled at Patrice. "The first time I knew Provenza was a goner and that he'd truly met the love of his life was the first time I ever met you in person Patrice. And I knew that not because Provenza had told me he had fallen in love or I'd heard him whistling a Carpenters medley in the Break Room when he thought he was alone but because prior to you walking into the Murder Room with your suitcase that Christmas Eve I didn't really know a single thing about you and that's the point. He won't want me to say it but my miserable friend here loves with his whole heart and when he does that I've come to learn he doesn't want to share it with anyone except the love of his life, except with you" he said, gesturing towards her with his glass. "The quieter he gets the more serious it is so I suppose I have to say thank you for the silence, I really appreciate it" he joked and again ensured the room was filled with laughter.

"I wish I could say the same about you but you never shut up" Provenza complained and not for the first time. "One day Flynn I look forward to telling everyone how I've had to endure a never ending number of stories about the Captain for close to three years now. Three years! I probably know the Captain better than she knows herself at this point."

As the words left his mouth and not for the first time since Andy had started his best man's toast Sharon looked more than a touch embarrassed for a moment but in a very good way, hiding her face in Andy's chest for a second as he kissed the top of her head. She was not normally comfortable having her private life discussed in public, far from it, but at that moment in time she was reminded that she was surrounding by friends and family who loved her and any attention heading her way was only because people were happy for her, happy for them both. "Thank you Lieutenant" she said finally after clearing her throat, a certain level of intrigue in her voice to know what exactly Andy had been saying about her for so many years.

"I look forward to hearing it Provenza" Andy grinned as he winked at Sharon. "Of course the other way you know Provenza is in love is when his wardrobe suddenly changes and the pocket squares put in an appearance. Am I right?" he asked Mike and Julio since they had also experienced the effect Lauren had on him all those years ago.

"Right on the money Sir" Julio laughed.

When the laughter died back down again Andy suddenly looked as serious as he had all afternoon. He squeezed Sharon tightly as he ensured he met Patrice's eye and spoke directly to her. "Patrice, I know that what I'm about to say you've heard before, after all Provenza isn't the first cop you've been foolish enough to marry but it's important nonetheless so it's worth repeating." He paused again before gesturing to his colleagues around him. "We're a family, every single one of us, every single man and woman in blue who dedicate their lives to protecting this city. You haven't just married Provenza today, you've not just got one new family member, you've got thousands. I'm your brother now too" he told her sincerely. "Today your family extended to include me, Sharon, Mike, Julio, all of us and like those vows you've just made today we will be there for you always, in sickness and in health for the rest of your life because that's what happens when you marry a cop, you get all of us whether you want us or not."

"Here here" Mike added.

Amy raised her glass and smiled, her eyes tearing up like both Sharon and Patrice's were at Andy's thoughtful words. "Welcome to the family Patrice" he said as Chuck kissed the top of her head as he squeezed her.

"If there's one thing that the LAPD knows how to do better than anyone else it's take care of their own but I guess you already know that" Andy smiled.

"I do. I do" Patrice nodded as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. It was something she knew all about before that day. When her first husband died and so suddenly at that his friends and colleagues rallied around her like they were her own family. "Thank you Andy."

"You may be lacking in attendance from one sort of family here today Patrice but this family isn't going anywhere. Now more than ever we will always be here for you even if one day Provenza isn't." With that Patrice let go of Provenza's hand for a moment and closed the small gap between her and Andy to kiss him on the cheek before returning back to her husband's side and taking his hand again. "But if in the end you get tired of him before that, and frankly who would blame you, you should know that I meet all of his ex-wives on the second Thursday of every month at the Radisson by the airport for an informal support group" Andy joked.

"Without me?" Mike exclaimed a little put out.

"Hey we'll always take on new members Mike but you and Patrice should both know that the initiation process is brutal and you have to bring a box of doughnuts and a lock of his quickly disappearing hair..."

"Hey!" Provenza cried as he ran his hand through his, what he thought anyway, luscious locks of hair.

Ignoring Provenza's objections Andy carried on. "And a lock of his quickly disappearing hair to construct a voodoo doll." Once again a ripple of laughter went through the room. Andy looked down for a moment as he waited for silence to fall before continuing with a look of great determination and concentration on his face, trying to remember precisely what he wanted to say word for word. He raised his glass into the air, getting to the main portion of his speech. "Today is a day you will always remember, the greatest in anyone's life. You've started the day just two people in love and ended it husband and wife. It's a brand new beginning, the start of a journey with moments to cherish and treasure and although they'll be times when you both disagree, it is Provenza after all, these will surely be outweighed by pleasure. You'll have heard many words of advice in the past when the secrets of marriage were spoken but you know that the answers lie hidden inside where the bond of true love lies unbroken. So live happy forever as lovers and friends it's the drawn of a new life for you, as you stand there together with love in your eyes from the moment you whisper 'I do.' And with luck all your hopes and your dreams can be real, may success find its way to your hearts, tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys but today is the day it all starts." Andy paused again, taking a deep breath. "Love doesn't make the world go round but it sure as hell makes the journey worthwhile." He raised his glass higher in the air as he squeezed Sharon just that little bit tighter. "I wish you both many years of happiness and for you Patrice, an awful lot of patience. Congratulations guys. Ladies and gentlemen if you'd all like to raise your glasses and join me in a toast to Mr and Mrs Provenza, my best friend and the love of his life, the greatest couple I know. Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses in the air before saying in unison "Mr and Mrs Provenza." With sips of their drinks taken a loud thunder of applause went around the room for Andy and his perfectly delivered speech.

Very slowly Provenza closed the gap to Andy and shook his hand before giving him a quick hug and a pat on the back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome buddy" Andy smiled.

"A couple of words from the groom?" Taylor suggested.

Provenza walked back to Patrice, straightening his bow tie now that all eyes were upon him once again before taking her hand in his. "Yes I think I can find a couple of things to say. As all of you know I am not a man of many words but I'll try my best. Firstly let me echo what Flynn has already said, thank you Buzz and DDA Hobbs for your extraordinary kindness. I…" Provenza stops as Buzz looks at him absolutely flabbergasted. "What?"

"Nothing" Buzz smiled. "I just don't think you've ever said thank you to me before" he added a little taken aback and slightly overwhelmed. "Thank you Lieutenant."

"You're welcome" Provenza said quickly and making everyone laugh. "Thank you one and all for joining us here at such short notice, I know just how far some of you have had to walk from the other side of the street."

"Oh yeah it was a real chore" Andy replied sarcastically.

Sharon rolled her eyes at Andy and added "But we wouldn't have missed it for the world Lieutenant."

"Thank you Captain." Provenza paused for a moment as he looked at Andy. "Flynn…" he started before pausing again.

"Provenza."

Provenza raised his glass into the air. "Flynn" he said again before once more stopping to think of the appropriate words to use. "To the best man a guy could ask for."

"Careful that almost sounded like a compliment" Andy joked.

"Don't get used to it" Provenza shot back grumpily as everyone laughed. "And finally to the woman who sets my soul on fire every morning" he said turning towards his bride. "Patrice, you may not be the first Mrs Provenza or even the third or fourth as Flynn so politely pointed out but you will be the last and I will spend every waking moment for the rest of my life trying to be the man you deserve. To Patrice."

Again in unison everyone raised their glasses to join in the toast. "Patrice" they toasted. Patrice wiped away another stray tear from her eye before she kissed Provenza on the lips.

Taylor cleared his throat as he prepared to speak. "If it's okay while everybody still has relatively full glasses I'd like to say a few quick words. With everyone here it would be amiss for me to stay silent. I say this not just as Assistant Chief but also as the Captain of Robbery Homicide twelve years ago. It has been a difficult week, a very difficult week but once again Captain you and your division have gone above and beyond the call of duty and solved the unsolvable, proving that your division is indeed the jewel in the LAPD crown and that very much deserves a toast. To Major Crimes."

"Major Crimes" everyone toasted.

"Thank you Chief" Sharon nodded.

"Are these up for grabs?" Julio asked pointing at the small section of food on the table, his stomach growling as well as wanting to comfort eat his way into oblivion after everything that had happened between him and Steph over the last couple of days on top of the revelation about Maria and her seizure medication. "I'm starving."

"Yes of course. Help yourselves" Andrea said as she took a step back to allow everyone to get access to the table but before anyone had chance to snaffle more than the odd hors d'oeuvre she waved her hands in the air to get everyone's attention. "Oh wait, wait, wait, I forgot. Before you all fill your plates I have another little surprise" she announced. "What is a wedding without a first dance?" Andrea gave the nod to one of the staff who produced an iPod and speaker from under the table and pressed play. A second later the small room was immediately filled with an instrumental version of _Love Is Here To Stay_. "If everyone would like to take a step back to make some space for the bride and groom." Everyone moved back a few steps and behind the table to allow a small dancefloor to be created behind the chairs on the right hand side. "Mr and Mrs Provenza the floor is all yours" Andrea added as she gestured towards the makeshift dancefloor.

They put their glasses on the table before Provenza took Patrice's hand and led her to the dancefloor. As they passed Andrea, Patrice put her hand on her shoulder and smiled at her with gratitude for everything she'd done. Holding each other tightly, Provenza and Patrice started to slowly dance across the floor with everyone watching and smiling as Buzz caught it all on camera.

Patrice smiled at Provenza, letting her hand move up and down his back as she did. "Thank you Louie. Thank you for agreeing to do this my way."

"No, thank you Patrice, my Patrice" Provenza said softly as he ran a hand down her face. "Thank you for saying yes." Even without Buzz's words of wisdom in his ear two days before it had become quite clear to him quickly that by insisting on doing everything his way it meant that the wedding wasn't getting the time, care and attention that it so desperately needed and at the end of the day, what was the point in that? He had promised her on Valentine's Day as they sat outside McDonald's that he would take care of everything and he had done precisely nothing and that was even before work and their current case took over his life. Patrice wanting a small wedding but more importantly she wanted a quick wedding, the sooner the better and after accepting that not everything was about him Provenza reluctantly decided to give it to her, wanting to give her anything she asked for once he was able to get past his own pig headedness. Once it was all arranged he began to wonder why he'd made so much fuss about it in the first place. All he wanted, like Patrice, was to get married as quickly as possible and in the end that's exactly what they had done.

"But just so you know," Provenza went on with a serious expression, "you may have won this battle but this is the last time I cave in so easily during this marriage. I want to be clear about that."

Patrice smiled and chuckled to herself, admiring her husband's optimism in this regard. "If you say so Louie."

"I mean it. This is it" he repeated, sounding completely serious. "It won't be so easy from now on." Patrice just smiled at him before kissing him tenderly on the lips once again. Provenza frowned at her amused face as they pulled apart. Suddenly his shoulders slumped as he smiled at her, giving in already and not for the first time in must be said. "You've got me wrapped around your little finger haven't you?"

"From the moment you first saw me holding those x-rays."

Provenza laughed as he nodded, acknowledging she was one hundred percent correct. "You know what?"

"What Louie?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way" he confirmed as he kissed her again and they continued to dance.

As the song finished it changed to an instrumental version of _This Guy's In Love With You_ and with the first dance now officially over but the newlyweds showing absolutely no sign of moving from the dancefloor for the foreseeable future, Andy held his hand out for Sharon to take and winked. "Come on. Let's show these kids how it's done."

Sharon took his hand but didn't move, looking at him with a fair amount of surprise. "You're asking me to dance?"

"Of course. Why the tone of surprise?"

Sharon smiled and laughed to herself, knowing the rest of the group were listening and that she was about to reveal something that may surprise them as much as it initially surprised her. "Because the last time we attended a wedding together you were so nervous that I was forced to drag you to the dancefloor by your tie, that's why."

Everyone laughed but no one louder than Mike. "Andy Flynn nervous with a woman? Now there's a first."

"Oh you have no idea. You would not have recognised him Mike" Sharon joked while never taking her eyes off Andy. In return he just cocked his head at her and grinned. "He was frozen in his seat, like a nervous cardboard cut-out."

"Ah but that was only because at the time I was frightened of you but I'm not anymore" Andy insisted while every person around him either laughed or scoffed at his claim.

"Really?" Sharon asked with a smirk.

"Well not in the same way" Andy admitted much to everyone's amusement. He winked at her again before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it. Sharon smiled back at him as he led her to the dancefloor, followed quickly by Amy and Cooper. When they approached the bride and groom Andy quickly patted Provenza on the back, congratulating him once again before giving Sharon his full and undivided attention. As they began to slowly dance along to the music Andy placed his lips very close to her ear, ensuring that no one else would be able to hear what he was about to say. "People are watching, so keep your hands off my ass Raydor." Sharon laughed and swatted him on the back of his head, closing her eyes as she rested her head on his shoulder as they moved despite the fact that he blew a raspberry on her neck the moment she settled comfortably.

As Buzz continued to film the three couples moving about the dancefloor everyone else's attention turned towards Andrea since she was the only other woman in attendance who was currently unattached and not dancing. Andrea turned to face the long line of Julio, Mike, Fritz, Dr Morales and Taylor, smiling at her suiters as they suddenly stood that little bit taller, hoping to be selected like this was an episode of _The Bachelorette_. "Well this is a first. I've suddenly never felt so wanted" she said, feeling quite good about herself for a moment.

"Coin toss?" Julio suggested.

Andrea's shoulders quickly slumped. "Oh how flattering Detective!" she cried, that good feeling quickly evaporating.

Fritz laughed as he took a step forward. "Andrea, would you care to dance?" he asked with a smile and his hand out for her to take.

"Ah! A gentleman! I'd love to Chief" Andrea replied as she took his hand and followed him to the dancefloor to join the other three couples dancing.

"Typical!" Morales cried with frustration. "Well I've never been one to be a wallflower at a wedding and I've wanted to do this for years." He moved to stand in front of Julio. "Detective, would you care to dance?" Julio looked at him absolutely flummoxed while his colleagues stifled their laughter. Morales just smiled at Julio, wanting to dance with someone and he really didn't care who it was but since Sargent Gabriel was no longer available then Julio would more than do.

"Excuse me?" Julio said, thinking he'd misheard him.

"Oh it won't kill you and I'll promise to keep my hands to myself. Who knows it might even cheer you up. I'll even let you lead." Not giving Julio much choice in the matter Morales grabbed him by the hand and led him to the dancefloor, with Julio looking behind him at Mike like a cry for help. After a couple of seconds of figuring out who was going to lead with no decision really being made one way or another, a very friendly and as far as Mike and Buzz were concerned, a very funny waltz started to take place between them like something you'd see in an end of season compilation of the worst bits from _Dancing With the Stars._

Gus held out his hand for Rusty to take. "Rusty?" he said as he nodded towards the dancefloor.

Rusty took a step back, his nervousness evident. "Oh gee, I don't know." Had they been alone or just in a quiet setting with Sharon and Andy he would have immediately danced with Gus in a heartbeat but with such a large crowd, even if they were a crowd of friends, he was still feeling a little awkward about such public displays, even if it was only dancing at a wedding.

"What are you waiting for?" Mike asked as he took a step towards Rusty and patted him on the shoulder. "Get your butt over there."

"Come on." Gus took hold of Rusty's hand and practically dragged him to the dancefloor to join in with the others and leaving Mike standing with Taylor as they continued to eat and drink and watch with smiles permanently affixed to their faces as Buzz continued to film.

"Well that's something I never thought I'd see" Mike commented as he gestured towards the dancefloor.

"What Julio dancing with Dr Morales?" Taylor laughed in reply.

"Well that as well. I meant both Provenza and Flynn settled down and happy at the same time. It still feels like I've stepped into an episode of _The Twilight Zone_."

Taylor nodded in agreement. "But you can't deny that they both look happier than they've ever been in their lives."

"And keeping relatively out of trouble as a result" Mike offered.

Taylor turned to him and frowned. "What about the bachelor party?"

Mike shrugged. "I said 'relatively.'"

"Cheers to that."

"Cheers" Mike replied as they clinked their glasses together and continued to watch the dancing couples until Cathy suddenly burst through the doors. She was dressed to the nines in a beautiful peach coloured dress but out of breath as she quickly scanned the room for her husband. Mike instantly glowed when he saw her. "Cathy!"

"Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my other shoe. Did I miss it?"

"Sorry but you're here now and that's all that matters."

Cathy quickly crossed the floor to Mike and kissed him on the lips before greeting Taylor with a kiss to the cheek. "Where are Patrice and the Lieutenant?" she asked, not immediately seeing them amongst the couples moving about on the dancefloor.

"'The Lieutenant'?" Mike complained for the second time in under an hour. "You remember I'm a Lieutenant as well right? Me? Your husband?"

"Oh hush." Cathy removed her coat, putting it on the back of one of the chairs and then took hold of Mike's hand and led him to the dancefloor to join the others, waving at everyone and getting a smile in return before they started dancing.

Buzz settled next to Taylor as he continued to film, the only people in attendance other than the photographer not dancing. After a moment he glanced at Taylor. "Don't even think about it" Taylor said quickly, misreading him entirely. "If you value your job you'll keep filming."

In the middle of the dancefloor Andy held Sharon very tightly to him as they continued to dance. He pressed his lips to her ear once again to make sure that no one but her could hear him and very quietly began to sing along to the music. " _You see this guy, this guy's in love with you. Yes I'm in love, who looks at you the way I do, when you smile I can tell, we know each other very well. How can I show you I'm glad to know you_."

Sharon smiled as he finished. "That was very quiet and subtle for a proud former choir boy of your stature" she said as she laughed, knowing he'd go crazy if anyone, specifically Provenza, learnt how much time he spent singing to her.

"That's because it was just for your ears and no one else's" he confirmed with a kiss to the side of her head. He pulled away slightly to enable him to look her in the eyes. "Happy?"

"Deliriously. I'm perfect."

"Yes you most certainly are" Andy winked. Sharon laughed as she moved her head back to his shoulder, holding him tighter and running her hand up and down his back. He kissed her on the side of the head again.

"All that time you spent on your speech has definitely paid off" she informed him. From the very moment that Sharon had suggested Patrice wanted a small, quick and (to him) more importantly sudden wedding Andy had been stressing about his best man's speech. Yes he'd been thinking about it from the moment Provenza told him he was going to propose but he hadn't written anything down. Suddenly he realised that he needed to get something prepared to go at the drop of a hat just in case Patrice got her way and he had very little advanced notice.

"I hope so. Did you like it?"

"I did. It was beautiful. I loved it like I love you my beautiful boy."

"I love you."

Sharon sighed, beyond content and overflowing with emotion given her surroundings. "I love you too." She paused as she pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes. "Do you remember a few months ago when you came into my office and asked me what I needed you for?"

Andy nodded, a little puzzled. "Sure." He quickly looked over his shoulder and towards Julio still dancing with Morales on the edge of the dancefloor, being dragged around like a very reluctant and stubborn manikin. "You need my help with Julio again?" he asked, assuming she wanted him to encourage him again at work after everything that had happened over the course of the week.

"No. Nothing like that. Outside of work it's this" she said as she smiled at him. "It's making me feel like this. This is what I _need_ you for."

"Good to hear because I want to do this for the rest of my life." Andy smiled at her before Sharon, rather surprisingly to him given their surroundings, joined their lips together in what was a rather slow, tender but lingering kiss. In relation to all the other times they'd kissed and other public displays of affection (something that Andy was also surprised to learn that Sharon didn't shy away from as long as things didn't go too far) this one was not particularly special with the exception that for the first time they kissed each other in full view of the rest of the team. It was caught on camera by Buzz and the majority of the wedding party witnessed it without taking too much notice or drawing attention to it other than to smile to themselves because although it was certainly a surprise to see them acting like that in front of the entire division, it was nice to see their Captain and Lieutenant for that matter so relaxed and affectionate towards each other for the first time (well the first time other than when Andy was at death's door in a hospital bed) and more importantly it simply didn't matter what they got up to given their location. They were at a wedding, a wedding of their friend, Andy's best friend, not at work and Sharon did oh so love weddings.

As they so often did Sharon's hands made their way under Andy's jacket as she stroked his back when their lips finally parted. It was as relaxed as anyone had ever seen their Captain in years, aside from Andy and Rusty of course (and now perhaps Gus) and the key word there was 'relaxed.' Even at the most casual of events over the last few years there was always something weighing heavily on Sharon's shoulders whether that be work, Rusty, Jack, Philip Stroh or even Andy's health and of course more recently the job offer they knew nothing about which had troubled her so much, there was always something. At that moment as she danced with Andy amongst friends she was just Sharon, Sharon without the weight of the world on her shoulders. A small smile spread across Provenza's face as he saw his friend so ridiculously happy and seeing Sharon so utterly relaxed. He had, much to their initial surprise, openly admitted to both Patrice and Andy that he had been worried about her prior to the start of their latest case, prior to her finally telling Andy and Rusty about the job offer from the NFL. Even though she had asked him not to tell anyone Andy knew that Provenza was concerned by her behaviour, they had discussed it many times after all with Provenza imploring Andy to ask her once and for all what was wrong so he found the time on the long drive to Fontana to look for Emile Fisher at Buddha's house that she had received a job offer that she didn't want anyone to know about yet and left it at that.

Everyone continued to dance merrily for a couple more songs until hunger started to take over. The music continued but the revellers stopped dancing and moved back towards the table to get a bite to eat, saying 'Hello' to Cathy in the process as hugs and kisses were exchanged. Silence descended quickly as the food was devoured, not a single member of the Major Crimes division having really eaten properly for over a week by that point.

After having finally shaken off Morales (but thanks to him his mood had lifted a fair amount even if it was only for a matter of minutes) and with his stomach continuing to growl like a very angry bear waiting in line at the DMV, Julio filled his mouth with food until it was practically overflowing. "Oh God. So good" he crooned with pleasure even though he was so hungry he'd have eaten a scabby cat if that was all that was available.

"Wow! These are delicious" Amy added.

Fritz nodded, his mouth full. "Good choice Andrea."

Andrea smiled, again downplaying her role in it all. "Thank you. Thank you. After all these years of fund raisers and meet and greets for the District Attorney's office I've become somewhat of a connoisseur of fine finger foods and nonsensical small talk" she joked.

Cathy reached across the table to rub her hand up Patrice's arm. "Patrice you look absolutely beautiful."

Provenza smiled at his wife. "She always does."

"Thank you Cathy" Patrice replied, grasping her hand.

"Don't forget Provenza," Andy said quickly, "you know how he sulks if you don't compliment him as well."

Cathy laughed. "You look very dashing Lieutenant. Like you'd look right at home on stage with Dean Martin in Las Vegas."

"Or on trial" Andy offered much to everyone's amusement. "So how's married life treating you Provenza?" he asked as he sipped on his cider.

"Not so bad so far if I'm honest. There's a lot less nagging than I remember."

Patrice looked at him with a glare. "That can change very very quickly Louie."

Provenza laughed. "I'm the luckiest man on earth, married life is wonderful" he confirmed before kissing her on the lips.

"I know this was kind of spontaneous and very last minute but have you guys arranged yourselves some sort of honeymoon for a few days in the near future?" Morales asked.

"Yeah when do we get some peace and quiet at work Sir?" Julio queried with a smile.

"Soon we all hope?" Buzz added, again smiling as they teased him.

"You're kidding right?" Andy said with disbelief at their naivety. "When's the last time you remember Provenza actually paying for a vacation?"

Provenza scowled for a moment before his face relaxed. "If you must know Flynn we've been looking into a few days in Hawaii in the Summer."

"Really?" Mike asked with surprise.

"See he's a new man, married life has changed him already" Andy joked as he put his arm back around Sharon's shoulders. Almost immediately Sharon nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and received a nod in reply. He cleared his throat a little. "A week in Hawaii during the Summer sounds great and all but in the meantime when we're all finished here today you need to go back home and pack an overnight bag."

"Flynn?" Provenza replied confused.

Andy glanced at Sharon before continuing. "Sharon and I were talking about it earlier and we decided that you two can't have a wedding without at least one night in a hotel to celebrate. So we've booked you both into a suite at the Casa Del Mar for tonight, that way you can have a proper wedding night, all on us of course." They had discussed it briefly as Steph as was being processed downstairs, it being one of the only handful of minutes they'd spent together alone and not talking about work all week. It was all Andy's idea, insisting that Provenza and Patrice needed at least one night in a hotel after their wedding but Sharon immediately jumped on board, delighted that he'd thought of it so quickly and it was something they could give them together, as a couple, making the reservation on her laptop in her office before nipping off to speak to Taylor about a personal matter and leaving for the ceremony.

Provenza looked at them both a little stunned by their generosity as Patrice covered her mouth with her hands, again completely overwhelmed. "Oh my God! I don't know what to say. Thank you. Thank you both so much" Patrice cried as she immediately walked towards Andy and hugged him tightly.

"You're welcome" Andy replied into their embrace. "It's the least we could do, honestly. We hope you enjoy it." As far as Andy was concerned it was simple, he was Provenza's best man and best friend and offering them a night away on their wedding night, even if they were still in the greater Los Angeles area and it certainly wasn't cheap, was just something he had to do, especially since the bachelor party was such an unmitigated disaster.

Patrice released Andy and moved on to Sharon, wrapping her in a hug. "Thank you Sharon."

"There's no thanks needed. Just promise us you'll have a wonderful time." As they broke apart Provenza moved to shake Andy's hand and then kissed Sharon on the cheek with a nod, the only response he was capable of at the moment after this act of generosity.

"That we can do" Patrice confirmed.

"Oh and when you finally get around to booking that honeymoon Lieutenant," Sharon said with a smile, "you don't need to worry about getting any time off, I promise you."

"Yeah we'll even drive you to the airport" Andy joked.

Provenza nodded at them. "Flynn, Captain, thank you" he said simply.

"So who's next?" Taylor asked.

"Who's next with what?" Provenza replied.

"Taking the plunge. I see two couples in front of me. Whose wedding will we be attending next?" he asked as he pointed towards Sharon and Andy and Amy and Cooper.

The immediate reaction was mixed. While Cooper smiled at Amy, wanting an answer to that particular question himself since he was _very_ keen on getting married and starting a family with her whereas Amy was anything but. Amy herself did an honest to God spit take, almost showering Taylor in champagne and making a noise like someone was choking Donald Duck to death. Andy and Sharon however were much more relaxed about the subject and along with the other more experienced members of the division couldn't help but smile at each other as Russell Taylor: Gossip Queen of the LAPD struck again. For a man who was really uncomfortable having to be told that Sharon was dating one of her subordinates, that man loved to gossip about such things when the opportunity presented itself.

"Two couples? I see three" Amy said once she'd stop sweating and swallowing her own tongue and pointed at Rusty and Gus to deflect the attention away from her and Cooper.

"Hey keep us out of it" Rusty replied.

"I quite agree" Sharon added.

"It has to be Amy and Coop because you've been together longer" Andy pointed out, once again enjoying teasing her just like they had all done when they discovered they had been dating for months in secret.

"Yeah right" Rusty laughed, still maintaining that his Mom and Andy had been together for a lot longer than they would like to admit.

"Rusty!" Sharon shouted.

"What?" he laughed. "Like you two weren't dating for over eighteen months before you announced you were 'officially dating' and doing all your paperwork."

"Ah the truth finally comes out" Provenza joked, knowing full well when they actually started dating because Andy simply would never stop talking about her. "Thank you Mr Beck."

"We weren't dating before last July" Andy clarified.

Provenza looked at the young man again, seeking his version of the truth. "Rusty?"

"They totally were," he said with joy, "they were just both in denial about it. Trust me, I lived in the middle of it. They were dating but hadn't noticed."

"I knew it" Amy cried, practically jumping up and down while clapping. Mike and Buzz also smirked at each other, both of them having had their suspicions that something was perhaps going on between them long before word got around that they were dating. Buzz had witnessed the full and frankly bizarre exchange in Electronics after Nicole had been to see Sharon and had been suspicious from that moment on. Then two weeks before their first date both he and Mike had heard Andy call her 'Sharon' rather than Captain before correcting himself, leading them both to ask the other if they were secretly dating and placing a small wager with the other about when the truth would finally be revealed.

"We weren't dating" Andy stated again but was only met with scoffs and sceptical looks in return. "We weren't" he maintained as everyone remained silent but smirking at him. "What? A man and woman can't be friends without people assuming it'll turn into more."

"Then what do you call this Lieutenant?" Andrea asked as she pointed at the way they had their arms around each other.

Andy just looked at Sharon and nodded. "Okay point taken but we still weren't dating before then. But what about you two?" he asked as he turned the attention back towards Amy and Cooper and more specifically Amy's obvious discomfort about the subject. "How long were you two actually together before we found out?"

"That was different" Amy stated.

"How?"

"I was keeping it a secret because I knew how much abuse I'd have to listen to all day long the moment you found out and I was right to be cautious. I wasn't in denial about it, I was just protecting myself from the likes of you Lieutenant" Amy shot back with a smile. "But enough about me and Chuck and more about you guys." Amy was desperate to change the subject and move the focus away from her and Cooper with marriage and children not something she saw in her future (even before she met the Sloan family after Buzz's first tour of duty, the single greatest advert against marriage she'd ever seen) no matter how much she loved Cooper, she just wasn't that kind of girl and didn't think she ever would be.

"Are those beads of sweat appearing on your forehead Lieutenant?" Julio laughed at Andy.

Andy shrugged, completely at ease as Sharon cringed, sensing what was coming. "Not at all. You see before you a completely relaxed man."

"How so?" Mike asked.

Again Andy shrugged. "The pressure is off my shoulders entirely."

Sharon closed her eyes as she continued to cringe. "Don't say it."

Andy grinned. "Because Sharon is going to propose to me."

"Will you stop saying that!" she shouted at him and not for the first time.

"Why? It's true" he replied with much laughter as he pointed at her. "It's in her eyes plus she can't keep her hands off me." Sharon rolled her eyes and pinched the back of his knee in retaliation. "See, I told you" he joked as everyone laughed.

The conversation quickly changed subject if for no other reason than to spare Sharon any further embarrassment at the hands of her tormentor in chief, her boyfriend, and a vain attempt to stop Andy from sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future. They drank, ate and enjoyed each other's company, something they took even more pleasure in as it came at the end of the week they had just endured. Still there was a battle against the clock and the big question was, which would win first? Would the wedding party run out of time in the room they celebrated in or would the majority of them simply run out of energy from just how tired they were from the efforts of the previous week? Julio was the first one to succumb, falling asleep in a chair as every cop in that room started to take on the form of a balloon, slowly deflating as the seconds ticked by. With the adrenaline of the week quickly disappearing from their systems and after having missed two night's sleep altogether and not had much more every other night in between as they worked well into the evening it was a battle. Despite how tired they were the guests would have gladly put their tiredness to one side if the newlyweds wanted to take the party elsewhere but since they needed to get home and pack a bag for their night away with such a fabulous to take full advantage of at the hotel and also find the time to call all of their relatives and tell them the good (in most cases but not all) news, no one minded too much when the party only lasted an hour or so with Morales and Andrea leaving first, having to go back to work.

With the party drawing to a close Sharon excused herself to go to the bathroom before she would say her goodbyes and head off home for some much needed rest with hopefully Andy in tow. As she stepped out of the bathroom Andy was waiting for her in the corridor. He smiled as he saw her. "Hey" he said with a wink.

"Hey yourself." Sharon stepped towards him, preparing to push her lips against him but at the very last second she pulled away and yawned wildly and loudly into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry" she said as she laughed with him, covering her mouth with her hands as almost an afterthought.

The yawn was contagious and Andy quickly followed suit, yawning to the point where he almost dislocated his jaw, looking like a snake about to try and swallow a baby wildebeest. "Don't be," he said, "you've got every right to be tired. It's been a ridiculously long week." He quickly dropped his lips to hers. "Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful" she smiled. "I do love weddings" she told him for the hundredth time while running her arms around his waist and pulling him close.

He grinned back at her. "I know you do and I'm ever so grateful for that fact." He kissed her again as his mind couldn't help but drift back to Nicole's wedding as he wondered where he might be at that particular stage in his life if she hadn't offered to go to the reception with him. "The party is breaking up. Want to go and get something to eat?"

"That would be lovely but if I'm honest Andy all I want to do is go home, grab you and crawl into bed as quickly as humanly possible" she said with her tiredness evident before she briefly rested her forehead on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Andy winked as she pulled back. "You read my mind" he replied with a kiss.

Sharon frowned for a moment, clearly exhausted. "To sleep you understand?" she clarified.

Andy shrugged, himself utterly exhausted with several hours asleep in bed with Sharon in his arms the only thing currently on his mind. "What did you think I meant?"

They both laughed, their heads leaning against each other, battling to keep their eyes open. "When did we both get so old?" Sharon asked.

"About 3pm Friday I think" Andy joked as he looked at his watch. "Where to? Yours or mine?"

"Whichever is closer?" Sharon knew her condo was closer and by some distance at that but with how tired she was her brain wasn't currently working like it normally did, allowing Andy to make the decision for them and doing whatever it was he wanted to do.

"Yours it is."

"Good because my bed is much more comfortable."

"What's wrong with my bed? I've changed my mattress just for you" Andy pointed out, buying a new bed after the first time Sharon spent the night in it, claiming that it was too lumpy to actually sleep on, like her Mother's mashed potatoes.

Sharon smiled at him sweetly. "I know but regardless I still prefer to sleep on you than any mattress in the world that's all" she confirmed before kissing him again. She then took his hand and led him back towards the crowd who were busy saying goodbye to one another and congratulating the bride and groom one final time. However before they could reach the gathering of well-wishers they were stopped by Rusty and Gus walking towards them, already on their way out of City Hall after having said goodbye.

"Hey. We were just saying we were going to get out of here and get something to eat" Rusty announced to the pair of them. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Thank you" Sharon replied with a smile, appreciating the offer. "We'd love to Rusty but if I don't get some sleep soon I may keel over" she informed him as she leant her head into Andy's shoulder as if for dramatic effect.

Rusty frowned. "Are you okay?" he asked as he put a hand on her shoulder out of concern.

"I'm fine just tired" she reassured him. "You've seen how little we've all slept this week. So we're going to go home and get some rest."

"Do you want us to bring you in something to eat for later?" Gus asked.

"Thank you Gus that would be wonderful" Sharon replied as she took his hand briefly with gratitude.

"Anything in particular?"

"Anything" Sharon confirmed.

Andy nodded. "I'm too tired to think right now."

"Okay" Rusty nodded, finally noticing how the energy had seemingly drained from the both of them over the course of the last hour. "We'll try not to wake you when we get back but we'll probably drop off the food, grab a few things and head over to stay the night at Gus's apartment" he confirmed. It was Rusty's plan to stay the night with Gus anyway since his freaky roommate was away terrorising his relatives and they could finally have the place to themselves without him clanging around all night and stuffing dead animals in front of them but since Sharon and Andy looked so completely exhausted and dead on their feet it only seemed fair to give them some space so they could sleep and relax when and where they wanted without him disturbing them.

"Are you sure? I don't want to drive you out of your own home just because we're tired" Sharon said as she rubbed her hand up his arm.

"You're not. It's fine" Rusty assured her cheerily. "We have plans and you guys look like you can use some peace and quiet for the rest of the evening anyway."

Andy's eyebrows shot up, registering what was probably the biggest understatement of Rusty's life. "You don't know the half of it" he confirmed before yawning into the back of his hand.

"And this way I definitely won't accidentally wake you up."

"At this point I don't think a nuclear explosion would wake me up" Andy replied.

Rusty smiled at him. "How is that any different to every other morning?" he joked.

"Thank you boys" Sharon said lovingly before hugging and kissing them both on the cheek. "And thank you both for coming."

"Drive carefully" Rusty instructed Andy, knowing he'd insist on driving them both home and leaving Sharon's car at PAB overnight.

"Sweet dreams" Gus added before they left while Sharon and Andy went to re-join the group and bid their fond farewells.

Leaving City Hall for Sharon and Andy was like a large production number and seemed to take forever. If Patrice hugged and kissed them once she did it a hundred times as they said goodbye, still completely overwhelmed by their kind generosity in affording them a night away as well as for Andy's very thoughtful best man's speech. Provenza was likewise just as overwhelmed but as usual expressed it very differently, quiet and thoughtful, thanking them in his own way with a nod and an embrace rather than words. As Rusty anticipated Andy insisted on driving them both back to Sharon's condo in his car since she was clearly struggling with tiredness more than he was with the drive itself slow, steady and quiet. The radio helped to keep them both alert but Sharon kept hold of Andy's hand throughout, squeezing it every now and then to make sure he was still wide awake, receiving a small smile and a squeeze in return.

Once at the condo Andy opened the car door for Sharon and put his arm around her as he shepherded them both upstairs, her eyes already closing as she leaned into him with not a single ounce of energy left to spare. When they reached the door Andy opened it using his key (another benefit to Andy having a key of his own). Sharon walked straight in without bothering to remove her shoes, jacket or bag like she normally did, heading straight for her bedroom. "I've never wanted to climb into bed more" she declared as she slowly made her way towards her bedroom.

"I'll be right behind you" Andy smiled. "I'm just going to get a glass of water."

Sharon stopped and walked back towards him, kissing him on the lips. "Don't be long" she instructed, kissing him again. Andy watched Sharon go, his eyes on her legs like they were mesmerising him until she said "Stop looking at my legs," not needing to look at him to know what he was doing as she vanished through the doorway.

Andy laughed to himself, amused that he'd been caught and not for the first time since he was apparently so predictable when it came to gazing at her lovingly. Once she was gone he removed his badge, gun and cuffs and put them in their usual place on the table by the front door. As his hand brushed his back pocket he frowned, feeling something else sticking out of it that he had completely forgotten all about. When he reached inside and pulled it out he realised that he still had Provenza's hat that he gave him to hold before the start of the ceremony. He looked at it in his hands and smiled before pulling it on his head, it being much too big for him. He laughed to himself for a moment before walking into the kitchen and getting a glass of water and heading off towards Sharon's bedroom with it in hand. As he walked inside he was surprised to say the least when he found Sharon face planted on the bottom of the bed with her arms outstretched, her hair everywhere. She had dropped her bag on the floor by the foot of her bed and just collapsed with her glasses in one hand and her cell phone in the other.

Andy laughed as he just stared at her. "Now that's attractive."

Sharon didn't immediately reply but when she did she said "Man mou mame mff my mmoes mmease?" as her face pressed into the comforter and muffled her voice, making her sound like Charlie Brown's schoolteacher.

"What?" Andy laughed, not understanding a word.

"Man mou mame mff my mmoes mmease?"

Andy laughed again. "Sharon I can't understand you." He heard her groan with frustration before she raised her feet into the air and waggled them at him. "Does that mean take your shoes off?"

Sharon lifted her head up slightly, just enough so that he would be able to not only hear her but more importantly understand her. "Yes" she confirmed before her face hit the mattress again.

Andy put his water on the nightstand along with his cell phone, flipping it on silent before doing the same thing with Sharon's phone and glasses on her side of the bed, it being just one of a thousand tiny little ways he took care of her on a day to day basis. He then took off her shoes, kissing each foot as he did before dropping them on the floor at the foot of the bed. With her shoes off Sharon rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes to see Andy with Provenza's hat on his head looming over her. She laughed hysterically.

"What do you think?" he asked with his arms outstretched.

"Very sexy" she laughed.

"Oh yeah?"

"Irresistible" she confirmed.

"Now I know why Provenza always wears it. Who knew it had such an effect on the ladies?"

"Well he is now married for the sixth time" Sharon pointed out.

"Then I'm keeping it for a special occasion."

"What special occasion?"

"One that warrants me coming to bed in nothing but Provenza's hat."

Sharon laughed. "I do hope you'll be wearing it on your head."

Andy winked, a mischievous grin on his face. "You'll just have to wait and see." Sharon laughed at him again as he removed the hat and tossed it to the ground. Andy walked over to the bed, leaning over to kiss her on the lips before sitting on the edge of the mattress and removing his shoes and jacket, dropping them on the floor in a heap in a manner very unlike him. With a sigh of complete exhaustion he then collapsed back onto the bed, his feet still in contact with the floor. Sharon instantly followed suit before crawling over towards him and landing on top of him, her head on his shoulder with an arm and leg draped across him, snuggling into his side as Andy put his arm around her.

Silence and stillness descended on the room as sleep called them both quickly, that was until Sharon's head snapped up suddenly. "No, no we need to do this properly" she rightly announced, feeling that they'd sleep far better if they got into bed properly rather than just sleeping where they landed. Andy remained motionless, more than content to sleep where he was and complain about his aching back and dead legs later, that was until Sharon put her hand on his face as leverage to help her sit up. Andy's eyes blinked open, unaccustomed to having his face used as a pushing off point. Sharon struggled to her feet, yawning wildly as Andy propped himself up onto his elbows to watch her.

Sharon removed her jacket, placing it on the back of the chair in front of the vanity along with Andy's coat from the floor and then unzipped her skirt, letting it slide down her body with a wiggle of her hips before adding it to the pile of clothes, quickly followed by her blouse and leaving her standing in just her underwear. She wasn't even wearing particularly fancy underwear either, it was just a regular old work day after all but Andy couldn't help but stare at her with an obscene smile plastered on his face. It had taken so long for him to get a mere glimpse of her in just her underwear and now she willingly removed all of her clothes in front of him without giving it a second thought at all. It was not like she had anything to hide from him at that stage or anything he hadn't already seen many times before considering what they got up to in that bedroom with quite some frequency so just getting undressed while he watched through sleepy eyes was practically PG rated in comparison and yet it still took his breath away and made him smile at the progress they had made in a short period of time after so many false starts.

That first night they slept together to say Sharon had been nervous was an understatement. At the time she was concerned that if she didn't wet herself before they made it into the bedroom she was going to vomit on him such were her all-consuming nerves. In a matter of seconds she had gone from completely calm and confident and inviting him to stay the night with her to suddenly being terrified and realising that not only was she about to have sex for the first time in what was a long time but she was also about to get completely naked in front of her friend, her colleague, her Andy for the very first time. When they made it into the bedroom they took everything slowly as Andy sensed her nerves taking over and in truth felt some himself, but aside from not wanting to rush her he also wanted to savour every single moment after waiting so long to reach that point in their relationship. After some long leisurely but very heated kisses and with Andy's hand slowly making its merry way up her leg and cupping and squeezing her backside beneath her dress, Sharon suddenly stood up from the bed and moved away from him, slowly removing her dress and revealing herself to him. She stood then like she now did in just her underwear only back then she trembled with nerves and a sense of anticipation, her eyes closed. When she opened them Andy had moved to stand in front of her, his eyes not only filled with lust but also love, the kind of which she'd never seen staring back at her before. Then as Andy exclaimed 'Good God you're so beautiful' and tenderly met her lips, so soft and gentle as if she may break underneath his touch, all her nerves vanished.

Three months on and with their relationship progressing at a rapid pace suddenly Andy could not take his eyes off the love of his life as she stood before him, innocently getting ready for bed. Sharon looked beautiful, the most beautiful sight in the world to Andy but sadly at that moment in time he was so tired he could hardly raise an eyebrow much less anything else and yet as tired as he was, as he gazed at her he still felt compelled to rub his earlobe for the sake of his blood pressure and pulse. She could feel his eyes looking her up and down as she picked her bag up off the ground and moved it to the chair without even looking in his direction. She turned to face him, her skin feeling slightly flushed as he stared at her with such love and adoration, feeling desired and beautiful but still too exhausted to currently do much about it. She frowned at him as she put her hands on her hips. "Are you done?" she asked, trying not to smile at the obvious way he was checking her out rather than getting ready for bed himself.

"Not yet" he replied honestly as his eyes continued to scan her from top to bottom while he smiled ridiculously. "Now I'm done" he announced.

"Wipe that grin off your face."

"Then stop putting it there."

"You look like a kid in a candy shop."

"I feel like one" he laughed. "God you're so beautiful."

"You're biased."

"Maybe but you're still beautiful."

"Oh hush" Sharon replied a little self-consciously as she continued to blush.

"Are you blushing?"

"Possibly." Throughout their exchange Andy had continued to tug on his earlobe like he was trying to pull it off and still not knowing why exactly he did it Sharon finally felt compelled to get to the bottom of it. "How's your pulse?"

Andy shrugged. "Racing a little understandably under the circumstances but otherwise just fine."

Sharon frowned at him, still unsure why he would be yanking on his earlobe given the circumstances and her virtually naked state. "Would you like me to check it?"

"Only if you're going to wear a nurse's outfit."

"Okay time to finally get to the bottom of this" she announced as she crossed her arms.

"Bottom of what?"

"Why are you rubbing your ear?"

"You don't know?" he laughed. "You've rubbed it for me."

"I know but I don't know why I've done it" she declared while realising just how ridiculous that sounded. "I assumed it was some sort of stress reliever but since I'm standing here like this and you're still rubbing it I hope you're not currently feeling stressed."

"No I'm definitely not stressed right now" he replied as he continue to gaze at her adoringly. "It's a pressure point. Rubbing it is supposed to alleviate stress but also lower my blood pressure and pulse."

"And does it work?"

"I have no idea" Andy shrugged.

Sharon laughed. "Suddenly it all makes sense, on so many levels." She climbed back onto the bed, kneeling down beside him and removed his tie. He just watched, still propped up on his elbows as she discarded it on the floor before pulling down his suspenders from his shoulders and unbuttoning and removing his shirt. "Take your pants off" she instructed with authority.

"I'd say 'Ladies first' but since you're already ahead of me, yes ma'am." Andy stood quickly and removed his pants, kicking them towards the chair and his jacket. When he turned around again he had discovered that Sharon had put his shirt on and had climbed into bed, lying down on her side ready to go to sleep. He frowned for a moment since so much had changed in the time it took him to remove his pants. "Well that was disappointing" he sighed while clearly joking.

"Oh Andy I know but I'm so tired."

Andy laughed. "I know, I know I'm only teasing."

"Good. Now come here." Andy climbed on the bed but was soon stopped in his tracks. "But socks off first please."

"Really?"

"No man is ever getting in this bed again with socks on. Those are the rules."

Andy growled. "I love it when you bring the rule book into the bedroom."

He quickly pulled his socks off and climbed into bed, kicking his feet out from under the covers before spooning up behind her and wrapping her in his arms, pulling her body flush against his. Sharon sighed contently as she felt his warm arms surround her and her eyes close. "Oh God I've missed this. I've missed you. These arms. These hands. That smell" she said as she wrapped her arms around his, pulling them even closer to her.

Andy lifted his head from the pillow and frowned. "What does that mean? Are you saying I smell?"

"Yes delightfully and I've missed it" she said as she took a deep breath and inhale his scent.

Andy laughed and kissed her shoulder before he lay back down with a thud and closed his eyes. "I think you've just about got away with that one."

"Thank you" she laughed as she leant back into him, more comfortable than she'd been all week in bed and savouring the moment as she lay in his arms. "God I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. Why do you think I snuck an emergency hug in your office the other day? I used one of my coupons from my ration book" he said before moving his shirt she was wearing slightly so that he could push his lips to the flesh on her shoulder.

Sharon laughed. "Your what?"

"My ration book" he confirmed. "I figure I can get away with ten sneaky hugs during work hours in any twelve month period. That was hug number three so I've got another seven to use up before July."

She laughed again, not realising that Andy had a schedule of when and where he thought he could touch her 'unprofessionally' at work and get away with it. "What about me? Do I get a ration book?"

"You're the boss lady" Andy pointed out. "You can drag me into your office and run your hands all over my body any time you like" he added before kissing her shoulder again.

"I'll keep it in mind."

"It's very hard to implement the four day rule when you don't go to bed at all" he grumbled. They had decided when they first started sharing a bed that they would stay away from each other during active cases because Sharon called him a 'distraction.' There was however an amendment to that rule though and they would see each other every four days regardless of work because they realised that during heavy caseloads they may not see each other outside of work for weeks at a time. During that week however they hadn't seen each other at all away from PAB, mainly because they'd worked through the night a couple of times and hadn't been to bed at all.

"We desperately need to revisit that. This whole not sharing a bed during an active case routine is no longer working for me especially when said case lasts a whole week and is as draining as that one."

"Good to hear because it's been _way_ too long since we've done this. My body is almost completely free of bruises" he joked.

Sharon opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder to see his face. "I'm being seriously Andy."

"So am I" he joked.

She sighed. "Andy."

He opened her eyes and looked at the back of her head with surprise. "Really?"

"Yes."

"But I thought I was a 'distraction' during active cases and you needed the time and space to concentrate without me" he said, almost quoting what she said to him word for word when this rule came into their relationship.

"So did I but I was wrong. I was so very very wrong" she admitted, realising that she was being ridiculous about the whole thing. In the beginning she wanted to avoid him during active cases because after they finally slept together for the first time after months of waiting there was an overwhelming desire between them that was distracting to say the least, especially so when she returned home and just wanted to go over her notes of their current case. They had also agreed to keep work out of the bedroom so that meant she couldn't have it both ways, have Andy stay the night with her and work at home. However she'd quickly realised that the whole thing was beyond absurd. What was she pushing him away for? She missed him when he wasn't there, yes she didn't work when he was staying in her bed but perhaps sometimes that was a good thing, allowing her to get away from work and start afresh the next day. At the end of the day the current set up within their relationship just wasn't working with their work relationship taking precedence over their personal relationship and that was the wrong way to live their lives especially since they wouldn't be at work forever.

Andy gasped at Sharon's admission of being wrong. She looked over her shoulder at him. "What?"

"Did Captain Raydor just admit she was wrong about something?" he said with high levels of shock and a smile on his face. "I need to call Chief Johnson immediately. She'd want to know about this."

Sharon laughed. "Personally I think Chief Johnson would be more interested to learn how I've got you wrapped around my little finger."

"There's no place I'd rather be" Andy confirmed as he kissed her shoulder again and unknowingly echoing his partner's words to his new wife just a few hours earlier.

"Good because I don't want you going anywhere. At the end of a long day I need you as a distraction. I need it desperately" she stated with a contented sigh. "That five minutes alone with you in my office yesterday was the best thing to happen to me all week. I need that. I need you."

Andy kissed her shoulder again. "So what do you suggest?"

"New rules."

"I should have known" he replied dryly.

Sharon instantly pinched the back of his knee. "Do you want to sleep on the balcony?"

"Not right now. Carry on."

"Okay new rules. Firstly if we leave PAB after 10 o'clock you _have_ to come home with me so you can get more sleep. That's for your own health more than anything to do with me just wanting you here."

"Well sometimes my commute can be a killer after a long day so I'm not going to argue with you over that one" Andy confirmed, more than happy to stay over on any night of the week but especially so when they had been working late and all he wanted to do was climb into bed and go to sleep.

"I didn't think you would" she smiled. "Secondly if dinner or the movies or whatever gets cancelled you still come home with me regardless and we'll grab something to eat on the way. I am done with not spending time with you because of work" she declared. It had been a long time since she'd dated and when she last did she didn't have anything approaching the work hours she now did. It was only after she started dating Andy she started to wonder how people managed to do both, constantly having to cancel whatever plans they had because they had a murder to solve. They saw each other during that time, of course they did but it wasn't the same and with Sharon's desire to keep work and their private lives separate, their relationship was constantly being put on hold because of it.

"Again, I've got no complaints with you about that" Andy replied, wanting to spend every night together but knowing that Sharon was still insisting on baby steps and everything at a certain pace. "But it sounds like an awful lot of nights together, are you sure about this?"

Sharon nodded. By now it was clear that they could work together and date so that was no longer a factor in her decision making. All that remained was the way that Sharon liked to drag her feet and take everything slowly, the fear of rushing and ruining things still a major factor in her mind and controlling how she made decisions. "Well I still have my evenings that I spend alone with Rusty and you have your meetings so yes, I think we should give it a try" she said with optimism.

"Good. It's a deal" he agreed with another kiss to her shoulder.

"Can you rub my back for me?"

"Sure. Where?" Andy moved his hand to between her shoulder blades and started to rub with his fingers. "There?"

"Down a bit."

"Here?" he asked as his hand moved lower. Sharon didn't answer but immediately arched into his hand and moaned, letting him know without speaking that he had hit the right spot.

"Oh yes right there" she confirmed as her head threw back onto his shoulder and her eyes closed again. "That's the spot" she added before a growl escaped from her lips, a growl Andy was used to hearing in bed but under slightly different circumstances.

Andy kissed her ear. "God I love hearing that noise coming from your mouth."

"I had noticed" she smiled as she settled back down again. "Trust me, with Rusty out for the rest of the day you'll be hearing it very loudly, as soon as we've had a nap" she confirmed as she reached behind her and cupped his face.

"I'll put it in my diary. That's my second favourite noise you make."

"What's the first?" she asked.

"Every time you laugh." Jack had often complained about how hard it was to make Sharon laugh, calling her his 'Mount Everest' and claiming she was the hardest person in the world to crack. Andy had no such problems, finding it easy and he loved to hear her laugh, he loved it above everything else. He was a big fan of the quote from Mark Twain 'Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand' and he used it to his advantage, especially with Sharon. Andy stopped rubbing her back and wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her flush against his chest.

Sharon arched back into him, grasping his arms tightly. "I'm getting too old for this. That was without doubt the longest week of my life. I feel like I could sleep for a month."

"Can't you petition Taylor for some time off? You have just cracked the biggest unsolved case in LAPD history after all. Forget everything you did before this week, all of it, this case, this week, will define your career" he announced and tempting fate, no idea of what was to come in just six short months. "I'm so proud of you" he said before kissing her shoulder again a couple of times.

"It's not just me. We did this. It was all of us. I'm proud of us all" she rightly pointed out. She sighed, an air of sadness about her suddenly. "I just wish we hadn't broken Julio's heart in the process."

"Don't blame yourself for that. It's not like we couldn't arrest her for the sake of Julio."

"I know but I can't help it" she admitted, still feeling bad that the first woman Julio attempted to move on with after the death of Maria turned out to be a multiple murderer. "I keep picturing his face as she was led away. He was utterly heartbroken by it all."

"I know but he'll get over it. The most important thing is that he dipped his toe back into the dating pool once again" Andy replied optimistically. "Admittedly as picking winners go he's not the best but…"

"Andy he spent the night with a multiple murderer."

"Like I said, not the best…"

"You're one to talk with some of the women you've dated" she laughed.

"We're not talking about me," he replied quickly before she had time to mock him over his rather colourful past, "but again the most important thing is this is certainly progress for Julio and a huge step in the right direction. Maybe Provenza could donate one of his little black books to him."

"Black books?" Sharon asked, opening her eyes just so that she could roll them. "Please tell me he doesn't actually own a little black book."

"He used to, more than one."

"And a gold medallion too? He knows it isn't the seventies anymore right?" Andy laughed at her fair assessment. "This isn't working for me" she announced as she sat up and proceeded to beat the hell out of her pillow with her fists.

Andy flinched with exaggeration as he watched her beat her pillow, protecting himself after getting punched by her once too often in her sleep. "If you were aiming for my face you've missed. I'm over here" he joked.

Sharon narrowed her eyes at him. "I can try again if you like."

"No you're fine" Andy confirmed as he covered his crotch with his hands.

"What are you doing?"

"Protecting myself. You see when you start to thrash about like that in bed it can only mean one thing: Bert and Ernie are in serious danger of coming under attack."

Sharon laughed. "Bert and Ernie?"

"Yes."

"You've named them?" she laughed again as she couldn't help but drop her eyes to his crotch under his hands.

"Well we have gone through a lot together over the years and I am rather attached to them."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm speechless" was all she could say before she smiled and asked "Which one got glued to your leg?" She laughed to herself as she waited for an answer, still amused at the revenge that had been exacted on him in what was essentially a former life.

Andy smirked. "Bert because…"

"Because of the haircut" Sharon laughed as she shook her head. "Roll on your back."

"Yes ma'am. Are you going to rub my belly?" Andy rolled on his back with his arms out stretched to allow her, as anticipated, to lie on him. Sharon didn't hesitate, immediately curling into his side and resting her head on his shoulder as he put his arms around her. He waited for her to settle more comfortably as her hand slipped up the sleeve of his t-shirt before speaking. "Better?"

"Marginally" she announced, still not satisfied.

"What's the matter?"

Sharon wriggled, wanting more, wanting to get closer to him after so long without that kind of contact but not figuring out how to do it. "I need to get closer to you."

"You're already lying on me."

"I know. I need an Andy skin suit."

Andy's eyes shot open as he frowned at her. "That's too _Silence of the Lambs_ to be anything other than terrifying right now."

Sharon laughed. "I need to clone you."

"Excuse me?"

"Then I can have your clone cuddling me from behind while I lie on the real you. That would be bliss while also being a little weird."

"Here how's this?" Andy tangled their legs together while pulling her even closer to him, his hand slipping under the shirt she was wearing and onto her bare back.

"Perfect" she replied with a smile and a kiss to his chest.

Silence followed for a moment until he said "I hope Provenza is doing better than we are."

"What do you mean?"

"This" he replied as he indicated how and where they were lying. "I hope he's found more energy from somewhere than we have. I'd hate to think he was already asleep and drooling on his wedding night especially with that suite to take advantage of."

"Ah! But that's the point. It's only the afternoon still. He's got plenty of time to nap and recover before his wedding night like we have" she confirmed before reaching up to kiss him on the lips.

"As long as I'm not sharing a bed with him tonight I really don't care."

Sharon laughed. "Did he really kiss you?"

"Oh yeah. On the back of the neck."

"And?"

Andy winked at her. "Your lips are much softer."

"You'd better believe it."

"He's probably going to spend all night looking for his hat" Andy suggested.

"You should send him a picture of it with a ransom demand."

"Good idea. What do you want from him in exchange?"

"Well his civility has already improved beyond all recognition over the last twelve months so I'll just settle for him not shouting 'It's always the husband, it's always the husband, it's always the husband' at the start of every case."

Andy laughed. "I'll see what I can do but I can't make any promises."

"This still isn't working" Sharon said as she sat back up and looked around, still not satisfied with how they were lying.

"Are you about to beat me like you did your pillow?"

"No." Sharon thought for a moment as she just stared at him, eventually starting to nibble on her lower lip. "Take your t-shirt off."

Andy sat up on his elbows. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Strip" she ordered with a smile.

"I love it when you boss me around like that" Andy winked before sitting up and removing his t-shirt and tossing it on the ground. When he lay back down Sharon was instantly lying back on him in her previous position, their legs tangled, her head on his shoulder and his arms around her. "Better?"

"Much" she confirmed as her hand landed over his heart.

"And what happens if I get cold?" Andy questioned since she had stripped him down to just his boxer shorts and a very tired smile. Sharon lifted her head to frown at him. Since she was lying on his virtually naked body and could feel for herself just how hot he was, the idea of him being cold was the stuff of make believe. "Yeah okay point taken" he admitted before kicking his right leg out from under the covers, already overheating.

"Have you ever been cold?"

"Yes."

"When?"

Andy thought for a moment. "February 3rd...1972." Sharon laughed at him, her hand moving up and down his chest with her fingernails scraping along his flesh. "Aside from that those frosty glares you used to give me at FID sent a chill right down my spine on more than one occasion. Just promise that you're not going to drool on me."

"I don't drool" she protested.

"You're kidding right?"

"Do I really?"

"When you're not beating me or sleep shopping."

Sharon shrugged, having no idea she was such a restless sleeper before Andy came into her life and more specifically into her bed. "It's no wonder I still feel so tired in the morning. But then I never have slept that much since I became a Mother."

"Had a rough time with them?"

"Well I was largely alone so that didn't help" she replied with a sigh. "It wasn't Emily so much, it was Ricky. I thought between us Jack and I had managed to produce the only human being in existence that didn't need sleep. He's not much better now, the complete opposite to you." As she spoke her hand continued to move up and down his chest. She smiled into his shoulder with it being felt by Andy almost immediately.

"You better not be laughing at what I think you are Raydor" he warned. Nearly two months had passed since the bachelor party but Andy was right in his early assessment, his chest hair had grown back but it didn't look or feel the same. Three very noticeable oblong patches covered his body where the waxing strips had been applied and Sharon simply adored them. They were a permanent reminder of that night, of the fact that despite the threat of torture from his so called friends, he simply could not stop talking about her.

"I'm sorry" Sharon laughed. "It still looks like your chest is smiling at me."

"I told them it wouldn't grow back the same way but would they listen?"

"It will" Sharon lied. "It just needs a bit more time."

"Time? It's been nearly two months. I'm permanently disfigured."

"It could be worse. You can still just about make out where the cocktail sticks were stuck to Buzz's face. And at least I'm the only one that sees this" she added as she kissed his chest.

"Unless..."

Sharon didn't look up as her hand moved up to cover his mouth and stop him from speaking. "I am never ever sending one of my division undercover with a prostitute. It will never, ever, ever happen. End of story" she declared as her hand returned to his chest.

"I still feel like..."

"Please do not complain about your nipples again" she begged.

"They're really sensitive!" he whined once again. "Provenza nearly ripped them off."

Sharon rolled her eyes as she lifted her head to inspect the damage once again. "There's nothing wrong with them" she told him for the hundredth time.

"It's all internal damage, you can't see it."

Sharon sighed at him as she lay back down. "Then complain to Lieutenant Provenza."

"I can't talk to Provenza about my nipples."

"Why not? I thought that was all you two talked about, boobs and baseball."

"But these are the wrong kind of boobs." He paused for a moment as he smiled down at her. "You could always kiss them better" he suggested.

Her eyes opened, already having anticipated this request. "I've already tried."

"But not this week."

Sharon sighed again as she sat up knowing he wouldn't shut up about it until she did what he wanted. Very slowly and very carefully she brushed her lips against both of them like she was kissing a boo-boo better on a child's knee before lying back down. "Better?"

"I don't know. Try again." Sharon laughed as she slapped his chest while he smiled and continued to stroke her back. "You know what I love most about you? And no it's not your legs. No matter how tired you are I can guarantee a twenty minute conversation before you go to sleep."

"I know. I'm sorry. Go to sleep. I'll be quiet."

"I'm not complaining. I love it. It relaxes me" he said sweetly as they smiled at each other. It was true that no matter how tired they were and at that moment in time they were practically dead on their feet, they would always find the strength, time and desire to have a lengthy conversation about anything and everything before going to sleep.

"I wasn't always like this."

"Really?" Andy asked with a smile, pleased to hear that it was just something she chose to do with him.

"No. Jack was never really into pillow talk but then again neither was I for that matter and then when Emily came along I was just too tired anyway and he was hardly ever there, more often than not asleep on the couch." She looked up at him and smiled. "I just like talking to you."

"Good" he replied as he kissed her on the lips. "I like talking to you too."

It wasn't long until Andy started laughing to himself, causing Sharon to open her eyes and give him a questioning look. "What?"

"I just still can't believe Provenza got married again" Andy told her, the surprise in his voice clear for her to hear.

"Why?"

"I thought the last time really was the last time. The way it ended so spectacularly and boarding on violently…"

"Violently?" she asked a little alarmed, not realising that there wasn't a babysitter her second in command hadn't slept with during the course of his last marriage.

"I swear I expected her to stab him and with what he said to me after he finally signed his divorce papers it made me think that really was his last time."

"Why? What did he say?"

"Something along the lines of 'If I ever do this again shoot me in the head.' Luckily I have experience in ignoring direct orders."

"That I know all too well" she replied knowing just how good the man lying beneath her was at ignoring her direct orders in the past. "But he seems happy."

"The happiest I've ever seen him by far" Andy confirmed. "But I'm sure he'd say the exact same thing about me." He kissed her on the top of her head. "I just can't believe how suddenly this has all happened."

"I can" Sharon said smugly. "I told you over Christmas that Patrice had told me it was her plan all along, to have a very quick and simple wedding as soon as possible."

"When did she tell you all this exactly?"

"When we were talking alone in the yard."

Andy smiled. "When you were confessing that you'd gone to her house without your underwear" he said as he laughed loudly.

Sharon sighed, a part of her wishing that she'd not confessed to him what had happened that night before Christmas. "You're never going to let that go are you?"

"Probably not" Andy admitted. "I assume she's never told Provenza otherwise we'd have heard him screaming by now."

Sharon rolled her eyes, wanting to move the conversation away from the night she accidentally left the condo without her underwear. "Anyway she said that if she had her way the four of us would have driven straight to Vegas and done it that very evening. Which would have been a much better end to the evening than what we got" she added with a glare in his direction, still annoyed by the argument that ended the evening.

Andy smiled. "Oh I don't know I thought the evening ended pretty well" he winked, thinking fondly about the way they made love in his kitchen after she'd let him out of the dog house following his behaviour at Provenza's house.

"I was talking about what happened at their house not what happened at yours." Andy laughed and kissed the top of her head again. She sighed happily into his chest. "I do love weddings."

"I know. It was a nice ceremony right?"

"It was lovely."

"Small."

"But fully formed."

"A little like Provenza" Andy replied and making her laugh.

"I still find it hard to believe that he wanted such a grand wedding. Who knew Lieutenant Provenza was such an old romantic?" Sharon said with a tone of complete shock.

"Hey you don't get married six times without being an old romantic." Andy kissed her on the head again as he plotted the best way to get some information out of her since they were discussing weddings. "So you like big, grand, lavish weddings and you like small, personal, intimate weddings."

"Yes I do."

"Is there one you like more than the other?" Sharon lifted her head to meet his eye, knowing that he was fishing for information. "I'm just making conversation."

Sharon hummed suspiciously. "I have to agree with Patrice. I think the older you get the less it becomes about the big princess fairy-tale wedding that you were planning as a child when you were draped in your Mother's curtains and the more it's about just the act of getting married to the love of your life. The bells and whistles and..."

"Doves and kids dressed like angels" Andy suggested.

"Right. They don't matter as much as they did when you were younger. All that matters is the proclamation of love in front of friends and family and vowing to spend the rest of your lives together."

"That's true. That's very true." He paused for a moment before asking "So you're thinking along the lines of what's just happened?"

Sharon didn't answer immediately. "If and when we get married?"

"'If'?" Andy asked as he pretended to be a little alarmed. They'd discussed it over Christmas with the conversation really being more about Sharon reassuring Andy that she saw their relationship as forever then it was about actually getting married in the future although neither were ruling it out as an option when the time felt right.

"You forget how irritating you can be at times."

Andy laughed. "I'll keep it in mind."

"If and when we get married in the middling to distant future nothing would please me more than a simple quiet ceremony maybe on the beach" she confirmed despite not really wanting to discuss the matter.

"You wouldn't want the kids there?"

"In an ideal world of course I would like the kids there. Who wouldn't? A nice simple quiet ceremony with friends and hopefully the kids on a beach since a church ceremony is out of the question" she said with a sigh.

"Well that's the ideal world then surely? A church wedding?"

"Yes but I've long since accepted that it isn't going to happen again."

The truth to the matter was that in an ideal world, if she and Andy were to get married at some point in the future (and it was something that she had decided she might quite like after they discussed it over Christmas) she wanted her marriage to be blessed by the church at very least. As she reassured Andy in the bathroom on Christmas Day that they were actually on the same page in their relationship and marriage was indeed in their future if they both wanted it, she asked him who he thought she loved the most, him or God. The answer was always going to be Andy but God came a very close second, always nipping at his heels. In all the years she had spent alone she didn't actually feel alone because of her religion, she always had God there by her side to see her through, to help her not only spiritually but also the help she received from the church with Emily and Ricky. The idea that any marriage of hers not being sanctioned in the eyes of God broke her heart but if it was her only option then that was what would happen, she would marry Andy without God. An annulment for both of them would have been ideal and solved all of her problems but she simply didn't think that was a possibility and had told him just that. As much as she had grounds for annulment with Jack, firstly she didn't think he would do it without a fight especially because she was marrying Andy and it was a fight she really didn't want to have with him for the sake of their children and secondly she found it an incredibly hard thing to ask someone to do, even if it meant having the wedding of her dreams to Andy. Likewise unless Andy and Sandra offered to get an annulment she just didn't have it in her to make that request of them. To her it would feel like she would be ending their marriage herself all over again, like she was 'the other woman,' and that was something she would never ask someone else to do. Even if she could stomach the war with Jack it had to be a decision that Andy made for himself but since she'd already told him that it wasn't important to her over Christmas that seemed very unlikely. It seemed even more unlikely given his most recent reaction when church was mentioned, she realised that he wasn't going to do it without a major push in the right direction and it was just something she wasn't prepared to do.

"As we see on a daily basis at work we don't live in an ideal world," Sharon said quietly, "so as long as you're there, as long as you're there to take those vows with me one day, that's all I care about" she lied convincingly enough to fool him, thinking to herself that now that she'd lied to him to reassure him she'd made her bed and now she had to lie in it especially since it came to something as personal as religion.

"Okay" Andy nodded.

He wanted to give Sharon what she wanted but knew that Jack would be an issue as far as an annulment was concerned and since she didn't want to deal with him unless it was life and death that was that. He would never expect Jack to give her an annulment without a fight so what was the point of getting one himself and 'poking the bear' so to speak (though if either Sandra or Sharon found out he was calling his ex a bear the whole idea would be mute anyway since he'd probably be murdered). So if a church wedding was out of the question for them and since Sharon didn't seem all that bothered about it in the first place (not for the first time he had completely missed how she really felt on a subject such were her very convincing lies) and if she one day agreed to marry him, if by some miracle he could convince her to say yes then he would do everything in his power to make it a beautiful occasion for her regardless. As he thought about it he suddenly realised that he was becoming like Provenza. Giving Patrice a beautiful occasion was exactly what he wanted whether she wanted it or not. He shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Noted and filed away for future reference" he added simply. With that Andy had all the information he needed. As much as he enjoyed teasing Sharon about her proposing to him because she wouldn't be able to wait and he really did enjoy it, loving her reaction as he said it, he had decided that this was the last time he would joke about the subject. He knew she saw it in their future and that she'd want something small and quiet with the kids somewhere down the road and that's all he needed to know. All he had to do now was wait until the time was right and he finally worked up the nerve to ask her the question, wanting it to be a complete surprise when he did finally pluck up the courage and use the ring that was already burning a hole in his sock drawer.

"But what about you? This can't be all about me?"

"Like you said, the older you get the less it becomes about doves and flowers and the more it becomes about being the luckiest guy in the world as quickly as humanly possible." He kissed the top of her head before he smiled, mischief clearly taking over him once again. "So Sharon," he said casually, "when you propose, are you going to make me sign a prenup?"

Sharon rolled her eyes at his suggestion before registering what he'd actually said. "A prenup?"

"Well you will be making more money than me by then. A lot more money" he reasoned.

"I've got bad news for you boy, I make more money than you do right now" she teased, enjoying that little fact.

"I know you do but we're talking a completely different ball game with the NFL."

Sharon paused for a moment. "Oh. That" she said finally as if she was talking about a dead rat stuck underneath her floorboards that she'd been trying desperately to ignore.

"Have you called them? Rearranged your interview now that everything has calmed down again?" Sharon's first interview was supposed to be a week ago but since not only did they have a double murder on their hands and possibly a gang war but they quickly discovered that the gun used was the same weapon that was involved in the Reese murders, so she quickly called them to cancel, citing that work was just too important at the moment and only needing to point them in the direction of the news for them to see why.

"Yeah about that, Andy I'm turning it down."

"What?" he asked surprised. "Why?"

"Because I think this week has proven once again what an important job I have and I know someone else could come in to take charge of Major Crimes and do a better job than I do..."

"I find that hard to believe but go on."

"But the way I see it we're all important cogs in this machine and I don't want to disrupt that, not yet anyway."

Andy nodded. "That all seems very selfless of you but how about the truth now?" he asked, not really believing that was the real reason she was opting to turn them down without even sitting down for her interview first.

Sharon shrugged. "I love my job Andy. I love my life. I don't want to change that" she replied honestly, the truth finally being spoken.

"Not even for a couple of years?"

"Not even for a couple of hours." She adjusted herself so she could more easily look up and meet his curious eye. "I've already completely changed my life once during the last five years. I left FID to take over Major Crimes and take in Rusty. I'm not sure I want to make another dramatic change so quickly especially when I feel like this. I'm happy both at work and at home. In fact I've never been happier with my career, working with you, working with them all. I'm settled. I'm fulfilled. I love my life, I love everything about it. Besides I'd miss you. I'd miss working alongside you every day and returning home with you most days. I'd miss this, I'd miss Rusty, I'd miss helping people that need me. I don't want to give that up, not even for a new adventure." Andy listened in silence with a completely neutral expression on his face. "You seem a little disappointed."

"Well I am a little" he admitted.

"Yeah I know Super Bowl tickets and lots of hotel room sex."

"No, not at all" he laughed before kissing the top of her head and squeezing her tightly. "It has nothing to do with me. The last time we spoke about it properly you just seemed to be getting so excited by the idea of it that's all. It was nice to see, seeing you that excited by something new" he confessed, loving to see her so enthusiastic about a new adventure but also not wanting to lose her for weeks at a time as she travelled for work.

"I was, I was excited but only by the idea of it. When I was a girl I was excited by the idea of living in a house made out of cake but in reality I love my life too much to give it up."

"Okay" Andy nodded.

Sharon looked at him a little puzzled. "Okay? That's it?"

Andy shrugged. "As I said when you first told me about it, all I want is for you to be happy and to do what you want. Am I pleased that you'll be here instead of spending several months of the year on the road and in hot tubs with young studs? Of course I am, I'm thrilled but honestly sweetheart I'd have supported you either way."

"Thank you" she replied before sitting up slightly so that she could kiss him on the lips.

"But secretly you'd miss my bed right?" he asked with a wink.

"Oh yes, absolutely. I mean who doesn't like to wake up in the morning with the one side of their body completely numb?"

"It's not that bad" Andy protested. Sharon just stared at him with disbelief. His mattress at home was rock hard and he knew it, thinking himself that it was a tad uncomfortable even after he changed it but he was growing used to staying at Sharon's condo anyway so didn't suffer with it all that much. "Yeah okay, you may have a point. I don't know why you make such a big deal about my mattress in the first place when all you do is lie on me all night long."

"That sounds like a complaint" she muttered as she poked him in the ribs while continuing to lie on him rather than a mattress once again.

"Never."

"I'm just thinking of your back. You always seem a lot less stiff in the morning when we sleep here."

Andy shrugged. "Well I'm not a young man anymore Sharon" he joked. "I'd hoped you hadn't noticed." Sharon laughed as she kissed his chest. "What time is it?"

Sharon opened her eyes but couldn't see her bedside clock or watch without moving. "I can't see. Why?"

"Well you've removed everything else from my person. I was just wondering how long you were going to allow me to keep my boxers on?" he questioned with a grin.

"I told you, as soon as I've had some sleep they're coming off" she confirmed as her fingernails began to scrape up and down his body as she continued to lie on him.

"Do I get any say in it?" Andy asked as if he was going to be forced into doing something terrible.

"Not much no. Why?" She looked up at him and smiled. "Have you got a problem with that?"

Andy smiled coyly. "No I was just trying to play hard to get that's all."

Sharon scoffed as she laughed. "Hard to get? You? Since when?"

"I may have a headache one time, you don't know" he replied as he pretended to be offended.

"Andy you could be having a heart attack and you'd still try to get me into bed if I smiled at you. You'd be trying to drag me into your hospital bed by your IV." They both laughed with Andy quickly acknowledging that she was probably right. "But anyway you pretending to play hard to get while I remove your underwear is for the future. Right now tell me, what exactly did you do to piss Sherry Hickman off like that?"

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"Well she loathes her husband for obvious reasons, isn't so keen on Mike for..."

"Obvious reasons."

"I just wanted to know what you did to tick her off like that." Her head quickly snapped up and frowned at him. "You didn't know about Mark and Rachel Gray as well did you?"

"Nope. It was as big a surprise to me as it was to you" he confirmed as Darth Raydor quickly vanished and Sharon reappeared. "How big a strip did you tear off Mike after the whole hiding the affair and the wrestling match with Mark?"

"Since we're lying in bed and therefore you are clearly my boyfriend and not my colleague it's not of your damn business and even if we weren't it's still none of your business."

"Come on. I didn't see him limping so it couldn't have been that bad."

"I told you I've got nothing to say to you on the matter" she stated bluntly thinking it was exactly the type of conversation she needed to avoid with him if they were going to continue working together. "So if you didn't know about the affair then what did you do to Sherry Hickman?"

"Nothing, only be myself" he smiled.

Sharon laughed. "Okay. You don't need to say anymore."

"Hey! Watch your mouth there Pollyanna" he laughed. Although he also wanted to smack the guy for the way he spoke to her, Mark's comment in the interview room had amused Andy more than he let on as they listened but that was nothing compared to the contents of Amy's tapes after her discussions with him. In particular the phrase 'Captain Poppins' caused much merriment amongst Andy and Provenza as they both bided their time before they could drop it into conversation with Sharon. It also amused them that Hickman saw her as a 'nanny' figure when she was anything but that, not calling her 'Darth Raydor' for no reason.

Sharon immediately pinched his knee. "You call me that again and you might find I break a nail on a certain part of your anatomy or stab you with my knitting needle or whatever else it was he said during his drunken character assassinations." The moment Sharon brought up Hickman's comments in the Murder Room Andy instantly tensed up beneath her. They'd not discussed what he'd said during his rant and that included his remarks about Andy 'cheating on his girlfriends' but that wasn't a surprise since they'd had very little time before climbing into bed to talk about anything other than work in reality. There was no denying he was anxious about it, tired of his past coming back to haunt him (much like Rusty was) in case it made Sharon lose even the smallest amount of trust in him. Before he had chance to open his mouth she quickly changed the subject. "So how does it feel being back out in the field again Lieutenant?"

He relaxed again and Sharon couldn't help but feel it and know exactly what his problem was once again. "It feels great" he announced. "Wonderful. I feel…useful again."

Sharon looked up at him. "What are you talking about? You've never stopped being useful."

"I was a Desk Monkey. That's not exactly useful."

"Well I always found a use for you."

"I know" he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Sharon laughed. "That's not what I meant" she said as she smacked his chest with the palm of her hand. "You are always useful, even when you're stuck in the office with me and doing nothing more than running down financials and organising search warrants."

"Miss me?"

"I have actually" she confessed. "A lot. I've missed having an experienced officer to bounce ideas off when you were all out in the field as well as missing you more personally."

"And how was it for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Me being in the field again" he explained since she was ever so slightly tense and worried as he rolled out for the first time since his accident the other night. "On a scale of one to ten how much have you worried this week?"

They hadn't spoken about it after Andy was cleared to return to the field but it was quite obvious that Provenza had deliberately got Mike to encourage Andy to go to the hospital with Jeremiah to ease him into the job again after his return especially as the scene itself was so tense and could conceivably become violent at any moment. Likewise Sharon had asked him to accompany her in the command centre vehicle in the parking lot of the church during the funeral service for Tamika and Jeremiah because she wanted him close, claiming she was now used to having his input during times like that, even though before he was cleared he wasn't even allowed to do that, his movements restricted to PAB, the morgue and appearances in court. Andy knew what was happening and why she'd asked him to join her which was exactly why he paused to break the rules and kiss her before he left to join the search for the phone, regardless of the SID officers in attendance.

"I've been too busy to worry" she said dismissively.

"Really?" Andy asked with a smile, knowing she was lying to him.

Sharon paused, biting on her lip and not really wanting to confess that she had spent much of the week silently fretting about him when he was out of her sight. "Possibly not, no. It was about a five at its worst."

"Okay. And the truth now?"

"What makes you think that isn't the truth?" she asked innocently.

Andy just stared at her for a moment, being able to read her expressions like a book by now. "How about the look on your face as I left the command unit outside the church to find that pinging phone in the parking lot?" Sharon remained silent as Andy stared at her with a smug smile on his face, waiting for her to cave in and admit the truth that she was slightly panic stricken as he left her the other day. "You've got nothing to say about that?"

Sharon shrugged. "I thought I hid that quite well."

"You did," he confirmed with a kiss to the top of her head, "to everyone else, but I know you better Raydor."

"Okay it was more of a ten at times" she said quietly. "Perhaps I turned it all the way up to eleven when I heard you over the radio confronting Hickman" she reluctantly confessed with a shake of her head. At that moment in time her reluctance to admit that she had worried about him was based solely on the fact that she knew Andy would complain she was 'Mothering' him and he'd spend twenty minutes telling her he was fine and that she didn't need to worry. She knew that, she knew it all but she also loved him and that meant she was never not going to worry about him ever again. With that in mind his reaction to her confession surprised her greatly.

Andy laughed. "You love me" he said smugly and in a very sing song manner like a little boy teasing a girl in recess after she'd just thrown chocolate pudding at him.

"Oh shut up."

"You do. You love me" he said again as she laughed. "You don't need to worry about me" he added softly rather than moodily as he kissed the top of her head, squeezing her tightly. "I'll be careful" he declared with another kiss. "I promise."

Sharon sighed. She'd heard it all before and there was a very good chance she'd hear it all again multiple times. "Oddly enough that doesn't ease my concern about you but I can't talk about this any longer" she stated with an air of finality about it. "I'm going to worry about you, there's nothing either of us can do about it until we retire so I just have to accept it, push it out of my mind as much as I can and live my life."

Andy nodded. "That sounds like a good plan to me."

"I thought you'd approve since I know how much you like it when I mother you."

"Oh I do" he said in practically a growl before tilting her face up to him so he could kiss her on the lips. "It's so sexy" he proclaimed, kissing her again. "Go on, tell me to put my vest on. Worry about my blood pressure some more. Tell me not to eat too much cheese."

Sharon looked at him unamused while he laughed at himself. "You're so funny. Have you ever thought about a career on the stage?"

"What? Sweeping it?"

"Exactly" Sharon confirmed, still unimpressed by his sense of humour.

Andy laughed again. "And how long did you stay in bed for after I left the other night?"

"Until Lieutenant Provenza called me and told me I needed to join you at the scene" she lied. After talking to Rusty for a little bit longer about her job offer from the NFL she told him to go to bed and acted like she was about to do the same. In reality she just couldn't. It wasn't that she was worried but it felt strange knowing that Andy had gone to work and she hadn't. Nine times out of ten in such situations she wouldn't be needed until the morning but before Andy was a frequent visitor to her bed she wouldn't know they'd been rolled out until Provenza thought it was time to call her. Aside from not knowing if she was going to be woken in an hour by the phone ringing it just felt wrong going to sleep alone when she knew Andy was at work. So instead she tidied up the mess from her bedroom floor after she'd searched through her closet and then cleaned her bathroom from top to bottom.

"Yeah. Sure" Andy replied, not believing a word.

"What? I did."

"I know you're lying, I spoke to Rusty."

"Well since Rusty was in bed fast asleep when Lieutenant Provenza called I find that very hard to believe." Andy just stared at her, hoping she'd crumble and he'd get the truth. "Rusty and I chatted a little longer before I made him go to bed and get some sleep."

"And?"

"And I went to bed as well" she lied.

"And slept?"

"Not exactly."

"Sharon!" he cried, clearly annoyed that she was breaking her own rules.

"What? You'd barely been out of bed an hour before he called me, so what was the point of going back to sleep? I read my book instead and cleaned up the mess from my closet" she lied again, rightly assuming that reading in bed sounded a hell of a lot better than scrubbing the shower while she worried about him.

"Yes but you didn't know that we needed you to come down there right away when I left because it so rarely does. And what are you going to do next time? And the time after that? Stay up when I'm rolled out every single time until the day I retire even though you're not needed until the morning?" he pointed out, letting her know that things needed to change if they were going to continue to work together without issue.

"I know, I know" Sharon agreed, realising as her fingers pruned up from the cleaning cloth and excessive scrubbing that she couldn't continue like this until retirement. The next step in their relationship (some time down the road) would surely be moving in together and she couldn't keep giving up sleep because he was working and she wasn't yet needed.

"And what's happened in the past when Provenza called you in the middle of the night? You'd threaten over the phone whoever was standing in the way of us doing our jobs and then you'd go back to sleep right?"

"Right."

"So the difference is what?"

"I'm sleeping with one of my Lieutenants, that's the difference." Andy went to respond right away but Sharon stopped him by putting her hand over his mouth. "I know, I know. Look it's not going to happen overnight but I will eventually get to the point where I can sleep after you leave, okay?"

"Okay and if that doesn't work I'll just cuff you to the bed. Crush some Valium in a glass of wine while Rusty sits on you" he suggested with a kiss to her head once again. "I'm just thinking of you. Don't go missing out on sleep just because I've gone to work."

Sharon shifted her position and kissed him on his chin. "I know and I appreciate it."

Silence fell for a brief moment. "Without meaning to be rude...well...no, who cares if it sounds rude or not? Gary is a lot more," Andy paused for a moment to find the appropriate word before settling on, "underwhelming in person than I'd hoped."

"Oh God don't!" Sharon cried with horror, Gary being even worse than she imagined. "That might be the biggest understatement of your life. To think Rusty had to put up with that man for so long alone without all the abuse he suffered at the hands of him just makes my skin crawl."

"I certainly don't have to do much in order to surpass him as the best 'Mom's boyfriend' he's ever had" he said like the outcome was ever in doubt.

"Oh I think we already knew that long before we met Gary. You're wonderful with him, despite the way he pushed back in the beginning and I couldn't be more grateful" she told him as she squeezed him, forever appreciative for the way he tried so hard with Rusty.

"Well it's not like I have much choice if I want to keep sharing his Mom's bed" he joked with Sharon still pinching his knee anyway. He laughed for a moment before confirming "I have to admit I've certainly met some more impressive dirt bags in my time. You could almost say him and Sharon Beck were perfectly suited for one another."

Sharon had to stop herself from nodding in agreement, opting to poke him in the ribs instead. "Don't say that in front of Rusty" she warned.

"I know. You don't need to tell me that."

"I know I don't" she said as she smiled up at him. "I'm sorry it's just every time he gets the opportunity to become that little bit more settled and happy and enjoy his life after Stroh and now that he has Gus and he's started UCLA his Mom shows up and causes havoc yet again."

"She is the very definition of a skunk at a birthday party isn't she? But you're his Mom now, you know that right?" he asked.

"I know. He hugged me and told me the exact same thing not two days ago in my office" she told him as she practically glowed, not just at Rusty's words but the fact that he'd said them in front of Andrea and Mike as well. "I just wish that if she's going to be in his life and all our lives for that matter, which is what I'd like to see happen, I want him to have a relationship with her, that she'd be at least approaching settled and sober ninety percent of the time."

"But according to her probation officer she's been sober and out of trouble since she got out right? I mean other than being a getaway driver" he joked.

"That's true."

"Still it's odd that she never got in contact with the kid in that time."

Sharon bit on her lip. "That may have been because of me."

Andy laughed. "I know you're frightening but she's a big girl and..."

"I kind of threatened her the last time I saw her."

"You what?"

"Do you remember when he went to see her in County and she wanted bail money?"

Andy scowled. "How could I forget."

"Well I went to see her after that told her that I would be keeping an eye on her in there and..."

"Threatened her a little?" Sharon nodded, remembering the warning she gave Sharon Beck quite vividly. "Look don't feel bad. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with her wanting to get her ducks in a row and coping on her own before she contacted the kid again." Andy kissed her head. "It's what I would have done. If she truly wanted to see him she would have. It had nothing to do with you I promise" he added, kissing her head again. Andy looked down at her for a moment in silence before asking something that had been bothering him for a couple of days. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what? That I saw her in County?"

"No. That Gary was following Rusty around town, that Sharon had been arrested, that Gary had been threatening the kid if she spoke to us. All of it. Why didn't you tell me about it?" he asked. He knew something was going on because of the way that Sharon had been having secret little discussions with Provenza but assumed it was all to do with their case. It was only when he noticed Sharon and Buzz walk back into Electronics and she saw him giving her a curious look and waved for him to follow them to watch Provenza interview Sharon Beck that he even knew she was back on the scene let alone that Gary had been threatening Rusty, hiding his surprise fairly well from Buzz in the process when Sharon answered his question. From that point on he had to be involved regardless, making sure he watched with Buzz as Sharon and Provenza interviewed Gary but he was troubled by the whole situation. Sharon had deliberately kept it from him until he stumbled across their initial interview and even though they hadn't had much time to talk privately that week it was surely something she'd want to talk to him about as quickly as possible as the person she had elected to spend the rest of her life with.

"Ah, that" Sharon said a little sheepishly.

"Yes that. Why didn't you tell me? Aren't I the sort of person you should be coming to with these problems? Isn't that why I'm here?"

"Well one of the reasons" she laughed as she kissed his chest and dragged her nails up his body. For once though Andy didn't laugh back, completely serious since like her job offer she'd been keeping something very big from him yet again. "Yes of course" she replied when she realised just how serious he was.

"Did you not want my help dealing with Sharon and Gary?"

"I did, of course I did but I can't ask for your help."

Andy looked at her confused. "Why not?"

"It's bad enough that I'm having to interview my son's biological mother and her boyfriend without having _my_ boyfriend help do it as well. Seriously ow would that look? No it had to be Lieutenant Provenza going in there to talk to them but I love that you want to help" she said with a smile.

"Of course I want to help. I'll always want to help the kid."

Sharon sat up so she could face him. "I know" she said before kissing him on the lips. "Thank you" she added, kissing him again before settling back down on his shoulder.

"Okay so that's why didn't want me to speak to them but why didn't you tell me about it?" he asked, returning to his biggest issue.

Sharon shrugged. "Because Lieutenant Provenza was taking care of everything."

"No that's why you didn't tell _Lieutenant Flynn_ and I understand and I suppose agree with your logic and continued love affair with the rule book in that regard but why didn't you tell me? Me? Why didn't you tell Andy?"

Sharon laughed. "Are you becoming one of those guys that only speaks about himself in the third person?"

"Like Elmo?"

Sharon laughed again while she grimaced. "It's bad enough I've learnt about Bert and Ernie today, I don't want to know who Elmo is as well."

"Yes Andy will only speak about himself in the third person from now on," he joked, "so why didn't you tell him?"

"I just never found the time. We've been so ridiculously busy and by the time I found out about the threats that Gary had made you were about to sit down with Buddha and I didn't want to distract you."

"That's utter nonsense and you know it" Andy replied immediately. "You could have pulled me into your office or into the Break Room at any time when we came to a standstill in the case and unloaded about it. Told me that she was back and arrested even if you didn't yet know that the dirt bag boyfriend had been threatening your son but you didn't. So come on, what gives?"

"It's just..."

"Yes?"

"You didn't sign up for this."

Andy rolled his eyes. "Oh that old chestnut."

"Don't say it like that."

"Like what? Like you're talking nonsense?" he replied a little annoyed. "I signed up for you, all of you. In fact I practically chased you like a stalker for years to get you so I knew full well what baggage you came with and exactly what I was getting myself in to. I was getting the good with Rusty and Ricky and Emily and the bad with Jack and Sharon and Gary…and depending on what sort of mood he's in, Gavin."

"What about the ugly?" Andy just smirked at her. "Why you!" she cried, pinching his knees.

"I also get you, the wonderful, wonderful you" he said as he kissed the top of her head. "We made a deal right? I get to help you with all of that crap and you get the moody, short tempered recovering alcoholic with step grandkids, a son who doesn't speak to him and an ex-wife who wants to remove his genitals and wear them like a matching necklace and earring set."

"She'd have to get past me first."

"I'm glad to hear that. With some of the bruises you've given me over the last few months I know you'd kick her ass if she ever laid a finger on me."

"When you put it like that we make quite the attractive package" she laughed. "I'm sorry. I've barely had time to tell you I love you this week, I didn't want to burden you with this when you were already adjusting to being back in the field as well." In that moment she felt like Rusty. She had asked him a few days earlier over breakfast why he hadn't told her that Gary was following him immediately after he first noticed him in his mirrors and got the standard 'I'm working very hard to not be a problem for you' from him (in truth he'd been about to tell her that previous Sunday night but Andy's cell phone rang and Sharon suddenly became too preoccupied with him rolling out for the first time since his accident that he simply didn't want to bother her). Sharon wanted to say that she had kept it to herself for similar reasons but that was anything but the truth.

Andy nodded but he still didn't buy what she was selling. As he drove to the crime scene at the start of the week Sharon was all he could think about and it was obvious to him that she was still having issues opening up to him about things like that because she'd spent so long dealing with them on her own without any support. It actually made him mad, his knuckles turning white as he held the steering wheel and chuntered to himself, making him wonder if he'd actually hit the brakes if Jack were to suddenly step out into the road ahead of him. "But that's why I'm here."

"I know and I'm sorry but it's taking me some time to fully realise and understand that you're not like Jack and that you're here for me regardless" she said as she looked up at him, letting him know that these were her issues and they had nothing to do with him as a person.

"No matter what and I always will be" he confirmed as he kissed her on the lips.

"I know, I know. I know that and I'm trying to always be open with you but it's just going to take a little more time. I promise you it'll never happen again" she assured him even though it was a promise she didn't know if she'd be able to keep should anything else suddenly pop up in the future.

Once again the truth was she simply didn't know why she hadn't told him. She thought part of it was because Provenza and Buzz were involved and taking charge of the situation as they had done so often with Rusty over the years and she could lean on them. It was also true that it would make her feel uncomfortable to have her boyfriend involved in speaking to them since she was her son's biological mother. However none of that explained why she hadn't taken him into the Break Room during a rare quiet five minutes as she got another cup of tea and told him, told her boyfriend what was going on with her son since it was clearly worrying her. There were times where she really didn't know what was going on in her own head so how could she explain it to somebody else? What was clear to her was that it was a pattern she was determined to break and had been going on a lot longer than just keeping her job offer to herself. To this day she still couldn't explain why she hadn't told Andy she loved him in the moments before he was wheeled away for surgery. Her stomach and her throat practically ached she wanted to say it so badly. Yes she was hoping that he'd say it first, despite everything that had come to pass between them already, the lies to Nicole in particular, she was still unsure if he honestly felt the same way but none of that mattered. His surgery was dangerous and there was a very real chance he might not survive it, a fact she was already aware of before Dr Morales and his frankly terrifying reaction to Andy showing him where his clot was located. There was a chance she was never going to see him again and yet she still couldn't say it to him, not understanding why she hadn't done it as she clutched Andrea's hand and he disappeared around the corner. It was a part of herself she just didn't understand, dragging her feet with him was one thing but keeping these things from the love of her life rather than being as open and honest as he seemingly was with her was another thing entirely.

"For Rusty's sake I hope it's never an issue."

Sharon sighed, since they were already discussing things of a relatively difficult nature she decided to approach the subject she'd been putting off but acknowledged she did need to address before matters got worse. "Since we're discussing things that are perhaps a little awkward I've put this off long enough, I think we need to have a proper talk."

Andy looked at her confused although he knew exactly what she was referring to but not what she wanted to say. "What have we been doing?"

"Andy. We need to talk about the other day."

"Okay. Fine you're right we need to talk. Now about rearranging this job interview."

"I told you I'm not taking the NFL job and that's not what we need to talk about."

"I know but I thought I could distract you a little first before I have to explain myself."

"You don't have to explain yourself Andy, that's the whole point."

"Oh yes I do" he replied. It had been bothering him since the moment Hickman had asked him if he was still 'cheating on his girlfriends' in front of everyone and knowing he had to explain himself and his past behaviour to Sharon once again. As Mark moved on to Julio their eyes immediately fell on each other but Andy got nothing but a stony look back as she kept her emotions in check and refused to let him rattle her. "I saw your face when Hickman had finished spouting off at everybody. I could see how hurt you were that he'd said that in front of everyone and who's to say he didn't say it deliberately."

"Oh Andy do you honestly think Mark Hickman either knows or cares that we are together?"

"He seemed to know about my blood pressure."

"The world and his wife knows about your high blood pressure because you fell down in the middle of the Murder Room and we had to call the paramedics you twit. That sort of information gets around. And how would Mark even know that we were dating?"

"I don't know and I don't care. I just care what you think about me. I need to explain and I need to make sure that you know that Andy, horrible cheating lothario Andy is dead."

"I know he is" she said with a smile before kissing his chest and trying to reassure him. "He's buried next to Nervous Andy in Lieutenant Provenza's backyard right?"

"He does have quite a lot of corpses building up back there. It's a good job my girlfriend isn't a badass police Captain."

"Andy I don't care what the Mark Hickmans of this world have to say about you, I really don't. I say we need to talk because at the time you instantly looked at me panic stricken."

"And with good reason."

"But I don't care" she told him for the umpteenth time. Yes at the time she had felt slightly embarrassed by it all especially when she could feel everyone's eyes on her but she didn't care about what he said about the Andy he knew twelve years ago, trusting the man he was now implicitly. What she cared about was Andy's reaction whenever the subject of his past was raised. "If I haven't already made that clear to you in the past I need you to know that now. I don't care Andy, plain and simple. I need you to stop giving yourself a stroke every time someone says something unflattering about your past with women in front of me because I don't care. The only thing I care about is the man you are now, the man I fell in love with and stopping you from being so stressed and worried about it all the time."

Andy tightened his grip on her. "You are utterly amazing" he said before kissing the top of her head. "Do you know that?"

She smiled. "I do actually."

Andy laughed. "Big head."

"Speaking of big heads was Nicole really fourteen pounds?" she asked, suddenly recalling what Sandra had told her on Christmas Day as they attempted to bond in Nicole's kitchen.

"Oh yeah" Andy confirmed. "She had a head like a basketball. It was incredible."

"And you thought it would be a good idea to laugh and joke with Sandra while she was trying to push a fourteen pound baby out of her body?"

"I was trying to distract her."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "No wonder she divorced you."

"Are you taking Sandra's side?"

"In this regard yes. I would have divorced you on the spot."

"Well then not for the first time since you first had your wicked way with me let me say 'Thank God for the menopause'" he cried as he cuddled her tighter.

Sharon laughed. "Speaking of our collective brood of children I spoke to Emily last night when I got home."

"Oh yeah? How is she?"

"Good. Great. Lots of exciting news to tell me" Sharon said with excitement already evident in her voice as she sat up slightly to meet his eye as they spoke. "She's had her dates for her next performances of Giselle in New York confirmed" she added, so excited she was bordering on flapping her arms and taking off.

Andy closed his eyes and nonchalantly said "That's nice." It was one of the things they'd discussed over Christmas that as soon as Emily knew when she'd be back on stage in New York they would fly over to see her dance as their first vacation together but the subject hadn't been raised since.

"'That's nice'? Is that all you've got to say?"

Andy opened his eyes again and shrugged. "I didn't want to sound overly presumptuous."

"Go ahead, sound presumptuous by all means."

"So does this mean...? You and I...?" he asked as he waited for Sharon to fill in the blanks.

Sharon smiled. "I put in the request with Chief Taylor for both of us to have four days of vacation time in May across the weekend before we left for the wedding" she confirmed as she lay back down, opting to test the waters with Taylor when he was still in an extremely good mood following the closure of their case.

"For both of us?"

"Yes. You don't mind that I did yours as well do you?"

"Of course not," Andy smiled, "I was just wondering what face he pulled when you submitted the request. What did he say?"

"As expected he's not best pleased about both of us being away at the same time but it's only four days so he could hardly turn it down. So we're going in New York for the weekend in May" she announced.

"Great. I'll look into flights..."

"Nope I already told you, this is my Christmas present for you, for us. I'm booking the flights and the hotel tomorrow and that's that" she declared very matter-of-factly. They'd already made the decision with Sharon writing a little IOU to him in a Christmas card and stating that she would be whisking him away for the weekend as soon as they knew Emily's dates and she was determined to go through with it despite her nerves about it all.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Other than come with me, show me the sights and help me take advantage of a hotel room..."

"I've got bad news for you sweetheart, even in a hotel room you've seen all the sights I've got to show you" he joked.

Sharon laughed as she gently smacked him around the head. "I didn't mean that. I meant actual sights in New York you pervert." Andy laughed before kissing her. "It's not too late for me to take someone else instead of you you know."

Andy scoffed. "And who would you take exactly?"

"I could find someone" Sharon insisted. "There are men out there that want me."

"Oh I don't doubt that for a second which is why the sooner I get a ring on that finger the better" he joked.

Sharon smiled up at him and said "A ring didn't stop them hitting on me in the past" in a rather smug tone.

"Oh yeah?"

She smiled again, knowing she was about to drive him crazy with Andy tending to have a jealous streak a mile wide when it came to her. "I might take someone from work."

Andy frowned at her while she tried her best not to laugh. "Like who?"

"Oh I don't know," Sharon said before quickly adding, "Sargent Staples perhaps."

"What?" her cried, his head snapping up and off his pillow.

"He's asked me out before" she admitted nonchalantly.

"He what?"

"You heard. He wants me or rather he did want me."

"That sneaky bastard!" he shouted with venom. "I always knew he was after you. I never liked the way he looked you up and down."

"Caught him doing the same as you huh?"

"If I'd have caught him checking you out I'd have punched him in the face. When did he ask you out?"

"Which time?"

"He's asked you more than once?" Andy asked as his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Oh yeah, at least four times" she again responded smugly.

"What?!"

Sharon smiled into his chest, pushing her lips to it as her nails dragged up and down his chest before admitting "The last time was two weeks after we started dating."

"He did this after we started dating?!"

"Yes" she replied brightly. "He cornered me in the elevator one afternoon. He was making one last ditch attempt to get me all for himself as well as defending my honour from the likes of you."

"I'll kill him" he stated as he continued to fume with rage.

"You'll do no such thing" she said as she laughed at his jealous streak.

"Wait, isn't Staples married?"

"He was but not when he first asked me out to dinner."

Andy squeezed her to him, suddenly very possessive. "I don't believe this."

"Calm down I was never going to say yes."

Andy relaxed into his pillow again. "Yeah he's not exactly what you'd call 'your type.'"

"Oh I didn't mean that. I meant because I never ever would date a subordinate."

Andy smiled at her. "Is that a fact?"

"There are of course exceptions to every rule" she said before reaching up to kiss him.

"And I'm oh so glad I'm that exception but just to be clear and so I've got all the facts, has anyone else we work with on a regular basis asked you out on a date?"

Sharon shook her head. "No one else that springs to mind."

"Really?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes. Why? Who did you have in mind?"

"Judge Grove for example" Andy suggested as he studied her closely.

Sharon instantly laughed. "Judge Grove?"

"Yeah."

"Judge Grove is married," she pointed out with a roll of her eyes, "and happily so by all accounts."

"So? I don't like the way that guy looks at you and that's forgetting how he talks to you" Andy replied with very green eyes.

Sharon looked at him baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"He's way too friendly with you."

"He's just keeping an eye out for Rusty that's all."

"He's just keeping an eye out for you more like."

Sharon laughed. "Oh my God! Andy Flynn I cannot believe how unbelievably jealous you can be sometimes."

"You're kidding right? Have you looked at yourself in a mirror? You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on, of course I get jealous. Guys check you out all the time."

"Oh shut up" Sharon laughed as she snuggled back into him, her leg moving further across his body and virtually pinning him to the bed, letting him know that she was his and only his.

"They do. All the time."

"Do I need to wear your letterman jacket at work? Let them all know I'm taken?"

Andy smiled. "Something like that. Something like that."

Sharon lifted her head to see his face. "You know I only have eyes for you" she said before kissing him hungrily on the lips for a moment.

"And I've never been so grateful in my life" he revealed as she lay back down on him.

"You and Mr Johnson from downstairs obviously" she clarified.

"Obviously" he laughed. "But to be clear you need to know that I would love nothing more in this world than for you to whisk me away for a romantic weekend in New York to see Emily dance" he confirmed.

"Good and other than packing a bag, coming with me and taking advantage of that big hotel room bed you don't need to do single a thing" she added, kissing his cheek. "We can catch up on some of that hotel room sex you're missing out on since I'm not taking the NFL job."

"Well that I can most certainly do" he said with enthusiasm.

"Except taking me to meet your brothers and your sister of course."

Andy sighed. "Sharon..."

"What do you think is going to happen if I meet them? That the world will end? Are you that embarrassed by me?" she asked since he seemed hell bent on keeping them apart for as long as humanly possible without a genuine reason.

"Are you kidding?" he replied, taken aback by her misunderstanding of his stance. "There is nothing I want to do more than show off to my relatives this beautiful woman that for some strange reason has picked me to share her life with."

Sharon sat up and looked him in the face. "Then what's the problem?"

Andy sighed and rubbed his hand across his face. "I don't want to spend an evening listening to them tell you 'Little Andy' stories." To him it was simple, sharing stories with Sharon that he handpicked and edited himself was one thing, having his mischievous sister tell her every single mortifying thing he did as a teenager was another thing entirely and something he was extremely keen to avoid.

"They can't be any worse than what you've already told me."

"Want to bet?" Andy scoffed.

"I see bribery might be my only recourse here" Sharon smiled as she lay back down, adjusting herself so that her mouth was right next to his ear.

"Not this time" Andy laughed, knowing how easily she had managed to manipulate him over the last couple of months especially if sex was involved, Sharon getting him to keep quiet and behave on Christmas Day despite Sandra's continued abuse being the prime example. "You can't bribe me in every situation you know."

"So far that has not been my experience."

"Well it is now. This guy cannot be bought" he insisted.

"Okay. And what if every single time they told an embarrassing 'Little Andy' story, when we got back to the hotel I..." Sharon said before whispering in his ear. She didn't need to whisper, they were alone after all but she knew that the combination of her words and her hot breath on his ear would make him putty in her hands and quickly agreeing to anything she wanted. As Sharon continued to list the things she would do to him in the hotel if he arranged for her to meet his siblings his eyes closed as his hand continued to move up and down her back, a look of sheer bliss on his face.

As Sharon moved away from his ear and just smiled at him, his eyes opened. "You know I could be persuaded to take you for coffee with them maybe."

"What a surprise!" Sharon laughed. "And I thought you could no longer be bought" she added as she let out a long, loud yawn and snuggled back down onto his shoulder.

"You found my price" he admitted before yawning himself. "It's a shame you don't have that NFL money. You could have booked a room at the Plaza, had a butler on hand to cater to your every whim."

"I thought that's why I had you, so you were on hand to cater to my every whim."

"You'd better believe it. I'm here to protect and to serve, especially to serve."

Sharon laughed. "Has that line ever worked on anybody?" she asked sleepily.

"You'd be surprised" he said after a moment.

"I'm sure I wouldn't."

Their eyes closed as they rested for a moment, sleep finally calling both of them. "So, you liked my speech?" Andy asked.

"I loved it and more importantly Lieutenant Provenza and Patrice did as well."

"No more importantly is that I'm in bed on one of Provenza's wedding days and he's not spooning up behind me" he joked before yawning again.

Sharon chuckled quietly. "Will you two ever stay out of trouble?"

"Hey we've not been in trouble for..."

"Weeks?" Sharon suggested with another yawn.

"Exactly. Weeks."

"That's not something to be proud of."

"Isn't it?"

"No" Sharon yawned again. "Years is something to be proud of."

Silence again fell on the room as they both started to drift off to sleep. "It's been a good day" Andy said quietly as he squeezed her.

"A very good day and it's not over yet. What time is it?" she asked, unwilling to move or even open her eyes to see her watch or clock.

"I don't know. My eyes won't open."

"Mine either." She paused for a moment before quietly uttering "I love you."

"I love you too" Andy replied as his lips brushed the top of her head.

"I'm going to rock your world when we wake up later" Sharon insisted despite sounding like she hardly had the energy to speak much less anything else.

"Likewise."

"I mean it. I am knocking your socks off. I'm talking wham, clean across the room."

Andy chuckled to himself. "You've already made me remove them."

"Then I'll put them back on you." She paused again and then stated "Sleep first, then sex."

"Yes" Andy agreed very quietly as he started to lose the battle against sleep. "Lots of sleep first."

"Then lots of sex" Sharon again insisted. Much to her surprise Andy didn't answer after having already nodded off. "Andy?" she said as she heard very quiet snores coming from beside her. "Andy!"

Andy woke with a start and looked about him a little confused. "What? Yes?"

"Never mind" Sharon replied which made his head slam back on the pillow with a thud. With their bodies now heavy with sleep drifting over them, silence and stillness fell over the room. Minutes past by until the silence was rudely interrupted by the noise of both of their cell phones vibrating. To their tired ears the sound of their phones vibrating in unison made it sound like the room was rattling with an earthquake. Sharon's eyes shot open as she groaned. "Argh!"

"Crap!" Andy cried as they broke apart and rolled to their respective nightstands and groggily looked at the screens on their phones. "It's from Taylor" he announced as he struggled to focus on the words.

"Yeah" was all Sharon could say as she confirmed she'd had the same message, squinting at the screen.

"'Don't come back in until Monday'" Andy read.

"Perfect" Sharon said overjoyed as she dropped her phone and rolled back to where she had been lying. "Now come here." Andy did likewise, dropping his phone and lying back down with his arm outstretched and ready for Sharon to lie on him and finally go to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

_If you read and reviewed the last chapter, thank you very much and if you want a chat then you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _I've finally made it to season five! Huzzah! This chapter picks up after dinner during Present Tense 5x1 following Andy bringing up the idea of moving in together. Since it seems they didn't sit down and talk about it properly until the end of the episode, I wondered what happened that first evening so here is my take on it and if you don't like really silly nonsense and twaddle, pillow talk and conversations that go nowhere then you should stop reading now._

 _Note: Remember I've used the ages of the actors as the ages of the characters so they may appear a little older. Also all relatives we don't know the names of have been named after my family again._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At The End of the Day - Chapter Twenty Three**

To say Sharon was completely stunned was the understatement of the century. You could have knocked her over with a feather she was that shocked by what she was hearing. When Andy told her at PAB that he had something he wanted to talk to her about she expected…well she wasn't sure what she expected exactly but it certainly wasn't him asking her to move in with him. In her mind they hadn't yet been together long enough to warrant such an invitation and gigantic step forward in their relationship, not even a full year but then again at that stage in their lives, both of them over sixty, did that really matter in the grand scheme of things? It wasn't like they'd only met a year ago, they were friends long before they were lovers and knew each other a lot longer than that. They had both loved and lost and knew what that felt like, those experiences making it clear to both of them that this time it was different and this was the very last relationship that either of them would ever have, both of them in it together until the very end.

It wasn't that she didn't want to move in with him, she had honestly just never given it any thought over the previous few months, which was the real issue, it was such a surprise to her, coming completely out of the blue that she was struggling to keep up. The problem was they were just such different people. Sharon was the kind of person who always took her time and went _very_ slowly in relationships unlike Andy who saw the world completely differently and could be the very definition of a bull in a china shop at times. If she was honest however, and without delving too deeply into it she could see exactly where Andy was coming from, his barb about 'If we go any slower we'd come to a complete stop' really hitting home and almost winding her as the words left his mouth. He hadn't said it to be mean or to get at her and the speed that she still insisted they take regardless of how far they'd come but he was frustrated and he had been more than patient over the previous eleven months they'd been together, keeping a lid on those frustrations during the course of their relationship so far and even before that when they were still just friends.

From Andy's point of view the whole thing was simple. He looked at his best friend and saw a man who had met a woman one evening (admittedly not under traditional circumstances but Provenza wasn't exactly a traditional guy deep down when it came to the women in his life), asked her out the next, moved in together eight months later and were engaged not four months after that. In comparison he felt at a standstill with Sharon and he'd known her (sort of) for over two decades and been dating for nearly a year, hell it had taken them nearly six months to even sleep together (which he now openly admitted was mostly his fault because he was so completely oblivious when Sharon was blatantly coming on to him at that point). But they were in love. She was the love of his life and vice versa. He stayed over at her condo most nights anyway so continuing to take things slowly seemed ridiculous to him at that point. He wanted to live with her, heck he wanted to marry her but that was for the future. In that moment as he asked her to move in with him he could only think of one thing: 'What were they waiting for?'

After the initial bomb shell from Andy about his desire to change their living arrangements it was a relatively quiet evening on the whole, not that a quiet evening was that unusual for them at that point. They tried their hardest to avoid talking about work as much as possible when they were relaxing at home so after the brief discussion about where Amanda Pond might have disappeared to as they ate their meal, the conversation switched to Rusty and his problems with Gus since it was seemingly the only other thing they could comfortably discuss for a while as the idea of moving in together hung above them like some sort of storm cloud. Andy wanted to discuss it further but he knew better, he knew Sharon better. After her initial and far from positive reaction (part of which he expected and suspected was because she wanted to talk to her children, specifically Rusty, about it first before even contemplating committing to anything) he knew he had to tread carefully with her or potentially create a problem between them, with once again him falling into the trap of doing exactly what Sharon wanted despite his feelings because at the end of the day he loved her and if he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her then he had to take things slowly, take things at her speed and do his upmost not spook her. That wasn't to say that Andy and his feelings were secondary in their relationship, far from it but everything seemed to happen in a certain way with a regular pattern of events. Andy would suggest something whether that be spending more time together or going on vacation or moving in together, Sharon would initially be hesitant and drag her feet for a time before coming around to the idea fairly quickly in all honesty but while still being very nervous and cautious about it, her scars from the past showing clearly, so Andy knew that all he had to do was be patient (something that was hard for him even after all this time) and he would eventually be rewarded.

After dinner they settled in front of the television as they so often did, not really watching anything but just relaxing as the stresses of their working day lifted from their shoulders and using it as a distraction to avoid talking about the elephant in the room, that was until Andy suddenly kissed her on the top of her head and wriggled out from his position beneath her as they snuggled up on the couch. He then stood, stretched and picked up his jacket from the back of the chair he'd sat at during dinner, grabbing at his pockets like he was checking to see if his wallet and keys were still in there. Sharon was utterly terrified for a moment as she watched him reach for his jacket, thinking he was getting up to leave, upset because she didn't seem at all keen about the idea of taking their relationship to the next level. He had been so quiet all evening as they sat in front of the TV, unusually so for him. They were very rarely quiet around each other. They always found something to talk about and make each other laugh at any hour of the day or night even if it was just utter nonsense which was one of the things she loved most about him and the relationship they had. Andy being unusually quiet was troublesome for her as if her less than enthusiastic reaction to the idea of moving in together had upset him more that she originally thought it had. Under the circumstances she felt that her concern was fully justified given his apparent move to leave. There was an unspoken deal between them when they were together, whosever house they were in, if they stayed for dinner they stayed all night. The fact that he was looking like he was suddenly breaking that arrangement and heading home had her heart in her mouth.

Andy stood by the table and stretched again as his yawned with his jacket in hand. Sharon just watched him, still fearing that he was about to announced he was leaving. "Where are you going?" she asked, feeling compelled to ask him before he had chance to reveal his plan.

He walked towards her and put his hands on the back of the couch, leaning forward and hovering over her as she looked up at him. "To sit in the bath. That okay?"

Sharon smiled, her relief making it to her face rather quickly as she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Of course." With that Andy kissed her on the top of her head again and slowly plodded towards Sharon's bedroom with his jacket dragging behind him to remove his suit and hang it all up together.

Sharon's relief as he announced his destination and intent was palpable. As she watched him walk to her bedroom and then to the bathroom she could have kicked herself. Her mind drifted. She could have so easily have lost him in that bathroom just six short months ago if it hadn't been for Rusty's quick thinking and yet despite that she was _still_ dragging her feet with him, stopping their relationship from progressing at a more natural speed. Everything had been going so well between them as they continued to get that little bit closer every single day with Andy staying the night with her more often than not which was the point, they had been getting closer, Andy was over all the time anyway, the next logical steps was surely to move in together so why was she so resistant to the idea? The plan of when they would and wouldn't see each other after work had soon gone out of the window with them being together when they wanted to rather than when the rules dictated that they could which was pretty much all of the time for the last couple of months but Sharon still dragged her feet, the queen of dragging her feet. But what was she waiting for? It was a question that she just simply didn't have the answer to. What was crystal clear was that she needed to address it and speak to him now that the initial shock had worn off. Now that the subject had been raised, ignoring it just wasn't possible. Moving in together really was the next step in their relationship and if they didn't at least discuss it she could potentially ruin what they had and make Andy feel quite a lot of resentment towards her.

As she heard the bathroom door close behind him she sat forward on the couch and put her head in her hands. She was so mad at herself she could scream. She'd been having such a wonderful time recently and she'd gone and spoiled it. Work was going well, all the kids were healthy and happy and more specifically Rusty was as happy as he'd ever been (the recent Palm Springs blip aside) with Gus making a big impact on him in every single way imaginable. It had been weeks of just her and Andy with long walks along the beach and movies and dinner and dancing and going to the theatre and the Dodgers and meals with relatives and lazy Sundays in bed and best of all a weekend in New York to see Emily perform, their first vacation together, the first of what they both hoped would be many.

As much as she wanted to see her daughter perform on stage, Sharon was also excited because it was her first trip away with Andy and with it being in New York she was also excited to finally meet the whole Flynn clan. In particular Sharon was very excited to meet Andy's sister after hearing so much about her from him and yet he'd been _very_ resistant to the idea, not liking the notion of his two words colliding and in all probability joining forces with one another to torment him as much as humanly possible. In truth Andy was right to be cautious. Sharon got along with all of his brothers almost immediately but Liz and Sharon got along particularly well, both of them thrilled to finally meet the other, quickly bonding and, as feared, ganging up on him to great effect as story after story was told about him and what he was like as a troublesome teenager. With their only real plans during that weekend being to see Emily perform on the Saturday night, the Flynn family reunion initially started off as just a quick cup of coffee early on the Saturday but quickly turned into dinner for all the family (and Emily) on the Sunday afternoon and well into the night where photo albums were brought out and Andy quickly turned the colour of beetroot (but as per her promise to him when she finally got him to agree to arrange for them to meet up in the first place, she more than made it up to him when they returned to the hotel, making him quickly forget all the embarrassment he had suffered as she had him crying out her name).

What endeared Liz to Sharon even more than just being Andy's sister and the obvious love they had for each other was her temperament. Because of Liz's cancer treatment she was now very quick tempered and snappy which essentially made her a female version of Andy with the exception of 'dirt bag' and 'moron' not being part of her every day vocabulary. It actually made Sharon tear up as she watched them greet each other, the first time they'd seen each other in a number of years. Liz leapt into his arms and stayed there hugging him for what seemed like an eternity as he cradled her with his eyes closed, whispering to each other as they clung together. Women had always been important to Andy and played a very big role in his life but no one came close to what he felt for Liz and Nicole and now Sharon. She was taller than Sharon expected, almost as tall as Andy, a beautiful face and figure to go with it and aside from having his temper she also had his smile and that mischievous glint in her eye that was pure Flynn. In many ways Liz and Sharon had a lot in common and found plenty to talk about aside from Andy which pleased him, up until the point they exchanged phone numbers and he knew the trouble that awaited him.

Aside from the ballet, time with Emily and Andy's family he had taken her to see where he grew up. They travelled all over Harlem visiting the church where he was once a choir boy (something he now had concrete proof of since Liz had dug out an old recording of him and Sharon discovered that he was actually telling the truth, Andy did once sing like an angel), the alley around the corner where he used to socialise with his 'prostitute friends,' the movie theatre where he spent so much of his free time and of course the various homes and apartments he had lived in as his family moved around so much to keep the boys out of trouble as much as they could (not that it actually helped). Each street had a different story to tell with Andy telling tales about various mob bosses he rubbed shoulders with and the trouble he got involved with (much of it bordering on criminal and spanning a much larger area then she ever imagined), all of it a part of Andy's past that he was comfortable sharing with her and she loved every single second of it. All in all it was a wonderful weekend aside from the reality of having to go home again and Andy accidentally falling asleep on the chocolate left on his pillow the first night in the hotel, seeing it melted in the morning and thinking he'd had some sort of brain haemorrhage. It was a magnificent start to a summer that had only got better from there and was marked by one other special occasion aside from their weekend away.

After putting if off the night that they slept together for the first time, Andy had finally decided to celebrate his twentieth year of sobriety (opting to take Sharon home and look after her rather than going to his meeting and arranged celebrations before Christmas), for once allowing Sharon to take part in that side of his life after having previously always kept her at arm's length in the past. In truth Andy had never really celebrated his 'sober birthday' before, seeing it as nothing worthy of celebrating because aside from being ashamed of his former life and what a devastating effect it had had upon his family, it was something other people managed to do every day, not drinking and that wasn't worthy of celebration in his eyes. However after her experiences with Jack, Sharon saw the situation very differently and wanted to mark it since he had prevented her from doing as such in the past when they were friends. After his meeting and the little party they had for him at AA Sharon wanted to throw him a bigger party for family and friends so that they could all celebrate his achievement with him but he preferred something much more quiet and far more intimate. Andy's way to celebrate was nothing more than a Saturday spent at his house with Sharon where they did precisely nothing. They slept in late, ordered Chinese food meaning Andy only got dressed in anything more than a t-shirt and his boxers to answer the door but other than that, that was it. They talked, they napped, they made love, they watched TV and just enjoyed being together. It was utter bliss and in his opinion the ideal way for him to celebrate. Sharon's sense of occasion was desperate to kick in and take over and organise him a party that she felt he deserved but he felt otherwise and since it was his sobriety they were celebrating and his achievement, something he'd done pretty much alone, a quiet celebration at his house it was. She did however still buy him a gift to mark it. She bought him a bracelet (something she knew he would love since he wore several of them) and had it engraved with their names and the word 'Pride,' wanting him to know that regardless of what he thought about it she was very very proud of him and always would be even if he were to slip in the future.

It wasn't just the big things in life that had been going well between them either, the little things were too. They'd settled into domestic life really well together, going to the grocery store together, going shopping, doing the little things in life that went beyond just dating and spending their nights together. They had begun to share their lives together in every way imaginable with the exception of not actually living together officially. After being so careful in the beginning it was working between them both at home and at work. Life was good, so unbelievably good and now she'd gone and ruined it by once again dragging her feet and making the most patient man in the entire world wait for her to make a decision rather than giving him an automatic and easiest 'Yes' of her life.

Feeling the need to clear the air and at the very least make up with Andy, Sharon went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine for courage, taking a couple of large gulps before making her way towards the bathroom and knocking gently on the door. "Andy? Can I come in?" she asked, trying not to allow the worry to appear in her voice.

There was a long pause before he answered, giving Sharon even more cause for concern that he had really fallen out with her. "It depends" he said finally, his voice echoing slightly in the confines of the bathroom.

"On what exactly?"

"On whether you're going to ogle me or not?" he stated bluntly, a wonderfully mischievous tone to his voice that brought a smile to her face before he'd finished speaking.

Sharon instantly laughed, her shoulders relaxing as the tone in his voice let her know that if he was indeed mad and upset by her reaction to his proposition, he wasn't that upset by it. "Probably" she admitted.

"Then by all means come on in."

Sharon didn't need to be told twice and slowly opened the door, being greeted by one of her favourite sights in the entire world on the other side, Andy sitting in the bath full of bubbles, glasses resting on the end of his nose and sowing up a large rip in the seam of one of his shirts caused by him snagging it on a fence at a crime scene three days earlier. He usually only wore his glasses in the privacy of Sharon's bedroom and bathroom, like it was some sort of macho thing and he didn't want anyone else to see him in them (even though Provenza wore them himself from time to time at work, the appearance of Provenza's glasses meaning that things had got very serious and guns were about to be drawn if they hadn't been already). Andy didn't use his reading glasses at work, he really didn't need them with the lighting as good as it was in the Murder Room, he got on just fine without them but they made things easier at home in a dull light where there was just a bedroom lamp and his book. Andy liked to sow, he was very good at it much to Sharon's surprise. If she had a loose button or an inseam that had become unstitched he would fix it for her without being asked, usually whilst he sat in her bath with his tongue clamped between his teeth and Sharon absolutely loved it, thinking it the single sexiest sight in the entire world.

Sharon couldn't help but laugh as she gazed at him while he sowed his shirt, his hair looking that little bit darker from the water. "Oh my God! What a sight!" she cried.

Andy looked at her coyly and battered his eyelashes. "You like?"

"Very much" she confirmed as she leant up against the doorframe and sipped on her wine as she blatantly ogled him. "In fact I need a photograph of this for my screensaver." She put her wine on the floor between her feet and took her cell phone from the pocket in her cardigan, opening the camera and aiming it at him.

Andy frowned at her from over the top of his glasses. "You have remembered that's also a work phone right?"

"And who's going to see it?" she rationed. "I very much doubt anyone is going to need to see the photos on our cell phones anytime in the near future." Andy smiled at her in a very demure way as she took the photo. She grinned at the image on her screen. In all fairness Andy had a point about the use of their phones. It was a distinction they had to make very early on when it came to their modes of communication and the battle between professional versus personal. Back when they were just friends Andy would usually elect to contact her via WhatsApp or some other messaging service rather than via text message so that she knew it was Andy getting in contact with Sharon rather than Lieutenant Flynn trying to reach Captain Raydor and therefore it was private rather than professional. That system continued now that they were dating, never really knowing if their phones may be needed as evidence one day and therefore ensuring there were no blurring of the boundaries and their professionalism was never going to be brought into question. "Now to text it to Lieutenant Provenza" she joked.

"Don't you dare!"

"As if I would." Sharon picked up her wine and put her cell phone by the sink before taking a step closer to him.

"Yeah," Andy said suspiciously before adding "I've got my eye on you Raydor" and pointing at his eyes and then directly at Sharon, making her laugh at him. "Here make yourself useful, give this back to Rusty." Andy put his sowing needle between his teeth and reached across to pass Sharon a shirt that he had on the towel rack.

Sharon took the shirt, examining his handiwork with a smile as she walked out of the bathroom and knocked on Rusty's door, leaving the bathroom door open behind her. "Rusty." She waited a moment for the door to open and then immediately presented him with his shirt. "Cinderella here" she said as she indicated towards Andy over her shoulder, "has finished with your shirt."

Rusty took the garment and looked at the button that had been reattached, giving it a quick tug for good measure. "Thanks Andy."

"No problem kid. Anything else you need sowing?"

"No thanks."

"Hair extensions perhaps?" he asked with a smug smile, unable to resist taunting Rusty about his haircut since he'd made such a fuss about it when he tried to compliment him on it earlier in the evening.

Sharon tried desperately not to laugh as she turned to shoot daggers at Andy with her eyes as he just winked at her and continued sowing. Rusty on the other hand just glared at him in silence for a moment, far from impressed and still more than a little raw where his most recent hair disaster was concerned. "And where would I get my hair extensions from exactly Lieutenant?" he asked finally, the sudden switch in under a minute from addressing him as 'Andy' to 'Lieutenant' in front of Sharon being a clear sign that he was in big trouble. "Your legs, your chest or your knuckles?"

Sharon and Andy both laughed. "Touché" Andy nodded, acknowledging that Rusty had won their most recent playful battle of words.

Rusty took a step closer towards the bathroom. "You know Mom this is one of the reasons why Mrs Rose likes you even less recently" he explained as he pointed at Andy. "She can't keep a cat in her condo but you're allowed to keep a bear in yours?"

Again Sharon laughed as their little argument continued. "You're just jealous kid" Andy shrugged.

"Jealous?"

"Yeah. Don't worry you'll be able to grow a beard one day. When you're forty maybe."

"Meanwhile tomorrow morning I'll have to call building maintenance again because you've clogged the drain from where you've shed your fur coat in the bath." Rusty paused as he finally registered the sight before him, unaccustomed to seeing his Mom's boyfriend sitting in a bath full of bubbles and sowing. "Wait, are those bubbles?" he asked as he edged that little bit closer to the door while still keeping his distance, not wanting to catch sight of anything that would require him to instantly call Dr Joe should the bubbles suddenly clear.

"Of course. What's wrong with bubbles?" Andy asked.

Sharon smiled as she nodded towards Andy. "He has a rubber duck at home" she informed Rusty.

"What?" Rusty cried as he laughed hysterically.

"What's wrong with owning a rubber duck?" Andy asked with a slight air of offence to the tone of his voice.

Rusty frowned. "How old are you again?"

"Mentally or...?" Sharon asked as she laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with a grown man owning a rubber duck kid."

Rusty took another step closer. "Look I know I shouldn't complain with some of the men my Mom used to bring home when I was growing up but without doubt a guy owning a rubber duck who enjoys sowing in the bathtub full of bubbles is by far the weirdest. And to think I could be relaxing in Palm Springs with Gus right now." Rusty waved his shirt in the air as a thank you and turned on his heels back to his bedroom, ready to brood about Gus until the sun came up. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"'Night kid."

With Rusty safely tucked back up in his bedroom Sharon went back inside the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bath and sat on the tiles around the edge with her wine so that she could talk to him like she always did when he opted to have a soak at the condo. Andy often stated that he preferred to have a bath at Sharon's condo because he said 'the lighting was better' for him to sow in but in reality he liked it precisely because she would come and sit on the edge of the tub and talk to him. Sharon on the other hand preferred the bath at Andy's house mainly because there was no chance Rusty was going to be just a few feet away when she inevitably got him to join her in there. "I did your black skirt as well" Andy said as he nodded to the garment on the floor.

Sharon put her wine between her feet so she could pick up her skirt and look at it. "Why what was wrong with it?"

"I noticed the hem had come unstitched yesterday when you walked past my desk."

Sharon smiled at him as she put her skirt on the towel rack and picked her wine back up. "You shouldn't have been looking" she scolded him.

Andy shrugged. "Force of habit." In truth he had been behaving himself a lot better at work of late and kept his eyes off her legs as much as possible during those slow periods when not much work was actually going on but he'd still sneak a peek when he thought he could do it without being caught.

Sharon laughed into her wine. "Who taught you to sow? Your Mom?"

"No it was my Grandmother actually, the Irish one."

"Were you part of her knitting circle?"

"Sometimes, when I wasn't off getting into trouble." Sharon laughed, after having spent the weekend in New York with him she now had more of an idea what he used to get up to and where it took place after seeing it all for herself. "She thought that every man should know how to sow a shirt and how to pluck a chicken."

"And she's right, about the sowing part anyway, if for no other reason than it's as sexy as hell watching you sow my skirts for me in the bath" she admitted as her eyes sparkled as they raked him up and down.

"Well then in that case it's definitely worth the effort" he replied with a wink before turning his full attention back to the shirt in his hand. "Did your Grandmothers never teach you how to sow?"

"No, that was my Mother. My Grandmothers, well specifically my Mom's Mom was more interested in teaching me about the perils of getting involved with a man."

"Is this the one that told you to faint on your wedding night?"

"The very same" Sharon nodded. "Apart from teaching me how to play poker like a professional…"

"What?" Andy asked with genuine surprise as he dropped his sowing to the side of the bath in order to give her his full attention. "That's a little secret you've never shared with me before."

"I was waiting in case you ever decided you wanted to play strip poker with me one lazy afternoon."

"I sense I wouldn't keep my pants on for very long if we did."

"Oh that's a given" she laughed, knowing full well that she had the skill set that would result in Andy being completely naked before he ever won a single hand. "Why do you think Jack was so attracted to me in the first place?"

"Your legs?"

Sharon frowned at him. "No that's just you" she confirmed before he winked at her again. "So ignoring domestic skills, aside from playing poker my Grandmother taught me solely about the evils of the opposite sex with an eight thousand piece jigsaw puzzle being much better than sex to her any day of the week."

Andy laughed. "Did she ever say these things in front of your Grandfather?"

"All the time" Sharon confirmed. "That's why he looked so depressed in every photograph."

"Why didn't she just encourage you to become a Nun?"

"Oh she did. Many, many times" she added.

Andy looked at her surprised for a moment, although with everything that she'd told him about her Grandmother he shouldn't have been. "And? Did you ever consider it?"

"With how I was brought up and with the church playing such a large role in my life it did cross my mind briefly if I'm perfectly honest" she confessed, it being the only other option she considered aside from the law when she was growing up.

Again Andy looked at her with surprise. "Really? Thank God you changed your mind" he said with a huge sigh of relief before they both laughed. "What did make you change your mind?"

"Omar Sharif in _Funny Girl_ obviously."

Andy laughed as he resumed stitching the rip in the seam of his shirt. "I should have known, Sadie, Sadie, married lady."

"Aha!" Sharon cried as she pointed at him. "I knew you weren't really asleep the other night!" The previous Friday night after having more than a few harsh words to say to one another at work they returned to the condo and watched a movie, with Andy quickly appearing to fall asleep and only ticking her off even more at the time.

"I was already in the dog house and I know better than to sleep through a Barbra Streisand movie and _really_ piss you off" he said, knowing full well that he should never come between Sharon and a strawberry or Barbra Streisand. "What did your Grandmother have against men anyway?"

"Nothing specific. Up until the age of about eighteen she slept with three quarters of the men in her village and half the male choir from the next village by all accounts" she added and making them both laugh. "Then she had some sort of religious conversion and that was the end of that. She just didn't trust your motives or intentions or your grubby little hands."

"The only person with grubby little hands in this bathroom is you Raydor."

"Then you're tempting fate sitting in the bath like that right now."

Andy laughed before continuing to sow in silence as Sharon just watched him with a large smirk on her face. He couldn't fail to notice how he was being watched and glanced at her from over the top of his glasses. "Stop ogling me Raydor" he said simply. He was forever calling her 'Raydor' when he was schooling her about something, usually taunting her or pointing out that she was checking him out, like he was her commanding officer in those moments. If she was honest Sharon had to admit that she loved it.

Sharon shrugged. "I can't help it."

"Try."

"Really?" she asked. Andy just smiled before he winked at her, letting her know (not that he really needed to) that he was only joking. "Have I kissed you yet today?"

Andy thought for a moment, exaggerating his pose. "No you haven't."

"Then I must rectify that immediately" she stated as she put her wine glass on the floor.

"Ooh. Kinky" Andy replied with another wink.

Sharon laughed. "Oh shut up" she told him before leaning forward and planting her lips to his, kissing him deeply and making him almost drop his shirt in the bath water as he cupped the back of her head. When they broke apart they just stared at each other from just a few inches away. It was a great tension reliever for the both of them, both of them worried about different things, Sharon that she had upset him with her less than enthusiastic response to the idea of moving in together and Andy that there was a chance, no matter how small, that perhaps she didn't love him the way he loved her. "Hey."

"Hey yourself" he replied before kissing her again.

Sharon took her watch off and put it on the floor next to her wine before rolling up the sleeves of her cardigan she had pulled on above of her dress after dinner. She then stood and moved to stand just behind Andy, grabbing a plastic cup from behind the taps on her way and filling it with water. "Lean forward and close your eyes."

"Rusty is only on the other side of that door you know if you're about to have your wicked way with me."

Sharon laughed. "Just shut up and close your eyes."

"Yes ma'am." Andy held his sowing and his glasses over the edge of the bath and out of the way as he closed his eyes and tipped his head forward before Sharon emptied the cup of water onto his head. Andy wiped the water from his eyes before putting his glasses back on and resuming his sowing as Sharon reached for the bottle of shampoo and squeezed some into her hand. Andy continued to mend his shirt as Sharon began to massage the shampoo into his hair. As her nails scraped across his scalp and she massaged his head he couldn't help but close his eyes from time to time and growl at the sensations she was creating, especially when her fingers caressed his ears, knowing full well what she was doing. "This is making it really hard to do this" he said in reference to his sowing as he battled to keep his eyes open.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Hell no" Andy replied as he gave up on his shirt for a moment, closing his eyes as Sharon's fingers got to work, massaging his scalp in a very sensual manner as he leant into her touch.

"You need your hair cut."

"Am I starting to look like a hippie?"

Sharon laughed. "Something like that."

Andy's eyes opened. "Did you know Patrice cuts Provenza's hair while he's asleep?"

"What? When he's asleep?"

"Apparently. And she tests out her nail polish on him while he's asleep too" he added, still in a state of shock by what Provenza had confessed to him at his bachelor party but with how the evening had ended, simply hadn't thought about it much in the aftermath.

Sharon laughed. "You're kidding me?"

"I wish I was."

"When did he tell you this?"

"During his bachelor party."

Sharon stilled her hands for a moment. "And you're only telling me now?"

Andy shrugged. "Well I had other priorities at the time. Making statements for Robbery Homicide and trying to make it up to you since you were so unbelievably mad at me being the obvious ones."

Sharon smiled. "I wasn't mad at you, I was...okay I was mad at you but with good reason." Her hands returned to massaging his scalp as she paused for a moment before closing her eyes and taking a very deep breath, summoning the courage to ask the question that was on the very tip of her tongue. "Speaking of which, how mad at me are you right now?"

Andy turned to look at her utterly perplexed. "Why on earth do you think I'm mad at you?"

"You've hardly said a word to me since we sat down to eat dinner."

"I'm tired" Andy explained as a yawn automatically left his lips. "It's been a long day."

Sharon smiled, her relief already showing on every single part of her body. "Regardless I guess we need to talk a little more or at all really since I basically just shut you down earlier. I know this evening hasn't exactly panned out like you planned."

"And when do my plans ever really succeed?" he asked making them both laugh as their minds immediately went back to the bachelor party that had gone so spectacularly wrong so quickly.

"Oh I don't know. Your plan to woo me seems to have been pretty effective."

"Well there is that" he said with a smile as he leant back and encouraged her to lean down and kiss him. "I'll admit it hasn't gone exactly as I had it pictured in my head."

"What did you have pictured?"

"Nothing completely unreasonable or that far-fetched." He glanced up at her before going into more detail. "That you'd scream 'YES!' and then immediately have me right there and then on the kitchen counter" he said with a dismissive shrug like they were a couple of teenagers and that sort of event was common place between them.

Sharon laughed at his scuppered plans that were never likely to happen not least because they discovered Rusty in the kitchen when he was in the middle of asking her. "With Rusty sitting there eating his dinner and playing with his cell phone?"

"Oh I'm sure he'd have moved eventually, like when you spray a cat with water."

Sharon laughed. "Once he'd managed to stop screaming about it. Still I think we need to talk about it. I owe you that much at least."

Andy leant back to look up at her and meet her eye. "Only when you're ready. There's no rush."

Sharon smiled as she cupped his face, preventing him from looking back down again. "God I love you" she proclaimed as she once again kissed him on the lips. As they pulled apart she moved her hands back to his scalp and continued to rub the shampoo into it.

"I love you too which is why I want to live with you but I understand that when I brought it up earlier I perhaps startled you a little..."

"Startled? You make it sound like you opened an umbrella at a fainting goat."

Andy laughed. "That's what it felt like. I thought I was going to have to pick you up from the floor and give you some smelling salts, like I'd asked you to murder a drifter with me or something."

Sharon laughed. "Well it would certainly make a change from you fainting all the time if I did it."

Andy glared at her for a moment, objecting to the notion that he tended to collapse on purpose. "Just think about it, think about how good it could be, how good we could be. That's all I ask of you."

Sharon sighed. "Why does it feel like I always ask a lot of you like taking things slowly and all my rules and conditions and demands but you never ask anything of me?"

"Other than this?"

Sharon smiled. "Yes other than this."

"Because I wouldn't have you any other way Sharon Raydor. To me you are perfect just the way you are" he confirmed as he looked up again so that she would kiss him on the lips, which she did instantly. "And so are these nails. Never cut them" he ordered as he began to really lean into them while his eyes drifted shut again.

Sharon laughed. "Dogs don't lean in this much when you rub their ears."

"Keep it up and my leg will start thrashing too." Suddenly his eyes opened and he frowned, searching for the bottle of shampoo. "I hope that's not your shampoo you're using. Don't make me smell like a woman."

"What else am I going to use?"

"Hasn't Rusty got any?"

"Do you honestly think Rusty's shampoo is going to smell any manlier than mine?"

"Good point."

"Don't worry it's plenty manly" Sharon confirmed. "It's almost butch you might say."

"What is it?"

"Mango strawberry. Your boyfriend will find you utterly irresistible tomorrow" she insisted while still opting to call Provenza his 'boyfriend' because she knew it irritated him.

"That's what worries me."

Sharon laughed as she filled the cup with water from the tap again. "Lean forward." Andy did as instructed, moving his glasses and sowing over the edge of the bath once more before she dumped the cup of water, followed by a couple more over his head to remove the shampoo. He wiped his eyes, put his glasses back on and resumed his sowing but not until he looked up and Sharon planted another kiss on his waiting lips. She then sat back down on the edge of the bath and picked up her wine again. "Are you ever going to replace this floor tile for me?" she asked as she pointed to the obvious odd one out on the floor, the one that he had cracked with his head when he fainted and then failed to replace properly.

"I already have" he protested.

"But it's upside down."

"That was your fault not mine."

Sharon scoffed. "How was it my fault?"

"You distracted me while I was working" he said with a shrug, suggesting that Sharon standing by the door and ogling him was a big enough distraction to cause him to install the tile upside down.

"Oh by all means blame me for your complete lack of man skills."

"Hey I've got man skills" Andy protested.

Sharon laughed. "Those aren't the man skills I'm talking about" she informed him before kissing him again. "Are you going to fix it for me or not?"

"Yes I'll fix it. As soon as I figure out how to get that one off the floor again."

"Smashing it with your head seemed to work pretty well last time."

"I thought I was supposed to stop collapsing" he said with a grin.

"You are" she said with a sparkle in her eye like she was giving him a warning before kissing him again. They sat in silence for a moment as she just sipped on her wine and watched him in silence. "Has anyone ever told you how unbelievably sexy you look in your glasses?"

"Really?" he asked as he took them off to look at them with a lot of surprise since he really hated them and hated wearing them.

"Very. Dripping wet, in the bath, sowing with your glasses on, it's a good look for you. A very good look" she grinned.

"Okay."

"It's a look that could get me into an awful lot of trouble for the rest of my life" she confirmed, making sure to add 'for the rest of my life' and once again reassure him that she was in their relationship for the long haul regardless of her concern about moving in together.

"Then my evil plan has finally worked" he replied with a wink. "You and the kid are the only ones to ever see me in them."

"Seriously?"

"Don't I look serious while wearing them?" he asked before looking at her from over the top of them, giving her his most serious news anchor pose.

Sharon laughed. "I'd say more sexy and smouldering than serious."

"Now you're just trying to get me into bed."

"Guilty as charged."

"I can also do coquettish." Andy took off his glasses and began to chew on the end as he looked at her and making her laugh. "Or Groucho Marx" he suggested as he put them back on and began to waggle a pretend cigar. "'One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got in my pyjamas I don't know'" he said in a near perfect Groucho Marx impression as she laughed again.

"I think I know which one my favourite is."

"Oh yeah? It's Groucho isn't it? It's always Groucho. 'I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.'"

Sharon put her wine glass on the floor and placed a hand either side of his face. "No. Just plain old Andy Flynn" she informed him before crashing her lips against his.

"Less of the old please" he begged as she laughed. "Have you finished your wine?"

She polished off her glass in a couple of quick gulps. "I have now. Why?"

"Put your glass down."

Sharon did as instructed and put her glass back down on the floor. "Why? Do you want me to scrub your back?"

"Something like that." Andy popped the needle very carefully on the edge of the bath and against the wall before suddenly throwing his shirt to the floor, grabbing Sharon by the arms and pulling her into the bath and onto his lap, covering her with bubbles and tickling everything he could lay his hands on while planting kisses all over her face.

"Andy!" she cried as the water lapped over the edge of the bath, soaking her and that was before he wrapped his arms around her and sank down into the tub a little further. Once the initial shock was over she kissed him back. "You monster" she shouted before kissing him again. "I'm soaking."

"Baths tend to have that effect on people."

"Not when you're fully clothed" she protested.

"We could change that you know" he told her with a waggle of his eyebrows. "There's plenty of room in here for two."

"And Rusty is just on the other side of that door" she pointed out before kissing him again only more forcefully this time, her relief that everything appeared to be okay between them clear for him to see. "I love you."

"Good" he said with a smile before kissing her back. "Because I love you too." It was clear that they both had a lot more to say to each other about the idea of moving in together and the issue was far from being settled but they were okay with each other and that was the most important thing. It wasn't going to be the end of them as long as they could continue to talk about anything and everything, something which they were more than capable of without much effort.

"Thank you for being so patient with me."

"I have no other option if I want to spend the rest of my life with you" he replied before kissing her again.

Thoroughly soaked to the skin Sharon tried to climb out of the tub but couldn't, her legs too far off the ground as they dangled over the edge of the bath and her backside too submerged beneath the water. "I can't get out. I need your help." Andy nodded and put his hand on her rear end and began to push her. "Are you helping me out or coping a feel?"

"Who says I can't do both at the same time?" Andy picked up the sowing needle from the side of the bath and popped it into his mouth like a toothpick to enable Sharon to put her hands down on the edge behind her and help to push herself up without stabbing her fingers. Since she was still struggling to put her feet on the ground Andy put one hand back on her backside and the other on her back to help push her out and to her feet. Sadly during the course of his action he somehow managed to let the needle slip from between his lips before it vanished into the water and beneath the bubbles below. As Sharon stood and looked at the way her dress was dripping Andy's eyes widened with horror as he realised just what he'd done. "Oh shit!"

"What?"

"I've dropped the needle. In the bath. I've dropped the needle in the bath!" he said a touch frantically and hysterically. They both looked down into the bath with Andy's legs hardly visible beneath the bubbles let the alone the bottom of the bath. He froze with his hands in the air. "I can't move."

Sharon put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. "Is this your way of getting me to put my hand in there and grope around?"

"Ordinarily yes but not right now. Right now I'm fearing for my life and..."

"Bert and Ernie?" she asked as she rolled her eyes at him. "Just stay still." Sharon crouched down beside the bath and carefully put her hand into the water, slowly starting to feel around for the needle, not wanting to stab herself with it let alone Andy.

"It's like there's a shark in here with me" he confirmed as he became too scared to almost move his mouth much less anything else as Sharon continued to blindly grope around.

"Oh calm down it's just a little needle you big baby." The moment the words left her mouth her face lifted as she found and grabbed hold of the offending object in her fingertips. "I think I've got..." Before she could finish the sentence Andy let out a blood curdling cry, a cry louder than the one he produced when he was woken by an elbow to the eye during the first night that they had slept together.

In Rusty's bedroom he lay on his bed, fretting over his argument with Gus and listening to a soundtrack of the same four sad songs on his iPod on repeat with his earbuds in but still managed to hear Andy's cry echoing around the apartment. He immediately ripped his earbuds from his ears and jumped to his feet, running to the door and pulling it open. In a flash he was frantically banging on the bathroom door, his ear pressed against it. "Mom? Andy? Is everything okay? I heard screaming."

"Oh God!" came the instant response from Andy on the other side of the door.

"Andy? Can I come in?"

Just as Rusty's hand landed on the door handle Sharon opened the door. She had a very distinctive smirk on her face as she battled not to laugh, something that was a real struggle under the circumstances. Rusty looked at her with wide eyed alarm and concern as she had to take a moment before she could speak without laughing. "Everything is fine Rusty" she said finally while desperately trying to hide her smile. "It's fine."

Rusty frowned as he noticed that she was soaking wet. "What's going on? Why are you dripping?"

"Andy pulled me into the bath with him."

"And that's why you were screaming?" he asked, still confused with his heart racing.

"That wasn't me. That was Andy."

"What?"

"I'm dying!" Andy cried very melodramatically from the tub.

Sharon put her hand up to her lips to try to stop herself from laughing, fully prepared to take a chunk out of her finger to prevent it from happening. "Andy dropped the sowing needle in the bath."

Very slowly Rusty began to realise what had happened. "Oh my God."

"And she stabbed me with it!" Andy cried again.

Sharon turned to Andy. "Accidentally! Accidentally Andy!" she confirmed before she turned back to Rusty. "Accidentally. I accidentally stabbed him with the needle when I was trying to find it."

"Stabbed him where?"

"I just want to die!" Andy bellowed.

"Where do you think?" Sharon asked as she couldn't stop herself from laughing a moment longer, shaking from head to toe.

"Oh my God!" With that and knowing that no ambulance was needed, Rusty winced and waddled back to his bedroom, imaging the pain of having a needle jabbed somewhere really rather sensitive.

After Sharon had apologised to Andy approximately forty seven times and offered to kiss it better but was only met with an exaggerated 'Stay away from me Raydor!' and a death glare they both got ready for bed and climbed in, Andy in just his t-shirt and boxers and Sharon in a pair of plain peach satin pyjamas. An hour or so later Andy's book lay on his nightstand along with his glasses, where Sharon had moved them after he had quickly fallen asleep, only managing to read a page before nodding off, more proof if she still needed it that his quietness all evening was because it was tired rather than because he was upset with her. Andy's book only lived at Sharon's condo, a testament to how many nights a week he now spent in Sharon's bed rather than his own. Andy slept peacefully on his side facing towards Sharon, snoring very quietly while she sat up in bed reading her book. Her right hand held his as he slept, stroking the back of it with her thumb as he remained completely dead to the world. The door to the bedroom was slightly ajar letting Rusty know that Sharon was awake should he need to talk to her about anything (a signal they'd had in place since long before Andy was even a factor in her life let alone before he started to stay over).

It wasn't long before there was a very light knock on the door. "Mom?" Rusty said quietly.

Sharon looked up at the door. "Rusty."

"Can I come in? Is that okay?"

"Of course."

Rusty slowly entered before his eyes immediately landed on the sleeping Andy, seeking him out before he was comfortable to really walk inside. "Is he..."

Sharon turned to look at the man fast sleep beside her and smiled. "Don't worry about Andy he's asleep" she reassured her son before she beckoned him towards her.

"Should we go in the living room?"

"No it's fine. Once he's asleep a bomb wouldn't wake him up. Look." She turns to face Andy and moves in a little closer to his ear. "Andy. Andy!" He didn't flinch as he continued to snore. Sharon picked up his hand and dropped it on the bed, it bouncing a couple of times before settling but once again it didn't elicit a response. "See" she said as she laughed before taking Andy's hand in hers once more and continuing to stroke the back of it. "Seriously you can say or do anything to him and he won't know. Andy! Andy! Andy I'm having an affair with Lieutenant Provenza" she said before they both laughed.

"Hey Andy! When you go to AA Sharon and I watch _Badge of Justice_ marathons and we love it." They both laughed again. "I don't believe this. Then how do you wake him up in the morning?"

Sharon thought for a moment, unable to tell Rusty one of the tactics she used to great effect to wake him up. "I hold his nose closed."

Rusty laughed. "Really?"

"It's the only way. If we ever have a fire alarm I'm going to need your help dragging him from bed. Either his head hitting the floor will wake him up or we'll all burn to death."

"That's comforting."

"He has about twenty alarms set on his phone to wake him up for when he's not staying here." Sharon paused for a moment as she looked from the sleeping Andy to the very tense looking Rusty. "What about Gus? Is he a heavy sleeper?"

"I guess. He talks a lot in his sleep."

Sharon laughed. "What about?"

"I'm not sure. None of it seems to make much sense" he replied shyly as he looked down at his feet for a moment.

"What's on your mind?" Rusty didn't answer, instead he just shuffled on the spot for a moment. Sensing that he clearly needed to talk Sharon put her book on the nightstand and shuffled further towards Andy and away from the edge of the bed. "Come on, sit down" she instructed and Rusty quickly obliged, sitting next to her but again avoiding her eye. "It's nearly Midnight. What's keeping you awake? Gus?"

Rusty played with the string on his pyjama bottoms for a moment before he spoke. "Did I do the wrong thing today Mom?" he asked, a genuine sorrow to his voice. Aside from the furious way Gus reacted at The Grove, the way that both his Mom and Andy looked at him as he told them what had happened made it clear that they also thought he was in the wrong and yet he just didn't understand it. He didn't understand why Gus had reacted the way he did much less understand his own cautious behaviour.

Sharon sighed as she smiled at him, reaching for his hand with hers and leaving her in bed and clutching two of her three boys by the hand. "No. I wouldn't say you've done the wrong thing. You've done what's right for you at that particular moment in time that's all."

"So then why couldn't Gus understand that? Why did he just storm off and leave me?"

"Because he felt differently" she explained as gently as possible. "Rusty you have to remember that there are two people in this relationship. It's not all about what you want. It's also about what the other person wants too." As the words left her mouth she looked at Andy sleeping next to her. It was easy for her to apply her own words to her relationship with Andy and the way she was stalling about even talking about moving in with him, once again making it all about her rather than them being completely equal partners like they should be, like she desperately wanted them to be. "You've got to respect his wishes," she added as she turned her attention back to Rusty, "and at least try to make a compromise with Gus if this is ever going to work between the two of you." Once again she looked at Andy as she realised she had to talk to him about moving in together and that conversation needed to happen sooner rather than later. "Why did you pull your hand away from him today? I've seen you hold his hand when you've left here before. What was so different about today?"

"I don't know."

"Was it because you were out in public? At The Grove?" she questioned, trying her hardest to tread carefully. "There were strangers who could see? Who might judge?" Rusty didn't respond other than to just shrug his shoulders. "These are the things you've got to work out for yourself Rusty. Then you can tell Gus how you feel so he understands. He's not a mind reader." Again as the words fell past her lips she couldn't help but think about Andy and the way she always played her cards so close to her chest and sometimes didn't tell him what was going on in her life much less her mind, like the way she kept her job offer to herself.

"I know. I just...I don't know." As Rusty battled to find the right words to express how he was feeling he suddenly became distracted by Andy and more specifically Andy's leg that began to thrash around on top of the covers like he was running. Rusty frowned at him before starting to laugh. "Wait. Is he dreaming?"

Sharon smiled at her boyfriend, this not being the first time she'd seen him kick his leg while he was asleep. "Yes he is. It's like sharing my bed with a dog sometimes. I bet he's dreaming about chasing rabbits across a field" she suggested as she let go of his hand for a moment and ran her hand through his hair as he slept.

"More like chasing 'dirt bags' across a parking lot."

Sharon laughed as she took hold of Andy's hand again. "Well that too. And he has the nerve to complain that I thrash around and punch him in my sleep."

"Well you did give him a black eye Mom."

Sharon scowled at Rusty for a moment. "We weren't talking about my relationship, we were talking about yours" she told him like Darth Raydor before they both laughed.

Pretty soon though Rusty's face dropped, the distraction over and his worry about Gus quickly returning. "I've never seen Gus so angry with me as he was today. He was like so furious. He wouldn't even look at me."

"He'll calm down."

"I don't know Mom you didn't see him."

"Rusty please don't worry too much about this" Sharon pleaded. "People argue. It's what happens with couples. It's unavoidable."

"You and Andy don't argue" Rusty pointed out.

Sharon looked at him with complete surprise and laughed. "What are you talking about? Of course we do. We fight all the time."

Rusty looked at her completely baffled. "What?" he asked. In the eleven months that they had been together Rusty had never witnessed a crossed word between them much less a full blown argument. The only time they'd come close was in a funny playful way, very much in the same way he argued with Andy with it all being fun and games. To discover that they actually fought and it seemed fought quite often was a complete surprise to him.

"We fight like cat and dog sometimes."

"Why?"

"Well you've seen for yourself just how unbelievably irritating he can be at times," Sharon joked as she looked at him snoring away quietly once more, "and that's on a good day."

"When he think he's funny."

"Exactly."

"But you were his friend for a couple of years first before you started dating," Rusty pointed out, "surely you knew what you were letting yourself in for when you agreed to a go out on a proper date with him."

Sharon sighed as if for dramatic effect. "I wrongly assumed I could get him to change and we didn't spend anywhere near as much time together as we do now" she said before they both laughed.

"Still I've never seen you fight, ever. I wouldn't even know what that looks like you guys are always so nauseating around each other" Rusty added with a shudder. In truth Rusty had more than become accustomed to public displays of affection around him and it didn't bother him in the slightest but he was still only twenty and she was his Mom so that meant it shouldn't be encouraged.

Sharon laughed. "Yes you have, lots of times, you just didn't know it was happening. Take last Friday night for example."

"Last Friday?" Rusty asked confused as he tried to recall any crossed words between them. "Last Friday you were watching _Funny Girl_ together on the couch all night. You had your head in his lap the entire time as he held your hand and napped."

"Well as it turns out he wasn't actually asleep" she explained since Andy had revealed all to her while he sat in the bathtub earlier.

"Which is even worse" he grimaced. "I remember because I was trying to work at the table and you were like beyond…" Rusty couldn't finish his sentence, opting to roll his eyes at her instead.

Sharon laughed. "Yes but we weren't talking to one another."

"What?"

Sharon sighed, not really wanting to think about that rather tetchy Friday but realising by elaborating it would benefit her son. "We'd had words at work over something and nothing to do with how we handled things with our suspect which we were then foolish enough to bring home with us and let fester and we hadn't spoken to each other in hours."

Over the years Sharon liked to go into an Interview Room with Andy because she felt that they worked well together as they spoke to their suspect. Over the last eleven months that feeling had only increased with them seemingly being able to read each other without even speaking by that stage, sometimes even asking the same question at the same time. The issue on the previous Friday arose between them when their suspect appeared to lunge at Sharon during his interview. In reality he was actually trying to prove a point and showing them that he was nowhere near nimble enough to do what they were accusing him of and he was right but as he tried to lunge forward Andy didn't know that. Instinct immediately took over and Andy was up and pinning the guy to the wall by his neck before Sharon had chance to get out of her chair. The consequences were that she was angry with him on two fronts, firstly because he used excessive force with a suspect and secondly because it was clear that in that moment he wasn't reacting as her Lieutenant, he was reacting as her boyfriend. The Interview Room was soon filled with the rest of the squad as everything calmed down but things were anything but calm between Sharon and Andy. With their case at a standstill and with five minutes to spare Sharon summoned him into her office with the simple words 'Lieutenant. My office please.' Andy walked in there with his shoulders slumped, dragging his feet as everyone else anticipated a screaming match about to take place and were preparing to leave the Murder Room for the sanctuary of the Break Room at any moment to give them some privacy but much to their surprise nothing really happened. He wanted to protest, wanted to say that anyone else in his position would have done the exact same thing but that didn't matter. Andy knew he was in the wrong and he had reacted with far too much force _because_ Sharon was his girlfriend and therefore he didn't have a leg to stand on. Likewise he was at work and he was speaking to his Captain in her office so he knew he had to stand there and take it whether he liked it or not. Sharon was calm throughout their meeting and simply told him that his actions were unacceptable and she could more than take care of herself so would not be impressed if he did it again. Andy took it all on the chin and apologised in both capacities and that seemed to be it but the tension continued between them right through dinner after Andy had followed Sharon back to the condo as planned that morning but they were still mad at each other. Sharon was mad that Andy had brought their personal lives into work to the extent where he came _very_ close to punching a suspect in custody and Andy was mad because Sharon refused to even hear his point of view on the subject. Then of course they were both mad at themselves that they allowed an issue from work to be brought home with them, something they had promised themselves in the very beginning that they would never do.

"But you were all cuddled up on him" Rusty again pointed out, not seeing how that could be considered fighting when they sat like that and in comparison Gus had stormed off and refused to answer any of his text messages.

"Just because I'm ignoring him doesn't mean that he's not comfortable to lie on while I watch Fanny Brice sail across the stage on roller-skates" she laughed. "And we'd made up by the end of the movie after you went to bed."

Rusty grimaced, looking utterly disgusted. "I don't want to know how you did that thank you very much."

"I wasn't going to tell you" Sharon replied as they both laughed. Although they were both angry with each other and themselves in truth they knew from past experiences in failed relationships that sometimes distance between them during an argument was a bad idea and only compounded the problem so they cuddled up together as they always did in front of a movie while they quietly seethed. Making up with each other was all perfectly PG rated and as the movie came to a close (and long before they reached the rendition of _My Man_ ) Sharon had started to occasionally push her lips against his hand. Neither liked being mad at the other and with everything said that needed to be said all that was left was for them both to say 'Sorry' and put it behind them which they quickly did as the movie ended so that they didn't go to sleep with it lingering in the air. "The difference is Rusty that when Andy and I argue about something we don't storm off like Gus did."

"What does that mean?" Rusty asked with a hint of annoyance.

"It's not meant as a criticism Rusty, it's just something you learn with time and something that comes with experience. Between us we have two failed marriages and more than a few failed relationships. I don't know how many Sleeping Beauty has actually had in his eventful former life and I can't exactly ask him without him breaking out into a cold sweat but all that combined experience has made us realise that you don't leave after an argument and you certainly don't go to bed angry. You stay, no matter how angry you are and you sort it out before it has chance to get any worse."

Again Rusty frowned, unable to match Sharon's words with the couple he saw before him since he'd never seen them argue in the same way that his real Mom used to argue with whatever boyfriend she happened to have at the time. "But when has this happened between you two?"

"Lots of time. We've sat here many nights in complete silence, not speaking to each other, not even looking at each other." In a way it was very much like the evening they had just had together she thought except there hadn't really been an argument. "Sometimes we bring work home which is never a good idea especially in our line of work and something we work on daily. Sometimes we take a disagreement from home to work. Regardless we stay and we work it out. His little sad face and big brown eyes soon have me caving in and taking his hand and making up before long."

"But what do I do?"

"First up is you don't worry about it." She smiled at him as she battled to make him feel like there was nothing to be too concerned about at that particular moment in time. "You will sort this out, of that I am sure. Get a good night's sleep, let Gus cool off a little and calm down overnight and call him in the morning. He will answer and you will work it all out. I promise."

"I hope you're right" Rusty said quietly while feeling less than optimistic.

"Oh I know I am."

"Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome."

With that Sharon thought Rusty was going to leave but he didn't move a muscle, instead looking around him awkwardly which was a sure fire sign that he had something else he desperately wanted to discuss with her. She waited, not wanting to push him until he was ready. "Before I go I want to apologise for earlier" he finally said after a deep breath.

"Apologise for what?" she asked confused.

"For ruining your evening when you clearly had plans to discuss things and I..."

"Woah! Hold it there Mister" Sharon said as she cut him off like she was trying to slow and calm a very volatile horse who was heading straight for the highway. "Let's clear one thing up right away, you didn't ruin anything tonight. You are _never_ in the way when Andy is here and you are _never_ a nuisance in your own home. Never!" she stated emphatically. "I need you to know that Rusty." Rusty looked at the ground, deliberately avoiding her eye. "Rusty?" He looked up at her. "You hear me?"

Rusty nodded. "I hear you."

"Good because this is _your_ home, it always will be _your_ home and I never want you to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome here just because Andy happens to be here."

"If you want me to stop feeling uncomfortable around here then maybe you can make Andy wear pyjamas once in a while" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "I'll try my best but I don't like your odds." They both laughed as they looked at his feet and legs already hanging out from underneath the covers because he was too hot. "Secondly, about what you heard earlier...look I don't know what's going to happen between Andy and I in the future and this whole idea of moving in together. Honestly Rusty that was the first time we'd discussed it."

"But you are moving in together?" he asked, thinking it seemed pretty clear cut from what he overheard as they came home completely unaware that he was sitting in the darkened kitchen, hearing it all.

"I don't know" Sharon said honestly, needing to have many conversations with Andy about it before she was willing to even contemplate committing one way or another. "Like I said that was the first time he'd brought the subject up and if I'm honest he caught me a little off guard and unprepared for that kind of discussion or decision."

Rusty smiled as he stretched his arms out. "The buffer strikes again."

"Oh yes and thank you so much for that" she said gratefully before she laughed.

"But you want to though right? That is the next step. You want to move in together?"

Sharon struggled for the words for a moment, her mouth opening but nothing coming out other than a mixture of vowel sounds. "Wanting something and being ready for it to happen are two completely different things entirely" she said finally. Rusty nodded in response, it being the same thing he had experienced earlier in the day when Gus took his hand in public for the first time. Sharon again looked at Andy sleeping beside her as she continued to stroke the back of his hand with her thumb. "The main point is Andy would like to move house. He would like to move to Silver Lake so he's closer to work, closer to Nicole and the boys and closer to me, well closer to us. He would also like me or rather us to move with him."

"Us?"

"Of course us. We're a package deal Rusty" Sharon said, desperately needing to reassure him that he would be coming with them if they moved and he wouldn't one day come home to an empty apartment and his packed bags waiting for him outside again. In truth she obviously hadn't discussed it with Andy yet but she assumed he knew that any move would have to include Rusty. He had to know that although his remark about some time to 'alert her children' was cause for concern on that front, like this move was going to be the beginning of the parting of the waves as far as Sharon and Rusty were concerned when in actual fact neither of them were yet ready to be parted from one another.

"But…"

"But we haven't discussed it past that stage yet" Sharon cut in quickly. "No decisions have been made and nor will they until we've sat down and talked it through but at the very least I can say that Andy will be selling his house and moving closer to us. It may be more than that at some point down the road, only time will tell but all that will only come after we've had chance to sit down and discuss it properly."

"Well maybe if I hadn't..."

"No. It has nothing to do with you being here tonight. I would have wanted some time to think it all through regardless" she told him with her shoulders now visibly more relaxed than they were before her brief discussion about it in the bathroom with Andy, with him being seemingly okay to wait a little while as she thought about it, she was much more at ease about the situation.

"I just can't help but think that I'm in the way some times. Like it's a permanent case of Rusty-interruptus around here." Sharon immediately laughed at how ridiculous Rusty was being but he had felt that way a lot after they started dating properly despite the fact that Andy had done nothing but bend over backwards to accommodate him, playing chess with him every chance he got for example. The trouble was no matter what Sharon said or what Andy did it had all happened to him before and as such separating his former life with his Mother and his current life with Sharon was proving to be a lot more difficult than he initially thought and he still worried that they would have more of a life together if he wasn't there, getting in the way.

"Rusty what do you think was going to happen tonight if you had gone to Palm Springs?"

"Too be honest I don't want to think about it. I much prefer to think of Andy as a eunuch" he replied with another grimace, choosing to believe that Andy stayed over at night because they liked to read case notes to each other and nothing more.

Sharon laughed. "Oh believe me if he mentions his super sperm one more time that may very well happen."

"WHAT?!" Rusty cried as he recoiled in horror, the noise and movement of the bed as he flinched not disturbing Andy's slumber in the slightest.

Sharon laughed again. "Nothing, sorry Rusty." She grasped his hand tightly. "Now listen to me, had you not been here this evening we would have eaten dinner like we did, sat on the couch like we did, Andy would have gone and sown in the bath for a while like he did and then we'd have gone to bed and he'd have fallen straight asleep while reading his book, like he did. You are _not_ in the way and you _never_ will be. You being here is not stopping me from...I don't know...swinging from the chandeliers or whatever…"

"Oh God" Rusty cried before they both laughed.

"You being here in fact has taken some of the pressure off my shoulders."

"Pressure?"

"Well he has rather sprung it on me" Sharon explained with a wry smile.

"Not for the first time."

"No. Not for the first time." Andy was always springing things on her without any warning. If it wasn't the ballet with his family it was their first proper date and now the idea of moving in together. It was one surprise after another which led her to wonder what other surprises he may have hidden up his sleeve for her in the future. "Would you be okay with it though?"

"Okay with what?"

"Okay with down the line, after we've had chance to discuss it more and I've got used to the idea of Andy maybe moving in here with us someday soon?"

Rusty shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah. Sure."

"Really?"

"I mean he's like here all the time anyway so what difference would it really make?" he said bluntly, sometimes thinking that Andy was there more often that he was while also wanting to tell Sharon what she wanted to hear. It would be an adjustment to him that was clear and he had no idea how he'd react until it actually happened like how he reacted when they first started dating. The previous Christmas as he informed Nicole all about what was happening he had no problems with them dating, but seven months later when it was finally happening for real, he felt very differently. "But this isn't about me" he said quickly as he deflected the conversation away from himself. "You should really be asking yourself these questions and stuff like how are you going to feel about giving up half your closet space for Andy's clothes? Would you need some sort of therapy from Dr Joe before you get that far? Before you make that earth shattering sacrifice? Where are you going to put your shoes when he moves his vast suspender collection into your bedroom?"

"Very funny" Sharon replied, extremely unimpressed.

"Because I don't see a lot of room for him in here."

"Oh well I'd obviously make him live out of garbage bags for the first five years in case he annoys us so it's much easier to throw him out and make him live in his car" she responded flippantly before they both laughed about it. "It's something definitely worth thinking about though, it's worth thinking about" she added, almost echoing Rusty's words exactly when she initially brought up the idea of adopting him. Sharon looked at Andy and realised that Rusty was right, he virtually lived with them already. Aside from when he went to an AA meeting or she wanted some alone time to spend with Rusty he was always there. She'd asked Rusty earlier in the evening what was worse, letting Gus hold his hand in public or how he felt to be sitting alone after Gus stormed off. She was now asking herself the same question. What was worse? Taking that huge step into the unknown and moving in with Andy and starting their lives together or turning him down and potentially ruining their relationship and losing him altogether? Andy was a patient man, a very patient man but he surely had his limits and wouldn't wait for her forever. There was no contest but she still desperately needed the time to think about every single aspect of it first, like always, analysing her options, before finally saying yes and picking the option that was best for her and her family.

They both look at Andy still sleeping soundly. "I can't believe he's still asleep" Rusty said with disbelief.

"I told you. When he really goes into a deep sleep you can do pretty much anything to him and he won't wake up" she informed him with the experience clear in her voice, though Rusty hadn't found it too hard when Andy was only napping in the living room and he was checking to make sure he wasn't dead before he had his surgery. Aside from the various methods Sharon had tried to unsuccessfully wake him up in the morning over the previous few months, she'd also messed with him a lot in his sleep just because she was bored and was also fascinated to see what she could get away with without disturbing him.

Rusty smiled. "That's something to keep in mind the next time he's napping on the couch."

"And here's something for you to keep in mind, if you make him pee on that couch you'll be the one cleaning it up young man" she warned with a smile.

"The thought never crossed my mind" Rusty maintained innocently.

"I'm sure. Here, pass me that pen" Sharon said as she pointed towards it on the nightstand.

Rusty handed her the pen. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to draw him another moustache."

"Another?" Rusty laughed.

"He's usually washed it off before you see him in the morning." She had been doing it for a couple of months now, when Andy wouldn't wake up in the morning she would get bored and fed up and inevitably give him a little extra facial hair just for her own amusement and to see his reaction when he eventually saw it in the mirror. "What shall we go for? Hitler or Pencil?" she asked as she moved towards his face with the pen.

"Hitler, definitely."

Sharon removed the pen cap and moved in very close to Andy's face, ready to carefully and gently give him a little moustache. "Draw one more moustache on my face Raydor and it'll be the last thing you ever do" Andy said suddenly without opening his eyes and making both Sharon and Rusty jump out of their skins.

"Andy! You scared me" Sharon cried as she clutched her chest and returned the pen to the nightstand beside her.

Andy opened his eyes to reveal a look of surprise. "I scared you? Try waking up and feeling a pen come towards your face." He sat up slightly and adjusted his pillow before returning to his side and getting comfortable again, closing his eyes. "Don't worry kid, Gus will call you as soon as he's had some time to calm down. Just give him some space" he said sleepily, knowing exactly why Rusty was in Sharon's bedroom at that time of the night.

"I was once told to never take relationship advice from you" Rusty informed him with a grin.

Andy frowned. "Who said that?"

"Lieutenant Provenza."

Andy opened his eyes but didn't sit up. "Are you seriously going to believe that guy?"

"Quite frankly I don't believe either one of you and that was before Buzz warned me not to."

"Buzz?" Andy asked with disbelief. "You're going to believe Buzz?"

"Over you and Lieutenant Provenza? Yes, every day of the week."

"Buzz? Answer me this, look at Buzz and then look at me and tell me which one of us is in a healthy, happy and stable long term relationship?" he asked. Sharon smiled at him, running her thumb across the back of his hand as she continued to clutch it in hers.

Rusty smiled at Sharon and shook his head. "That would be you Lieutenant obviously and it only took you two years of lying to your entire family and wearing Mom down until she finally gave in to achieve it." Sharon laughed with Rusty while Andy looked extremely put out by the completely accurate account of his relationship thus far. "How's your injury?"

"Throbbing and I don't want to think about it" Andy said as he grimaced and closed his eyes. "Thankfully Sharon..."

"STOP!" Rusty cried as he took to his feet. "Do not say anymore!"

Andy rolled his eyes at him. "I was going to say she put an ice pack on it. Get your mind out of the gutter kid." Sharon laughed before she pulled the covers off the bed to reveal that Andy had indeed been asleep that whole time with an ice pack pressed against his crotch.

"Oh my God" Rusty laughed.

"I know. Men! You're such babies." Immediately sensing that Andy was about to respond in some sarcastic way she got in first and pointed a finger in his face. "Do not even think about mentioning child birth if you know what's good for you."

"I wasn't going to" Andy protested innocently and fooling no one.

"Try having a billion needles stabbed in your unmentionables as they stretch beyond what you think is physically possible and then come back to me with your 'man pain'" Sharon replied a little too graphically for Rusty's liking as he cringed at the thought.

Andy looked down at his ice pack, still exaggerating the extent of the damage for the sake of Sharon's sympathy and anything he might be able to get out of that particular guilt trip. "It's times like this when I wish I could take some serious painkillers."

"It's times like this I wish I could smother you with a pillow in your sleep and get away with it" Sharon responded with a roll of her eyes.

Rusty laughed. "Right well I'll get out of your hair."

"Don't leave on my account kid."

"No I should be going to bed anyway" Rusty maintained as he edged towards the door. "Door open or closed?"

"You can close it now" she confirmed as she took off her glasses and put them on the nightstand on top of her book before sliding down the bed.

"Okay. Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight kid."

"Goodnight Rusty." As Rusty closed the door behind him and went back to his bedroom, Sharon lay down on her side to face Andy, leaving the bedside lamp on in a clear signal to him that she was clearly in the mood to talk now that he had woken from his nap. "Do you really think Gus just needs some time to cool off?"

"Of course. Look it's their first fight. It was bound to happen sooner than later" Andy stated with a fair amount of confidence and experience showing. "They'll get over it in a day or two once Gus has had chance to calm down."

"I guess so."

"I know so" he replied, displaying the same confidence that Sharon had shown Rusty on the matter moments earlier. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it a couple of times. "Look they're two completely different kinds of people. Rusty has abandonment issues and tends to push people away before they have chance to leave and Gus left his family out of choice which didn't turn out too well and now hangs on to people too tightly because he's scared to lose them. These sort of things are bound to happen."

Sharon looked at him with complete surprise. "That's very profound and insightful of you if you don't mind me saying."

Andy shrugged. "Patrice and I watched a lot of _Dr Phil_ reruns when I was staying here during my recovery and you were at work."

" _Dr Phil_? Really?"

"Well it was either _Dr Phil_ , _Badge of Justice_ or just throwing myself off the balcony and ending it all" he replied grumpily.

Sharon laughed. "Well we wouldn't want that now would we?" she said kindly before reaching across and kissing him on the lips. "I still think they met each other too soon. Gus was still grieving over Mariana's death and he'd just moved cities and lives and they're just so different as people."

Andy smiled. "Yeah they are but they do say opposites attract you know."

"Yes they most certainly do" she confirmed with another kiss to his lips.

"Look on the bright side, pretty soon they're going to get to the good part of fighting and learn the delights of making up with each other" he suggested as he winked.

She smiled. "Oh really?"

"Oh yeah. The making up is without doubt the best part" he said as he kissed her back.

"Is this why you annoy me on such a regular basis? So you get to enjoy making up with me?"

He grinned. "Possibly. I do like to see that fire behind your eyes when you're really really mad at me. It's the sexiest thing you could ever wish to see" he added before kissing her once again.

"Well that may well be but it has come to an end now that I know your deep dark secret."

"Oh no! Am I in trouble?" he cried.

"Yes, you are."

"I'm sorry," he replied sincerely, "now let's make up." He joined their lips together again in a long slow kiss as he tried to pull her closer to him.

She quickly put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from pulling her towards him and laughed. "I'm not crossing this divide until that ice pack is gone from this bed."

He looked down at it. "It's like having your feet pressed against me."

"If you want I can press them against you right now" she offered as she acted like she was about to kick him in the crotch.

Andy flinched, catching her foot before it could come too close to him. "No that's fine. You can stay over on your own side of the bed for now."

"I like having a side of the bed again."

"Me too."

"Although I had rather enjoyed all the years I got to lie in the middle of the mattress and just starfish my way through the night without an intruder in here."

"You know I had noticed, I have the bruises to prove it."

"No you don't" she said with an eye roll. "I haven't hit you in months."

"You hit me yesterday."

"That was different" Sharon insisted. "If you sneak up on me in the Break Room like that when I'm making a cup of tea you're going to get a reaction." It had all been perfectly innocent enough. She was waiting for the squad to come back to PAB after searching a suspect's house when she went to make herself a cup of tea. When they returned Andy craved coffee and not knowing that Sharon was in there, headed straight for the Break Room. As he entered he found her alone with her back to the door and humming away merrily to herself, completely unaware that she was no longer by herself. The whole thing was just too tempting for him and he couldn't help but sneak up behind her, grab her by the waist and shout 'Boo!' down her ear at the top of his lungs. As expected Sharon went absolutely crazy and after jumping almost a foot in the air out of fright she immediately walloped him across the arm with her hand. He found the whole thing hysterical and instantly told the others what had happened but Sharon was less than impressed, or at least that's the impression she gave while smiling and laughing about it when she returned to her desk. "And that's not what I meant. I meant I haven't hit you in my sleep for months" she said before pausing and asking "Have I?"

"No, you haven't" Andy lied.

"Are you telling the truth?"

"I am this time yes" he lied again, knowing she felt really bad when she discovered she'd been hitting him in her sleep so opted to keep it to himself as much as possible unless an obvious bruise made the innocent deception impossible. "Your side, my side, I prefer it much more when we meet in the middle." He shuffled towards her and lay his hand on her back, stroking it up and down.

"Me too." Sharon joined him in the middle of the bed, trying her hardest to ignore the ice pack and the coldness radiating from it and moved her hand to his hip, kissing him again. "Rusty doesn't think we fight."

"You're kidding right? We fight all the time and you're always ignoring me."

"I know that's what I told him and for the record I don't ignore you, I give you the silent treatment."

"What's the difference?" Andy questioned.

"Ignoring you is like pretending you're not in the room and giving you the silent treatment is pretending you're not in the room while giving you daggers" she clarified with a smile.

Andy laughed. "Ah! I see now."

"It's like he's never noticed how annoying you can be at times or," she grabbed his chin and squished his face into a sad expression, "that sad little pout you do when we're fighting."

"Pout? I don't pout" he protested.

"You're kidding? Oh please Andy if you pouted any more I could wet your lips and stick you to the nearest window" she joked.

"That's because I don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like fighting with you either but I do like the making up part" she confirmed as their lips met again but in a much longer, almost searing kiss, her feeling like she still needed to make up for her reaction earlier in the evening.

"Me too. The next time we have a falling out we'll need to find a way to let Rusty know what's going on."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. A subtle way so he knows that we do fight and also so he knows to stay out of the way of your death stares. We wouldn't want him getting caught in the cross hairs and freezing to death" he added before he laughed to himself.

Sharon just glared at him for a moment, not wanting to encourage him. "I could just throw a shoe at your head. How would that do? Is that obvious enough?"

He laughed. "I think that'll put your point across just fine and dandy."

Sharon started to bite on her lip for a moment making it easy for him to sense what was coming. It didn't take a genius to work out that he'd been awake a lot longer than Sharon's decision to draw on his face again and that he'd potentially heard exactly what she had to say to Rusty about the idea of moving in together. "How long have you been awake?" she asked finally.

"Long enough."

She paused for a moment before plucking up the courage to ask "What did you hear?"

He smiled at her, running his hand down the side of her worried looking face and kissed her on the lips before letting out a contented sigh. "Okay I fully admit that I've not handled this whole 'moving in together' thing as well as I could have. I should have..."

"Told your whole family that we were already living together and talking about getting married and neglect to tell me about your small white lie?" she suggested with a very smug smile while he just frowned at her.

"Okay. Fair enough. Lay it on me. I deserve it."

"I'm only kidding" she said as she laughed. "I've long since forgiven you for that."

"Really?"

"Mostly but sometimes I do feel compelled to punch you in your sleep."

"Ah-ha!" he cried. "I knew it was no accident."

She paused again as she continued to bite down on her lip. "Do you really think that we've come to a complete stop?" she asked timidly, almost frightened of his answer.

"Well kinda" he replied honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. Sharon went to respond immediately but he was quick to stop her. "Listen to me, I love you Sharon and I love this life that we've started to share together but we could have more than this and I admit it that I do want more. I want us to live together, live together properly and not for me just to stay over all the time and I know that I'm greedy but…"

"You're not greedy. It's natural."

"Exactly. This is the next logical step in our relationship right? Neither of us are getting any younger so what are we waiting for?" Sharon sighed as she ran her hand down his face, her anxiousness obvious, wanting it but just not feeling ready or wanting to rush into it. "Look Sharon the last thing I wanted when I mentioned moving in together was to worry you."

"You haven't it's just..."

"Listen to me." He kissed her a couple of times on the lips as a valiant attempt try to reassure her. "I have always accepted the pace that you wanted to go at in this relationship and that hasn't changed. But there is nothing better on this earth than waking up in the morning with a mouthful of your hair and nearly choking to death" he joked and making her laugh, relaxing her shoulders. "There is no better way to wake up…well maybe one other way."

"Oh yeah?"

"Like how you woke me that first morning in New York. Better than an alarm call" he said as a smile made his lips curl, that particular memory of being woken up amongst his favourite of all the memories they had made in New York.

"I'm sure" she replied with a smile, acknowledging his thinly hidden request for a repeat performance the next time he didn't wake up when their alarm went off.

"Seriously though waking up next to you is all I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and the sooner we start the rest of our lives together the better but if that needs to be put on hold for a while so you get used to the idea then so be it, I'll wait."

Sharon sighed, hating that she was constantly dictating terms to him. "But I don't want you to put your life on hold just for me."

"I'm not. Look I want to move house. That's settled" he stated with no wriggle room in this tone whatsoever. "I want to take forty minutes off my commute every day. I want to move closer to Nicole and my Step-Grandkids. And more importantly I want to be closer to you. I won't deny that in a dream world I'd sell my house and you'd sell your condo and we'd buy a place together but for now I'll settle for renting somewhere nearby and to be closer to you in the short term while you think it over and hopefully one day soon you'll decide you'd like to come with me. But right now I'm not asking you to do anything, although your opinion on any place I look at would be greatly appreciated." He took a deep breath before continuing. "All I'm saying is, I'm moving, if one day you'd like to join me in this new adventure I'd be the luckiest guy on the face of the earth."

She cradled his face. "I don't deserve you."

"That's right, you don't, you deserve someone much better."

She smiled. "Yes but I'm getting older so I decided to settle" she joked and making them both laugh. She kissed him, her lips lingering against his for a moment. "You've just taken me by surprise that's all" she told him as she tried to justify her initial reaction.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to..."

"Don't apologise Andy. This is me, not you. You've done nothing wrong. We _will_ discuss this properly I promise you" she stated as she emphasised the word 'will.' "We will sit down and we will talk about our options but just give me some time to think about it first okay?"

"Okay. That's all I ask."

She smiled. "It is certainly an intriguing idea."

"There you go, you're coming around to it already."

Sharon looked away from him for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For the way I initially reacted."

"I've told you, don't worry about it" he repeated as he kissed her forehead.

"I thought you'd fallen out with me. You didn't say a word the entire time we sat on the couch" she told him, a certain level of distress in her voice.

"I told you I was tired" he replied. In truth he had been a little bit hurt by Sharon's less than positive reaction but he didn't expect anything else if he was brutally honest and knew he'd have to give her time before she came around to the idea and agreed to it but when it came to her he was forever an optimistic.

"I thought you were giving me the silent treatment."

"I've never given you the silent treatment and I'm not about to start now."

"Maybe next time you could let me know" she suggested.

"What? First we need to tell Rusty when we're fighting and now if I give you the silent treatment I need to tell you first that I'm giving you the silent treatment?" he laughed.

Sharon nodded. "If you could please."

"That seems a little counterproductive to me."

"Well you could just never give me the silent treatment then."

"I never do" he said again. "That's your department. I just stay quiet, almost mute, until you've calmed down and stopped looking like you want to stab me and let my sad eyes do all the work." As if to prove his point he immediately gave her his sad eye look, making him look like Puss in Boots from _Shrek_ and melting her heart. Sharon couldn't help but kiss him, making him laugh as they pulled apart. "I'm sorry. I wasn't ignoring you, I swear. I was just tired."

"Clearly." She ran her hand through his hair which was now a lot flatter on the one side from his nap. "And you say I fall asleep quickly."

"You do."

"Not as fast as that."

"No, only mid-sentence." Andy looked around him for a moment, searching for his book and glasses that were right in front of him when he decided to close his eyes for 'just a moment.' "Where's my book?"

"It's on the nightstand along with your glasses."

"I was enjoying that."

"No you weren't" she laughed. "You read about half a page in between complaining about your injury and waggling an imaginary cigar at me like Groucho Marx and then you fell asleep almost immediately afterwards."

He shrugged. "Well what I read of it was good."

"You've been reading that same book since we started dating. Are you trying to memorise it?"

"Not all of us can read as quickly as you can Raydor" Andy stated as he pretended to be offended.

"You might find you read a lot quicker if you stop waggling your glasses and other things at me to try and distract me from my book" she laughed.

"I only do it because I'm trying to get your attention."

She smiled at him. "Yes, I know" she replied before meeting his waiting lips. "It works."

"'This here's the Sanity Clause'" Andy said in a very animated Groucho impression.

"'You can't get me, there is sanity clause'" Sharon immediately shot back.

As he heard the words fall from her lips in a fairly dreadful Italian accent (not unlike Chico's in that regard to be honest) Andy's mouth dropped open with shock and more than a touch of arousal thrown into the mix for good measure. "Wow! How do you not love a woman who can quote the Marx Brothers?" he said as he attempted to pull her closer to him.

"Well it helps that I work with two of them on a daily basis" she joked. She sighed as her hand moved back to the side of his face and slowly traced it up and down with her finger tips, tracing every line that appeared on there, the road travelled that brought him to her. "You really don't mind if I just think about it for a few days?"

"Of course I don't, I wouldn't expect anything else. Take your time. Talk to the kids about it" he suggested.

"I hadn't thought about that. I wonder what Ricky and Emily would think of it all."

"I think they'd be pleased and happy for you" he offered, more hopeful than certain about it. "After all those years with and without their Dad I hope they'd be glad you'd found a guy who wanted to move in with you and take care of you for the rest of your life" he said with a smile before he kissed her.

"I'm glad about that even if they aren't."

He smiled. "Me too."

Sharon shuffled about for a moment as she attempted to get more comfortable, only then allowing her hand to return back to his cheek, her fingertips continuing to dance across it. "I'm sorry I stabbed you."

"So you admit it now?"

"I never denied that I nicked you with the very end of the needle..."

"Nicked? Nicked? You stabbed me!" he cried in a pitch that usually only dogs could hear. "There was blood in the water. If that had happened in the ocean there would have been enough of it to attract sharks."

Sharon laughed as she rolled her eyes. "And to think some people say men tend to be overly melodramatic when it comes to crotch injuries and the like."

"You have no idea" Andy spat back as he closed his eyes tight.

"Explain it to me then. Make me, a woman understand how bad it feels to get an injury down there."

"It's God's cruel joke."

"What creating men?" she asked dryly.

"No, taking the most sensitive part of a man and attaching to the outside of his body so it just dangles between his legs, ready to be kicked or punched or stabbed in the bathtub with a needle without so much as a warning" he ranted. "I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes, all of it, even when Susie Fratelli caught me making out with her sister in the sixth grade."

Sharon laughed. "In the sixth grade? Andy have you ever been able to keep your hands off members of the opposite sex?"

Andy thought for a moment before raising his right hand into the air. "I had this one in plaster once."

Sharon laughed, shaking her head at him. "So I've apologised for it. What else do you want me to do? Do you want me to kiss it better? Is that what you're looking for?" she asked as she moved her hand from his face and to the covers to pull them back and gain access to his 'wound.'

Andy flinched, immediately protecting his injury. "Not when you're in this mood. You're just as likely to bite it."

She laughed. "What mood?"

"You've been a bit feisty all evening." He smiled. "I like it."

"I bet you do. Let me have a look" she said, reaching towards his ice pack again.

"No" he stated categorically.

"Come on."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because of my ice pack."

"You can move the ice pack" she explained slowly like she was talking to a child.

"That's not the point." He paused for a moment and then admitted a little quietly "I'm afraid there's nothing left to see."

"It's better?"

Andy shook his head, wishing she'd take his meaning without him having to elaborate further. "No I mean because it's so cold certain parts of my anatomy have shrivelled up and jumped back up into my body. It's like being married to Sandra all over again."

"What?" she asked utterly confused.

"How to put this?" He thought for a second and then regretfully admitted "At the moment I could re-enact that Buffalo Bill scene from _The Silence of the Lambs_ without much effort…or tucking." It took her a moment but it suddenly dawned on Sharon what he was talking about but when the penny dropped her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she laughed hysterically. "It's not funny!"

"Oh but it is" she maintained while continuing to shake violently with laughter. When she had finally managed to compose herself she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and then suggested "Then get rid of the ice pack."

"Not until it stops throbbing."

"It might be throbbing because you've got ice on it and anyway for the first time ever since you joined me in this bed I'm actually cold. It can only be that ice pack."

"You're cold?" he asked with disbelief, it being the one thing Sharon had never complained about since she started sharing a bed with him, his body radiating more heat than about half a dozen electric blankets.

"Yes. For once your freakishly hot body is no match for that ice pack. My feet are cold."

Andy smiled and held out his hand. "Give me your feet."

"Why?"

"So I can warm them up a little for you."

"Don't tickle them" she warned, not one hundred percent sure she could trust him.

"I wouldn't dream of it" he said as innocently as possible but with the glint in his eye and the cheeky smile on his face painting a very different picture. Sharon looked at him suspiciously for a moment but eventually relented, shuffling away from him so that she had the space to lift her feet up. Andy took them in his hands and started to rub them to warm them up. "Look at them, your little cold feet" he said in a very babyish voice.

Sharon instantly pulled her feet away from him, a frown on her face as her anger became evident without her saying a word. "I do not have cold feet about us moving forward or anything else I just..."

Andy sat up quickly and moved towards her so he could push his lips to hers and silence her rant before it went any further. "Stop being so defensive, it doesn't suit you" he said plainly. "And by the way not everything is about you Raydor. That wasn't a snarky remark about the speed you want to take things with me or ending this relationship or any other crazy notion you might have. It was about your adorably cold little feet and wanting to warm them up for you" he explained before kissing her again.

"I'm sorry" she cried, clamping her eyes closed tight out of embarrassment over her apparent overreaction. "I just hate it when we're not on the same page."

"It's just one of those things" he replied kindly as he lay back down, taking her feet with him so that he could continue trying to warm them. "I always seem to jump ahead in the story, frightening you with the plot twist I've read in the next chapter. But when you calm down you always start reading again and get to the same page, it just takes you a little bit longer that's all."

Sharon laughed at his analogy. "What book is this exactly?"

" _The Shining_ I think. Anything but _Game of Thrones_."

She laughed. "I'm not so sure I really care for this analogy." As she spoke Andy's thumbs moved to the soles of her feet, subtly tickling them but not being subtle enough. Sharon glared at him. "Stop tickling my feet!"

"I'm not" he lied, his nostrils flaring like crazy. "I'm just rubbing them for you so they warm up a little."

"You liar. You're tickling them."

"Oh well!" he shrugged. "Now I've been caught." As the words left his mouth he began to tickle both of them as Sharon squealed and eventually managed to wriggle them from his tight grasp.

"You monster" she cried for the second time that evening, smacking his arm.

Andy laughed. "Here." He removed the ice pack from his crotch and dropped it on the nightstand behind him. At the second attempt because of the way she resisted him, he took her feet in his hands and moved a little further away from her so he could slide them under his t-shirt and onto his stomach. Sharon smiled as the warmth instantly hit the soles of her feet and he put his hands on the top of them, heating them from both sides. "There, is that better?"

"Much. Thank you." They fell silent for a moment as Sharon kept curling her toes against his stomach, enjoying the feel of him beneath her. "I thought you were tired" she said finally. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I was but I tend to wake up when my face is attacked with a pen."

She laughed. "What were you dreaming about?"

"When?"

"Right before you opened your eyes and scared the hell out of me."

"When you were about to draw on my face?" he asked, making it abundantly clear that he was not going to forget the most recent assault on his upper lip any time soon.

"Before that" she laughed. "When I was talking to Rusty your legs were thrashing around like you were running. What was happening to you?"

"Oh that." Andy shrugged. "The usual."

"Was Sharon Stone trying to stab you with a kitchen knife again?"

"I honestly don't know why that woman dislikes me as much as she does" he replied as he shook his head, as if the whole thing wasn't a recurring dream and Sharon Stone had literally dedicated the last ten years of her life trying to find a way to stab him to death.

"For your sake let's hope she doesn't live in Los Angeles and you won't one day bump into her and find out."

"I never thought of that. If I see that woman I am running away as fast as humanly possible."

Sharon laughed. "Now that I'd like to see."

"Hey I run" he replied defensively.

She nodded as she continued to laugh. "I know you do but like you've borrowed your body for the weekend and you haven't figured out how it works yet" she said before gripping her sides since she was laughing so hard.

Andy's mouth dropped open with genuine offense. "I think that's the most offensive thing you've ever said to me!" he cried. "What's wrong with the way I run?"

"Nothing" she replied as she continued to laugh, reaching across to stroke his cheek with her hand since the position of her feet made it impossible to kiss him. "It's just sometimes you run like you're being attacked by the world's largest bumble bee" she offered before laughing again.

Andy frowned, clearly annoyed. "That's it Raydor! Warm your own damn feet." He grabbed hold of her ankles and pulled her feet from under his t-shirt, almost throwing them back at her before rolling over to face away the wall, a small smile on his face.

Sharon laughed again. "Who knew you could be so sensitive?" She waited for a moment but Andy didn't respond, not moving so much as move a muscle. "Andy? Andy?" Again he ignored her, that same smile etched on his face but hidden from view. "I thought you never gave me the silent treatment?" Still with no response forthcoming she shuffled over towards him, pressing her body into his back as her left leg curled over his. While her mouth moved to his ear and began to kiss and suck on his lobe her hand landed on his hip, slowly slipping over the edge and under his t-shirt, scraping her nails up and down his body in a way she knew drove him absolutely wild. Trying his hardest to think of every unsexy image he could conjure up in his mind including Provenza in a speedo, he tried not to react but it was proving to be difficult. With each pass her hand took up and down his chest her hand went lower and lower until it eventually slipped down the front of his boxers and she deliberately just brushed his manhood with her fingertips. That did the trick. He immediately flinched as she smiled. "Are you still ignoring me?"

Without warning and in one swift movement Andy turned over and pinned Sharon to the bed by her wrists as she squealed, looming over her with nothing but intent. "You are nothing but a cheater Raydor. Everyone at PAB would have a field day if they knew how much 'Rulebook' liked to cheat." He slowly lowered himself down and met her lips before quickly pulling away and lying back down again with a rather smug smile on his face.

Sharon looked at him with surprise. "What are doing?"

"Punishing you for being mean" he explained.

"Punishing me?"

"Yes. By not putting out" he continued. "See how you like those apples. Laughing at the way I run after you've already stabbed me in the unmentionables with a needle" he mumbled.

She laughed. "I've apologised haven't I?"

"And yet my ego and 'Little Andy' still throb."

"And you really think you can hold out?" she asked as she scoffed.

"I know I can" he nodded before gesturing the full length of his body. "The Andy-Land Express is closed for business this summer. No sex for you!" he confirmed as he pointed a finger at her. She could do nothing but laugh in response and the idea that Andy thought he could hold out longer than she could in the battle of wills especially when it came to sex. "Don't laugh I'm being serious."

"Okay. We'll see" she replied with a smug smile as she lay back down and got comfortable.

Andy glared at her, sitting up slightly to address her with his full outrage. "Do you really think I'm that horny and pathetic that I'll cave in? I have principles you know."

"I know you do but if you add 'easy' into the mix you've got you down perfectly." She laughed again as she cuddled up next to him, pulling his arm around her shoulders before her hand slipped back up his t-shirt again, her nails continuing to scrape at his torso in order to tease him and test his resolve.

Knowing full well what she was doing he narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. "You're such a cheater" he growled. She laughed at him while he adjusted their position, getting more comfortable before he kissed the top of her head. "So I hope you don't think I'm over stepping the mark here but can I offer some advice about Rusty?"

Sharon instantly sat up to look him in the eye. "Andy" she said as she ran her hand down his face. She had hoped by now that Andy was relaxed enough around Rusty that he would simply offer his advice and input as far as he was concerned without seeking her permission to do so first. It was in that moment that she realised that because of his age Andy was more of a step-parent to Rusty than she was ever going to be to Nicole and walking that fine line of being there for him but not being too oppressive was still a battle for him. "Yes it's true that Rusty may see Lieutenant Provenza more as his 'co-parent' in chief but I will always appreciate your input and advice when it comes to my children and vice versa I hope."

"Oh yeah. I already know how much you like to speak to Nicole about things" he said with heaps of attitude since he'd grown increasingly aware of how often Sharon and Nicole spoke to each other on the phone, terrified by what they might actually be saying to each other about him.

"Only about you my beautiful boy, only about you" she said with a smile before she kissed him and lay back down. "Whether the pair of you like it or not you are essentially Rusty's Step-Dad already, best get used to the idea." Andy didn't say anything, only smiled, a smile that screamed nothing but mischief. Sharon just frowned at him. "I know that smile and forget it."

"What?" he asked innocently.

"This isn't a good cop bad cop situation you know. You don't get to be the cool Step-Dad while I lay the law down."

"'Cool Step-Dad'?"

"He likes you and you know it." Andy shrugged, acknowledging that they were getting along more than fine by now but still feeling as if he was tolerated more than he was liked. "I bet you were a nightmare with your kids when they were young. Always being the fun parent while Sandra did all the actual parenting."

"Hey I did my fair share. I could be a tough, no nonsense parent when I needed to be."

"Oh yeah? And then what happened?"

"I'd give them ice cream as soon as their Mother's back was turned."

"I thought as much." She laughed. "So anyway what about Rusty?"

"I don't know maybe get him to back off a little when it comes to Buzz and his vlog? Just for a few days?" he offered tentatively. At that moment in time he could see how much Buzz was struggling and his investigation into his Father and Uncle's murder had barely begun. In his position he could see how Rusty, no matter how well intentioned he was, could be a thorn in his side as he tried to come to terms with what he was seeing and reading in the Murder Book for the first time. Sharon nodded in response, understanding his concerns fully since she had had the same thoughts. "This whole thing is going to be hard enough on him without Rusty buzzing in his ear all the time. And if Buzz is ever going to agree to it he'll come around far quicker if Rusty isn't nagging him."

"First of all that's not overstepping the mark, that's very thoughtful and helpful and I appreciate it," she stated to clear that up immediately, "but secondly I'm already ahead of you. I was planning on asking him to back off a little tonight but with this whole thing with Gus and how upset he was I didn't want to add to it."

"I get that the kid wants to do his story but he seems to forget that this is Buzz's life."

"I know and again thank you" she said gratefully before kissing him again, letting it linger a little longer this time.

"You can kiss me all you like but I'm still not putting out."

Sharon laughed. "I didn't ask you to." She sighed as she settled back down, her mind drifting back to Buzz. "I hope Buzz is going to be able to handle all of this. I can't begin to imagine how hard it'll be seeing his Father and Uncle like that in the crime scene photos."

"Provenza is already ahead of you. He's removed all the crime scene photos before the bodies were taken away and the autopsy photos. Buzz doesn't need that memory of his Dad burned into his brain."

"Are you going to help him out?"

"If he asks" Andy replied, not wanting to interfere unless Buzz asked for his help directly. "I don't want to tread on his toes and he's made it _very_ clear he wants to do this all on his own and anyway he's more likely to go to Provenza than he is to me but we'll see." He turned and kissed the top of her head. "I don't know how far he'll get. I looked in that box and there was not much more than the Murder Book and a VHS tape from the ATM that hasn't been played in over twenty years."

"Still it's worth a shot."

"It is" he agreed.

They both fell silent for a moment until Sharon smiled and turned into him a little more, expecting an over the top reaction to follow shortly. "I've been meaning to tell you, Lizzie telephoned me when I got home last night."

Within a matter of seconds all the colour drained from Andy's face as little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Lizzie? What? Why?" he asked concerned, beyond nervous by what his sister would need to call Sharon about.

"Why not? It's not like she can just drop by and see me any time she wants to talk to me."

"Thank God!" Andy cried with relief.

"What does that mean? Is a woman not allowed to call her brother's girlfriend for a quick chat every now and then?"

"Not when you gang up on me with her like the way you did in New York. It was the most uncomfortable seven hours of my life" he complained, enjoying that they had got along so well but at the same time mortified by the way they told stories about him that only served to make him wish he was dead.

Sharon reached up and played with his pouting bottom lip like he was a sulking little baby. "Oh what's the matter? Were you all upset and embarrassed by what she was telling me about you my little Andy Pandy?"

"Don't call me that!"

Sharon laughed. "Why not? My little Andy Pandy" she repeated much to his annoyance as her hand rubbed his belly. "I wish I could remember the rhyme. Go on, say it."

"No."

"Please. Just this once and I'll never ask you again, I promise."

"No because if I say it once you'll memorise it and then I'll never hear the end of it and before I know it you've got Rusty and Provenza singing it at me in unison."

"I won't I promise."

"Funnily enough I don't believe you."

"Oh go on. I'll do that thing you like" she told him as her eyes sparkled and her hand moved back and forth across the top of his boxers.

"What? Like never speak to my sister again?" he asked, completely ignoring the way she was trying to bribe him with sex into doing what she wanted.

"No I mean..." Sharon moved to whisper into his ear but Andy pushed her away before she could say anything else, shaking his head.

"I don't think so pretty lady! I'm not falling for that one again." He knew exactly what she was trying to do since she'd used the exact same tactic to get him to introduce her to his siblings in the first place and causing him so much grief. Last time he fell for it hook, line and sinker and he was determined to not let it happen again.

"I did what I promised didn't I?"

"Yes but in the great scheme of things it really wasn't worth having to endure all those stories and all of this torment since."

"Oh come on!" she pleaded, resting her head on his abdomen and looking up at him sweetly. "I promise I'll never say it again. Never ever. I just want to hear it one more time."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll do it but it's just the same as the lyrics to Georgie Porgie."

"I know but I don't know them. Come on."

Andy sighed again and rolled his eyes. He knew Liz would sing it at him but expected it to come a little later in their meeting than it did. Once they'd spent the better part of five minutes hugging each other Andy finally introduced her to Sharon. Liz immediately said 'So this is the famous Sharon who has managed to tame our little Andy Pandy.' It was then quickly revealed that was his nickname as a child and his family had even altered the lyrics of a nursey rhyme in order to sing it at him. "Andy Pandy, Pudding and pie, Kissed the girls and made them cry, When the boys came out to play, Andy Pandy ran away" Andy sang, hating every single second of it.

Sharon grinned as he sang. "That's it!" she cried before laughing hysterically.

Andy just watched her for a moment with an irritated expression on his face as she virtually rolled around the bed laughing at him, her laughter only stopping when Rusty began to bang on her bedroom door. "Oh my God!" Rusty shouted. "Do you know what time it is? You've both got work in the morning! Don't you two ever sleep?" he cried, being able to hear his Mom laugh from his bedroom even with both doors closed.

Sharon and Andy looked at each other as they tried not to laugh at him. "Don't blame me, it's your Mom!" Andy said finally before she smacked his arm.

"Sure it is, it's Mom" Rusty replied with disbelief. "It's always Mom and yet I never hear a peep out of her at night when you're not here Lieutenant."

Sharon laughed. "See you're a bad influence on me."

"I'm the bad influence? Me?" Andy protested.

"I'm so glad you agree" Sharon replied with a smile before she kissed him on the lips.

"Whatever just shut up and go to sleep the pair of you" Rusty ordered like a really angry Dad who was battling with his daughters having their first sleep over. "Sometimes you seem to forget that I'm the child and you're the adults in this relationship."

Sharon laughed as Andy sat up slightly as if he was expecting Rusty to come in at any moment and continue to tell them off about the noise they were making. "If you were in your bedroom fast asleep you wouldn't hear us talking would you?" Andy pointed out.

"I was going to get a glass of water, then I'm going to bed to you know actually go to sleep. You should try it sometime Lieutenant. You might find you like it."

Andy lay back down with a grin across his face. "You leaving the condo tomorrow kid?"

"Yes, probably. Why?"

"Then why are you going to bed? Shouldn't you be getting started working on your hair already?" he asked and immediately received a slap across his arm from Sharon.

"Andy this is the last time I'll say it to you, you're not funny" Rusty shouted, with his eye roll almost audible on the other side of the door.

"Tell me who did it to you kid and I'll go down there and get your money back" he offered in reference to the haircut that Rusty was so distressed about.

"At least I can go to a regular hair salon. Where do you go? The dog groomers?" Rusty asked. "Now go to sleep. It's like living with a couple of kids and the bathroom smells like wet dog."

With that Sharon started to laugh hysterically once again. "The bathroom smells like wet dog!" she repeated as she laughed, thinking it one of the funniest things she'd heard in a long old time.

Andy looked at her beyond offended. "Don't laugh at that!"

"Why not? It's funny."

"This is discrimination" Andy proclaimed.

"What? Against hairy people?"

"Yes, against overly folliclly challenged people. We have feelings too you know."

Rusty sighed. "Whatever. Just go to sleep."

"Okay Dad. Sorry Dad. Goodnight Dad" Andy called. He waited until he heard Rusty's bedroom door close again before he put his arm back around Sharon. "See you're keeping Rusty awake now and you've gotten us into trouble. I won't be allowed to stay over ever again."

Sharon poked him in the ribs. "Stop making fun of his hair."

"Then he should stop making fun of mine."

"When it's all over your body it's hard to avoid."

Andy grinned, he enjoyed tormenting and teasing Rusty as much as the boy like to do it to him. "I would never have said anything if you hadn't pointed out that he didn't like it."

"So it's my fault?"

"Yes" he nodded with a smile before he kissed her. "Why doesn't he like it?"

"It's too short."

"He knows that can happen when you cut it right?"

Sharon pointed a finger in his face. "Do _not_ say that to him" she warned.

Andy laughed. "Look I'm his Mom's boyfriend. If I'm not annoying the crap out of him then I'm not doing my job properly."

"You'll regret that twenty years from now when you're lying prostrate in a hospital bed and he's got the deciding vote to end the tie break between Nicole and Daniel about whether they opt to pull the plug early or not."

He smiled as he pulled her closer. "And where are you in this scenario?"

"Being consoled by my twenty year old lover Esteban in our beach house on Maui obviously."

Andy laughed again. "I see. It's like that is it? And will you take up with this Esteban character after you've nearly killed me from exhaustion?"

"Well you must always have a backup plan in case these things happen." She looked up at him and battered her eyelashes sweetly before he leant down and captured her lips, only breaking apart when she started to laugh. "The bathroom smells of wet dog."

"I'm so glad this amuses you."

"Oh it does. It really really does but to go back to before you woke up Rusty with all of the noise you were making, how often did Lizzie use to sing that song to you?" she asked.

"Eyes still on the prize huh?" he sighed as he flopped back into his pillow. "About every thirty seconds on a good day and that's a conservative estimate by the way. What did she call you for anyway?"

"Just to talk." Andy looked at her completely unimpressed by what he was hearing "What do you want from me? We got along together really well. You should be pleased about it, not rolling your eyes."

"Oh yeah, I'm really pleased. Like how pleased I am with you and Nicole, calling her all hours of the day and night to gossip about me."

Sharon laughed. "Oh shut up. Would you prefer it if I didn't get along so well with the two most important women in your life?" she questioned.

"Three" Andy corrected.

"What?"

"Yes it's very important to me that the _three_ most important women in my life get on so well. I just wish that didn't involve swapping stories and ganging up on me" he grumbled.

Sharon smiled and kissed him. "Well this time we weren't sharing stories."

"Oh yeah? Probably because she's none left to tell. I officially have no secrets from you now. You know everything there is to know about me."

"I find that very hard to believe my little Andy Pandy" she teased before she kissed him again. "She just wanted to know if your face was still red or if your embarrassment levels had eased somewhat."

"What did you tell her?"

She shrugged. "That it depends on if I bring it up or not."

He sighed before becoming really quite animated. "I only attended ballet classes for six months when I was eleven as a way to keep me out of trouble" he cried, still mortified that Liz took such delight in telling Sharon all about his history with dance.

"Wait, I'm still trying to picture my little Andy Pandy in a leotard, spinning on the spot" she said before laughing uncontrollably and with no hope of stopping anytime soon.

"See this is exactly why I didn't want you to meet my family" he groaned.

"Did you learn how to plié?"

"Why is this so funny to you?"

"Why? Because my big macho boyfriend used to be a little ballerina" she pointed out before breaking down in laughter once again.

"I didn't used to be a ballerina I was..."

"Now we know where Robin and Justin get it from and you're not even a blood relation!" she exclaimed. "Imagine that! Those are some strong genes you have going on there my boy. Suddenly your obsession with _The Nutcracker_ makes perfect sense. It had nothing to do with finding a roundabout way of asking me out on a date and everything to do with you just loving the ballet. I was nothing more than your ballet beard" she suggested as she laughed again.

He stared at her unimpressed and in complete silence until she finally quietened down. "Are you done?"

She continued to laugh, ignoring the scowl he was giving her. "I knew you were overly enthusiastic about seeing Emily in New York. It all makes sense now."

"To be clear that was totally about lots of hotel room sex and nothing more" he maintained.

"Yeah right."

"How would you like it if the shoe was on the other foot?" he asked, knowing full well that she was likewise extremely selective about which stories and facts from her past she chose to share with him, huge parts of her youth deliberately omitted.

"By shoe I assume you mean ballet slipper?" she joked, again laughing like she did when Liz let it slip about Andy's dancing past.

Again Andy just frowned at her, sucking on his teeth with annoyance. "How would you like it if people were telling me all your deep dark secrets?"

"I wouldn't care" she replied nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders. "Because I don't have any. I am an open book."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Then how did you get your nickname in college?" he asked to which Sharon just smiled at him, making it abundantly clear she was _never_ going to tell him. "Well? Tell me since you have no secrets from me Burning Fire O'Dwyer." He had discovered that name purely by chance at the beginning of April after a former college roommate sent her a letter like she did every six months or so with all her family news and updates, addressed to 'Sharon Burning Fire O'Dwyer.' The moment Andy saw the envelope his eyes lit up with expectation, desperate to know where that kind if nickname had come from but Sharon was more than tight lipped about it, there was a zero chance she was ever going to reveal the story behind it to him. Since then he had nagged, pleaded and offered bribes but all to no avail with Sharon determined that he never find out the embarrassing truth.

"Ah! With the exception of that and that little fact I will happily take to the grave."

"Come on!" Andy cried, his irritation over this secret being withheld from him increasing with every passing day. "Did you set fire to your dorm room? Eat it? Do naked fire dances in the quad? What?"

"I am not telling you and I will never tell you" she stated plainly.

"But I really want to know."

"And I really want to know what happened to you in Barstow."

"Well that's not going to happen" he replied instantly, fully expecting Sharon to look at him completely differently, if only for a short time, if she ever found out what really happened that weekend.

Sharon shrugged. "Neither is this. Learn to live with the disappointment."

"How is that fair?"

"It's not" she answered with a smile before kissing him. "I guess it sucks to be you my beautiful boy" she added before kissing him on the lips again but he didn't respond, too annoyed. "Fine" she sighed before thinking for a moment, doing her best to think of a story that would appease him other than the reason behind her nickname. "Have I ever told you about the time I got caught streaking and skinny dipping with my friend from college?"

Andy sat up slightly, suddenly very interested in what he was hearing, a smile creeping across his face as he started to imagine it. "No! Go on...wait. Male or female friend from college?"

"Female."

"Carry on" he said enthusiastically.

"I thought that would get your attention but it's not what you think."

"So far it's you naked in a swimming pool with a female friend from college. I'm all ears."

"We were at a party where one and all had a little too much to drink."

"In college? Never!"

"Exactly" Sharon laughed. "And I don't remember how it started but some sort of truth or dare game broke out which resulted in people streaking around the track field, climbing the flag pole, general drunken mayhem."

"Okay. Been there, done that" Andy nodded.

"Why am I not surprised?" she laughed. "So anyway it came to my friend Marian and with far too much to drink she opted for a dare which was to jump in the college pool naked."

"Then how did you get involved?" Andy queried.

"Beer Andy. Beer. That's all I remember."

Andy smiled, pulling her closer to him and kissing her on the top of her head. "Sharon O'Dwyer sounds like an awful lot of fun to have been around."

"Do you think you're missing out with the version you've got now?"

"Not at all" he confirmed with a kiss to her waiting lips.

"So there we were stripped down to nothing but a smile..."

"I'm picturing it already" he said with an almost dreamy expression.

"Oh shut up" she laughed. "We were stripped down to nothing but a smile and forced to run across campus to the pool with the rest of the party following in our wake to make sure we actually went through with it."

"Are there any photos of this?"

"No, thankfully" she replied with relief. "The pool was outdoors and had this hedge all the way around the back of the bleachers so from the outside you couldn't see the water. So there we were running towards it, hurdling this hedge completely naked because the gate was locked, not a pleasant experience I don't need to tell you, and then we jumped into the pool." She paused for a moment as she smiled, remembering it vividly because of what happened next regardless of how intoxicated she was at the time. "What we didn't know was that the Professor of Economics Mr Nicholson was in the pool doing his fifty laps as we later discovered he did every night of the week." With that Andy immediately started laughing as she smiled at him. "I saw him just that split second too late but managed to land a few metres away from him rather than on his head and essentially forcing him into wearing me like a hat. So there we were completely naked, drunk and in the pool with one of our Professors and a gang of friends watching and cheering from the side lines."

Andy laughed, tears almost running down his face as he pictured the oh so prim and proper woman he knew so well almost sitting on the head of her professor while wearing nothing but a smile. "So what happened?"

"We jumped out and ran. What do you think we did?" she laughed, as she remembered setting a new land speed record for running away naked with her arms flailing. "Thankfully he was as blind as a bat so although he knew we were naked and female he couldn't pick us out of a line up."

"Maybe if they'd done the line up naked" Andy suggested.

"So there, does that make up for the humiliation of Lizzie telling me you used to be a little ballerina?"

"No" he replied grumpily before smiling. "Not at all but it has made me want to start looking for a house with a pool." Sharon laughed at him before he kissed her. "So the story behind your nickname is worse than that?"

"Yes. It is."

Andy studied her face for a moment, trying to see if there were any cracks in her resolve and if she may break with a little added gentle persuasion. "You're really not going to tell me?"

"Never."

"You're mean. Very very mean but oh so beautiful naked."

Sharon laughed again. "So why did you stop your ballet classes?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the prize for a second, desperate to know all about her boyfriend in a little tutu.

"Why do you think? Because I hated it" he explained. "Because I got into more fights defending myself because I took ballet classes to keep me out of trouble then I did before my Mom signed me up. So I took up boxing instead" he added with a shrug.

"Boxing?" Sharon asked with a shake of her head. "And boxing was supposed to keep you out of trouble and stop you from fighting?"

"Keeping me out of trouble, keeping me out of my parents' hair whatever."

"Anything to keep you away from adult books and prostitutes huh?"

"Something like that" he laughed.

"Does Lieutenant Provenza know?"

"No and if he ever finds out I'll never put out again I'm warning you now!" he growled.

Sharon laughed at him, enjoying the fact that she was going to have a little something extra to threaten him with in the future. "Lizzie is going to email some of the photos she took at dinner over to me."

"That's nice of her." Andy waited for Sharon to respond but instead saw a look of deep thought and concentration on her face. "What? What are you thinking about?"

She kissed his chin. "I was thinking about printing that photo we had taken of us at Central Park. Put it on my desk at work. What do you think? That's not weird is it?"

"Why would that be weird?" Andy asked with a frown. "What does that say about me?"

Sharon laughed. "Nothing. I meant because we work together and I mean literally together what with your desk being so closed to my office door."

"So? Mike has a photo of Cathy on his desk. Julio has a picture of Maria" he reasoned.

"Yes I know but they can't look up and see them all day long can they?" It may have seemed a little silly in the grand scheme of things, especially when a conversation about moving in together was very much on the horizon but Sharon saw it as a very big deal. By the time that she had a proper desk and an office Jack was out of the picture more often than he was in it and the last thing she wanted to do at work was have his smug face looking at her all day long so any photos were strictly limited to Emily and Ricky. Since then any man she had dated she wouldn't admit to publically because she was still strictly speaking married to Jack and anyway they were more the sort of men who served a purpose in a 'I need a man-made orgasm' sense and were not the type of people to frame a photo of and put on her desk for the all the world to see. Then there was Andy, the man who was already in her eye line nearly all day every day and although she wanted to have memories of good times with him displayed proudly on her desk, she still felt a little odd about it not least because it was something she had never done before in her life.

"If you don't have one on your desk I'll have one on mine" he said, having never really thought about doing that kind of thing himself before now. "Then I can look at your legs all day without ever being caught" he winked.

Sharon laughed. "It's a good photo." While in New York they had gone for a leisurely stroll in Central Park with Emily, stopping here and there to take a photo or two of the three of them enjoying themselves. The photo in question was taken with Bow Bridge in the background, Emily stopping them to take it and waiting until they were looking at each other rather than posing at the camera to take it. The look on their faces was true love as they smiled at each other with Emily immediately printing herself a copy to proudly hang on her wall at home, her Mom with the man she hoped to call Step-Dad one day.

"I shall feel like you're claiming me" Andy said proudly, sticking his chest out a little. "That you're admitting that I belong to you every time someone goes into your office and sees it."

"Oh well there's no way I'm doing it now" she laughed as he frowned at her. "I can't have the world knowing that you belong to me. What would it do for my reputation?"

"I was just thinking about my reputation actually."

"Speaking of your reputation I spoke to Gavin last night."

Andy rolled his eyes, doing it so dramatically that they almost rolled out of his head. "Is there anyone you didn't speak to last night? Did you get a Ouija board out and speak to my Mother too?"

"If I could I would, believe me. I'd ask her how she managed to raise such a monster without snapping and murdering you."

"Charm mainly" he suggested with a dazzling smile.

She shook her head at him. "You're not as charming as you think you are."

"Oh yes I am."

"Oh yes you are" she confirmed with a smile before she met his lips.

"What did Gavin have to say for himself?" he asked, not really interested in the answer since Gavin had made it abundantly clear that he thought he was the devil in human form and took every single opportunity he could to threaten the safety of his testicles if he ever dared upset Sharon in the slightest.

"Not a lot" Sharon replied, clearly building up to something that she knew he wouldn't like.

"That makes a change" he grumbled. It was an established fact that Gavin could talk on the phone for hours without stopping to draw breath. Several date nights had been interrupted during the course of their relationship by having Gavin on the phone for well over an hour, seemingly doing it on purpose, at least that's what Andy thought anyway. In many cases Sharon didn't need to open her mouth with Gavin talking and talking and not giving her chance to respond. The one evening in particular she didn't feel like she could interrupt him as he whined on and on about a date with a guy he met online who had ended up stealing his car so she handed the phone to Andy while she had a shower, hoping Gavin wouldn't know because he wouldn't stop talking and Andy could fill in the gaps for her later. Gavin was on the phone for a full two hours with Sharon falling asleep before he'd finished.

"Be nice! He's in love."

"Again? Was is it? The fifth time this month?" he asked sarcastically.

"Don't be mean" she told him with a quick slap to his chest. "He's invited himself over for dinner next Saturday and he wants you to be here to join us."

Andy tried desperately not to pull a face of utter horror but couldn't control the way his body tensed up beneath her. "Oh what do you know I have a meeting that night" he lied, staring at the ceiling as he focused on trying to stop his nostrils from flaring.

"No you don't" she replied quickly, not letting him off the hook that easily.

"But I could. Please?" he begged.

"No. He wants to speak to you."

It was hard to tell what emotion was most prominent on Andy's face as his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. It was part horror, part shock, part fear (and not just for his poor testicles) and part morbid curiosity. "What about?" he asked, his voice reaching a pitch that was usually unobtainable without a kick to the crotch and his eyes watering. "He's not going to give me the third degree again is he? I think I've proven by now that my intentions are perfectly honourable enough even before I asked you to move in with me."

"Yes you have indeed" she agreed. "And I can confirm your intentions are one hundred percent honourable…in the main" she joked.

"Although he might need to question you about your intentions from time to time and especially those grubby little hands of yours."

"Very funny. He wants your advice."

"My advice? On what?"

"Sports."

"Sports?" Andy asked, more than a touch confused by the whole thing.

"Yes. He wants your advice on sports."

"Okay" Andy replied, with each syllable being dragged out to make it sound as strange as the situation currently seemed to him.

"The current love of his life is big into sport and Gavin doesn't know a football from a baseball and he's looking to you for tips and advice on what to talk to him about."

"Why can't he ask you?" he asked quickly, trying to palm him off on Sharon since he was her friend after all. "You like sport just as much as I do. More so when it comes to football."

"I know but he wants to speak to another man about it" she explained. "And since there isn't one of those to hand you will more than do" she joked as she laughed. Andy looked at her less than impressed for a moment. "He wants to learn all he can so he can at least join in a conversation with this guy about it."

"Oh jeez."

"I think it's serious this time" Sharon told him hopefully with Gavin having dated more men than she'd had hot dinners and wanting nothing more than to finally see him settled down with someone (but someone who wasn't thirty years his junior and likely to take him for his money once again).

"You've said that to me before. The man has fallen in love more times than Sandra's threatened to take a hit out on me" he joked as she laughed. "He's like a gay version of Provenza except he's never been stupid enough to marry any of them."

"It's not just about the latest love of his life."

"Oh yeah?"

"I think he genuinely wants to try and bond with you."

"Bond with me?"

"Yes" Sharon confirmed with a smile. "I think it's finally dawned on him that we love each other and he's trying to make an effort to get to know you a little better."

"Finally. It's only taken him nearly twelve months and I don't think he particularly liked me _before_ we started dating."

"Oh he's not been that bad" she replied, trying to play down the little 'run ins' they'd had as nothing more than playful jests on the part of Gavin and usually Andrea since they liked to attack him in tandem.

"You're kidding right? He threatened my testicles! My testicles!" he shouted as he pointed to his crown jewels before covering them with his hand as if to protect them should Sharon decide to pick up where Gavin left off all those months ago. "He pushed my car seat back and told me if I ever broke your heart or did anything in fact that he didn't like he'd remove them and use them as stress balls." Sharon immediately laughed. At first she was more than a touch annoyed when Andy revealed that her two closest friends (other than him before they started dating) had threatened him with bodily harm but of late had come to see it from their point of view and now opted to find it amusing rather than out of line. "It's not funny. In fact since we started dating there hasn't been a single person out there who hasn't threatened me about you. Andrea, Gavin, Rusty, every single member of the squad including Provenza" he listed with more than an air of annoyance about the whole thing, thinking his vastly altered behaviour in the years leading up to their first date was evidence enough that he'd changed and that he clearly was not going to break her heart.

"Did they?" Sharon asked with surprise, having no idea that so many people had essentially questioned her sanity when things turned romantic with Andy Flynn of all people.

"Oh yeah" he confirmed. "It can't be news to you by now that they all like you a hell of a lot more than they like me."

Sharon smiled, her appreciation that those closest to her in her life only wanted to look out for her wellbeing currently outweighing her annoyance at the insinuation that she didn't know what she was doing and was completely incapable of taking care of herself with Andy. "Ricky and Emily haven't threatened you" she pointed out as a way to soften his annoyance. "In fact Emily still squeals incredibly loudly every time I mention you and calls you my 'Silver Fox'." Andy rolled his eyes, not a fan of the expression although he was pleased he had the support of at least two of her children. "Don't pull that face. Would you prefer her to call you 'adorable'?"

"No" he stated grumpily.

"Exactly. So will you come to dinner with me and Gavin?"

Andy sighed, realising he had no other option. "Yes."

"And will you play nicely with him?"

"I will if he will" he shot back.

Sharon sighed as she laughed. "Boys!"

"Yes, yes I will play nice with Gavin. I swear."

"Thank you." She smiled at him before lifting her head to kiss him on the lips quickly deepening it as he welcomed her tongue into his mouth before they broke apart. "Are you still tired?" she asked as she started to bite on her bottom lip, knowing it would be the only thing to tempt him to break the sex ban he had imposed on her a few minutes earlier.

Andy shrugged. "Not really." With the job he had he had become more than accustomed to surviving on not much sleep with quick power naps doing him the world of good which was exactly what he'd had before Sharon tried to draw on his face.

She smiled at him, her bottom lip still clutched between her teeth. "Good" she nodded as her hand moved to his stomach, edging lower before her fingers started to trail the top of his boxer shorts. It had been over a week since they'd slept together, mainly because of work keeping them out late at night but she'd wanted him all evening. She'd wanted him since he made it clear in the bathroom that things were going to be okay between them despite her less than enthusiastic reaction to the idea of moving in together, feeling the need to show him just how much she loved him and was therefore a little disappointed when he immediately went to sleep after reading three and a half sentences of his book.

Andy looked at her with suspicion, knowing full well what she was doing and what she wanted but determined to hold out as long as physically possible, already trying to conjure up images of Provenza again, only this time wearing a speedo and a bra in order to stop his body from reacting. "Why? What did you have in mind?"

Sharon shrugged, trying her hardest to be as casual as possible knowing it would tempt him the most. "Nothing. I just thought we might fool around for a bit" she suggested.

"I told you I'm not putting out tonight or ever again for that matter" he said categorically despite the smile on his face as he switched to thinking about Margaret Thatcher naked and covered in caramel as Sharon's hand slipped just under the waistband of his boxers. "You've upset me."

Sharon stilled her hand as she sat up and gave him a genuine look of surprise. By now not only would he have usually crumbled but his lips would be making their way down her neck as his hand moved up her leg. "You're really taking a vow of celibacy and are just going to go to sleep because I laughed at the way you run."

"And not to mention stabbed me in the unmentionables but that's about the gist of it yes."

"And say if I were to do this?" She sat up a little straighter as her hand began to move again, her lip firmly clamped between her teeth and staring at him with a sultry look that usually drove him absolutely wild with desire. He looked at her for a moment and swallowed hard, his breathing becoming more rapid as he put his hands on his head and started to do the multiplication table inside his head. Sensing weakness and his resolve beginning to falter she allowed a little moan to escape her lips as she sighed, hoping it would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"That's not going to work" he stated defiantly as he continued to focus on the ceiling.

"Okay" she said with a smile and a shrug before lying back down again. "Suit yourself." As she snuggled back into Andy's side she sighed again, letting out another soft moan very close to his ear, making sure her breath hit him.

He glared at her. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" she asked innocently.

"Making that noise."

"What noise? I'm not doing anything" she claimed before sighing once again, that same little moan escaping from her lips as she smiled.

"You just did it again!" he cried.

"I'm just breathing over here. Nothing more" she stated before doing it a third time.

"You are such a cheater!"

She shrugged, prepared to use all the tools at her disposal in order to break him and get what she wanted. "I just thought you might like the challenge that was all."

"The challenge?" he asked, his interest peaked for a moment.

"Yes" she nodded. "I thought that since you've woken up all refreshed after your nap that you might like to _try_ and make my toes curl" she added nonchalantly with all the emphasis on the word 'try' as she played to his ego but also knowing full well that he was going to crumble any second. She tried to hide her smile as his outrage began to grow by the second, the insinuation that he could only 'try' annoying him beyond belief.

"Excuse me?" he scoffed. "Try?"

"Yes try" she replied cheerily.

"Did you now? If you don't mind me saying that's awfully presumptuous of you."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Is it your injury?" she asked sympathetically. "Is it that bad? Are you not _up_ for the job?" she queried, once again playing to his ego as she chuckled to her herself.

Andy sat up, a frown on his face. "Hey lady I'm always up for the job no matter what the circumstances but I may need it kissing better first just to be certain that it's all in full working order."

She smiled. "Why am I not surprised? Come here." She grabbed hold of his t-shirt and pulled him towards her, devouring his lips as her hands went straight up the back of his shirt and her nails scraped down his back.

"I've got a better idea" he said with a wink as he pulled away. "One order of curled toes coming right up" he confirmed as he took her hands and wrapped them around one of the bars of the headboard. "Hold on." He slowly vanished down her body before shooting back up again. "And try to keep the noise down please. Don't wake up Rusty."

"Me? I need to keep the noise down?"

"Yes, you" he said before kissing her again. "Shush!" he added before disappearing again.


	24. Chapter 24

_Once again thank you to everyone who read the last chapter and special thanks to MitziH, xbleeple, seaford71, Alder, MaxiP99, maidenpride, GrammyIda and the Guests for leaving reviews. Likewise thanks to Angie, Viv and Maggie for encouraging me on Twitter. If you'd like to leave me a review I'd appreciate it. Let me know what I'm doing right, or doing wrong or anything you'd like me to include and if you'd like a chat you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _This chapter picks up at the end of Present Tense 5x1 (with a big "Thank you" for that slightly extended scene on the DVD since I had wondered why Sharon and Andy were standing in unusual positions in her office at the beginning of the scene that aired) and is fairly self-explanatory. I tried to keep this chapter short but it didn't work (you may need more than one cup of tea to get through it), I can only try to do better._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty Four**

It amused him greatly as he sat there waiting for her, the symmetry of it all. Without Sharon even realising what she was doing the situation mirrored what had happened just two days earlier only this time it was Andy's turn to wait patiently to hear what Sharon had to tell him. While everyone was wrapping up their paperwork from the case, Sharon sat with Andrea in the Conference Room along with Tucker and his lawyer as they worked out the finer details of his deal. As she sat there, her input not currently needed as the lawyers took over, her mind started to drift. It immediately drifted to Andy as did her eyes with her being able to just about make him out through the glass and the blinds of her office, sitting at his desk. As she watched him work it made her start thinking about the way she was making him wait for her once again. He had been nothing put patient with her over the last eleven months and he quite clearly loved her unconditionally as she did him so it was high time for her to start putting him first. Her mind also fell back to what she'd asked Rusty two nights before when she found him sitting in the dark and stressing over his argument with Gus, asking him 'What's worse? Gus holding your hand or you sitting here alone without him?' Since then she had asked herself a similar question time and time again about Andy. What would be worse? Taking a huge leap into the unknown and moving in with Andy or risk the chance of losing him altogether? The answer was simple. She excused herself for a moment and casually walked to Andy's desk, putting her hand on his shoulder and down his back in a very intimate way to get his attention and receiving a small smile in return as he glanced up at her before she asked him to wait in her office for her once he had finished his report because there was something she needed to talk to him about.

So wait he did, sitting in front of her desk, his leg jiggling up and down with nervous energy with the occasional tug on his earlobe for good measure as he tried to second guess what she wanted to say to him. He assumed it was something to do with his proposed house move given the way she had made the request while rubbing his back like she was his girlfriend even though they were at work, the blurring of the line between professional and personal over the last few months happening a lot more regularly but it was never really a problem for either of them since both refused to allow it to effect work which it never did. By taking things so slowly and so carefully in the very beginning they knew how to handle themselves at work so that their relationship wouldn't get in the way and when they needed to discuss something of a more personal nature during work hours, it wouldn't cause a problem and thus far they were relieved to say that it never had done.

Knowing from the way she got his attention in such an intimate way, that Sharon clearly had something personal rather than professional to discuss with him the only thing left for him to work out was whether she was going to deliver good news or bad news to him. If he was perfectly honest he wasn't optimistic about it. Sharon couldn't have appeared more startled and cautious when he initially brought up the subject of moving in together, a reaction he was half expecting knowing her like he did but not to that extent and he was sadly slowly coming to terms that when he did move, and he was determined to do so not only to vastly reduce his commute but also to be closer to his family, and that included Sharon, he would be moving alone. Still he tried to look on the bright side, at least it would mean he was living closer to the woman he loved and maybe instead of him staying at her condo sometimes at least five nights a week and usually more, perhaps she would come and stay with him more often, affording not only them but Rusty and Gus as well a little bit more privacy.

Andy had rushed through his report as quickly as possible in the hope that when Sharon saw him waiting in her office she may come out and speak to him sooner rather than later, putting him out of his misery but as always she kept him waiting. He looked at her through the glass and smiled. In all honesty he wouldn't have it any other way. Sharon was hard work but then again so was he for that matter and that's what pleased him the most, being in a proper relationship for the first time since his divorce that he had to work on, that challenged him and was so worth the effort in every way imaginable. He enjoyed waiting for her because he knew that the rewards, when she did finally come to him, were oh so worthwhile.

Sharon saw him watching her and smiled back, her nerves already showing on her face. As she stood up and excused herself, clearly not yet finished with Andrea but wanting to speak to him as soon as possible, Andy couldn't help but smile when he saw her walking towards the connecting door. Whatever she wanted to tell him he would take it all on the chin and with a smile on his face because he loved her and he knew that they'd get there in the end but it might take a bit more time than he had first hoped.

Sharon stepped through the connecting door and closed it behind her. "Okay. Okay" she said, as if trying to calm herself down, what she wanted to say currently stuck at the back of her throat. She was very nervous and they both knew it. He stood to greet her, always the gentleman and sensing that, like him, she was too full of nervous energy to sit still while she spoke to him. "Erm..." she started before clearing her throat, it suddenly feeling as dry as the desert. "I know it feels like it's been a long time coming," she said tentatively as Andy frowned at her, hoping she was about to say what he thought she was but he still wasn't prepared to bet on it, "but before you er...um...put a 'For Sale' sign on your house and move into some place in Silver Lake, maybe we should discuss...um...alternatives" she suggested as she smiled nervously.

He tried not to smile as he felt a warmth suddenly rush through his body and make it to his face. "Well you'll get no argument from me on that" he replied, not wanting to push her.

"Okay."

He looked at the ground for a brief moment, making sure he didn't edge towards her despite the fact that he desperately wanted to, wanting to touch her but also not apply too much pressure. "Is erm one of those alternatives moving in together right away?"

"Well...erm...we," she started as she battled to make any sort of coherent sentence come out of her mouth, "why don't we discuss it over dinner?" She looked at her watch, noting that it was still early and they were going to have plenty of time. "I mean I'm only asking you to wait another hour."

He smiled, his relief clear as he finally moved towards her. "But after we order?" he asked, knowing that the queen of foot dragging could potentially keep him waiting until they climbed into bed before they actually talked through their options if he wasn't careful so wanted to nail down a timetable as quickly as possible.

"Oh I think before." She laughed nervously for a moment as they smiled at each other and he couldn't keep his hands off her a moment longer as they wrapped their arms around each other in a loving embrace.

They still had a long way to go, an awful long way but the first and most important step had been made at least, they were going to sit down together and they were going to talk about it properly. As they continued to hug each other, swaying slightly, Sharon's face painted a very confused picture to anyone who might have seen it through the glass with it displaying about fifteen emotions all at once, going from excitement and joy to a general sense of 'Oh my God! What have I just done?' and back again in a matter of seconds as her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. There was no denying that she was excited by the thought of it, of properly sharing her life with Andy and committing to him in a very real sense but it also petrified her to the point that she thought her knees could buckle and she could potentially pee on his shoe at any moment. She'd only lived with one man in her life (immediate family and now Rusty aside) and that had been a very long time ago and didn't end well so the fear that moving in together could potentially end their relationship was front and centre in her mind and it was going to take a monumental effort from all concerned to move it. Regardless she acknowledged that they couldn't stand still any longer, not least because Andy deserved more and he was quite clearly frustrated at their lack of progress of late but also because they'd reached the point where it was either sink or swim, either she moved forward with the man she loved more than anything or risk losing him altogether and that was definitely not something she was prepared to risk for any reason, so moving in together it was, but only after they'd talk through all of their options first.

Andy pulled out her embrace to look at her in the eyes, immediately recognising the large mixture of emotions doing battle across her face as she tried her best to hide it from him, not succeeding in the slightest. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, wanting to give her a way out if it truly wasn't what she wanted at that point in her life.

She nodded. "Absolutely." Despite the blind panic that was very much evident behind her eyes her shoulders started to relax. She was nervous, terrified even but it was also time that she made a commitment to the last man she was ever going to love. "It's high time that we start to talk about moving in together so let's do it, let's discuss our options."

"So, before we order huh?"

"Yes, I think so." She smiled at him with her eyes still showing a bit of blind panic, he saw it immediately since it was hard to miss but again he chose to ignore it.

"Thank you."

"Hold you horses there boy I haven't actually agreed to anything as yet. I just agreed to discuss our options with you over dinner before you march ahead and sell your house without us ever having actually sat down and talked about it properly" she corrected him though both were slowly starting to realise that a 'Yes' was very much in the near future.

"Ah but the important word there is 'Yet.' It only takes one word to make me hopeful."

Sharon laughed. Considering that Andy saw the dark side to everyone and everything and was quite the pessimist most of the time, he was the complete opposite with her, always hoping for the best. "That is some confidence you have there Lieutenant."

Andy winked. "Well I'm pretty sure that I can make the case to you that this is the best possible decision you could make for yourself."

"Is that so?"

"Absolutely and if all else fails I'll get you drunk and trick you into it that way" he joked with a wink before they finally pulled apart.

She laughed again. "I look forward to hearing you try but for now if you want to talk about it at all this evening you need to get out of here and let me finish up."

"Okay. Trattoria Spoleto? Sound good?"

"That sounds wonderful."

Andy nodded and walked towards the door. "Do you want me to drive us or...?"

"No I'll take my car and meet you there."

He hovered for a moment with his hand resting on the door handle. "You know that would be another benefit of us moving in together, taking one car to get to work in the morning from time to time" he suggested, already beginning to work on her since the opportunity had presented itself.

Sharon nodded. "True."

"See I've got you on my side already."

She laughed. "I'm always on your side" she confirmed. They smiled at each other in silence for a moment before 'Captain Raydor' kicked back in and took charge of the situation. "Will you get going so I can finish up!" she ordered before pointing a finger at him. "And don't go distracting anyone else. I'm not leaving until they've all finished either."

"Yes ma'am." Andy winked at her again before he left her office, closing the door behind him and sitting down at his desk as she made her way back into the Conference Room. His smile was a mile wide as he whistled to himself, not even realising that he was doing it. He knew he still had a lot of work to do in regards to when and how it would happen with Rusty obviously being a huge stumbling block which he acknowledged may rule out an immediate move (although he still hoped for the best in that regard) but ultimately he knew that by agreeing to discuss it Sharon had just set them on the path to eventually moving in together sooner rather than later and his head was currently swimming at the mere thought of it. Andy's extremely good mood immediately caught everyone's attention as the population of the Murder Room looked up at him with confusion.

"Who shoved a bluebird in you?" Provenza asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice as if not one of them had the right to be happy when they still had so much paperwork to do.

Andy smiled back, stretching his arms out. "Can't a guy be happy?" he crooned.

"Not from my experience, no." With that Provenza turned his attention back to his notes until he noticed Andy walking towards him, reading his expression perfectly and knowing that there was something important he wanted to share with him. Andy hovered by his desk for a moment, that same smile still etched on his face and making his jaw ache. Finally Provenza looked up at him and frowned. "Stop smiling, it's terrifying."

"I'm not allowed to smile?"

"Not like that, it's making me angry." Provenza sat back in his chair, his hands on the back of his head as he rocked back and forth. "What's going on?"

"Nothing" Andy replied with a shrug but while starting to smile even more obscenely.

Provenza rolled his eyes. "Ye Gods! Never mind I don't want to hear it" he growled grumpily as he returned his attention back to the report on his desk, sensing that it had something to do with his love life and where his Captain's sex life was concerned, less was more in his opinion.

A few moments of silence passed by as Andy hovered by the murder board, noting Rusty and Buzz talking quietly in the corner but in the main watching his colleagues intently as they busied themselves. "Come on guys, hurry up!" he cried finally, as if barking orders at them would increase their working speed rather than having them stop altogether to question his urgency.

"Why?" Mike asked.

"I can't leave until you're done."

Julio swivelled in his chair to face him. "Have you got big plans with the Captain tonight Lieutenant?"

Andy shrugged, playing it cool and not wanting anyone to know that they were potentially going to move in together until everything was settled (not least with Rusty) and Sharon felt ready to tell them. "Not really we're just going to go out for something to eat."

"Where are you going?" Julio queried.

"Probably Trattoria Spoleto but there's this new..."

"Let me stop you right there" Provenza said quite loudly as he butted in before Andy could say anything else. "What you don't seem to realise Julio is when Flynn here says he's going out for a bite to eat it means the Captain is going out to eat actual food while our vegetarian friend here sucks water through a bread roll and calls it a meal."

Everyone laughed including Andy as he frowned at him. "Why does my diet irritate you so much?" he asked.

Provenza sat back in his seat. "Because despite my protestations I have to hear about it constantly and besides it's not just your diet which irritates me about you."

"Thank you Provenza, you irritate me too."

Mike wiped his eyes as he pretended to cry. "Oh man I'm welling up."

"I feel like someone should take a photo" Amy chimed in.

"So you're just going out to dinner?" Provenza asked. "That's it?"

"Yes" Andy nodded. "Why?"

"And your regular old date night with the Captain warrants a grin that size?" Provenza replied with his anger increasing with each passing second that Andy looked so ridiculously happy without good reason.

"Yes…among other things" he said quietly before turning his attention back to the private chat that Rusty and Buzz were continuing to have. "What's going on over there?" Andy asked as he nodded in their direction. "He's not bothering him over this vlog again is he?"

"Not at the moment" Provenza told him, having been keeping his eye on the pair of them since he told Rusty to go and speak to him about the returned photographs. "I told him to go over there and speak to him. He's checking he's okay."

"You gave Buzz the photos?"

"He insisted. Still might be best to check that they're both okay" Provenza suggested as he started to take to his feet.

"No you stay" Andy said as he handed Provenza his pen so that he could continue working. "I'll go. You need to finish that paperwork."

"Why are you suddenly so interested in my reports?"

Andy leant forward, planting both palms on Provenza's desk as he moved in closer, lowering his voice. "Because I can't leave until you're finish and I really need to get out of here tonight."

"Why?"

Andy checked to make sure that no one was listening before he moved even closer to his partner and lowered his voice further. "I'm thinking of moving house."

"I see."

"Renting a place that's closer to work, closer to Nicole, closer to Sharon. If I can convince her tonight, maybe with Sharon" Andy informed him with that same smile coming back to his face.

"Ah! Now it all makes sense."

"I'm hoping to talk her into it over dinner and that moving in together is a good idea."

Provenza scoffed and then laughed. "Well good luck with that."

"What does that mean?" Andy asked, a little annoyed with his reaction.

Provenza looked at Amy and Julio to make sure they weren't listening before moving his chair closer to Andy. "It means it took you nearly two years to ask her out on a proper date," he said before pausing while covering his mouth with his paperwork and lowering his voice to barely above a whisper, "and just as long it seemed to see her naked. Unless a miracle happens I don't see this happening any quicker."

Andy frowned at him, decidedly unimpressed with his analysis of the situation and how much he seemingly knew about his relationship given that he'd not told him much about it. He never told Provenza what had happened when they finally slept together that first time (other than confirming Provenza's suspicions that Andy had finally given her the letter he wrote in hospital), quickly realising that aside from Sharon not wanting that part of her life discussed (even with his best friend), Provenza probably wouldn't stop screaming if he was to ever share such intimate insights into his relationship with their Captain anyway. But since Provenza knew they were taking things very slowly and that they hadn't slept together before his accident since during his time off with his clot he slept in Rusty's room rather than Sharon's it wasn't that hard for him to work out that things were continuing to move at a deliberate pace. Likewise it wasn't that difficult to piece everything together when Andy strolled into the Murder Room one day with a black eye she had given him in the night and that was ignoring the change between them in the way they looked at each other when they thought no one was looking during a quiet five minutes or Andy's obscene grin, much like the one he now wore again, during the twenty four hours that followed.

"Oh ye of little faith" Andy said with real confidence.

"Trust me Flynn, you're not as charming as you think you are. Enjoy renting on your own for a while" Provenza replied as his attention went back to his unfinished report.

"We'll see" was all Andy could say in reply as he got up and walked over to Rusty who was still hovering next to Buzz's desk as he looked at the rather grizzly photos spread upon it. "You okay Buzz?"

"I'm fine Lieutenant. Thank you for asking" Buzz said with a forced smile before he turned his attention back to Rusty. "Just give me a couple of days Rusty and then we can talk about what you have in mind. Then...well, we'll see. Okay?"

"Sure. No problem. Whenever you're ready. Take your time." Andy caught Rusty's eye and raised his eyebrows at him before he nodded subtly towards Buzz. Rusty nodded, taking the hint. "Thank you Buzz" he said as Andy gestured for him to follow him away from Buzz's desk to give him some privacy. "Have a good night."

"You too."

Rusty followed Andy back towards his desk, both of them glancing back towards Buzz as he stared at the photos, a neutral expression on his face as he tried his best to hide the overwhelming grief he was currently feeling. "Just give him a little bit of space for a couple of days okay" Andy told him quietly. "This is going to be hard enough on him right now without a camera being stuck in his face and you asking a lot of questions."

"Yeah no problem" Rusty nodded, realising himself that he shouldn't push Buzz too far right now. He looked into Sharon's office, searching for her. "Are you guys just leaving or..."

"Your Mom still has some paperwork to finish and then I'm going to take her out to dinner."

"Oh okay. Are you staying over tonight?"

"Probably. Why?" Andy asked. Rusty didn't reply but instead just smiled and letting Andy know immediately exactly what he was thinking. "Yeah okay. Set the board up."

"Who knows, I might even let you win tonight" Rusty told him as he laughed while Andy frowned at him in return. "Tell Mom I'll see her later."

"Okay. Bye kid." Rusty made his way out of the Murder Room, waving goodbye to everyone while Andy sat back down at his desk, desperately looking for something to do to occupy his mind while he waited.

When he was sure Rusty had gone Mike turned his attention to Andy. "'Set the board up'?" he asked with a fair amount of confusion.

Andy nodded. "It seems I'm allowed to continue dating his Mom if I agree to play chess with him every chance I get" Andy explained.

Mike smiled. "That sounds like a fair trade to me."

"Yeah I can't complain."

"See if Lieutenant Flynn gets a second chance at being a Father then there's no reason that I can't at least try" Julio stated, looking at everyone around him and searching for some element of support, no matter how small.

Having not heard the earlier discussion about fostering as he waited for Sharon in her office, Andy looked a little put out by the insinuation. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Provenza sighed. "Julio has decided he's going to ask DCFS to ruin his life for him" he replied bluntly, seeing it as his new quest in life to help him, he couldn't stop Andy from dating the Captain (and he now openly admitted that he was completely wrong in his early assessment of the situation and that not only were they good together but also good for each other) but he could try to stop Julio from ruining his life along with the balance of the division and save him from potential heartache down the road.

Julio rolled his eyes at Provenza and then turned towards Andy. "I was just asking how long it takes to be approved to be a foster parent that's all" he explained before turning back to Provenza again. "Why do you think that's such a bad idea? I mean you've got kids right Lieutenant?"

"But only so he could sleep with the babysitter" Andy pointed out and making everyone laugh but Provenza who shot him the filthiest of filthy looks.

When Tucker had finally stopped crying long enough to finish his statement of facts, sign his deal and be transferred to County by Julio and Amy, everything else was wrapped up soon after and before long the rest of the division left which meant Sharon and Andy were able to leave too. Since they'd driven into work separately that morning after spending the night apart (which was Andy's idea to give her a little time and space on her own to think about moving in together and speak to all her children about it if need be) they also left PAB separately and agreed to meet up at the restaurant. Sharon left first as she always did with Andy following close behind and in close attendance. He claimed he just liked to follow her (away from driving because he could keep his eyes on her legs at all times) but Sharon knew that driving ahead of him was the only way to stop him from driving like a maniac and ensuring that he got to their destination in one piece when she wasn't there sitting next to him in the passenger seat. The drive to the restaurant wasn't long which was fortunate since Sharon found herself getting more and more nervous about what waited for her as the seconds ticked by. As per Andy's suggestion they had opted to go to Trattoria Spoleto because firstly it was close to PAB (and she had promised him that they would be discussing the move before they ordered and the quicker the better in Andy's eyes before she had chance to change her mind) but therefore it was popular amongst cops so the downside was that they expected to see some familiar faces as they tried to discuss their options but since Andy was more in love with their marinara sauce than he was with turkey, it was the perfect location.

They pulled into the parking lot behind each other and handed their keys over to the valet. With their ticket stubs placed securely in Andy's jacket pocket they walked hand in hand inside, Andy feeling Sharon tremble slightly beside him. He looked at her and smiled kindly, bringing her hand to his lips in an attempt to calm her down. The restaurant was crowded inside, not that it was unusual but by the time that they had been to the bar and bought a round of drinks their table was ready. The restaurant was Italian but it was hard to know that from the décor. The lighting was reduced with the exception of the bar area but the candles on each table gave it a romantic feel and the clean lines and neutral colour schemes made it seem more modern then perhaps it was.

The moment Sharon sat down at their intimate table for two against the right hand wall but not that far from the door, she felt the pressure on her shoulders and that was before Andy sat down opposite her, his eyes immediately on her. She knew what Andy wanted from her, he couldn't have made it much clearer and now it was all up to her to decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, the rest of their lives as it turned out. When she thought about it like that the answer was obvious to her. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him of that there was no doubt, a feeling she never expected to be dealing with again especially at that stage of her life, and that meant over coming all of her nerves and her fears and her penchant for foot dragging in every single situation and just saying 'YES!' except there were two issues that needed to be taken into consideration. Firstly Sharon was not alone, she came as a pair with Rusty. It was obvious that Rusty was no more ready to move out and away from Sharon than she was to be without him and therefore whatever decision Sharon made, she needed to take Rusty into account as well as he would be going with her, making the decision not just as a woman who wanted to move in with the love of her life but also as a Mother. Secondly Sharon just wasn't the sort of person who jumped in feet first like that and made snap decisions without thinking it all through first, Andy was but she most certainly wasn't. When Sharon did something as simple as buying a new blow dryer she took her time and looked at all of her options, seeing what other people had to say on her choice before making her final selection, she wasn't going to be any different when it came to moving in with Andy (except if she was looking for other people who recommended living with him the only person she could ask was Sandra and she knew exactly what her response would be and what sort of four lettered word rant she would use to express it). Yes Sharon wanted to move in with him, she wanted to the moment she sat with him in the bathroom the night he brought it up and he took all of the pressure off her and allowed her the time and space to think about it but wanting something and knowing that it's right for you and your son at that particular moment in time aren't the same thing.

Andy watched with a small smile as she scanned her menu from top to bottom, not really reading it but just avoiding his eyes and more importantly avoiding the conversation for as long as possible. She had promised him that they would discuss their options and all of the alternatives before they ordered their meal but he could see for himself just how nervous she was and to be honest he felt the same way, how could he not? His long term future with the woman he loved was currently up for debate and he still wasn't really sure which way it was going to go, his initial confidence and optimism slipping away with each second that passed by (and that was without Provenza's words of wisdom on the subject). He knew he had to play it just right, not apply too much pressure which was another reason that would probably rule out an immediate move for him into the condo (aside from dealing with Rusty) while they looked for a house but if he could get her to see just how great it could be, just how great they could be together then he thought he might be in with a chance of getting a positive response. The first thing he had to do was to get her to relax and he realised the best way of achieving that was to confront her nerves head on and make her laugh, relaxing her instantly as it so often did.

"So…" he started as he put his menu flat on the table in front of him, "how nervous are you exactly? Are we talking needing six glasses of wine before you can speak to me nervous or accidentally wetting yourself on the way to your car nervous?"

Sharon laughed, putting her menu down as well to stop herself from hiding behind it. "A little somewhere in between I think."

"Me too" he joked before they both laughed. "Well I'm glad we've got that cleared up."

Before they had chance to say anything else a young and very harassed looking waiter approached, holding a basket of bread and a pot of marinara sauce in his hand which he virtually threw down onto the table between them, sending crumbs scattering everywhere as their cutlery vibrated. "Hello, my name is Matthew and I'll be your server this evening. Are you ready to order?" he asked without taking a breath and making each word run into the next.

"Sure" Andy replied as he smiled at Sharon and her promise that was already broken.

"What can I get you?"

Andy gestured for Sharon to order first, something which he always did after having had 'Ladies first' drummed into him from a very earlier age, something that he very much took to heart. Sharon opened her menu and ran her finger down the list before coming to a stop halfway down. "I'll have the mushroom risotto please."

"Good choice. And for you sir?" he asked with an impatient sigh, not bothering to write anything down.

"The penne arrabiata."

"Okay." The server grabbed their menus from the table and slotted them under his arm, his eyes already moving to his next table and the diners inconveniencing him with their mere presence. "I'll put that right in for you" he added before scurrying away at speed.

"I should have asked you what else you wanted to eat since you always eat half of mine" Andy said with a grin, knowing Sharon always had to try several mouthfuls of whatever he was eating whether she was hungry or not. Sharon glared at him unimpressed for a moment. Andy just laughed in response as he moved the basket of bread to the edge of the table, for once in his life not attacking it immediately like he'd never seen food before, a sign of his own nerves coming to the surface. He took a sip of his water and waited in silence, not wanting to apply any more pressure than Sharon currently felt. When he finally settled and looked up he saw Sharon's nervous eye which had been watching him the whole time.

"I know this sounds ridiculous," she started as she lowered her voice a little like she was embarrassed by what she was about to say, "but I feel like this is our first date. In fact I'm more nervous now and I was practically shaking back then."

They both laughed. "In that case move that candle further towards you, I don't need to be banned from this place as well as Serve" he joked. Sharon laughed again, liking to mention his little fire dance a lot when they went out to dinner together. "I've often wondered if the reason I was so nervous on our first date was because we didn't have all of the usual get to know each other small talk to hide behind all evening since we already knew each other so well" he suggested although the cause of his nerves at the time was obvious.

"Maybe" Sharon nodded in agreement. "It may also have been because you'd just asked one of your closet friends out on a proper romantic date which is always a dangerous and tricky proposition in case things don't work out. Plus in your haste to ask you neglected to use the word 'date' when you asked said friend out and left it up to her to guess your true intentions that evening" she pointed out before smiling smugly and laughing at him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he replied, having been mocked many times by her over how he forgot to include the word 'date' when he asked her out to Serve almost twelve months ago. "So what do you think? Do we stand a chance of making this work?"

Sharon laughed again. "Oh I should say so, I am fairly fond of you but just so you don't feel like you missed out completely on the whole first date experience, hello," she said as she put her hand out for him to shake, "I'm Sharon, Sharon Raydor, very pleased to meet you."

"The honour is all mine milady" he replied with a smile before kissing her hand.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"Of course. My name is Albert. I'm the Crown Prince of Monaco" Andy joked and making her laugh once again, her shoulders relaxing more and more with every passing second as it slowly dawned on her that it was supposed to be a good thing they were there to discuss and nothing to cause such stress. "I've run away from my responsibilities and the throne and now I'm pretending to be a cop in the LAPD to you know, try and live a normal life amongst the common folk."

Sharon laughed once more. "Well you've certainly hidden it well over the years, I would never have guessed that you were European royalty."

"Thank you. I do try" Andy said modestly with a wave of his hand like he was waving at the population gathered below the palace balcony on his wedding day. "It makes me perfect for undercover work, all my experience of hiding who I really am and yet I still miss my former life. The fountains, the banquets, the peacocks roaming around the garden, eating roast swan every day for lunch."

"Is that why you're a vegetarian now?"

"Of course, why else? Once you've gone swan you don't go back."

Sharon laughed again. "I should have known. I'm so sorry should I have been curtsying to you this entire time?"

"I didn't want to say anything but yes. Your continued disrespect has caused somewhat of a diplomatic incident between our two fine countries."

"I take it you're filthy rich?"

"Incredibly filthy, how else do you suppose I afford all of these suspenders?" he asked as he opened up his coat to show them off. Sharon laughed once more as he reached across the table and took her hand, holding it in his. "I was too frightened to poke the bear and ask him myself before he took off but I take it Rusty and Gus have made up after their little fight the other day?"

"Yes they have, last night" Sharon confirmed.

"So they're okay now? They worked it out?"

"I think so yes. It seems Rusty took a leaf out of your book and wrote Gus a letter which seemed to do the trick." Andy smiled at her a little shyly for a moment. "So since they've made up Palm Springs is now back on the schedule and has been rearranged for next weekend, if you'd like to come on over and help me take advantage of my empty condo because you are more than welcome to join me" she informed him and offering the invitation, not that she needed to since he would probably be there regardless as he so often was of late.

"Just try and stop me" he said with a wink before he kissed her hand again. "Good. I'm glad for them. And if Rusty is in Palm Springs for the weekend with Gus then it might give Buzz a couple of days to breathe without him hovering over his shoulder." Sharon looked at him quizzically for a moment, unaware of what had happened that evening while she was still dealing with Tucker. "He made Provenza give him the missing photos from the Murder Book" he clarified.

Sharon sat back slightly as realisation hit her. As they left the Murder Room, Buzz has remained at his desk, hunched over it in near darkness as he gave them the quietest of goodbyes. "I thought he was quiet as we left tonight."

"Well if he says he can handle it what can we do?" Andy offered with a shrug.

"Let's hope he's right."

"I'm sure he'll handle it a lot better than Provenza does with the RACER room." Sharon laughed in response as she nodded. "That monkey they shot into space probably wasn't as confused by what was going on as he is in there."

"You're not much better yourself" Sharon pointed out. "If Mike and Buzz ever fall sick at the same time I'm not sure what we'll do."

"Good old fashioned police work, we delegate to others" he suggested.

"I wish I could have delegated this day off to someone else" Sharon replied with more than a touch of sadness. Andy just frowned at her, a little worried that everything was not going as well as he thought it was. "I don't mean this and why we're here" she told him quickly. "I mean work, that case. I just…how do you throw a child away like that? How? It's just beyond all comprehension. And they seemed like such a nice, normal couple too but how could anyone do that to a child and after four years as well?"

"I have absolutely no idea but the whole thing has certainly got Julio thinking."

"What about?"

"Fostering."

"Really?" Sharon asked with a lot of surprise.

"That's what he was talking about before he left."

Sharon smiled at the thought. "I think Julio would make a wonderful Father."

"He would and it's not like he hasn't done it before."

"Before?" Sharon asked after a mouthful of her orange juice. "But I thought Maria was pregnant when she died?"

"She was, I mean fostering" he clarified. "A few years back. There was this kid, his Mom was killed by his Dad and we couldn't locate the rest of his family right away so Julio took him into emergency care for a few weeks" he explained, realising that it wasn't the sort of thing she was likely to hear while working at FID.

"What happened?"

"Well it was never a full time thing, it was just an emergency placement type of deal and anyway Chief Johnson wasn't exactly supportive of his choice but then if it didn't have four legs and smelled like it had been dead for a month she wasn't very maternal."

Sharon laughed, thinking it quite a large understatement. "Is he serious about this?"

"I think so" Andy nodded. "Being a Dad is something he's wanted for a very long old time."

"Good for him" Sharon said with pride. "Under the circumstances I have no real other option than to support Julio if this is what he wants to do since I basically walked through the door of Major Crimes and almost immediately did the exact same thing with Rusty."

"As long as Buzz isn't on babysitting duty I'm sure everyone else will agree with you if he gets approved" Andy joked.

"I can't see why he won't be. You'll have to call your little friend at DCFS to put in a good word for him" she suggested, dropping a very loud hint about a woman she knew he dated more recently.

Andy smiled. "I no longer have a little friend at DCFS."

"Which is the correct answer" Sharon said as they both laughed. "He should call Cynthia, after all…" Suddenly she stopped, sighing and looking to the heavens for a moment. "What am I doing?" she said with exasperation and not wanting a reply. Her face dropped as she realised that despite her promise to him in her office they'd been sitting down for over ten minutes and ordered and the subject of moving in together hadn't even come into play as an afterthought. "Look at me I'm doing it again" she said with frustration before she put her head in her hands and sighed, her fears and nerves once again getting in the way of her actually living her life.

"Doing what?"

"I'm keeping you waiting. I said we'd discuss it before we ordered and instead I've kept you waiting again and talking about everything but moving in together. Andy I'm so sorry" she said sincerely before she sat up straight like she was in a meeting with Chief Pope, her heart suddenly beating in her throat. "Okay. Let's do this, let's talk."

Andy nodded. "Okay, let me have them."

"Let you have what?" Sharon asked confused.

"The rules."

"What makes you think there are going to be any rules?" she queried. Andy just smiled at her in response, knowing full well that there would always be rules. "Fine! It's not really a rule but more of a condition for discussion with a compromise attached."

"Okay. This sounds suspiciously like you'll move in with me if I start sleeping in the bathtub from now on."

Sharon laughed. "No, no. It's nothing like that." She paused as she reached across the table and took his hand again, linking their fingers together and staring at them for a moment before she looked up and met his eye. "I know I drag my feet about everything and I've made you wait for me every single step of the way so far in this relationship but I just ask you for a little bit more patience. I promise you that I will make a decision one way or another tonight and let you know my answer but that might not be by the time we've finished dinner. I may need to think about it a little longer first" she said, wanting to make sure she didn't make a snap decision and really thought through all of their options. She knew that before long Andy would lay out the ideal vision for their future together that she would instantly fall in love with and it would then be very easy for her to get completely carried away, her own emotions taking over but as she kept having to remind herself it wasn't all about her, it was also about Rusty and what would be best for him. Thinking as the Mother of a son who she knew was going to be even more reluctant in the face of change than she was, she knew she had to approach the situation differently than how Andy was, including Rusty in her thoughts before agreeing to anything, wanting to make sure it was the best option for him too.

"Okay. But are we talking before the end of the night or next week or...?"

"Yes before the end of the night and that's a promise" she stated emphatically so there was no mistaking her intent. "I just want to think about things first. I know that's keeping you waiting even longer but this is the very last time I'm ever going to make this kind of decision so please let me just think about what option is best for us and you will have my answer before we go to sleep tonight." The truth was she already knew her answer and if he was perfectly honest Andy did as well. They _were_ going to move in together and that was clear but the when and the where was still very much up in the air and with Rusty to consider Sharon wanted to think over everything, every last permutation before giving him her answer of what option she'd be most comfortable with and hoping that Rusty and Andy would also feel the same way.

Andy smiled, knowing that this was it and there would be a 'yes' at the end of the night as soon as they discussed every option available to them. "Assuming you don't fall asleep mid-sentence while giving me your answer of course" he joked, again trying to lighten the mood.

"I've done it once" Sharon cried.

"Four times. You've done it four times" Andy corrected. "The last time you did it you'd had just enough wine to begin to tell me the story behind your nickname in college when you fell asleep" he said with clear disappointment.

Sharon smiled. "Some might say that was perfectly timed."

"I don't, Burning Fire O'Dwyer."

Sharon laughed, enjoying tormenting him. "I'll tell you one day" she informed him as her eyes sparkled, clearly lying to him.

He looked at her with surprise for a moment, a smile creeping over his face as he suddenly became optimistic on two fronts. "That's a change in tune from the other night. When are you going to tell me?"

"I'm not" she laughed.

"Oh come on! Tell me!"

"No."

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"Tell me!" he cried a final time with his voice taking on a demonic quality before he laughed.

Sharon laughed with him. "Fine, I'll tell you."

"When?"

"When you're fast asleep and then I'll spill my guts" she said with a wink. Andy slumped back into his chair and rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault that nothing on this earth can wake you up."

"Sneaky Raydor. Very very sneaky" he grumbled with a glare. "Okay. Fair enough, you have the rest of the evening to think it over," he nodded, returning his attention to his real goal of the evening, "and even longer if you'd like just as long as I know where I stand. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, just some time to think about it first before I make a decision on what I think suits us best is all I ask." Since they both already knew the outcome of their discussion before it had really started, the fact that Sharon had the illusion of power in the situation on behalf of her and Rusty, it was enough to make her relax while they pondered their options.

"Okay. Can I add something?"

She smiled at him for a moment and chuckled to herself. "I knew you'd become a lover of the rule book eventually."

"Well I kind of have to if I'm honest don't I? So can I?"

"Of course."

He took her hands more firmly in his, squeezing them gently in a clear indication that what he was about to say was important and for once he was being deadly serious with her. "Sharon if you're not happy with something or it's definitely not what you want then please tell me. Don't make me be another guy who pushes you into something you don't want to do, please don't make me that guy" he pleaded sincerely.

"Andy you'd never do that."

"And yet you looked positively terrified in your office tonight after you agreed to come here and discuss it with me" he pointed out.

She smiled shyly, acknowledging that her very wide eyed and panicky reaction had been easily spotted by him. "Okay. Agreed but I think 'terrified' is going a bit far." He just smiled at her with his eyebrow raised. "Maybe not but it was mainly nerves" she clarified as they both laughed. "With all that in mind let me start by saying that I am _very_ open to the idea of moving in together Andy, of completely sharing my life with you, of that there is no question despite how nervous slash terrified it currently makes me feel."

He could do nothing but laugh, delighted that things were going the way he wanted but while still realising that things needed to go slowly. "Well that's a start" he said with a smile before planting his lips to the back of her hand. "And don't be nervous. I don't bite" he added with a wink before kissing her hand again. "Okay so what about the idea of moving in together right away?"

Before Sharon had chance to respond, movement out of the corner of their eyes caught both of their attentions. They turned at once to see Chief Johnson walking towards them, her arm flailing in the air as she waved at them. She was dressed all in yellow, a cardigan over the top of her dress which only served to ensure her bright red and liberally applied lipstick make her lips stand out even more, giving her the appearance of a baby chick from a distance. "Oh for heaven's sake! Look who it is! Yoohoo! Captain! Lieutenant!" she almost screeched from across the room.

Andy's face lit up when he registered who it was headed in their direction. "Chief!"

Without realising they were doing it Sharon and Andy pulled away from each other a little, letting go of each other's hands as Brenda hurried to their table to greet them. Just behind her Fritz followed still in his uniform, a frown on his face like he knew his wife was probably interrupting something important between them given the way that they were sitting and since Sharon wasn't particularly an overly demonstrative person in public. "Well look at you two sitting over here all cosy looking" Brenda said with equal parts glee and awkwardness. "You know until I saw it with my own two eyes I didn't honestly believe it." It didn't help that Fritz started the conversation while she relaxed in the bathtub with 'Hey guess what' before he told her that Andy and Sharon were dating, his nonchalant attitude making her assume he was joking about it. That pattern continued for several months until Andy went into hospital and Fritz expressed his concern for his wife's former nemesis as she dealt with it all while continuing to work without so much as taking a beat and Brenda finally came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth.

"Hey Chief. Great to see you" Andy said warmly as he stood and gave her a quick and ultimately awkward hug.

"You too Andy. You too" she replied, patting him on his shoulder.

Andy sat back down as Fritz joined them, smiling and nodding at them both as almost an apology for not being able to stop Brenda from interrupting them. "How are you Chief?" Andy asked as he instinctively took Sharon's hand back in his own, a move that didn't go unnoticed by his former commanding officer.

"Oh just fine and dandy thank you Andy, just fine and dandy" Brenda replied, her eyes going back and forth between Andy and Sharon and their hands which were still joined right in front of her in the middle of the table, truly not really believing what she'd heard until now and she'd seen it with her own two eyes.

"How's David? He still working with you?" Andy continued, ignoring the attention their hands were currently receiving.

"Yes he is and he's doing great. Just great. Getting married."

"Oh that's wonderful" Sharon said with a smile, genuinely pleased.

"To anyone we know?" Andy asked cautiously, shooting Sharon a glance from the corner of his eye and being met with a similar look in return, both of them beyond curious to learn if David had perhaps forgiven Ann and moved on after she made him the leak without his knowledge or whether it was someone else entirely.

"No, no, a lady he met online" Brenda nodded, still more than a little uncomfortable about discussing the more personal aspects of life like that especially when she was faced with something similar right in front of her. She managed to drag her eyes away from their joined hands for one moment and focused in on Sharon. "Captain Raydor, how's Rusty doing?"

Sharon beamed with pride. "Oh just wonderful Chief."

"He's just switched to UCLA" Andy chimed in.

"Is that so?" Brenda said, a smile on her face and delighted to know that the young man who had finally helped her get Philip Stroh behind bars (albeit temporarily) was continuing to lead a better life with Sharon then when they found him.

"Brenda" Fritz said quietly, wanting to get her away from the table as quickly as possible but was inevitably ignored by all concerned.

"Yes majoring in communications. He wants to be the journalist" Sharon went on.

"Well he's certainly got the right combative attitude for the job" Brenda laughed.

"Brenda" Fritz said again only a little louder than before.

Brenda put her hands on her hips before she smiled at them both. "Well who would have thought I'd come in here one day and find ya'll two holding hands like this?" Sharon and Andy smiled at each other as he shrugged.

"Brenda" Fritz repeated, tugging on the edge of her cardigan.

"And to think Andy you used to draw pictures of witches on the murder board that looked just like a certain Captain from FID that we all know" Brenda laughed.

Sharon immediately turned to Andy and smiled, her smile only growing in size as Andy frowned a Brenda unimpressed. "Yeah thanks for that Chief."

"Brenda!" Fritz shouted.

Ignoring the calls from her husband, Brenda continued. "And you Captain when you were brandishing his package around the Conference Room and investigating him every five seconds."

"Brenda!" Fritz shouted a final time, his cry now too loud for her to ignore.

Brenda turned to face him with a scowl. "Not now Fritzy you're interrupting a conversation."

"So are you I think. If you'll excuse us, Captain, Lieutenant." Fritz grabbed hold of Brenda by her waist and lifted her off her feet as he turned them away from the table and walked over towards the bar, whispering in her ear as they went since he had realised that something was clearly going on between them.

"Bye Chief" Andy called after them before they laughed quietly to each other. "It's almost like that was planned as a stalling tactic."

Sharon laughed at the ridiculousness of his statement. "Oh yes because my number one fan is always on hand to help me out of a tricky situation when I need her." They laughed again as they looked towards the bar and saw Fritz continue to wrestle with Brenda as he battled to give them their privacy. "A witch Andy? Really?" Sharon questioned dryly.

"It was not a witch," Andy lied, "it was just a stick figure…in a hat…with a broom."

"So a witch then?"

"Admittedly yes but it wasn't all me" Andy replied quickly since Provenza had also played his part in the little art project on the murder board.

She hummed in response, acting annoyed but finding the whole thing highly amusing if she was being honest. "I'm sure. Anyway where were we?"

"Talking about the possibility of moving in together right away and definitely not about witches" he cleared up quickly. "You were giving me a look like you were trying to let me down gently." He gave her a very weak smile which earned him a surprising result. Sharon stood, moved her chair to next to him rather than opposite him on their intimate table for two, before she cupped his face with her hands and quickly kissed him on the lips a couple of times, not caring one jot who saw them and what they thought about her very public and uncharacteristic display of affection.

As their lips parted she took his hand back in hers and smiled. It was a smile that screamed positivity but he could tell without much effort that she was nervous about it all and that idea in particular and although he knew some of it was do with Rusty, a huge part of her nerves came from her fear of ruining what they had. "I don't want to rush this Andy" she said finally. "If we're going to do this I want to do it right. I don't want to make a decision that's right for us short term but maybe wrong for us long term since this is the rest of our lives we're talking about here. If we're going to do this then I want to do it properly because it won't come as a shock to you when I say that this is the very last time I am ever going to even consider moving in with a man that I'm in love with." Ten years ago she never thought she'd be in that position again, finding someone that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, to live with. With Jack it was easy. They were young, they were naïve and it was just something that came very naturally in the progression of their relationship. But with Andy it was different. Her wounds inflicted by Jack were obvious and as such she was overly cautious when it came to men which had prevented her from moving on (other than just using the odd casual acquaintance for sex) for so long in the past. But she had reached the point where she could no longer see a future without Andy in it but to ensure that was always going to be the case she wanted to make sure that the right decision was made and they didn't rush into anything without thinking it through first. Added to that Rusty was also in the forefront of her mind. Had it just been her alone then she might very well have agreed to Andy moving into the condo that night while they looked for a house but Rusty would certainly need time to get used to the idea before that happened.

Andy laughed before pretending to wipe the sweat from his brow. "I'm glad to hear it."

"You are it for me and I know this is asking a lot of you and I know it's not what you want to hear but I've never rushed into anything in my life, especially nothing this big and life changing" she admitted not that it came as a surprise to him. "And as much as I love you and I do love you Andy Flynn," she confirmed before slowly kissing him on the lips again, "more than anything in this world, I'm not about to suddenly change. Just a little bit of time and I'm not talking months here, just a matter of weeks is all I ask before we actually do this." It was true, she'd never rushed anything (taking Rusty into emergency care aside). Over a week had passed before she finally gave Jack an answer after he proposed (and in hindsight she was right to be cautious and acknowledged that she should have paid a lot more attention to her head when it asked 'Are you sure about this?' when her heart was screaming 'YES!' and of course her Father who didn't trust Jack as far as he could throw him). It didn't mean she didn't love Andy or she didn't want to live with him, nothing could be further from the truth and since nothing would change from how they currently lived their lives she felt she and Rusty would need a little bit of time before taking that next step with him.

"Okay" Andy nodded, trying his hardest to stay positive. "So no moving in together right away then?" It wasn't a massive surprise to him if he was perfectly honest although it was a little disappointing. He knew it was optimistic of him to expect her to move in with him right away especially since Sharon liked to drag her feet while she made even the simplest of decisions, more so when it came to the big things in life, never ever rushing in and that was before he took Rusty's feelings into account.

"If that's okay?" she asked nervously. Andy sat back in his seat a little, his disappointment clearly showing despite his best efforts to hide it. "But just think about that for one moment, about what that actually means for us. How many nights did we spend together last week?"

Andy thought for a moment as he counted and quickly realised they'd only been apart the night before over the last week and that was his decision. "Six."

"Exactly" Sharon replied as she practically hugged his arm, wrapping both of hers around it as she brought it against her body. "You already spend most nights with me in the condo anyway so..."

"So it's not like me moving in with you right away would make that much difference right now" Andy stated as he realised that although she was right, he'd still rather just make the whole thing official.

"Precisely and it's just while we get everything arranged and I get Rusty used to the idea."

He nodded and since Rusty had taken so long to accept him as his Mom's boyfriend he acknowledged that this too might take a little extra time and not rushing him was always the best option. "Okay I understand but just to get this completely clear," he said before he smiled, letting her know that he was joking with her, "in other words over the next couple of months you still want me in your condo most nights but not my clothes?" Sharon laughed at him as Andy's shoulders relaxed. She was right, he kept reminding himself, she was right in her assessment. They were already virtually living together anyway and waiting that little bit longer for it to be official wouldn't change that much other than the location of his possessions and a little paperwork.

"Something like that and mainly because I don't yet have room for your clothes in the closet in my condo." Again they both laughed because she was correct about that too, the couple of suits and items of clothing he kept there already struggled to find a home without his entire wardrobe putting in an appearance. "You really don't mind if we just wait a while before doing this properly?" she asked. The important word in her question was 'properly' and Sharon kept using it time and time again. She was thinking long term about their future rather than a snap decision and clearly wanted to make long term arrangements with him to make it official rather than a quick move by one of them and leaving a vacant home they might struggle to sell.

"In theory of course because you've not actually said yes yet right?" he asked with a smile. Again from her words he knew exactly what answer she was going to give him come the end of the night once they had decided who was going to move where and more precisely when.

She smiled. "Yes, in theory."

"You're right, it's not like we will see each other any less. So keeping things the way they are for the time being is fine by me as long as we discuss alternatives for the not so distant future."

"Again agreed. So let's discuss it. What did you have in mind?" Sharon asked, sitting to attention and very keen to hear what he had to say on the subject.

Andy squeezed her hand as it remained wrapped in her arms. "Well like I said I was looking to sell my house and to maybe move to somewhere in Silver Lake and in a dream world you'd be coming with me."

"Buying or renting?"

"Right now I'm thinking of renting a place I guess unless along with me selling my house you..." he said as he gestured towards her and waited for her to finish his sentence.

"Sell my condo and come with you?"

"Exactly" Andy nodded. "Then we could combine our resources and buy somewhere bigger, somewhere together. Imagine the house we could buy if we went in on it together. A house that's ours rather than you moving in with me or me moving in with you."

"That's not an option?" Sharon asked, seeing it as perhaps the easiest option.

"Well sure if that's what you'd prefer but one of the reasons why I want to move is to cut my commute in half and be closer to Nicole and the kids."

Sharon smiled at him, knowing full well that the biggest reason he wanted to move was because he simply wanted to live with her. "One of the reasons?"

"That's what I'm sticking with yes," he laughed, "rather than admitting that I just want us to move in together and come across as too needy and desperate."

Sharon laughed. "Oh of course not."

"But aside from cutting my commute I want to start a fresh. A new house for a new life with you, not moving you into my house with rat issues and gropy crazy neighbours."

"Are we really going to compare crazy neighbours?" she asked, feeling that she could quite easily win that game what with the constant battles she had with Mrs Rose next door.

"Hey I'd take mean and always complaining against a woman who won't leave my ass alone any day of the week."

"Especially since keeping a hand permanently on your behind is my job."

"Exactly" Andy nodded before they both laughed.

"I take your point" Sharon said with a wry smile, freely admitting that Andy's house had its problems which was why they spent so much of their time at the condo instead. "What about the condo though? You selling up and moving in with me isn't an option?"

"Don't get me wrong I love your condo and we could call that an excellent Plan B if we initially struggle to find a place that we like and I've already sold up but is it not just a little small for us with all the kids?" Sharon went to respond but he stopped her, wanting to paint a picture she could see when she closed her eyes. "Just think about it. Think about the house we could afford between us if we both sold our places and combined resources. Think about the size of the yard we could have. Ideal for having all five kids around and the boys during the holidays."

She smiled at him, already picturing it in her mind. "That does sound nice. It's always been a tight squeeze just me and the kids at the condo without you and yours as well."

"Exactly." Andy pulled his arm from Sharon's grasp and clutched both of her hands in his. "And I'm not just talking about a barbecue in the yard on the Fourth of July either. Imagine a place big enough to have all the kids over for Thanksgiving and Christmas."

Sharon smiled again, knowing that Andy was painting the perfect holiday picture for her, something he knew she would fall for instantly. "I have always wanted a large family Christmas, a house filled to the brim with people like it was when I was younger."

"It sounds perfect and a bigger house means more room for Christmas angels" he said in an extremely sing song manner, tempting her further.

"Now you're just trying to get me into bed."

"Guilty as charged" he admitted.

Sharon laughed before realisation hit her. "But you don't like my Christmas angels."

"That's not entirely true" he lied, hoping that a very localised earthquake may one day hit her storage unit and kill off one or two of the more disturbing angels that lived there much of the year.

"Then why did you turn them around every chance you got over Christmas?" she asked.

Andy shrugged. "For fun." Sharon rolled her eyes at him as he laughed. The first one, the one in her bedroom, he had turned around specifically because it looked creepy and he felt like it was staring at him but he only kept it up, doing the same thing to all of the others dotted around the condo because he enjoyed the over the top reaction he got from her. "My only objection is having any of them in the bedroom. Especially that one that looks like a melted version of Barbra Bush."

Sharon laughed as she shook her head. "But why?"

"I don't like them watching me."

"Watching you do what exactly?" Sharon asked with huge dollops of confusion. "Sleeping? Pulling your suspenders up? What?"

"No. You know, watching me do my...," he paused as he sought the most appropriate phrase given their location, "watching me do my business with you."

"Oh Andy!" she cried before collapsing onto the table in a fit of laughter.

"It's creepy knowing they're watching me with their freaky little eyes while I'm doing that with you" he added with a shudder. "I don't like an audience."

She laughed again, thinking him beyond ridiculous at times but loving him all the same. "They're not taking notes and giving you a mark out of ten you know. Or even heckling you like those two old guys from the Muppets."

"You mean the two Provenzas?"

"Exactly" she replied before they both laughed.

"But how do you know that? Have you ever seen _Toy Story_?" he asked with complete seriousness but again was only met with laughter. "Anyway, with the exception of the bedroom where I have to put my foot down..."

"Oh you're putting your foot down are you?" she smiled.

"I most certainly am. It's a deal breaker" he informed her. "With the exception of the bedroom where I'm putting my foot down, if you move in with me you can put those God awful Christmas angels anywhere you like. Hell I'll even spend the whole of December dressed up as one if that's all it takes to get you to say yes" he offered.

Sharon laughed. "That's certainly a tantalising offer but I'll just have to move the ones from the bedroom into the bathroom won't I?"

"And let them watch me in the shower?" Andy asked horrified.

"You don't mind when I watch you in the shower."

"Well that's different" he grinned.

"How is it?"

"I can usually get you to join me" he winked before he leant in and pressed his lips to hers.

Sharon shrugged. "Maybe they will too" she suggested.

He frowned, slightly alarmed by her statement. "Let me put it like this, if I'm in the shower and I turn around to find one of those angels standing behind me, I will scream."

Sharon laughed at him again, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. "What about Benny?" she asked. 'Benny' was a tiny glass angel that he had bought her for a Christmas present a few months earlier. He was named 'Benny' after Andy revealed for the first time what his middle name actually was with Sharon finding the whole thing hilarious much to Andy's annoyance (although Sharon still wasn't one hundred percent sure he was telling truth about it as the whole thing reeked of another one of Andy Flynn's trademark tall tales and with so much to talk to Liz about already during their time in New York, that question unfortunately fell by the wayside. In truth the whole thing reminded Sharon of her Father since he too had lied to her about his middle name, thinking that his middle 'BT' initials stood for 'Bonzo Tiger' until she was fourteen when she discovered it was actually 'Bernard Thomas'). To annoy Andy further Sharon had quickly come to the conclusion that 'Benny' wasn't overly Christmassy so therefore he could proudly sit on her nightstand, watching over them every day of the year.

Andy sighed, resigned to that fact that he was to blame for the appearance of that angel since he bought it himself. "I've reached the stage where I have reluctantly come to accept that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Benny the angel watching me sleep."

"You bought him for me" she reminded him.

"I know and I don't think I'll be making that mistake twice." Sharon laughed at him. "But back to my original point, just think about it. A big beautiful tree up in the living room, stockings hanging up for all the kids over the fireplace, Christmas angels in every single nook and cranny."

Sharon smiled but it quickly faded as reality hit the ideal world that Andy was trying to paint. "This all sounds very lovely but ultimately a little idealistic don't you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"Christmas, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July without being called into work? When's the last time that happened for our department?" she correctly pointed out.

"Well that's the short sighted view yes" he replied after he'd kissed her hands.

"And the long sighted?"

"You don't want to rush into this and you're right. We don't want to rush this because we'd be looking for a house to retire in. To grow old in. To spend the rest of our lives in together. The last move we're ever going to make, the last house we're ever going to buy." Andy had thought it all through thoroughly before raising the idea with Sharon. There was a very good chance that this was the last move they were ever going to make and with that in mind they had to start thinking long term, start thinking about the life they were going to have after they both retired from the LAPD.

Sharon smiled. "Ah, I see" she nodded as she realised that he was right. It was something that hadn't occurred to her over the last couple of days, that this wasn't just a house for them to live in over the next couple of years, but their future, their future together.

"Have you never thought about it? What your dream house would be like after retirement?"

"If I'm honest before you, no I hadn't" she admitted, being so driven and focused on her career for so long that retirement never entered her mind all that often. "It's not that I ever worried about my life after the LAPD and what I'd do it's just that I love my job and I wanted to do it…I still want to do it for as long as possible and I know you feel the same way. I always assumed though that my attitude might change when Grandchildren came on the scene and there became more to life than just work alone."

"Which we now have sort of" he smiled in reference to Nicole's Step-Sons, with both boys loving to stay with Grandpa Andy and Granny Sharon as much as they liked having them. "They could stay over more with a bigger place."

Sharon grinned. "I'd like that. One of my favourite things in this world is watching you play with those boys. You're so good with them, it's a bit of a turn on if I'm perfectly honest" she said quietly as her eyes sparkled at him.

"Then they have to stay over more" he demanded before they both laughed. "And when Emily and Ricky do have kids of their own we'll have a big house and back yard all ready for them to play in."

"Yeah but if I were to move in with you it would essentially make you their Grandfather and do I really want to inflict you and your ridiculous sense of humour on my sweet innocent future Grandchildren?" she teased. Andy's jaw dropped open rather dramatically with mock offense, knowing she was only joking, until she laughed and kissed him. "In the past when I thought about retirement I wondered how I'd fill my time which is why I thought I'd work as long as I was able, especially when I was still at FID. But there are lots of things I imagined doing when I retired like travelling and taking classes but that only fills so much of the day when you're on your own. I now see my retirement, our retirement and spending it together, spending it with you."

"Good" he nodded as they smiled at each other for a moment. "I mean it this house isn't just about now, it's about ten years from now and beyond. It's our future."

"You're right. If we do this, if we buy somewhere new I want this to be our very last move" she almost insisted with the stresses involved with moving house being one of the reasons why she was so reluctant when Andy initially raised the subject with her. "The place where I sit on the porch with my ice tea and my book while I watch you in your back brace and walker looking for your teeth amongst the begonias."

Andy laughed, hoping for something a little less bleak than that in their 'golden years.' "See now you're getting the idea but until then think about more space, a yard, no long drive to my place and vice versa."

"Go on."

"A closet big enough for all of our stuff."

"I'm sure I could find you a spare corner to keep a suit or two in if you're lucky" she joked.

"Oh how very generous of you."

"The rest you could keep in garbage bags in the garage" she teased.

"Waking up together _every_ morning. Maybe driving into work together every now and then" he added. More often than not they waited for each other in the parking garage when they arrived at work so that they could walk in together and spend five more minutes as a couple before the professional shutter came down between them so Andy was very keen to extend that process and (when it was possible) drive together to and from work, it being made all the more easier if they were living together.

"Is that really realistic?" she asked, instantly bursting his bubble since more often than not they would need both cars unless the incredibly unlikely happened and Andy was put back on desk duty.

"Not every day granted but we'd manage. It'd be nice."

"It would" she agreed. "What else?"

"Going home and making dinner together in a bigger kitchen. A kitchen where you don't hide the spoons from me all the time" he went on, suddenly grumbling more as his overall sense of excited subsided for a moment.

"I don't hide them from you now, you just can't remember where I keep them."

"I remember just fine. You move them."

"I don't" she protested as she laughed, having heard this complaint many times over the last couple of months.

"You do" he insisted, under the impression that she moved them deliberately on evenings when he wasn't there just to annoy him.

"Okay then, where are they? Where are they kept?"

"Where they usually are."

"Which is?"

"In the drawer" he said being as vague as humanly possibly since he had no real idea.

"Which drawer?"

Andy paused for a moment as he thought, never getting it right. "By the fridge."

"No. By the stove. They've always been by the stove. Why would they be by the fridge?"

"That's where they were last week!" he cried. "You move them when I'm asleep just to confuse me."

"I do not," she laughed, "but I'm warning you now if you ever let Rusty hear you say things like that that's exactly what he'll start doing."

"I had to stir my coffee with a pen the other morning" he admitted a little sadly since he'd been unable to find a spoon, under the assumption that they were being hidden from him and not wanting to ask because he knew the answer would come with a lot of ridicule.

She laughed. "I know. I saw" she said sympathetically as she ran her hand down his face for a brief moment. "Rusty thought you were having a breakdown. He dragged me into the bathroom to talk to me about it and offered to call Dr Joe."

"Then stop moving them!" he said again.

"I don't" she insisted as she succumbed to laughter once again. "Trust me Andy if I was hiding something from you to irritate you do you really think spoons would be my top priority?" Once again her eyes sparkled at him as he swallowed, concern evident.

"Well now you've got me worried."

"Good."

"Does this mean my suspenders are under imminent threat?" he asked with his voice suddenly getting very high.

"If I told you it would take some of the fear away wouldn't it?" she grinned.

"Well now I'm definitely hiding them" he muttered with a genuine sense of panic as she laughed at him. "In _our_ house the spoons will go in the drawer that I pick and they stay there."

She laughed again. "Okay. You've got yourself a deal but still no TV in the bedroom."

"What do you have against TVs in bedrooms?"

"You'd only watch sport all night long" she rightly pointed out.

"So? You like football. You like baseball."

"I do but when I walk into the bedroom, shut that door and climb into bed with you all I want to do is talk to you before going to sleep, not ignore each other while we watch guys throw a ball around" she explained, not wanting anything to get in the way of that time she spent alone with Andy at night as they lay in bed and discussed anything and everything.

He smiled. "Talking to you in bed is the best part of my day."

"Exactly. Mine too. So no TV in the bedroom and the spoons where you like. Deal?"

"Deal" he agreed before he shook her hand, still clasped tightly in his own.

"What else?" she encouraged, wanting to know more about what Andy had in mind.

"It sounds to me like you're coming around to the idea if we're already making specific deals about things" he said, this optimism growing by the second.

"I said I'd give it some thought and that's exactly what I'm doing. I need to see it from every angle before I offer my opinion on what's best for us and that includes spoon placement and TVs" she pointed out before they laughed. "So you were saying we'd come home, make dinner together in a bigger kitchen and..."

"Right" he nodded, trying to think of what else would appeal to her the most in this ideal world he was trying to describe to her. "We could eat in the yard. Little fairy lights around the trees everywhere. A fire pit for the winter. Snuggling up together under a blanket beneath the stars."

"We do that now."

"Right but without the traffic noises from down below and Mrs Rose next door complaining that she can hear you breathing too loudly" he pointed out, seeing their cosy evenings outside in their new house being a lot more private and peaceful compared to what they currently experienced at the condo.

She smiled at him while giving him a stern look like she was about to reprimand him about something. "Well if you weren't doing things like that to me on the balcony then I wouldn't be breathing too loudly would I?" she replied, laying all the blame at his door for the way they heard Mrs Rose complaining from her balcony on that particular evening when, as she sat leaning back against his chest and they cuddled beneath a blanket on a lounge chair, his hand slipped between her legs and his fingers went to work performing their magic since Rusty was out and he wanted to make her relax after a very stressful day at work.

Andy laughed, knowing he'd get the blame despite receiving no resistance or requests to stop at the time instead she leant into him while her knees dropped further apart. "Rusty was out and I didn't hear you complaining at the time. You seemed to be fully on board with what I was doing which was why Mrs Rose was moaning just as loudly as you were."

Sharon laughed. "I didn't say I didn't enjoy it, I was just pointing out that it was your fault that she had reason to complain in the first place that's all" she stated, not really caring what her irritating neighbour thought of her or what she got up to with her boyfriend in the privacy of her own home, but that being said she did soon drag him inside and shut the door as soon as her legs were strong enough to carry her again.

"Imagine the peace and quiet."

"It sounds like paradise" she said dreamily, starting to really fall for the idea.

"It does and that's before we get to retire at night to _our_ bedroom."

"We'd definitely be taking my bed" she was quick to say.

"Oh absolutely. Your bed, your table, your chairs, your whatever you want as long as you come with them and we move in together."

"You may regret saying that when not a single piece of your furniture makes the cut."

"Oh I don't think so" he laughed. "Everything large of mine can go except I was thinking about keeping my bed for the spare bedroom."

Sharon sat up a little straighter suddenly. She had become so relaxed as they spoke, really falling for the idea of a life with Andy in a new home together, away from the condo that she had grown to love so much, that was until Andy made it sound like Rusty wouldn't be included with him not being mentioned once all evening aside from being lumped in with their other children and her wanting to delay any move until he got used to the idea. Any spare bedroom they had would obviously not be spare because it would be Rusty's room and she thought Andy knew that. After thinking they were finally on the same page she now worried that they were anything but. "Rusty already has his own bed" she said quietly.

"I know he does but I was thinking..."

"Look Andy I need to stop you right there" she said cutting him off quickly, needing him to know that Rusty was coming with them if and when they moved or it simply wasn't going to happen at all. "I know you and Rusty haven't always gotten along swimmingly, sometimes it's been like sharing the breakfast table with two feral cats but he and I are a package deal. Where I go he goes and if there's no room for him then it simply isn't going to happen and I..."

"I know" he said simply with a smile.

"You say that but..."

"Sharon, Sharon," he said as he interrupted her, "I know."

"I would never..."

"Are you going to let me speak and finish telling you my vision for our future or do you want to keep carrying on and leaping to the wrong conclusion some more?" he asked with a frown since she had really misunderstood what he wanted from her.

"I'm sorry, carry on."

"Thank you. Look I understand okay?" he said with a smile. "Even if Rusty was ready to move out on his own, and by the way there is absolutely no pressure whatsoever from me to speed him up on that front" he clarified sincerely. "When the kid is ready, he's ready and that's okay with me. It's quite clear that you're not ready for him to go anywhere anyway and that's more than fine with me." He kissed her hand again, trying his hardest to reassure her since all of his hard work had been undone with one misunderstood statement. "I know you're a package deal. I knew that when I asked you out on that first date and guess what? I want you both. I always have even if he does compare me to a dog every chance he gets" he grumbled as she laughed. "What I want to do is to look at houses that have a minimum _three_ bedrooms so that means we've got our room, Rusty's room for however long the kid wants it and beyond for holidays and whatever and a spare room for Ricky or Emily or the kids or whoever when they come to visit and there's no more air mattresses or sleeping on the couch or doubling up. It's a house big enough for all of us, and I do mean all of us, to fit comfortably" he explained. "Does that sound okay to you? Is that something you could jump on board with?"

She smiled at him, wondering how she could have possible thought Andy meant anything else given the time and patience he had showed Rusty from day one. "Yes. Yes it does. That sounds fabulous actually."

"Good" he nodded before he kissed her hand. "Because Rusty is my family too now whether he likes it or not" he stated almost proudly as she laughed. "And since I've already agreed to not rush this so he can get used to the idea first, I also want to make him feel as comfortable as possible in his home, in our home."

She sighed as she smiled at him. "God I love you." She reached forward and kissed him on the lips, a kiss that lingered for a surprising amount of time considering that they were in a fairly crowded restaurant. They broke apart when they heard someone clearing their throat very close to them, clearly trying to get their attention. They looked up at the same time, expecting to see their server with their food but instead saw Chief Pope hovering next to their table, like Fritz still in his uniform. "Chief" Sharon said after a moment as they both tried not to laugh at their second interruption of the night.

"Captain. Lieutenant" Pope nodded a little awkwardly as he took some bread from the basket on their table and dipped it in the marinara sauce before popping it into his mouth. "I'm meeting Taylor here shortly," he explained as his eyes scanned the room for the man in question, "when I saw you and thought…Is that Brenda?" he asked, a real sense of joy to his voice that had become very rare over the last few years. Without bothering to say 'goodbye' Pope walked away from their table with his eyes locked on Brenda like he was caught in some sort of tractor beam.

Sharon and Andy both laughed as they watched him walk away, in a certain amount of disbelief that they'd been interrupted twice. "Jeez. Is it two for one or something in here today?" Andy asked. "It's like eating in Grand Central Station but everyone has the worst possible timing in the world. Now where were we?"

Before Sharon could reply their server was at their side holding their food in his hands. "And here we are. One mushroom risotto and one penne arrabiata" he announced as he put their plates in front of them, moving Sharon's place setting for her immediately afterwards since she had moved her chair closer to Andy. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, it all looks wonderful thank you" Sharon said as she leant forward and smelt the delicious aromas coming from both plates on the table.

"Okay. Enjoy" the server replied before he scurried away again.

Andy pulled his napkin onto his lap before he picked up his fork. "Are you going to eat half of mine now or wait until you've finished yours first?" he asked as he laughed before he started to dig in.

Sharon glared at him for a moment. "Given what you're asking me to do this evening is making fun of me the best idea right now?"

"I'd never make fun of you" he insisted before he kissed her on the lips. "Ever" he confirmed as Sharon started to tuck into her risotto. "So where were we?"

"Yards" Sharon reminded him.

"Yards?"

"Yes. I would like a yard again. It's the main thing I miss about my old house" she admitted before putting another forkful into her mouth.

"Oh we'd definitely look for a place with a big yard. If we buy a place together we might even be able to afford a place with a pool. How great would that be?"

"There's a pool on the roof of the condo" Sharon shrugged.

"That you share with every other weirdo in the building. People always stare at me while I'm in there, it's unsettling, like I'm some sort of zoo animal" he grumbled.

"Well it's because there's a no pets allowed policy that's why" she laughed.

Andy looked at her extremely unimpressed. "Very funny. You and Rusty should start a double act where you make fun of all the hairy guys in Los Angeles" he suggested as she laughed again. "Think about it, a pool just for us, with complete privacy."

"Complete privacy?" she asked with a smile, knowing what he was hinting at.

"Oh yeah" he grinned, taking her free hand in his once again as they ate. "Rusty goes out for the evening with Gus leaving us alone with a pool that's completely blocked from view of the neighbours, partaking in a night time swim maybe" he said with a wink before dropping a kiss to her lips. "Who needs swimwear when you've got complete privacy?" he asked before he kissed her again. "Maybe you could repeat your trick from college."

Sharon laughed, dropping her fork for a moment. "These seem like the same pros you had when we were talking about me taking the NFL job."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Well they work in both instances" he winked.

"It is an intriguing idea. I really would like a yard again" she said as she resumed eating.

"We could put a hammock in it. Then when we're too tired for a swim we could climb on in it together" he suggested as Sharon erupted into uncontrollably laughter. "What's so funny about that?"

"And do what exactly?"

He winked at her. "Oh I'm sure we could think of something" he joked.

"Yes I could spend an hour laughing at you trying to get into a hammock."

"That wasn't my fault!" he cried defensively. "There was something wrong with it. She did something to it" he insisted.

"Your sister did something to her hammock so you'd keep falling out of it every time you tried to climb in it?" During their weekend in New York and the lazy Sunday they spent at Liz's house with all the family they spent much of their time in her small but beautiful back yard. In the corner of the yard Liz had a hammock and Andy had his eye on it for several hours before eventually making his way over and trying to climb in, 'trying' being the important word. Seventeen attempts later and after finding seventeen different ways to fall out of it Liz, Sharon and Emily begged him to stop before he hurt himself and they died from laughter.

"Yes. I told you those guys would go to extremes to try to embarrass me in front of you."

She laughed. "They didn't need to. You did a perfectly fine job all on your own Andy Pandy."

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth for a moment as he spat out "Forgetting that" before returning to picking at his food. "With a fully functional and easily accessible hammock we could climb in of an afternoon, nap together in the shade. I'll grow you the biggest sunflowers in the world in the flowerbed."

"Now that I would like to see. Lieutenant Andy Flynn gardening."

"I garden" he insisted.

"No you don't."

"I gardened before Valentine's Day" he pointed out although she didn't get to see what he'd done because she spent much of the evening on his bathroom floor being violently ill.

"You mowed the lawn and cut down your weeds so it no longer looked like a vacant lot. That's not exactly what I'd call gardening."

"But I'd have more incentive if we lived together."

"Oh really?" she smiled, dropping her fork again, more interested in the man sitting next to her and what he had to say rather than her meal. "And what incentive would that be?"

"The fact you can't keep your eyes or your hands off me when I bend over" he winked.

"Not to mention when you're all dirty and sweaty."

"I hadn't even thought of that. Forget a decent size yard. We need a farm!" he cried as he likewise abandoned his fork and his food in favour of taking both of her hands in his.

Sharon laughed. "With so much work to do in the yard it sounds like you'd be too tired to do anything else."

"Oh believe me I'd find the energy" he told her with maximum levels of enthusiasm.

"I believe you."

"Especially if we found a house with the master bedroom clear on the other side of the house to the other bedrooms" he said as he gestured into the distance. "No more easily traumatised teenager in earshot should you try to take advantage of me."

"Oh I forgot it's always me trying to take advantage of the monk over here."

"Good I'm glad you finally admit it." Sharon laughed as she picked up her fork again and as he anticipated devoured a large forkful of his pasta. "Speaking of traumatised teenagers," he said after he'd watched her eat a couple more mouthfuls of his meal, "have you spoken to Rusty about it?"

"Not since the other night no" Sharon confirmed as she dropped her fork back to her plate. She knew that Rusty was going to be an issue regardless of what he said the evening they spoke about it but since she wasn't yet completely on board with the idea herself yet she saw no reason to upset him about it until she needed to.

"What did he say the other night?" he questioned.

"Are you pretending you were asleep now?"

"I was asleep for most of it" he said honestly. "I just happened to catch the very end of the conversation."

Sharon smiled at him, not really believing him but willing to let it go. "To be honest he was more focused on whether he'd ruined our night and got in the way of us talking about it to offer any real opinion one way or another."

"But you think he'll go for it?"

Sharon sighed as she just stared at him for a moment without speaking. "I'm not going to lie to you Andy, I think it's going to be another challenge. Not surprisingly given what he's gone through he doesn't like change which is why I think an immediate move is out of the question."

"It still shocks me you two aren't related by blood" he laughed since they were so alike in so many ways, not least their aversion to change. "So is it living with me he'll have the problem with or moving in general" he asked, needing to know how much work he had to do.

"Andy" she said softly as she stroked his face. "Whether he says it or not Rusty has grown to love you so no, any resistance will have nothing whatsoever to do with moving in with you" she stated, needing him to know that above all else. "I just don't think he's lived in one place this long in his life. He's settled, he's happy and I imagine moving on to some place new even with us is going to be a struggle. He'll miss the condo. I'll miss the condo."

"Okay. But more space and a yard and a pool and a bedroom far away from ours will surely appeal to him right?"

"Yes I think it will" she said more optimistic than hopeful about it, knowing Rusty like she did. "When he's stopped panicking about it and we've managed to have a calm and rational discussion with him I think he'll come around to the idea."

"He might surprise us."

"Let's hope."

While still gripping Sharon's left hand he picked up his fork again and ate another mouthful of pasta as Sharon just played with her risotto, more interested in talking to him than she was eating, no longer hungry. "Have you spoken to Emily and Ricky about it since the other night?"

"No" came the short and instant reply.

"No? Well that's not a good sign."

"Not necessarily."

"Oh yeah?"

"Rusty knows that we're having a discussion because firstly he heard us talking about it and secondly because it's going to affect him directly" she explained.

"But not Ricky and Emily?"

"No because I know they'll be happy for me regardless" she told him with a smile, letting him know that not telling them was not a bad sign. "I'm sure it'll feel strange, the idea that I'm living with a man again who isn't their Father but other than that I don't think they're going to have a problem with it."

"Really?"

"They were happy enough when I told them I was dating again. It helped that they already knew you and you'd conspired together to help rearrange my Christmas Eve party."

"Then my evil plan has worked" he grinned.

Sharon laughed. "I see, you've been planning it since then huh?"

"I've been planning it since the first moment I saw you" he lied with huge amounts of charm before they both laughed. "You know the whole, 'treat her mean, keep her keen' type of thing."

"Oh I see. So that's why you were so awful to me for so many years."

"Of course." They laughed again. "Okay maybe not but it has been a very long time" he admitted.

"Well you are the most patient man on Earth."

"That's because I know the rewards are worth it in the long term" he said before kissing her on the lips. "What about your Rottweilers? Have you told them?"

"My what?"

"Your Rottweilers. Andrea and Gavin" he explained as she laughed. "Surely you need to run it by them so they can threaten my testicles a bit first before you make your final decision."

She laughed again. "No I haven't because oddly enough it's none of their damn business what I do. I appreciate their concern but I'm a big girl now and if I want to live with the bad boy of my division I will go ahead and do it regardless of their opinion on the matter."

Andy chuckled at her. "Bad boy? Julio has asked you to move in with him as well?" he asked making her swat him across his arm as she laughed. "You don't think they'll have an opinion on the subject?"

"Oh they'll definitely have an opinion on it, I just really don't care about what it is because I love you and therefore it's not up for discussion" she stated very matter-of-factly. They just stared at each other for a moment, holding hands and ignoring their food getting cold in front of them. "Why Silver Lake?" she questioned after several quiet minutes.

"Is that a deal breaker?"

"No I was just curious."

"Well it doesn't have to be Silver Lake" he said, not really caring where they moved to as long as it was closer to work than he currently lived and Sharon and Rusty came with him. "It could be West Hollywood or Echo Park or Atwater Village. It could be anywhere as long as you come too."

Sharon thought for a moment, mapping the city out in her mind. "Somewhere in the Hills might be nice."

"It would. Or we could look further afield if you like" he offered. "I would gladly compromise and have a longer commute for the next ten years or however long we remain at work as long as we find the perfect place for us, the perfect place for our future."

"It sounds like you've given this an awful lot of thought."

"I have" he openly admitted. "The way I see it we're going to be retired in this house for a lot longer than we're commuting to and from work from it so as great as it would be to find the perfect place for us for right now, it's maybe more important to find a place that's perfect for us for the future if we don't want to move again."

"What about Rusty?"

"Well ideally we'd find some sort of balance between the two, a shorter commute to school for Rusty and a place perfect for us long term...and with a master bedroom on the other side of the house from Rusty's room" he again reiterated with it being the most important factor to consider.

Sharon laughed as she rolled her eyes. "Something tells me that's the first thing you're going to say to your realtor."

"Oh it will be" he nodded as he winked.

"Are you sure you don't have any problems with Rusty living with us for as long as he wants?" she asked with a touch of worry about his answer to her voice.

Andy shrugged. "Well if he's forty and still living with us I may have a few questions but they're more of the 'If you go first will he try to drown me in the pool so he gets the house?' type of questions rather than anything else" he explained and making her laugh. "No. No I really don't" he confirmed with a smile. "In fact I was thinking, a lot of my stuff could go into storage and be there in case he wants it one day but again no pressure."

"Oh I see. Putting your furniture in storage in case things don't work out between us huh? Going down the same route as Lieutenant Provenza?" she teased.

He laughed. "Not exactly. If you throw me out one day I'll be living in my car outside the house for the rest of my life but if I sell my house before we find somewhere and I end up moving into the condo for a time it's got to go somewhere until we decide what we want to do with it."

She smiled but it quickly faded. "Good thinking and I'm sure he'd appreciate it when he does one day move out on his own."

"And yet you still look troubled by it all. What's wrong?"

She looked around for a moment, avoiding his eye and then admitted "I worry about money if I'm honest."

"I'm not going to say that everything will be smooth sailing financially but surely by selling both the house and the condo we'd be able to afford somewhere decent together."

"That's not what I meant. I know we could afford it if we combined resources" she said, not seeing that as being a problem at all as long as they didn't stretch themselves too thin.

"Then what?"

"I've seen money end relationships and I'm not talking about Jack and myself here because I know you'd never do something like that to me but I've seen a couple friends in long term relationships fall apart the moment they started mingling their finances" she explained with a genuine sense of concern about it all.

When it came to money they both came from very different upbringings and as such they saw money very differently. Sharon came from quite a lot of money, never ever going without as a child and grew up in the knowledge that she had a large trust fund to fall back on that had only grown over the years and had luckily enabled her extensive Armani suit and shoe collection to grow with it (with it thankfully being the only money she had that Jack was unable to take with him the last time he left). In comparison Andy's family had next to nothing. He was forced to wear his brother's old shoes until he could afford to buy himself a brand new pair with a part time job running messages for shady characters around the neighbourhood (all without his Mother's knowledge obviously). In truth they had both seen money end the relationships of others over the years but they were both sensible enough people. They both saw the advantage of a safety net and as such it was never likely to be a factor but it still worried her as she foresaw and fretted about a big long list of things that could potentially go wrong between them if they allowed it to happen.

"Yeah, okay, fair enough" he admitted, knowing that money was always a sensitive issue. "I've seen that happen to friends too but really, Sharon, are either of us the kind of people who would allow money to ruin this? I'm sure you're going to get mad at me from time to time when you ask if I really need another pair of suspenders…"

"Oh you could always use another pair of suspenders" she announced, thinking them as sexy as hell especially when she got to pull them off his shoulders herself.

He laughed as he opened his jacket and flashed them at her. "I forgot they were my secret weapon." He kissed her hand again as he searched for the words that would reassure her. "Money can only come between us if we let it and I have no intention of letting that happen. I love you and I'm going to do everything possible to make this work."

"Okay" she replied with a smile. There was nothing else that either of them could really say on the subject. They'd both thought about it as they got closer and they'd both been concerned about what could happen but all they could do was work on it and not let it get between them before it was even a factor.

"If you don't mind me asking what's made you change your mind?" he queried a little cautiously should she have a change of heart just as quickly. "You couldn't have been less enthusiastic about it a couple of days ago."

"I know but I've missed you since then at home and that gave me a lot of time to think." In truth it was all she'd been able to think about since with only work distracting her and even that was proving difficult, something that shocked her. Although it wasn't the reason he'd done it, giving her the time and space to think the previous evening was the best thing he could have done. Sharon more than missed him but then she always did when he didn't stay over, but she was starting to feel like a piece of her was missing when he wasn't asleep by her side. Since she felt that way, why did she react so negatively when he brought up the subject of moving in together? It was then that she realised she needed to speak to him the following day and make plans to spend the rest of their lives together.

"And?" he encouraged.

"And what am I waiting for? I'm the happiest I've ever been. You've made me the happiest I've ever been" she declared. "I'm tired of my nerves and my overly cautious attitude and over analysing everything and my tendency to drag my feet all the time coming between us and everything you want, everything we want. So although I'm not ready to give you my preferred option right now..."

"But by the end of tonight still right?"

"Yes by the end of tonight" she repeated, still wanting to make sure she'd looked at everything from all angles for both her sake and Rusty's. "Although I'd still like a little more time to think about what this means for us and what our best option is and even though we may not be ready to do it right away, I want to be happy so I am very open to it. I just…I just keep thinking about what the right thing is to do here" she said, feeling she needed to make a sensible choice above all else at the expense of what might her the happiest.

"Sharon it's not about doing the right thing or the wrong thing. It's about making the choice that is going to make you the happiest."

"I know but I just never thought I'd be having to make this kind of decision again" she freely admitted, it being more unlikely than being abducted by aliens five years ago she thought.

"What? Moving in with a boyfriend?"

"Yes."

"You've made it before?" he asked with a touch of surprise.

"Actually no so I suppose this is the first time isn't it" she revealed and making them laugh.

"You didn't live with Jack before you got married?"

"With my Mother? Are you kidding?" she said with a roll of the eyes although she'd since wondered if had she actually lived with Jack before the wedding whether she would have actually have gone through with it, such were his revolting habits that were only to be discovered when living in such prolonged close quarters with him. "It was a wonder I was allowed to touch him before my wedding night let alone move in with him but what the eyes don't see the heart doesn't grieve over" she said with a smile as they laughed but she quickly went very serious once more. "I worry about ruining what we have in case it doesn't work out but I also realise that if we stay still it could also ruin it."

Andy looked at her puzzled. "Why would moving in together ruin what we have?"

"Why? What if you don't like living with me?" she asked like it was a real possibility.

He smiled at her, looking almost amused at what he thought was an utterly ridiculous idea for her to worry about. "Why would you even think that?" he asked in almost a whisper as he kissed her hand before returning to just smiling at her in silence, a smile that he knew drove her wild with desire but doing it solely to allow her the time to think rather than keep talking and potentially pressurising her.

She sighed as she looked at him and the ridiculous smile on his face, knowing what he was doing and trying her best to resist it. "Do you have to smile at me like that when I'm trying to think about this?" she said finally.

"Smile at you like what?" he asked innocently.

"Like that" she said as she pointed at his face, indicating the look that often had her doing exactly what he wanted. "It's unfair. It's cheating."

"Well you'd know all about that" he replied in reference to how she had cheated by using her nails and a little moan in order to get him to crumble and fall into her arms a couple of nights earlier as she just frowned at him. "I'm just using all the tools at my disposal" he shrugged.

"Well it's still cheating" she told him with a glare before he returned to smiling at her while he continued to hold her hand, not really needing to say anything else to her and more than content to just wait. "I can't cope with this. You're just going to sit there and smile at me in silence and wait while I decide our future?"

"Pretty much," he shrugged nonchalantly, "mainly because I know you need the time to think about it but ultimately you'll make the right decision."

She smiled at him and shook her head. "Andy Flynn you are too patient with me…and far too confident" she laughed.

He laughed as he shrugged again. "I'll wait forever for you and I've said all I need to say. One way or another I am moving out of my place and somewhere closer to you and work and Nicole. All you have to decide is if you and the kid want to come with me or not, that's it."

"It's that simple is it?"

"Absolutely. It's as simple as that" he repeated with another shrug before returning to just smiling at her, not saying a word, simply enjoying their time together. A few moments passed by before the comfortable silence was rudely interrupted by the sound of Sharon's cell phone ringing in her pocket. "Oh jeez" Andy cried as he sat back a little. "What now?"

"Calm down. It can't be work otherwise they'd be calling you first remember" she rightly pointed out.

"Exactly which means this can only be trouble."

Sharon took out her cell phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. She instantly sighed. "You might be right." She turned the phone to show him the screen before adding "Unknown number." With no idea who it might be but worried that it might be Jack since it clearly wasn't work, she took a deep breath, swiped to answer and brought it to her ear. "Captain Raydor. Hello? Yes. Hello" she said with wide eyed alarm although the tone of her voice hid it well enough from her mystery caller. Andy looked at her with a frown on his face, knowing it could only be bad news. "How are you? Good. Good. Glad to hear it. No, he's fine."

Andy reached towards her so he could try and hear who was on the other end of the call. "Who is it?" he whispered.

Sharon slapped his hand away from her and turned away from him so that she could give her call her complete and undivided attention, leaving him with nothing to do but wait and continue to pick at his now cold pasta. "Oh okay. Yes, of course, that's not a problem. About anything in particular? Okay" she said as she glanced at Andy, a look of real worry suddenly taking over her face. "Okay. Yes. That'll be fine. Tuesday? No that's fine. Just come on by in the morning and I'll make time. No seriously it's fine. I'll find the time. Okay then. I'll see you Tuesday morning. You too. Bye. Bye." Sharon hung up her phone and dropped it on the table before turning to look at him with an almost pained expression, her lip firmly clamped between her teeth as she chewed on it.

Andy took one look at her and dropped his fork with a clatter as his shoulders slumped. "Let me guess. Jack? What does he want now?" he asked with real attitude.

"It wasn't Jack" she said simply, pausing while she swallowed. "It was Sharon Beck."

"What?"

"She wants to see me."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't say. She just said she needed to speak to me without Rusty being present and insisted that she couldn't discuss it over the phone, only in person" she explained as calmly as she could but it was easy for Andy to see that she was silently panicking about it already.

"How did she get your number?"

"I didn't ask, from Rusty I assume."

"Does he know she was calling you?"

"Since she doesn't want him there when we talk I think it's safe to assume he doesn't" she suggested, trying to remain positive but it not making it to her posture or expression.

"Best not to say anything to the kid until you know what's going on then. Where are you meeting her?"

"She's coming into PAB on Tuesday" she said quite calmly before crying "Oh God!" and burying her head in her right hand as her left blindly felt around for Andy's so that she could cling to it for dear life.

"Calm down. You don't know anything yet. For all you know it might be good news" he told her, for once trying to see the bright side when he knew very well that when it came to Rusty's Mom there was no bright side.

"The words 'Sharon Beck' and 'good news' don't exactly go together, in fact if anything it's the ultimate oxymoron" she replied as she finally looked at him.

"I know but I was trying to be optimistic" he told her as he kissed the back of her hand again. "You never know this time it might be different" he shrugged, trying to look as optimistic as possible for her sake before he returned to just gazing at her.

Sharon sat up a little straighter again and sighed. "I must sound like an awful person" she said as she closed her eyes, hating herself for how she always assumed the worst of a woman she desperately prayed for the best from.

He laughed at her for a moment. "Far from it sweetheart, far from it."

"I want him to have a good relationship with her, I really really do."

"I know you do" he said as he again tried to reassure her.

"It's just..."

"I know."

"Every time! Every time! Every damn time!" she said animatedly as she used the strongest language she had in a while. "It's always when he's at his most settled that she comes charging back into his life like a radioactive whirling dervish."

"I know" he said again. "You don't need to explain it to me."

"I know" she replied with a smile which made him laugh. "Thank you. Thank you for always being there for me, being there for us" she added before she kissed his lips.

"Where else would I be?" he asked as they smiled at each other. "Sharon don't let it worry you. It could be perfectly innocent and if it isn't, what's the point in worrying about it right now? That way you only suffer twice."

She looked at him with surprise for a moment, often finding herself taken aback slightly when he said something so meaningful and sensible, not that it was unusual for him but he rather preferred to be overly silly with her. "You can be incredibly wise and insightful when you put your mind to it."

"Oh you have no idea" he told her with a nod to the heavens like he was some sort of oracle sent to LA to guide her.

She laughed at him as he kissed her hand yet again. "Are you sure you still want me to think about it now?" she asked, being completely serious with him.

"Think about what?" he asked utterly confused.

"Moving in together. It's not just Rusty and Ricky and Emily you're getting, you're getting Sharon and Gary and all of their trucks full of baggage as well, not to mention Jack" she reminded him since she was right, he wouldn't just be getting Sharon, he'd be getting a whole heap of trouble to go with her and that was something that she thought he needed to consider before making the commitment of living with her.

"You know what, you're right!" he cried, slamming his fist on the table for extra dramatic flair. "Thank God your phone rang when it did to stop me from making this horrible horrible mistake! I'm out of here!" he added as he attempted to get on his feet and leave.

Sharon laughed and pulled him back down into his seat. "Oh shut up."

"I want to live with you Sharon and everything that comes with you" he assured her, taking both of her hands in his and squeezing them. "That's never going to change, no matter what crap happens between now and then, no matter what's thrown at us." He paused for a moment and then asked "Is she bringing a lawyer? Arriving in handcuffs?"

"That's not funny" she said sternly.

"Then it can't possibly be as bad as you imagine" he shrugged. "Maybe she just wants to talk to you about the kid. See how he's doing, how he's doing at college, with Gus. He doesn't exactly tell her a lot about his life. Does he even answer his phone when she calls lately? He's turning into Daniel."

She thought for a moment. "You could be right."

"I'm sure it'll be fine and whatever it is we'll handle it together."

"In the meantime can we keep this just between us?" she asked, almost pleading with him. "I don't want it getting back to Rusty until I know exactly what's going on."

"Of course. I can collect her from downstairs and smuggle her into your office if need be."

Sharon smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you" she said and then met his lips.

They continued to sit in silence for a few moments, just holding hands across the table and staring at each other lovingly. It was the thing that always bothered Rusty the most about them, not the overly graphic public displays of affection (or the way that she seemed to constantly have her hand on his backside when they were in the condo) but the way that they would just stare at each other silently. As they did it everyone could see the love they shared and it made Rusty in particular feel a little uncomfortable because it felt like he was intruding, preferring to see Sharon grab his ass and kiss him rather than just staring at each other in such an intimate way. "I love that face" he said finally as they continued to smile at each other.

"What face?"

"That face" he said as she looked at him with a contented smile while her mind was clearly at work thinking about all they had discussed. "It means you're thinking really hard about something."

"Do I have smoke coming out of my ears?"

"No that's Provenza" he said and making her laugh. "You have this beautiful look of serene concentration. It's lovely."

They continued to just stare at each other in silence, smiles on their faces, hands gripping each other's until they became aware that a rather flustered Chief Taylor was walking towards them and looking at his watch. "Captain, Lieutenant" he said as his eyes scanned the room and looked for Pope.

Sharon and Andy glanced at each other and stifled their laughter since they were being interrupted yet again, even though they weren't doing much more than thinking at that particular moment in time. "Good evening Chief" Sharon said kindly as she broke her eyes away from Andy finally and glanced up at him.

"Chief" Andy nodded.

For a brief moment no one said anything but the wheels in Taylor's mind continued to turn and he finally realised that he was clearly interrupting. "Well I'll be going" he announced and set off towards Pope who was still talking to Brenda and annoying the hell out of Fritz at the back of the restaurant.

"Okay bye Chief" Sharon called after him as she laughed.

"Anyone else?" Andy asked grumpily. "Are the rest of the division going to walk in or something worse? Jack maybe? Sandra on her broomstick?"

"Oh don't!" she told him, not wanting to tempt fate in the slightest.

"Although that's a thought actually" he said as his scowl slowly started to turn into a rather large smile. "If you still need me to persuade you some more think about this, think about Chief Taylor's traumatised face when you tell him we're moving in together."

Sharon laughed with both of them finding Taylor's 'deer caught in the headlights' expression as she finally informed him that they were dating one of the funniest things they'd ever seen in their lives. "I think he might actually have a heart attack."

Again silence descended, Andy more than content to let her think things over while he waited patiently and held her hand. "What are you thinking about?" he asked after a couple of minutes.

"My Father actually."

"Your Father?"

"Yes. I was just wondering what he would have thought about all of this?" she pondered, the smile on her face never changing. "About me even considering moving in with a divorced, recovering alcoholic who I'm not married to at my ripe old age."

"Jack Mark II huh?"

"That would have been his initial reaction yes" Sharon nodded nonchalantly, not seeing Andy's similarities with Jack to be an issue especially since she knew how much he had changed whereas Jack was still the same man who left her the first time, albeit with much whiter hair and a lot more padding around the middle.

"And after he got to know me?"

"His suspicions would have been confirmed" she joked.

"So I guess he would have tried to shoot me again or hired a professional to do it for him?"

"Oh believe me you wouldn't have survived your first encounter with him to worry about getting shot a second time" she said with sparkling eyes. "He would have shot you instantly. Shot you dead. Right between the eyes."

He frowned at her for a moment, a little worried. "I have to tell you I'm slightly alarmed by how casually you say that, like it was something I would have been forced to accept with a smile and silent prayer for it to be quick and painless."

Sharon shrugged. "I would naturally have tried to have stopped him but sometimes these things are out of my hands. And we're talking about my Father here, I always respected my Father's decisions and wishes even when I didn't necessarily agree with them."

"That's comforting."

She laughed again as she pulled her hand from his and started to play with his fingers instead, liking to twist his ring on his finger in circles whenever she got the opportunity. "He would have taken one look at you, one look at your smile and that smoulder and known just how much trouble you are."

"You like that I'm trouble" he smouldered.

She couldn't do anything but smile at him. "Yes I do, my Mother would have liked it as well, once she'd stop screaming."

"I'm sure I could have charmed your Dad in the end" he said confidently.

"No you wouldn't" she said quickly and shooting him down. "He would have known with one look, you were just like him in every way imaginable and begged me to stay away from you, begged."

"Well they do say girls end up with men just like their Fathers" Andy pointed out.

"So I should blame my Mom for this life I've been inflicted with?"

"Or thank, either way."

"I prefer blame."

"Had my Mother still been alive she would have definitely tried to warn you off me" Andy told her as he nodded. "Tried to protect you so you didn't make the same mistake she did."

"I thought you said she wouldn't have like me because I'd deflowered her baby."

"Well she wouldn't have at first," he explained, "because no one was good enough for her baby boy obviously."

"Oh obviously" she laughed.

"But after she'd accepted that I was serious about you, well more than serious since I'm trying to get you to move in with me then she would have liked you" he said with a warm smile, wishing that his Mom had lived long enough to see him so settled and happy with a woman who challenged him in every way imaginable. "She would have loved you because I love you...and then she would have told you to stay away from me for your own sake" he added before they both laughed.

"Why?"

"Because with the exception of his frequent brushes with the law, I take after my Father in every way imaginable" he informed her.

She smiled, loving to hear about his family. "Really?"

"Oh yeah, like two peas in a pod."

"Well in that case substitute brushes with the NYPD for brushes with Professional Standards and you may be a clone" she suggested much to his amusement.

"True and as much as my Mom loved my Dad, in her own inimitable way I guess, she wouldn't want to inflict me and everything that comes with me on anyone she liked and she would have really liked you eventually."

"Well I'm not going to say that loving you doesn't come with certain challenges," she agreed while they laughed at the understatement, "but I can confirm that it's more than worth it in the end." She leant forward and kissed him on the lips, letting it linger for a moment, again not caring who might be watching because they was so wrapped up in each other and what they wanted to discuss. "Poor woman. She marries someone like your Father and then her sons turn out the exact same way."

"Not really, my brothers aren't that like me."

"You forget I've met them all now and yes they are, in every way possible" she said as she suddenly looked physically drained, much like she did after spending twelve hours in the company of over fifteen Flynns. He laughed at her. "I loved spending time with them all while we were in New York but my gosh was it tiring."

He laughed again. "I did warn you. We're a handful when we're together."

"You weren't kidding but after seeing you all in action and having two of your brothers work their best charm on me to steal me away from you I can confirm that I definitely got the pick of the litter." In truth it was all very half-hearted and more of an attempt to annoy their little brother than anything else but two of his brothers did try to get Sharon alone and explain why they were the much better option than Andy. She took it in the way it was intended and laughed at them, along with Andy's overly suspicious and jealous face as he watched them.

"Good to hear it" he grinned before he kissed her.

"But Brian is very very handsome."

"I told you! Everyone always thinks Brian is the handsome one!" he cried with irritation.

Sharon laughed, amused for now by how jealous Andy could be over nothing. "But you have a better smile and a much better..." she said as her words trailed off when she kissed him on the lips again. "Anyway it's not always the case," she offered as she returned to their previous conversation, "girls don't always go for men just like their Fathers. For example look at Nicole. Dean isn't anything like you, at all for that matter, thankfully."

"Huh." Andy thought for a moment. "No he isn't is he."

Sharon smiled with mischief. "Is he perhaps like your best friend at the time maybe? Perhaps one of Sandra's colleagues? The mailman even?" She laughed to herself as he frowned at her and her insinuation.

"Very funny. Don't think I haven't wondered about that myself but since she's so like me in every other way I think it's safe to say I'm definitely her Father."

"It's a relief really that Dean isn't like you. Imagine what life would be like for those two poor boys with two people like you raising them. It'd be none stop candy for dinner and watching baseball in their underwear until DCFS intervened."

"Think of the fun" Andy grinned.

"Think of the chaos more like."

"So what would your Dad have thought about you moving in with me?" he asked.

"Well after everything that happened with Jack I doubt he'd be overly supportive but I'm sure he'd ignore his reservations about you as long as I was happy."

"And are you?" he asked, knowing the answer but liking to hear her say it anyway.

She smiled. "Deliriously so I'm sure after taking one look at how happy I am with you he wouldn't have objected too loudly about the idea of me living in sin with you."

Andy grinned from ear to ear, the devil in him clearly visible. "Living in sin huh? That sounds like fun."

She laughed at him. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Well while you're still thinking about it what if I were to sweeten the deal?"

"Sweeten the deal? How?"

"The division of labour" he explained. "If we moved in together I would continue to do all of your sowing and your ironing…"

"Hold on," she said cutting him off, "you don't do _all_ of my ironing."

"All of it except what they do at the dry cleaners" he conceded.

She shrugged. "Well I will admit it's really quite sexy watching you ironing my clothes" she winked. "Especially when you're ironing my underwear" she managed to say before succumbing to laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

"You're the only person I've ever met that actually takes the time to iron underwear."

"That can't be true."

"Of course it is!" she cried as she continued to laugh hysterically. "Who irons underwear? What is the point?"

"The point?" he asked a little offended. "The same point as to why you insist on wearing matching underwear in case you get run over and have to go to the hospital."

"That's just a precaution and you can thank my Grandmother for that."

"Well now they match and they're ironed, so you're welcome."

Sharon laughed again. "I do like watching you iron my bras."

He smiled. "I know you do."

"But you do that for me anyway and all of my sowing so how is that sweetening the deal, that's just doing what you do anyway" she pointed out. "I get that without having you live with me."

"Okay but I also cook, I clean, I take out the garbage and on top of that we split all the bills from now on. Plus you'll save on sweaters in the winter and I'm always on hand to scrub your back in the shower. Add on to that the fact that you get this," he explained as he gestured the full length of his body like he was a prize on _The Price Is Right_ as she laughed at him, "and as much sex as you can handle."

She laughed again. "As much as I can handle huh?"

"Oh yeah" he confirmed with a wink before he kissed her on the lips. "Add all of that together and honestly I don't see a downside in this for you."

"Other than having to give up half my closet space to you?"

"Yes other than that."

She sighed. "You still make it sound so simple."

"Because it is, all you have…" Andy suddenly stopped as his jaw dropped open, almost hitting the table as he caught sight of Sandra and Michael walking towards the bar out of the corner of his eye. "Oh my God!" he cried. Sharon quickly followed his eye line to locate the problem, laughing the moment she saw them. "I had to say it! I just had to! Why do I have to say these things?! It always tempts fate! Always! When will I learn?"

"Oh calm down they might not even see you and come over here" she reassured him for the sake of his blood pressure but since the world and his wife had spotted and interrupted them all evening, she didn't like their odds.

They both watched as Sandra and Michael hovered by the bar and ordered a couple of drinks as they waited for their table. It was very easy to tell when Sandra spotted them across the room with her appearing to flinch and jump a couple of inches into the air all while pretending she hadn't seen them. What followed was a very clear battle on her face as she decided what to do, ignore them or walk over and say 'hello.' After a moment she said something to Michael and then slowly set off towards their table, dragging her feet like the electric chair awaited her.

Andy's shoulders dropped when he saw her heading in their direction. "Oh crap!"

"Be nice" Sharon told him, her eyes burning into him with a warning since it was for his own good that he behaved himself rather than allowing his mouth to run away with him.

"Hey! It's me" he smiled.

"Exactly" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's usually in situations like this you try to bribe me with sex" he said loudly just as Sandra reached the table and overheard the whole thing.

"And hello to you too Andrew" Sandra said sweetly with a smile as fake as a pair of breasts on a goldfish. As she greeted him she once again put as much emphasis as she could muster on his name, knowing full well that calling him by it would irritate him more than hiding fibreglass in his underwear. Sharon squeezed his hand instantly, hoping he wouldn't react and reminding him that she was there for him.

"Sandra" Sharon said warmly, aiming to get her focus away from Andy and as always trying her best to play nice with her on the rare occasions that she saw her, not seeing any point in responding with the same animosity that she showed her boyfriend.

After glaring at Andy as long as she dared she turned towards Sharon and nodded her head. "Sharon" she said with a genuine smile before turning back to Andy and once again saying "Andrew" with an air of smugness.

"Sandra" Andy replied through gritted teeth as he squeezed Sharon's hand back, almost cutting off the blood supply to her fingers for a moment until he realised what he was doing and relaxed. He glanced at her and started to run his thumb over the back of her hand by way of expressing a none verbal apology in front of his ex before his other hand, without even realising he was doing it, moved to his earlobe and began to tug on it. "I didn't think you were going to come over here" he added, his tone making it clear that he wished she hadn't.

"Well I wasn't" Sandra openly admitted as Michael walked up behind her with the drinks from the bar. "I was all set to wait over there while ignoring you and pretending you were dead when it occurred to me that Nicole would be really quite annoyed with me if she ever found out about it so here I am." She was blunt but she was correct. In the childish game of continued one-upmanship between them there was no way that Andy wouldn't tell Nicole that he had seen her Mother and she'd blatantly ignored him and Sandra knew that, so chose to bite the bullet and speak to him rather than face the wrath of her daughter.

"As big as life and twice as..."

"Andy" Sharon said sharply with a glare as she cut him off before he had chance to say anything that would only make him look bad.

Andy smiled back at her sweetly and innocently, responding only with "Sharon."

Michael looked at them all completely baffled before he suddenly shouted "Michael!" The rest of the group snapped their heads and stared at him with completely bemused faces. He swigged on his beer for a moment until he noticed the way he was being stared at like he was a monkey wearing a dress in a zoo. "Sorry I thought we were all saying our names" he said innocently.

A beat passed as they processed Michael's continued idiocy before Andy rolled his eyes at the man who essentially replaced him and Sharon chomped on her lip to stop herself from laughing. Then there was Sandra who just stared at him in utter shock and anger as he continued to show her up in front of Andy. After a quick sigh that let him knew he was going to be in trouble later although he had absolutely no idea why, Sandra grabbed her wine from him and immediately swallowed about a third of the glass.

After a moment Sharon managed to compose herself enough to speak. "Since you're here Sandra answer this, a man who likes to iron underwear and sow in the bathtub, that's a little odd right?" she asked while squeezing Andy's hand, enjoying torturing him.

Sandra erupted into laughter as she pointed at Andy. "He still does that?"

"Oh yes he does" she replied gleefully as she smiled at Andy, receiving only a sad and irritated glare in return. "I've hardly handled that iron since we started dating."

"Ah well yes those are the sort of things Andrew always excelled at, the little things in life. It was the big things, the important things that he struggled with" Sandra spat out.

Sharon again squeezed Andy's hand to make sure he didn't react to her and say something he would later regret. "It strikes me that your first husband and my first husband had an awful lot in common back then." The term 'first husband' in relation to Jack hit all of them (well except Michael who was too busy staring at the ceiling lights and pondering how poorly they were wired while simultaneously wondering why men had nipples) with the implication being that she clearly was _very_ open to having a second husband, with that second clearly being Andy as Sharon refused to allow Sandra to bully him.

Andy smiled at her for a brief moment before it quickly turned into a glare that he shared evenly between his current and former love since they were essentially ganging up on him like they'd done on Christmas Day. "You know some men have ex-wives and girlfriends who don't get along so well. What are they called?" Andy pondered, showing his annoyance.

"Not you?" Sandra replied.

"I was going to say 'Lucky'" Andy grumbled.

"I've tried disliking her Andrew," Sandra said as she once again put all of the emphasis on the name he hated so much, "I really have but there is no denying that she's very good for you which in turn makes you very good for our children. So to put it bluntly, screw this up and I'll kill you myself, okay?" With that she turned from Andy and smiled at Sharon warmly, "Sharon, lovely to see you again. Andrew." Sandra went to leave before she stopped and turned back towards them. "By the way what's good here?"

"They do great marinara sauce" Andy inevitably responded.

Sandra sighed. "I should have known you'd jump straight to marinara, it's a wonder you don't bathe in it mixed with turkey grease. Come on Michael." Sandra patted her leg at her husband to get him to follow her as she made her way back to the bar.

Andy waited until they were out of earshot before his head snapped back to face Sharon. "She treats him like a dog. You see that too right? She's one step away from leading him around by his neck on a leash."

"Hey what a man and a women get up to in the privacy of their own bedroom is their own business and who are we to judge?" Sharon joked.

Andy looked at her with absolute horror, his face screwing up with disgust like Rusty's so often did when he walked in on them with their hands in 'inappropriate places' as he described them. "That's probably the most horrendous thing you've ever said to me" he exclaimed with a shudder as she laughed. "It's going to take at least an hour before my outy stops being an inny again and that's just from hearing her voice." Again Sharon laughed at him, thinking it was an extreme overreaction although she'd act the same way if Jack were to suddenly put in an appearance. "Always calling me 'Andrew'!" he grumbled.

"Why do you have such a problem with her calling you 'Andrew'?"

"She's only doing it because she knows I hate it."

"Which I still don't understand since it's your name."

"But I've only ever been an 'Andy'" he explained. "Only my Mom called me 'Andrew.'"

"And Liz" she corrected. "I heard her call it you twice and you didn't say a word."

"Yeah well that's different" he replied although at the time he had bigger problems than just his sister calling him 'Andrew' like the whole Andy Pandy saga, not to mention his ballet classes and every other embarrassing story his family could think of to tell her.

"And what about me? Am I allowed to call you 'Andrew' from time to time?" she asked.

"You my dear," he said before kissing the back of her hand he had almost crushed in his own moments earlier, "can call me whatever you like as long as you always call me yours."

She smiled before she leant in and kissed him on the lips. "That's a deal, Andrew" she replied, her eyes sparkling as she said his name.

He rolled his eyes, still hating his full name but accepting that Sharon was one of the very small amount of people he'd allow to use it. "You know it might help if you'd stop ganging up on me with Sandra whenever we have the misfortune to run into her" he complained.

"What else would you prefer? For me to abuse her like she abuses you? What would that achieve other than make me look as bad as her and upset Nicole?" she rightly pointed out. "Don't stoop to her petty level. Right?"

Andy nodded. "Right. But did you really need to tell her that I still sow in the bathtub?"

"Oh I wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know about you and let's face facts I could have told her we were talking about moving in together and really set the cat amongst the pigeons."

Andy smiled. "I don't know, I would have liked to have seen that."

"Do you really think she would be bothered? What reaction were you expecting?"

"I didn't mean that. I mean because if you told Sandra then that would surely mean you were coming around to the idea" he informed her with an optimistic smile.

She blushed slightly, not ready to speculate on an answer to a question they both already knew. "I never thought I'd be having this sort of conversation at my age" she said after a moment.

"Me either" he admitted.

"But then there's lots I never expected to be doing at this age."

"Like raising another kid?" he suggested.

"Exactly" she smiled. "Having someone like Rusty in my life was something I would never have anticipated but I was thinking more along the lines of being constantly corrupted by a man again" she explained while she cocked her head and grinned at him.

"Corrupted?" he repeated, scoffing at the word used. "When was the last time I corrupted you into doing anything you didn't want to do?"

"Aside from that little escapade on the balcony you've already brought up this evening?"

He laughed. "Yes aside from that."

"The Sunday before last. A Sunday! On the Sabbath Andy! The Sabbath!" she exclaimed in a very low register so that no one on a near table would be able to hear her.

He laughed again. "Why are you blaming me? _You_ were the one who wanted to go for a drive up the coast and _you_ were the one that wanted to pull over and watch the sunset."

"Yes watch the sunset Andy, not what we ended up doing, that was all you" she said as she pointed the finger firmly at her dinner companion.

Andy shook his head. "That's not how I remember it."

"You have a very selective memory. On a Sunday!" she cried again.

"If it makes you feel any better I distinctly remember you mentioning God's name several times in that back seat" he said with a wink, still slightly amazed that he firstly managed to get her to join him in the back of the car as the sun went down but secondly that his advances in a public (although private) place were not thwarted but actively encouraged.

Sharon flexed her hip and winced a little. "In between concerns that I'd broken my pelvis trying to take my pants off without kicking you."

"Yeah, I think I still have a lump on the back of my head from where I banged it on the roof" he said as he rubbed the top of his head. They looked at each other and laughed, both of them realising that they were far too old to be doing that sort of thing in the back of a car but it currently certainly wasn't going to stop them trying. "I remember the back seats of cars being much roomier than that."

"But we were younger back then and more bendy" she laughed.

"And not to mention I was thinner" he added as they laughed again. He smiled at her before he winked. "But it was fun though, you have to admit that."

Sharon blushed as she laughed at him. "It was a lot of fun" she admitted before they just sat and smiled at each other for a moment.

"Can I ask," he said with a frown, "why is it always me that's corrupting you? Why isn't it the other way around?"

"Because that's how it usually happens."

"Hey I'd been living like a monk in the two years before I asked you out on a date Raydor" he pointed out which was actually an understatement, it was closer to four years since he'd so much as had a cup of coffee with a woman who wasn't Sharon or Nicole.

"Why was that exactly?" she queried with genuine interest. It had often crossed her mind why the legendary lothario of the LAPD had seemingly given up women in the years before they started dating but since he was so sensitive about that part of his past and telling her anything about it, it was a question she'd never attempted to ask him before. "Had you suddenly gone gun shy?"

Andy shrugged casually. "I had a crush on my Captain and in comparison no one else came close" he said honestly since dating anyone other Sharon had been the furthest thing from his mind after the wonderful time they'd had together at Nicole's wedding.

She blushed once more as they continue to do nothing more than smile at each other. After a moment she sighed. "I thought when I hit sixty that was it, my chance for happiness was gone, maybe when I hit fifty even but here I am talking about moving in with my boyfriend." She squeezed his hand and nodded. "It feels good."

"It does feel good but you never know what's around the corner, things change."

"Yes they most certainly do" she confirmed with a kiss on the lips, still never dreaming five years ago that she'd be on the verge of moving in with the man she often referred to as a 'menace.' "My parents met when they were fifteen, got married when they were twenty-one and spent the rest of their lives together, beyond happy until the very end."

"Mine too. They got married when they were eighteen but they were never ever happy" he added, both of them chuckling at the notion. "But not everything works out like that" he said with a shrug. "Sometimes you make a wrong turn early on in life and you have to be patient until you find the right person and put it right."

"I still wish I'd met you when you were twenty-one" she said a little dreamily.

"No you don't. You wouldn't have liked me when I was twenty-one"

"Oh yes I would" she said enthusiastically, having heard more than enough about young Andy Flynn to realise that she had missed out on an awful lot of fun.

Andy nodded in agreement. "Oh yes you would" he confirmed as they laughed. "Okay maybe twenty-seven onwards. You wouldn't have liked me from then onwards."

"Let's face it I didn't particularly like you when you were fifty-five so it isn't that hard to imagine" she said as again they both laughed. "Still I would have liked to have spent some time with twenty-one year old Andy Flynn if for no other reason than to see the trouble he'd have got me into considering the trouble the modern version gets me into."

"When I was twenty-one you were what? Nineteen?"

"Yes."

"You're right," he agreed, "it would have been fun and looking at the photos and your history of running across the campus naked I definitely missed out on spending time with a beautiful and very fun young lady but I much prefer you now." He moved her hair behind her ear as he said "I prefer the strong, confident, independent woman who knows who she is, what she wants and is fully prepared to wait for it before she gets it and who I love more than anything else in this entire world." Once more he pressed his lips to the back of her hand, letting them linger as she ran her other hand through his hair all the while as Sandra watched from the bar, half pleased, half spitting feathers about it. "I've never been the kind of person who believes in fate or destiny or anything like that but what I know is you became my Captain and became my friend at the perfect time in both our lives. Yes we've missed out on maybe forty years together but it would only have worked now, right now, when we're most perfect for each other."

She kissed him on the lips and smiled. "You really can be a smooth talker when you put your mind to it" she said before she kissed him again.

"I do try."

"But it's not all about just being a smooth talker, moving in together would mean being more open with each other" she pointed out as she suddenly became very serious and extremely determined to get her point across. "Are you prepared for that?"

"In what way? You're completely open with me now aren't you?" he asked confused.

"I didn't mean me, I meant you."

"Me? What do you mean?" he said, not seeing how he could possibly be described as closed off with her. "Thanks to that twenty-four hours of horror with Lizzie in New York and God knows how many subsequent phone calls since you know absolutely everything there is to know about me. My life is essentially an open book."

"But Andy there are several pages you still don't read to me."

He looked at her completely bewildered. "What? What are you talking about?"

Sharon rubbed her face with her free hand and sighed, clearly struggling. "This is always so difficult precisely because you never want to discuss it with me. I'm talking about your sobriety. Andy you've always kept me at arm's length when it comes to your recovery."

"I haven't kept you at arm's length about my sobriety" he replied defensively.

"Oh really? Then name one time I've seen you after a meeting or you've so much as spoken to me about it other than to dismiss it out of hand?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't be able to since those things never happened. "The only time I have seen you after a meeting was when I was still at FID and you called me after you'd been attacked. That's it."

"That's not true" he replied. "How about when I got my twenty year chip?"

"Andy agreeing to let you celebrate how you wanted by eating Chinese food and having sex quite regularly on one Saturday is hardly what I'd call including me in your sobriety" she rightly pointed out.

He grinned. "Why not? I couldn't have done several of those things without you." He laughed but Sharon only frowned at him, not in the mood to laugh with him about this subject. "Yeah okay," he relented, "but I keep you away from it all with good reason."

"Which is?"

"You don't need to deal with that crap again."

"But it's going to be unavoidable if we move in together" she said. She paused for a moment and let that thought settle with him before she continued. She appreciated the gesture on his behalf of hiding something from her that she'd suffered through enough of in her life and yet recognised that her life with Andy was completely different to her life with Jack and if they were ever going to spend the rest of their lives together it was something he needed to talk to her about. "You'll have no choice unless you intend on sleeping in your car or staying the night on Lieutenant Provenza's couch. You never stay over when you've been to an AA meeting. We don't see each other at all. You don't come to stay with me and you don't want me waiting for you at your house for you to return. So are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked, seeing it as not just her decision, he needed to decide if he was prepared to do that before they moved in together as well. "Are you sure you want to take that step? To share that with me? Are you ready to start sharing it? That's a big change and a lot of pressure on top of everything else."

He sat back in his seat and thought for a moment, taking her request and observation seriously. "Okay" he said eventually as he nodded. "You're right. I do keep you away from it but yes, I'm sure. Anything to wake up next to you every morning for the rest of my life."

She smiled. "The rest of _your_ life? What makes you think you'll go first?"

"Rusty is putting even money on you murdering me within five years."

"Then stop being so irritating."

"I'll try" he laughed. "I just think that both you and Rusty and even Emily and Ricky have dealt with enough of that crap in your lives" he said trying to justify his actions and his, for want of a better word, secrecy. "Too much in fact and that's why I prefer to keep it to myself as much as possible but you're right. If we're going to live together then that needs to change and I need to be more open with you. So how about on Tuesday after my meeting I come over and spend the night at the condo? As a trial run if you like?" he offered.

"I like" she smiled. "I definitely like but Andy the point is you don't need to keep it from me."

"But I..." he started only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"No. No buts. This is different" she stated emphatically. "This is different to what the kids and I have experienced in the past."

"How is it?"

"None of us have any experience with a guy who is twenty years sober" she replied, seeing everything as new found territory as far as she was concerned. Jack had tried and failed to get sober many times before he left that final time so to actually be with someone who had been able to stay sober without much incident since was completely different. But he had always kept her away from it even when they were friends it was the only subject that he didn't openly discuss with her and similarly she never really wanted to push him but given what they were now discussing, moving in together, it was something they needed to address. "A guy who has changed. A guy who gave enough of a damn about his family to change. None of us have had that. Andy I'm proud of you and so are my children because they see the difference between you and Jack and the way you've tried and succeeded to change your life for the better. And sharing that with you, sharing your triumphs and your struggles because I know that there are still struggles and there always will be, sharing that is something I really want to do, I want to be a part of it with you, to be there for you."

"Okay" he said simply, although he still sounded a little reluctant. "I'll try."

"That's all I ask, that you try."

"But I can't guarantee you're going to like what I have to offer."

"Maybe not but I'm here for you regardless because I love you, all of you, the good and the bad" she assured him. After a moment she looked down at their plates on the table. Both had barely touched their food, more focused throughout on each other and what they were there to discuss. "Do you want to get out of here?" she asked with a nod to the door.

"You've read my mind." He raised his hand in the air in order to catch their server's attention. "Let's make a move before every woman I've ever dated walks in here."

"Is there enough room?" she asked as she laughed and Andy frowned at her.

With the cheque soon brought over and paid for, Andy and Sharon slowly left the restaurant hand in hand, casually waving to those still eating who had been over to speak to them during the course of their meal as they left. Once outside they handed their stubs to the valet, with Andy insisting that Sharon's car be brought out first, and waited patiently for them to be driven around.

"Well that's the last time I eat here" Andy said grumpily, expecting to see some familiar faces in there but not that many and not that familiar either.

Sharon laughed. "But the food was lovely" she reminded him before she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Thank you for dinner."

"You're welcome" he said simply but it was clear that he had started to become agitated as they stood there alone and waited, with Sharon feeling his hand which held hers start to twitch slightly. She ignored it on the whole along with the way he was attacking his earlobe with his free hand (now that she knew what it meant and why he was doing it) with the exception of a quick glance at him, knowing exactly what was going on, his nerves increasing as they got closer to her revealing what she thought and what she wanted to do. Suddenly it was like he erupted and he shook his head while pulling his hand from hers. "I'm sorry but I have to do this. I just can't wait any longer" he said as he suddenly dropped to his knee in front of her. Instantly Sharon's eyes came out of her head, assuming that he was jumping a couple of steps forward. "I need some indication one way or another."

"Do what?" Sharon said frantically as her eyes quickly scanned the vicinity, thankful that for a brief moment they were completely alone. "Andy what are you doing?"

He laughed. "Put your eyes back in your head, it's not that."

Sharon relaxed almost immediately, a huge sigh escaping her lips. "Okay."

"But those little beads of sweat forming on your forehead are really flattering by the way."

"Well it was warm in there."

"Give me your hand." Sharon laughed at him and offered her hand to him which he took before kissing it. "I know I said I'd wait for the end of the night but honestly I just can't wait any longer. Sharon Raydor, my Captain, my friend, my love. Will you do me the honour of considering moving in with me if I find us the perfect place to live?" he asked, assuming that's where they were headed but cringing slightly after the words left his mouth in case he wasn't about to get the answer he thought he was.

"Andy" Sharon smiled.

"I mean it" he said quietly. "I know you're not ready for it to happen right now and I said I wouldn't push it but I have to know where I stand" he almost pleaded. "If I find the perfect place for you, me and Rusty, for our little family to live, will you move in with me?"

"Andy" Sharon said again as she smiled at him knelt before her and essentially offering his heart and his life on a plate for her. "As you know I am a person who very much likes to finish what I start" she told him, it not being the first time he'd heard her say it although under very different circumstances to before. "I have started to build a life with you and I want to finish building that life."

"So?" he asked, his optimism returning.

"So yes. Yes I'll move in with you."

Andy's smiled beamed as he let out the breath he'd been holding. "Really?"

"Yes, really" she confirmed before moving on to what option she thought would suit the three of them the best. "You're right. Your house it too far away from well…everything and your girlfriend next door is likely to kill me if I move in there with you." They both laughed, from the release of tension as much as anything else. "And the condo is maybe a little too small but a good Plan B. So I'll sell my condo and you sell your house and then while you find us the perfect place for us to buy to move into together, I'll work on Rusty."

Andy was simply overjoyed as he cried "Come here" and pulled her towards him. She quickly obliged and knelt down with him (thankful she was wearing pants that evening) and wrapped her arms around him, hugging each other tightly. They stayed like that for a few moments just hugging, both a little relieved that not only was the matter settled but that no one had come out and seen them embracing on the floor.

"Can we get up now?" she asked as her knees began to throb from the hardness of the floor. He nodded as they pulled apart, holding out his hands to help her get to her feet easily. "You coming?" she added when he didn't move from his position on the ground.

"I would but my knee's locked. Crap!" he exclaimed.

Sharon laughed as she offered him her hands so he could stand. "Lean on me" she instructed. Andy looked around and sighed with annoyance because his quickly wearing out body was getting in his way yet again. Swallowing his pride he took Sharon's hands and let her help him to his feet. Once upright he flexed his knee a couple of times before he took her hands again.

"If you tell this story to anyone will you..."

"I'll cut this part out" she nodded.

Andy dropped her hands in favour of running his around her waist. "Will you really move in with me if I find us somewhere perfect?"

"Yes I will although I could always do with a little more persuading" she said with a smile.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. How about you take me back to your place and continue trying to persuade me" she suggested with a sultry smile before she kissed him.

"Persuade you?"

"Yes. Persuade me in every room of the house before you sell it."

He laughed. "I'm suddenly regretting not owning a bigger house."

"Like you have the stamina for that" she said as they laughed.

Andy was just about to move in for another kiss when he suddenly pulled back and smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand like he'd missed something really quite obvious. "Oh crap!" he shouted. "We can't!"

"Is this your way of telling me you've got your neighbour at home waiting for you?"

"No. I promised Rusty that I'd play chess with him when we got home tonight."

Sharon took a step away as she stared at him with her mouth almost hanging open, utterly amazed by what he was saying and more importantly what that said about the love of her life. "Chess with Rusty?" she repeated. "You're giving up loud sex in every room you can manage in favour of playing chess with Rusty before waiting for him to go to sleep and trying to be as quiet as possible?"

He let out a sigh. "I think I am yes" he said though gritted teeth and surprising even himself.

"Oh my God I love you!" Sharon cried as she stepped back towards him, planting a hand either side of his face before kissing him just as the valet stopped her car in front of them.


	25. Chapter 25

_Once again thank you to everyone who read the last chapter and in particular thank you to xbleeple, walkerdude1, seaford71, maidenpride, Elaine Huang, eelise187, GrammyIda, Imperfect Being, ilovedesserts, HeiBeSo and the three guests for leaving reviews. I must also say thank you to Angie for continuing to encourage me on Twitter even though she sends me clown gifs and causes me to spend all night hiding under my bed. If you'd like to leave a review for this chapter I'd appreciate it or you can get in contact with me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _This is another long chapter (it was supposed to be a fairly short but has somehow turned out to be the third longest, so bring plenty of tea) and I've got bad news for those that prefer shorter stories, these chapters are_ _ **always**_ _going to be long. I love dialogue and I always have done. I love conversations that go nowhere, that do nothing to enhance the plot but do reveal a lot about the characters and that's all you're going to get here. When a first draft is finished I always ask readers on Twitter if they want me to make it longer or shorter and the answer is always longer so blame them if you don't like it._

 _This chapter takes place part of the way through episode_ _ **N.S.F.W.**_ _5x2 before Sharon tells Rusty about his Mom and the baby. This chapter came about because as Sharon waits for Rusty there is a second place setting on the table and since the table is only set when they use it and Rusty wasn't home, that can only mean Andy was there before going to work, so this is what I came up with. I'll be honest I like this chapter a lot because I like some of the back story to it although usually when I like a chapter that means no one else does so I'm not expecting a lot of reviews. Some of this is true, some of it is based on friends and some of it is based on myself and it might well be the fluffiest thing I've written to date._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty Five**

Sharon walked out of her bathroom fully dressed and ready for work (with the exception of her shoes and jacket) and sat on the stool in front of her vanity to leisurely put on a pair of earrings as she hummed merrily away to herself. Behind her Andy lay in bed fast asleep, sprawled out in the centre of the mattress on his back in a starfish pose, snoring quietly and completely dead to the world. As usual his legs and his feet hung out from under the sheet with it just covering his waist and revealing that for once he wasn't wearing a t-shirt in bed. With her earrings in place Sharon looked in the mirror and checked herself, playing with her hair a little. Satisfied with her appearance she looked at her watch that lay before her on the table and noted the time. She sighed as she realised that she had left Andy asleep for long enough and she now needed to make a concerted effort to finally wake him up, something that was not an easy job on a good day. On that particular morning she had opted to let him sleep a little longer while she got ready for work (knowing that she wouldn't accidentally wake him unless she fired her gun in the air) because if they happened to dress at the same time he always found a way to distract her and ultimately made them both late for work, but aside from that she liked to watch him sleep as she pottered about the bedroom.

Sharon swivelled on the chair to face him. "Andy" she called at a relatively quiet volume, as always trying to wake up him as gently as possible in the beginning although that hardly ever worked. When that first call had no effect she raised her voice slightly. "Andy! Andy!" As she expected his snoring continued unabated. She sighed, more than used to the time and effort it sometimes took to wake him up by now. "Andrew!" she shouted loud enough to make it echo around the four walls of the bedroom.

Realising that she needed a much more 'hands on' approach to the task at hand Sharon stood and walked over to the bed. She knelt on the very edge of the mattress and leant over him, kissing him on the lips a couple of times as her hand stroked his face, still trying her hardest to wake him up as gently as possible before opting for something more drastic and potentially painful. "Andy wake up. Come on." She kissed him again and studied his face for a moment. There had been many mornings in the past where Andy had pretended to still be asleep simply to see what else she would do to try to wake him, usually something he rather enjoyed. However much to his annoyance she had begun to notice that he couldn't help but smile as her nails raked up and down his body for example. Satisfied that he was in fact still asleep she sat back down at her vanity, tickling the sole of his foot as she went past with her fingernails for good measure but she still got no response, not even a flicker or even a change in his breathing. She sighed again. "This is worse than attempting to wake a teenager. Andy. Andy!" she cried, already getting fed up with the time such a simple task was taking.

With still no response she thought for a moment of what to do next as she put her watch on, noting the time again and turning to him with a sense of real urgency. "Andy, Sandra is here" she called. "She's left Michael and she wants you back. It'll be hard for me but you're clearly meant for one another." She paused for a moment to see if any of that seeped into his brain and would wake him up. "Andy! Andy I'm completely naked. Andy! Andy! I'm naked!" she shouted as she reached across and grabbed hold of his big toe, pulling on it a couple of times. "Andy!" she cried again before again sighing with frustration. "I'm leaving you and taking your suspenders with me!" she announced.

She sighed again and left him for a moment as she slipped her shoes on and pulled on her jacket that was hanging from her closet door. She sat back down and glanced at herself in the mirror, moving a stray piece of hair that had somehow escaped and was now dangling across her face before turning back to her snoring boyfriend. "Andy I'm pregnant" she shouted. "We're having triplets." She stared at him and quickly realised that he was no closer to returning to the land of the living than he was twenty minutes ago. She sighed as she stood and walked back over to him, bending over to talk closer to his ear. "Andy! I've been asked to join Mike as a technical adviser on _Badge of Justice_. I've said yes."

Realising that he wasn't going to wake up with her taking some seriously drastic measures and with time quickly becoming a factor she opted to use the last resort of holding his nose and his mouth closed. Putting the palm of her hand over his mouth and holding his nostrils closed with her thumb and forefinger, she kept one eye on her watch to ensure that she didn't actually kill him this time. After no more than fifteen seconds his eyes opened and practically bulged as he began to suffocate. She instantly let go as he gasped for breath. She smiled at him for a moment and then bent down and kissed him on the lips. "Good morning sunshine" she said sweetly as if she hadn't just been one step away from murdering him.

"Are you crazy?" he asked as he stared up at her, still gasping for air very melodramatically. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Not today, just trying to wake you up and since nothing else seemed to be working you left me with no other alternative."

He propped himself up on his elbows and smiled at her, still gulping in the air. "I liked the way you woke me up earlier" he practically growled with a wink.

When Rusty was out for the night they always tried to take advantage of the empty condo and that very often spread to the morning, especially since Sharon was definitely more of a morning person. She had woken him up suddenly and very easily about an hour earlier with his hips instantly bucking upwards towards her mouth and the words 'Jesus Christ Sharon!' escaping from his lips as his hands vanished into her hair before his eyes had even had chance to fully open and his brain to comprehend what was happening to him. But aside from Sharon being a morning person and it being an extremely rare chance for them to be completely alone in the condo without a teenager who might overhear them and immediately call his therapist, they also currently couldn't leave each other alone. It was not that things had got stale between them of late, far from it, but things had certainly settled down nicely and they were just enjoying their life together. However since they'd decided to move in together it was like they were in those first few lust filled weeks around Christmas again and in the midst of what could only be described as another honeymoon period, expecting the exact same thing to happen when they did eventually move in together before the real honeymoon period that was at the back of both of their minds for the distant future if they did indeed end up getting married.

She laughed, expecting that kind of answer from him. "Tough luck" she replied bluntly as she tapped her watch. "You've run out of time. You've got to get ready for work and I need to make sure you eat first before you leave."

Andy looked around the room for a moment, still a little disorientated and sleep addled as he struggled to wake up properly, blinking rapidly as she eyes adjusted to the brightness coming through the window. "Did you say something about being naked just now?"

She laughed. "I was just trying to wake you up. I also told you I was expecting triplets but it's nice to know you've got your priorities in order."

"I do try. I always knew I had Super..." he started, never failing to bring up how fertile he assumed he was simply because his Father was and knowing it irritated Sharon a little bit every time he brought it up.

"Don't!" Sharon cried with a glare, cutting him off. Andy laughed as she flopped back down on the bed, his hands covering his eyes as he battled to adjust to the harshness of the sunlight. "Don't say it" she warned as she stood over him menacingly given his rather vulnerable position. "Now are you getting up today or not?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes" she confirmed before she kissed him on the lips. "Funnily enough you do."

"I'm calling in sick" he announced before he rolled over onto his front and buried his face into his pillow, hugging it as he closed his eyes and he got comfortable.

"Really?" she asked as she watched him with her hands on her hips. "And what will your Captain have to say about that I wonder?"

"She won't care" he replied, his voice muffled by his pillow. "She won't find out."

"Really?"

"Really." Sharon nodded at him, a smile on her face. After a moment she opted to play along with his little game and walked to the vanity to retrieve her cell phone. She opened the screen, going to her list of favourite numbers straight away where her children and Andy's number were located and pressed her finger to his name. She brought the phone to her ear just as Andy's phone started to ring on the nightstand. Andy's head immediately snapped up as he blindly groped around for his cell. After his eyes adjusted enough to read the caller ID on the screen he turned to face her. "You called my Captain on me?" he shouted as if it was a completely different woman to the one standing in the room with him, a completely different woman to the one who had been screaming his name not an hour earlier. He answered the phone and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Get out of bed!" she shouted into the mouthpiece before she hung up the phone and slid it into her jacket pocket.

"Fine" he grumbled. He dropped his phone back on the nightstand and then sat back up on his elbows again, looking her up and down a couple of times when settled. "You're dressed."

"Well spotted Lieutenant" she said dryly as she slotted her gun and her badge on her hip for her journey to work (where they would inevitably end up in the drawer of her desk until she needed them). "You're a much better Detective than I give you credit for."

"I can't believe you showered without me" he said with genuine disappointment.

"If you wanted to join me you shouldn't have gone back to sleep" she informed him as she walked back over to the bed and dropped another kiss to his lips.

"You wake me up like that, wear me out and then complain that I've gone back to sleep?"

"I'm sorry" Sharon replied as she crossed her arms. "Should I not have woken you up like that?" she asked with a smile.

"Are you kidding?" he winked. "Surprise sex is always the best thing to wake up to…unless you're in a federal penitentiary and then not so much."

Sharon laughed. "I'm not complaining that you went back to sleep, I'm just stating a fact about the reason why you've missed out on round two" she pointed out before she sat on the edge of the bed and kissed him. "If you wanted me to scrub your back and other things then you should learn to keep up" she added and then kissed him again.

"What time is it?" he asked. She smiled at him and that told him all he needed to know but he still peered past her to look at the clock on the nightstand anyway. "Oh come on!" he cried before he collapsed back into his pillow, clearly frustrated and a still a little tired.

"You are worse than a teenager. I need to make sure you've had something to eat before you leave."

"Are you mothering me?"

"Yes" she said bluntly, putting her hands on her hips and letting him know that he was in a little bit of trouble for complaining. "Have you got a problem with that?"

"No ma'am. Just asking."

"Good. Now come on. It's time to get your backside moving." Neither of them were late for work, in fact it was still relatively early even for a work day but she wanted to make sure that he ate a proper breakfast before sending him off to join the rest of the division staking out Lisa Cornell but aside from that she had something she desperately wanted to talk to him about over their coffee and to ensure they had the time to do that she needed him up and dressed as quickly as possible. The previous morning Sharon Beck had been to see her, with Andy bringing her up to her office unseen by the rest of the division, where she had revealed (much to Sharon's initial shock) that she was pregnant with Gary's baby. With the request that she be the one to tell Rusty for her because she was simply too frightened by his reaction to do it herself (not that she could blame her), Sharon was all prepared to break the news to him the night before, that was until Rusty opted to spend the night with Gus instead. Likewise she was yet to tell Andy but wanted to do it before she told Rusty with Andy almost being her practice run before she had chance to sit down with her son and break the 'bad news' for real.

"Okay, okay. It's moving. It's moving." Andy swung his legs around and pulled himself to the edge of the bed, planting his feet on the floor as he leant forward, his head in his hands as he yawned and rubbed his face. Sharon stood in front of him and kissed the top of his head before running her hands through his hair and then holding her hands out to him. He took them gladly and allowed her to pull him to his feet. The moment he stood up the sheet fell from his body and revealed that he wasn't wearing a single stitch of clothing since Sharon had removed his boxers and his t-shirt just an hour earlier (for once not needing to put them back on since Rusty was out and he wouldn't be knocking on their door at some point and asking what they wanted for breakfast). He quickly looked around for his discarded clothes only to realise that Sharon had probably already put them in the hamper before she got dressed. He kissed her on the lips and then slowly made his way towards the bathroom but not until Sharon had smacked him on his bare backside with the palm of her hand. "Hey! Cheeky!" he said over his shoulder.

Sharon laughed. "I'm going to start the coffee."

Sharon left the bedroom and went straight into the kitchen as Andy slowly dragged his sleepy form towards the shower. After putting the coffee on to brew she grabbed two mugs from the cupboard before stopping dead in her tracks. She thought for a moment and then smiled before walking back towards the bedroom door and just stood there listening to Andy in the shower as he loudly murdered _Good Vibrations_ by The Beach Boys. Her smile slowly started to grow as an idea took shape in her mind. She closed the bedroom door behind her and walked towards the main bathroom, creeping as she went as if he might be able to hear her. Once inside she walked straight towards the toilet, her hand immediately coming to rest of the handle. She paused, waiting for a moment as the demons and better angels did battle in her mind before deciding to go ahead and do it anyway. She flushed the toilet, laughter already erupting from her before anything had chance to happen. Within a matter of seconds she heard the sounds of Andy shouting emanating from the shower, a mixture of her name and angry four lettered words, as the ice cold water suddenly and unexpectedly hit him. She laughed hysterically as she went back to the kitchen, almost sprinting past her bedroom door in case Andy suddenly put in an appearance and decided to seek early vengeance upon her. Still laughing happily away to herself she leant back against the kitchen counter and waited for the coffee to brew and then poured them both a cup. With a coffee in each hand she walked back into the bedroom and put them down on the nightstand nearest the bathroom on Andy's side of the bed. She listened for the sound of the shower but it had long since stopped. After a moment to summon up the courage she slowly opened the bathroom door and poked her head inside to see what he was doing and more specifically just how mad he actually was. She found him standing in front of the sink with a towel wrapped around his waist while he dried off his hair with another. He froze when he saw her, shooting her a glare as she just smiled and tried to contain her laughter.

"Come here" Andy instructed with his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"No" came the instant response since Sharon knew him and that look far too well to trust him at that particular moment in time.

"Come here."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust you" she said bluntly as she folded her arms in front of her defiantly.

"You don't trust me?" he asked, beyond offended.

"No. You're all wet," she pointed out while simultaneously ogling him, half turned on, half concerned by what he could do to her since he was dripping wet and she was already dressed for work, "and I know you and your tendency to overreact far too well to come anywhere near you." Without warning and before she'd even finished speaking Andy lunged towards her with menace. Sharon's immediate reaction was to squeal and run from the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and holding onto the handle for dear life so that he wouldn't be able to open it. He pulled on the door handle trying to get out and grab her but in all honesty he didn't try very hard. "Andy don't you dare!" she warned. "I've made you coffee."

"Is that a bribe?" Andy asked on the other side of the door. "It's not a very good one."

"I offered you a bribe this morning and now I thought you needed a cold shower."

Andy stopped pulling on the door handle and took a step away from it, not that she would be able to see that. "Can I have my coffee please?"

"Only if you promise not to touch me."

Andy chuckled to himself, feeling like he'd been in this position before when his marriage first started to break up. "Have I gone back in time? Sandra is that you out there?"

Sharon laughed as she picked up his coffee and very slowly and carefully opened the door just wide enough to be able to pass him his cup through the small gap, keeping her distance at all times. "Here" she said as she handed it to him before taking a step back should he suddenly be about to lunge at her again.

"Thank you" he said gratefully as he took it and swallowed that first tempting but ultimately too hot first sip. "Come here."

"No" she replied, keeping her hand on the door handle should she need to close it again.

"What can I possibly do through this small gap?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something." After a moment she relented and moved towards him but while still keeping her hand on the handle. She pressed her face between the gap of the door and the frame. "What?"

As quick as a flash he stepped towards her and planted his lips to hers through the small gap, surprising her. "I'm going to get you for that Raydor" he warned as he turned his attention back to getting ready for work.

Sharon laughed at him, knowing he would get her back eventually and she'd be essentially walking through a mine field of her own making until it happened but in the great scheme of things she felt that it was worth it, just to hear his cries as the cold water hit him. As Andy got to work getting ready in the bathroom Sharon took the opportunity to do a couple of things to help him along, once again her eyes on the prize as the sooner she had him sitting down for breakfast the sooner she could tell him about Sharon and the baby. First she made the bed, pulling the sheet and the comforter straight just to make it look neat and tidy for the day despite the fact that she would change the bedding when she returned from work (should someone break into the condo while they were at work and pilfer her jewellery they would at least think she wasn't a complete slob who kept an untidy home). With the bed made she turned her attention to the mountain of decorative pillows that festooned the floor from where they'd been unceremoniously dumped the night before as they fell into bed together. Once the bed was made she moved to the closet and opened the doors before pulling out the outfit she knew Andy had selected for his morning in the field. She kicked the door closed with her foot and shook her head as she put his clothes on the bed. On the hanger was a pair of dark blue jeans (oh how she loved to stare at his backside in a pair of tight dark blue jeans) and that same grey and white patterned shirt that she had lovingly nicknamed 'The Little Shirt of Horrors.' The last time it put in an appearance was the night of Lieutenant Provenza's bachelor party and the rest, as they say, is history. With the blood that covered it from the cut to above his eye Sharon had hoped that the shirt had died a dignified death and she was never going to have to see it again but with more lives than a cat it had come back once again to send her cross eyed if she stared at it too long and to probably bring trouble onto the shoulders of its owner as it so frequently did. With nothing else left to do she picked up her coffee and kicked open the bathroom door again. She leant up against the doorframe as she watched Andy with a smile on her face as he stood shaving in front of the sink, half of his face covered in shaving cream, a towel still wrapped around his waist. After a moment he noticed her watching him in the mirror.

"What are you looking at?" he asked her reflection as he cleaned off his razor in the sink.

"You" she replied as she sipped on her coffee and blatantly ogled him for all he was worth. "I like watching you shave."

"Why?" he questioned as he set to work on his other cheek.

"I don't know. It's kind of sexy" she admitted as she smiled. She really didn't know why she liked it but it did make her all hot and bothered as she watched him but then again she'd be getting all hot and bothered watching him do a ten thousand piece jigsaw puzzle of the Great Wall of China the way she currently felt about him and the life they were starting to build together. "You didn't have a very long shower" she grinned after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah funny that. The water suddenly got very cold" he pointed out like it was a complete mystery as to what had happened. "Almost as if Darth Raydor herself put her cold hand on the pipe and froze it solid."

"I'll put my cold hand on your pipe in a moment" she warned.

He turned and winked at her. "Promises, promises" he muttered before they both laughed.

Sharon continued to watch him in silence as he shaved the rest of his face. It was only when he dropped his razor into the sink and pulled the plug to drain the water that Sharon noticed the large blob of shaving cream still left on his chin. "You missed a bit."

"Where?"

"Right there" she said, pointing at his chin from her safe position by the door.

"Where?" he asked again, but since he'd left it there deliberately his ignorance was very well acted since for once it fooled Sharon perfectly.

Rather naïvely given what she had done to him not ten minutes earlier Sharon walked towards him to show him the area of his face that he'd missed with his razor. "There" she pointed out. Andy nodded and made quick work of shaving it before turning to face Sharon and seeking her approval. "Perfect" she announced. Before she had chance to move away from him again he lunged at her and wiped all of the excess cream remaining on his face all over her cheek. She squealed as she fought to wriggle out of his grasp and push him away from her. "Andy!"

With enough cream rubbed on her cheek he let her go and laughed. "Revenge is sweet" he winked. Sharon just stared at him with her arms folded, looking incredibly unimpressed as her cheek looked like Fozzy Bear had attacked her with a cream pie. "Oh come here" he said kindly as he pulled her towards him and very carefully and gently began to remove the cream with a hand towel. Once finished he dropped his lips to hers and kissed her very sweetly. "Perfect" he announced, just like she had seconds earlier and winked.

"What would you like for breakfast? Cereal or I've got some fruit in the fridge?"

"I don't mind" he shrugged.

"Fruit salad okay?"

"Sounds perfect." Sharon nodded and turned to leave. "Hold on." He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back towards him, his suspicions growing by the second. "What's the matter?" he asked, thinking that something was clearly going on with her that morning given the very close attention she was paying him, more so than other mornings when they were alone.

She looked at him puzzled for a moment. "What do you mean?"

He leant his hip against the sink and crossed his arms in front of himself. "There's something wrong. What is it?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?" she asked while chomping on her bottom lip in a clear indication to him that (when she wasn't using it as a tactic to get him into bed) there was obviously something bothering her and she was ever so slightly nervous.

"Well aside from how early you've woken me up, you're hovering this morning. You clearly want to tell me something. What is it?"

She laughed but nervously so, simultaneously pleased but also irritated that he seemingly knew her so well to be able to notice these things when she thought she'd hidden it so well. "Nothing. Nothing at all" she maintained. She'd wanted to tell him about Sharon and the baby since the night before, seeking his advice on how to handle the situation when she broke the news to Rusty. In truth although they were immediately distracted when Andy learned Rusty was staying the night with Gus she had still had plenty of chances to tell him before they went to sleep, as usual talking for a good hour before nodding off but she was growing increasingly worried about his reaction. Sharon Beck was a car crash of a person and she hated dragging Andy into it with her since she was battling the same demons he himself dealt with on a daily basis but with a greater degree of success. Rusty's Mother having a baby was clearly going to have an impact on their lives, in the very least having Rusty's baby sibling over at the condo (or hopefully their house) from time to time and although it obviously wasn't going to be the end of them, it was something he would need to decide if he was comfortable living with before they moved forward.

"Okay" he nodded although he didn't believe a word of it. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Nothing to do with yesterday? Nothing to do with what Sharon wanted to speak to you about?"

"Oh that? No" she shrugged almost flippantly. "I told you yesterday that was nothing, she just wanted to know how Rusty was doing lately" she lied. She realised that it was the perfect opening for her to tell him what was going on but had already decided she was going to wait until they sat down to eat or at the very least he had a pair of pants on.

"Okay. You sure?" he asked again, a little concerned.

"Absolutely" she smiled. "There's nothing to worry about." She walked back over to him and kissed him tenderly on the lips, hoping beyond hope that he would drop the subject until she was ready to reveal all. "But thank you for helping me with her by the way, I just didn't seem to find the time to tell you yesterday."

"It's was my pleasure, as always."

"I'm going to get the fruit out of the fridge."

"Okay" Andy nodded. He watched her with huge amounts of suspicion as she left. He knew that something was clearly up with her but he also knew that he wouldn't get it out of her until she was ready, if you tried to pry information out of her she would only clam up more and virtually shut down. With that avenue closed to him he decided to let it go for now and try again later, assuming that it must have something to do with Sharon Beck given the timing and expected another arrest to be on the horizon, suspecting that Provenza would probably be handling things as usual since the situation was already convoluted enough without Rusty's would be Step-Father wading in during interviews and when deals were being made with her. Still, at the back of his mind he worried that she might had changed her mind about the move and she was trying to find the right time to break the news to him but given the last twelve hours they'd spent together, most of which was spent with lips and hands exploring the other, he hoped that he was reading far too much into it.

While Andy brushed his teeth and began to get dressed, Sharon went into the kitchen and retrieved several boxes of fruit from the fridge and put them on the kitchen counter. She then got two bowls and the cutting board and knife out from the cupboard in the corner and assembled them next to the fruit, all of it ready for them to cut up together a little later (although not until she'd eaten three strawberries first). With everything laid out she went back into the bedroom and found Andy coming out of the bathroom in just his boxers, his coffee in his hand and a smile on his face but clearly holding in his stomach a little around her and not for the first time. As he moved he kept one eye on her, expecting her to tell him what was bothering her very soon or at least hoping that would be the case. He put his coffee down on the nightstand and moved to the bureau to get out a plain white t-shirt. Sharon sighed as she moved over to the vanity, clearly fed up. He moved to follow her as he found the bottom of his shirt.

"What's up?" he asked, giving her another little prod to open up to him.

Sharon sat on the edge of the vanity with another unhappy sigh and give him a very weak smile. "Oh I just really don't want to go into work today, that's all" she admitted with a shrug, something that was very unlike her and something that she would only ever say to him.

"Oh yeah? Do you want to play hooky with me instead?"

"Oh definitely." As she smiled at him she couldn't help but notice that he was continuing to hold in his stomach, it altering his posture slightly. "Stop holding your stomach in" she all but instructed him as she reached forward and ran her fingers back and forth his flesh just below his belly button.

He nodded and reluctantly let it go, not making that much of a difference to be fair but it was the principle of it that bothered Sharon. "Better?" he asked with his arms out stretched like he was showing himself off.

"Better" she confirmed before she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her and kissing him on the lips. She was forever telling him to stop sucking in his stomach when he was around her, especially when he didn't have a shirt on. Sharon really didn't care that he carried a little extra weight around the middle, after all she was hardly perfect herself but it clearly bothered Andy with him often suddenly becoming very vain about it in her presence and it was her mission in life to try and stop him.

"You used to be able to do your washing on my stomach" he said sadly about the abdominal muscles that vanished around the same time as his life also disappeared into a bottle.

"Yeah but I have a machine for that and I have much better uses for you" she joked before she kissed him again.

He smiled. "I know you do."

He leant in to kiss her back with Sharon allowing it to linger for a moment before she managed to utter "Get dressed" while their lips were still pressed together.

"Yes ma'am." He pulled his t-shirt over his head and down his body before asking "Where shall we go?" as he planted a hand either side of her on the vanity and leaned in close.

"Go?"

"When we play hooky."

"Oh anywhere" she replied as she put her hands around the back of his neck, her change in mood at not wanting to go to work at odds with the speed she kept encouraging him to dress. "Anywhere as long as it isn't here."

"Well in that case pack a bag. I can see us spending tomorrow afternoon riding on a gondola."

"In Venice?"

"Las Vegas" he corrected. She laughed at him before kissing him again. "What's brought this on all of a sudden?" he asked as he went back to the bureau to get a pair of socks out of the small drawer he had in it. There were occasions in the past when Sharon didn't particularly look forward to work, as much as she loved her job and helping people, when they were in the midst of a particularly nasty case that involved children for example and she would subtly express her desire to call in sick but she had never seemed this down by the idea of it before.

"It's this case" she said simply. "I hate this case. I hate it. I can't stand to be around that revolting man a second longer with nothing to charge him with" she added with a shudder, having felt her skin crawl just looking at Bo McLaren the day before.

"We've got to be able to find something."

"Well his alibi is rock solid" she reminded him regretfully. "I have an idea but it's going to take an awful lot of ducks to line up in order to achieve it. But that's a problem for another day when we don't have a murder to solve." She shuddered again with contempt and disgust. "He's beyond grotesque."

Andy laughed. "Oddly enough sweetheart your feelings on the guy had been noted."

Sharon looked at him confused, often trying to keep her opinions on a suspect to herself and well-hidden so that it didn't impact on their case. "What do you mean?"

"The way you opened the door to the interview room yesterday evening portrayed your true feelings perfectly." She frowned at him, still confused by what she was hearing. "I assume you did it deliberately" he added as he sat on the edge of the bed and began to pull his socks on.

She shook her head, still at a loss as to what he was talking about. "Did what deliberately?"

"You are kidding right?" he laughed. "You slammed the door so hard against the wall as you entered yesterday you scared the crap out of everyone in there. You scared the crap out of everyone in Electronics for that matter."

She again looked at him completely puzzled. "Did I really?"

"Yes. The whole building practically shook."

"You're making that up" she laughed, not realising she'd done anything other than opened the door and walked in with a certain amount of purpose.

"I'm not. You don't remember?"

"To be perfectly honest I was more focused on going in there and rattling that creep than anything else" she admitted, her sole focus being on the revolting creature sitting next to his lawyer rather than herself.

"Well have no fear about that because it was definitely mission accomplished. You rattled all of us. Before Taylor left he pulled me to one side and said 'Hey whatever you do Flynn, don't ever piss her off.'" For once he wasn't exaggerating for comedic effect. Once they had all finished listening to what Sharon wanted from Bo in order to set up their upcoming morning surveillance operation they filed back out into the Murder Room until Taylor grabbed hold of Andy by the shoulder and offered his words of wisdom for the sake of his own safety, getting a nod of agreement from everyone else in close enough attendance to hear.

"Oh you're exaggerating."

"I'm not. Everyone was terrified of you for about an hour afterwards." Andy stood with his jeans in hand and started to pull them up. "I don't know what that door did to irritate you but I sure as shit hope I never do the same thing."

Sharon smiled at him with a glint in her eye. "Don't worry you have your own little ways to irritate the hell out of me without needing any additional help."

"Well I do try" he said modestly.

"You most certainly do."

They both laughed before he asked "You really didn't do it on purpose?"

"No."

"Figures," he shrugged casually, "even unintentionally Darth Raydor is still the scariest badass in Southern California." They laughed again. "You're right though. Can you believe girls actually post applications to sleep with that asshole?"

"It doesn't bare thinking about" she replied, still disgusted by both Bo and his website.

"For their first time as well" Andy said with disbelief as he started to do up his belt. "Why? Why would you do that? Your first time sleeping with someone is supposed to be special, with someone special."

She looked at him with a fair amount of surprise as she crossed her arms. "What?"

"You don't think so?" he asked with just as much surprise as he sat back down on the bed.

"Yes I do but I just didn't think you would feel that way Mr Dating Three Girls at Once."

"You should know by now that you shouldn't believe everything you hear about me at the station."

"Oh believe me I don't but I do believe everything your sister tells me" she informed him with glee. "What about you and the…the Wilshere sisters I think they were called? Is that right? Something like that?"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "They tricked me" he claimed as he pulled his shirt on and started to button it up.

She laughed at him and the ridiculousness of his statement. "They tricked you? Three sisters tricked you into sleeping with them in space of less than a month when you were eighteen years old and clearly far too horny for words?"

With his shirt buttoned he grabbed his watch from the nightstand and slid it on before nodding. "That's what I'm sticking with yes." She laughed at him as he stood up and moved to stand in front of the full length mirror in the corner of the room. He looked himself up and down for a moment, his hair still slightly wet. "How do I look? Inconspicuous?"

She smiled at him before crossing towards him and running her hands around his waist from behind. "Oh very. In fact I'm struggling to see you you've blended in so well with my décor" she joked.

"Like Waldo?"

"Indeed," she confirmed before she kissed the back of his neck, "and not just because your shirt looks equally as ridiculous as his does." She laughed to herself and the overly offended expression she knew he'd be pulling at her and sat back down on the edge of the vanity with her cup of coffee.

He turned to face her. "Are you mocking this shirt again?"

"Well I'll be honest I had rather hoped it died after Lieutenant Provenza's bachelor party. It was the sole shining light to come out of that whole catastrophe. I thought it was going in the trash because you couldn't get the blood out of it."

"It was until my dry cleaner thankfully managed to work some magic on it."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Oh yes thankfully. I really must send them a 'Thank You' card" she replied with heaps of sarcasm.

He stood in front of her with his arms folded. "Why do you hate this shirt so much?"

"Other than it makes me go cross eyed when I look at it for too long? Have you ever worn it and not got yourself into trouble?" she asked, genuinely expecting some sort of disaster to befall him by the end of the day.

"Yes" he nodded, full of confidence.

"When?"

"Lots of times" he confirmed before trying his hardest to think of something specific to tell her. "I just can't quite think of one right now." She laughed at him. "But I'm sure it's happened and it's going to happen again today" he confirmed with great authority before he dropped his lips to hers.

"I certainly hope so" she told him as almost a warning before she stood, pushed past him and headed towards the door. "I'm going to make a start on breakfast."

"I'll be right there." Once Sharon was gone he pulled his shoes on after finding them at the foot of the bed and then opened the closet door. His eyes scanned it for a moment, it full to the rafters, until he spotted his suit squeezed on the very end. He pulled it out, it being the suit he was going to change into once he returned to PAB later in the day. Before he'd had chance to close the door again he noticed that although his tie and suspenders were still on the hanger along with his suit, his shirt was missing. He sighed as he closed the closet and then turned towards the door, his suit still in his hand. "Hey Raydor! Get your ass back in here" he shouted after her.

After a moment or two Sharon appeared from around the corner, a confused smile on her face although she secretly knew what was going on. "What's the matter?"

"Where's my shirt?" he asked as he shook his suit at her.

She smiled at him sheepishly. "How should I know? Where did you put it?"

"Where did I put it? On the hanger with my suit and tie and suspenders and then I hung it in the closet. Now it's mysterious vanished…yet again, like all of the others."

"Well it is like Narnia in there" she joked, not expecting him to understand the reference.

"I know but I doubt very much a flute playing goat man would want my shirts to protect him from the snow." Sharon frowned at him, completely flabbergasted by what she was hearing. "I watched it with the boys a couple of weeks ago" he explained.

She smiled at him again. "Never say never."

"Well?"

"Well what? Why are you looking at me?" she asked defensively.

"Oh I wonder why?" He dropped his suit on the bed and walked over to the bureau, never taking his eyes off Sharon since he knew exactly which drawer he needed to open and look inside. Sharon flinched for a moment, wanting to stop him but realising that it was far too later for that. "Ah ha!" he cried as he pulled the very light grey shirt that went with his suit from the drawer. "Oh my God! How many of my shirts do you have in here?" he asked after he heaved his shirt towards the bed and then plunged his hands into the drawer to find what other treasures laid within.

"Just one or two."

"One or two?" he cried as he started to count the vast number of his work shirts that had vanished without him noticing. "More like...seven...eight...nine. You've got ten of my shirts in here! Ten! It's a wonder I've got any left to actually wear, to you know, go to work in" he complained at volume.

"I can't help it if they prefer to live in there rather than your closet" she justified.

"Really? Well I'm sorry to disappoint them but I'm liberating one back." He moved back over to the bed and took his coat off the hanger in order to pull his shirt on beneath it. "You're a thief Raydor, a thief!"

"No I borrow. There's a distinction" she corrected him.

With his jacket back on the hanger above his shirt and his ensemble complete he moved back to the drawer to close it, that was until he spotted something else hidden in there. "Wait. Are these my socks?"

"Maybe" she shrugged.

"There's like ten pairs in here."

"Well they're warmer than mine. It's almost as good as having my feet on your stomach."

Not really listening to what she was saying he continued to dig through the drawer. "And four t-shirts and...oh my God these are my shorts too!"

Sharon looked lost for words for a moment as Andy just stared at her, shocked that she had stolen so many of his clothes and he had been so completely oblivious to it. "Well you did want to move in with me" she shrugged again.

"Yes but oddly enough I was hoping that I'd arrive at the same time as my clothes, not that half of my wardrobe would come here first on a reconnaissance mission before I followed weeks later."

"There's just no pleasing you sometimes" she laughed.

He smiled at her. "Is that all you've got to say?"

"What else do you want me to say? You've pretty much covered all the bases there, I'm a 'thief' and you're being a big baby about it."

"Are you going to give me anything of yours to wear in exchange?"

"Sure but they're going to bunch up around your crotch something fierce beneath your pants and you won't like it" she joked, wondering if she might be able to trick him into something of hers for her own amusement.

He frowned. "Then it's not happening."

"Oh I don't know" she said as she slowly approached him and put her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. "It would be kind of sexy to be sitting at my desk and knowing just a few feet away that you had my panties on under your suit all day long" she teased, hoping that he would believe her as she crashed her lips against his.

After they broke apart he stared at her for a few seconds, unsure if she was joking or not. For a brief moment he realised that he would actually do it for her if she asked him to but then knowing with his luck he was likely to have a heart attack or something in the middle of the Murder Room on the day he did and then everyone would find out. Eventually he laughed at her but nervously so. "You almost had me there for a minute."

She laughed and let go of him. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you can fit into any of my clothes my beautiful boy then I may need pharmaceuticals to ease the pain."

"Just so you know when we do move in together I'm taking these back" he said as he pointed towards the big pile of clothes in the open drawer.

"That's fine because by then I'll have your entire wardrobe to pick and choose from."

"I'm going to buy a padlock."

"Like that'll stop me."

"I see, what's mine is yours and what's yours is yours huh?"

"I'm so glad you finally understand how this works." She walked back over to him and kissed him on the lips. With him fairly distracted with their lips locked together she made a valiant attempt to close the drawer without him noticing or seeing what else was in there until he caught her almost immediately.

"Not so fast Raydor." He looked back in the drawer to see what she was so eager to stop him from seeing before very slowly pulling out a fairly small (given the size of his shoulders) and old looking grey and blue Giants t-shirt. Andy looked at it with utter amazement, a real and unexpected blast from the past and something he genuinely never expected to see again. "Oh my God! Where did you get this from?"

She bit down on her bottom lip, suddenly a little anxious. "Liz gave it to me while we were in New York."

"Liz gave it to...," he started before becoming really quite animated, "you know I'm starting to be very pleased that there's a whole country between you and my God damn sister." He examined the shirt closely for a moment like he'd just stumbled across the Holy Grail lurking beneath an old mattress in a yard sale. "Why did she give you this? Where did she even get it from in the first place?"

"In your Mom's attic when she cleaned out her house. She said your Mom hung onto it after you went to college because it was your favourite shirt and so Liz thought I might like it" she explained as he continued to look at her stunned.

"I always thought my Mom donated it to a clothes drive at the church."

"Evidently not. Looking at it, your shoulders and arms are twice the size they were when you were a teenager so you're not wearing it again" she went on to let him know why Liz had opted to give it to her rather than back to him, although Liz had no idea that Sharon was likely to wear it when he wasn't spending the night with her, thinking she'd just keep it as a memento.

"But you can fit into it?"

"I can and I do" she confirmed. "I like it. I like that you loved it so much. It's a little bit of you, a little bit of old Andy that I missed out on that I can keep with me, for always."

"I've got news for you, you've got _all_ of 'old Andy' as your play thing right now to keep with you, for always."

She laughed. "Okay maybe I should have said young Andy instead." She watched him in silence as he carefully folded the shirt and put it back into the drawer, treating it like you would a new born baby. "You don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind" he told her before he kissed her. "I look forward to seeing you in it," he confirmed with another kiss, "and nothing else."

She laughed. "I'm sure you do."

"But do you realise what that is?"

"It's a Giants t-shirt."

"No it's not just a Giants t-shirt" he said with a sigh as if she was missing something really quite obvious. "It's so much more than that. That is a shirt from the 1956 NFL Championship game between the Giants and the Bears at Yankee Stadium" he explained.

"Did you go?"

"Are you kidding? We couldn't afford anything like that, my parents couldn't afford to buy me shoes much less go to the football."

"So?" she asked, expecting the worst to fall from his lips imminently.

"So we snuck in" he shrugged.

She laughed. "Of course you did."

"It was one of my best memories as a kid, just me and my Dad, one of a very few times that I got to spend some alone time with him," he started to explain as he rested against the bureau, "where for once he wasn't smacking me for something I'd done the day before. It was so cold, I'm not kidding I nearly got frost bite it was so cold and the team wore sneakers to play in it was so icy." She smiled at him, enjoying the way he looked as he reminisced about a memory that was obviously very dear to him. "The Giants won forty seven to seven and they were amazing. To see the likes of Webster and Brown and Gifford, future Hall of Famers, to see them up close like that with my Dad standing next to me, to a seven year old boy was truly breath taking. It was once upon a time the best day of my life."

"Was?"

"Yeah well you know I've had kids since then and seeing them born, I guess that was pretty special" he joked and making her laugh. "And then there was the day you agreed to go on a date with me. That was pretty special too" he said before he kissed her again.

"Then I can see why you were so attached to it but that shirt is a bit big to buy for a seven year old boy isn't it?"

"Well it wasn't so much bought for me as it was..."

"Stolen?" Sharon suggested, knowing that was the most likely response he was going to give.

"I was going to use your word. My Dad knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy who 'borrowed' it for me" he said with a wink.

"Oh I see. It was 'borrowed' for you?"

"Yes it was. It was the only size they had and it practically drowned me as a kid but it was my favourite shirt and one of my favourite memories so I wore it from when I was seven until well it seems my Mom stole it before I went to college and I don't know, used it as a pillow case or whatever as she cried herself to sleep at night" he grumbled.

"I'm sure it was just a little memento and a good one for her to keep as well since you didn't go home again after college" she explained, understanding his Mother completely since she herself had maybe stolen one or two of Ricky's favourite shirts when he went away to college. "Are you sure you don't mind that I've got it?"

"No" he confirmed with a kiss. "I don't" he added, kissing her again. "But just to be clear, has Liz given you anything else? A lock of my hair from my first haircut for example? Baby teeth? That picture of Raquel Welch I used to keep under my pillow?"

Sharon laughed. "That's for me to know and you to worry about my beautiful boy." She smiled at him before giving him one final kiss on the lips and then headed back off towards the kitchen to resume organising their breakfast.

He smiled after her for a moment and sighed with utter contentment. "God I love that woman" he said to himself, in honesty not realising that he'd said it out loud.

"I'm glad to hear it" came the instant reply from the vicinity of her desk in the living room.

"I wasn't talking about you big head! I was talking about Raquel Welch!" he shouted back.

He heard Sharon laugh before she replied with a dismissive "Of course you were."

Once more he waited until he was sure she was gone and in the kitchen and then again said to himself "I'm going to marry her someday."

Again the response was instant but this time it was much closer to the bedroom door as if she had been waiting for him to do it again. "If you're very lucky!"

"Will you stop eavesdropping on me and start breakfast!"

She laughed again. "Then stop talking to yourself."

Choosing to keep his thoughts to himself for the rest of the morning he moved to the nightstand and put his cell phone into the pocket of his jeans before looking at himself in the mirror one final time. After playing with his hair a little he picked up his coffee cup and his suit by the hanger and walked out into the living room. He hung it up on the hook by the front door next to the jacket he was going to leave the condo in, smoothing out his shirt slightly with the palm of his hand. His next job was attaching his gun, badge and cuffs to his belt before he joined Sharon in the kitchen who was busy cutting up the fruit and putting it in the two bowls. "What can I do?"

"You can cut that melon for me and then set the table if you like."

"Yes ma'am." Andy stepped into the kitchen and took the large kitchen knife from Sharon before he got to work cutting through the skin of a small but tough honeydew melon. After a moment he smiled. "Have you been talking to Patrice?"

"What about?"

"About putting me and Provenza on the same diet?" he suggested as he pointed towards their very healthy breakfast. She laughed at him. "After all the years I've had to endure him making fun of what I eat and then he turns up at work with a box full of the saddest looking salad I've ever seen in my life."

She laughed again. "The things people do when they're in love like putting up with horrible shirts for example." She kissed him on the cheek as she laughed to let him know she was only joking. "Don't you say anything to him" she warned.

"To who?"

"To Lieutenant Provenza about his diet. Don't you discourage him by making fun of him."

"I wouldn't dream of it" he replied, clearly lying.

"Yeah right. You should be taking him to the gym with you."

"Provenza at the gym? You're kidding right? He hasn't been the gym in days. Two thousand five hundred and eighty nine days, that's over seven years" he joked and making her laugh very loudly. "Anyway I'd much rather go to the gym with you" he said with a wink before he kissed her.

"I know you would but that's not going to happen again."

"Why not?"

"Because if you weren't glaring at any one who just so happened to look in my direction you did nothing but distract me while getting yourself all hot and bothered in the process. You didn't even use a single machine the entire time we were there" she pointed out. That single time they'd been to the gym together was one time too many with her feeling like he was her own personal bodyguard rather than her boyfriend and someone to work out alongside. She appreciated it but just the way he looked at her with his tongue virtually hanging out was enough to distract her from what she wanted to do.

"But I got all the exercise I needed when we got home precisely because watching you bending over when you were all sweaty got me so hot and bothered." She laughed at him. In truth that was another reason why she would never go to the gym with him again. She was already tired with all the exercise she'd done while they were there without returning to his house and discovering that the whole experience had made him as horny as a stoat and he wouldn't leave her alone, not that she was complaining since there were much worse ways to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Andy finished slicing the melon and handed it over to Sharon, he then wiped his hands on a paper towel before picking up the place mats for the dining table. "Your first time should be special and is definitely worth waiting for" he stated again as he put the mats on the table, Sharon's at the head as always and his on her left.

Sharon looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

"These girls submitting applications to sleep with that asshole. It's their first time, it should be special, with someone special, not caught on camera for the world to see with that dirt bag. In fact any first time with someone should be special and is worth waiting for."

She smiled at him as she continued to cut up the remaining fruit. "You have to say that because I made us wait so long."

"Maybe but it's still true" he confirmed before he kissed her again and went to retrieve the forks from the drawer at the third attempt, once again forgetting which drawer the cutlery was kept in.

"But you wish we'd done it sooner?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

He paused. "I'm going to take the fifth on that until you answer first."

Sharon laughed at him. "Yes. Yes I wish we'd done it sooner but I wouldn't change anything that has happened between us for the world. Not one thing."

"Good me too." He kissed her again on his way back to the table with the forks and napkins.

"So when was it?" she asked after a moment.

"When was what?"

"Your first time?"

"Are we really having this discussion?"

"Oh I think so" she said with a smile and enjoying putting him on the spot. "It's about time we discussed some of the many other women in your life. I'm going to assume you were young the first time you slept with someone."

Andy sighed as he sat down on a stool on the other side of the bar and watched as Sharon continued to cut up the fruit. "Yes I was."

"I'm guessing very young" she grinned, enjoying teasing him and liking to imagine him as a baby in a smoking jacket and a martini in hand as he lay on a large bed, trying to seduce the children of his Mom's friends when she knew full well that he wore Liz's old clothes and spent the first year of his life sleeping in a desk drawer placed at the bottom of his Mom and Dad's bed. "Like five years old and hitting on your babysitter type young" she added as she laughed to herself.

"Where do you get that idea from?"

"Other than just knowing you?" she said dryly. "Those photos your sister showed me while we were in New York."

"Oh God!" he cried as he hid his face on the counter, cringing to the point that his skin started to crawl. "See I knew I should have kept you apart until the day I died." In the great scheme of things Liz showing Sharon photo album after photo album was nothing compared to some of the stories she told about him but he still found the whole thing beyond torturous, despite how much Sharon loved it.

After a moment he looked up at her, a pained expression on his face. Sharon laughed at him and grabbed hold of both of his cheeks, squeezing them like you would with a baby. "In your little jacket and tie with your hair all slicked back" she said in an incredibly babyish voice. "You looked like you oozed charm even back then. The Cary Grant of toddlers."

"What?" he laughed.

"I can see you now, six years old and standing outside the school gates talking to a little girl with pigtails and knee socks while your Mom waited for you" she started, picturing it in her mind as she spoke. "I can almost hear you. Your Mom shouting 'Hurry up Andy Pandy' and you replying," she paused as she cleared her throat and then spoke in this most God awful Cary Grant impression the world had ever heard, "'Not now Mother. Can't you see I'm talking to a lady?'" She laughed to herself merrily as a stray strawberry bypassed Andy's bowl and inevitably ended up in her mouth.

He looked at her with complete and utter shock, his mouth hanging open and his eyes blinking with an almost dramatic flair. "What the hell was that?"

She shrugged. "A Cary Grant impression" she said, assuming that although she was no Tony Curtis it was at least passable rather than sounding a little like Ghandi with a hangover.

"I thought you were having a stroke" he joked as he clutched his chest like it had really frightened him. She smacked him across his shoulder. "Give me some sort of warning before you do that again please."

"I'm going to frame that photo Lizzie gave me as soon as I find where you've hidden it" she told him with it sounding more like a warning to him than a fact. Liz had given her the photo, a shot of a ten year old Andy in a suit on the morning of his eldest brother's wedding (taken early before he had chance to get himself dirty), before they left her house since Sharon was so enamoured with it aside with it being the kind of keepsake of his youth that she desperately wanted but he simply didn't have any of (in fact she hadn't seen a single photo of him before the age of twenty-five and without his children until that weekend). She still wasn't one hundred percent sure but she thought he had probably stolen it from her before they left the hotel to travel back to the airport with him really on edge with where she might choose to keep it, her office desk being the most obvious and frightening option, desperate that the likes of Provenza and Julio not see it. Sharon knew that he'd never destroy it because his Mom had taken it and treasured it and he still loved her dearly but finding it was proving to be harder than she imagined with Andy getting better and better at hiding things around his house since she was essentially a fiend, taking on all the qualities of a blood hound when it came to Christmas and birthday presents.

"Too late. I've burnt it."

"No you haven't. You forget if we're going to move in together in the very near future you're going to need help packing up your house and then I'll find it along with all your other deep dark secrets" she told him as her eyes twinkled.

He smiled at her as a little bit of blind panic started to appear behind his eyes, his nostrils flaring as his ears seemed to twitch suddenly. It was in that moment that he suddenly realised that the engagement ring that he had safely stashed in his sock drawer, the beautiful emerald cut ring he had bought after less than a month of them being together (which was possibly ill-advised at the time but it was now clear that's where they were headed) needed to be hidden as soon as humanly possible, perhaps in his safety deposit box where Sharon would never find it before he started to pack up and get ready to move in case she wanted to help him. "What other deep dark secrets do you think I have?" he asked after he swallowed hard, hoping that she hadn't noticed the way the wheels had been turning in his mind but little did he know she had already caught a glimpse of the ring box before Christmas.

"I'm not sure but if I find any more inflatable dolls lying around your house don't think I won't stab them to death as well" she warned him with an added gesture with her knife for good measure before she put the rest of the fruit in the two bowls.

Andy stood and picked up his coffee mug. "Top up?"

"Please." Sharon took both of the bowls to the table as Andy started to refill their cups with coffee. "So come on, when was it? How old were you?" she asked as she sat down at the head of the table and put her cell phone in front of her where she could see it.

"Really?"

"Oh yes, really."

Andy smiled and sighed, realising that he had no choice but to tell her this particular rather embarrassing tale from his youth unless he could think of something more sedate in the next thirty seconds but since she could tell when he was lying, he knew that would be too hard to pull off. "If you must know I was fifteen."

"Wow! You managed to wait that long?" she joked although she was actually surprised, assuming that he was probably younger than that. "How did you not explode before then?" she asked as she laughed. "I assume it wasn't your little prostitute friend."

"No it wasn't." Andy put their coffees on the table and sat down, immediately picking up his fork to dig into his breakfast. "I didn't need to pay for it. Lizzie showed you photos of me from when I was a teenager" he said with a hint of arrogance.

"Oh I see" she said as she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at him. Andy had always been handsome and still was but boy did he know it as well, not making him overly arrogant as such but just more confident than most. "You had them lining up around the block huh? Did they have to take a number like at the deli counter?" she laughed to herself.

"Very funny."

"What was her name?"

"Why are we so focused on me? Why aren't we talking about you?" he asked, trying to end it before she discovered yet another reason to laugh at him until her sides hurt.

"Because I don't have all the information yet and anyway whenever my past with gentleman callers is mentioned you pull a face like you've just walked in on your parents having sex and quickly change the subject." Andy could be very jealous about her at times much to her own amusement and as such he didn't want to think of her having ever been with another man, even those before they met. "So come on, spill, the name of the girl who stole your innocence and probably had your Mother sobbing herself to sleep at night was?" she encouraged as she started to devour all of the strawberries in her bowl first.

Andy paused and sipped his coffee for a moment, realising that he had to tell her the truth no matter how much she was going to laugh at him because if there was anyone who was going to hear this story, it was only ever going to be Sharon. "Martha Schmidt."

"Schmidt?" Sharon repeated. "So neither Irish nor Italian?"

"Nope. German."

"Catholic?"

"Protestant."

"Oh my, my, my" she responded with surprise. "And your Mother?"

"Utterly inconsolable. She cried so hard she practically dehydrated."

Sharon laughed, relieved that she hadn't been the same way with that horrible, vile Rosie Hall girl that stole Ricky's virtue on his prom night and then left him completely heartbroken as she flounced off to Europe for the summer. "Your Mother was far too obsessed with protecting your innocence and virginity than what's healthy if you don't mind me saying."

He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. It was like she'd had a vision of the future and saw what I was going to get up to and wanted to stamp it out early."

"It's a wonder she didn't die instantly from the shock. So go on, tell me what happened."

"With Martha?"

"Yes. Come on" she encouraged as she popped another strawberry into her mouth. "Give me all the gory details of fifteen year old would be lothario Andy Flynn beginning to ply his trade with the ladies."

"Ply my trade?" he laughed.

"Yes, you had to start somewhere and from personal experience I know how you've now got it down to a very fine art" she said before she leaned towards him to kiss him on the lips.

"A fine art?" he asked, enjoying the compliment before he kissed her back.

"Oh yes."

"Thank you" he said before he kissed her again. "I do try" he confirmed as they laughed.

"But of course there's always room for improvement just so you know" she teased as she smiled at him.

He looked at her surprised, pretending to be offended. "Is that so?"

"Oh definitely."

Andy dropped his fork and took her hands in his, squeezing them. "Would you care to give me another crack at it right now maybe?" he said as he waggled his eyebrows at her and nodded towards her bedroom.

Sharon laughed. "Another crack at it?"

"Oh yeah."

"Careful boy," she laughed, "when you turn on the charm full blast I get a little weak at the knees."

"You know what I mean. Come on, Sharon Raydor come on down" he cried like she was a contestant on _The Price is Right_.

She laughed again. "Not without being very late for work, so no" she said but giving him a long and searing kiss anyway. "But I'll definitely take a rain check. Are you coming back here with me tonight?"

"Well I am now" he told her enthusiastically before he kissed her again.

"I thought you might" she laughed. She wanted him there that evening because firstly she wanted him there every evening, feeling like a piece of her was missing when he wasn't snoring next to her but secondly she wanted his support since she'd invited Sharon over to speak to Rusty, something she was still building up to tell him as a dry run for telling Rusty. "So come on."

"Do you really want to hear this?"

"Out of some sense of morbid curiosity yes I do. I'm fascinated and because of how you're stalling I'm guessing things weren't exactly straight forward."

"You could say that." He paused as he thought for a moment and decided how best to start. "Okay, we'd been building up to it for about three or four weeks when we decided Sunday afternoon was the day, the day it was _finally_ going to happen and I was going to not only get past first base but score a home run."

She looked at him unimpressed. "I hope you didn't say that to her."

"Oh course I didn't. I used all my charm."

"Mhmmmm….I'm sure."

"So anyway Sunday was the day…" he started after another forkful of fruit.

"Wait. On a Sunday?" she gasped melodramatically. "What would you Mother say?"

"You'll find out and oddly enough I wasn't thinking about my Mom when I was planning it all."

She laughed. "I'm very glad to hear it."

"So I got my bedroom ready, filled from top to bottom with every candle I could lay my hands on to set the appropriate romantic mood" he explained, making out that his room looked like something out of a romantic comedy rather than looking like he was one pentagram away from trying to summon to the devil.

"And where did these candles come from like I didn't already know?"

Andy shrugged. "I may have liberated one or two from the church."

"Just as I thought, go on" she laughed, listening with intent as she ate her breakfast.

"So I lit all the candles, snuck Martha into the house and into my bedroom and well..."

"Smouldered?"

"On you have absolutely no idea how much I smouldered and was about to smoulder for that matter" he said as his eyes bulged for a moment. "Well anyway one thing led to another..."

"As they so frequently tend to do with you my beautiful boy" she said before once again leaning over to him and kissing him on the lips.

"Right" he smiled. "Well my pants were hanging around my ankles but I couldn't get them off because they were stuck since I hadn't taken my shoes off" he explained, having been so eager at the time to get on with it that other that taking his shirt off and pulling his pants and his underwear down, he had very little time for anything else.

"Oooh sexy" she laughed.

He laughed along with her, knowing all about her socks in bed rule. "Yeah I thought you'd like that. So there I was getting my thing on," he said as she started to laugh uncontrollably at him already, picturing it all perfectly, "doing my very best and doing everything my brothers had told me to do in preparation and if I'm honest some of what I'd seen the local prostitutes get up to with their customers when I suddenly noticed that my feet felt like they were on fire."

"What was wrong with them?"

"They were on fire" he said bluntly, his hands gesturing like dancing flames. "Literally they were on fire. I'd somehow managed to knock one of the candles over with my foot which had then fallen onto my pants and set them on fire" he explained with him since being very thankful that he hadn't set fire to the bed but again because the young man was in such a hurry to get 'the show on the road' so to speak as he later told his brothers they had landed right at the foot of the bed with his feet still on the ground where most of the candles were situated. In hindsight it was an accident waiting to happen but at the time he had other things occupying his mind.

Sharon started laughing hysterically, holding her sides as tears streamed from her eyes. "What? You set yourself on fire during your first time?"

"I most certainly did. I always told you I was smoking hot." She continued to laugh at him, grabbing hold of his arm as she did. "So anyway after I noticed my pants were on fire I was faced with a dilemma. Let my feet burn a little while I…'finished my business' or stop and put the fire out."

Sharon covered her mouth with horror. "Andy please tell me you stopped and put the fire out immediately" she said although knowing him like she did she already knew the answer.

Andy smiled, looking as cheeky as she imagined he did back then. "Not exactly" he said rather proudly which made her roll her eyes at him. "I tried to finish what I was doing," he started to explain as Sharon shook her head at him with disbelief, "for her sake as much as mine when Martha saw the flames rising from over my shoulder and started screaming incredibly loudly." Andy shook his head and put a hand to his ear as if he could still hear her screams rattling around his head all these years later. "I naturally tried to shush her because under the circumstances I thought she was screaming for other reasons entirely and for a fifteen year old virgin I was actually really rather talented."

Again Sharon started to laugh at him. "Oh Andy! You are such an idiot" she said as she put her head on his shoulder. Suddenly her head snapped up as realisation hit her. "Wait is that why you've got those little scars on your ankles?" Andy smiled and nodded, having thankfully only caused minor damage to himself considering what could have happened. "Oh my God!" she cried as she laughed again.

"Then she screamed 'FIRE!' and I knew the jig was up so I got up and tried to put it out by stamping my feet while I also tried to stop Martha from screaming the place down. Sadly her screams combined with my fire dance alerted my Mom to our presence so she came bursting into my bedroom to see what the hell was going on in there." By now not only was Sharon crying with laughter but she was also banging her hand on the table, the occasional uncontrollable snort thrown in for good measure. Andy smiled at her, his humiliation worth it to see her laugh like that. "So there I was, my unmentionables on display, my pants on fire around my ankles and a screaming half naked girl on my bed as my Mom opened the door and began whaling." Sharon reached over and put her arm around his shoulder, needing to touch him as she continued to laugh hysterically. "I'm so glad you find it all so incredibly funny."

"So you've never had a good history with candles then?" she joked as they both laughed with once again the way he accidentally set fire to his menu on their first date coming into the conversation. "Okay so you're telling me that on top of everything else you were caught by your Mother during your very first time?"

"Oh yeah" he nodded, almost proud of himself. "Well I had a big family and privacy was at a premium so it was always likely to happen, I just wish it had been one of my brothers rather than my Mom."

"But what about Martha's place? Why couldn't you go there?"

"I wasn't allowed over there" he shrugged as he took the opportunity to eat another forkful.

"Why not?"

"I was a Flynn. Why do you think?" It didn't matter where his family moved to in order to keep the boys out of trouble, their reputations always seemed to come with them. More often than not Andy could be playing stickball in his new neighbourhood quite happily until someone's parent would spot him, ask 'You're one of those Flynn boys aren't you?' and that would be the end of that and he wouldn't be allowed to play with them ever again.

Sharon laughed again, her hand running down his cheek with some sympathy. "Of course, I should have known. But didn't your Mom, with everything you've told me about her, have any suspicions of what you were planning to get up to alone with a girl in your bedroom? I'm surprised she let her in the house to begin with."

He smiled. "Oh she didn't know. Like I said I snuck her in."

"How?"

"Up the drainpipe."

"What?"

"I helped her climb up the drainpipe" he explained. At the time it had taken about fifteen minutes, her foot in his face several times and his hand up her skirt, almost turning her into a human glove puppet to achieve it. As the battle continued he began to wonder if the whole thing was worth the effort and again in hindsight given what had happened and that they were interrupted by the flames before he could finish, it really wasn't.

Sharon laughed again. "Oh Andy! You old romantic!"

"Hey I wasn't always the cool, calm, confident and romantic guy you see before you" he said with his arms outstretched before he pushed his lips to hers.

"Did she know when you invited her over that she was going to have to climb up a drainpipe? And no that wasn't a euphemism before you ask" she said quickly.

Andy laughed. "She did when I had to put my hand up her skirt and push to help her."

Sharon shook her head at him. "So what happened then?"

"Well as Martha continued to scream and everyone in the house came running to see what the hell was going on, my Mom chased me around the kitchen, my smouldering pants still around my ankles and hindering me as she kept repeatedly hitting me."

"What did she hit you with?"

"My Grandfather's wooden leg and let me tell you that thing hurt" he said as he rubbed the back of his head. "If I could have pulled my pants up I may have been able to outrun her but as it was she nearly gave me a concussion" he went on. What he didn't tell her was that she chased him around the table, muttering in Italian and hitting him over the head with the leg so many times that he was almost sick from the dizziness. As his brothers and sister watched on and laughed, the only thing missing was the Benny Hill theme tune music.

"Wait. His what? Your Grandfather had a wooden leg?"

"Yes. Have I not told you this before?"

"No. I think it would be something I would remember."

"Oh yeah" he said, happy to change the subject slightly from his disastrous first time with a member of the opposite sex. "Why do you think he looked so miserable in all of those photos Lizzie showed you?"

"Why? Because your Grandmother was the most frightening looking woman I've ever laid my eyes on. She looked terrifying." Sharon had never been disturbed by a photograph before (ignoring the obvious traumatising crime scene photos that had crossed her desk) but Andy's Grandmother had eyes that seemed to follow you around the room and burned right into your soul.

"She was nothing compared to you."

Sharon laughed. "I'm glad to hear it" she said before he kissed her. "How did he lose his leg?"

"World War I. He was lucky to be alive."

"Was he shot?"

"Oh no he wasn't a soldier. He was run over by a truck running away from the police." With that Sharon once again collapsed onto the table in a fit of uncontrollably laughter. There were times with the way Andy told stories that made him and his family seem like the most ridiculous people on the face of the planet and she loved him all the more for it. As he watched her laugh he couldn't help but join in with her. "What? He may not have been a soldier but it still happened during World War I."

"Oh Andy!" she cried once she was capable of speaking again. "What have I let myself in for?" she mused as she laughed again. "Have you ever thought about writing some of these stories down?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Why was he running from the police?"

"I don't know. He claimed it was a case of mistaken identity but I doubt that very much" he said with a shrug. "Whatever happened it can't have been good."

"I'll say and then his wooden leg got used to beat his horny Grandson around the head as he ran around the kitchen with his smouldering pants around his ankles." She laughed again, never expecting this kind of story from Andy but then felt foolish because if anyone was ever going to tell a story like that, it would only be him. "So once she calmed down and stopped hitting you what did your Mom do?"

"Martha was asked to leave as politely as possible and I was dragged down to the church by my ear so that the priest could give me a good talking to about the dangers of 'pleasures of the flesh.'"

"Well it clearly worked" she scoffed as she laughed again.

"Oh yeah. I'm a reformed character. I haven't been near a woman since."

Sharon laughed again as she shook her head, running her hand through his hair. "Setting the house on fire and being deflowered by a girl who wasn't Catholic or Italian. No wonder your Mother was so upset."

"Yeah but that's not the sole reason my Mom was upset about it all" he explained before he paused for a moment. "Have you ever heard of Mannie Luca? He was a mob enforcer in New York during the sixties? Luca the Ligature? He liked to strangle people with his hands?"

She laughed, as if Andy assumed she knew every dirt bag in the whole of the country. "The name doesn't ring a bell. Why?"

"Yeah well he was Martha's Step-Father" he explained casually.

Sharon's mouth hung open as she began to realise once again how lucky she was to have him, especially since it now appeared he could have been 'clipped' as a teenager. "You slept with the daughter of a mob boss when you were fifteen years old?" she said finally.

"Mob enforcer. He was just an enforcer. There's a difference."

"No there isn't!" she cried, not giving two hoots about the distinction he was trying to make to make it seem not as bad as it actually was. "Anyway it doesn't matter, he still worked for the mob. How were you not murdered?"

Andy shrugged dismissively as if it really wasn't that big of a deal where as in reality if it hadn't been for Martha's desperate and overly dramatic cries of 'But Daddy I love him' like she was Ariel in _The Little Mermaid_ , Andy would probably be missing more than a finger as he ate breakfast that morning. "More by luck than judgement. As first times go it was rather eventful."

"Now there's an understatement but I must admit that it's nice to know you weren't always as smooth with the ladies as you are right now" she told him with great pleasure as she took his free hand in hers.

"Oh I was smooth alright, right up until the moment I caught on fire."

"Like on our first date" she joked before they both laughed. "Well I'm very pleased to tell you that you have improved dramatically since then" she confirmed before joining their lips together. "Both on your first time and on our first date" she added as she kissed him again. "In every way imaginable."

"I'm glad to hear it" he growled, kissing her again. For the second time that morning while Andy was fairly distracted with his eyes closed and putting his lips to another use other than telling embarrassing stories about himself, Sharon stole three strawberries out of his bowl and placed them in her own but once again she was caught. "Hey! I saw that. What is it with women and stealing men's food?"

"Yours always look and taste so much better than mine" she offered before laughing. She then popped one of the stolen strawberries into her mouth and began to chew on it, pulling a face of absolute bliss as she did and making her eyes close and a hum escape her lips.

Andy slipped on his coffee and just stared at her as she ate, feeling more and more hot under his collar with each passing second. "Unless you want to make me very very late meeting the others you need to stop pulling that face and be quick about it" he warned. She laughed and continued to munch blissfully on her stolen fruit. "Is there anything you wouldn't do for a strawberry?"

Sharon shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it's your job to find out" she replied with a very sultry smile.

"Mission accepted!"

She laughed. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to ask me?"

"Ask you what?"

"About my first time?" she said as she polished off the final strawberry.

"About the night Emily was conceived?" he joked. "No I don't need to know about that Halloween horror story thank you very much."

Sharon looked at him very unimpressed. "That was not my first time I'll have you know. Men! Why do you have such a problem about this subject?"

"Why do you think? Because we're possessive" he explained. "We don't like to think that anyone else has ever had their grubby little paws on the loves of their lives that's all" he added, making him sound like a little boy who was jealous of a friend playing with his toys when his back was turned.

"So what? I was a virgin before I slept with you that first time?"

He smiled at her. "Thank you for confirming that sweetheart" he joked before he kissed her and she laughed at his idiocy.

"A virgin with two adult children?"

"Hey it worked for Mary."

Sharon laughed at him as she shook her head. "So you're under the assumption that I what? Found Emily and Ricky floating down the river in little baskets one day?"

"I was going to say hidden behind a gooseberry bush but whatever works for you."

She laughed again as she prepared to break the bad news to him. "I was in college."

Andy nodded and sipped of his coffee, expecting her to have been well past the age of eighteen before she slept with someone given the way she was raised. "How old?"

"Twenty."

"Twenty?" He took hold of her hand again and kissed it before he smiled at her. "Oh I see, you were one of _those_ girls that suddenly went wild the moment they got to college were you?"

"It sounds to me like you've got an awful lot of experience with girls like that."

"I do aim to please."

She laughed at him. "Don't I know it" she said before she kissed him. "No. I didn't exactly go wild as you say the moment I got to college but that's not surprising. Let's be honest with my upbringing it's still a surprise I've ever had sex in my life or at the very least didn't attack you in your unmentionables with a knitting needle the first time you removed your pants in my presence" she joked.

"Excuse me? Me remove my pants?" he asked as he cocked his eyebrow at her with surprise. He would never have expected it before that first night they spent together but Sharon could be very aggressive behind closed doors and she'd removed his pants more times that he had over the last few months, not that he objected in the slightest.

"Yeah okay" she nodded.

He laughed at how quickly she admitted he was right, something that very rarely happened away from work. "But who needs to be armed with a knitting needle when you can just stab me in the unmentionables with a sowing needle in the bathtub?"

"Do you have to drop that into every single conversation we have?"

"At least until the wound has completely healed."

"Healed?" she said with another eye roll. "You can hardly see it."

He sat back in his chair and huffed, giving the impression that he was really quite upset and offended by her words. "And yet you swore to me that size didn't matter to you."

She laughed. "And indeed it doesn't" she informed him before she kissed him and his jokingly bruised ego. "Have you told Lieutenant Provenza about what happened?"

"You bet I did, just for my own protection should you try it again or something worse."

"Oh you big baby."

"Me? What about him? He's worn a cup to work ever since I told him as protection" he told her much to her amusement. "Have you not noticed how nice he's been to you recently? He's worried you might try to stab him if he pisses you off."

Sharon laughed. "Men! What did he say to you? Let me guess 'That's what you get for dating the Captain'?"

"Almost. He told me 'It was only a matter of time before Darth Raydor tried to neuter you.'"

Sharon moved close to his ear and whispered while her hand travelled up his leg from his knee and dangerously close to his groin. "Trust me Andy if I wanted to neuter you, I'd already be wearing your testicles as earrings by now" she warned.

He stared at her with his mouth hanging open again. "Is it wrong that I'm incredibly turned on right now?" he asked, never taking his eyes off her.

She laughed. "Yes it is, you pervert." She kissed him again, despite the fact that his mouth was still hanging open before she sat back in her chair and started to drink her coffee. "Ryan Marshall" she said with an almost dreamy expression on her face.

"Who?"

"Ryan Marshall. Majoring in English literature and Quarterback on the football team" she said of the first young man to ever see her naked. "He had a chiselled jaw like it was carved out of marble and the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I've ever seen" she drooled much to Andy's clear irritation.

"Jeez! I hate him already" he grumbled and making her laugh. "So what did this asshole do? Get you drunk and make a move on you in the back seat of his car" he asked, determined to see the worst from a man who essentially 'got there first' in his childish eyes.

"Do I strike you as the kind of person who puts out in the back seat of a car?" she asked like she was above such seedy trysts. The moment the words left her mouth she smiled as she remembered the little incident that had happened a few weeks earlier when they drove up the coast together one Sunday afternoon and stopped to watch the sunset before things quickly escalated and the glass steamed up like a scene from _Titanic_ until Sharon accidentally opened the window with the back of her head as she climaxed.

He smiled and nodded. "Yes you do actually" he said before kissing her.

"Oh shut up" she said as she pushed his face away from her with the palm of her hand and he laughed. "He took me out for dinner and a movie."

"Oh how original."

"Yes much better to just pick a day at random on a calendar and push a girl up your drainpipe." The phrase hit them both immediately as they started laughing at her completely accidental innuendo.

"You've got such a filthy mouth on you at times Raydor. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!"

She smacked his arm as he continued to laugh while she blushed slightly. "You know very well what I mean, the drainpipe on the outside of your house." She took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "After dinner and a movie he invited me back to his dorm room."

"Sneaking you in?"

"Of course but not through a window, through the front door. His bedroom with was filled with candles and flowers and balloons with Colour Me Barbra playing on his stereo" she said with that same dreamy smile coming back to her face.

"Using Barbra Streisand to seduce you? No wonder you fell straight into bed with him."

"I admit I was a little eager to finally get it over and done with but in truth he didn't really matter to me. That jaw and those beautiful eyes aside there was no hope of a long term relationship there" she said casually as she started to play with his fingers. At the time, although she liked him it was more a case of 'All of my friends have done it and he'll do' than anything else. "It seems it's only when things start to get really serious and I plan to spend the rest of my life with someone that I start to drag my feet a little for fear of ruining it" she added almost shyly as they smiled at each other.

"I like that you drag your feet with me. It makes me work harder and be even more thankful for every single moment I get to spend with you." He leant forward and kissed her, letting it linger for a few moments. "But this Ryan Marshall sounds like a complete moron. What was he doing letting someone like you go?"

"Well that may have been my fault" she admitted, having to force the words out.

"You dumped him?"

"No he definitely dumped me but only after…" she paused as she debated if she was going to tell him or not. After a moment she thought she might as well especially given what story he had just told her. She sighed. "After I gave him a hernia doing...well you know."

"WHAT?!" Andy cried as he erupted into laughter. Sharon hid her face behind her hands as he continued to laugh at her. "You broke the guy?" he asked with utter shock.

She finally looked at him again. "A little bit yes" she admitted as she started to bite on her bottom lip. Very much like what had happened to Andy, when Sharon first heard cries come out of her lover's mouth as she straddled him, she assumed that they were cries of passion. Sadly they weren't. They were cries of utter pain as tears started to run down his cheeks. To that day she had no idea what she'd actually done to cause it to happen but word soon got around college and anyone who asked her out on a date after that knew they were taking their lives into their own hands. "He needed an operation."

"They had to operate on him?!"

"Sadly" she said with a sigh.

Andy laughed again, just as loud and just as hard as Sharon had a few moments earlier. "What the hell were you doing with him to give him a hernia? Riding him like Seabiscuit?"

She shrugged. "Something like that."

"Seriously?"

"It was nothing I haven't done with you dozens of times before" she said as she tried to make it clear that she hadn't jumped off the closet and onto him like a gymnast dismounting the beam or something to cause his injury. "He was just...fragile."

"Clearly" he laughed again. "I can't believe you broke a guy...well no I can believe it. It's very easy to believe in fact but for it to happen to someone my age not a kid in college."

"I'm glad you find this so funny" she said with a frown as her lips began to curl, seeing the funny side herself.

"How could I not find this funny? Who knew I was taking my life into my own hands every time you got your grubby little paws on me?"

"It was a freak accident. It's never happened since and never will" she said sternly.

"Because you're now gentler?" he suggested but knowing otherwise as he smiled.

"No" she said flatly as she blushed, not particularly liking to talk about herself and sex like that even if it was with Andy. "More by just closing my eyes and hoping for the best at all times." With that Andy started laughing again, unable to stop himself. "Stop laughing, it isn't funny" she maintained before eventually succumbing to laughter herself.

"I beg to differ. You are amazing Sharon Raydor" he said with genuine awe in his voice as he gazed at her. He kissed her again. "Do you know that? You are utterly amazing" he said again as she blushed.

She pointed a finger at him and with all seriousness said "Do not tell anyone that story."

"Now would I?"

"Yes you would."

He took her hand and squeezed it again. "Seriously sweetheart I'm not the sort of person to kiss and tell, ever" he assured her and hoping she would believe him, that he would never ever say a word to anyone, least of all someone they worked with about anything overly personal that took place between them or in her past.

"Really? Not even Lieutenant Provenza?" she asked with surprise since she'd told Andrea certain things about him (some of which caused her to drink an extra glass of wine out of sheer jealousy since it had been so long since the man-made orgasm train had passed through her town) and had expected the same from Andy and Provenza to a lesser extent since they were guys after all.

"Definitely not Provenza. I promise" he said before confirming it with a kiss as if it was a matter of honour that he never said a word to anyone about such things. "So he dumped you huh?"

"He did" she nodded. "It wasn't long after that I met Jack." As she said his name she pulled a face of utter horror and disgust like the man in question was the single worst thing to ever happen to her when that was anything but the truth. Without Jack she wouldn't have Emily or Ricky and regardless of how she felt about him now and how their marriage ended she would always be grateful to him for blessing her with them. "Still that first time..." she started, again with an almost far away and dreamy expression on her face.

"Not the night you broke him?"

"No," she replied with a mild glare that made him laugh, "that first time with him was a very romantic evening." Andy looked away from her and scoffed into his coffee. "What? What's wrong with a little romance?" she asked as she grabbed his chin and pulled his face back so he would look at her.

"Nothing. Nothing at all" he said a little shyly as he looked at their joined hands on the table. "It's just…," he started before he met her eye and shrugged, "I wish I could have given you a little more romance than I did that first night we spent together that's all."

"What are you talking about? It was plenty romantic."

"Really? That was romantic?" he said with more than an air of disbelief, thinking the whole evening was quite possible the best and most surprising evening of his entire life but it was hardly what you'd call romantic, not compared to the evening he had planned on giving her in his head in the months that came before it. "We ate a revolting meal, fell asleep on the couch during a movie, you asked me if I needed Viagra and then we had to sneak around so that Rusty wouldn't scream the place down if he knew I was staying over and what we were getting up to. It wasn't exactly the perfect romantic evening I had planned out in mind in the weeks that led up to it."

"Okay but aside from the Viagra incident that still sounds pretty good to me" she joked as they both laughed although she was still mortified by her error but at the time she wasn't exactly thinking with her brain, at that moment her crotch had both hands on the steering wheel and there was very little time for rational thought that didn't involve getting Andy into bed as quickly as possible. "Andy" she said quietly as her hand stroked his face. "Look the way I see it is this, my utterly fabulous, charming, handsome and incredibly patient boyfriend saw that I was having an unbelievably rotten day at work and after some encouragement from his best friend got me to leave early so that he could drive me home, get me something to eat and take care of me." Andy smiled as she spoke, never taking his eyes off hers for a moment. "He then spoke to my son on the phone as we drove and calmed and reassured him in a way that I nor anyone else had been able to do for days. He then remembered something so small, something so completely insignificant but oh so important to me that I felt compelled to tell him that I loved him for the very first time in admittedly not the most perfect of surroundings but still, I said it." Again they both laughed with Andy still wondering how the shock of it all didn't send his car straight into the nearest street light. "He then produced a letter he'd been carrying around with him for weeks that he'd written for me when he thought he was on his death bed, saying that I was the love of his life. Once we got home he played chess with my son all night long without complaint and didn't exert a single ounce of pressure on me to move our relationship forward before I finally plucked up the courage and decided to ask him to stay the night with me for the very first time. He again read the situation perfectly, calmed my obvious and very sudden bout of nerves and took everything so slowly, took everything at my pace so that I could relax and made me feel like the most beautiful and loved woman in the entire world." He lowered his head and kissed her hand. "To me, that was pretty romantic" she finished with a contented sigh before joining their lips together in a rather prolonged embrace.

"And then you punched him in your sleep and gave him a black eye" he said quickly.

She laughed as her fingers danced underneath the eye she had attacked so brutally in her sleep. "It was an elbow but yes, admittedly I did give him a black eye. Up until that moment it was the best and most romantic night of my life and one that I will never forget" she informed him and then kissed him again.

"Really?"

"Really" she confirmed as she smiled at him. "We didn't need a fancy meal or candles or music or a hotel or whatever else you might have had planned in your head when you were thinking about it. All I needed was you to have the most perfect evening of my life."

"Yeah" he grinned after their lips met again. "I guess it was pretty special but you were there so that was never going to be in doubt." He kissed her again, letting it linger and then regretfully admitted "I still wish I hadn't brought up contraception though."

"Well that makes two of us" she nodded as they laughed, both of them having had 'slips of the tongue' so to speak during the heat of the moment that first time as their nerves and more than a touch of lust got in the way of all rational thinking. "So, my utterly beautiful boy don't you ever think you're not romantic" she said categorically and then kissed him. "Because you've definitely got a soft little underbelly," she started as her hand darted under the table and tickled his stomach, "going on under there and you're the most romantic guy I've ever known Andy Flynn...with the exception of Ryan Marshall obviously."

"Oh obviously but I'm not as easily broken."

"At least not by me" she added making them both laugh. For a time they just sat in silence, holding hands and smiling at each other, eating the occasional piece of fruit. "I love mornings like this. Just you and me while we enjoy a lazy breakfast before work."

"Me too. We need to get the kid a paper route" he joked. Sharon laughed, knowing it was a joke but opted to swat his hand anyway. "I'm kidding. I like it when Rusty here's too. Being part of a family again at breakfast time, it's nice."

"Which is why you should get your backside out of bed quicker in the morning and then it'd happen more often."

He nervously ran his hand up and down the back of his neck for a moment before speaking. "You know another way it'll happen more often is if we hurry up and find a house and move in together" he pointed out, still not one hundred percent sure that Sharon would move in with him as agreed, those doubts always at the back of his mind.

Sharon laughed, choosing to ignore the way in which he said it. "Agreed. Have you found yourself a realtor yet?"

"I have indeed. I have a guy and my house has officially been put on the market. Now we just need Mrs Williams to go away for a few days and arrange an open house" he joked, genuinely fearing that his elderly neighbour, who appeared to love him more than Sharon did at times given the way she all but threw herself at him, would sit on her porch naked while shouting abuse every time someone came to look at the house in an attempt to prevent him from moving and leaving her. "What about the condo?"

"Erm...no. Not yet" she said a little hesitantly, fearing his reaction. As she expected Andy seemed to almost flinch as he sat up straighter and prepared himself for the bad news he'd been expecting for days. "Calm down it's not what you think" she told him quickly.

"How do you know I'm thinking anything?"

"Because you look like you do when I inform the squad that there's a mandatory sexual harassment seminar on the horizon." She squeezed his hand and made sure he looked her in the eye, listening to everything she had to say. "I spoke to one of my neighbours on Thursday who is on the verge of moving. Their condo was on the market for approximately four days before it sold and at the asking price as well so I don't think we're going to have any issues whatsoever selling this place on when the time comes" she explained as his shoulders began to relax a little. "After hearing that I then thought perhaps it would be for the best to wait until we find somewhere to move into before listing it. I just haven't had chance to discuss it with you yet."

"Okay."

"I'm not backing out of this move or anything like it," she said very slowly to make sure that he listening but also took it all on board, "but rather I am trying to think sensibly about it and since there's a very good chance it'll sell quickly we don't want to be completely homeless before we find somewhere new to move into. Right?" The truth was she hadn't found time to talk to him about it but if they were going to keep one place as a Plan B then the most logical, and not just because of how easy it would be to sell but also location wise, had to be the condo.

"Right. Fair point" he nodded. "Good thinking."

"Then maybe you could tell your face that and you know start breathing again" she said as she laughed. He nodded and laughed along with her, making a deep and exaggerated breath to show her he was doing it as instructed. "I am still moving in with you Andy but I was just trying to think logically. Plus as a backup I thought you could always move in here temporarily if your house sells before we find somewhere we like."

"That's true. I guess it wouldn't hurt to put my stuff into storage until we decide what we want to keep. And that way I get to move in with you sooner" he suggested as he smiled, which at the end of the day was all that he really wanted, he just wanted to move in with her so regardless of finding somewhere new he realised that the quicker he sold his house the quicker he'd have no other option but to move into the condo.

"I had a feeling that would be the tipping point" she nodded before she felt his lips press against hers. "So it's okay?" she asked, regretting not finding the time to tell him of her plan before now.

"Of course, it's okay" he said as he nodded and sipped his coffee. "Thank you for continuing to be the grown up in this relationship" he joked. Andy had always been a jump in feet first and think about the consequences later type of person. Thankfully Sharon was the complete opposite. Had he been making all the decisions then there was a very good chance that he'd accidentally make the three of them homeless with nowhere to move into so once again he was thankful that Sharon liked to plan and overthink practically everything.

"Well one of us has to do it" she said as they laughed. "We can't all be a bull in a china shop" she informed him as they laughed again. "What have you told your realtor?"

"What we agreed. Ideally we're looking for three bedrooms, at least two baths, pool, a bit of privacy for all concerned as far as size goes. As a starting point I told him to go from work and Nicole's house and work his way out. We'll see what he comes up with from there."

"Good" she replied with a smile as she pulled his arm towards her and wrapped her own around it, practically hugging it. "I have to admit I'm really starting to get excited about it all, about the process" she admitted with real enthusiasm.

Her words were music to his ears and he smiled, a ridiculous, goofy smile that made her chuckle. "Good," he said almost proudly, "and I promise I'm going to do all the leg work here."

"You don't want my help?"

"Once I've sorted through all the dross sure but until then let me take of it" he said with a kiss, not wanting her to get bogged down with the stress of it all and becoming turned off by the idea. As far as he was concerned as long as he could keep her focused on the positives like how to decorate it and the lazy days they were going to spend in it while he did all of the work then he would achieve his dream of living with her and Rusty for the rest of his life as soon as possible. "You relax and keep thinking about your Christmas angel possibilities and I'll find us some contenders."

She laughed. "Okay but take it easy please. Moving house can be stressful enough on its own, without the stress involved with moving in with someone" she warned, not wanting him to spread himself too thin.

"Now why would moving in with you and Rusty make me stressed?"

"Oh I don't know, I'm pretty stressed just thinking about all the new ways you'll find to irritate me" she joked with Andy almost seeing it as a challenge. "Seriously Andy I don't want you taking too much on yourself."

"Have no fear. The idea of moving in with you only makes me happy and anyway I don't get stressed, I never have done."

"Oh yeah? Then why do your earlobes look bright red some days?"

He shrugged. "Coincidence."

She laughed and shook her head. "Okay I believe you but thousands wouldn't. Just promise me that if you won't let me help with this part then you will at least pace yourself and tell me if it's getting too much."

"Yes ma'am" he nodded but knowing full well that there was a less than a one percent chance he would tell her if moving was causing him even the slightest amount of stress should she pull the plug on the whole endeavour. "So have you spoken to your kids yet?"

"About what?"

"About moving in together?"

Much to his relief she smiled with him believing that if she'd told Emily and Ricky of their plans then she was indeed very serious about the idea and it would definitely happen. "Yes I have."

"And?"

"Mixed reactions to be truthful."

"Okay" he said, dragging out each letter of the word, uncertain what that actually meant.

"Emily screamed for about half an hour and nearly burst my eardrum, beyond thrilled that I'm moving in with my 'boy toy' as she likes to call you" Sharon laughed. In truth it was the reaction she was expecting from her daughter. Emily was absolutely thrilled for her, that she finally truly was completely moving on from her Dad after all those years of heartache and with a man who, from what she had seen with her own two eyes, didn't just love her Mom more than anything but practically worshipped the ground she walked on. It was the news she'd been waiting for since she was eight years old for the sake of her Mom and her future happiness and the fact that Emily liked Andy so much was simply the icing of the cake.

"'Boy toy'?" Andy laughed. "She does know I'm over a year older than you right?"

"Yes but she still thinks of you as my little play thing. Like a cat with a new scratching post."

"Well she's got that right" Andy confirmed into his coffee cup.

Sharon laughed as she ran her hand through his hair, it still slightly damp from his shower. "Ricky was also pleased for me but was a lot more reserved about it." Reserved was perhaps the wrong word, he was more manly about his response. Like Emily he was so happy for his Mom and Andy for that matter too but whereas Emily made a noise like a dolphin having some sort of seizure, Ricky simply said 'Congratulations' and offered his assistance in any way they may need it.

"But they're both okay with it?"

"Absolutely" she confirmed. "More than okay. It's just..."

"What?"

"It's also a little…weird for them as well I guess" she suggested.

"Weird? How so?"

"I know there were times when he came back but Jack and I first separated when they were so young that they hardly remember him living with us at all so the idea of me living with a man is a very alien concept to them but then so was me dating at all for that matter."

"Dating? What?" he asked puzzled. "Are you telling me you never introduced them to a single guy you dated between Jack and me?"

"No" she stated plainly. After a moment Andy smiled. He was surprised. In reality he had never really introduced Nicole or Daniel to anyone he dated in the past (other than Sharon) but at the time they didn't want to speak him much less the next young blond he had taken to 'dating.' As he thought about it his smile grew, not realising before that moment what a lucky guy he actually was, not only to be dating her but that he was the sort of guy she wanted to introduce to her children. "What's that face for? Who was I going to introduce them to exactly? The guy who neighed in the bedroom or the guy who cried over his dead Mother after we slept together?" she asked with a shudder and the roll of her eyes, since as casual acquaintances to satisfy your need for a man-made orgasm go, she certainly picked from the bottom of the barrel in the past.

Andy blinked at her dramatically a couple of times, his head swimming with new and very intriguing information. "Wait! What? So many questions."

"But you don't want to know about any of the other men in my life" she shot back with a grin.

"Unless they're complete losers and then I have to know all about them."

"Too late."

He frowned at her but that quickly turned into a beaming smile. "But you told them you were dating me."

"Well that was different" she shrugged. "When I told them I was dating you I already knew I was going to spend the rest of my life with you" she said very matter-of-factly. They smiled at each other again in silence, Andy feeling slightly overwhelmed by what he was hearing.

"So the kids are really okay with it?"

"They are. More than okay in fact."

"What about the idea of buying somewhere new together rather than me just moving in here?" he asked, very conscious that he didn't want to tread on their toes if they were particularly attached to the condo although neither of them actually lived there or ever had done aside from vacations and holidays.

"Well as expected Ricky and Emily are still thrilled about it, Emily in particular. It was all I could do to stop her from flying straight over here to help us look for somewhere right away." Andy smiled, glad that he could always count on Emily as an ally very much in the same way Sharon felt about Nicole. "I'm not kidding. She wants an input on where she'll be spending Christmas and Thanksgiving from now on."

"What about Ricky?"

"Well he also wants to at least have some say in where the Christmas village will go but he was more pleased for me than he was excited." She looked around her for a moment at the condo she loved so much with a slightly sad smile on her face. She was excited about starting a new life with Andy in a new home, a home of their own but she'd be lying if she didn't say she was going to desperately miss the condo. "This place has never exactly felt like home to him like it has me and Rusty so as long as I'm happy..."

"Which you are?" he asked, always liking to get confirmation on that particular subject.

"Which I am. Deliriously" she added and confirmed it with a kiss. "So as long as I'm happy and it's what I want then he's pleased for me, he's pleased for us." They both fell silent for a moment as they both noticed the obvious elephant in the room in the shape of Rusty Thomas Beck.

"I'm almost too frightened to ask."

She smiled at him kindly. "Well you didn't think it would be that easy did you?"

"For a moment, yeah, I kind of did" he nodded.

"Look at it this way, he wasn't so keen on the idea of you being in his life more permanently at all in the beginning but he soon came round to the idea" she reminded him with as much optimism as she could muster.

"And all it took was for me to nearly die in my bathrobe" he joked. "I'm not pulling that trick again just to get the kid on board with the idea of moving house."

"I'm very glad to hear that." She looked at their joined hands for a couple of seconds before grabbing the bull by the horns and breaking the bad news to him. "Look he's not on board with it at the moment." After they had gone out to dinner together and by the end of the meal Andy had managed to convince Sharon that moving in together was the best possible decision she would ever make and she agreed, the next step was telling Rusty. So that she did the next night without Andy being there in case his presence perhaps altered and muted the response Rusty might have. After she told him that they had decided they were going to move in together but that it wouldn't be happening quickly she set about reassuring him time and time again that he would be coming with them wherever they ended up because they were a family, the three of them and Sharon wouldn't be going anywhere without him. She then switched tactics and did the same thing that Andy did and essentially tried to paint the perfect picture of the house they were going to buy, having a pool, having more space, and having a spare bedroom so that he'd never again have to give up his bed to a visiting relative and even making some promises to him. Despite all of that Rusty still seemed resistant, not telling Sharon that although he was not keen on the idea of moving, he obviously would for her but also that he suddenly felt in the way, that he was perhaps the reason that she wasn't doing it immediately and his reluctance may call the whole move off so tried his best to appear excited. Sharon however knew better and saw for herself that he wasn't yet overly keen and it would be a hurdle they would overcome given enough time. "I don't think he has any issues with us moving in together or you moving in here..."

"He said that?"

"Not exactly but it seemed to be far down on his list of problems."

"And what's number one so we can work our way down from there?"

"I just don't think he wants to move" she said plainly, seeing no point in sugar coating it.

"Ah" was all he could say in response, not really sure how that issue could be overcome.

"I'm afraid so. This is the most stable home he has ever had and for a kid who moved around as much as he did that's a very big deal" she explained in an attempt to make him understand, not that she needed to. Andy had been there from day one with Rusty and like everyone else in the division could easily anticipate how he was going to react to certain situations which he felt would threatened the stability that he craved so desperately.

"I understand but what do we do about that?"

"For now you need to do what you're best at my beautiful boy." Andy smirked at her, as he so often did, his mind jumping straight to the bedroom. "Not that" she said as she laughed at him and slapped him across the back of his head. "I meant be patient just that little bit longer." Andy nodded, understanding fully. "I know this isn't what you want to hear but Andy I'm sorry we need to be really careful and patient with Rusty as far as this move is concerned. He needs to be included and reassured that he is coming too. That we're not about to just drive off one day and leave his bag packed outside."

"Okay. I can understand that" he said with a smile, having anticipated all of this with Rusty's reaction actually being better than he expected in truth. "Do you want me to try to speak to him? Let him know that I expect him to come with us and I'm not trying to snatch you away from him?"

"No. I don't want him to think we're applying any undue pressure unless he comes to you to speak about it of course. He'll get there, I promise, it'll just take some time" she said with full confidence, knowing that Rusty would get there with enough time.

"Okay. Not a problem." He smiled at her and then began to laugh. "I suddenly feel like I'm in the middle of a love triangle."

She laughed with him, feeling that way herself sometimes but with Andy and a certain little someone else. "And not for the first time I'm sure since you've always been Lieutenant Provenza's 'other woman'" she teased. "Thank you. Thank you for being so understanding" she said before she kissed him.

"It's not understanding, its determination. I want to live with you, both of you and I know in order to achieve that goal I need to tread carefully and not spook either of you too much."

"Oh how I love being compared to a horse, do it again" she crooned.

He laughed. "So what exactly did you say to him to try to convince him to move?"

"I said basically the same thing you said to convince me over dinner."

"Ah!" he said with exaggeration as if she had pimped him out. "So I need to cuddle with him on Sunday afternoons in the hammock too?" he joked.

Sharon laughed, willing to pay money to see that. "No. Not quite that. I talked about having more space and a pool and a bedroom far away from ours" she explained.

Andy smiled, suddenly very pleased that he wasn't party to that particular conversation. "And how long it did take for him to stop screaming after you said that?" he asked, knowing that Rusty would put two and two together and know exactly why having a bedroom some distance from his 'parents' was a good idea and therefore having the appropriate disgusted teenage boy reaction.

"Almost as long as when I said he'd have more privacy for Gus to stay the night from time to time as well" she admitted as they both fell about laughing, with Andy picturing Rusty trying to stuff cheese in his ears so he didn't have to listen to Sharon talking anymore as he locked himself in the bathroom and began to rock back and forth.

"Has he called Dr Joe yet?" Andy joked.

"Not yet but I'm sure it's coming" she said as they again fell about laughing. "While we were discussing it in theory I had to agree to some concessions before we went any further."

"Concessions? Like what?"

"Well when I said 'I' I actually meant you. You were going to have to agree to some concessions regardless of where we end up as a family."

"Okay. And what am I agreeing to exactly?" he asked, fearing he may be kept outside in a kennel and would not be able to attempt another joke at Rusty's expense for the rest of his life.

"I promised him that when we bought a house I would attempt to make you wear pyjamas outside of the bedroom" she informed him with a huge smile.

Andy laughed and nodded. "If that's all it takes to get the kid to move then it's a deal."

"Well it's a start and as much as I'd miss your legs in the kitchen late at night," she purred as she ran her hand up and down his thigh, "I think it's worth it. More than worth it in fact. He will come around to the idea eventually, I'm sure he will. Once he realises that home isn't a place so much as it is a feeling. As soon as he grasps that concept everything will be fine."

"And if that fails I'll sedate him and take him to the new house in the trunk of my car and then lock him in his bedroom until he turns twenty five" he joked although if he had to, he would.

"Okay but just so you know that's called kidnapping and false imprisonment and as such we'll definitely call that plan B."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to you know, help him along a little?"

"Not right now no because I suspect that'll only make matters worse" she told him while still trying to maintain her optimism. It was clear from Andy's face that he wasn't too thrilled by the news although he had anticipated it and despite his attempts to hide it he had failed miserable. "But look at it this way, time is on our side here since we haven't even started looking for a house yet but he'll get there I promise and then you, me and Rusty will move into a place that's ours, together" she reassured him before she kissed him on the lips. When she thought about it she wouldn't have much time to house hunt with Andy with the other miracles she had to perform. Job number one was trying to get Rusty excited about the move and constantly reinforcing the fact that he wasn't about to be left behind. Job number two was reassuring Andy that despite that small bump in the road, that the move _would_ happen and nothing was going to change that. She smiled at the thought, the thought that two of her boys were so alike in some many ways and both needed constant reassurance and stability.

He smiled at her. "I can't wait" he said simply, like a boy waiting for Santa.

She smiled back, enjoying seeing his excitement. "Me either."

"So you're really excited by the idea now?"

"Andy I was always excited by the idea of it even when I was completely terrified by it" she told him as they both laughed. There was no denying that when Andy first brought up the idea of moving in together she was shocked and more than a tad worried by how much could go wrong but beneath that there were high levels of excitement in the pit of her stomach that were waiting to burst out. "Yes I'm very excited for this to happen."

He smiled at her. Not only did she look happy but she looked relaxed with a glow about her, a glow that seemed to set his soul on fire when he looked at her. "It looks good on you."

She nodded. "I like how it feels" she freely admitted and kissed him almost as a thank you, he being the reason that she felt that way to begin with. "Have you told Nicole that we're going to move in together?" Andy went to respond but she quickly cut him off by putting her hand across his mouth. "No wait let me guess, you already told her we were doing just that six months ago and she thinks you've already moved in here?" she teased before laughing herself silly.

He looked at her incredibly unimpressed for a moment as she just laughed at him. "Very funny" he said finally with a huff.

"Thank you. I do try."

"No not yet" he admitted with a shrug.

"Not yet?" Sharon asked surprised. "I thought this was the sort of stable image of yourself you'd be desperate to expose her and Daniel to even when you're telling a big fat lie about it." She laughed again, enjoying teasing him especially when it came to the lies he'd told his family all that time ago.

He looked at her shyly. "A couple of years ago maybe but things are better between us now, thanks to you" he said, offering the credit where it was due.

"No, no, thanks to you" she insisted, thinking he was always too hard on himself.

He smiled at her. "Well anyway I just thought I'd wait until we found somewhere and then tell her. I don't want her and the kids getting too excited by the idea that we might be moving right into their neighbourhood if we end up further away for example" he explained. "Plus you know how she gets."

Sharon laughed and nodded. Having spent quite a lot of time with Nicole since they started dating Sharon had become to know just how excitable she could be when it came to her sudden appearance in her life and the relationship she had with her Father, and that was before Nicole came perilously close to squeezing Sharon to death on Christmas Day. "Can you imagine Nicole and Emily in a room together if we ever gave them some good news? It would be like The Beatles had just arrived in the country" she joked as they laughed and imagined their synchronised screaming causing nearby birds to attack each other.

"They were bad enough when they met each other at that barbecue at my house" he laughed.

During the previous summer when they'd been together a matter of a few short months, Emily and Ricky came to visit for a few days to see Sharon and Rusty and also to give Andy a quick once over now that he was officially their Mom's boyfriend. It was quickly decided that Andy should host a barbecue in his yard and invite everyone along so that they could meet each other for the first time. Daniel was invited but as expected he didn't go which left Nicole, Dean and the two boys to represent the Flynns. Emily and Ricky had met Andy before of course but since the change in their relationship Ricky arrived with his chest puffed out and feeling like he should be protective towards his Mother when faced with the man who was 'defiling' her (if only he knew how long that was actually going to take). The whole thing was actually just bravado and lasted about thirty seconds with him overjoyed to see his Mom so happy. The real excitement however was when Emily and Nicole first came into contact with each other. Having both been brought up with 'irritating smelly brothers' they were delighted at the prospect of finally having a sister and they realised that was clearly going to happen as they looked at Sharon and Andy interacting with each other over the course of the afternoon. Emily and Nicole got on like a house on fire from the very beginning (as did the boys when they got to meet a real ballerina who was also a member of their family) and that only grew as the day went on.

"They were just excited, as girls who wanted a sister but only ended up with brothers tend to be when they meet a female step-sibling" Sharon offered, still delighted that they had got along together so well.

"And then you go and inflict Emily with another brother" he joked. "I swear their joint screams could shatter glassware" he said in all seriousness as Sharon laughed. "Plus if I told Nicole we were looking for a house to buy together she'd be calling me every day to see if we'd made an offer yet."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No. But..."

"But what? But you'd rather keep it a secret for the time being?"

He bowed his head slowly and kissed the back of her hand before he leant his head on the palm of his hand and gazed at her adoringly. "But you still make me as nervous as hell Raydor" he admitted albeit a little reluctantly. She blushed as she smiled at him. "And I'd rather have your name written on the dotted line before I tell her about it" he said, still not sure that she wouldn't change her mind at any moment.

"Andy" she said tenderly as she ran her hand down the side of his face again. "Why? Do you honestly think I'm going to change my mind about moving in together?" Andy just smiled at her and shrugged. "Oh Andy" she said, cupping his face and kissing him on the lips a couple of times. "Okay boy let me get this straightened out right now for the sake of your blood pressure. There is no changing my mind about this, I assure you of that. You find us the perfect house and I am selling this place and moving in with you" she stated clearly before she kissed him again. "I promise you that" she added until their lips met again. "Okay?"

He nodded, still unsure but taking her at her word. "Okay" he said quietly, kissing her back.

"But I've still absolutely no idea where you'll be keeping your clothes when that does eventually happen because I'm never splitting my closet with you" she teased although she sounded deadly serious. He laughed. "I'm not joking" she added with a straight face. "You're either sharing Rusty's closet or your clothes are staying in garbage bags in the garage. Your decision." She kissed him before finally laughing and then sighing. "You really need to stop being so nervous with me Andy Flynn."

"Oh I don't know it seems to have worked out pretty well for me so far. I was nervous to ask you to the ballet. I did it eventually and it went swimmingly right up until Nicole came to see you and forced my foot into my mouth" he said regretfully as she laughed. "I was nervous to ask you out on a real date but that turned out okay right? I mean aside from the fire and the dead fish and being sort of banned from there."

"It did. It most certainly did."

"I was very nervous to tell you how I felt and yet writing that letter was also one of the best things I could have possibly done although I wish you'd take it out of that frame" he cringed, worried that one day someone other than immediate family may see it sitting proudly in her bedroom.

"It's not going to happen, get used to it."

"The only time I haven't been nervous with you is when I asked you to move in with me and you reacted like I'd just told you I try on your underwear while you're in the shower."

"I did not" she cried.

"Yes you did" he laughed.

"I did not. I reacted like it was a complete surprise which it most definitely was and that was it and nothing more. I did not run from the room screaming or immediately fall over like a felled tree or anything else you dream up in that little mind of yours and I never will. I am moving in with you and the sooner you and your realtor find somewhere that's perfect for our little family the sooner it'll happen" she stated yet again before pushing her lips very firmly to his as if that was now the end of the discussion. "Okay?"

"Oh that is most definitely okay with me" he winked.

"What did your little friend have to say about us moving in together?"

"Little friend?"

"Yes."

He frowned as the penny dropped. "I assume you mean Provenza?" he asked grumpily.

"I do, your BFF" she joked before laughing.

"Little friend! We're not children you know."

"That has not been my experience in dealing with you both so far" she said, doing anything but joking about the matter. Chief Pope and Chief Taylor had warned her (not that she really needed one) before she took over Major Crimes that dealing with Flynn and Provenza was like dealing with two unruly children and yet that turned out to be an understatement.

"We haven't been in trouble for weeks" he protested.

"Ah yes granted but it's the fact that the wife of your little friend has to phone me every now and then to make sure you've not had a falling out over something silly at work which makes you both children and him your little friend" she stated with a grin.

"Yeah okay. Why does mine and Provenza's relationship amuse you so much?"

"Because you fight like cat and dog, do nothing but abuse one another and yet you'd lay down your lives for each other in a heartbeat."

Andy shrugged. "He's my partner."

"A little bird told me he actually ran to you when you had your argument with the pavement last year."

"Did he? He ran?" Andy asked, if he was honest not really remembering that much in the immediate aftermath of arriving at the airport and climbing out of the car until the ambulance arrived.

"So Mike told me the next day."

"I was too busy bleeding on the floor to notice."

"Of course had I been told that he'd ran to help you when you didn't return from the airport I would have known just how serious it was rather than finding out much later" she all but shouted as she poked him in the ribs, still annoyed that the full extent of the damage was kept from her until he returned from the hospital.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he mumbled.

"Don't 'Yeah, yeah, yeah' me" she said as she poked him in the ribs again, determined that never again would he keep health problems to himself.

"You're never going to let this go are you?"

"What? Holding your hand in hospital while I waited for you to wake up from surgery because your impression of James Bond went so spectacularly wrong? Probably not" she admitted, that wound and the fear that came with it never likely to heal in a hurry although she had certainly stopped mothering him like she was before Christmas. She kissed him, not for the first time relieved that he was still there with her. "So have you told him?"

"I've told him we were going to talk about it before we went out to dinner but not that I'd managed to convince you to buy a place with me" he admitted much to her surprise.

"Why not?"

Andy shrugged again. "I wouldn't put it past him to try and talk you out of it."

"For your sake or mine?" she asked as she laughed.

"Yours, definitely yours." He didn't actually know why he hadn't yet told Provenza that they were going to move in together. He knew he'd be pleased for them, more than pleased, he'd probably even offer assistance (as long as it didn't require physical activity and he got to be in charge) and yet he'd still kept it to himself, beginning to enjoy that no one else knew about it. "In fact I'd go so far as to say he now likes you more than he likes me."

She laughed. "That can't be true."

"Oh I think it is. The moment he realised that you hadn't eaten me after 'mating'..." he went on before she smacked him across the shoulder. "Ow! Why are you hitting me? This is him not me. I was fully confident you wouldn't eat me" he winked. "But once he was sure you hadn't and wasn't about to devour me whole..."

"There's still time" she threatened with a glare.

He laughed, thinking there were much worse ways to go. "Then he was much more on your side than he was mine as proven by the statement 'If you ever hurt her Flynn I'll shoot you myself.'"

"Oh I'm welling up" she joked. "What time is it?" she asked after a sip of her coffee, very aware that time was ticking by and she still hadn't yet told him about Sharon and the baby as a test run for how she was going to break the news to Rusty.

"Don't worry Captain I've got another twenty minutes before I should make a move."

"Where are you meeting them?"

"I'm going straight to the Fontenot Hotel with Mike just in case but I have a feeling that's where we all need to be anyway."

"I suspect you're probably right."

"Yeah, although it's actually like returning to the scene of the crime for Julio."

"I'm so glad he's trying to date again but what kind of woman stands him up?" Sharon said with utter disbelief since Julio was not only a very handsome man but also one of the sweetest people she had ever met (when his temper was under control anyway).

"Someone who doesn't know him. Someone who doesn't know what they're missing out on but it may help the guy if he finally took his wedding ring off before he went out on a date with someone new."

"Yes but you've got to understand that it's different for him" she said kindly. "It's going to be very hard for Julio to take it off one day."

"When did you take off your wedding ring?" he asked as he strained to remember if she was still wearing it when they first met all those years ago. "I don't remember if you had it on when I first met you."

"I did, briefly. I made sure I waved it in your face," she explained as she did just that, waving her left hand right in front of his eyes, "the first time I had you in my office."

"'Had me' in your office?" he asked. "I don't remember that. How drunk was I?" he joked.

She immediately pinched the back of his knee. "To reprimand you Andy."

He laughed as he grabbed hold of her hands so that she couldn't go near his knees again. "Why did you wave it at me?"

"I didn't like the way you were looking at me and in particular at my legs and you appeared to be so hungover that my death stares were having no impact whatsoever" she said with a slight glare and making him laugh.

"So when did you take it off?"

"The last time he left" she said, very deliberately opting to not use his name. "I'd taken him back once too often before then and I quickly realised that if I was ever going to break that cycle and avoid breaking his neck I needed to make a change and since divorce really wasn't going to be an option it was the most obvious decision to make, to end it in every way except for on paper" she explained.

Andy smiled as he looked at her ring finger. "Divorce really wasn't going to be an option huh?" he asked almost smugly.

"Oh shut up. You know very well that was about Rusty and not about wanting to date you."

He laughed again. "I know."

"But you just enjoy taunting me?"

"Amongst other things."

She laughed and kissed his cheek. "What about you?"

"Well it was much more straight forward for me. Sandra ripped it from my finger and hurled it at my head so I figured it was pretty much pointless putting it back on again after that. It was clear how she felt about me and our marriage and that it was over."

"Really? You managed to work it out from that? That'll be the Detective in you."

"Very funny. Well it was that and the fact that she sent me divorce papers the day before which was why I went to see her in the first place" he explained, with the choice of when and where he took off his wedding ring literally being taken out of his hands.

"Were you hoping to change her mind?"

"No, I knew it was over by that point because I'd done too much damage to her and the kids but I hoped we would at least be able to act like adults for the sake of Nicole and Dan."

"And what happened?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"You've seen for yourself how much she likes me to this day" he said as they both laughed.

Sharon picked up her coffee cup and began to slowly sip on it, using it as a way to pause the conversation for a moment and compose herself before finally plucking up the courage to tell him what she'd wanted to for nearly twenty-four hours. She put her cup down and cleared her throat. "So I have some news" she said rather nervously.

"Okay." Andy looked at her a little cautiously. He had known she had something she wanted to tell him from the way she had been acting all morning but he knew her well enough to realise that he wouldn't get it out of her until she was ready. "Is this what you've wanted to tell me from the moment I opened my eyes this morning?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you Sharon, I know you far too well. You've been desperate to tell me something all morning and probably last night too but since it's not about the move and there's a zero percent chance I've knocked you up I knew there was something going on."

"Knocked me up?" Sharon asked with equal parts disgust and mirth as she laughed. "That charm school you attended right after college really paid off didn't it?"

"You're stalling. What's going on? Wait this has nothing to do with Jack does it? Because I think Provenza and I have found a way to knock him off without getting caught if you're at all interested" he asked, only fifty percent joking.

"For your sake I hope you're kidding" she warned.

"I am...kind of. So is it about him?"

"No. No. Goodness no! It's nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"Just brace yourself" she instructed, knowing he wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"The last time I was told that the Doctor was just about to check my prostate. Am I going to like it less than that?" he asked, feeling his buttocks clench as he spoke.

"I really have no idea." She paused and closed her eyes, not seeing that Andy was sipping on his coffee. "Sharon Beck is pregnant" she said quickly, forcing the words from her mouth.

Almost immediately Andy did an honest to God spit take, showering the table in front of him with coffee. Sharon looked at him with disbelief, a little bit of coffee covering her hands and her cell phone screen but thankfully not on her face since she wasn't sitting opposite him. "I'm sorry. What?!" he said, almost choking as he attempted to mop up the coffee with his napkin.

"Well that's pretty much the reaction I was expecting but from Rusty not from you" she said a little bit stunned as she wiped the coffee from her hands and the area in front of her.

"I'm sorry" he kept repeating as he mopped up the remaining coffee. When he was done he dropped the napkin on the table and looked to Sharon with an almost wide eyed alarm. "She's what?"

"You heard me."

"She's pregnant?"

"Yep."

"As in she's having a baby?"

"That's usually how it works."

"An actual baby?" Andy asked, still struggling to comprehend what he was hearing.

"No Andy, a ferret" she shouted sarcastically. "What part of this is confusing you?"

"How has this happened?" he asked, still looking and sounding utterly dazed and confused.

Sharon folded her arms and sighed, slightly irritated that Andy's completely idiotic response was not the best preparation for telling Rusty who she knew would react in a very different way. "How do you think it happened? Of all people I didn't think I'd have to try and explain the birds and the bees to the likes of you."

"Oh my God!" he cried as he put his head in his hands, immediately thinking of Rusty and how he was going to react to this news.

"My thoughts exactly. That's what she came to my office to tell me yesterday."

"And you're only just telling me this now?" he asked as he realised that she'd been keeping secrets from him yet again although this one wasn't of the size of the NFL job offer and at least she had told him a hell of a lot sooner than before.

Sharon looked at him a little sheepishly, half expecting this reaction but only after they had fully discussed the matter at hand first. "I was going to tell you last night but the moment you found out Rusty was staying the night with Gus you had me otherwise occupied" she said as an attempt to fully justify her actions. The previous evening when they arrived back at the condo Andy was all ready for a game of chess with Rusty in front of a movie until he realised that he was out for the night and then he quickly scooped Sharon up and that was that, telling him being the furthest thing from her mind as he had her otherwise distracted.

"And after that?"

She sighed and chomped on her bottom lip. "I just didn't seem to find the time."

"The time?" he said with bewilderment. "You yammered my ear off for over an hour before we finally went to sleep last night" he pointed out since she had more than ample time and opportunity to tell him before they finally went to sleep. "We spoke about everything! We spent ten minutes on Provenza's vile new cologne alone. You even found the time to tell me you found unicorns the most disturbing of all mythological creatures but you had no time to tell me that Rusty's other Mom is pregnant?"

Sharon shrugged. "Well unicorns are disturbing. You could almost say they're terrifying. They can do some real damage with that horn if they stab you with it and at least you can have a proper conversation with a centaur" she rambled as she again stalled the conversation.

Andy sighed with frustration. "Sharon!" he practically shouted, his anger over the way she hid things from him clearly evident.

Sharon took to her feet suddenly and carried her bowl and her cup to the kitchen, appearing beyond nervous and anxious. "I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry. I can't deal with you yelling at me right now on top of everything else." She sighed as she hung her head down over the sink and closed her eyes. She had been worried about it not just because she knew Rusty was going to react badly to the news and rightly so but she was also worried about Andy. They had spoken over dinner a few nights earlier that if they moved in together he wouldn't just be getting her and her kids, he'd also be getting the likes of Sharon and Jack and all of that baggage. Rusty's baby sibling was bound to have an impact on their lives, after all Rusty would be it's next of kin if anything ever happened to Sharon and he wouldn't be able to cope on his own. If the worse did happen then Sharon and Andy would have to help him, help them both but with the pair of them over sixty it would be a lot of take on. With all of that added together how could she not be fearful of Andy's reaction to it all.

"I'm sorry" he said remorsefully, instantly regretting that he raised his voice for that fraction of a second despite his frustrations about Sharon and her secrets. "I didn't mean to raise my voice it's just this is a bit of a shock."

"I know and I'm being overly sensitive about it, I'm sorry" she said as she turned back around to face him.

"So why didn't you tell me?"

"I was worried about your reaction."

"My reaction? Why?" he asked utterly confused. "Why would my reaction to it matter?" He thought for a moment before his shoulders visually slumped. "Hold on you're not going to adopt this one as well are you because that's something we _really_ need to discuss as a family first if we're still moving in together?" he joked.

"Andy that's not even remotely funny."

"I know, I know." He jumped from his seat and crossed to meet her. "Come here" he said as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed as her tight as possible. She instantly responded by doing likewise. "I'm sorry" he said as he kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry I raised my voice. I'm just surprised by it that's all."

"That makes two of us, three actually if you include Sharon as well" she mumbled into his chest.

"I take it this pregnancy wasn't planned." Sharon just lifted her head and stared at him with a look that screamed 'Idiot.' "Yeah right, stupid question." He sighed and then began to laugh to himself. "It's never a dull moment with you and Rusty is it?"

She clung to him tightly and sighed. "Oh how I long for something approaching a dull life at times. A dull life must be utter bliss" she said dreamily, having had her fair share of strife with ex-husbands, hospital visits and serial killers after her son on top of everything she had to deal with on a day to day basis at work.

"And the Father is?" he asked with his lips pressed to the top of her head.

"Take a wild guess?"

"Gary?"

"How did you know?" she joked.

Andy's head dropped to her shoulder. "Oh God!"

"I know. I mean she seemed as shocked about the whole thing as you are and she's had a couple of months to process it all but she's determined to keep this baby. Aside from the obvious its extra motivation for her to stay sober I suppose."

"That's no reason to have a baby."

"Maybe not but it's too late now" she shrugged. "This baby is coming whether anyone likes it or not but she did seem sober and more importantly stable yesterday. Probably the most stable that I've ever seen her. What did you think?"

"Well I only spoke to her briefly when she stepped off the elevator but it won't be the first time I've heard this story. I've known people in AA get sober because of a baby only to fall off the wagon again later" he said, wanting to be optimistic but being a recovering addict himself he knew better.

"But if anything is going to keep her sober this time than surely this is it" Sharon replied, desperate to see the bright side while at the same time fearing the worse.

"I'm sure Rusty thought the same thing about himself from time to time and my kids about me for that matter and yours about Jack. It doesn't work like that" he said, not wanting to burst her bubble but needing to tell it how he saw it with his experience. "An addict is an addict and you never know when or what you're going to be set off by, all you can do is try and deal with it when those things happen and do your best not to relapse."

She met his eye, looking to see if some of that fear for himself was hidden beneath his words. "Do you ever worry about that? About drinking again?" she asked. Despite his big promise the night they decided to move in together he had yet to stay the night after one of his AA meetings or even talk to her about it at all since. She knew it was hard for him and it would take some time and given that work had prevented him from going to his regular meeting since then she had opted to let it slide for now unless opportunity presented itself.

He nodded. "Sometimes. Sometimes I do but then I think to myself I've got you now," he said before kissing her on the lips, "and a good relationship with Nicole finally so why would I give that all up for a bottle of bourbon and a killer hangover the next morning?"

"I'd be here for you regardless" she told him emphatically. She sighed and smiled up at him. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too." He pushed his lips to hers and started a long lazy kiss. When they eventually broke apart silence descended as he processed all the new information he'd been given while again thinking about Rusty. After a moment he sighed. "I blame these novelty condoms, they're just not up to the job" he joked. Sharon immediately started laughing hysterically, laughing harder than she did as Andy told her about his history with fire, it being the perfect tension reliever she so desperately needed. As she held her sides and the tears streamed down her cheeks he couldn't help but laugh along with her, kissing her on her cheek. "Sharon and Gary huh? There's a gene pool that could use some extra disinfectant and maybe a security fence and armed guards."

"She says he's not going to have anything to do with the baby obviously."

"Well he's not got much of a choice in the matter" he pointed out. "He's locked away for life on a third strike so regardless of what she wants she's not going to have his support anyway unless she was planning on digging a tunnel to help him escape." After Sharon had wiped her eyes a final time he pulled her back against his chest and cuddled her, kissing the top of her head again. "Jeez poor kid" he said after a moment, not sure himself if he was referring to Rusty or the baby.

"I know."

"I mean if it's a boy I hope to hell he gets his Mom's hairline rather than his Dad's."

Sharon tried not to laugh at him although she desperately wanted to. "Is that all you got to say about it?" she asked in a rather stern tone.

"At the moment other than to ask why were you worried about my reaction to tell me about it sooner?"

"Because you didn't sign up for something like this" she told him and not for the first time. "Best case scenario you're going to have to put up with Rusty's baby sibling here from time to time and if anything were to happen to Sharon, well..." she said, unable to even say the words.

"Hey I like babies," he said kindly with a smile, not wanting her to think about him for even a second in this scenario, "and don't worry about me sweetheart." He kissed her on the lips. "You've got a whole other teenage hurdle to overcome first."

She sighed. "Don't remind me."

"I assume she hasn't told him yet otherwise I'd have heard the screaming and seen him flail around the place like a lunatic."

"No," she paused, "she wants me to tell him."

"Oooh good luck with that."

"She's terrified of his reaction if she does it."

"And with good reason" he replied, fearing that a cattle prod and some heavy duty sedatives might be needed and that was if he took the news fairly well.

"I don't want to let her down, she seemed so excited and despite her fears so optimistic that Rusty would be excited about being a big brother."

"You never know he might be or then again he might completely freak out about it."

"Any suggestions on how I go about telling him?"

"Have a butterfly net on hand to stop him from hitting the roof or jumping off the balcony?" he said very unhelpfully since he was at a loss of what to actually suggest.

"That's not funny."

He laughed regardless and rubbed his hands up and down her back by way of a little apology. "Why does she want you to tell him?" he asked although once again he knew the answer but couldn't think of anything else to say at that moment.

"Why do you think?"

"He's not going to take it well."

"Well that's an understatement" she said, putting her face on his shoulder, not wanting to leave his embrace for the time being. "He's going to freak. I'm trying to think of a way to slip him some Valium without him noticing before I tell him."

"He's going to take it a lot better from you than he would direct from her" he pointed out.

"Do you think so?" she asked, looking for any positives.

"Oh without a shadow of a doubt. Don't get me wrong I think the kid is going to go nuts and you're probably going to have to give him a quick blast with a stun gun to get him under control but you can make him act a lot calmer and think more rationally about things than she can" he assured her. There were times when Rusty felt in the way when Sharon and Andy were in the condo together but that was nothing compared to the amount of times that Andy felt in the way when in the company of Sharon and Rusty. Some people on the outside were often surprised by the bond that Sharon and Rusty had considering that they weren't actually blood related and had only known each other for less than five years but to anyone who knew them, they understood. Sharon had saved him and in return Rusty had filled a hole in her heart that she didn't even know was there. They loved each other unconditionally and had an unbreakable bond meaning that if anyone was going to keep the young man calm and get him thinking rationally before reacting, it was Sharon.

"I'm not so sure" she said a little nervously, knowing she had the greatest influence on Rusty but doubting her effect on this occasion. "I am going to tell him that the man who beat him and left him at the zoo and forced him into a life of prostitution to survive has impregnated his Mother. I can't imagine anything worse to tell him."

Andy smiled, making her anticipate what he was about to say but being unable to stop him. "Other than my Superman sperm had managed to knock…"

"Don't. If you know what's good for you just don't" she warned with her very best Darth Raydor glare coming out and almost burning its way into his soul.

He laughed. "Yes ma'am."

"How do you suggest I start?"

"Sorry sweetheart but I have absolutely no idea" he said honestly. "I think speed and complete honesty is your best bet. When he comes back tell him you have something to say to him and then spit it out as quickly as possible...and then lock yourself in your bedroom until he calms down."

She glared at him and pushed herself out of his arms, clearly annoyed at his sense of humour even though she knew why he was doing it. "Thank you, you're a real help."

"Come here" he said as he pulled her back towards him and wrapped his arms around her. It was easy to see how stressed it was making it and despite his best intentions his jokes really weren't helping. "He's going to be upset yes," he said as he pushed his lips to the top of her head, "there's no denying that but he's not going to be upset with you about it and whatever he says, he's not saying it to you."

"She called him 'our son.' Can you believe that? Our son" she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes I can" he nodded, not surprised in the least. "She didn't lose the kid. She threw him away and because of that she's just grateful that someone else, someone so utterly wonderful and selfless was on hand to pick up the pieces but who she has to accept that he calls 'Mom' now."

"The thing is I feel for her I really do" she said, thinking purely as a Mother. "He can be so mean to her, the things he says."

"Which is clearly why she wants you to tell him." He kissed the top of her head again as he continued to hold her in his arms. "Look I don't want you to stress about this. Yes this is going to be a difficult conversation and yes he's not going to take it well and yes we've got a very long road ahead of us…"

"If this is a pep talk it isn't very peppy."

He nodded. "Okay but despite all of that _we_ will get through it."

"We?"

"Yes _we_ " he stated with a smile and then dropped a kiss to her lips. "It's not going to be easy but I'm here for you throughout."

"Except when I tell him" she said with a frown although in truth she didn't want him there when she broke the news to Rusty. It was something she needed to do on her own and as quickly as possible the moment he walked through the door to just get it over and done with.

"Well I do have a stake out to get to" he justified before they both laughed. "It'll all be okay, I promise."

"You say that but there's more."

"Oh jeez" he said with a look to the heavens. "Do I need to sit down?" he asked, wondering what else there was left to tell him, since he assumed she would have already told him if Sharon was expecting twins.

"No. It's nothing bad" she said quickly for the sake of his blood pressure. "I've invited her over tonight so that she can talk to him about it herself once he's had time to digest the news and calm down a little."

"Okay" he nodded. "Which is why you've got to break the news to him this morning?"

"Exactly." She paused for a moment before she asked "Will you be here please?"

"When?"

"Tonight. While she's talking to Rusty, will you be here?" she asked, her eyes pleading.

"Okay but how would that work exactly?" he asked, immediately feeling like he'd be an interloper in the situation. "I don't want to get in anyone's way while all of this personal..."

"But I thought we were on the verge of becoming a proper family, of moving in together and sharing our lives together completely" she said to him before reaching up and pecking him on the lips. "I'm not asking you to speak to Rusty or speak to Sharon for that matter or get involved or even be in the same room when they speak to each other" she explained before pulling out of his arms and taking his hands in hers and squeezing them. "I'm asking you to be here for me, to support me, to distract me while they talk. I want you here, please?"

He smiled, knowing full well that it was a very stressful situation for her and she wanted him there to not only distract her while Rusty and Sharon were talking but also to keep her calm so that she could be calm for him. "Not a problem" he said simply before he kissed her. "I'll be here if that's what you want."

"It is" she said with a smile. "Thank you. And just one more thing. Don't let on that I told you first. If he mentions it to you today, please act surprised."

"Of course. I'll do my best." He pulled her back to his chest and cuddled her again for a few moments in silence. "I knew you were keeping something from me" he said smugly.

"Oh Andy let it go" she said with a sigh, working hard to try to stop keeping secrets from him but it wasn't like he didn't struggle with the same thing. "Speaking of which," she said as she stepped out of his embrace and looked at her watch, "you'd better get a move on if you're not going to be late." Andy nodded and set off towards the front door with Sharon following close behind. "I may be a little late getting into work myself depending on what time Rusty gets home so have Lieutenant Provenza keep me up to date please."

"Will do but I'm sure you'll be at PAB before we are." Andy pulled on his jacket before picking up his suit and draping it over his arm. "Good luck" he said before he kissed her goodbye.

"You too" she replied as she walked him to the door. "Please be careful."

"I will."

"Put a vest on" she instructed only for Andy to roll his eyes at the way he was being mothered. "I saw that. Don't roll your eyes at me buddy."

"But Mom, none of my other friends will be wearing a vest" he said in a very whiny voice like a little boy being forced to wear a bike helmet.

"Andy."

"Fine," he sighed, "I'll put a vest on but I don't think it's likely either of these assholes are going to take a shot at me so I think you can relax."

"As you've already proven, people don't need to take a shot at you for you to spend several weeks off work and in the hospital."

He nodded. "Okay. Point taken" he said reluctantly as he opened the door.

"Please be careful."

"I will. I promise" he said, kissing her a final time.

"I love you."

"Love you too." With that Andy headed out the door, closing it behind him while Sharon walked back towards the kitchen. A few seconds later she was surprised to hear the door open again, assuming he'd forgotten something until she heard "Hide your gun and lock the balcony door before you tell him" before the door closed again.

"Put a vest on" she shouted after him, knowing he'd probably just be able to hear her on his way down the corridor. She shook her head as she picked up his bowl and coffee cup and carried them to the dishwasher. "Idiot" she said to herself as she made herself a cup of tea before taking up her position at the head of the table and waited for Rusty to return home and break the news to him.


	26. Chapter 26

_Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter and special thanks to Live Freely, MaxiP99, MoxiesdenLovesShandy, seaford71, eelise187, Elaine Huang, Battgirl2, maidenpride, Secret wrier65, froggy62 and the guest for leaving a review. Each one is very much appreciated. Also thank you to Alexandra and Vivi for getting in touch on Twitter and Angie for always encouraging me. If you'd like a chat you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _This chapter takes place towards the end of_ _ **N.S.F.W.**_ _5x2 while Rusty talks to his Mom about the baby. It came about solely as a result of me wondering what Sharon was doing while they chatted in the living room and this is what I came up with, a huge chunk of which was written in the hours after I original saw the episode so I've been sitting on it for a very long time. By complete accident it's also ended up being the second longest chapter, bring plenty of tea. Sadly because of work I've been unable to check this chapter for typos as many times as I usually like so you'll have to excuse any blatant errors. Although the first few paragraphs may seem like this is all about Rusty, trust me, it really isn't._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty-Six**

Stressed. That was how he currently felt, stressed with more than a touch of complete and utter horror and uncontrollable anger thrown in for good measure. He shouldn't be feeling anywhere near this much stress at such a young age Rusty thought to himself as he took yet another deep breath, letting it out slowly, but then again a lot of what he'd felt and done over the years shouldn't have happened to someone his age but he'd been left with no other option than to simply play the cards he was dealt. Sharon had taught him that. She had a very different life planned for herself when she first got married, going to law school and having her husband by her side for support as they raised their children together but that hadn't happened. Instead she had picked up the pieces and made a life for herself that she utterly adored and that's what he had to do too.

Despite not wanting to, he acknowledged that Sharon was right, he needed to talk to his Mom about the baby and the sooner he did that the better but that didn't mean that he had to like it. In fact there was nothing he wanted to do less but his mind was made up, his Mom needed to give up her baby for adoption the moment it was born and that was the end of it. Case closed, there's nothing more to see here, that's all she wrote. He was not wrong and no one and nothing would change his mind about it not even Sharon's best Darth Raydor glare. He took a deep and very slow breath, hoping to calm himself down a little, currently feeling sick to his stomach with nerves and anxiety. He sat in the middle of the couch, just staring into space as his leg jiggled up and down like a jackhammer. It was an odd sensation, one that he'd never felt before. He felt like all of his nerve endings were on fire and not in a good way, not like how Gus made him feel, it was more like he was very aware of every single part of his body as he felt he was on the verge of erupting violently at any moment. Trying to contain his emotions was proving to be hard, harder than he ever imagined. In truth he felt beside himself, like if he started to cry about it he'd never stop but he desperately wanted to hide it mainly so that Sharon wouldn't worry about him because she'd done more than enough of that in the relatively short time they'd known each other. His Mom having this baby was quite possibly the worst idea in the entire world, now all he needed to do was to make her see that too.

With Rusty's mind racing and his attention elsewhere he never noticed Andy standing by Sharon's desk, his arms folded as he leant against the wall. He studied the young man with equal parts interest and worry. He knew it was going to be a rough night for all concerned but he had a job to do. His job for the evening was to distract and support Sharon while Rusty spoke to his Mom but that didn't mean he couldn't offer some advice to him too now that opportunity had presented itself. He cast a look behind him to make sure that Sharon was still busy, making the bed from where she had changed the linen when they arrived home and had finished dinner. He walked slowly towards Rusty and took up a seat in the chair closest to the television. Whether Rusty knew he was there or not he couldn't say, his focus still locked on that same spot on the window as his leg continued to frantically jiggle up and down. Andy straightened his tie for a moment simply as something to do, hoping that Rusty might see him and say something to get the ball rolling. Andy had loosened his tie when he arrived at the condo with dinner, removing his jacket and rolling his sleeves up as he settled in for the evening as he did more often than not by this point in his relationship with Sharon, arriving and deciding to stay the night without an explicit invitation.

"How are you feeling kid?" Andy asked eventually after he'd sent another glance towards the hallway to check that Sharon still preoccupied for the moment.

"I'm not sure."

"Nervous?"

"I guess." Rusty paused for a few seconds before admitting "I just want to get this conversation over and done with you know?" he said as he looked at Andy for the first time and smiled rather weakly.

Andy nodded in response. "I get it" he said simply as he shuffled forward in his seat and put his elbows on his knees. "Can I give you some advice?"

"Sure."

"Just try to stay calm and think long and hard about what you're going to say before you speak okay" Andy told him, ensuring that he spoke slowly and calmly, hoping that Rusty would follow suit when his Mom eventually arrived. "Real men don't lose their temper and shout at women, especially pregnant women. You got it?"

Rusty nodded. "Okay."

"And they definitely don't make them cry."

"I know. I won't" Rusty promised. "It's just, this is like such a bad idea, whichever way you look at it that I can't even begin to..."

Andy held up his hand to stop him in his tracks, wanting him to save his words. "I know, I know, I understand how you feel but just hear her out first, that's all you need to do right now" he said, desperately wanting Rusty to listen and think before he opened his mouth. "See what she has to say before you leap to any conclusions." Rusty immediately cocked an eye at him and smirked, appreciating the advice but feeling that Andy, with his temper and tendency to leap in feet first without thinking it through, that he should be the last person to be telling him something like that. "Yeah, yeah I know but I'm speaking from experience here" Andy said as he read Rusty's face perfectly. He then put his hand on his diaphragm and sat back, taking some very big, very deep breaths like he did when he cracked his ribs after his argument with the car and the road. "Take some deep breaths, calm yourself down and go in with an open mind and see where that takes you."

"I will. I promise. Thanks Andy." Rusty paused for a moment and then said "Can I ask you a favour?"

"Shoot."

"I need to do this alone."

Andy nodded as he smiled. "Understood" he said simply, not letting on that it was already the plan to give them time and space alone to talk while he and Sharon hid in her bedroom and killed time until they were done.

"Can you make sure that Mom doesn't come out here and...I mean don't want my Mom...I mean I don't want my other Mom to feel even more uncomfortable about this than she will already, this is her first time here and I don't want...you know…"

Once again Andy held up his hand to stop him from going any further since he already knew what he was about to say and Rusty seemed to be struggling to find the appropriate words. "No need to explain kid. I can keep Sharon distracted and out of the way while you talk to your Mom, no problem" he said. Sharon had already asked him to do pretty much the exact same thing that morning and keep her distracted while they spoke but he didn't need to tell Rusty that, letting him think that he had some element of control in the situation to keep him calm.

"But if you could..."

Andy smiled. "I'll make her think it's my idea if you like." Again Andy didn't feel the need to tell Rusty that it was already the plan for the evening, offering him some sense of control in a situation when he actually had none at all. From Rusty's point of view, much like when he'd asked Provenza the same thing when he sat down to talk to Emma Rios properly that first time about the events in Griffith Park, he simply didn't want Sharon to worry about him and doing it alone was the only way he could see to achieve that. "How about we give you a little space before she gets here? Give you a chance to compose yourself and think things through first?" Andy offered, trying his best to be helpful.

"That would be great." Rusty smiled kindly, now more than ever thankful that there was a man in his life, a role model and protector that he could rely on and turn to for advice when he felt he couldn't speak to Sharon about it. "Thank you Andy."

Andy smiled at Rusty's use of his name. He never knew what he was going to call him from one moment to the next and suspected that Rusty felt the same but every time he called him 'Andy' it was another tiny step in the right direction until having him in his life was as natural as breathing in and out. "No problem kid."

As if on cue Sharon walked into the living room, dressed in a pair of grey Capri pants, Andy's childhood Giants t-shirt that Liz had given her while they were in New York and a black cardigan, trying her hardest to act as casual as possible. She had been worried about Rusty from the moment Sharon told her she was pregnant, she was even more worried after his inevitable and very unwavering reaction that morning. Despite her best attempts to appear calm and casual over dinner it was clear to both Rusty and Andy that she constantly had one eye on the time and the other on the front door, feeling the need to greet their guest before she got out of the way and allowed them to talk. "What time is your Mother due?" she asked, again acting as nonchalantly as possible, an attitude that didn't fool anyone, least of all Andy considering she'd arranged everything and knew full well when she was supposed to arrive.

Andy stood and smiled at Rusty. "Good luck kid."

"You too" Rusty nodded, feeling like Andy had the much tougher job than he did.

Sharon looked back and forth between them with a confused expression on her face. "Good luck with what?" she asked as she folded her arms, knowing something was going on between them but not being able to put her finger on exactly what.

Andy closed the small gap to Sharon and dropped a quick kiss to her lips before he took her hand in his, threading their fingers together tightly and tugged her in the direction of her bedroom. Not surprisingly since she was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Rusty's other Mom she didn't move a muscle, desperate to at least greet her and ensure that Rusty was going to attempt to keep his temper under control before leaving them to talk, worried for her more than him at that particular moment in time.

"Come with me for a moment. I've got something I want to show you in the bedroom" Andy said before he winked at her.

"Oh God!" Rusty cried as he put his head in his hands. Wanting Andy to distract Sharon with a card game or a colourful childhood story rather than a wink and God knows what when he got her into her bedroom. "And I asked for this?" he said quietly to himself as he shook his head and shuddered.

Sharon laughed at Andy, not hearing what Rusty had said. "That's a new one."

"This way" Andy said as he again pulled on her hand but she remained rooted to the spot.

"What do you want to show me?"

"Why tell you when I can just show you? Come on. You'll like it, I promise" he said in a very sing song fashion which only served to make her laugh and leave her even more determined not to go anywhere until she knew what was going on.

"I've heard that one before" she replied, hearing it mainly from him. "What's going on?"

"Fine, your choice. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way." Sharon just stood in front of him looking utterly perplexed. He nodded, resigned to his fate. "The hard way it is." Andy looked at Rusty and sighed. "This is going to be much more difficult than I initially thought" he told him before turning his attention back to Sharon. "Okay. Operation Distract Sharon Raydor starts right now." Andy glanced at Rusty and smiled. With a quick but oh so mischievous grin at Sharon he stooped down, grabbed hold of her by the waist and hoisted her up and onto his shoulder in a perfect fireman's lift.

Sharon instantly screamed with surprise as Rusty practically rolled about the couch laughing his head off, not least at the utterly shocked expression on Sharon's face as she was suddenly tossed up into the air like a rag doll. "Oh! Andy! Put me down! What are you doing?" she cried as she dangled upside down with his backside being the only view she currently had.

"I'm giving Rusty and his Mom some time and space to talk alone for a few minutes without us" he explained as he slowly set off towards her bedroom, moving very carefully because of how she was wriggling in his arms and not wanting to drop her on her head.

"But she's not even here yet" she protested.

"I don't care."

"What about your back?" she pointed out, using whatever tactic she could in order to get him to put her down on the ground again. "I'm not nursing again you if you throw your back out being ridiculous."

"Guess again pretty lady."

"Andy put me down! Right now! I mean it!" she demanded.

"No. Not until we're in your bedroom and I've closed the door." Again Rusty laughed at them as Andy finally managed to carry Sharon into the bedroom and closed the door behind them with his foot.

"Andy put me down. Put me down right now!" she cried like they were at work and she was giving him a direct order before she smacked his backside with the palm of her hands like she was playing a drum.

"Not until you say the magic word."

"Fine" Sharon said with an air of resignation, dangling over his shoulder like a damp noodle. "Banana! Okay? Banana!" she shouted, it now being the word both of them used when they wanted to be taken seriously and get the other's undivided attention.

Andy laughed. "I'm only putting you down if you promise not to leave this room."

"But..."

"No buts. Let's give the kid some space and privacy to talk to her alone for five minutes. Okay?" he said, looking for some sort of confirmation. "That's all. I'm not asking for an organ here. Okay?" Sharon didn't respond as she continued to just dangle there limp and irritated. "Okay?" he said again as he jiggled her as if she might have fallen asleep.

"Fine. Okay."

"Now if I put you down are you going to stay in here and sit quietly on the bed with me or are you going to run outside like a lunatic and need to be tased?" he asked, not prepared to put her down until he had confirmation.

"Just put me down."

"Promise me and then I will."

"Okay fine. I promise, I will stay in here with you" she said, feeling a little like a teenager promising that she would never again sneak out of the house on a school night. It was always Sharon's intention to stay out of their way when the guest of honour did eventually arrive but she also wanted to listen to what was being said between them so that she firstly knew how it had gone to comfort Rusty but also so that she could ensure he wasn't being too overly harsh on a woman who was already beyond vulnerable and that was before she found out she was pregnant. At the back of her mind she was hoping to perhaps eavesdrop from the balcony or at least have her bedroom door open so that she knew what was going on but Andy's stance now made that seem highly unlikely.

"Okay then." Andy nodded and very carefully brought her down from his shoulder and placed her in a seated position on the end of the bed. Before he had chance to even stand back up straight again Sharon was up and standing by her bedroom door, pressing her ear to it to hear if Rusty was still alone or not. "Wait you just promised!"

"I promised not to go out into the living room. You said nothing about not listening to what they're saying by the door" she pointed out. Despite her request in the morning that Andy be there to distract her, Rusty's reaction when she broke the news had meant things had changed and she no longer wanted or needed that from him, she now wanted to know what was happening and being said for both of their sakes.

"So you get me on a technicality. Now come here." Andy walked over to her and picked her up by the waist, carrying her back to the bed like a toddler who kept escaping. He sat her down on the bed and then sat beside her, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. "The kid wants some space, let's give it to him and anyway you asked me to be here tonight specifically so that I could support you but also distract you while they talk so will you let me do it please?"

Andy had been thinking about it most of day at work, what he could do to distract her and stop her from fretting about Rusty because he knew she would do an awful lot of fretting if he allowed it to take place. Still he was a little uncertain about what to actually do for the best. The obvious and most immediate answer to his question was to irritate the crap out of her throughout, keeping her focus on wanting to murder him rather than listening to Rusty and Sharon talk. Then he thought about how best to irritate her without getting himself sent to the dog house for the foreseeable future and getting himself put on the sex version of the 'No Fly List.' He could only mention his Super Sperm a handful more times in his life before she kicked him so hard in that region that he simply wouldn't have any sperm left at all, super or regular. That left one alternative, trying his hardest to get her into bed. Now Andy Flynn was many things but he wasn't an idiot (although Provenza would certainly disagree with that statement and rightly so) and he knew that Sharon would never ever even contemplate sleeping with him when Rusty was just on the other side of the bedroom door and likely to come in at any moment to tell her what had happened and likewise he would never do it either. However it was the most obvious way to distract her as she resisted him and his abundance of charm and there was no harm in just flirting around second base in the process if all else failed. Sadly little did he know that things had changed since Sharon had spoken to him that morning. Her worry had increased tenfold since speaking to Rusty and when she was in full blown 'Mamma Bear mode' there was little he could do to stop it short of shooting her with a tranquiliser dart.

"Okay fine but just until she gets here" she relented albeit reluctantly. "So go on then what are we supposed to do locked in here for the next hour?"

Andy's lips curled as he smiled at her, the devil within him clearly evident as he practically smouldered, a look that screamed pure and unadulterated sex. "Don't worry about that Raydor. I'm sure I can find a way to distract you even when she does arrive and talk to the kid" he growled with a wink.

She smiled at him as he moved his head closer to her, recognising that glint in his eye almost immediately having by now seen it many times before. "Distract me how exactly?"

He moved closer still so that she had no option but to lie down onto her back as he hovered above her. She smiled at him while reaching up to grab his tie that was dangling just short of her face. "Oh I'm sure I can think of something to take your mind off it" he said with an over exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows. He positioned a hand either side of her head and his knees between her legs as he loomed over her with nothing but intent.

Sharon laughed as she pulled him down towards her with his tie. "I'm sure you can. Like what?" she asked spurring him on.

"You'll see. Permission to come aboard Captain?"

Sharon laughed. "Permission granted" she confirmed. Andy lowered himself down and crashed his lips into hers, kissing her deeply as she responded almost immediately. Sharon was quick to wrap both her arms and her legs around him as she played along for a moment, all the while as the desperate desire to listen at the door to hear her counterpart's arrival tried to take over her mind and her body. After a moment or two their lips broke apart and Andy made a bee line for her neck, working his way very slowly further south. Sharon closed her eyes as her fingers went into his hair, struggling to focus on the matter at hand as she completely lost herself in the moment, that was until the sound of the condo door opening could clearly be heard. Her eyes immediately snapped open. "I think she's here" she said as she attempted to sit up but Andy was having none of it, keeping her in place and as distracted as possible.

"So she's here" he said as his lips continued their merry journey down her neck. "Stay here with me and let me distract you until she's gone."

Sharon just lay there for a moment, one hand still on the back of Andy's head and the other on her forehead as she thought, not focusing on what Andy was doing to her and the way it was making her feel as she sought a way from his grasp to enable her to listen at the door. Suddenly she had an idea, an awful idea but one that was sure to work. "Andy my boy" she said sweetly, already regretting what she was about to do.

"Yes" came the muffled response as his lips continued to gently caress her neck.

"You know I love you right?"

"I do."

"So you'd forgive me for most things?"

"Of course" he confirmed, not really paying that much attention to what she was asking.

"In that case I am really really sorry about this."

Andy stopped his journey across her neck and lifted his head up, looking her square in the eyes with more than a hint of confusion. "Sorry about what?"

"This" she said regretfully as she chomped on her bottom lip before as gently as possible lifting her knee, banging it straight into his crotch. It was the softest of blows to simply get him off her rather than actually cause any serious damage but that didn't mean it was going to be completely pain free. As anticipated Andy immediately rolled off her and onto the bed extremely melodramatically and over the top as he held his crotch in both of his hands, acting (for effect and sympathy and nothing more) that she had struck him a lot harder and hurt him a lot more than she actually had. Now free from his delightful but currently inconvenient clutches Sharon jumped up and practically sprinted the short distance to the door, immediately pushing her ear to the wood to try and listen to the conversation on the other side. "I'm really am so sorry Andy" she said as he continued to groan and moan as he rolled around on the bed with his balls firmly clasped between his hands. "I'll make it up to you later. I promise." Knowing that she had barely brushed him and that Andy was fine and just pretending, Mamma Bear was in complete charge of the situation and her concern over what Rusty was going to say was driving her at that moment with Andy sadly falling to the bottom of her list of concerns on that very rare occasion.

Andy continued to roll on the bed as he pretended he was in agony when in fact only his pride was bruised, feeling like he'd been led on. "How? How can you possibly make this up to me?" he cried like a drama queen. "You lied to me, you led me on and then you've kneed me in the balls! In the balls Sharon!"

"Oh calm down! I'll do whatever you want, I'll even kiss them better later or whatever you want me to do, but later" she assured him, willing to do anything he wanted to make it up to him once Rusty was in bed before she pushed her ear back to the door.

"God!" he whined again.

Sharon ignored him for a moment as she continued to listen at the door, quickly realising that Rusty was still alone and he must have been impatiently looking down the hallway to see if she was coming. Satisfied that there was nothing to currently listen to she moved back over to the bed and her rather prone looking boyfriend. "Oh you big baby I didn't do it that hard."

"Maybe not but it's in the exact same place where you viciously stabbed me last week" he snarled at her, never taking his hands away from his crotch for even a second. "Add to that the cold shower you gave me this morning and I'm starting to think you don't love me at all" he muttered.

Sharon laughed at him and his completely unwarranted and over the top reaction. "I'm sorry but I thought I heard the door open" she told him as she sat back down on the bed beside him and proceeded to rub his back since she knew attempting to rub his latest injury at that moment in time would only lead to more over the top hysterics. "I'm sorry" she said sincerely as she leant down and met his lips. "How can I make this up to you?" she asked, kissing him again.

He lifted his head and smiled at her, his plan working perfectly to keep her distracted and now to keep her from listening. "First you can keep away from that door and..."

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as she smiled at him, having no intention of doing anything but listening to their conversation by the door despite what she asked him to do that morning. "Any other options? Some sort of naked turkey sex dance from over by the door for example" she suggested.

Andy paused and thought for a moment, his head lifting up from the bed even further like an animal that smelled a mate in the distance as he pondered what that might actually look like. After a moment his incredibly aroused expression faded and was replaced by one of utter annoyance. "Do you honestly think that's all that occupies my mind? Sex and turkey?" he asked, beyond offended as he continued to cover his nether regions with both hands.

Sharon shrugged casually, thinking that statement wasn't far of the mark in her opinion. "And the Dodgers." Andy looked at her with absolute outrage as she just laughed at him. "What is it they say? Men think about sex on average every seven seconds? Something like that."

"That can't be right."

"No in your case it's more like every five. The other two seconds you spend thinking about turkey" she laughed as he continued to stare at her with a frown, looking far from impressed. "So is that a yes? No? Maybe on the turkey sex dance? I can wave the legs around like maracas if you like? Yes? No? Maybe?" she asked as she took to her feet again and walked back to the door. "Only if I cover myself in turkey grease too?" she suggested as her ear pressed back against the wood.

"As unbelievably tempting as that sounds for fear of you risking third degree turkey fat burns I think I'm going to decline" he said regretfully as he sat up.

"Okay but I want it on record that I offered" she remarked as they both laughed. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes you can come back here, that'll make it up to me instantly." Sharon turned her back on the door and leant against it, folding her arms defiantly in front of herself as she opted to keep her real concerns to herself for the time being in case he thought she was overreacting. "Oh my God Sharon are you that desperate to listen to what they're saying?"

"No of course not" she said sadly as she looked to the heavens, realising that she was going to have to tell him what was going on inside of her head before he called the men in white coats to take her away to a padded room. "Andy it's really not like that at all." She sighed as she walked back over to the bed and sat down beside him, leaning across to meet his lips. She sighed again before she spoke, assuming that Andy would once again accuse her of keeping secrets from him but in reality she simply hadn't had the time to tell him about the conversation she'd had with Rusty because of work naturally getting in the way. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried, that's all."

"What do you think she's going to do to him? Kidnap him and smuggle him out of here in her purse? I think he can more than take care of himself by now and if he can't we know that kid can scream for help like no other person on the face of this earth" he pointed out, simply not understanding her reaction.

If there was one thing Rusty Beck could do better than anything else, it was screaming his lungs out if the need arose. The Sunday before last they had honestly thought Philip Stroh was in the bathroom such was the extremely loud and high pitched cry that came out of Rusty's mouth (putting Andy's cry from the little jab to his testicles with the sowing needle to shame). Rusty had always been scared of spiders, big or small but in his defence it was like Aragog and Shelob had experienced some really angry sex and their love child had now taken up residence in the bathtub when he discovered it. That being said even Andy let out a cry of similar volume as he tried to catch it, claiming that it had hissed at him as he moved to grab it. Once Sharon had scooped up and replaced her eyes from where they had rolled out of her head she swooped in and rescued both of her shrieking boys and moved their unwanted house guest to live on the balcony instead (with Andy giving it strict instructions to go and bother Sharon's neighbour Mrs Rose instead). Andy reassured Sharon that night that they need never again fear someone attacking Rusty without their knowledge as he continued to shout at any slight movement he caught from the corner of his eye for the rest of the evening (the situation not helped when Andy informed him that when you see spiders running around like that it's usually because they were looking for a mate and there must be another one hidden somewhere in the condo leading to Rusty having a rather restless night).

"Of course not. It's just...I'm not worried about Rusty. I'm worried about Sharon" she said simply as her shoulders slumped.

"What?" he asked confused as he sat up a little straighter, a hand still kept instinctively on his crotch for sympathy as much as anything else.

"I'm worried about Sharon, not Rusty."

"Sharon? What? Why?"

"Why? Why do you think?" she sighed. "She's pregnant and so unbelievably vulnerable and fragile at the moment and Andy you didn't hear him this morning, what he said about her and the baby." She sighed again and shook her head, Rusty's extreme and unwavering opinion that morning had really taken her aback. "I completely understand that he has _very_ strong views on the subject..."

"Not surprisingly given the circumstances, I mean making him be the half-brother to Gary's child is bound to upset him at first."

"I know and I understand all of that but he thinks she should not have this baby under any circumstances, in fact he basically insisted upon it this morning."

Andy laughed, wondering how Rusty was still even alive after saying something like that to Sharon of all people. "And he said all this to you?"

"He most certainly did."

He grimaced as he laughed again. "I bet that went down like a lead balloon."

She frowned at him like that was the biggest understatement of his life. "You could say that. I told him in no uncertain terms that it was his Mother's choice and no one else's, not even his." Andy nodded at her without offering any comment since he knew just how strongly Sharon felt about a woman's right to choose and to be fair he felt the same way although he wasn't anywhere near as fiery or vocal about it. "I know you think I'm acting completely nuts and irrational right now but I'm just so worried about that woman because he can be so mean to her at times and I don't want him upsetting her and sending her straight back to the bottle after being sober for two years." She sighed once more, burying her head in her hands. "I spoke to her and she's so fragile and so is her recovery for that matter. On top of that she's pregnant. I don't want her to harm the baby because she's depressed about what Rusty has said to her and she relapses."

Andy took a deep breath as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him, trying not to raise his voice to her like he had that morning when realisation hit that she'd been keeping yet more secrets from him, although she wasn't holding on to them for as long more recently. "Why didn't you say any of this to me earlier?" he said after a moment.

"Between work and dinner I just didn't seem to find the time" she said sheepishly as she sat up straighter and pressed her face into his shoulder. He rested his head on top of hers and rolled his eyes, having heard that excuse several times before as she battled against keeping secrets from him. "And more than anything they have such a fractured relationship as it is, I don't want him saying something that he'll later regret and ruining it further." She looked up to meet his eye before continuing. "Please don't take this the wrong way but I see you and Daniel and I don't want that for Rusty. I don't want that for you but at least I have the power to help Rusty."

Andy nodded as he suddenly realised and understood the full extent of Sharon's concern since she was right about it all. However his job was to take care of Sharon in that situation and that was precisely what he was going to do, determined to take charge of proceedings and keep Sharon occupied if for no other reason that the relationship she had with her son. "Okay. I know, I know. I understand" he said as he squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head, all the while as he kept one hand on his crotch. "I get it but hopefully you don't need to worry because I've already spoken to him about it."

She shifted her head to meet his eye again. "What do you mean?"

"He asked me to give him some space to talk to her alone tonight, I don't know I guess he thought we were going to sit at the dining table while she was here or something" he explained with a shrug, not knowing that it had crossed Sharon's mind to do just that after listening to Rusty that morning. "Anyway I made it abundantly clear to him that he needed to keep calm and not shout..."

Sharon immediately laughed at him. "Not shout?" she asked as she continued to titter away to herself. "That's a little rich coming from you isn't it? For the first twenty years I knew you I thought your default volume setting was screaming."

Andy looked at her extremely unimpressed even though he acknowledged she had a point. "Yeah okay point taken but I told him that a real man doesn't shout at a woman." Again Sharon smiled and laughed at him, as if he of all people shouldn't be saying this to another man. "Yeah okay I know but it's different when you're being repeatedly interrogated and reprimanded by the best pair of legs in Professional Standards" he clarified with a wink before he kissed her on the lips. "I told him real men don't shout at women, especially a pregnant woman and they definitely don't make them cry. It's not going to change his opinion on the matter, the kid is stubborn when he's made his mind up but at the very least I hope he's going to try to be kind to her and not raise his voice."

She looked up at him and smiled, stroking his cheek with her fingers before she pushed her lips to his. "Thank you my boy" she said sincerely before kissing him again. "I just hope he's listened to you and he hears her out first and thinks things through before reacting. That's why I want to listen to what they're saying."

"And do what exactly?" he asked. "Burst through the door to tell him off if he shouts or starts to upset her? What good would that achieve other than making him extremely pissed at you?"

"I don't know. I just want to make sure so I can be prepared to handle whatever it is that's going to happen from this point on."

"Okay that's understandable but just hear me out" he said before shrugging and offering her an alternative. "I know it's a radical idea but you could just wait until she's gone and ask him how it went."

Sharon rolled her eyes at him, wanting him to help her eavesdrop rather than distract her at that current moment in time. "Sometimes I wonder why I bother talking to you at all" she said with a huff as she stood and walked towards the bedroom door, pushing her ear to it again.

"Do you realise how crazy you're acting right now? You asked me here to distract you while they talk and yet you've got your ear pressed to that damn door."

"It's quiet" she said softly, completely ignoring him. "I don't think she's here yet."

"Then come back over here until she is" he suggested as he patted the bed beside him.

"But I can hear better from over here" she replied. There was no denying that if she allowed him to Andy would keep her thoroughly distracted until Sharon left and she could ask Rusty how it had gone and as much as she wanted to have that happen, she was currently thinking solely as a Mother and that was not going to change in a hurry.

"But there's nothing to hear at the moment and until there is we need to find something to do to pass the time and maybe make you forget all about it. We could still...," he said before his words trailed off and he waggled his eyebrows at her, "you know."

Sharon laughed at him. "I thought you were injured."

"It suddenly got better. It's like a miracle" he proclaimed as his hand finally moved from protecting his crotch.

"Oh what a surprise!" she laughed. "Okay fine and if I was to agree what are we supposed to do after that minute is over?" she joked. Andy's mouth immediately dropped open, beyond offended as she laughed. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. You know I'm kidding."

"You're damn straight you're kidding" he almost shouted as she continued to laugh. "Come on. Come here." He patted the bed beside him again. "I know you'll like it" he crooned.

She laughed again. "I've heard that nonsense before and it is absolutely not happening."

"Look you asked me here tonight so I could help distract you while the kid spoke to her and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"Okay but you need to find another way."

"Oh come on what have you got to lose?" he asked as he lay back and propped himself up on his elbows.

She laughed again. "Andy there is absolutely no way on this earth that I am having sex with you in here while Rusty talks to his Mother about her unborn baby on the other side of this door" she stated categorically, not knowing that it was just a tactic he was using to keep her distracted, having no intention of doing anything even remotely untoward with her while they waited.

"Why? Is she like a cautionary tale? Are you worried about my Super Sperm electrifying your downstairs and giving Rusty another baby sibling to come to terms with?" he teased.

Sharon laughed uncontrollably. "I beg your pardon?" she asked when she finally managed to calm down a little.

"You heard me."

"'Electrify my downstairs'?" she repeated. "There's another expression to eliminate from your vocabulary but anyway I have to ask, what is it that makes you think you're that fertile since you only have two children?"

Andy shrugged with a very smug smile. "My father, it's all genetic. If you were a doctor or some sort of scientist you'd understand."

Sharon laughed again. "You are such an idiot."

"Right now or in general?"

"Both but I love you anyway."

"You know I'm going to have to start a kind of curse jar for you as an attempt to rein in your unruly behaviour of late" he said as he frowned at her.

"My unruly behaviour?" she scoffed.

"Yes. You're becoming almost feral."

Sharon laughed. "What kind of curse jar?"

"Every time you call me an 'Idiot' or a 'Moron' you need to put a dollar in the jar. I'll be a man of leisure inside of a month" he told her joyfully as he lay back with his hands on the back of his head like he was already relaxing on a beach and sunning himself.

She laughed again. "Oh shut up! I get it all from you. You're bad influence on me" she pointed out, having never used those words with such frequency before she started to be his friend and then when she did use them she only ever levelled them at him.

He winked at her as he sat back up. "You like that I'm a bad influence."

She smiled, finding that remark impossible to deny. "That's beside the point."

"Think of it this way, if my particular brand of Harlem vernacular is so potent and infectious to you just imagine what my Super Sperm is like."

"Vernacular?" she asked as she laughed. She more than anyone else knew that Andy was not a stupid man, he was actually very intelligent but still his vocabulary was usually limited so when he did say something surprisingly clever it always took her by surprise.

"Word of the day toilet paper in the men's room at work" he replied with a shrug as she laughed at him again. "Have you not noticed how smart we all sound recently? Provenza said 'milieu' the other day. I thought Amy was going to pass out from the shock."

Sharon laughed once more as she turned her attention back to Andy's claims of his near super human fertility. "Anyone would think you could get strangers pregnant through the crack in an open window from fifty feet away."

"Who says I can't?"

"Don't think I won't arrest you for that sort of behaviour you know because I will."

"Yeah I know, if you handcuffed a stripper at your bachelorette party then what chance do I have?" he asked, knowing full well that calling Sharon 'Rulebook Raydor' was not an exaggeration and in her eyes it was actually a compliment of the highest order.

"He was trying to sell me drugs. Cocaine Andy, not aspirin" she clarified in case he had forgotten the complete story of what happened during her 'last night of freedom' before she married Jack. "What else was I supposed to do under the circumstances?" At the time it was simple, off duty or not she was still a member of the LAPD so when the man who was so oiled up he could probably slip through a keyhole without much issue, thrusted his crotch into her face and asked 'Wanna buy some coke?' she had no other option but to grab the cuffs from her purse (which she always kept in there just in case) and slap them on him before he even knew what was happening.

"Erm...let him finish taking his clothes off and encourage him to shake his money maker at you first before you handcuffed him and called for backup" he suggested.

"He was dressed as a sexy cop so..."

"Wait" he cut her off with a frown. "Sexy cop?"

She laughed once again at his jealous streak which seemed to grow by the day but which she currently still found highly amusing. "But not a patch on you" she assured him.

He nodded in response. "Thank you, continue." He shuffled back on the bed slightly so that he could prop himself up on the headboard and the mountain of decorative pillows she kept on there to get more comfortable.

"He was dressed as a sexy cop so naturally I felt compelled to cuff him for real and read him his rights" she shrugged, still thinking that she had no other option but to arrest him and no one would ever convince her otherwise.

"Surely he should have been cuffing you."

"But he was trying to sell me cocaine!"

"You're so fixated on that."

"Oddly enough yes I was and still am, it must be the cop in me" she said dryly.

"Come over here and you can have another cop in you" he growled as he waggled his eyebrows at her and smouldered.

Sharon laughed, slightly horrified by such a bad and crude pick up line being levied in her direction as she quickly turned the colour of beetroot. "Oh my God! Andy!" she cried as she continued to laugh, him never having said anything like that to her before. "Did you really just say that to me?"

He cringed a little mortified, thinking he sounded incredibly sleazy himself. "I think I did. Sorry. It'll never happen again. It's from where you attacked me. I think it's frazzled my brain" he said, justifying his language.

"See I always knew you kept your brain in your pants." The moment the words left her mouth Andy looked beyond offended as his mouth dropped open. She laughed at him as his shocked expression quickly turned to a smile.

He waved her towards him. "Come on. At least until she gets here."

"No" she laughed, knowing that she could miss Sharon arriving altogether if she allowed Andy to entice her over to the bed, her resistance already wavering.

"What's the matter Raydor? Are you scared of my heat?"

She laughed again. "Oh yes" she confirmed as seriously as she could muster. "I am utterly and completely terrified of your heat and incredible fertility which is why I'm staying over here and I am absolutely not having sex with you right now."

"Who said anything about sex? Why can't we just fool around a little?" Andy suggested, that always being his intention rather than anything more.

"Because these things so rarely end there with you. They always always escalate."

"No they don't."

"Oh yes they do."

"Name one time!"

"The other week in the back of your car" Sharon reminded him once again. "I only wanted to watch the sunset!" Andy smiled at her and laughed, not minding in the slightest that he got the blame for that particular tryst as he knew she more than enjoyed herself and wouldn't do anything she didn't want to do, as she was currently proving much to his frustration. "One quick kiss immediately led to both of us making shapes like balloon animals as we tried to get comfortable and finish what _you_ started."

"Hey we didn't need to finish what I started at all" he replied as he couldn't help but smile at the memory. "At any point you could have said 'I think we're better off waiting until we get home' and I would have agreed and driven us straight here."

"But I was all hot and bothered by that point and I'd already taken your pants off" she told him with a shrug, as if by that stage she really had no intention or hope of stopping what she was doing. He laughed at her instantly. "Anyway that's not the point. Because of one quick kiss as the sun went down I nearly shattered my pelvis, put my foot through the window and I still have a bruise on my side from that seat buckle."

"Excuse me Raydor you nearly shattered your pelvis trying to take your own jeans off. You did that, not me thank you very much" he corrected her.

"Exactly. You could have helped me."

"I tried to help you, repeatedly. You called me 'moron' and told me to climb back into the front seat and wait there until you were ready for me."

"Well you were taking too long" she told him before they both laughed. It was only when things began to get heated that either of them remembered just how difficult sex in the back of a car could be and with lust soon clouding everything, even rational thought and propriety, she had no time for Andy as he struggled to remove her jeans in such a confined space, opting to just do it herself as she rushed to 'get the show on the road' so to speak.

"I'm sorry but it's a hard thing to do in such a confined space when someone is yelling at you at that volume."

"I didn't yell at you."

"You did too" he corrected her again. "You shouted my name so loudly and in such a way that every single Andy or Andrew in an eight block radius flinched out of fear." She laughed at him as she acknowledged she hadn't exactly been patient at the time. "Now normally I like to hear you shout my name but not when it's followed by a Darth Raydor glare."

"Again that was not my fault because may I point out that I didn't have any problem removing your pants."

"Believe me I noticed" he grinned. "I looked down and suddenly they were gone. It made me wonder if I'd put on some of those stripper pants with the Velcro up the sides by mistake the speed in which you pulled them off me. It was almost like you'd done that before."

"And you hadn't?"

"Me?" he said innocently.

She laughed. "Yes you. Don't act all innocent with me my boy. I'm sure you've had plenty of practice doing the exact same thing over the years."

"Maybe" he replied nonchalantly as she laughed. "Anyway my point is that was a joint venture and not just me corrupting you."

"Well I was fully committed by that point and as you know I very much like to finish what I start" she shrugged before they both laughed. "And anyway _my_ point is a quick kiss as we watched the sky light up got quickly out of hand and these things always escalate with you and before I know it you're trying to," she paused as she laughed, "electrify my downstairs."

"Ah but that's where it will end tonight because I'm somewhat incapacitated at the moment."

"Why? Have you left your Viagra out there?" she joked as she nodded towards the living room.

"No, I've recently been kneed in the balls" he pointed out before falling silent and just smiling at her, that beautiful smile that always made her heart flutter even when they were at work.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. I'm just smiling at you."

"Well don't it's freaking me out."

"Are you sure it's not turning you on?"

Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "I'm positive. Stop it! If you don't want to come over here and try and listen with me go to sleep or read a book or something."

"I don't want to, I want to smile at you and anyway there's currently nothing to listen to." He paused for a moment as he continued to smile at her and then asked "Are you turned on now?"

She laughed at him again. "No."

He narrowed his eyes and smouldered at her. "How about now?"

"What is it you're trying to do exactly?" she asked as she shook with laughter.

"Several things. I'm trying to distract you, I'm trying to stop you from standing next to that door all evening, I'm trying to get you to come over here and if I can get you to fool around with me a little as well then it's an added bonus." She continued to laugh at him, really appreciating his attempts at distraction. "You understand I'm doing this purely for Rusty because he asked me to and it has nothing whatsoever to do with my wants and needs."

She laughed again. "Oh how very self-sacrificing of you. Look I know all about your wants and needs buddy and it isn't happening."

"But I say again in this case Rusty asked me to. Do it for him."

"Rusty asked you to annoy me and try to get me to fool around with you?"

"Not exactly but it was implied."

"Oh I doubt that very much, he told me he prefers to think of you as eunuch."

"I hope you've corrected him" he said with concern.

"Have you heard him screaming his head off until he was sick?"

"No."

"Then obviously I haven't."

"But I have a reputation to maintain" he protested.

"Do you really?" she asked with her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at him. "I thought you had a reputation you were desperately trying to move away from" she pointed out, since he was always so embarrassed and distressed about his past with women before Sharon and never wanted to talk about it or her to know about what he got up to.

"Fair point" he nodded. "Anyway Rusty told me to do whatever I could to keep you in here, it just so happens that this is top of my 'Never Fails' list of ways to distract you."

"Oh really? 'Never Fails'?"

"From my experience, yes" he nodded as he continued to smile at her.

"Oh God" she cried as she looked to the heavens and sighed, her resolve starting to crumble especially since more time had passed and Sharon still wasn't there. "Stop smiling at me like that, you look like a cat that's got the cream which you most definitely haven't by the way."

"And what if I was to say something to you in Italian? What would that do?"

"This is not _A Fish Called Wanda_ you know. I won't fall into your arms because you've said something semi romantic and probably highly offensive to me in pigeon Italian" she stated, actually finding it highly arousing when Andy attempted to remember some Italian until he translated what he'd said, usually always making a horrendous mistake and accidentally insulting her.

"That has not been my experience so far." He smouldered at her as he said "Hai un bel fegato" with quite a good Italian accent.

She couldn't help but smile at him with her stance quickly being more about resisting his charms than anything else. "Well your accent is certainly improving, I'll give you that."

"Thank you kindly."

"What does that mean?" she asked, expecting the worst despite his best intentions. "I'm as beautiful as a goat testicle? Or perhaps something even more horrendous? I look like your Grandmother perhaps?"

"No, no nothing like that. I said you have beautiful legs...no wait" he stopped as he went through it in his mind again. "Except legs in Italian is 'gambe.' So what did I just say? Why does this keep happening to me?" he asked with utter frustration as his memory kept failing him while Sharon laughed. "Hold on I've got this, just give me a second."

"I know they say laughter is one of the best ways to get a woman into bed with you but this is starting to get ridiculous" she joked.

"Fegato? Shit that's 'liver.'"

Sharon laughed uncontrollably at him. "Liver? I have a beautiful liver?"

"Yes" he said with complete authority. "That's what I said and I'm sticking to it."

"Well thank you very much Hannibal Lector" she laughed as she attempted to turn around and press her ear to the door once more.

"Wait I've got another one."

Sharon turned back around to face him, her arms folded like an act of defiance. "If I were you I'd switch tactics before you Italian your way into never having sex again. You're like a human version of Google Translate only even more incompetent."

"It's not that bad is it?" he asked, wishing he'd paid more attention to his Mother when he was growing up and she was typically screaming at him in Italian for something she'd discovered he'd done the day before.

"So far when you've attempted to woo me with your Mother's tongue you've told me I was as beautiful as chicken feet and now I've got a lovely liver. I'd quit while you are behind."

"Tu spaventi l'inferno fuori di me" he crooned very slowly and deliberately causing Sharon to close her eyes as she tried her hardest not to literally swoon as he spoke.

"What's that?" she asked once she was able to regain her composure. "I have lizard skin?"

"No. Something much more accurate."

"What?"

"You scare the hell out of me" he admitted with a wink and making her laugh at him. "Ma ti amo comunque."

"I heard love in there somewhere."

"Yeah, but I love you anyway." Sharon laughed again as she couldn't help but blush, suddenly feeling very hot and bothered by his words despite her claim that it simply didn't have an effect on her in the slightest. "Still not working?"

"Not right now no," she lied convincingly, "but you're perfectly free to keep trying." She turned again and pressed her ear to the door. There wasn't a single solitary sound on the other side, not even the sound of Rusty pacing back and forth as he waited. She looked at her watch and sighed. Sharon was late, not by much but she was still late. She cringed. Rusty had been 'stood up' far too many times by that woman in his short life so far, she just hoped and prayed that it wasn't about to happen again. "Still nothing. She's late" she said regretfully, now wishing that she had sent Andy to pick her up instead of her making her own way there.

Andy shrugged as he tried his hardest to look for the positives and a possible explanation. "She's never been here before and you can bet your bottom dollar that she's nervous about it too."

"I know but punctuality is..."

"I know," he said as he cut her off, not needing it explained since he was beginning to know Rusty just as well as she did, "but there's nothing you can do about it right now other than to relax and wait."

"I know" she said with a smile. "Thank you." Although he was verging on irritating her to the point where she wanted to smack him silly, he was doing his job beautifully and trying his hardest to keep her attention on him rather than worrying about things which were out of her control.

"That's why I'm here."

"And I'm very grateful."

"But you still won't come over here and fool around for a bit?" Sharon just laughed at him and shook her head. "Okay. Time to bring out the big guns."

"Well you've already smouldered" she pointed out, thinking if she could resist him when he did that then she could pretty much resist all temptations from that point on.

"That's not my really big gun" he said before he cleared his throat in a very exaggerated manner which let her know instantly what was coming.

"Oh God."

He smiled at her before he began to sing. " _Someday, when I'm awfully low, when the world is cold, I will feel a glow just thinking of you and the way you look tonight. You're lovely, with your smile so warm and your cheeks so soft, there is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight."_

Her smile beamed at him as her heart seemed to flutter. "Do you really think that singing to me will solve all of your problems?" she asked, trying her hardest to hide how she truly felt in that moment.

"Yes and even if I'm wrong I'm still willing to give it a try just to see you smile at me like that. But anyway I don't see this as a problem so much as a hurdle that needs to be overcome to get you to come over here" he told her as he patted the bed next to him again.

She laughed and then finally gave in after one final glance to the door since it appeared there was still no sign of Sharon. "Fine! I'm coming" she relented, throwing her hands up into the air for good measure.

"Persistence pays off!"

"More like annoying the hell out of me pays off" she told as she slowly approached the foot of the bed. "You know my Grandmother used to warn me about boys like you."

"Extremely handsome and charming half Italian and half Irish boys?" he asked cheekily.

"No" she laughed. "Boys who thought they were extremely handsome and charming but were basically just a little bit annoying" she informed him as she remained stood at the bottom of the bed, not completely giving in just yet.

"Only a little bit?"

"I'm trying to be generous."

"And what did she say about boys like me?"

"I don't know. I wasn't listening by that point. I was too busy trying to work out how I could sneak out of the house after dark without being caught" she joked although it was one hundred percent accurate.

"You should have tried the drainpipe" he winked.

"I thought that was your speciality."

"Oh it is. I'm excellent with a drainpipe" he winked again. Sharon laughed as she knelt on the end of the bed and very slowly crawled up it and up him until she had a hand either side of his head and loomed over him. "Please be gentle with me" he jokingly pleaded as he put his hands around her waist.

"Why? Are you a delicate little flower?"

"Oh definitely and I've been kneed in the balls fairly recently and they're still throbbing."

She laughed at him as he pulled her slowly towards him and their lips collided against each other. Sharon felt a lust filled moan build up in the back of her throat as Andy's hands slipped underneath her t-shirt and began moving up and down her back, his hand warm against her skin and making it tingle from his touch. Suddenly the relative quiet was destroyed by the sound of the condo door opening and closing along with two distinct voices rumbling quietly in the background, meaning Sharon had definitely arrived. Almost instantly Sharon broke their kiss apart, her head snapping up and looking towards the door much to Andy's disappointment as he clung to her, hoping that she wouldn't move from her positon on top of him. Sadly that wasn't the case and as quick as a flash Sharon jumped up and practically sprinted to the door but not before she sadly kneed Andy in the crotch again only this time it was completely unintentional and with about ten times the force of earlier. "She's here! She's here!" she cried as quietly as possible while she flew across the room.

"Shit!" Andy shouted as he crumbled up into a ball, gripping his crotch with both hands again but in genuine pain this time, his eyes almost watering. "You've done it again!"

"What?" Sharon asked confused as she pressed her ear to the door, having no idea that not only had she made contact with his balls again but she'd actually really hurt him this time.

"You've kneed me in the balls again!" he said as he gasped for air, the pain currently taking his breath away and making his eyes water. "Are you sure you're not doing this on purpose?" He looked down towards his crotch for a moment, half expecting to see some major swelling begin to take effect and showing through his pants. "I think you've popped one this time."

Assuming he was over exaggerating and pretending like he had earlier in the evening just to elicit sympathy and get her to return to him, Sharon tried her hardest to ignore him as she listened intently at the door. "Andy please be quiet I'm trying to listen."

"Oh I'm sorry. Was the sound of me dying preventing you from eavesdropping on your son having a private conversation?" he bellowed. "I do beg your pardon I'll try to keep the noise to a minimum the next time I'm kneed in the balls twice in the space of ten minutes!"

Realising that this wasn't just another tactic to get her away from the door and that she had genuinely but accidentally hurt him this time she turned around to face him although she was still determined not to move away from the door. "Andy I'm sorry but it was an accident."

"Did you hear that boys?" Andy asked as he pulled at the waistband of his pants and looked down at his meat and two vegetables. "It's okay, it was just an accident. It doesn't matter that you've both swelled up to the size of basketballs!"

"Are you talking to them?" she laughed.

"Someone needs to show them some love and attention and if it isn't going to be you then I'll have to do it myself" he snarled.

She sighed, a sigh that was laden with regret as she walked back towards him, realising that she had accidentally hurt him really quite badly. "I'm sorry" she told him sincerely as she crouched beside him. "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to fetch you an ice pack?"

"Over my dead body are you are going out there Raydor! I mean it!"

"I wasn't going to and that could soon be arranged you know, I do have a gun" she told him, slightly irritated herself that he thought she was likely to go out into the living room and interfere. "Then what do you want me to do? Do you want them rubbed better?" she asked as she moved her hand towards his injury.

He flinched as her hand came near him. "Not by you! At this point the sound of your voice is making them jump back up into my body out of blind fear. It's like 2010 all over again."

Before Sharon had chance to respond the bedroom door swung open and Rusty stomped inside with a face like thunder and his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were starting to turn white. "What the hell is going on in here?!" he cried in a sort of shouty whisper, letting them know that he was angry but ensuring that his Mother didn't hear him reprimanding them both.

"She kneed me in the balls!" Andy shouted back as he pointed at Sharon as if there were several other women in there with him that could have struck the painful blow instead.

"Oh my God Mom!" Rusty said with a glare, already stressed enough without this on top of it all. "I know he's annoying as all hell but can you stop beating him up for like five seconds please? I mean you did pick him yourself after all. You knew what he was like!"

"Thanks for the sympathy kid. Meanwhile she's just made me black and blue with one quick blow to my undercarriage."

Rusty put his head in and hands and sighed. "Andy I don't have time for sympathy right now so will you please just keep the noise down!"

"Okay, sure, no problem I'll just die more quietly."

"Is that so hard?" Rusty asked, having no time for a trademark Andy Flynn over reaction. "I don't want my...my...my other Mother to feel awkward knowing that you two are in here doing God knows what. Mom stop hitting him and Andy man up and do what you promised me. Thank you." With that Rusty turned on his heels and left them to it, shutting the door behind him as quietly as possible in the hope that his Mom would be none the wiser in the living room despite the fact that they both clearly heard Andy's cries of pain emanating from the bedroom as she tried to make herself comfortable in very unfamiliar surroundings.

"Sorry Dad!" Andy shouted after him sarcastically.

Rusty burst back in, his face turning redder and redder by the second. "Stop calling me 'Dad'!" he cried. "You keep forgetting that you pair are supposed to be the adults in this relationship." He left again, shutting the door a little more loudly than he had done previously as he vented his anger.

"Did we just get told off?" Sharon laughed.

"I don't know all I can see is my life flashing before my eyes" Andy whined.

"Oh really?" she smiled. "And how was it?"

He cocked his head and grinned at her. "It pretty much sucked up until last July" he told her with a wink, his pain easing somewhat although he was still going to milk it for all it was worth.

She smiled and sat next to him, leaning down to push her lips to his. "That's a very good answer" she told him, kissing him again.

"Thank you." He paused as he moved his hands and inspected the damage once again. "Well the good news is you'll never have to hear about my so called Super Sperm ever again because I think you've just made me infertile."

Sharon laughed as she ran her hand through his hair. "Oh well, every cloud" she shrugged. She lowered her head again to kiss him on the lips. "I'm sorry. The second time was a complete accident, I promise" she assured him and then leant down to kiss him again. As they broke apart she went to stand, determined to stand by the door and try to listen to what was being said but his hand quickly flew up and grabbed her wrist to stop her in her tracks.

"What can you possibly achieve by spending the next hour with your ear pinned against that door?" he asked but to no avail as she moved away from him anyway. He sighed at her as he sat up a little gingerly as his crotch still throbbed a little.

"I can know if he's yelling at her or not."

"But again unless you want to seriously piss the kid off there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. You need to wait and we'll deal with whatever has happened after she's gone."

Sharon nodded. "Okay. You're right. You're right" she agreed.

"And yet you're still standing by the door."

"Well I'm here now. I might as well stay here."

"But this bed is oh so comfy."

Sharon laughed. "Give it up Goldilocks I'm not moving."

"There must be something I can tempt you with to get you away from that door."

"Unlike you I'm not easily lured away by the promise of poultry and pleasures of the flesh."

"Poultry and pleasures of the flesh?" he asked half confused and half aroused to the point of losing his vision. "That might be the single sexiest thing you have ever said to me." Sharon shook her head as she laughed at him. "Now you have to come over here to me."

"Please just let me listen out for her" she begged, acknowledging that she could do nothing about it if Rusty were to lose his temper with her but while still feeling the need to stand guard nonetheless.

"Okay how about you let me give you a back massage?"

She laughed as she bit on her bottom lip, tempted but not enough to move and indulge in his magical hands at that moment in time. "Oh I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Because that's just another way for you to try and get me into bed and I've already told you it's not happening while they're talking" she pointed out.

"No it isn't" he said innocently although his smile told another story.

"Oh really? And the last time you gave me a back message? What happened then?"

Andy shrugged. "It's not my fault you find me and my hands simply irresistible."

Sharon laughed as she nodded at him. "Okay, sure. It's because you're irresistible and not because you put your hands on places that weren't my back?"

He shrugged again. "They slipped."

"Oh they slipped did they?" she asked, remembering quite vividly how his hands rubbed her shoulders for approximately three and a half seconds before his lips moved to her neck and his hands slipped underneath her and travelled to her breasts.

"Those oils are really really slippy" he shrugged again as if he had no other choice in the matter and he simply couldn't control where his hands wandered to, like they had a mind of their own. "It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. And once again, for the record, let me point out, I didn't hear you complaining."

She laughed again. "Oh shut up" she told him as he laughed along with her.

"I know. I know what'll keep you distracted."

"Murdering you and cutting up your body in the shower?" she suggested.

"We'll call that Plan B but for now I'll let you shave my chest" he offered.

"What?" she laughed, not believing her own ears.

"You heard me" he winked. "Step away from that door, come into the bathroom with me and I'll let you shave my chest or wax it, whichever you prefer." He rolled over to the edge of the bed and the nightstand nearest the bathroom. He opened the drawer and pulled out a box of waxing strips, waving them in the air at her as a temptation. "You know you want to" he crooned, goading her.

"Where did you find those?" Sharon asked, knowing for a fact that she didn't have any of her own currently in the condo and therefore he must have purchased them himself.

"I brought them with me" he shrugged nonchalantly as she laughed, beginning to realise just how seriously he was taking her request to distract her and had obviously planned everything down to the very last detail. "Hey you wanted me to distract you tonight so I came fully prepared for all eventualities." She laughed at him again. "You've got to love a guy who plans ahead right?" he winked.

"Oh believe me it's definitely a turn on but it's not happening."

"Why not?"

"After the fuss you made following Lieutenant Provenza's bachelor party about the pain and your deformed little body, you'd honestly let me wax your chest?" she asked, shocked that he would even think of suggesting it since the patches from where he had been waxed that night were still visible if you studied his chest long enough (which she did quite frequently).

"If it gets you away from that door I'd let you do almost anything to me right about now."

She laughed as she folded her arms, malice clear in her voice as she spoke and smirked at him. "That's a very dangerous statement if you don't mind my saying" she warned.

"Maybe but you don't keep a stapler or a nail gun in here so I think I'm fairly safe."

"And what if I were to accidentally on purpose slice off a nipple with the razor?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes that he knew all too well.

"Oh you'd never do that."

"Wouldn't I?"

"No because if you did that you might struggle to find your way back up my body again in the dark" he said as he gestured up the full length of his body and winked at her while she laughed uncontrollably and nodded in agreement.

"What about the whole 'You can't shave my chest in case I have to go undercover with an imaginary prostitute which is never going to happen' type scenario?"

He frowned. "I don't think I phrased it exactly like that."

"But I'm more accurate" she stated like it was a fact. "Well? I thought your fur coat had to stay where it was to avoid humiliation at the hands of the rest of the squad."

"And it does but under the circumstances I think they'd more than understand."

"More like if Amy saw the way you are right now she'd want to know why I'd agreed to move in with an Ewok" she joked.

His face immediately contorted into an expression of sheer disgust. "An Ewok? But they're tiny" he reminded her, assuming that there had been some sort of mistake.

"And oh so cuddly and adorable, just like you." She laughed at him as he rolled his eyes and huffed, still hating that word being brandished in his direction when he saw himself as the protector to those he loved and anything but adorable.

He shook off his frown and returned to smiling at her, an enticing smile that he hoped would work very quickly and at the very least have her in his arm momentarily. "Come on! What do you say? I know you must be dying to give it a try by now" he said as he rubbed his hand over his chest in a very enticing manner.

She laughed and shook her head. "Honestly Andy I'm not. I've told you before I like your chest just the way it is. I always have done. And as much as your screams of agony would amuse me greatly as I did it, I actually prefer you as you are" Sharon said simply, having been married to a man most of her adult life who shaved his chest almost daily, she now liked that it felt like she was involved with a 'real man' in comparison.

"Oh well it's probably for the best" he replied as he tossed the box of waxing strips onto the top of the nightstand. "With the mood you're in you're likely to slice off more than my nipple anyway." She laughed and nodded, proving that he had every right to be worried. "How about my legs? I know they irritate you in the night. Just picture tonight in bed, my legs brushing up against yours and them not tickling you to death."

"Except there's something oddly off putting about having a boyfriend with smoother legs than my own" she informed him as she screwed up her face, really not on board with that idea in the slightest, no matter how much more sleep she might get as a result. Regardless Andy pulled up the leg of his pants and waved his leg at her like he was in a chorus line. She laughed. "Is this what we've been reduced to? Your idea of sexy talk is offering to let me shave your legs so they stop tickling mine in the middle of the night?"

"Hey you turned down Sexy Time with Andy..."

"There's a PBS show that'll never get funding" she said quickly before they both laughed. "You know if anyone ever discovered some of the conversations we have behind closed doors I'm not sure they'd believe their ears."

"Do you think the squad would be surprised?"

"I think the squad would try to have you committed" she said honestly.

"Me? Why not you?"

"I'm their Captain."

"But you'd let them lock me up?" he asked.

"In a heartbeat" she purred with her eyes narrowing at him. "I'm not going to say I wouldn't miss you but some things are out of my hands and are for the best." He laughed at her and shrugged, already accepting his fate should anyone hear what they actually spoke about when they were alone. "I'd come and visit you."

"Oh how very generous of you. You wouldn't try to break me out?"

"Of course not."

"Yeah, why break a rule when you can leave me all locked up and helpless and vulnerable" he growled in another attempt to lure her over to him as he waggled his eyebrows. "There must be something I can do to get you to come over here."

"I'm sure there is but you've not found it yet."

"I'm beginning to run out of options here. I'm starting to get desperate."

"You've offered to let me wax your chest but only now you're getting desperate?" she laughed.

"Time for my secret weapon."

"I thought Italian was your secret weapon?"

"Okay time for my secret secret weapon." He swung his legs around and stood up before slowly walking over to her, smouldering all the way and making her cheeks flush instantly. When he stood before her she looked up to meet his eyes, the height difference between them even more apparent than usual because she wasn't wearing shoes let alone heels. She expected to feel his lips on hers at any moment but instead he held out his hands as he prepared to dance with her. She smiled at him and moved immediately into his arms, loving to dance with him but also seeing it as a way to stay listening by the door as she rested her head on his shoulder.

They started to dance very slowly, swaying from side to side as they turned on the spot while she waited patiently for him to sing to her. "Well?" she asked after a few seconds of moving in silence. "Where's the music choir boy?"

"Oh so you believe me now?"

"Yes I do" she nodded before she leant up and kissed him on the lips. "Oddly enough that tape Liz had of you did the trick although I still struggle to believe that was actually you singing." Little did she know but Andy had already called his sister before they flew to New York for the long weekend and begged her to find a recording of him singing in the church choir in amongst their Mom's remaining possessions that were piled high in her basement. It was not an easy job but find it she did and played it for Sharon a couple of times at her request, recording it on her phone as well so that she had a copy. It wasn't that Andy lied to her exactly, he'd never do that since he felt honesty was key and that there shouldn't be any secrets in a relationship but Sharon was fairly certain that he had told her some fairly tall tales since they'd been dating, embellishing the truth and struggling to believe that these things could have happened to him and his family. The prime example of a classic Andy Flynn tall tale was his middle name. It didn't feature on a single piece of paperwork at work (and as his Captain she would know that sort of thing like she knew what Provenza's middle name was, a secret she was sitting on until the appropriate moment when it would have the biggest impact) so she could only take his word for it that his Mother had insisted on calling him Andrew Benito Flynn. But despite naming the angel he had bought her for Christmas after his middle name she was never one hundred percent sure he was telling her the truth. She had thought the same thing about his claims of being an extremely talented choir boy despite how insistent he was that he was telling the truth so it was a very pleasant surprise indeed when she heard the recordings and realised that for once he hadn't been exaggerating the truth, if anything he had been down playing how good he used to be before his voice broke and he started singing like he had a two pack of cigarettes a day habit.

"I told you, I used to sing like an angel."

"Then what are you waiting for?" she asked, wanting some sort of music if they were going to continue dancing slowly around her bedroom.

"What are you in the mood for?"

Sharon thought for a moment and then said "Sinatra."

Andy nodded. "Yes ma'am." Without warning he moved his right hand from her waist and dropped it into the pocket of his pants before pulling out his cell phone. Two quick taps of his finger later and the room was suddenly filled with an instrumental version of _All The Way_ as if it was something else that he had planned before they stepped foot into the condo that evening.

Sharon's mouth dropped open with shock as he put his phone away and took her by the waist again, continuing to dance. "Oh my God!" she cried with a smile.

"You said you wanted me to distract you tonight so I came fully prepared."

"But how did you know I'd say Sinatra?"

"Well the only other option was Streisand and since you told me I wasn't even allowed to look at you again for twenty four hours after the last time I apparently murdered _Hello Dolly_ I knew you'd pick Sinatra" he winked and made her feel like sometimes he knew her better than she knew herself.

Sharon laughed, her surprise evident as she held him even tighter. "I don't believe this."

"I know you Raydor" he said simply before he winked and brushed his lips against hers as slowly and sensually as the way they were dancing. He pulled her even closer towards him and moved his lips to her ear, singing (as he always did) just for her even though there was no one else in the vicinity to listen to him. " _When somebody loves you it's no good unless he loves you all the way_ " he started to sing as they continued to sway to the music, Sharon's eyes closing as she clung to him and forgot about Rusty and his Mom for the briefest of moments. _"Happy to be near you when you need someone to cheer you all the way. Taller than the tallest tree is that's how it's got to feel. Deeper than the deep blue sea is that's how deep it goes if it's real. When somebody needs you it's no good unless he needs you all the way. Through the good or lean years and for all the in-between years come what may. Who knows where the road will lead us only a fool would say. But if you'll let me love you it's for sure I'm gonna love you all the way all the way. So, if you'll let me love you it's for sure I'm gonna love you all the way all the way."_

As the music ended she raised herself up onto the balls of her feet and pressed her lips to his, leaving them there until her feet started to ache. "I love you."

"I love you too" he told her, returning the kiss. As their lips danced against the others for a few moments more the sound of raised voices could quite clearly be heard coming from the living room. Sharon instantly pulled away and turned towards the door, clearly worried but unable to make out exactly what was being said. Andy put his hand on the back of her head and turned her to face him again. "Just forget about that for now and later when she's gone we can..."

"Be quiet for a moment I can't hear" she said as she wriggled from his grasp and pressed her ear to the door, Andy again taking the back seat as her motherly instincts went into over drive and took full control of her actions.

Andy sat back on the end of the bed with a thud and a sigh of utter frustration, knowing that he'd almost had her completely distracted for a moment but with her current frame of mind getting her to relax was going to be nigh on mission impossible. "What are they saying?" he asked after a moment, thinking if he couldn't distract her he could at least keep up to date with what was happening.

"I'm not sure. They're talking so quietly."

"Oh I wonder why?" he said sarcastically.

"Probably because you screaming the place down and being overly melodramatic earlier has alerted her to our presence and they're talking in hushed tones" she shot back at him with a little trade mark Darth Raydor death stare.

"Or maybe it's a private conversation. Look I know you're in full Mamma mode right now but seriously Sharon you just need to stay out of it for now." She turned to him and laughed, it not being the first time she'd heard something like that. "What?" he asked puzzled.

"I remember Judge Grove saying something similar to me once" she said with a shrug and knowing full well that it was going to drive him mad since he was under the assumption that Judge Grove desperately wanted her despite the fact that he was happily married.

"Oh I bet he did" he huffed.

Sharon laughed at him before she concentrated on the muffled voices that she could only just about make out in the living room. "I still can't hear. Come here and listen" she said as she waved him towards her.

"No. I will absolutely not eavesdrop on the kid while he has this conversation."

"And what if it was Nicole?"

"I'd want to know why she was talking to Rusty's Mom sure but I'd wait until later to ask her because I'm not a lunatic" he said bluntly.

"You're no help."

"I hear that a lot but it's usually Provenza saying it while he throws a pen at my head." Silence fell on the room for a moment as Sharon concentrated on trying to make out a few words here and there and Andy looked around him, suddenly feeling a little peckish. "I wish I'd brought something to eat in here. How long do you think they might be?"

"If you'd allow me to listen to what was being said I might be able to tell you."

"I'm not that hungry" he said grumpily.

"You brought waxing strips and had music all ready to play but you didn't bring food?"

"If I'm honest I thought I could keep you occupied enough to not notice I was hungry."

Sharon closed her eyes as she continued to listen at the door. "Is it possible they're talking about a cat in a car?" she asked finally.

"Of course. I mean she's pregnant with the child of the guy who used to beat him on a regular basis so naturally they're talking about a cat in a car. She's probably writing a sequel to _The Cat in the Hat_ in her spare time" he ranted with huge dollops of sarcasm.

"You do realise I've long since stopped listening to you right?"

"Oh many decades ago."

She laughed as she glanced at him, noticing the half full water glass that he had on the nightstand. "Hand me that glass" she asked.

"Why? Are you thirsty? Is being this nosy thirsty work for you?"

"No I'm going to hold it against the door."

Andy reluctantly grabbed the glass from the nightstand and polished off the water before reaching out to hand it to her, not moving from his position on the bed as he opted to be helpful but not actively encourage her. "Fine but it won't work" he insisted, the experience in his voice coming through.

"How do you know?" she asked as she held it against the door and put her ear to it.

"I used to try it as a kid when I wanted to hear my brothers," he paused as his brain sought the most accurate term, "do stuff."

She turned to look at him with a smile. "Do what stuff?"

"Read poetry with their girlfriends" he lied.

She laughed. "Yeah right." Sharon put her ear back to the glass and listened hard, looking to see if it had made even the slightest difference. "This isn't working."

"Try holding it against the other ear" he joked and making her turn to frown at him and show him her displeasure. "I'm surprised at you Raydor. If you were this worried after speaking to the kid this morning why didn't you get Buzz to install some cameras out there."

"You're not funny" she said with a sigh.

"I think differently."

"Is there nothing else I can use to hear more clearly?" she asked, not expecting an answer as she put the glass on top of the bureau and let out another frustrated sigh.

"Oh wouldn't you know it I left my surveillance equipment in the pocket of my other pair of pants."

"Are you aiming to be deliberately unhelpful?"

"I'm aiming to get you into bed but that doesn't seem to be working right now" he grinned.

"Try being less annoying and it might" she suggested.

"Really?" Andy asked extremely hopefully as he almost sat to attention.

"No" she told him flatly. "What is it you said to me the other night? 'This ride is closed for business.'"

"But I'm willing to get it up and running again for a very special lady."

"I'm still going to take a rain check for later because right now I'd rather stay over here."

"Rain check? That's awfully presumptuous of you" he said as he folded his arms as if they were talking about a sex coupon that was seconds from expiring.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"I thought you were looking forward to seeing me in this shirt and nothing else" she replied as she opened her cardigan to show off the shirt in question, it almost clinging to her and showing off every single curve due to how small it was.

Andy virtually licked his lips in response until he shook his head, trying to wake himself from his lust filled daze. "I am but maybe I won't be in the mood later" he said as seriously as he could manage.

Sharon turned and laughed at him, temporarily giving up on trying to listen but while still refusing to move away from the door. "I'm going to point out how long you managed to hold out the other day and just leave it at that."

"That was different. You cheated" he pointed out in reference to the way she continued to let out a little moan every now and then as her fingernails raked up and down his chest as an attempt to break his incredibly fragile resolve.

"And I'll probably cheat again later" she warned him with a wink.

"Thanks for the warning. Now I have time to get my defences in order to protect myself" he told her as he shuffled back onto the bed and lay down, putting his head on the mountain of pillows and almost disappearing between them.

"Defences?" Sharon asked, expecting him to produce a chastity belt from his pocket sooner rather than later since he'd planned for almost every other eventuality that evening.

"Yes." He looked around him for a moment, searching for something to protect himself from Sharon and her wandering hands. "I can make some sort of pillow wall down the centre of the bed" he said finally and rather proud of his idea. Sharon laughed at him and shook her head as he picked up a purple and gold pillow that sat proudly at the very top of the bed. "Is this new?" he asked, already rolling his eyes at the extent of her pillow obsession (thinking that at least every time she bought a new purse or a pair of shoes that they had a use).

"Yes. I got it two days ago."

"I didn't see it last night."

"Oh I wonder why" she laughed since Andy had been in such a lust filled daze the moment that he discovered Rusty was staying with Gus for the night it was a wonder that they made it as far as her bedroom let alone that he noticed something new that had put in an appearance.

"Did you really need _another_ pillow?"

"Yes" she said plainly like it was as essential as milk or toilet paper in her life.

"Because the forty seven that you keep on this bed but we don't actually sleep on weren't enough?"

"They're decorative" she pointed out, loving her pillows and the way they made her bed look when it was made and they were arranged correctly or order of size and colour.

"They're a waste of time and money."

"Time?"

"Yes. It takes twenty minutes to remove them each night before we get into bed and another twenty minutes to put them back on again in the morning. What is the point?" he grumbled.

"The point is they're pretty and there are always plenty on hand to throw at you and try to smother you with when you annoy me."

"Think of what we could do with that extra forty minutes every day though" he growled with a wink.

"I know what you'd want to do but what do I get out of it?"

"I didn't mean sex!" he protested without much success.

"Yeah right!" she laughed, reading him like a book. "I'm going to revise my earlier statement, you think about sex every three seconds and the rest is spent thinking about turkey."

"I still say that's a huge exaggeration but have you looked in the mirror recently? It's a wonder I can think of anything else."

"Oh shut up" she told him as she blushed wildly.

"I'm serious. Why don't you come over here and let me show you?"

She laughed again at his sudden change in tune. "I thought you were building a wall so I couldn't touch you."

"Oh I've changed my mind since then."

"Good to know but it's still not going to work. You're going to have to try much harder than that."

He shrugged. "You can't blame a guy for trying."

"Oh no one will ever say you don't try...my nerves and patience especially."

He laughed as he looked around at the mountain of pillows that were on the verge of swallowing him whole as he slipped between them. "Since you're ignoring me..."

"I'm not ignoring you" she protested. "I'm talking to you right now aren't I?"

"But you won't come back over here?"

"Not right now no."

"Then you're ignoring me, so since you are ignoring me I'm going to make use of these pillows" he said as he started to pull them out from underneath him.

"And do what exactly?"

He shrugged. "Build a pillow fort."

"Oh of course! You're a sixty-five year old Lieutenant in the LAPD, of course you're going to build a pillow fort in your girlfriend's bedroom."

"Hey I had other plans for tonight but since you won't come away from that door."

Sharon laughed, enjoying the childlike quality that Andy sometimes had and that only came to the surface when they were alone. "That's not usually an obstacle for you."

Andy stretched his arms out wide. "Hey I'm good but I'm not that good." She laughed at him as he very carefully and precisely moved pillow after pillow to in front of him as he built the foundations for a pillow wall across the bed, each movement and step very deliberate as if he was going to be graded on it shortly.

Sharon watched him with amusement as he continued on with his work, reminding her of Ricky when he was about eight years old. "If you're going to build a wall, try putting it down the centre of the bed to keep your freakishly hot body away from me" she joked.

"You like that I'm freakishly hot."

"Yes I do, if for no other reason than I know when you're in the bed with me."

"I thought punching me was the way you knew I was in bed with you."

"That's my back up plan."

Andy laughed as he continued to very methodically build his wall. "I was telling the boys about your pillow obsession on Saturday" he said as he glanced up at her to see if he had her full and undivided attention. The previous weekend Andy had swooped in at the very last moment to help out Nicole and Dean in an emergency and pick the boys up from their ballet class. Afterwards he had taken them out to get something to eat with Sharon quick to ask if he had done it more as a trip down memory lane than to be helpful since he had once attended a few ballet classes himself to keep him out of trouble as a boy.

"Oh yes?" she smiled. "And what did you tell them exactly?"

"That you had more than enough to build a substantial and elaborate pillow fort. Then they wanted to know when they could come over to spend the night here and build one with you."

"Any time they like, I'd love to have them here more often. Did you tell them that?" she asked as she leant up against the bureau, the fact that she couldn't hear anything causing her to move further away from the door.

"I tried but we didn't really get that far. The pair of them were far more interested in trying to understand why Grandpa Andy didn't live with Granny Sharon since you're my girlfriend" he shrugged as he glanced at her again from the corner of his eye and waited to see if she had taken the bait.

Sharon laughed. "Oh really?"

Andy nodded. "Yep. They thought it was strange that we didn't live together when Grandma Sandra and Grandad Michael sleep in the same bed every night."

"You're kidding?"

"Yeah I know," he shrugged, "I always assumed she made Michael sleep in a dog basket at the end of the bed. That's when he's allowed in the house of course."

She laughed. "I didn't mean that. I meant did they really ask you that?"

"They most certainly did" he nodded. "They were a little worried that we were about to split up if I'm perfectly honest when they'd realised that we don't actually live together." In truth it absolutely baffled the two boys when they learnt that they didn't live together. In reality they had spent time at both the condo and Andy's house but such is the mind of a young boy it hadn't occurred to them to ask until it became clear that they definitely lived in separate houses.

"Well that's not surprising. When Nicole mentioned you had a girlfriend on Christmas Day Robin instantly thought you were cheating on me" she reminded him as she laughed.

"I blame Sandra" he grumbled. "God knows what she's been telling them about me to make them think something like that."

"I'm sure she hasn't said anything and it was just an honest mistake from a child."

"Yeah okay" he muttered still thinking that Sandra was probably trying to poison the boys against him as much as possible when Nicole and Dean weren't around.

"So what did you tell them?"

"I told them we didn't live together right now but that I was working on it."

"You told them?" Sharon asked with genuine surprise. She obviously had no problem with him telling anyone of their plans, after all she had told her children of their intentions to move in together but he had made it clear that morning that he hadn't told Nicole and wasn't going to until it was a done deal so it couldn't come as anything else but a surprise.

"Yeah. Why not? Is that a problem?"

Sharon smiled, really pleased that he'd finally told someone who mattered to him. "No of course not but you said this morning that you didn't want to tell Nicole until we found somewhere because you didn't want her on the phone every five minutes and nagging you about it."

"And I don't but they won't say anything to her."

"That's what you thought when you were cursing at other drivers with both of them in the back seat. Not only did they repeat exactly what they'd heard but they also told Nicole exactly where they'd heard it" she pointed out, thinking they were hardly the best at keeping secrets.

"Yeah well we've had a little man to man talk since then."

Sharon sighed, immediately fearing the worst. "Please tell me you've not told them about the birds and the bees."

"Oh God no, I wouldn't know where to begin."

"That's funny because you seem to have a pretty good grasp of the basics" she grinned.

"The basics?" he asked, pretending to be offended.

She laughed at him and his bruised ego. "And the more advanced level stuff. Didn't you ever have that chat with Daniel?"

"Not that I remember but Nicole told me over Christmas that I staggered into his room drunk one night when he was about four and explained everything he needed to know with a Coke bottle and a bagel" he said with a grimace and a fair amount of shame in his voice.

Sharon covered her mouth with horror. "You didn't?"

"That's what she said but he didn't work out what I was actually trying to tell him until about fifteen years later. And I wonder why the kid doesn't take my calls" he said with an air of sadness.

She crossed the floor to meet him, cupping his face in her hands as he remained sitting on the bed and pushed her lips to his. "But never stop making them my boy" she told him desperately wanting him to have a better relationship with his son.

"I won't" he nodded before she kissed him again. When they broke apart she smiled at him with a great deal of sympathy before moving back to the door, having a quick listen to see if she could hear anything and then settling next to the bureau again. "So anyway Michael did it for me when he was at a more appropriate age to hear it."

Sharon laughed at the thought. "I dread to think how that went."

"I imagine dolls, the words 'brace yourself' and counselling were required" he joked as they both laughed, imagining Daniel was beyond confused and traumatised by the whole conversation. "By the time he reached that age he didn't want to speak to me at all let alone about girls and sex but since we're on this subject, who told Ricky? It can't have been Jack."

"No it wasn't Jack, that would be me" she said with a smile which as anticipated made Andy laugh. "Don't laugh. I did a good job. A really good job" she told him before laughing herself at the memory of how unbelievably bad the whole thing had gone. "The poor boy locked himself in the bathroom for a good hour screaming blue murder before I'd even got halfway through explaining the ins and the outs of it all" she explained before they both succumbed to laughter again.

"Things were much more straight forward when we were young."

"Oh yes. I'm sure you found out all you needed to know from _Lady Chatterley's Lover_ and your little prostitute friend."

"Not at all. If I'm honest I don't really think I knew what she did for a living at the time," he said honestly, "I just knew she got money from men and if you gave her a nickel she might let you see a breast."

"What?"

"Hey I didn't say I did it," he said innocently which made it hard for her to believe, "I just said those were the rumours and what my friends got up to when I wasn't with them I couldn't tell you." He smiled at her, a smile that was obscene and filled with mischief to say the very least.

"And yet that smile tells a completely different story" she pointed out as she laughed. "So if it wasn't your little friend who told you?"

"My Dad. He sat me down with a hotdog and a bun when I was about eleven and the whole thing was highly confusing" he said, still not really relating the facts of life as he knew them to what his Father had told him in the slightest. She laughed. "Then he told me that it was no one's business except yours and the person that you're doing it to."

"Oh how romantic."

"Yeah well I don't think there was too much romance left between my parents at that stage" he shrugged.

"That's a little sad."

"Not really. By all accounts when it got romantic Mom seemed to get pregnant again."

Sharon laughed again and shook her head. "So this man to man talk you had with the boys, what did you say exactly?" she asked, fearing the worse in all honesty.

"I told them that dudes keep secrets for other dudes that's all."

"Dudes?" she laughed, picturing the scene in her mind, imagining perfectly how the boys probably sat to attention and hung off Andy's every word as she had seen them do for herself many times in the past, them starting to worship the ground he walked on.

"Oh yeah, we were talking dude to dudes, like how I talk to Provenza."

She shook her head. "I dread to think what you and Lieutenant Provenza say to each other when you're conducting surveillance." She suddenly frowned and glared at him. "You didn't tell him what I told you this morning I hope. That was in the strictest of confidence" she added as she pointed at him, hoping above hope that he hadn't told anyone about what she did to break her first ever real boyfriend that caused him to have to have surgery.

He smiled cheekily to make her a little nervous even though he'd never ever say anything to anyone about anything overly personal to do with the love of his life. "You're just lucky I spent my morning with Mike instead of Provenza" he teased.

"You better not..."

"Of course I didn't say anything. What am I? An idiot?"

"It depends very much on the day of the week I've found."

"You trust me don't you?" he asked as he smiled at her.

"Not when you're pulling that face, no."

"If you must know Cathy's birthday is coming up soon and Mike was asking about restaurant recommendations, figuring that because we're still only technically dating that I would know the best places for a romantic evening since I still have to make more of an effort and he wants to take her somewhere special."

Sharon frowned at him as she read between the lines. "Is this your way of telling me that you're really letting yourself go once we officially move in together?"

"Oh absolutely. I'm never wearing pants again" he insisted.

Sharon laughed. "That'll be a treat for Rusty. Where did you recommend?"

"Serve, naturally." They smiled at each other for a moment as he winked at her, that place always being special to them since it was where it all started, where they had their first ever proper date and where Andy was now banned from for life for setting fire to his menu and accidentally killing a few fish in a nearby aquarium as he put it out. "Anyway I told the boys if they didn't say anything to Nicole or their Dad about our plans then I would continue to be their secret candy dealer and they could stay over in the new house anytime they liked."

"Wait. Secret candy dealer?"

Andy shrugged nonchalantly "I may give them candy from time to time."

"Even though Nicole tells you absolutely no sugar?"

"I hid those Animal Crackers from them" he pointed out in reference to the box he magically produced from a drawer in his kitchen as they both recovered on the floor after a rather lust filled encounter following Christmas drinks at Provenza's house.

"Hiding them from Nicole more like."

"Maybe. What harm does a little sugar do especially when you drop them straight home again before it kicks in" he offered, not being above buying the affection of both boys with sugar.

"She'll kill you if she ever finds out. Do you really trust them to keep it secret?"

"With candy on the line sure and anyway I wanted to tell someone who would be excited by it and not immediately try to talk you out of it especially when you're still a little 'on the fence' about it" Andy explained a little shyly.

Sharon looked to the heavens and sighed with sheer frustration. She thought she had cleared all of that up over breakfast that morning that there would be no changing her mind, that they would be moving in together as soon as they found somewhere they liked and yet he was still very nervous about it all. She walked back over to him and sat on the bed, taking his hand. "I am not 'on the fence' about it. I told you this morning. Find us a house and I will move straight in it. I may even move in it before you do!" He smiled at her as he squeezed her hand but it was hardly a convincing smile, his insecurities on full display. "You're still not convinced are you?"

"Do you ever think that something is just too good to be true?" he asked.

"Yes, frequently but this isn't one of those situations." Despite her best efforts he still didn't look overly convinced as his eyes lowered to their joined hands resting on the bed. In that moment his intense nervousness and vulnerability was truly shocking to her, finding it so endearing and making her love him all the more. No matter what she said, no matter what she did those doubts always seemed to linger in the back of his mind not that she could really blame him. He had lost his family once before and was entirely to blame for it and that had clearly had an effect on him and continued to plague him as he battled to claw those relationships back. Despite the bravado that he had on the outside, playing the big macho, calm man he was actually very insecure, having lost everything once and knowing that it could quite easily happen again if he wasn't careful. "And who do you think is going to talk me out of it?" Sharon asked him as she ran her free hand through his hair.

"Well Rusty for starters."

"I've already told you, don't worry about Rusty. I'll work on him and if the worst case scenario is that he _really_ doesn't want to move from here, then we go straight to Plan B and you move in with us. So either way we will be living together officially before the end of the summer. Right?"

Andy nodded. "Right."

She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him flat on his back before looming over him and kissing him on the lips. "Are you still not convinced?" she asked when their lips parted.

He smiled. "Actually I was just using it as a tactic to get you away from the door" he told her with a wink before he quickly grabbed her by the waist so that she couldn't move. "And it worked." She reached behind her and pinched his knee as he laughed.

"Andy!" she cried as she smacked him and tried to wriggle free from his arms.

"I'm kidding" he repeated over and over again as he laughed before kissing her on the lips. "I'm kidding. Yes I'm still a little nervous that you'll change your mind" he admitted with a shrug as he held her in place on top of him.

"I'm not going to change my mind" she told him softly as she ran a hand down his face. "I never change my mind when I've made the right decision about something."

"You changed your mind about me."

"In what way?"

"In every way" he replied before he kissed her.

She laughed at him and nodded. "Ah well that goes to prove that I made the wrong decision about you all those years ago." She pressed her lips to his again, kissing him with some force as if she was making a point to him. "As soon as we find _our_ house I am selling this condo and we will have the biggest celebration imaginable" she told him and then kissed him again.

"Will those celebrations be naked?"

She laughed at him as she swiped the side of his head with the palm of her hand. "I was thinking more along the lines of a house warming party but depending on how much you annoy me between now and then I'm sure a more private and naked celebration might also take place" she said with sparkling eyes.

He smiled. "I can't wait" he said, repeating the same thing he'd told her that morning.

"Me either" she replied once again and then kissed him. "Will you stop panicking about it now please?" she begged, worried about his stress levels if he was fretting about it this much just a week after she agreed to move in with him and that was before all the stresses of house hunting had time to really kick in.

"Sure" he nodded with that intense level of vulnerability still there for her to see no matter how hard he tried to hide it. "But it did get you away from that door" he added more than a tad ill-advisedly as all it achieved was getting Sharon to glare at him before she climbed off of him and the bed and went back to the door, pressing her ear to it in case she might be able to hear anything. "Me and my big mouth."

"Yes, when will you learn that it has the habit of getting you into trouble?"

"Right before you kill me out of sheer exhaustion" he grinned as he propped himself back up on his elbows so that he could see her face.

She laughed at him before a quizzical expression spread across his face. "Have you really not told Lieutenant Provenza because you're worried he'll talk me out of it?" she asked.

"Partly," he shrugged before admitting the truth, "but also because I like keeping it just between you, me and kid for now."

She smiled at him, understanding how he felt. She liked it herself that very few people knew at that point. Yes she was an intensely private person and balked at the idea of her personal life being discussed openly by others but when it came to this decision she wanted people to know because she was so happy and excited about it but right now also liked that it was not exactly a secret but just kept within the family. She turned back towards the door and listened, not hearing so much as a soft rumbling on the other side, struggling to decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "What do you think he's saying to her?" she asked Andy as she turned back to face him.

"Well if I know the kid at all and by now I like to think that I do he's probably saying the same thing that my Dad said to my brother when he announced Juicy Lucy Maresca was expecting his baby."

Sharon couldn't help but smile as another Flynn Family tall tale was on the horizon. "Okay, we'll come back to Juicy Lucy in a moment. What would that be exactly?"

Andy sat up and shuffled back up the bed to learn against the headboard before speaking. "What were you thinking? How do you expect to support a baby? Why him of all people? Did you think about me at all? Have you never heard of a prophylactic?"

Sharon laughed at his word choice. "I doubt very much that's the exact phrase he's used."

"Maybe not but the sentiment is still there unless he happens to be channelling my Father who let's face facts, never used anything like it in his life."

"I hope he's not being too hard on her." She looked at him with genuine worry and sighed, seeking him to continue trying to distract her as much as possible even though she had done nothing but resist his attempts at all times. "So who was this Juicy Lucy?"

"Tommy's high school girlfriend."

"Okay and why exactly was she so 'Juicy'?"

"For a number of reasons. Firstly my God was she beautiful. Seriously she was one of the most beautiful women I've ever...," he said before stopping as he noticed Sharon cocking an eyebrow at him but very jokingly. "But of course she had nothing on you obviously."

"Obviously" she laughed. "Go on, so she was beautiful and what else?"

"She retained a lot of water and I mean a lot of water. It's a surprise you didn't hear her sloshing around as she walked past you. Then there was the crying."

"The crying?"

"I have never seen anyone cry that much in my life" he said with a roll of his eyes. "Even before the whole thing with the baby she would be sobbing every time I saw her."

Sharon smiled at him. "Are you sure it wasn't just you upsetting her? Andy Pandy?" she asked, knowing all too well how he had the tendency to speak without thinking first and suspected that the lack of filter between his brain and his mouth may have been even worse when he was a youngster.

"No it definitely was not just me" he maintained.

"So what happened? I don't recall you ever telling me about a niece or nephew that was that old."

"Ah yeah well there was a small problem there."

"What?"

"Tommy and Lucy weren't African American and the baby quite clearly was" he explained.

"I see" she said as she laughed. "That kind of problem."

"Never in all the analogues of human history has one incident caused so much wailing and the rending of garments" he told her with the shake of the head, remembering very vividly the crying and the arguments and the seemingly never ending amount of times he was sent to his room so the adults could discuss it over the course of that one summer in particular. "Juicy Lucy claimed that she'd spent the summer in the sun and it was a tan but that didn't fly when this other guy turned up at the house with a bunch of flowers and a sheepish look on his face."

"An expression and gesture I'm sure you used from time to time up until you met Sandra."

"Not at all. I was a good boy."

"Yeah right" she laughed, not believing a word.

"I was" he protested.

"You've clearly forgotten you told me all about Martha Schmidt climbing up your drainpipe this morning."

"Well aside from that...and the twins...and..."

"Yeah I'd stop there before you get horse" she said as she cut him off mid-sentence.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you meet Liz. She's just confirmed all of your suspicions." Sharon laughed as he grabbed a handful of pillows from his aborted 'pillow fort' at the bottom of the bed and put them behind his head. He collapsed into them and got comfortable before smiling at her rather smugly, his foot waggling in her direction. "So when are you going to apologise to me exactly?" he asked, not elaborating further.

"I've already said sorry for giving you a love tap in your unmentionables. What more do you want from me?"

"Love tap? Love tap?" he replied with a touch of disgust since the second and accidental blow was still a little painful. "More like a sucker punch and that's not what I was talking about."

"Then what? I'm not apologising for nagging you to put a vest on this morning."

"I know, I know."

"And did you?"

"What? Put a vest on?"

"Yes."

"Yes I did."

"Are you lying?"

"Yes I am."

Sharon sighed and rolled her eyes at him. "I only want you to be safe. I'm not mothering you." Andy just smiled at her, not wanting to discuss it further since it was only likely to lead to an argument as she tended to overly fret about him being in the field after his brush with death. Sharon tried her hardest not to smile back so he wouldn't think she was condoning his behaviour and attitude. "Well if I'm not apologising to you for that then what am I apologising to you for exactly?"

"For Nicole."

She frowned at him, utterly confused. "What do you mean?" she asked as she crossed her arms in front of her defensively. "Why do I need to apologise about Nicole?"

"For the way you treated me following my 'misunderstanding' with her the Christmas before last. Before the ballet. That whole thing" he explained, that same smug smile still etched across his face.

She laughed. "Oh that. Do you think we can we stop calling it a misunderstanding now? That 'misunderstanding' charade is long since over" she stated categorically.

"Sure. What do you want to call it?"

"Outright lie?" she suggested.

"Aha but was it?"

"Yes it was" she told him, nodding her head for extra emphasis. "We most definitely weren't dating that Christmas and you of all people should already know that."

"Granted but was it also more of a prediction of the future and therefore the reason you should be apologising to me right now?" he replied, his smug smile increasing by the second since he was of the opinion that when he told his family they were dating he was in fact telling the truth but was just a mere twelve months too early.

"A prediction of the future?" she asked, making it abundantly clear that she thought he was beyond deluded.

"Yes. Did I or did I not stay with you in this very bed the following Christmas?"

"Oh I see, so it wasn't a lie at all, it was just an example of your predictive powers?"

"I'm so glad you agree."

She laughed at him again. "I'm not agreeing to anything."

"Why not? I correctly predicted what was going to happen between us."

"You predicted nothing" she cried as she continued to laugh at him. "You lied to your daughter and it seems the rest of your family and probably Lieutenant Provenza as well for that matter and it just so happened by pure coincidence by the way that I ignored what a giant moron you are and we ended up together anyway."

"But I put the idea into your head" he pointed out, suggested that the last twelve months wouldn't have happened if he hadn't lied to Nicole and been forced to confess all to Sharon.

"What idea? That it would be a very good idea to suffocate you with a pillow? You know you might be right about that."

"No the idea that you might like a piece of this after all" he told her smugly as he again gestured the full length of his body and making Sharon instantly laugh. Listening to him talk it would make people think he had a very high opinion of himself and the condition of his body in particular but as proven once again that morning with the way he was holding in his stomach around her, it was anything but the truth. "What are you laughing at?" he asked as he pretended to be offended.

"Okay fine" she said as she gave in, freely acknowledging that when they returned from the ballet on the evening in question she couldn't sleep because all she could think of was him and the possibility of a romantic relationship with him. "I admit that it did put the idea into my head that maybe dating you wouldn't be the worst thing in the world after all since it was basically what we were doing anyway but I am not apologising for reacting in a perfectly reasonably way in response to the lies you'd been telling people about me."

"Not lies, visions of the future" he corrected.

She laughed at his insistence. "Okay fine visions of the future." She smiled as a thought crossed her mind. "I'll apologise for my reaction to your 'visions of the future' when you admit that your role in the whole Christmas Eve party rescheduling was just because you wanted to get into my children's good books."

"No because that's not what happened" he lied.

"Really? That's not what happened? Then why did you go to so much trouble if it wasn't to endear you to my children?" she asked as she took several steps closer to him.

"Why? Because you were my friend and I loved you that's why, quite a lot as it turned out and it was the right thing to do. It was Christmas after all and I had some making up to do after you reacted so poorly to my all seeing eye and the glimpse into our future."

She laughed again at his notion that he was some sort of oracle with an eye firmly fixed on the future. "'All seeing eye'? If your predictive powers are really that good then how come you can't solve a murder the moment you first look at the body?"

"I don't want to steal Provenza's thunder," he shrugged, "after all we know it's always the husband, it's always the husband, it's…"

"Always the husband. Right."

"Plus I don't want to make the rest of the division, hell the rest of the LAPD including you unemployed" he offered as if he was doing everyone a favour.

"Oh how considerate of you."

"Hey I'm just that kind of thoughtful guy." She laughed at him and shook her head. "But I will admit that by helping the three of them to rearrange the party it did get your kids on my side and that didn't hurt my cause in the slightest. Then of course the cherry on the cake was when you took me outside and kissed the crap out of me."

"I didn't take you outside to kiss you" she protested, at the time taking him outside solely so they could have a few quiet moments alone to thank him for helping with the party and the kiss was solely a consequence of it being Christmas and mistletoe hanging above them.

"But you did kiss the crap out of me?" he asked, noticing immediately that she didn't initially deny that, just her intentions as she took him into the hallway.

"No I didn't. It was just a friendly Christmas coming together of the lips" she maintained even though she was lying, it being anything but friendly at the time. "I took you outside to say thank you for your help with the party and nothing more."

"Right," he nodded, "and then you kissed the crap out of me."

"There was mistletoe!"

"And do you normally kiss all of your co-workers on the lips under the mistletoe?" he asked, determined to eventually get her to admit to him that his small lie to Nicole resulted in the relationship that they currently had and that she'd been ogling him for years.

She smiled. "Yes I do actually, usually with tongues if you must know" she teased.

Andy frowned at her, only pretending to be jealous on this occasion. "Remind me to make sure that mistletoe is completely banned from the Murder Room this year."

She laughed. "You don't need to worry. What are the odds of Sargent Staples and Judge Grove coming to see me before Christmas?" she asked as her eyes twinkled.

"Keep it up and I won't let you out of my sight in the month of December at all" he stated as she laughed. "So that's a no on the apology thing then?"

She sighed and walked to the side of the bed, sitting down next to him before cupping his face in her hands. "Oh Andy Flynn my love, I am so so sorry that you felt compelled to lie to your whole family about me for months on end because you were too frightened to ask me out on a real date" she told him sweetly and then kissed him on the lips.

"I should think so Raydor. Apology accepted."

"You my darling, are delusional" she told him before kissing him again.

"But you love me anyway?"

"Well you do have your plus points."

He laughed as she went back to the door and pressed her ear to it. "What can you hear?" he asked after a moment or two.

"Nothing. I don't like it" she said with concern, thinking that Rusty screaming and shouting was a better sign than perhaps the pair of them sitting in absolute silence.

"Surely that's a good sign."

"But it doesn't sound like they're talking at all and that's not a good sign."

"Maybe he's killed her and he's busy cleaning up the evidence" he offered. Sharon turned to face him with Darth Raydor very much taking over her features as she glared at him. "Or maybe they're having a nice calm, rational and more importantly quiet conversation."

"And maybe you should have your head examined."

"I've been told that before."

"And you'll probably be told it again" she joked.

As Sharon strained to see if she could hear even the quietest conversation in the living room taking place Andy looked around him with a sigh. After a moment he took to his feet and strolled over to Sharon's closet and opened the door, staring at her extensive wedding hat collection on the top shelf. Sharon turned to face him and watched him with curiosity. "Why didn't you wear one of your vast hat collection to Provenza's wedding?" he asked.

"What with booking them a night away I didn't have time to come home and grab one with everything else going on" she explained as she gave him a smile. "Besides, a new marriage requires a new hat and I definitely didn't have time to go shopping that week." He couldn't help but laugh at her and her obsession with not only weddings but the formal wear that went with them. "What are you doing?" she queried as he started to move some of the headwear and peer into the back of the closet.

"I'm just looking."

"For what exactly?"

"For the place where you hide your deepest darkest secrets. Something, anything that will enable me to do my job tonight and get you away from that door to stop me from looking at it" he explained.

She laughed, thankful that she didn't have too much to hide from him or so she thought. "And what do you think you're going to find in there exactly?"

"Oh I don't know. Embarrassing photos perhaps" he suggested. "Maybe even photographic evidence to explain your college nickname."

"Oh Andy! Let it go. It's never going to happen."

"Yeah well once upon a time Provenza told me the exact same thing about you and now look at us" he said as he cast another smug smile in her direction from over his shoulder.

"Yes what did you have to promise the devil to make that happen? Other than your soul of course."

"That I'd annoy you as much as possible for the rest of my life."

She laughed and nodded. "Mission accomplished." She smiled at him as she watched him dig through the closet, not feeling that she had anything at all to hide from him (since there was no physical evidence anywhere to explain her college nickname). "You can keep looking but I don't have anything like that in there."

"Then maybe I'll find something else."

"Like what?"

"Letters from old beaus for example" he shrugged.

Sharon laughed. "Old beaus?" she questioned with a warm smile, loving his extremely old fashioned terminology. "Do you really think I'd keep any letters from Jack? Do you really think Jack is the type of person who would write me a love letter?"

"Fair point" he acknowledged. "He does come across as romantic as a damp sock."

"You've got that right. The closest he got to writing me a love letter was writing a note in the steam on the bathroom mirror that said we'd run out of toilet paper for me to see when I got out of the shower" she said a little sadly, with Jack in truth being fairly romantic in the beginning of their relationship but he didn't exactly do the small things that she loved so much, the small things that Andy seemed to do for her on an almost daily basis (like the flower she would often find in her desk drawer at work when she opened it, never knowing when he actually found time to sneak it in there without her noticing).

"And they say romance is dead" he said before they both laughed.

"Honestly you're the only person to ever send me a love letter which is one of the many reasons why I treasure it the way I do" she explained, as her attachment to the letter he wrote to her in the hospital becoming all the more clearer to him.

"Too bad it took me thinking I was about to die to actually write it."

"True but there's nothing to stop you from writing me another one now is there?" she said with a smile and dropping him a hint so loud he couldn't fail to notice it. He nodded and quickly vanished into the bathroom as she laughed. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see when you get out of the shower in the morning" he shouted as he stood in front of the sink and stared at the mirror in front of him. He leant in close to the glass and opened his mouth to blow several hot breaths on it. Once it was suitably steamed up he drew a heart on it with his finger before adding their initials into the middle of it. He breathed on it again to examine his handy work before it vanished. His job done he went back into the bedroom and resumed his search of her closet.

"If you've written anything about toilet paper on that mirror oh boy will you be sorry" she warned him as she laughed.

"You'll just have to wait until the morning unless you'd care to join me in the shower right now" he suggested with another waggle of his eyebrows.

"Are you going to offer to let me wax you again? Because I'm still not tempted."

"I was thinking more along the lines of trying to steam up the mirror without using hot water" he explained with a wink.

"Then think again. You've unknowingly taken a vow of celibacy until Sharon has left and Rusty has gone to bed and even then I don't like your chances" she teased, with him knowing that the job he'd done trying to distract her all evening meant that rewards were coming his way later that night.

"Fine" he said as his shoulders slumped even though he knew she was only joking. He continued to dig through the closet until his face suddenly lit up with absolute joy. "Ah ha! Jackpot" he cried as he pulled out a rather old and battered looking shoebox and rattled it at her with glee.

Sharon's face dropped as she realised what he'd found and what horrors lay within it. "No Andy don't you dare open that box."

Ignoring her completely Andy sat on the bed with the box on his lap, pulling off the lid in a flash and delving inside. It didn't take long for him to find something of interest as he smiled at her and winked. "Well, well what do we have here?" he said to no one in particular as he pulled out a small and very old photograph of a little red headed girl, no more than seven years old wearing a pink eye patch and matching pink riding helmet, the girl in question quite clearly a young Sharon Raydor. "Oh my God! Is this you?" he asked as he turned the photo so that she could see it from her position by the door.

She didn't immediately respond, looking absolutely mortified. "No" she said finally.

"Oh you have a photo of some other random little girl hidden away in a box in the back of your closet in your bedroom?"

"What can I say? I'm weird" she said casually as she walked over to him and attempted to snatch it out of his grasp "Give that…"

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Andy shouted as he held the photo away from her. "I don't think so pretty lady." Resigned to the fact that she was too late to stop him from looking at it and everything else in that box she flopped down beside him on the bed as he studied it closely. "These are clearly your eyes or eye I should say. Why were you wearing an eye patch?"

Sharon sighed and covered her face with her hands. "Oh God! Once upon a time I developed a lazy eye" she reluctantly admitted, hating every single second of it.

Andy tried his hardest not to laugh but failed miserable. "Really?"

"Oh God! Oh God!" she again cried into her hands before dropping them to her lap and sitting up a little straighter. "Yes one summer. I still don't know why it happened exactly but I had to wear an eye patch until it corrected itself."

"But you could still ride a horse with one eye?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

He handed her the picture and pointed at it. "You're wearing a riding helmet in this picture."

"No." She sighed before she lay back on the bed and hid her face completely behind her hands, her voice muffled below them as she spoke. "My eye made me have constant bouts of dizziness. I kept falling over. The helmet was to protect my head all day, every day." It was a rough time in her life that was for certain. It was never fully explained to her in a way she could understand as a child, what exactly had caused her eye issues, she just did as she was told and wore the eyepatch. Likewise she wore the helmet until the dizziness went away but it essentially made her a freak of nature at school. Kids could be cruel at the best of times but they were positively evil to her for six months until she could get rid of both offending articles. The teasing continued right up until Mark Travis called their teacher 'Mom' and then proceeded to wet himself out of embarrassment and then suddenly all the attention went on him and Sharon was thankfully let off the hook. She removed her hands and looked at him as he smirked at her, waiting for him to burst out laughing at any moment. "Go ahead, laugh. I know you want to, everyone else did."

He just smiled at her instead, struggling to equate the rather misshapen little girl in the photo as the same beautiful woman who was currently lying next to him. "Oh Sharon. Come here." He put the box on the floor before lying down and pulling her towards him, wrapping his arms around her and cuddling her. "I'm just glad you weren't beaten to death with a stick by the other kids at school. A lazy eye and a helmet. Jeez, how many mirrors did you smash that summer?"

"I have no idea but I suppose you would have bullied me at school like everyone else."

"Are you kidding? With your legs? Not a chance." He sat up and picked up the picture again. "Look at this little girl," he said as he gestured to the photo, "she's so beautiful if not a little unbalanced. Is this why you always look so cross eyed when you take your glasses off." Not appreciating his jokes on this matter in the slightest Sharon sat up quickly and twanged his suspenders really hard against his chest. He laughed as he rubbed his nipples. "Ow!"

"Not a word about your nipples!" she warned.

"Yes ma'am. Is that why your sex eyes are so..." Before he had chance to finish his sentence she snapped his suspenders once again, making a lovely noise as they crashed into his chest. "Ow!" he shouted again, still laughing. "I was going to say is that why your sex eyes are absolutely beautiful and really really obvious?"

"Of course you were."

He looked at the photo again. "I'm sure all the boys in class we're lining up in the lunch room to throw pudding at you."

"Oh you have no idea. I was basically a human piñata until I could get rid of the damn thing."

"Damn?" he said with surprise, it not being the worst word in the world but it was still a surprise nonetheless to hear her use it. "Wow! Do you need to speak to Dr Joe about this? Get yourself some proper counselling?" The result was the same as before as she snapped his suspenders for a third time, Andy never learning from his mistakes. "Ow! I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" He lay down again, pulling her with him and cuddling her. "You know little boys only throw pudding at little girls because they really like them" he said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Then I must have been the most popular girl in school at that point. They used to call me Red Beard" she admitted and he couldn't help himself, he had to laugh. "It's not funny."

"Why Red Beard?" he asked once he was able to composed himself. He sat back up and looked at the photo again. "Is this your way of telling me you have a part time job as a bearded lady?" Sharon shot back up into a seated position only this time Andy knew exactly what was coming, quickly pulling his suspenders from his shoulders so that she could no longer snap them. He smiled at her smugly. "It's a really close shave, I'm impressed." He laughed at himself as Sharon opted to pinch the back of his knees in retaliation. He instantly squirmed and cried out. "Stop it! Do you want Rusty to come back in here and tell us off?"

"Yes because then at least I could find out how it's going out there."

"Forget about that" he said softly as he kissed the top of her head. "Why did they call you Red Beard?"

She sighed as she covered her face with her hands again. "Because sometimes my hair would get caught in the chin strap of my riding helmet and make it look like I had a beard." Again Andy laughed, unable to stop himself. "Add that to the eye patch and you get Red Beard the pirate." With that Andy started to laugh even harder as he clutched his sides. "Fine go ahead laugh" she said as she stuffed the photo into the shoebox. "See if I care but this is exactly why this photo never sees the light of day. I don't think Jack ever saw it even."

Andy instantly stopped laughing. "Jack never saw this?"

"No. He'd still be calling me Red Beard to this day in an interview room if he had." Andy just stared at her with a smile on his face. "What?"

"Nothing. I just feel sort of special now."

"It's not like I had a choice. You found it in my closet."

"But you didn't have to tell me. You could have told me it was a Halloween costume or something." He retrieved the photo from the box and held it in front of Sharon as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Look at this lovely young lady. She's going to grow up to be a beautiful, strong, confident woman, raise three fabulous kids single handedly and kick ass every single day in her professional life. At this moment, when this photo was taken all she's worried about is not falling over again so she has no idea how amazing she's going to grow up to be. And she's going to have a pretty stunning boyfriend too."

"And when does he come along?" she joked.

"I'm going to ignore that. Come here." He dropped the picture in the box again before lying back down and pulling her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against his chest, just wanting to hold her and make her feel a little better about all of the worries that were currently occupying her mind. He kissed the top of her head. "Do you want me to track them down for you? All the kids that called you Red Beard? Do you want me to hunt them down?" She laughed in response. "Hey I'm a Detective, it'll be easy for me. I can even enlist Provenza to help me running the names down on The Facebook and The Twitter. It could even be the subject of Rusty's next vlog."

"Don't you dare tell Rusty about this, or Lieutenant Provenza for that matter! This little story goes with the both of us to the grave."

"I wouldn't dream of it" he said in such a way to make her not entirely believe him before he kissed the top of her head again.

"Yeah right."

"I mean it. That way they'll have complete deniability when news stories start appearing about the masked..."

"You're going to wear a mask?" she laughed.

"All superheroes wear masks to protect the ones they love" he pointed out. "I'll be the masked, suspender clad vigilante. I'll compile a shit list and tick off each name after I run them down with my car and finish them off with Provenza's service weapon, obviously."

She laughed into his chest. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. I'd do anything for you" he told her as his lips brushed her forehead again. "The last thing they'd ever hear is 'This is for Red Beard!'"

She laughed again. "Is that what you used to do?"

"What? Know I was going to be a stunning boyfriend to an odd little girl with an eyepatch one day and hunt down all the people that bullied her?" he joked.

"No, throw pudding at the little girls you liked during recess?"

"I didn't need to" he said smugly.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, I had my smile so it was more like they were throwing pudding at me to get my full and undivided attention."

Sharon laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "What happened to Martha Schmidt? Did she throw pudding at you?"

"No. We started to see each other after we'd gone past the pudding throwing age."

"Oh boys never grow out of it if you ask me. How long was she your girlfriend after that?"

"She wasn't. That was it."

"You didn't 'finish the job' so to speak?" she asked with surprise.

"If I'm perfectly honest I think the whole thing scarred her for life" he freely admitted. "I don't remember that she dated anyone the rest of the time we were in school together. It wouldn't surprise me if she became a Nun."

"I thought it was Lieutenant Provenza who turned women into Nuns" she joked.

"I fear I may have done the same thing. Or at least turned her into a librarian" he suggested since she wasn't actually Catholic and making Sharon laugh. "But then again I was a little gun shy myself after that in case it happened again."

"You could have always kept the candles out of it you know."

"But I'm a romantic kind of guy" he shrugged.

"That's not what you said this morning" she reminded him.

"Well you convinced me otherwise" he admitted as he turned her face up towards him and dropped a kiss to her lips.

"Tell me about it."

"Tell you about what?"

"Well I already know about your first time after this morning, so tell me about Little Andy at school. Tell me what you were like, what you got up to" she asked, still desperately needing the distraction from the conversation going on in the living room but also loving more than anything else to hear tales from his childhood and all the parts of his life that she missed out on.

"Thanks to Liz you've seen all the photos" he replied, still a little annoyed.

"I know but tell me about it" she pleaded with him. "Tell me stories that don't involve Nuns, prostitutes and general mischief and mayhem. Tell me about you at school with all the girls. I have images of you five years old and flirting with all your babysitters."

Andy laughed before he began to think about what to tell her, having many options but not sure what embarrassment he was willing to offer up at that particular moment in time, saving the really embarrassing stuff for when he needed it most like when he found himself in the dog house for example. "Okay but let me give this some context first."

Sharon smiled from ear to ear. "This should be good, go on" she encouraged as she moved to untuck his shirt at the front of his pants so that she could easily slip her hand underneath and begin to rake her nails up and down his body as she so often liked to do.

"I loved the movies when I was a kid. It was the only real treat that any of us had."

"How did your parents afford it since they could hardly afford shoes for you all?"

"One of my cousins worked there. He used to leave the door open for us and we'd sneak in" he explained to her with his entire family never having paid for a movie until he was about fourteen years old.

"Oh of course" she laughed. "I should have known. Did he never get caught and fired?"

"Well not for letting us in every week." He smiled before he continued with his story. "Do you remember those big fancy boxes of candies you used to get at the movies when we were kids? They always had two layers?"

"I do. You could afford those?"

"Of course not but my cousin used to open the boxes when no one was looking and take half the candy from the bottom layer, figuring that the person who bought them wouldn't notice that some were missing in the dark" he explained as she laughed. "That's the candy he used to give to me."

"I see and that's what got him fired?"

"Wrong again" he said as he shook his head. "On quiet days he would sneak into the back of the theatre and watch some of the picture when his boss wasn't there."

"And he got caught?" she asked, determined to guess part of this story.

"Not quite" he replied as she again laughed. "One day he sat down behind a woman in a hat. This hat had a huge feather sticking out of the top of it and I'm talking huge here, huge and it blocked his view of the screen. He swears he asked her three times to take it off but she flat out refused."

"Why didn't he just move?"

Andy looked her in the eye and frowned like it was an utterly ridiculous suggestion if you knew his cousin in the slightest. "This is the same guy who once got his tongue stuck to a flag pole because his sister told him that the ice was vanilla flavoured."

Sharon laughed with disbelief. "What?"

"I know! I mean mint chocolate chip sure but vanilla?" he joked. "Who does that for vanilla? It was like a scene from _A Christmas Story_ " he explained as he clearly remembered the sight of his cousin stuck with his tongue hanging out and flailing wildly as if it would help him rescue himself.

"How old was he?"

"Twenty-one, twenty-two maybe."

"What?" Sharon cried before they both laughed.

"Hey he wasn't the smartest guy in the world."

"Clearly" was all she could say in response. "Well how did he free himself?"

Andy shrugged before replying with "I don't know. I ran home."

"You ran home?"

"I was already in enough trouble at the time over that damn book," he said with a frustrated sigh as she laughed, "I didn't want to get into even hotter water for being involved in that too. So anyway he couldn't see the screen because of this feather, he wouldn't move and she wouldn't take her hat off."

"I think I know where this is headed."

"So he went outside and grabbed a pair of scissors…"

"I thought as much" she said with a shake of her head.

"And sat back down and cut the feather off her hat and that's why he was eventually fired." Sharon laughed again as he squeezed her tightly and kissed her forehead. "Are you sure you still want me to be a part of your family? What is that line from _Arsenic and Old Lace_? Insanity doesn't run in my family, it practically gallops."

Sharon laughed as she removed her hand from under his shirt and cupped his face with it instead. "Oh yes, definitely" she confirmed before kissing him on the lips. "I do. I really really do."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Good. I want you to" she said quietly and then kissed him again before her hand vanished back under his shirt, back in its familiar home.

"So anyway we'd go and see anything and I do mean anything at the movies, no matter what it was. It didn't have to be a western or a war film or anything like that, I'd watch literally anything."

"Right" she said slowly before cringing in anticipation. "I can't help but think you're going to say something horrendous."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Not at all. You'll like this story, maybe. I remember vividly going to see Cary Grant..."

"Now there's a surprise" she smiled, since her boyfriend seemed to know everything there was to know about that certain suave gentleman from Bristol.

"Right. I went to see Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in _An Affair to Remember_..."

"What?" Sharon asked as her head snapped up out of surprise. " _An Affair to Remember_? You were what? Nine? Ten when that was released?"

Andy thought for a moment. "Eight. I was eight years old."

"Eight years old and sneaking into the movie theatre to watch _An Affair to Remember_?" she asked, thinking that it highly unlikely regardless of how much Andy liked Cary Grant and his movies.

"Hey it was Cary Grant and that was all that mattered" he explained matter-of-factly. "Seriously who didn't want to be like Cary Grant back then? Who doesn't want to be like him now? I especially wanted to be him after I'd seen that movie."

"Oh I see. Did you secretly want to be a painter or perhaps marry a millionaire and not have to work for the rest of your life?"

"Nope, never" he shrugged. "I wanted to be a world famous lothario who travelled the seven seas aboard fancy boats in a tuxedo and had mountains upon mountains of women throwing themselves at my feet" he explained as she once again laughed loudly.

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey I was eight, I didn't know any better."

"You're not much better now" she joked before she kissed him on the lips. "Suddenly your whole life makes so much more sense to me. Everything you've ever done, everything that's ever happened to you, the way you are its all down to Cary Grant and that character?"

"Sure. Why not?" he replied and making her laugh. "Hey it was either him or Mighty Mouse" he offered much to her amusement. "Personally I think he was the better role model of the two."

"Did you cry at the end of the film?" she teased.

Andy sat up a little for a split second as he spoke, pretending to be offended. "Do I look like the kind of guy who cries at the end of sad movies?"

"You cry at the end of _Shane_ " she was quick to point out, having seen him slyly wipe his eye herself as they cuddled up together on the couch while Rusty almost died with laughter.

"Well that's different. Who doesn't cry when Joey starts to call after him?" Andy instantly got a little misty eyed as he played up to her to make her laugh, that sound his current and much loved new addiction. He sat up a little again and reached his arm out into the distance as if he was trying to touch someone. "'Shane! Come back Shane!'" he quoted as he did his best impression of little Joey calling after him as he rode away into the distance, never turning back. "You've got to have a heart of stone not to cry at that. Plus I've always secretly suspected that Shane might be dead on that horse as he rides away and that's why he doesn't turn around when Joey calls his name." He lay back down as Sharon laughed before she slipped her hand straight under his shirt again and kissed his chest.

"You find that upsetting but not the end of _An Affair To Remember_?"

Andy shrugged. "To be honest I found the whole 'If you can paint then I can walk' line all rather insulting" he said a little annoyed. "What does that even mean? Is it so unlikely that the guy can paint a pretty picture? That's just plain rude. I'd have walked straight out of there and never come back" he said with genuine disgust as Sharon roared with laughter at him.

"You know actual lines from it?"

Andy winked. "Of course" he said as if knowing lines from that kind of movie was like him knowing his social security number or his cell number or even her birthday, it was just something he was expected to know.

"God I love you" she proclaimed before kissing his lips. "You are utterly utterly ridiculous but I love you anyway." She kissed him again before laughing. "And by the way it's not just _Shane_ that makes you cry. Three weeks before you asked me out properly we sat on your couch and watched _The Searchers_ and I distinctly remember you getting 'something in your eye'" she reminded him with a chuckle and a poke in her ribs.

Andy shrugged. "Well it's emotional. Plus I'm convinced that Ethan was madly in love with his sister-in-law."

"And?"

"And I can relate to that, loving a woman from afar."

"Afar? Your desk is right outside my office. I hardly call that loving me 'from afar' even before we started dating."

"It was far enough when I was too nervous to tell you how I felt and like you said it was three weeks before I asked you out on a date so I could relate to how he felt." She smiled at him as her hand continued to stroke his torso, kissing him again. "And if we're going to talk about crying at movies I don't think I need to go any further than how you practically dehydrated the last time we watched _The Prince of Tides_."

"That's different."

"Why is it?"

"I don't pretend to be a big macho guy all the time" she said with a smile. "Luckily I know you better and like I said this morning, I'm very privileged to get to see your secret soft little underbelly" she added and kissed him again.

"Yeah well don't tell anyone or you'll ruin my reputation."

"Your reputation was ruined the moment you became my friend."

"Maybe but it was still the best decision I ever made" he confirmed with a wink. "Anyway with all that in mind and how Cary Grant's character had made a serious impression on my eight year old very impressionable self, I naturally tried to flirt with all my babysitters."

"Only tried?"

"I was eight. I didn't have the complete skill set that I have now."

"You hadn't perfected your smoulder then?"

"Not until I was about thirty."

Sharon laughed. "Trying to seduce your babysitters" she muttered as she laughed again.

"And not just my babysitters, my brother's girlfriends too…and wives."

"Wives? No wait, we'll get to that in a moment" she said, needing to address another issue first. "Your brothers were actually allowed girlfriends? With your overly protective Mother? She didn't beat them around the head with your Grandfather's wooden leg?"

"Nope. It's hard to believe I know but in all fairness she was more focused on me as the baby of the family. My brothers got a lot more freedom than I did" he explained.

"What about your sister?"

"If she could have arranged it my Mother would have locked both Liz and me in a tower surrounded by dragons until we hit fifty and even then I think we would have needed to escape" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "So when Brian got married he was what? Twenty-one? Twenty-two?"

"Something like that" Andy nodded.

"And you were how old?"

"About ten."

"Ten years old and trying to steal his wife?"

"But remember I wanted to be Cary Grant," he pointed out as if that made the whole thing acceptable in his eyes, "and besides I thought Mary could do better than Brian, a lot better."

"And a lot better was you?"

"Naturally."

"A ten year old choir boy who pays prostitutes to buy smutty books for him was a better option than an incredibly handsome twenty something year old plumber?"

Andy sat up instantly, clearly a little annoyed. "I knew it!" he shouted. "I knew you thought he was handsome! Meanwhile you've found yourself stuck with Quasimodo over here."

"Not at all" she laughed as she pulled him back down and hooked her left leg over his so that he couldn't move again, a complete role reversal to earlier in the evening. "Luckily for me you look just like him my beautiful boy." She kissed him before she laughed at his outrage. "So she obviously turned you down?"

"I was too young for her apparently."

"Did Brian ever find out?"

"I'm not sure but she kissed me so I really didn't care" he shrugged.

"She kissed you?"

He nodded looking more than a little proud by it all. "She did. She was my first crush and after she'd turned me down and I started to cry she kissed me on the cheek and told me to try again when I turned eighteen."

"You cried?" Sharon asked, thinking it was the most adorable thing she'd ever heard.

"I did. She was the first woman to ever break my heart."

Sharon laughed as her hand moved again to cup his face. "Oh Andy" she cried as she kissed his lips. "Well have no fear, I have no intention of doing that to you" she informed him not that she really needed to before kissing him again. "So did you ever get anywhere with your babysitters?"

"Occasionally."

"Only occasionally?"

"Well once you've played the scared little kid card so you could cuddle up on the couch with your babysitter and attempt to cop a feel once too often they don't tend to want to look after you any longer" he said, clearly annoyed by it all.

She laughed. "You didn't?"

"Not after my Mom caught me."

"She caught you hitting on the babysitters and caught you the first time you had sex. Are there any other firsts she interrupted that I should know of?"

"Not that I can think of, but do you remember that strange knocking sound in here our first time? That was clearly my Mother trying to escape through your mirror and pull you off me" he joked and making her laugh. "She always did try to protect her little boy from wicked women and their grubby little hands."

"And a lot of good it did" she laughed. "Just out of curiosity have you ever had mono?"

"Oddly enough no."

"It is hard to believe."

Andy shrugged, an air of invincibility about him. "I think we established after Valentine's Day that I'm pretty much immune to these kind of things" he said, truly believing what he was saying since he'd somehow managed to avoid catching the stomach bug that struck Sharon down and made her violently ill despite the fact she kissed him thoroughly that night.

"Because you avoided one case of overly potent stomach flu?"

"Avoided it even after you put your tongue down my throat and yet everyone else caught it" he pointed out.

"Well that I can't explain."

"I can. I've already told you, as long as I never get run over I think I'm pretty much immortal" he bragged.

"Oh shut up" she laughed. "So I take it you didn't have a girlfriend by that point?"

"When Brian got married? No sadly but it wasn't for a lack of trying believe me."

"Oh I'm sure. When was it?"

"My first girlfriend?" he asked before Sharon nodded at him. "When I was about eleven years old I think and it was either Samantha Maybury or Ruth Jones" he said after a bit of thought.

"You don't remember which one?"

"No." He sighed before continuing. "This is going to sound really bad to you but I kind of asked them to be my girlfriend on the same day and now I can't quite recall which one I asked out first."

Sharon smacked his chest a little horrified. "Andy!"

"What?" he laughed.

"How could you two time little girls like that?"

"It was easy" he bragged with a wink. "Really easy actually. They went to two different schools so they had absolutely no idea about the other" he said with a beaming smile.

"That's not something to be proud of you know."

"Isn't it? Eleven years old and two girlfriends? Not everyone can say that about themselves."

"Not everyone would want to" she pointed out before they both laughed.

"This is the sort of wisdom I should be trying to pass on to Robin and Justin. It's high time they learned the art of seduction from a professional" he joked although he sounded deadly serious.

"Just try it and see what happens" she warned him with a swift poke to his ribs. "Nicole loves you but she'll quite willingly remove your genitals with a rusty spoon if you even attempt to make them anything like you as far as women are concerned."

"I'm sure you'd have a little something to say about that."

"I'm sure I'd help her" she corrected him before pulling her hand from under his shirt and pointing a finger at him. "Do not corrupt those little boys" she all but ordered him.

"I thought you liked it when I corrupted you."

"Yes, me" she replied before she kissed him. "Not those sweet innocent little boys who currently think that girls are disgusting and should be avoided at all costs. They need to stay that way for as long as possible. They definitely don't need to be taught how to date two little girls at once."

"Why not? I had a good time."

"I'm sure you did. So what happened?"

"My Mom found out about three weeks later and beat the crap out of me" he told her and not for the first time. "Then she marched me straight around to both of their houses and told them and their Father's exactly what was going on."

"And what happened after that?"

"Pickings were slim for a while" he said ruthfully. "I didn't even get my first real kiss out of it" he complained at full volume.

"Oh poor Andy. My heart bleeds for you."

"What about you?" he asked as he stroked her arm. "That eye patch was pretty hot. I bet you had them lining up around the block trying to get a date with you."

"If you must know I had a boyfriend by the time the eye patch put in an appearance."

"Really? When?" he asked with a lot of surprise.

"From about the age of six to twelve maybe thirteen years old."

"You're kidding? But what about your God fearing Grandmother and everything she said to you about men and the evils of sex?"

"It wasn't a problem. She saw Teddy as pretty harmless, everyone did."

"Teddy?"

"Yes Teddy."

Andy rolled his eyes with the fake jealousy she had come to expect from him when they spoke about this kind of thing. "Oh jeez" he said as she laughed at him, in disbelief that he could be jealous of a little boy she knew nearly fifty years ago. "Why was he harmless? Wait you didn't break him too did you?"

"I'll break you in a minute" she warned.

Andy laughed and brought her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. "When Rusty is outside that door talking to his Mom?" he asked before tutting with disapproval. "I don't think so Raydor. If you want to try to give me a hernia or a heart attack it'll have to wait until later."

"Oh shut up."

Andy laughed at her. "Go on then, why was he so harmless?"

"Well firstly he was allergic to everything and I do mean everything" she said of the boy who could get out of breath playing cards. "He wore a hat with a net around it to keep him out of the sunlight and to keep bugs away just in case. He could barely eat anything. He lived on air and water as best as I can remember" she added as Andy laughed. "Are you laughing?"

"He sounds delightful. The perfect man for you."

Sharon smiled. "I hadn't finished. He also had rickets."

Andy broke out into laughter once again, nearly rolling around he was laughing so hard. "What? What an attractive couple you must have made. How did you both survive school?"

"More by luck than judgement I think."

"I bet you were all Darth Raydor even back then. If anyone dared to make fun of your little Teddy or your eye patch you killed them instantly with one of your death glares" he joked. "So he was your first boyfriend and this easily broken Ryan Marshall creep was your first time…"

Sharon laughed and cut him off. "Why was he a creep?"

"He put his hands all over my girl" he said plainly. Sharon laughed in response, never quite being able to wrap her head around his jealousy of people she knew well over thirty years ago but had long decided just to accept it and find it funny.

"Any other questions since we've done more than a little delving into the past today?"

"Not that I can think of."

"I can."

"Go on then. Ask away" he instructed.

"How many women have you said 'I love you' to? And tell the truth. I don't care if it's high."

"Well I would" he said, always going to be sensitive about his history with women since he was very much a reformed character.

"So you'd rather lie to me?"

"Never. I'll never lie to you" he said truthfully with no intention of doing anything else as he kissed her on the lips.

"So how many?"

"Are you talking women I'm not related to?"

"Of course."

"Two" Andy replied quickly.

"Two?" she asked with surprise, expecting the number to be a lot higher than that.

"Yep. Just two. Sandra obviously and you. I don't say it unless I mean it. I never have done. I never will do" he told her sincerely.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Sharon sat up slightly to look him in the eye. "You've never used it in the past as a way to...seal the deal with a woman?"

"Nope. I told you, I only say it when I mean it. How about you?" She kissed him on the lips, practically devouring them rather than answering immediately, surprised and more than a little pleased by his answer.

"Only you and Jack" she answered finally after they broke apart.

He smiled at her. "Good." He sat up after a moment and put the photo of Sharon with her eye patch back into the box before picking up another one that was lurking up the side, its corners bent from its contact with the lid. It was another photo of Sharon but only this time she was much older, in what looked like a hospital bed, looking more than a tad worse for wear but while still glowing from head to toe as she smiled at the person behind the camera. "When's this from? You're in hospital."

"Oh that" she said with a tone that made it clear her distaste for that particular photo. "That was taken shortly after Emily was born. I don't even know why I hold onto that one, I look hideous in it. Jack took it to show me how bad I looked after fourteen hours of labour."

"What are you talking about? You look utterly beautiful in this picture."

"No I don't." Sharon sat up next to him and rolled her eyes. "Look at me, my hair is a mess, I'm sweating, I have bags under my eyes and a look of meth withdrawal about me" she said as she pointed at it. "My hair practically looks like I have a squirrel living in it."

"Are you kidding me?" he asked with disbelief. "Sharon. You're practically glowing here. Look at it" he said as he moved it in front of her face to force her to look at it. "Look at that expression on your face. You're a new Mom. You couldn't look more content and at peace with yourself and the world. It's beautiful." He smiled at her before turning back to the photo, thinking she'd never looked more beautiful than she did in that picture.

Without warning she reached towards his face, putting a hand on each cheek and kissed him long and slow on the lips. "You know I don't know what I'd do without you Andy Flynn" she said when they finally broke apart.

"Yes you do, you'd get yourself some sort of toy boy to satisfy your needs."

She smacked him around the back of the head as she laughed. "I didn't mean that."

He laughed. "I know, I know" he said before he returned the kiss. "I love you Raydor."

"I love you too my beautiful boy" she confirmed before kissing him again. "I'm sorry I kneed you in the balls."

"Which time?"

"Both times" she said and kissed him again.

"Apology accepted."

They smiled at each other for a moment before she looked towards the door and the issues that still awaited them on the other side, always at the back of her mind despite how well his distraction techniques had worked. "I wonder what they're saying now" she said before she attempted to stand.

"No, no, no!" Andy cried in response and pulled her back down onto the bed. "You were doing so well."

"I know. Thank you for trying so hard to distract me tonight. It's exactly what I needed."

"You're welcome but to be fair I was also trying to get something out of it myself" he said with a wink in reference to the amount of times he had tried but failed to get her into bed since they'd been shut in there.

Sharon laughed. "No you weren't. If you were honestly trying to get me into bed tonight I wouldn't have stood a chance but it served as a wonderful distraction" she said gratefully. "Thank you" she added and then kissed him on the lips.

"You're welcome. Want to know how you can make it up to me?" he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh shut up!" she laughed as she pushed his face away.

"You're always telling me to shut up."

"Probably because you're always so annoying."

Andy dropped the photograph back into the box and stood before moving over to the bureau and opened a drawer, digging through it. "What are you looking for now? I have no more borrowed clothes you don't know about."

"Borrowed?" he scoffed, choosing to believe that half his wardrobe had been stolen by her rather than borrowed.

"Yes. You can have them back at any time," she informed him with a grin, "as long as you replace them."

"I'm not looking for my clothes" he replied as he continued digging in the drawer, clearly looking for something specific.

"Well I have no secrets from you either."

"What about your nickname in college?" he asked as he paused and turned to face her on the off chance that she might finally tell him this particular 'origin story.'

She smiled, letting him know that he was once again out of luck and he might as well save his breath. "Other than that." Andy huffed with disappointment before turning his attention back to the drawer, digging right the way to the very bottom. "What are looking for?"

"A bra."

Sharon laughed at him, that not being the answer she was expecting. "For any particular reason?"

"Why do you think?"

"If this is your way of telling me that you've taken to dressing up in my underwear in your spare time you've _really_ picked the wrong moment buddy."

Andy grabbed the first bra he could lay his hands on and held it against his chest, turning around quickly so that she could see. "You mean you didn't already know?" he asked as he battered his eyes at her coyly while jiggling the bra.

"Well I had thought certain items of my underwear were stretched out of shape recently."

Andy stopped digging through the drawer again and turned to face her, obviously offended but clearly joking. "Are you calling me fat?"

"That's not the area that was stretched."

They both laughed before he suggested "Blame Provenza."

"Why?"

"He has the habit of turning his partners into women" he reminded her as his search of the drawer continued. "Since we're still stuck in here for a bit longer I thought I'd do battle one more time with my nemesis" he explained before crying "Ah ha! Here it is." Out of the drawer he pulled a plain black bra, the bane of his existence, the only bra he'd never been able to undo. He carried it to the bed and sat down next to Sharon again before he set about to do battle. "Today you will be mine!" he shouted at it as he fastened the hooks on the back and then tried to open it again. "Today you will succumb to my charms!" he shouted as he once again struggled to open it which only served to make Sharon laugh. "You have no power against me. You're nothing. Nothing I tell you! I am man! Today you will..." He stopped dead in his tracks as not for the first time he failed miserable, being completely unable for some mysterious reason to open it on his own. "Why won't this damn thing open?"

Sharon continued to laugh at him. "I keep telling you you're not doing it properly."

"Properly?" Andy scoffed. "I've been removing bras just as long as you have pretty lady, probably even longer. I've got it down to a fine art."

"Oddly enough I have noticed your uncanny ability with the exception of that one."

"It's some sort of conspiracy." After another failed attempt Andy started to thrash about with it out of sheer frustration. "The only man proof bra ever invented" he sulked.

"Here give it to me." Sharon took the bra off him and held it so he could see what she was doing. "See, like that" she said as she opened it as easy as anything. Andy looked at her with equal parts admiration and shock as she laughed at him and his goofy expression.

"How did you do that?" he asked as if he'd just witnessed a magic trick and Sharon had vanished the bed using just a click of her finger and a silver sheet.

She very slowly closed and opened the bra again so that he could see. "Like that."

"This is some sort of witch craft" he said as he took it off her and examined it closely.

"How about if I promise not to wear it again? It'll save you struggling for twenty minutes and I won't get a stitch from laughing at you."

"No! I refuse to be beaten by this thing."

"Okay but it's getting to the point that by the time you've undone it I'm no longer in the mood" she laughed.

"It's not funny."

"It is" Sharon replied as she continued to laugh. "Of all the bras you've come face to face with in your life and you can't open this one?"

"I've not handled that many" he lied.

"I bet it's more than me."

"No way."

"Okay let's see." She thought for a moment as she worked out the math in her head. "I think I've probably owned around a hundred different bras in my life as a very conservative estimate. Is it more than that?"

He paused as he just stared at her, doing his own sums in his head. "I thought we'd agreed not to discuss this area of my past" he said finally as he dropped the bra to the floor and flopped back onto the bed, defeated.

She laughed before leaning over to kiss him on the lips. "Oh shut up. Give it here." He sat up to retrieve the offending garment and handed it over to her. "Like this." Once more she opened it as quick as a flash. In response he just stared at her like a monkey looks at a mathematical equation as she laughed at him. "Oh Andy!" she cried before she kissed him. "Does this really bother you?"

"Knowing that there's a bra out there in the world that I can't pop open with a flick of my finger? A bra that I come into contact with on a regular basis? Yes, yes it does!" he shouted, clearly annoyed. "This has never happened to me before" he said with a sigh as he again flopped back on the bed and covered his face with his hands.

"Andy don't worry about it" she told him as she started to rub his stomach with her hand. "Men make too big a deal about these things. It's probably just stress. It happens to every man at one time or another and you're putting too much pressure onto yourself. It's natural. We can just snuggle instead. That'll be just as good right?" she said before laughing.

Andy waited for her to quieten down until he glared at her and said "That's not funny."

"Maybe you're just approaching it from the wrong angle" she offered.

He sat back up and sighed again. "Believe me Sharon I've approached it from every angle. The only thing left is for me to actually stand on my head as I do battle with it."

"I know, you seem to forget that I'm actually wearing the thing while you claw at it like a bear with box of Twinkies. Sometimes I feel like a rag doll."

Andy flopped down again. "I feel like I've failed as a man."

Sharon laughed as she leaned over him and kissed him on the lips. "Well we wouldn't want that now would we?" She kissed him again and then sat up, encouraging him to come with her. "Sit up, come on. I have an idea." Andy reluctantly sat up before Sharon slipped his arms in the straps of the bra and pulled it around him, stretching it beyond all recognition in the process. There was no way she was ever going to be able to wear it again after it had been stretched around Andy's much larger frame but since it frustrated him so much it was probably for the best anyway.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she strained to do it up behind his back.

"Learning to fly. What do you think?" With one final attempt she managed to do up the bra and examined her handy work. "There! Perfect! Now try and take it off. No wait before you do." She quickly got up and moved to her nightstand to retrieve her cell phone. She stood in front of him and prepared to take a photo of him. "Smile."

"If anyone saw the photos on there from the last week alone I'd never be able to show my face at PAB again" he grumbled before smiling as she took the photo.

Sharon smiled at the photo on the screen and then dropped her phone onto the bed. "It's a good look for you."

"You don't think I need more padding?" he asked as his hands smoothed over his rather flat chest.

Sharon laughed. "Just try to take it off."

Andy put his hands behind his back and tried to unfasten the bra. His face quickly painted an expression of frustration and exasperation as he realised it was even harder to do from that position. "What? How is this even possible?" he moaned as he struggled to even reach the clasp. Sharon just laughed at him, unable to contain herself. "Don't laugh at me. Help!"

"I'm not helping you. You either get out of it yourself or you'll have to stay like that."

"You're not going to help me?"

"Just imagine how weird it would be for me to help my boyfriend out of one of my bras" she told him with a smile.

"Just imagine how weird it has been for me over the last seven months to repeatedly help my girlfriend out of one of my dress shirts all the time."

"But at least there's always a nice surprise waiting for you underneath." She walked towards him and cupped his face in her hands before kissing him. For the first time that evening, despite Andy's desperate attempts as a means to distract her, there was some real passion behind it, opening her mouth to him and inviting in his tongue until suddenly the condo door could be heard opening and closing. Sharon's head immediately snapped away. "Was that the door?"

"I think so. Maybe give it a few...," he started to say before Sharon virtually bolted out of the room to talk to Rusty, "seconds before you go charging out there." Andy sighed and went to follow but looked down at himself first and realised he was still wearing a bra that he couldn't get out of. "Sharon! Sharon! I can't walk out of here like this!" He looked around for a second for something to wear, cursing his luck that he didn't keep an extra robe in the condo. He stood and opened the closet, pulling out an LAPD sweater of his own and pulled it on after returning his dangling suspenders to his shoulders so that Rusty would have no idea what laid beneath.

By the time he walked out into the living room he discovered Sharon hovering by her desk with a look of concern on her face. Rusty stood frozen to the spot with his hands on the back of the couch, looking towards the window with unfocused eyes. Andy weighed up his options for a moment and decided to wait where he was for a moment, out of the way but there for them if they needed him as Sharon edged closer to her son.

"Rusty? How did it go?" Sharon asked, very kindly and quietly, making sure that he knew she wasn't going to judge whatever his response may be.

"I really don't want to talk about it tonight."

"Okay but..."

"Goodnight Mom" Rusty said with a note of finality as he walked past her and straight down the hallway to his bedroom, not even placing a glance at Andy concealed in the darkness.

Sharon sighed as she turned to Andy, knowing he'd be there even though she hadn't seen him, her worry currently all consuming. Andy walked to her and wrapped his arms around her small frame, clutching her tightly as she buried her face into his chest. "Well I guess we don't have to worry about him stressing about moving for a while" he joked. Sharon just sighed into his chest, no longer in the mood for his jokes. He kissed the top of her head a couple of times. "It'll be okay, I promise."


	27. Chapter 27

_Once more let me start by thanking everyone who read the last chapter and special thanks to xbleeple, eelise187, walkerdude1, MaxiP99, MoxiesdenLovesShandy, maidenpride, seaford71, Secret writer65, Elaine Huang, StefanieWildermann, HeiBeSo, Baker St and the Guest for leaving a review. I really appreciate it. Likewise thank you to everyone who got in touch on Twitter._

 _I like everyone else was devastated when the show was cancelled last week, more so because I'm going to miss wasting my spare time writing nonsense and twaddle, not that it really came as a surprise, TNT have been trying to kill it off for over a year now. Still I've been left with the question of 'What do I do with this story now?' I'm no fool, I know that people drift away when a show ends but since I enjoy writing this so much (and you have no idea how much I've enjoyed having a creative outlet again) and I have so many notes written for future chapters which I've no hope of getting posted before it goes off the air I've decided to carry on regardless. Like Sharon I very much like to finish what I start so at the very least I will keep posting until I reach Shockwave (and possibly beyond because I'm bound to have some add on after the wedding running through my mind) whether anyone reads it or not because I simply adore writing it, so that's what I'm going to do._

 _This chapter picks up after the end of Foreign Affairs 5.3 and is fairly self-explanatory._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Andy's cheeks were aching, the cheeks on his face you understand, not the ones on his backside although they did also tend to ache from time to time when Sharon (and on more than a few occasions his elderly neighbour Mrs Williams) would grab his rear like a stress ball. It wasn't the first time this had happened either. It had actually happened a lot since he'd started dating Sharon, smiling to the point that his face physically hurt. It was the sort of smile that Provenza would yell at him about, claiming that it was making him angry like he had no right to be that happy in the first place. Andy didn't care. He was happy, he was excited and he wanted the whole world to know about it. His smile vanished for a brief moment as he yawned wildly while he waited for the elevator in the lobby of Sharon's building, covering his mouth with his hand as he battled to keep the mint he'd been chewing inside, it being the only remotely food like substance in his car as he felt his stomach growl on the drive over from his AA meeting. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying his best to wake himself up a little as that same ridiculously goofy smile returned across his face. He was in a good mood and nothing and no one was going to change it.

After a moment or two his eyes widened and he quickly groped at the pockets in his pants looking for his keys, tiredness and hunger making him lose track of them after he climbed out of his car, not even remembering if he had locked it. With his pockets empty he turned to his jacket that was slung over his arm, feeling the pockets until he came across the bundle of keys and took them out, grasping them tightly in his hand, ready to open the door with so that he wouldn't disturb the (he assumed) sleeping occupants of the condo he was already thinking of as his home. He pressed the button again to call the elevator, assuming that by pressing it twice that it may think 'There are more people waiting for me downstairs' and would therefore arrive slightly quicker.

A quiet pinging sound greeted its arrival as a woman came sprinting towards him from the door to the parking garage, the movement catching his eye immediately. She was roughly the same age at Andy, perhaps a little younger, long blonde hair that seemed to cover her face like she'd just been accosted by a grizzly bear and dressed all in pink like a Hostess Sno Ball. Andy nodded and gestured for her to enter the elevator car first when she finally reached his side, as usual always trying to be a gentleman even with a perfect stranger. The woman smiled in thanks and stepped inside before Andy followed. The human Sno Ball instantly pressed the button for the twelfth floor before looking to Andy. "Which floor?" she asked as her finger continued to hover by the display, primed to press the required button.

"Oh, eleven please. Thank you" Andy replied with a smile.

She nodded in response and pushed the button for the eleventh floor shortly before the doors closed and they slowly started to move up. "Eleven? I'm assuming you're with Sharon Raydor right?"

"That's right. Andy" he said as he put his hand out for her to shake. "I'm the boyfriend."

She smiled and shook his hand. "Patricia. Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"All good I hope?"

Patricia smiled with amusement, having been told by one source that Andy was simply the devil himself. "Mostly."

Andy frowned for a moment, thinking to himself that someone other than Sharon and Rusty had clearly been talking about him to the other occupants of the building. "Mrs Rose?" he asked of Sharon's horrendous neighbour but already knowing the answer.

"Oh yeah" she laughed in response, having had many run-ins with the woman in question herself to know exactly how much trouble she must cause them on an almost daily basis, objecting if she deemed that they were breathing too loudly while she was trying to sleep. "You guys need a medal for putting up with her without shooting her" she added with lots of sympathy in her voice as he just laughed.

As if on cue the elevator came to a stop on the fifth floor and the doors opened. Andy inwardly cringed as Patricia chuckled away behind her hand when they saw Mrs Rose standing before them with a face like thunder, her grey skirt and jacket making her look like an old English school headmistress from the turn of the last century. Mrs Rose looked Andy up and down with utter disgust before she stepped inside the elevator, keeping her distance from him as if he may have something contagious that she might be able to catch as Patricia moved to the back, really not wanting to engage with her.

"Good evening Mrs Rose" Andy said with an incredibly large smile, not allowing the scourge of the eleventh floor to intimidate him or ruin his day for even a fraction of a second, least of all when he was in such a good mood.

She paused as she again looked at him from top to toe, as if he was something she had just stepped in when she accidentally stumbled into the gutter. "Detective" she said very slowly, drawing out every last syllable before she pushed the button for the eleventh floor as the door closed again.

"Actually it's Lieutenant" he corrected her.

An uncomfortable silence took over as they travelled upwards towards their destination, Mrs Rose continuing shooting Andy dirty looks from the corner of her eye as Patricia tried desperately hard not to laugh and have some of that loathing coming in her direction. After a moment her eyes landed on the gun securely hanging on Andy's hip. "I do hope that thing is not loaded" she said with yet more disgust.

Andy instantly covered his crotch with both hands. "That's a rather personal question isn't it Mrs Rose?" he joked before he winked at her and gave her a rather cheeky trademark smile. In response Mrs Rose just glared at him, her complete and utter loathing more than clear while Patricia laughed hysterically, unable to control herself anymore and making Andy follow suit. "Yes it's loaded but the safety is on so there's no need to worry" he assured her once he'd stopped laughing but was again only greeted with a frosty glare in reply. The rest of the short journey was accompanied by a very awkward silence as Andy and Patricia smiled at each other with amusement. When the doors finally opened on the eleventh floor Andy gestured to allow Mrs Rose to exit first, offering her a polite "After you" for good measure. As he half expected Mrs Rose didn't move so much as a muscle, remaining rooted to the spot as she continued to glare at him with the sort of hatred she normally only reserved for Sharon and Rusty but it seemed Andy was now guilty of whatever she liked to accuse them of by association. "Okay" Andy said with a sigh after a moment. He turned to Patricia and nodded "Goodnight" before attempting to leave. As he stepped in front of Mrs Rose to exit he suddenly flinched, thrusting his hips forward as if someone had pinched his backside. He immediately turned back towards Mrs Rose with an accusing look on his face. "Hey! Cheeky! Sorry Mrs Rose but I'm taken" he joked before he winked at her. Mrs Rose's mouth hung open as she looked at him agog while Patricia burst out laughing, Andy making her day and possible her week.

Without another word Andy stepped out of the elevator, laughing to himself quite openly and walked down the hallway to Sharon's front door. It wasn't long until he knew he was being followed, the familiar shuffle and disgusted sigh making him move that little bit quicker should she be about to strangle him with one of her 'foundation garments.' Just as he reached Sharon's door he heard Mrs Rose open her door and slam it closed behind her as if she was trying to make a point should he have failed to notice how much she utterly dispised him. He laughed to himself again, fully expecting to get into trouble with Sharon over it since there was no way Mrs Rose wouldn't complain to her about what he'd done the next time she saw her but in the great scheme of things he felt that it was more than worth it.

With his keys still in hand Andy carefully and quietly unlocked the front door and entered. As anticipated the condo was enveloped in complete darkness with Sharon and Rusty long since having retired to bed. He shut the door behind him and locked it for the night before moving to the small table next to it and put his gun, badge and cuffs on it like he always did. Suitably stripped of everything work related and officially off the clock he hung up his jacket on the peg by the door before heading towards the kitchen, loosening his tie slightly and rolling up his sleeves along the way as he started to relax. Once inside the kitchen he blindly groped around to switch the lights on, squinting as the sudden brightness hit his eyes and briefly dazzled him. His next job was to grab a water glass from the cupboard near the sink before filling it with water from the purifier jug on the counter, taking a couple of quick gulps before he opened the fridge and perused the shelves for something to eat. Since leaving work earlier that evening he had swung by an open house that his realtor had begged him to go and visit before going to his AA meeting which left little time for a proper meal and as much as the pile of donuts and stale coffee looked divine at the back of the church hall he was much more interested in keeping his diet and cholesterol in check than stuffing a few quick empty calories down his neck. As he sipped on his water and looked at the covered containers that littered the fridge he heard some soft footsteps coming towards him.

Sharon yawned as she plodded towards the fridge. Clad in a pair of peach satin pyjamas and matching robe but minus her glasses since she had just climbed back out of bed when she heard a noise from the kitchen, she was expecting to see Rusty on the other side of the door, worried as to what was keeping him awake. "What are you still doing up?" she asked as she yawned again. It was only eleven o'clock but after a long couple of days on top of a long couple of weeks, everyone had elected to have an early night and catch up on some much needed shut eye.

"I could ask the same about you Raydor!" Andy replied while still concealed behind the door.

"Oh crap!" Sharon cried as she jumped and clutched her chest since the voice that came from behind the door was not the one she was expecting and although it was certainly a pleasant discovery, it was also enough of a surprise to make her jump.

Andy laughed as he closed the door to greet her. "Hello to you too Red Beard" he joked.

"Andy!" she cried as she walked straight to him with a beaming smile on her face. She cupped his face and kissed him on the lips, not hiding her surprise for an instant. "What are you doing here?"

He quickly put his water glass on the bar behind her so that he could run his hands around her waist. "Well I had no other plans for this evening," he said with a shrug, "so I thought I'd come over here, sneak into bed with you and kiss every single inch of your body" he added before joining their lips together again.

"That sounds like a very good plan to me."

"Yeah I thought you'd approve." He lowered his head again as their lips met in a very long, very deep, lingering kiss. "Oh I needed that" he admitted after they broke apart. Due to the nature of the case they had just closed and their constant battles with the FBI, they had worked straight through the previous night meaning that they had missed each other in that time despite always being in each other's presence because of that constant professional wall coming between them while they were at PAB.

"Me too. I missed you last night" she told him as her hands moved from his face to run around his neck.

"I missed you too" he said with the same goofy smile he'd been wearing all evening before kissing her again.

"But why are you here?"

"I told you" he said before kissing her forehead and pulling her close against his chest so that he could cuddle her completely in his arms, missing the smell and feel of her over the last couple of completely professional days. "Aside from missing you like crazy last night, my lips had other plans and who am I to ignore them."

Sharon laughed as she pulled back to look him in the eye. "I know but you've been to a meeting this evening. You never come here after a meeting. I've never even seen you after you've been to a meeting before" she pointed out, it being one of the issues she told him that he had to try and address before they moved in together since he kept himself so closed off when it came to his sobriety and AA in general.

"Yeah I know but you were right in what you said to me the other day over dinner and if we're going to find a place and move in together then I need to get used to sharing that part of my life with you and it all starts by me coming home so to speak and staying here after I've been to an AA meeting, letting you see a much more thoughtful, considered Andy following listening to all that crap for a couple of hours. If it's okay with you of course?" he asked, suddenly sounding a little cautious and unsure of himself.

"Okay? Oh that is definitely okay with me" she replied enthusiastically before confirming it with a kiss, it being what she wanted most from him, to share in that part of his life with him in order to not only be able to help him when necessary but also so that they could be one hundred percent open and honest with each other. "It's always okay with me and I'm so very glad that you're here with me" she told him before she kissed him again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome" he replied which made her laugh.

"So are you okay? Your meeting was okay?" she asked a little nervously, assuming that perhaps to had opted to come home to her after that particular AA meeting because something was wrong or he was struggling at that moment in time rather than it simply just being a trial run for when they officially moved in together.

"I'm great" he replied honestly and extremely cheerily with a shrug.

Sharon waited for a moment, expecting him to say a little more. "That's it?" she asked finally when it was clear that he had no further comment.

Andy shrugged. "What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, how about how it went? What happened? Stuff like that" she told him as she made yet another attempt to get him to open up to her on the subject.

Andy shrugged again. "Oh, you know it was the same as usual" he said nonchalantly.

Sharon pulled away from him and put her hands on her hips, frowning at him. "Is that all you've got to say?" she asked with more than a touch of frustration.

"I guess so. What else do you want to know?"

Sharon paused as she just stared at him for a moment in a state of shock, on the verge of getting something she'd wanted from him for a very long time but nevertheless being shocked when it was finally so freely offered to her on a plate. "Really?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise.

"Yeah sure. Ask me what you like" he told her almost flippantly, becoming almost too casual as he finally prepared to answer all the questions she'd wanted to ask for a very long time. It wasn't just since they'd been dating that he'd been so intensely private when it came to the subject of his addiction, he had been like it back when they were just very good friends with Andy feeling like she'd dealt with the effects of alcoholism enough during her life with Jack (and more recently but to a lesser extent with Rusty and his Mom) without putting her through it all again, preferring to keep his cards very close to his chest for her sake.

"Okay" was all that Sharon could say in response.

Andy sipped on his water and waited, expecting about a hundred questions to be fired at him all at once but instead Sharon remained silent, just staring at him quizzically. "Well?" he asked finally.

"I'm not sure yet. You've caught me by surprise just even being here" she admitted truthfully. "Give me a moment and I'll find something to ask." She continued to just stare at him in silence, a quizzical and surprised smile still occupying her features.

"What's up Red Beard?"

Her smile quickly turned to a frown. "I've asked you not to call me that Andy Pandy."

Andy laughed into his water. "And I'll stop the moment you stop calling me Andy Pandy."

"But it suits you. My little Andy Pandy" she replied as if she was talking to a toddler.

"And it suits you too Red Beard" he said with a wink. Instead of chastising him for using the name that the bullies in her school had inflicted her with during the long months of being forced into wearing an eyepatch to correct a lazy eye, she simply went back to just staring at him with a real sense of shock that he was actually there after a meeting still overwhelming her. "What's that face for?"

"I'm just really so surprised to see you here that's all" she said as she battled not to become too overly emotional about it all.

"Why?" he asked confused. "You told me that if we were going to move in together then I needed to start doing this and I promised I would so here I am."

"I know but some of your grand promises like that don't always come to fruition."

"Since when? I've never broken a promise to you since...well certainly not since we've been dating and even a lot longer before that" he said, making a point of the fact that he hadn't and never would lie to her.

"I know" she replied kindly, making it clear that she wasn't accusing him of anything like that. "I know that but with the small exception of coming to Mass with me from time to time."

"Ah. That" he said simply.

"Yes, that."

"I've been" he protested.

"Once" she pointed out, raising her index finger into the air in the unlikely event that he had misunderstood what she was saying. "You've been once in nearly seven months and I had to practically drag you in there by your ear and promise you sex the moment we got home to get you to do it."

Andy smiled in response. "And the problem with that arrangement is what?"

"The problem is on Christmas Eve you said that you wouldn't completely object to coming with me from time to time" she reminded him. "I just didn't realise that 'from time to time' was code for once in six months, and only with a bribe."

"Yeah I know but..."

Sharon laughed and cut him off. "Oh hush" she said as she ran her arms back around his waist. "Andy I'm not going to make you do something you don't want to do. I've tried that before in a marriage and it didn't end so well."

"Yeah well I've already told you that guy is a complete asshole."

"Well you'll get no arguments from me about that," she told him with a smile and repeating what he'd told her when she agreed to discuss moving in together, "but would I like you to come to church with me from time to time? Of course I would but I'm not going to force you into it Andy."

"Why not? You force me into other things?"

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like making me get up in the morning and keeping my eyes off your legs at work."

Sharon laughed at him and his supposed hardship. "Oh I'm so sorry. My heart bleeds for you" she told him sarcastically.

Taking her at her word he smiled and said "I should think so. Apology accepted." They both laughed for a moment before his eyes travelled down her body and the ensemble she was wearing. "So this is what you wear in bed when I'm not here. I had always wondered" he said with a growl as his hands ran up and down her arms and he kissed her on the lips. He had become accustomed during the time they'd been sleeping together to seeing Sharon wearing one of his shirts because firstly she liked that they were big and baggy and offered her freedom of movement when she would characteristically thrash around in her sleep but also because she knew (despite his many complaints about her being a thief) that he actually like to see her in them. "Actual pyjamas. See I knew you could do it if you tried hard enough" he said with a chuckle.

"Are you complaining yet again?"

"What? That, amongst other things, you've stolen a whole host of my dress shirts, dress shirts that I need for work by the way, my job, and that you continually parade around in front of me wearing them and nothing else? With your utterly fabulous, perfect legs?" he asked as he all but drooled at the thought. "Of course not! Why on earth would I complain about that?"

Sharon laughed as she shook her head. "Then what's the problem?"

"Nothing" he confirmed before kissing her gently on the lips as if she might actually break under his touch. "I'm just intrigued to know what you get up to here all alone when I'm not around and otherwise occupied that's all."

"I sit by the door scratching the wood with my fingernails pinning for you like a dog, what do you think I do?" Sharon replied sarcastically.

Andy laughed as his hands moved from her arms and ran around the small of her back, his finger linking together as he held her. "I'm just checking you don't immediately get Mr Johnson up here the moment my back is turned" he joked since Sharon had told him on a number of occasions that her elderly neighbour on the fifth floor was her back up plan should he ever stop towing the line and get on her wrong side.

Sharon gasped melodramatically as if she'd just been caught. "How did you know?"

"Aside from how flustered you are it's the way you're trying to distract me in here like you're waiting for him to slowly drag his oxygen tank to the door and make his escape."

"Yes it's Mr Johnston who fills the void during your absence. It's absolutely not Sargent Staples or Judge Grove" she teased before crossing her heart with her index finger. "Cross my heart" she added with a joyful laugh.

Andy glared at her with suspicion for a moment. "I'm going to have to get Buzz to help me install some hidden cameras around here so I can see what goes on until I get you living under the same roof as me."

"And until then, I'll just have to take full advantage of the situation" she teased again before reaching up and pushing her lips firmly against his.

After Sharon pulled away from him but remained settled in his arms he studied her face for a moment, that smile still stuck to his face. "I like it when you don't have your glasses on" he said finally. It was actually one of his favourite things in the world. Along with Rusty he was part of a select few who got to see her without her glasses, loving to lie in bed and gaze at her eyes without that glass barrier coming between them.

"Oh yeah?"

His hand moved to her cheek and moved her hair from her face and behind her ear. "Yeah" he said as he continued to smile at her. "It makes it easier for me to tell when you're doing your sex eyes" he joked before he laughed.

The response was immediate as she hit him playfully on the shoulder, long since having grown tired of Andy making fun of her apparently awful sex eyes. "Let me give you a clue, you won't be seeing them this evening."

Andy laughed as he rubbed his shoulder before pulling her flush against his chest. "Your eyes look so much greener without them" he told her and then confirmed it with a kiss. "I like it" he added, kissing her again before he said "I like it a lot" and then met her lips a final time. "Plus without them I'm sure I look much younger to you" he joked.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "Oh definitely. I'm talking twenty-five maximum my boy."

"Then I may need to accidentally break them for you" he winked before they both laughed. Andy buried his face into the crook of her neck and took a long deep breath as they just cuddled in silence for a moment. When he pulled back he continue to grin almost obscenely. "You smell good" he told her with a quick kiss to her neck.

Sharon laughed. "It's just soap."

"Sexy" he replied before they both laughed.

"You find everything sexy. I could climb into bed smelling like garbage and you'd be turned on to the point of blindness."

Andy shrugged. "I'm a guy, what do you want from me?"

Sharon laughed. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving" he admitted, his mint in the car hardly doing the job and was long since gone. "I didn't have time for anything before my meeting and then as usual all they had to eat was donuts and stale coffee at the back of the hall."

"No steamed fish and vegetables at an AA meeting?" Sharon gasped. "Shocking! You need to have a word with the chef."

"Very funny."

"Why didn't you stop to get something to eat on your way here if you're that hungry?"

"I was in too big of a rush to get here to you to have time to stop for food" he admitted with it being mostly true but also knowing it was the kind of action and confession that would score him major points with his girlfriend.

"That's a good answer."

"Yes I thought so" he nodded as they laughed.

"There are plenty of leftovers in the fridge. I'm sure you'll find something in there that you can nibble on."

"Or I could just nibble on you instead." Without warning he lowered his head and playfully bit her neck as he growled before blowing a raspberry on it. Sharon laughed and squirmed under his lips until he let go and opened the fridge again. Sharon put a hand to her neck, feeling where his lips had just been and smiled, her skin still tingling from his touch. She watched him as he examined the covered leftovers for a moment, easily telling that he was in somewhat of an unusual mood that she couldn't quite put her finger on but knowing that something was going on and wondering how long it would take for him to tell her what. "Did you cook tonight? Should I call a Doctor?" he joked a little ill-advisedly.

Sharon frowned at him, unimpressed at the latest joke at the expense of her cooking skills. "What in case I poisoned Rusty with it?" she asked.

"No I meant Dr Joe because this is so unlike you in every way imaginable."

Sharon smacked him across his arm. "Do you want to sleep in your car tonight?" she asked, her voice making it clear that she wasn't joking but her eyes telling a completely different story.

"Not really no. You know I'm kidding."

"Do I?" she asked with her voice taking on all the hallmarks of Darth Raydor before it softened to match her eyes. "It's a very good job I love you."

"Don't I know it" he grinned before he leant over to kiss her. "So who cooked?" he asked, seeking confirmation before he opened the foil covers on the containers to see what lurked beneath. "I can't see signs of a fire or any other disaster so I'm guessing it was Rusty."

Sharon put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Hey the only person in this kitchen with a penchant for setting fire to things is you buddy" she pointed out since not only had he set fire to his menu on their first real date but had also seemingly set his pants on fire the afternoon he lost his virginity.

"I never burn anything thank you very much. My culinary skills are second to none" he bragged as he turned to face her.

"That's not what I meant. I was referring to the menu catching fire, pants bursting into flame types of scenarios. You're the only person standing in this kitchen who gets into that sort of trouble thank you very much."

"That I know of" he replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. "Burning Fire O'Dwyer came from somewhere and I will find out at some point. It will happen Raydor" he warned, prepared to go to extreme lengths to find out why she had earned that particular nickname in college.

Sharon laughed. "Not in this lifetime."

"Yeah okay" he was with disappointment. "So who was it?"

"Why couldn't it have been me?" she asked. Andy just stared at her with a smirk, telling her all she needed to know and that he didn't believe that for even a fraction of a second. "Okay it was Gus" she admitted. "Gus came over tonight and cooked for the three of us. I would have got him to have kept some of it warm for you like he did mine if I'd known you were coming to see me."

"I know but I wanted to surprise you" he replied before kissing her one last time and then delving into the fridge. "So what did he cook? It smells good" he said as he started to peel the foil from the containers to see what lurked beneath.

"Oh you're going to love it."

"Is that sea bass? Oh Gus! I could kiss you!"

"Don't let Rusty hear you say that" Sharon laughed as Andy pulled out a plate of leftover fish and the remainder of a bowl of pasta salad and put them on the bar, kicking the fridge door closed with his foot before removing the covers. Sharon smiled at him as he gazed at the food before him like he had just walked into her office and found her sitting on her desk completely naked and waiting for him. "Look at your face. This is the real reason you're here tonight isn't it? You heard from Rusty that Gus was cooking and you're just here for his leftovers" she joked.

"Oh you know me so well" he laughed before he kissed her.

Sharon laughed. "Would you like a plate or are you just going to graze?"

"Just graze thanks." Sharon grabbed him a fork from the drawer, knowing that he had some sort of mental block and for some odd reason could never remember where the cutlery was kept in her kitchen. She handed him the fork and he thanked her with a kiss. "Thank you" he said before he started to tuck in, leaning over the containers to eat as Sharon stood next to him, leaning against the bar with her hand on his back, stroking it slowly up and down. After swallowing a couple of mouthfuls he turned to face Sharon a little more. "So" he started before taking a swig of his water and continuing with a smile on his face. "I couldn't help but notice you didn't send me to Gazelles to grab the security footage yesterday."

Sharon just glared at him for a moment, the movement of her hand up and down his back coming to an end. She'd been secretly waiting for him to bring it up, questioning why she had sent Amy, Mike and Julio to the club to question the owners rather than him and Provenza. "Oh I wonder why?" she replied as Andy laughed. "The last time you went to a strip club..."

"Bikini bar" he corrected as he cut in, taking his life into his own hands. "Gazelles is a bikini bar, not a strip club. There's a difference."

"No there isn't! The last time you went to a _strip club_ you almost blew an active two month operation, got Rusty drunk..."

"Accidentally" he again corrected, thinking that none of the events that happened during Provenza's last (and hopefully final) bachelor party were his fault. "I accidentally got Rusty drunk and in reality I had nothing to do with it actually. He picked up the wrong glass and downed it and yet for some reason I ended up with all the blame."

"Because you are supposed to be the adult in that relationship and you were in charge of looking after him, not the other way around."

Andy thought for a moment and agreed she was right, nodding at her. "Yeah okay."

"And then to top it off you got into a fist fight and ended up looking like you'd gone twelve rounds with Mohammed Ali."

"Hold on" he replied as he dropped his fork and stood upright for a moment. "You saw that video. You saw exactly what happened. He hit me. I didn't lay a finger on that asshole so it was hardly what I'd call a fight."

"Admittedly yes you were too busy bleeding on the floor and down that horrible shirt to fight back but you were still in a fight. So that's why I didn't send you to Gazelles the other day" she told him, for once taking personal feelings into account before making a decision at work.

Andy smiled as he leant back against the bar and resumed his makeshift meal. "But Julio and Mike were there as well and yet you sent them."

"Julio and Mike didn't do anything wrong."

"Neither did I technically."

"And yet your two months of grovelling and apologising seemed to suggest otherwise."

"I was just trying to stay in your good books and luckily for me it worked" he told her with a wink. "I guess you really won't be sending me undercover with a prostitute if the need arises will you?"

"Oh I have made that abundantly clear as I have also stated many many times that none of you, not a single member of my division will _ever_ be sent undercover with a prostitute by me. Never! Not as long as I am the Captain of Major Crimes" she insisted.

"Okay" he replied and then paused like he was dropping the subject, lulling her into a false sense of security. "But do you really think Vice is never going to kick a case up to us?" he asked before Sharon smacked him on his shoulder again and he just laughed. He loved to tease her and irritate her as much as possible to see that glorious fire behind her eyes and she knew it, she knew it was all fun and games and enjoyed it too but that didn't mean she wasn't going to give him the occasional smack on the arm about it in retaliation.

"I love you to death Andy Flynn I really do but I'm warning you now, if I hear the words 'super sperm' or any kind of sperm for that matter, 'undercover with a prostitute,' 'choir boy' or claims that I've 'ogled you for over twenty years' coming from your mouth one more time I'll..."

"So you admit it then?" he asked as he again cut her off and once more took his life into his own hands. "You have been ogling me for over twenty years?"

Without so much as a beat Sharon reached around in front of him and grabbed hold of his suspenders, twanging them hard against his chest and making a lovely snapping noise. His immediate reaction was to recoil away from her and try to defend himself. "Mention any of them ever again and I'll do more than twang your suspenders! You might find part of them down the garbage disposal while you're still attached to them" she warned.

Andy pulled the strap sitting across his right shoulder and brought it closer to his lips. "Don't worry baby, the mean lady didn't meant it" he said like he was talking to a baby before he kissed and then released it. He was surprised and pleased to note that she didn't mention his insistence that she was going to propose to him rather than the other way around. He deliberately hadn't said it to her in months, not since Provenza and Patrice's wedding when they fell into bed completely exhausted after their exploits at work that week, opting to completely let it go of it so that when he did finally find the courage to ask her to marry him it would come as a complete surprise. Sharon likewise left it off her list on purpose so that she wouldn't remind him of it since she assumed he had forgotten about that particular favourite joke of his, still nowhere near ready for that kind of question with moving in together already a big enough step forward for them for the time being.

Sharon laughed at him. "Are you talking to your suspenders?"

"Yes. They have feelings you know."

"Oh really? Are they also colossal idiots just like you?"

"If you're trying to make me cry you're going to the right away about it" he replied as he pretended to wipe his eyes. Sharon laughed and then kissed his lips. "If I was to do this it's not going to leave me an awful lot to talk about you know."

"Tough."

"I'm not sure I can do it."

"Try."

"But you know my super spe..."

Sharon quickly slapped her hand across his mouth to silence him. "Andy Flynn listen to me and listen to me good. If you mention your overly potent sperm one more time I'll drag you to the Doctors myself and watch while they give you a vasectomy where it'll be an end to the matter once and for all." She removed her hand and pointed a finger in his face like one final warning.

Andy paused for a moment before smirking. "Like that could stop me" he boasted. No sooner where the words out of his mouth then Sharon lunged for his suspenders with him being very quick to protect himself and stop her this time. "You wouldn't would you?"

"What twang your suspenders again or force you into getting a completely pointless and from what I hear, extremely painful vasectomy given that I am no longer capable of having children?"

"The vasectomy part, I know you can't leave my suspenders alone" he said with a wink.

"Just watch me."

"Right now I'm afraid you might be able to perform it yourself with your teeth."

"Exactly" she replied as her eyes sparkled at him with real menace. "So don't mess with me boy."

Andy laughed. "Oh I would never mess with you Raydor." He leant towards her and kissed her on the lips before picking his fork up again and continued eating. "Really? You'd really make me do it? You'd really make me get a vasectomy just to shut me up?"

"Oh absolutely," she confirmed. "I would absolutely make you get one. By the time I was through with you four bags of frozen peas would not be enough to sooth the swelling and the pain."

Andy swallowed hard at the thought before shrugging. "On second thoughts I already have two kids..."

"That we know of," she quickly cut in, "of course, I mean since you're _so_ potent you can knock up ninety year old Grandmothers with a cross eyed look and a heavy sneeze" she added as she laughed.

"Don't mock my sperm" he said with great offense.

"I wouldn't dream of it" she laughed. "With the damage it can apparently do to us mere mortals, half the population of California could be your demon spawn after all."

"No just Nicole and Dan and that's for certain. I was always very careful."

"I'm glad to hear it" she replied, still expecting someone to appear on their doorstep one day and claiming that Andy was their Father since he hardly had a stellar reputation with women between his ex-wife and the love of his life.

"Come to think of it with only two kids maybe I'm not as potent as I first thought I could be."

"I'm so glad you finally see it from my point of view." Andy looked at her with a huge grin on his face as he chewed his latest mouthful of pasta and Sharon stared at him laughing. "Oh my God. This face" she cried as she cupped his cheeks and kissed him on the lips, unable to resist with that ridiculous grin. "Always with this face getting you out of trouble" she said before kissing him again.

"So if it wasn't for twenty years, how many years have you been ogling me for?"

"Oh my God!" Sharon shouted as she dropped her hands from his cheeks and buried her head in them.

"What?"

"Just let it go."

"No, not until you tell me how long you've been doing it for."

"Never! Never!" she lied, having looked him up and down on more than a handful of occasions before she became his friend although she was never ever going to admit that to him. "I never ogled you before you asked me out on our first date."

"And then you did it immediately?" he asked quickly.

"No! Not even then" she lied again.

"I think it was after Nicole came to see you at work" he said smugly.

Sharon sighed as she tried to stop herself from laughing at him. "I didn't ogle you after I spoke to Nicole. Believe me the last thing I wanted to do was ogle you at that moment in time."

"Oh I see, so what you're telling me is you wanted more" he winked.

"No. I wanted to shoot you which coincidentally I also want to do right now."

Andy laughed, enjoying teasing her. "Is that why you could never leave my tie alone for more than twenty seconds at a time during that period?"

"Playing with you tie had nothing to do with how I felt about you" she insisted.

"Really? Because it seemed to me like you just couldn't keep your hands off me."

"Then why didn't you ask me out sooner?"

Andy shrugged. "You seemed too high maintenance" he replied and was met with an immediate slap across his arm again as he laughed.

"It's not my fault you can't keep your damn tie straight."

"Oh I see but you felt compelled to sort it out for me?" he asked, still grinning.

"As your Captain, yes" she replied with an air of authority that she usually left at PAB. "You were lowering the tone of the whole division, making us all look scruffy and unkempt." He grinned at her again, the mischief in him clearly visible. "What has got into you this evening?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're filled with mischief and even more annoying than usual. If this is what you're like after an AA meeting you can stay the night at Lieutenant Provenza's each week after we've moved in together."

Andy laughed, not least at her optimism. "I don't think that's going to fly sweetheart. When you signed the paperwork to be my medical power of attorney you effectively took custody of me according to Provenza. He won't be taking me back now. You're stuck with me, for life" he proclaimed rather proudly and extremely happy about his circumstances.

"I knew I should have studied those papers more closely."

"Sucks to be you" he was with a wink before he kissed her on the lips.

"I'm pretty sure I could just order him into doing it, into taking you back."

"Yeah good luck with that."

"How about a bribe?" she suggested as if she genuinely wanted to see the back of him.

"I don't think there's anything he wants that badly."

"Are you sure about that? What about my office?"

Andy dropped his fork and took a step closer towards her. "You'd seriously give Provenza your office just to get rid of me after an AA meeting?"

"If you're going to be in this sort of mood each time then yes I would, in an instant. It's either that or murder you. What is the matter?" she asked, sensing that something was clearly going on since he was in an even more playful mood than usual.

"Nothing" he said with a shrug while still smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"No there's definitely something. I know the signs and I definitely know that smile."

Andy shrugged again as he ran his arms around her. "I thought you liked my smile."

"I do except when it's filled with mischief like that. I keep expecting another blow up doll to put in an appearance or for you to drop a bombshell on me at any moment but you're trying to soften me up a little first."

Andy laughed. "Nothing is going on, I promise. I'm just in a good mood that's all."

"Well stop it, its freaking me out."

Andy laughed as he moved back to his food with Sharon's hand returning to his back, stroking up and down as he ate. "What does Patrice get out of this little arrangement exactly? Palming me off on Provenza when I annoy you means she gets double the trouble."

"As much as I'd feel sorry for Patrice and oh boy will I feel sorry for her, I think it's fair compensation for putting up with _her_ husband all day every day" she replied with a satisfied smile.

"You already get compensated for that sweetheart, it's called your salary" he pointed out.

"And is precisely the reason why Chief Taylor should have kept his promise and made me a Commander before I took over Major Crimes, given all I have to put up with."

"Wait, what?" he asked as he dropped his fork again. "Taylor promised to make you a Commander?"

"Yes he did."

"When?" Andy asked, completely stunned and yet not at the same time by this news. If anyone deserved to be wearing stars on their uniform it was Sharon and that was before she finally closed the Reece murders once and for all but it came as a surprise that a promotion had been suggested but hadn't actually happened.

"Years ago now" she shrugged. "He and Chief Pope sat me down and offered it to me as an extra incentive to take over the division after Chief Johnson left."

"Extra incentive?"

"Well I knew full well what horrors awaited me the moment you all discovered I was taking over and I was right except things were much much worse than I ever imagined" she joked.

"We weren't that bad we're we?" he asked and then thought for a second and quickly came to the realisation that they were all completely awful to her in the beginning with the exception of Amy although in truth he was the first to try and be more helpful unlike Provenza. "Yeah I guess we were. Fair enough."

Sharon laughed at his quick turnaround. "And that was just on a day to day basis without all of your escapades with your little friend on top of that and causing a headache that never seemed to go away."

"You've never told me this before" he said with a frown.

Sharon shrugged casually, worried for a split second that Andy may feel that she had been keeping yet another secret from him. "It's never come up before."

"Well why aren't you Commander Raydor right now? What happened?"

"There was a freeze on all promotions other than Assistant Chief apparently and given my age and how many people would have gladly taken my place and the division I needed to see the job as a promotion and get on with it without complaint."

"Even though they promised you?" he asked.

"Even though they promised me."

"And yet they're both still alive?" he said with the shock clear in his voice. "You're slipping Raydor. Slipping!" he said as she laughed. "Have you not thought about bringing it up with them since then? I mean after everything to do with the Reece murders and…"

"Oh Andy I've long since given up on the dream of stars on my uniform" she replied with the sadness clear for him to see. "But it's not all bad. I may not have the stars I was promised but I have a job I simply adore, I have a son I never expected as a result of my job and I also have you and that certainly would not have been the case had I turned it down." He laughed and nodded before he kissed her. "You add all of that together and I'm happy with my job and my life and let's face it, the extra money would be nice but it's not like I really need it."

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a smile as he ran his hands back around her waist.

"Yes. After all I've got you to look after me from now on haven't I?"

"Is that so?"

"Oh yes, spending every last penny on me."

"So is this your way of telling me that when we buy a house together, I'll actually be the one buying it and paying for the mortgage and all of your money is going to go on Christmas angels and shoes and nothing else?" he asked.

"Yes that's exactly what is going to happen" she replied before she kissed him. "I may also buy you a new pair of suspenders every now and then if you're lucky" she joked and then kissed him again.

"I really should have had all of this in writing before I agreed to anything."

Sharon laughed at the notion that he had agreed to anything rather than practically begging her to move in with him. "Excuse me? You agreed to anything? You're the one that nagged me to move in with you" she pointed out.

"Nagged?"

"Yes" she said with a smile that matched his from all evening. "You old nag" she told him before pushing her lips to his. "Anyway I would speak to them about it again but I don't need another discussion about how old I am and how I should just be grateful for what I have and shut up about it."

"You're not old" he told her as he cuddled her impossibly close and blew a raspberry on her neck for good measure. "If you're old then Provenza is practically ancient."

"I don't know, sometimes I feel old" she said honestly with a sigh.

"You're only as old as the person you're feeling" he told her as he kissed her neck a couple of times in quick succession.

"Oh well then I'm even older than I thought I was" she joked since Andy had just over a year on her.

"Hey!" Andy cried as his head snapped up to show her how offended he actually was although he was only joking. Sharon laughed before she kissed him. "Still Commander Raydor, I like the sound of that."

"Me too but it's never going to happen" Sharon said with a little sadness.

"Chief Raydor sounds better."

"Well that's definitely not a possibility."

"Never say never."

"You just want me to get a promotion because you already get a cheap dirty thrill in bed each time you call me 'Captain'" she told him with Andy now solely addressing her as his 'Captain' when they were in bed fooling around rather than at work to the extent where if he were to use it at PAB the end result would be her suddenly feeling all hot and bothered with her concentration wavering. "I dread to think what you'd be like if I became a Commander or worse, Chief."

"Oh and you don't like to call me Lieutenant while dragging me to bed by my suspenders?"

"Well that's different" she shrugged.

"How is it?"

"Because I said so, that's why Lieutenant" she said simply and then kissed him again.

"Oh I see, it's one rule for you and one rule for me huh?"

"Absolutely. I'm so glad you finally understand how this relationship works" she joked before kissing him again.

Andy laughed as his arms slipped from her waist and he went back to picking at the pile of leftovers on the counter. "I still say I could have gone to that bikini bar without incident."

"And I say otherwise" she smiled. "Let me just say this before we forget once and for all that Lieutenant Provenza ever had a bachelor party..."

"We're forgetting it happened?"

"I think that's probably the best for all concerned don't you?"

"No I don't" he replied a little grumpily. "I still need to get those guys back for waxing my chest to death" he said as his hand instinctively rubbed the areas where the waxing strips had been ripped from his chest.

Sharon laughed as her hand moved to his chest and gently rubbed up and down his shirt front. "You're such a big baby. Anyway in this instance and after having heard Julio talk with such authority about strip clubs..."

"Bikini bar" he corrected again.

"Whatever, after he seemed to know so much about them when Buzz was looking up Gazelles in Electronics, I may be more inclined these days to believe that Julio went into that club first during the bachelor party and you did innocently go in after him" she admitted as the final piece of the puzzle fell into place and all these months later she now fully believed everything that Andy had told her about that night and none of it was his fault.

"To protect him."

Sharon shook her head and laughed. "That is still not going to fly buddy."

"Have you seen some of the underwear those girls wear? They could have strangled him to death with it in a matter of seconds."

Sharon smirked at him as she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm sure but I'd never been in such a place to know so much about it as you apparently do."

"Oh really? You seem to forget that you had a stripper at your bachelorette party" he pointed out.

"Who I didn't hire and as you take great delight in remembering, I arrested."

"Well anytime you feel the need to arrest me go right ahead" he said with a wink which made her laugh. "So you believe me now? You believe that it wasn't my fault and I was forced to go in there under duress?"

"I didn't say that. I said I was more _inclined_ to believe you now, not that I actually do."

"Well that's a start I suppose." He paused for a moment as he ate another mouthful of fish. "But I could have gone in there myself without getting into any trouble whatsoever."

"You just wanted to go in there because one of the owners was called 'Nemo' and Julio had to go out the back to find him so they could speak to him."

"And?"

"And if you'd done it you'd have been able to tell the boys that you had literally been finding Nemo at work. I'm right aren't I?" she asked.

Andy shrugged. "Maybe." Sharon laughed at him, knowing that was exactly why he was so disappointed not to have gone. "They would have loved it if I'd told them that, they love that movie."

"You can still tell them."

"Not without lying to them and I try to make an effort not to lie to those boys anymore or anyone else for that matter" he made a point of telling her.

"Except for 'dirtbags'?"

"Oh obviously" he said before they both laughed.

Sharon cuddled up against his side, putting her arm around his back as he continued to eat. "I love that you're such a good Grandpa to those boys" she said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's easy, they're good boys" he said simply as he rested his head on top of hers.

"I know but not everyone would be that good to them. Not everyone so willingly loves the children of others especially when they initially give so much push back in the beginning" she told him and clearly referencing the relationship he now had with Rusty rather than his Step-Grandkids. "The fact that you do, the fact that you're such a good Grandpa to those boys is really kind of sexy."

"Oh yeah?" he asked as he lifted his head and turned to face her.

"Oh yes definitely" she confirmed and then kissed his lips. "Very sexy" she added and then kissed him again. "Very sexy indeed" she finished before kissing him a final time.

"That's funny because a couple of weeks ago as we spoke about moving in together you were busy deciding if you wanted someone like me to be the sort of Grandfather to your unborn future Grandchildren or not" he reminded her with a smile, knowing full well that she was only joking with him at the time.

Sharon laughed. "I was indeed but I figured they could and probably will do a lot worse than you so what harm would it really do?"

"So I'll do will I Granny Sharon?"

"Only the boys are allowed to call me that" she told him with a point of her finger.

"If you say so Granny Sharon" he teased again. "So answer my question, will I do?"

She smiled and kissed him. "You'll more than do and when I finally get my babies married off..."

Andy laughed. "Babies? They're how old now?"

"Oh shut up they'll always be my babies to me no matter how old they get. And when I do finally get them married off and they start families of their own one day I would love nothing more in this world than for them to call you Grandpa Andy" she told him with a smile and another coming together of their lips.

"I'd like that too" he confirmed and then kissed her back. "So they'll be able to call you Granny Sharon too?"

"No they won't" she replied, not really a fan of the word 'Granny' being levelled in her direction. "Sadly I'm now stuck with that from the boys which I know was all Nicole's doing rather than coming from them but any new additions to the family can call me something that makes me sound less old."

"You're not old" he told her for the second time that evening as he ran his right arm around her waist to mirror what she was doing to him. "No one this smoking hot can be old" he said as he squeezed her.

"Smoking hot?" she asked amused. "Will you please tell me what's going on with you?" she begged, still suspecting that there was a reason behind his incredibly good mood.

"There's nothing going on" he insisted with once again his smile telling the opposite story. "Can't I just be happy to see you? You know make up for all of those years when I wasn't and you used to scare and annoy the crap out of me?"

Sharon laughed. "There's happy and then there's this. It better not be anything bad."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," she said as she studied his face again, "like you're trying to butter me up because you've lost a bet and had Lieutenant Provenza's face tattooed on your chest or I'm going to have half of Professional Standards waiting for me in my office in the morning because of something you've done tonight."

Andy laughed. "I can confirm that neither of those things have happened or will ever happen for that matter."

"Yeah you're more likely to get your boyfriend's name tattooed on a love heart on your arm than anything else" she joked before laughing.

"I'm going to ignore that."

Sharon laughed again. "There's really nothing going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all" he lied, the reason behind his extremely good mood being kept to himself for the time being until he felt the moment was right and he simply couldn't keep it in any longer.

"You're really not hiding anything from me?"

"Well I may have knocked on Mrs Rose's door as I walked past and then ran away as quickly as possible...I'm kidding. I'm kidding" he said, thinking he was going to be in a lot of trouble when Mrs Rose inevitably complained about what he'd done as he stepped out of the elevator earlier in the evening, laying the foundations for his reprimand quite early. "Nothing is going on. I swear."

"Yeah. Okay." She looked at him suspiciously for a moment before taking a huge piece of fish from the plate and eating it.

"Hey!" Andy cried as he gently smacked the back of her hand with his fork. "You've already eaten, I'm picking at leftovers and yet you're _still_ stealing my food."

Sharon shrugged. "Force of habit."

"I'm going to buy a bug zapper and give you a quick blast with it every time you move near my food, see if I can break you of this so called habit."

"Good idea. Buy two and then every time you think you're funny I can zap you with it."

"No way. I'll be sterile within a week and my..."

"Do not even!" Sharon cried as she cut him off, sensing that he was about to bring up his so called Super Sperm once again. Andy laughed and kissed her. For a few moments she just watched him eat in silence, her hand suddenly moving up and down his back and letting him know that she was about to speak. "So" she said before pausing. "It's Sunday."

"It is, how observant of you."

"Oh shut up!"

Andy laughed. "So it's a Sunday? What about it?"

"I need you to be serious for a moment, I know that's going to be a challenge for you but if could just try and give it a go" she said jokingly but really wanting him to try and be serious while they had that particular conversation.

"Okay I'll try my best. Go on."

"If you're going to start being more open with me about your sobriety and going to AA and everything can I ask why you decided to go to a meeting tonight? On a Sunday?" she asked with quite high levels of concern and anxiety in her voice that she tried but failed to hide. "You usually go on a Tuesday unless work gets in the way. Are you…are you feeling okay?"

Reading the concern on her face almost immediately he smiled at her and turned to run his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. "Yes" he said plainly before he dropped his lips to hers. "I'm fine" he confirmed, kissing her again.

"Really?"

"Really" he replied, sealing it with a kiss once again. "Honestly Sharon I'm fine." He kissed her once more before he watched the smile return back to her face as she relaxed slightly. "There was someone I wanted to check in on tonight who switched to a meeting on a Sunday recently because of his shifts." He shrugged very casually. "That's all, nothing's wrong. I just haven't seen him in a while and I wanted to check in."

"Like a friend?"

"Kind of" was all he offered in reply until Sharon kept her eyes locked on his, clearly wanting to know more. "Okay, you know my buddy from Operations? Clint? You've met him before."

"Vaguely" she said after a second's thought. "Is he the one who constantly sounds like his dog has been run over?"

"That's him. Monotone Clint."

Sharon laughed. "Does he always sound like that?"

"Pretty much, well for as long as I've known him anyway. He's a good guy but it is hard to tell if he's having a really good day or a really bad day. Anyway his brother works for the fire department and is also a member of AA. We used to go to the same meeting but we don't always make it to the same one anymore. So anyway as a favour to Clint I try my best to look out for him from time to time when I can" he explained.

"Like as a sponsor?"

Andy hummed for a moment as he searched for the appropriate response so that she would understand more quickly. "More like checking in on him as a favour for a friend. It's different you know, you sometimes strike up these really weird friendships in AA and this guy, well aside from being my buddy Clint's brother, he is exactly like me twenty years ago you know with the way his marriage ended and his kids not wanting to speak to him and I just wanted to make sure he was still okay since I don't see him on a Tuesday too often any more. That's it. Nothing more. I'm fine, I'm not struggling, I'm not keeping anything from you." He pressed his lips to hers again. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to worry you."

"I wasn't worried about you as such" she lied, relieved when she got home and found Rusty and Gus waiting for her with a home cooked meal as a distraction from worrying about him. "I understand what it's like, I know it's difficult to attend a meeting on a consistent night in our line of work but this is something we could easily avoid if you just told me these things without me having to try and drag it out of you. Sometimes it really is like pulling teeth."

He laughed before kissing her again and then turning his attention back to his food. "Okay. Okay. Fair enough. I'm here after a meeting for the first time ever and that's step one, now time for step two. What do you want to know?" he asked before shovelling in another forkful of pasta, sensing it would be his last chance to eat for a while as he answered all of the questions she'd been holding onto for a very long time. "Have you thought of your questions yet?"

"Seriously?" she asked, still shocked that he was offering to talk so openly to her when he'd flat out refused to do so in the past.

"Seriously" he nodded. "This is your chance so go for it. You want to know all about AA and how I've got sober and how I stay sober, then all you've got to do is ask me. So ask away." He waited for a moment as she stared at him with intense concentration. "Well?"

"This is harder than you think with the whole anonymous factor to consider."

"Okay, well do you want to know about when I first joined AA?" he suggested. "How many times I fell off the wagon before I got to twenty days? That sort of thing?"

"No."

"No?" he repeated, unsure what she really wanted from him in that case.

"No I don't want to know that."

"Why? I thought this is what you wanted."

"But that's the past and I've already told you that we've come into this relationship with a completely clean slate. I don't care about any women between Sandra and me and I don't care about any slips in that time either unless you really want to tell me about it."

Andy shook his head enthusiastically. "Not really, it doesn't exactly paint me in a very good light."

"Andy I'd never look at you any differently, no matter what you've done in the past" she told him and not for the first time.

"Well you say that but..."

"I say it because it's true" she told him before she pressed her lips to his. "Everything that has happened in the past has made you the man you are right now, the man currently annoying the hell out of me in my kitchen, the man I love" she said sweetly, kissing him again. "Never forget that."

"Okay but if you've no interest in that crap then what do you want to know exactly?"

Sharon shrugged, struggling to know herself what exactly she wanted from him in that regard. "I don't know, day to day stuff." He looked at her confused, still not sure what she was looking for. "I'm not asking you to tell me what goes on at your meetings or anything that's happened before this moment."

"Then what?"

"If you want to go to a different meeting then tell me and tell me why because unless it's escaped your notice I'm not actually a mind reader" she told him. "If you're struggling then tell me and maybe I can help you or at least try to. I mean, do you struggle from time to time? I assume you do, it seems logical to me that you'd have bad days or even bad weeks and months but you never tell me. I may not be able to help you but I could in the very least be there for you but you just won't tell me" she said as she began to rant, having kept all of her frustrations to herself for nearly a year now. "You want to speak to your sponsor about something then fine, but tell me that's what you're doing so you're not keeping it to yourself, bottling it up and making things worse. I don't know these things. I don't know anything. Do you even have a sponsor?" she asked, on a roll by that point and unable to stop firing questions at him. "You've never really spoken to me about them other than maybe once or twice as a passing comment. You keep an eye out for your friend's brother? Well why wouldn't you tell me that you do that? I'm not asking for much, just for you to tell me how you are and what you're thinking and what sort of day you've had rather than closing yourself off about it all the time. If we're going to have a life together then I need you to share these things with me." She suddenly fell silent, feeling a little out of breath but a lot better for having got all of that off her chest for Andy to hear.

Andy smiled and laughed. "Have you been bottling that up?"

"I have actually" she said with a smile.

"Do you feel better now?"

She laughed. "You know what? I do. I really really do" she admitted before she took a deep breath and looked at him expectantly.

"Come here" he said kindly as he pulled her into his arms and hugged her for a moment. He then lowered his head to kiss her in a very long and slow embrace, eliciting a quiet but oh so contented moan from the back of Sharon's throat as they pulled apart. He looked at her with a smile on his face. "You taste good."

"Better than a bottle of scotch?" she asked, not prepared to let him off the hook since he had agreed to discuss it with her.

"Better than anything" he confirmed. "Okay. This might take some time so best get yourself comfortable." Without warning he grabbed her around the hips and picked her up and placed her on the counter next to his food, ignoring the squeal of surprise that escaped her lips as he did it.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Well make your mind up woman!" he shouted and making them both laugh. "Okay, addressing your questions in order as best as I can remember them and please feel free to yell at me if I miss something out." Sharon laughed as she put her hand on his shoulder as he leant forward and attempted to pick at his food as he confessed all. "Yes some days I struggle," he said very calmly in an attempt to make her feel likewise, "and usually it's for no apparent reason. Sometimes a case can get to me you know if kids are involved or something, like it does with everyone only I can't drink it away anymore. I had a hard time when we found Gus' sister for example."

She smiled and nodded, remembering well at that time that he was struggling but as had become the routine they'd fallen into, he simply didn't discuss it. "I noticed. I was glad at the time when you turned down dinner with me and went to a meeting instead."

"Yeah well I'd much rather have come here for dinner but I needed to go."

"I understand and yet you didn't go to a meeting when we found the little Weber girl before Christmas. I knew you were struggling then and why you were and yet you didn't go."

"Yeah well I very thankful I didn't go considering everything that happened that evening as a result." On the night in question, with a little encouragement from Provenza and indeed the rest of the squad he opted to take Sharon home and get her something to eat as everyone else finished their paperwork, a journey which ultimately lead to each of them saying 'I love you' to the other for the very first time. He smiled at her but she didn't respond, wanting him to take the matter seriously. "I thought at the time that being here for you would be much more beneficial to me as well as you than going to a meeting and I was right. I ended the evening much more relaxed than if I'd gone to a meeting" he said since he'd drifted off to sleep with Sharon in his arms for the very first time, something that was far more relaxing than any meeting he'd been to in years.

She smiled as she ran her hand down his face until he caught it and kissed her palm. "Yeah okay but for the record no matter how bad a day I'm having from this point on, I don't want you to do that. You go to your meeting and take care of yourself and I'll see you afterwards" she insisted.

"That's not always going to happen..."

"Oh yes it is or this doesn't happen" she said as she gestured between the two of them and then at the condo as if to indicate that if he didn't take care of himself first then living together would be taken off the table. "Your sobriety comes first and then me, okay?"

"Okay" he said a little reluctantly. "Deal" he confirmed with a kiss.

"What else?"

Andy rubbed the back of his neck a couple of times as he thought for a moment, clearly a little nervous and uncomfortable to be discussing his addiction with Sharon but determined to do it regardless since it was what she so desperately wanted from him. "Sometimes I can think about Dan and that makes me want a drink," he admitted as she ran a hand through his hair, "but the point is I don't and I haven't touched a drop in twenty years. I've come close, I won't lie but I've always been able to come down off that ledge before anything happened." He sighed and shrugged. "There have been days since we've been together where I've struggled like before and after my surgery for example but I cannot stress this enough, it had nothing to do with you at all and everything to do with me."

Sharon nodded, accepting what he had to say. "Okay."

"What's next?"

"Your sponsor?"

"Right. Yes I have a sponsor. His name is Matt and he's been my sponsor since day one and my first day in AA." He paused as he thought of what to tell her. "Erm…let me think. He's a couple of years older than I am, he's a lawyer or rather he was, married with a couple of kids. What else? He's fallen off the wagon a couple of times in the last twenty years which has been interesting to deal with myself to say the least." He laughed at the memory and she couldn't help but laugh with him. "But I've stuck with him like he's stuck with me and I probably wouldn't be here without him."

"Will I ever meet him?"

"If you want to, sure. Maybe we could go out to dinner with him and his wife sometime."

"That would be lovely. What's his wife's name?" Sharon asked.

Andy cringed for a second. "Er…I don't know."

"What? You don't know? You've known him for twenty years and you don't know the name of his wife?" Sharon asked with equal parts horror and amusement, knowing it was such a typically Andy thing to admit.

"Pretty much. I can never remember and it's got to the point where I just can't ask." Sharon laughed, now understanding how he found himself in that particular predicament. "I usually just call her 'Fancy Pants.'"

Sharon laughed. "Fancy Pants?"

"In truth I've only met her a couple of times but each time she seems to be wearing these ridiculously tight pants with something written in sparkling stones across her ass."

Sharon shook her head. "I should have known."

"No it's not like that. I would never even think about...it's just hard to not notice."

"Mummmmmmm" Sharon hummed with suspicion. "I'm sure."

"It is! I swear! It's like trying not to look at an eclipse." Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "Actually it'd be helpful if we did go out to dinner with them and then maybe Matt might introduce you to her and solve my problem."

"Or you could just pay attention to these things."

"Twenty years ago I wasn't really in that kind of 'pay attention' frame of mind and like I said I haven't been able to ask since without looking like a complete idiot."

"Since when does that stop you?" she asked before laughing at her own joke. Andy just frowned in response which earnt him a quick kiss on the lips. "Do you sponsor anyone?"

"No, I never have."

"For any reason?"

"It'd be too difficult with work the way it is you know" he explained with a shrug. "I wouldn't really have the time or more practically be able to just drop everything in an instant and help someone in a vulnerable position, like if I'm in court I can't just leave" he rightly reasoned, having given it a lot of thought of the years. "I know what it's like in the beginning and when you're struggling, you need someone who is always going to answer their phone, always going to be there when they need you and I can't guarantee that." He shrugged. "So I speak to people here and there and offer advice and an ear over a cup of coffee when I can but I've never actually sponsored anyone."

"Okay but you speak to Clint's brother?" Sharon asked, trying to see the difference.

"Well he's the exception. I don't sponsor him but I'm there for him for Clint."

"How do you do that?"

"If I don't see him I call him once a week to just check in, see how he's doing, let him know I'm okay too, you know the usual." Sharon just stared at him in silence to make it easy for him to tell that she wanted more from him. "Aside from work I don't see him all that often because he's married with kids and they take up a lot of his time as they would do."

"Kids?" Sharon asked with interest.

"Yeah he has a daughter, Katie, who is like five or six, something like that and a son, Marcus who is sixteen" he informed her with a tone of voice which suggested that neither of his kids were exactly well behaved.

"That tone makes him sound like a handful."

"Rob, that's Clint's brother, he's had me speak to the kid a couple of times."

"Why?"

"The kid is always in trouble and I do mean always" he said with a roll of his eyes. "He's been arrested more times than I was at that age so Rob had me try to drum some sense into him since he paid no attention to Clint."

"Oh I see. You're the cautionary tale?"

Andy laughed. "Something like that. There's lot of 'You don't want to turn out like me' talk."

"Oh I don't know" she said softly as she ran her hand through his hair again and then leant down to kiss his lips. "I think they'd be lucky to have him turn out like you."

"Yeah now maybe but not twenty years ago. If he turned out completely like me I don't think Rob would live long enough to see him turn his life around" he joked as she laughed at him. Feeling the need to clear everything up Andy dropped his fork and moved to stand between Sharon's legs as she sat on the edge of the counter, running his hands around her waist. "I've never told you about him before because I honestly never thought about it. I haven't been keeping secrets from you I just assumed you'd have no interest in that kind of thing, no other woman I've dating since Sandra has been interested."

"But I'm not just another woman Andy" she told him as she hooked her feet around his back and pulled him closer to her. "I'm planning on spending the rest of my life with you."

"Yeah I know but still I figured you wouldn't be interested."

"Why would you think that?" she asked, utterly perplexed by his statement and misconception. "This is all part of you, part of the man you are now and that makes you so different from the man I first met twenty some odd years ago, the man who reeked of booze and I wanted to smack with my shoe." They both laughed, not least because of how they now stood in each other's arms in comparison to the first couple of 'run-ins' they'd had. "It makes you the man I love. So yes I'd like to hear about it because I love you."

Andy nodded. "I'm going to try to do better. I promise."

She cupped his face in her hands. "That's all I ask, nothing more" she told him before she kissed him. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too" he replied before he kissed her back. "Anything else? Do you want to know about the weirdos I have to sit and listen to most weeks? Do you want to know what I say during my qualification?"

"Not really" Sharon shrugged, knowing that was private and really not wanting to overly pry, more interested in just knowing how he felt on a day to day basis and about the people in his life that helped him. "You've pretty much covered all the bases there and answered all my questions and as long as you keep talking to me everything will be fine between us and I'll be more than happy with our life."

"Well talking to you is one of my favourite things in this world so I hope it'll never be a problem" he said with that mischievous smile before kissing her again.

"What sort of weirdos?" she asked after a moment, now slightly intrigued.

Andy laughed since he knew she'd probably be interested. "Well we have a guy who dresses up like a doll" he told her with a shudder as he pictured his fellow recovering alcoholic in his mind and then wished he hadn't.

Sharon looked at him confused. "What? Like in a Raggedy Ann type doll costume?"

"No like he dresses as a human doll with a plastic face and everything. It is without doubt the most disturbing thing I have ever seen in my life and I've seen Provenza in swimwear, trust me those things left little to the imagination." Andy pulled a face of absolute disgust while Sharon just laughed at him. "I mean it, it's freaky. Forget Sharon Stone trying to stab me, this guy chasing me is the recurring nightmare I'm going to end up being stuck with for the rest of my life. One of these days I'm going to end up arresting this guy, I can just feel it in my waters" he said with another shudder as she laughed, her hands resting on his shoulders as he stood between her legs. "Thankfully everyone else is fairly regular. All shapes, all sizes, all going through the same thing" he confirmed with a shrug. "Anything else I can tell you?"

"Not that I can think of" Sharon replied as she stroked his cheek with her finger tips. "Thank you my beautiful boy." She leant down and captured his lips in a long slow emotion filled kiss. "I really appreciate you opening up to me," she started with a smile, "but I'm warning you now, if you come home to me in this sort of mischievous mood after every single AA meeting I will shoot you, I want you to know that."

Andy laughed and nodded. "I believe you" he replied before that same obscene smile made its way to his face once again.

"There it is again" she cried as she grabbed hold of his face with both hands and he laughed. "What are you smiling about like that?" she asked, almost pleading with him for the answer.

"Nothing, I swear."

"No there's definitely something. That smile reeks of mischief."

Andy shrugged, adjusting his hands around her back as he held her even tighter. "I'm just happy. You make me happy."

Sharon eyed him with suspicion, appreciating his answer but still not really believing him. "Yeah I'm not buying it" she said as her eyes narrowed and he laughed in response. "Since you've been so open and honest with me finally, is there anything you want to know that I've never told you?" she asked. Andy's smile grew instantly and Sharon knew exactly what he was thinking, pointing a finger at him quickly to nip it in the bud. "But not my college nickname. Anything I can do before we move in together properly?" Andy started to hum to himself as if he was thinking really hard about her question since the opportunity had presented itself. "I'm going to regret asking that aren't I?"

Andy waggled his eyebrows at her, letting her know that she had made a very big error indeed in asking such a question. "Possibly" he said simply. Sharon laughed before Andy's lips latched onto her neck and he pushed her flat on her back on the counter, standing on the balls of his feet in order to reach her.

Sharon laughed again as her hands went into his hair and his lips continued to blaze a trail across the base of her neck, all he could really reach given her position on the counter. After a moment of indulging him and enjoying the feel of his lips against her skin she regretfully came to her senses and imagined the screaming that would wake the whole building if Rusty were to come out of his bedroom and see them essentially making out on the kitchen counter. With a reluctant sigh she said "Not on your life boy" before it had chance to get any further.

Andy understood and laughed as he pulled her upright again. "It was worth a try" he said with a wink and a kiss to her lips before returning to his food. "There is one thing" he said after a moment.

"Okay" she replied cautiously as she slightly feared what embarrassing question or request was about to come her way.

"Can you do me a favour at work?"

"At work? Sure" she again said a little cautiously as she expected a request that she couldn't possibly agree to without bringing their professionalism within the confines of PAB into question. "What is it?"

He dropped his fork again so that he could fully explain, for once being deadly serious despite how ridiculous she would probably find his request. "The next time that we're in RACER or even in the Murder Room for that matter, wherever, don't stand in front of me like that ever again please" he asked with an almost pleading expression on his face with him finding some of her gestures and mannerisms and just the way she carried herself at work _very_ distracting from time to time.

Sharon frowned at him, utterly baffled. "What do you mean? Stand like what?"

"Like directly in front of me with your back to me and your hands on your hips in a way that was," Andy's words trailed off for a moment as he pictured it in his mind and to say he was turned on was a huge understatement. He shook his head as he picked up his train of thought again. "Well let's just say that it's very very distracting when I'm trying to concentrate on actual police work."

Sharon laughed. "What are you talking about?"

"You, after the FBI had cleared out and took all of our evidence with them the other day you stood in front of the screen, directly in front of me may I add, like this." He moved to stand in front of her with his hands on his hips and his legs slightly spread apart.

Sharon frowned again, not seeing why standing like that would be an issue. "And?"

"And you were like this." He posed again, with his hands on his hips and his legs spread even apart only this time he turned around so that his back was to her, just like she stood in front of him, and with his hips thrust to the side, exaggerating the pose for effect.

Again Sharon couldn't see what the problem was, thinking she hadn't been doing anything unusual or for want of a better word 'tempting' as to distract Andy from the job at hand. "So?"

"So if you want me to continue being one hundred percent professional at all times at work then you need to not do that again."

Sharon laughed at him, thinking he was exaggerating since she could hardly sneeze some days without him wanting to rub his hands all over her. "Why? What's wrong with this?" She jumped down from the counter and stood next to him, imitating the way he was standing since she didn't remember what she did the other day at all, the whole thing being very natural to her at the time because she was so focused on the security footage that had just played on the big screens.

"What's wrong with it? You're kidding right? Look at you!" he cried as he pointed towards her with his tongue almost hanging out. "All I wanted to do was walk up behind you and put my hands around your waist and run my lips up and down your neck." Without waiting for her to respond he did just that, walking up behind her, allowing her to feel the heat from his body on her back and his breath on her neck before he touched her, making her almost tremble with the anticipation before he laid a finger on her. When his hands did eventually snake around her waist, his hands splayed on her abdomen as they slipped under her robe, her eyes closed. She knew what was coming next and moved her head to the side to allow him better access to her neck. He smiled in response and then obliged, his lips and his tongue moving slowly from the base of her neck and to her ear. Her right hand went into his hair as her left clutched his on her stomach, another highly aroused moan coming from the back of her throat. Sharon completely lost herself in the feel of him again until he suddenly stopped and they both remembered that he was making a point and asking a favour of her. "I only didn't because..."

"We were at work?" she asked as her hand moved from his hair and to his cheek.

"Well I was going to say because Buzz and Provenza were in there with us but that works too I suppose" he said before he pushed his lips to her neck and then her shoulder.

"Oh shut up!" she laughed as she turned in his arms. "You're exaggerating."

"I'm not. You wanted me to stop looking at your legs during work hours which I've done..."

"Some of the time" she said, finishing his sentence for him once again and throwing in a little Darth Raydor glare just for good measure since it was an issue she kept chastising him for in the weeks and months that followed their relationship becoming physical.

"Yeah okay some of the time but I am only human after all and I can't help how I feel when you do things like that right in front of me" he protested like he simply couldn't control himself when temptation was thrown in his face like that.

Sharon laughed. "Okay fine but if I have to be careful about how I stand around you then you have to stop doing that thing with your hands in the interview room around me."

"What thing with my hands?" he asked as utterly confused as Sharon was moments earlier.

"Oh like you don't know."

Andy laughed. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He let go of her waist for a moment and studied his hands, repeatedly turning them over in case he was missing something. "What about my hands?" he asked.

"You don't know that you have the sexiest pair of hands on God's green earth?" she asked.

"What?"

Sharon looked at him amazed, assuming that one of the _many_ women he'd 'dated' over the years would have mentioned it to him at some point. "You seriously don't know this?"

"Know what?" he asked.

"No one has ever told you?"

"No. What about my hands?" he asked, beyond intrigued since he apparently had a weapon of knee trembling proportions that he honestly knew nothing about.

"Oh my God Andy! These, these," she said as she took his hands in hers and quickly kissed the backs of them, "are your secret weapon my beautiful boy and every time you gesture with them or touch your face with them in an Interview Room or anything at all really I'm wondering why the air conditioning isn't up any higher" she admitted.

Andy couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously?"

"Oh most definitely and not just because I know and like what you can do with them either" she told him in a very sultry whisper before she kissed him hungrily. "They're just very very sexy" she added, kissing him again.

Andy smiled as his hands went back around her waist and pulled her flush against him. "I'll have to keep them in my pocket a lot more."

"Not all the time I hope" she smiled and then kissed him again. "I'm so glad you're here" she said once again before her lips brushed his. "I really missed you last night."

"Me too."

"But if I'm honest not nearly as much as I missed my bed" she admittedly before they both laughed.

"Me too."

"We're getting far too old to be working through the night after a hellishly long day."

"Speak for yourself," he said as he pretended to be insulted, "I've still got stamina, I can still go all night long."

Sharon smiled and chomped on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing at him. "Andy I saw you napping while standing up in the Break Room when you went to get yourself a cup of coffee this morning." Sharon had no idea he was in there when she went to get herself a caffeine boost earlier that day so it came as a surprise. It was an even bigger surprise when she spoke to him and he didn't respond other than to snore a little louder as he remained propped up against the bar with his back to the door.

"I wasn't asleep" he lied.

"You were snoring" she pointed out.

"It was a frog in my throat."

"Then why did you jump about a foot into the air when I touched your hand?" she asked. It was no exaggeration either, Andy leapt out of his skin when she touched his hand in an valiant attempt to gently wake him up and at the very least get him to sit down before he fell down.

"You're a scary woman Raydor. Very scary" he said before he immediately felt the back of his knees being pinched. He laughed as he backed away from her and out of reach. "Okay I confess I may have nodded off when I went to load up on caffeine but it was just a power nap."

"Yeah okay but you can still go all night?" she teased.

"You'd better believe it" he said with a wink as he stepped back towards her and pressed his lips to hers. "Me and my hands" he added as his hands went back around her waist as he kissed her again. "I did miss you last night."

"Me too. It's funny to say I missed someone when I spent all night in their company." During the previous night at work they were hardly out of each other's sight for more than five minutes the entire time but that professional wall was always between them and it became easy to miss the long conversations they would have in bed before going to sleep as they lay in each other's arms.

"But it's not the same though is it?"

"No it's not" she replied, kissing him again.

"Did I miss anything last night?"

"You were with me."

"Yeah I know but I know you spoke to the kids on your laptop in your office. They okay?" he asked, knowing full well that it was the sort of conversation she would avoid until they got home.

"They're great. They send you their love."

"You should have called me, I could have spoken to them with you."

Sharon smiled, pleased that he wanted to talk to her children with her. "Only if you wanted to hear Emily scream for ten minutes while we did."

"Screaming?" he asked, not sure if he should be concerned or not.

"She's still not fully calmed down from me telling them that I'm moving in with you" she informed him with a shake of her head with Emily's reaction being even more extreme than she was expecting. "She's been sending me colour schemes and fabric samples for a house we haven't even found yet." Andy laughed. "I know she's excited but can we hold off on all of that until we've actually put an offer in somewhere?"

"Now you know why I haven't told Nicole yet. If you think Emily is bad, Nicole would be constantly bombarding us with listings she'd think we'd like and going to open houses."

"All of this assuming that the boys haven't told her yet" she pointed out since Andy seemed to trust his Step-Grandkids with a secret a lot more than she did.

"They wouldn't. I've fully explained about the 'Guy Code' now and they've taken it on board and they know not to tell another guy's secrets."

Sharon smiled as she shook her head at him. "I dread to think what else you've told those boys, those poor little sweet innocent boys."

"And you'll never know" he winked. "Guy Code. And speaking of the Guy Code..."

"Oh God! Why am I suddenly so frightened?"

"I spoke to Gavin earlier. He wants me to go out for a drink with him sometime."

Sharon's jaw almost hit the floor. "What?"

"That's what he said" he replied as he kissed her again before he headed back to his food and started to pick at the leftovers again. "I can only assume that after dinner the other night and after I imparted all of the advice I could on..."

"'Big manly sports'?" she said.

"Exactly, that he's come to the conclusion that in fact I'm not actually the devil in human form."

"Well..." she joked before laughing.

Andy glared at her over his shoulder before she joined him, running her hand around his shoulder again. "He either genuinely wants to get to know me properly for the sake of not pissing you off too much or he's planning on having me clipped and you'll never see me again."

"I guess I'll have to wait until you've been out with him to find out which. It'll be a nice surprise either way" she joked.

"Hey!"

Sharon laughed before she kissed his shoulder. "And what about your little friend? He's not going to get jealous if you go out for a drink with another man?"

Andy sighed, getting tired with that particular joke just as Sharon was tired of hearing about his so called potent Super Sperm. "He is not my boyfriend!" he cried about Provenza for about the five hundredth time.

"I didn't say he was" she replied as she laughed. "Maybe the three of you could all go out together? A little threesome" she suggested as she winked.

"Oh I can just see that, me, Provenza and Gavin going to a bar. And you thought the bachelor party was bad."

"I wouldn't put it past him to slip something in your drinks and take some compromising photos in an effort to get you away from me."

"He really hates me that much?" Andy asked, not sure what else he could do in order to get Sharon's closest friends to like him or at the very least stop them from looking at him like he was a serial killer.

"Oh he doesn't hate you" she reassured him with it only being about fifty percent true. "When you keep your mouth closed he actually thinks you're very very handsome." With that Andy turned to Sharon with his mouth open as all the colour drained from his face. "Look at your face! Don't panic" she said as she kissed him on the lips. "He might find you handsome but you're really not his type."

"How could I not panic?" Andy asked as if Gavin was like Kaa the snake in _The Jungle Book_ and if his eyes started spinning as he looked at him he could quite easily end up in bed with him before he even knew what was happening.

Sharon laughed. "He's not going to put a move on you. Aside from anything I'd kill him if he tried it."

"Drinks suddenly feel like a bad idea."

"Are you seriously telling me you've never noticed the way he's looked you up and down in the past?" she asked, more than a little surprised.

"No! When?"

"On the many many instances when you've had him as your lawyer against the various complaints levied against you in the past."

"All of which were completely fabricated" he was quick to remind her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You forget I've handled your package."

"Oh I would never forget that" he said as he winked.

"Oh shut up" Sharon laughed.

"Anyway how do you know he looked me up and down back then?" he asked, suddenly interested in the answer.

"He told me."

"He told you?"

"Yes."

"What did he say?" Andy asked, feeling like a piece of meat.

"I think his exact words were 'When he keeps his mouth closed that Lieutenant Flynn is one good looking silver fox. If I were you I'd ride him like Secretariat.'"

Andy's jaw fell open again, his shock evident. "What?"

"You heard me" she said as she turned around and leant her back against the counter so that she could look him in the eye, her arms folded. "He thought I was crazy for not asking you out for coffee or something...more specifically the 'something.'"

"But he threatened my testicles."

"I know he did. To be clear he saw absolutely no problem with me using you for sex some fifteen years ago since he wasn't your type but he was less keen on me being in an actual proper relationship with you" she explained with once upon a time Gavin spending many an hour encouraging her to go to bed with him as quickly as possible because 'Celibacy isn't good for the soul.'

"Well what did you say?"

"Keeping in mind that this was over fifteen years ago, I said to him that although I agreed that you were indeed incredibly handsome that I'd rather continue with my vow of celibacy than let you anywhere near me" she said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Andy asked, not believing his ears.

"Well you couldn't have been ruder or more obnoxious to me at the time."

Andy laughed in acknowledgment. "And what has Gavin said about your change in heart?"

"Nothing really since he still thinks you're handsome. He's objected to you more than he's objected to me" she informed him since Gavin had never said anything to her apart from asking 'Are you sure about this?' a couple of times when they first started dating.

"So you have been ogling me for over twenty years."

"No I haven't. Thinking that you were attractive when I happened to bump into you at the entrance to Parker Centre is a lot different to ogling you for twenty years but yes I found you very attractive at the time, something which has never changed."

Andy dropped his fork and looked at her shocked as he realised what it actually meant. "I don't believe this. All this time?"

"What's the matter? Are you upset that we thought about you as just a piece of meat?"

"No. I'm upset that I could maybe have got you to sleep with me over fifteen years ago!" he cried as if he had really missed out when in reality they both suspected that it would never have worked between them back then without becoming friends first. "Why didn't you say anything to me? "

She frowned at him even though she knew he was only joking with her. "And do you really think we'd be here together right now if I had opted to use you for sex one Sunday afternoon back in the day?" she questioned.

"Maybe. Maybe my Super Sperm would..."

"Stop!" she cried as he laughed. "Don't you dare!"

"I'm only kidding" he confirmed as he ran his arms back around her waist. "No I don't think we'd be here now if that had happened then. Like I told you the other night, we became friends at the perfect time in both our lives. At any other time I'm not so sure it would have worked." He kissed her with a certain amount of relief that things had worked out as well as they had between them given everything they'd been through. "And without doubt my Super..." he started before Sharon smacked him around the back of his head. "Okay. Shutting up now."

"I think the five children that we have between us are more than enough thank you."

"Six. You keep forgetting Provenza" he reminded her as she laughed. "So I guess I must have passed my inspection the other night at dinner if Gavin wants to go out for drinks with me?" The previous Friday they had finally got around to having the dinner that Gavin requested with him wanting to talk to Andy about sports so that he could learn a few things in order to impress his latest boyfriend. All in all dinner had been a roaring success with Sharon warning Gavin that he needed to behave before they sat down to eat a lot more than she did Andy. In truth the whole 'sports' conversation had actually being a rouse to get Andy to turn up with the whole thing being Andrea's idea as she tried her hardest to get Gavin to warm up to Andy for Sharon's benefit. In the very beginning Andrea and Gavin had both been in the same boat, neither of them thinking that Andy was good enough for their friend and worried that he would break her heart. But after Andrea had spent so much time around them at work, seeing the way that they looked at each other even though they were in their professional modes she knew that their relationship was going to work. On top of that Andrea was at the hospital when Andy had his surgery and seeing the way that Sharon struggled as she waited for him to be returned to her combined with the way Andy looked at her as he was wheeled away made her realise just how much they loved each other. At that point she realised that she would only look bad and petty if she wasn't happy for them and much kinder to Andy, encouraging Gavin to do likewise.

"Apparently so. See good things can happen when you behave yourself."

"Oh that I know only too well" he replied with a wink. "If only I'd started to behave myself earlier we might be about to celebrate more than just our one year anniversary."

"Andy, Andy, Andy, there's still plenty of time for me to kill you before we reach that stage" she joked even though they were only a couple of weeks away from celebrating one year of being together officially.

Andy laughed. "But going back to our legion of kids for one moment, how's Rusty doing tonight?" he asked as he let her go again and returned to his meal.

Sharon looked at him puzzled as her hand returned to stroking his back. "He's fine. Why? Has he said something to you about his Mom and the baby or...?"

"No nothing like that" he was quick to reassure her. "The video of Buzz's Dad and Uncle being murdered, after Buzz had sat down and watched it tonight he emailed it over to Rusty. He didn't in all honesty think he should watch it anymore but since he'd already agreed he could, he emailed it over to him."

"Oh God" Sharon groaned as her hands covered her face and she leant her back against the counter, her worry about Buzz and her part in getting the VHS cleared up clearly coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Rusty didn't tell you this?"

"No. He got a text and an email from Buzz sometime after dinner and disappeared off to his bedroom for a little while but he didn't tell us what it was all about." When Rusty eventually came back from his bedroom and sat down at the table both Sharon and Gus asked him what Buzz wanted that was so urgent and warranted both a text message and an email but he dismissed it immediately, making out that it was no big deal and it was just a note about the post they were going to film the following afternoon.

"I didn't think he would which is why Buzz emailed it to me as well I guess."

"For your help?"

"No and unless he asks me directly I don't want to interfere" Andy replied, determined to stay out of it unless Buzz directly asked for his help since he really didn't want to tread on his or Rusty's toes. "He told me what he'd done in case you know the kid needed to talk to someone about it so sent it to me too."

"So you've seen it?"

"Yeah I watched it on my phone in the car before I came over here" he told her with it being another reason why he had no time to get something to eat before driving over to see her.

"And?" she almost cringed. "How bad is it?"

"It's pretty bad I'll be honest and looking at it these guys weren't amateurs. It clearly wasn't their first time robbing an ATM like that which I suppose gives him something to go on at least but it's not much."

"Oh! Poor Buzz!"

"Yeah I mean it's not so much the murders themselves thank God. I'm relieved to say that you don't see that much and what does happen goes by in pretty much a blur and the video isn't the best quality in the world despite the best work of the FBI but it's that look of panic and sheer terror on his Father's face as he's pushed up against the ATM camera that's going to haunt him" Andy explained. In private he really didn't want Buzz to see that video and like Provenza he thought that the crime scene and autopsy photos were best kept from him too but at the end of the day it wasn't their decision. This was Buzz's investigation and more than that, it was Buzz's life and his family and he had to let him do what he wanted and help if he asked for it.

Sharon put her head in her hands and sighed, kicking herself for helping him see what was on that VHS tape. "I knew I shouldn't have given that video to the FBI! I knew it!"

"Don't blame yourself." Andy quickly pulled her into his embrace and kissed the top of her head a couple of times before saying anything else. "If you hadn't done it then Buzz would have found another way and may even have ended up paying for it from his own pocket so one way or another we would still have ended up here. He's just grateful you helped him out."

"I know but I still feel awful about it."

"Which is why I'm telling you about all this so that you can be there for Buzz and for Rusty if they need you" he explained as he continued to cuddle her against his chest.

"I said to him 'I hope this helps more than it hurts.'"

"Well I don't know about that" Andy said truthfully, seeing no point in sugar coating the situation. "There's not much to go on at first glance but I'm sure he'll find something if he studies it and at least he's seen it now and he knows what happened."

"Are you going to help him?"

"If he asks. Look the guy wants to do this on his own and I respect that. If he wants my help I'll help him but he really only sent it to me because of Rusty."

Sharon looked up and met his eye. "Which was thoughtful of him."

"But odd that he didn't send it to you instead" Andy suggested.

"Oh I think we both know why he sent it to you rather than me other than because I'm his Captain, Mr Step-Dad in waiting" she said with a smile as she pulled his tie into her hand and ran it through her fingers.

"Yeah, yeah" Andy nodded, still never thinking that Rusty would ever see him like that, see him as anything other than his Mom's annoying boyfriend. "Still I wonder why the kid didn't tell you? I mean I know he's seen some horrors in his life but this seems more personal to him even though he didn't know either of them."

"Oh who knows what's going on inside his head at the moment with everything to do with his Mom and the baby" Sharon replied with a sigh.

"And on that subject has he spoken any more about his Mom and the baby?"

"Yes, while we were having dinner I erm 'poked the bear' so to speak."

"And did you lose a finger?"

Sharon laughed. "Pretty much."

"And?" he asked, already knowing the answer even before Sharon sighed in response. "That bad huh?"

"That boy is as stubborn as you are. You could almost be twins." Andy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at that it's true, you're as bad as each other but you're both so stubborn you refuse to see it."

"Yeah okay, but what did he say?" Andy asked, not wanting to get into an argument about it.

"He's completely undeterred in his stance" Sharon said sadly, hoping that Rusty may have softened by now after a few days to think about and digest the bomb shell that had been dropped on him. "He thinks the baby should go up for adoption the second it's born and he won't hear another word about it."

"Well you can't blame the kid."

"I know and I understand where he's coming from but it's not his choice to make and he should be supporting his Mom not piling on the pressure and insisting that it's his way or the high way" Sharon explained with real animation.

"Have you told him that?"

"I have and so it seems has Gus but he still won't listen. He won't listen to any of it."

"Do you want me to speak to him?"

"Not right now" she told him with a smile, grateful as she was for the offer. "He may see you as an ally if he needs to talk if you stay out of it."

"Okay" Andy nodded. "I can do that. Has he called her since the other night at least?"

"No. He won't call her and I'm not sure how his mind can be changed about that right now."

"Maybe Gus will help" he suggested, looking for the positives.

"I hope so" she said more optimistic than certain. "He made some very valid points over dinner, telling him he only lives a few miles from Paloma and he'd do anything to see her and yet he's trying to push the baby away and it's not even born yet."

"Do you think he listened?"

"I can only hope" she shrugged. "What's important to note is that Gus takes absolutely no nonsense from him and tells him exactly like it is..."

"Like Provenza."

Sharon laughed. "Right, well maybe between the two of them they might be able to talk some sense into him."

"How about Dr Joe? Has Rusty told him yet?" Andy asked.

Sharon shook her head. "I don't know. I assume so."

"You can't ask?"

"No, I can't ask Rusty about his therapy."

"I didn't mean Rusty, I meant Dr Joe. Why don't you ask him if Rusty has told him about his Mom?" he asked.

"Oh that's impossible."

"Why?"

"He won't spill" Sharon replied, making no attempt to hide her annoyance.

"How do you know if you don't ask?"

Sharon looked at him sheepishly and chewed on her lip before confessing. "Because I've tried it before when he first started having therapy that's how" she blurted out as Andy laughed. "I wanted to know if Rusty was okay when he was first being accessed."

"And he wouldn't tell you?"

"No" she said more than a little annoyed. "I asked as his guardian and he told me I needed written permission from Rusty and then I asked as the officer in charge of the investigation and he told me I needed written permission from a judge. He wouldn't budge."

Andy laughed. "You're so sneaky Raydor!"

"A lot of good it did me."

"Did you try using your best Darth Raydor death glare at him?" Andy asked only to be met with the glare in question in return. "Yeah a little like that."

"It didn't work" she sighed.

"Wow! The guy must be immune."

"Oh shut up!"

Andy laughed. "At least all of this this is distracting him from freaking out about the possible move."

"Not possible move, definite move" she corrected him and then kissed him on the lips. "I've told you repeatedly, this is happening and now the rest is up to you."

"I know and since we're on this subject I have some news."

"Oh yes?" Sharon asked. Andy just smiled in return and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Your sex eyes are not news I'm afraid my boy, I have very much grown accustomed to them and their mystical powers over women."

Andy laughed. "It's not that" he said before he smiled obscenely.

"I knew something was going on with you!" she cried, more satisfied then anything that she was able to read him as well as she could, not having that kind of a relationship with a man since the first few years with Jack. "I knew it! Go on! Deny it again."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he replied, accepting that he couldn't keep anything from her no matter how hard he tried, not that it mattered, he simply adored that connection with her.

Sharon cupped his face with both her hands, his smile contagious and spreading to her face in an instant. "This face has screamed mischief all evening. Well?" she asked as her hands moved from his cheeks and took up their familiar home on his backside. "Would you care to share your news with me or am I supposed to guess what's going on?"

Andy continued to smile as he pulled her even closer to his chest, his hand stroking her cheek for a second as he savoured the moment before telling her his news. "I think," he said before pausing in order to drag it out, "I've found our house."

"What?" Sharon asked, a little surprised since she wasn't entirely sure what he was about to say to her that had got him in such a good mood.

"You heard me," he grinned, "I think I've found our house. My realtor sent me over some details the other day and they were having an open house tonight so I stopped by to take a look at it before my meeting." It was all very last minute but Andy's realtor Jason had called him just as he was climbing into his car to leave work. His plan was to grab a bite to eat before driving over to his AA meeting but that all changed when Jason encouraged him to visit this particular open house, advising him that a local real estate expert was all over the property and in her opinion it was the perfect time to buy. By this point Andy was staying over at the condo six nights a week without being invited, it was just expected with him only staying at his house following an AA meeting and yet that still wasn't enough for him. He wanted to live with Sharon desperately and Rusty too for that matter so when he got the call from Jason, who was enthusiastic to say the least, he drove straight over there with a new level of determination to get the next phase of his life with Sharon up and running.

"And?" she asked, desperate to know more.

Andy practically moaned with pleasure in response, a noise she was only accustomed to hearing him make when turkey was involved or she was completely naked. "Oh Sharon you have to see this place."

Sharon smiled as his moan caused her cheeks to flush. "That good?"

"Good? It's amazing, like it's the perfect place for you, me and the kid to call our home" he told her with unprecedented levels of enthusiasm for Andy Flynn, the man who got excited by very few things, all of which usually involved Sharon, food or sports. "The only real problem other than a possible deal breaker that I spotted in the yard is we may have a battle on our hands."

"How so?"

"Well because the price is so unbelievably low we may have to act quickly if we want to get it" he said a little nervously. As he saw it there were two potential snags with the house that he saw as the perfect place for them. Firstly there was a little snafu in the yard but unless Sharon spotted it for herself he wasn't going to point it out since it was something he could more than live with as long as he could live with her. The second snag was the speed of which it was all happening. As they sat in Trattoria Spoleto and talked about moving in together Sharon had made it clear that she didn't want to rush into anything. Rusty was obviously a problem and getting him on board was going to take some time. She also wanted to do everything properly and by that she meant that if they were going to buy a house together then this was the last time she ever wanted to move, so this was going to be the last ever house they moved into. Neither really expected anything to happen so quickly but since the perfect place had almost fallen into his lap it would be foolish to turn it down. Still he expected to be hearing the news that he would need to buy the house on his own and then move into it alone until Sharon and Rusty were ready.

"How quick?"

"Like we might need to list this place by the end of tomorrow type quick" he said while trying his hardest not to cringe at her expected response.

Much to Andy's surprise Sharon just smiled with a sense of excitement flooding over here and clear for him to see. "Really? It's that good?"

"Oh believe me it's that good and better" he raved. "So I've called my realtor and I've arranged to see it again tomorrow morning. If you'd like to come with me?" he asked tentatively.

"I'd love..." Sharon started before her hand flew up and smacked herself on the forehead as she suddenly realised that it was impossible. "I can't. Andy I can't" she said with a real sense of disappointment in her voice that was easy for him to see.

"Why?"

"I have a budget meeting in the morning with Chief Taylor and Chief Pope" she explained with her monthly meeting with the top brass something that she simply couldn't get out of no matter how much she wanted to. "I can't skip that to go house hunting with my boyfriend. I'm so sorry."

"Oh well we can wait I mean..."

"No, no, no" she replied quickly, not wanting them to miss out on what he deemed the perfect house just because she had a budget meeting. "Don't not go on my account. If it is really as good as you say it is then it might not be on the market for long and we might miss our chance. Go and have another look and I can go and see it another day and we can even bring Rusty so he can see it for himself too" she offered, giving his backside a squeeze for good measure.

"Speaking of Rusty has any progress been made on that front yet?" he asked cautiously.

"I'll be honest he's not really mentioned it since but don't worry about Rusty" she said with another squeeze of his backside, trying her hardest to make sure he didn't worry about something she was dealing with. "I'll handle my reluctant son and you handle finding the house. That sounds like a fair division of labour to me" she offered before kissing him on the lips.

"I don't know I think I've got by far the easier job of the two. Yours sounds more like mission impossible to me" he said, suddenly sounding rather glum since he was still not convinced that they were going to get Rusty to move without drugging him and tying him up.

"As I've told you before," she said before pausing to kiss his lips, "he'll come around to the idea, I promise."

"Forever the optimist."

"Well I have to be if I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you my beautiful boy" she said with a smile before kissing him again.

"I really like the sound of that."

"Me too."

"Are you sure you don't mind me going without you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Absolutely, go, found our house, put an offer in if it's really that good."

"Do you really trust me that much?"

"I do as a matter of fact," she said with a smile before that quickly disappeared and suddenly turned into more of a Darth Raydor glare, "but only when it comes to things like this. If we're talking going out for the evening with Lieutenant Provenza without there being an incident and potentially a tattoo and some missing teeth then I don't trust you at all."

Andy laughed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome" she smiled. "So yes, I trust you, implicitly. Make an offer if you think we need to and it really is our house."

"I think it is, I really do." So far in his search Andy had been to see a number of houses but all of them had been dismissed for one reason or another so not only was this the first place he wanted her to see, but also the first time that he'd sounded so joyful about it. "I swear you're going to absolutely love this place. It's only a mile from here so it's close to work and close to Nicole, in other words the perfect location."

"Well that certainly does sound promising."

"Three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and the master bedroom is clear on the other side of the house from the other bedrooms" he explained as he pointed into the distance to give her some indication as to how far away their room would actually be from Rusty's. "I mean there are about six walls minimum between our room and Rusty's door."

Sharon laughed. "Which I know is very important to you" she said with Andy desperately hoping that they could find a house where they didn't have to be quite as quiet as they currently had to be with Rusty's bedroom so close to Sharon's.

"And to the kid oddly enough. Plus it'll be big enough for the whole family."

Sharon smiled as her hands moved up his back. "The whole family?"

"Yes because unless it's escaped your notice we do have somewhat of a large family between us now. The two of us, five kids, two grandkids, one Dean and a Provenza."

They both laughed. "I love having a big family" she enthused, starting to see Nicole as one of her children too, just like how she saw Rusty.

"Me too." He dropped his lips to hers, unable to not kiss her in that moment. "And this house will be perfect for all of us during the holidays and when they all come over. But more than that, it's perfect for us, you and me to spend the rest of our lives in" he told her as his enthusiasm levels started to rise even further making her smile as he spoke. "And it's the little details that I love about it. It has..."

Sharon quickly put her hand over his mouth to stop him from saying any more. "Nope" she said before replacing her hand with her lips. "Don't spoil it" she added. "I'd rather wait and see it for myself if it's really that perfect for us."

"You really trust me that much?"

"I know, I should probably have my head examined" she joked.

"Well I didn't want to say anything but yeah" he agreed before she laughed. "Okay. You've got yourself a deal." In reality he'd already got a back-up plan in case Sharon couldn't or he feared didn't want to come and see the house with him. Since he'd seen that one little deal breaker in the yard he thought he'd get Provenza to come and look at it with him just to give him a second opinion in case they did need to make an offer right away, with Buzz coming along too so that he could film it and Sharon would be able to see it that way. "I'll take some pictures so if we've got to make an offer you can at least see some of it before we make a decision."

"That's a great idea." She kissed him again as her smile continued to grow. "This is so exciting."

"I know but Sharon I need you to know, erm" he said as he came over all nervous suddenly. "If this place does turn out to be the perfect place for us I know this is happening a lot sooner than perhaps you and the kid are ready for but..."

Sharon smiled at him, knowing exactly what he was about it say, falling on his sword as always and sacrificing his happiness in order to make her feel better. "Andy."

"No let me finish. Like I said it's only a mile away and with the price of it, okay I admit it would be a struggle for a while but I could maybe buy it on my own for now and later, in a few months' time maybe when you and Rusty are ready you could sell the condo and move in with me then. What do you say?" he asked, wanting to give her options and not rush her into anything.

She smiled at him and stoked his face, the worry and concern that he was potentially pushing her into something she wasn't ready for clear in his eyes. "I say once again that's very patient and incredibly self-sacrificing of you Andy Flynn but in this instance it is completely unnecessary." She kissed him forcefully. "If you've truly found our house and we can get it then I don't want to wait. I'm certainly not going to let you move in without us."

Andy smiled, his relief palpable. "Really?"

"Yes" she confirmed as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms. "It may be sooner than anticipated but life has a way of surprising you especially when you least expect it, I know that better than most people. The first surprise was Rusty coming into my life and then you. This house if it's as good as you think well those opportunities don't come around very often so I'll definitely be selling up and coming with you as soon as possible." She sealed her promise with a kiss. "Although if it needs repainting I may stay here until you've done it to avoid helping" she joked and making them both laugh.

"Without wishing to quote The Beach Boys at you once again but," he paused as Sharon laughed and nodded, amazed at how he could always seemingly work them into the conversation at any moment, "it only seems the more we talk about it, it only makes it worse to live without it." He winked at her before their lips met again.

" _Wouldn't It Be Nice_?" she guessed.

"Oh yeah."

Sharon laughed. "Can a single day go by without you working The Beach Boys into the conversation?"

" _God Only Knows_ " Andy replied with a shrug. They both laughed before their lips met again. "But seriously..."

"You're going to be serious now?"

"It has been known to happen from time to time."

"Not from my experience but go on" she encouraged.

"Seriously, I can not wait."

"Then you'd better hurry up and make an offer if it is the place for us because like you I simply can not wait to get you into our bed in our room in our house" she told him with the largest of smiles. Almost instantly afterwards their lips came together, the situation quickly becoming heated as Andy's hands vanished into her hair and Sharon wrapped her arms around him. As Sharon opened her mouth, welcoming his tongue inside which was greeted with a soft hum rattling around in the back of her throat neither knew that they were no longer alone.

Gus, clad only in his boxer shorts and a grey t-shirt, had walked into the living room from Rusty's bedroom with no idea that anyone else was up and about. He walked straight to the dining table and picked up his backpack, opening up the flap and looking inside for his cell phone. As he located it and then slung his bag over his shoulder he looked up and jumped at the realisation that he wasn't alone at all. For a split second panic set in as it would to anyone who had accidentally walked in on their boyfriend's Mother blatantly making out with her own boyfriend in the kitchen. He had two options, sneak quietly back to Rusty's room and pretend it hadn't happened while hoping that they didn't break apart and see him or alternatively he could alert them to his presence. Either way it was going to be beyond awkward and a moment to erase from his memory but since he had also emerged from Rusty's room in search of a glass of water, announcing his presence was his only real option. After a deep sigh Gus cleared his throat and all but shouted "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't realise anyone else was up."

Sharon and Andy instantly broke apart. In that moment it was anyone's guess as to who was more surprised to see the other in that situation since neither Gus nor Andy had any idea that the other was in the condo that evening. "Oh no, not at all Gus" Sharon finally managed to say after her slight embarrassment that she'd been caught making out like a teenager had eased somewhat. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I was just looking for my bag and then I was going to grab a glass of water" Gus said as he waved his bag at them. "I'm just going to drop this in Rusty's room real quick and then I'll be back" he added, making sure that they both knew that he would be coming back in a moment since he'd quite clearly interrupted them and not a moment too soon.

"Okay. Take your time" Sharon smiled awkwardly as Gus trotted off towards Rusty's room. Sharon turned around to face Andy and began to laugh hysterically, not least at Andy's startled face.

"Oh my God!" Andy exclaimed while trying to keep his voice down so that neither Gus or heaven forbid Rusty should hear him. "Why didn't you tell me Gus was spending the night here?"

"What difference does it make?" she shrugged.

"It makes a massive difference."

Sharon laughed again. "Sorry I'd forgotten he was here and anyway I wasn't expecting him to come out here and catch you with your tongue down my throat."

Andy's eyed widened further as the gravitas of the situation continued to hit him in waves. Gus had never spent the night at the condo before, well not in Rusty's bedroom at least. Yes it was clear that they were sleeping together when Rusty would stay the night with Gus but for some reason, mainly because he was so awkward about these things he assumed, Rusty had never asked if it was okay for Gus to stay over in the condo before. The fact that it had happened was a major step forward in their relationship and couldn't come as anything other than a shock to Andy, not least because Sharon hadn't mentioned it in the time that he'd been with her in the kitchen that evening. "This is a big deal. A very big deal."

"I know it's a very big deal, I'm more than aware of it so," she said as she pointed a finger at him as a warning, "don't you dare say anything to either of them about it" she warned. With how skittish Rusty could be at the best of times when it came to his relationship with Gus the last thing the situation needed was one of Andy's jokes. Andy went to reply but Sharon was quick to cut him off. "I mean it, not one word."

Andy smiled at her with all of the mischief from the evening still clearly evident on his face. "I wouldn't dream of it" he lied fairly convincingly as Sharon took a couple of steps away from him so that Gus wouldn't think that he was intruding when he came back in for his glass of water.

"Yeah right" Sharon replied, not believing a word as she folded her arms in front of her.

"Honestly I won't but right now that's not important. What's important is that you need to come back over here to me," he said as he pointed to the spot directly in front of himself, "and stay here if either Gus or God forbid Rusty come back in here."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" Andy looked down towards his crotch as Sharon followed suit, clearly seeing the signs of his arousal from where the front of his pants had started to tent, something that he clearly wanted to keep hidden from Gus and even more so from Rusty.

Sharon laughed as she rolled her eyes at him. "Oh my God! Really Andy?"

"What? Don't look at me like that, you did it" he said as she frowned at him. "This is all your fault you know, I have absolutely no control over it and anyway what did you expect to happen after you made that little noise" he said with a smile as he shuffled uncomfortably on the spot.

"What noise?"

"That little throaty moan you do."

"I don't have a little throaty moan" she protested.

"Oh yes you do. Like this." Andy closed his eyes and moaned with it coming out more like a ghost having an orgasm rather than the noise that Sharon made just moments earlier.

Sharon laughed. "What on earth was that?"

"That moan you do."

"I have never made a noise like that in my life."

"Okay maybe it's more like this." Again he moaned but this time it sounded more like a goat receiving an enema against its will.

Sharon laughed again. "I think you're hearing things."

"Well I heard something and it definitely wasn't me."

"Oh yes, I know all about your little moans and growls. I know them very well" she said as she edged closer to him and kissed him on the lips.

Andy nodded. "Just like how I know you make this noise and it does unholy things to my trouser arrangements" he told her much to her amusement as they both laughed.

"Well what do you want me to do?"

Andy smiled and cocked his head to the side. "It depends."

"On what?"

"On if Gus really is coming back in here or not" he said as he kissed her again.

With both of them otherwise distracted again they failed to notice that Gus had returned and was hovering just by the fridge until he cleared his throat, beyond mortified. "I'm just going to grab a glass of water and then I'll get out of your hair" he said as he pointed towards the sink and tried not to look at them.

"Okay, take your time" Sharon replied as welcoming as possible.

As Gus tentatively stepped into the kitchen and grabbed himself a glass, Andy took hold of Sharon by the shoulders and made sure she stood directly in front of him, putting his hands on her shoulders so that she didn't move. As they watched Gus she tried not to laugh, especially when Andy pulled her a little too close to his body and the reason for her positioning became even more apparent to her. "Yeah don't mind us" Andy suddenly shouted at volume when he realised that he hadn't actually opened his mouth and said a word to Gus by that point.

An awkward silence descended upon the kitchen as Gus filled his glass with water, it seemingly taking an eternity for all three of them. Once full Gus turned to face the two of them, sipping on his water. "If I'd known you were staying over tonight Andy I would have cooked you something to eat too."

"That's okay Gus it was a very last minute decision but I raided the fridge for your leftovers anyway" Andy said as he nodded behind him at the food that was still on the counter.

"Any good?" Gus asked.

"It was great thank you. Really great" Andy nodded enthusiastically.

"You're welcome." Gus sipped on his water again as he felt the desperate desire to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible but without making the situation even more awkward still by him practically sprinting from the room. "Okay well I'm going to bed. Goodnight Sharon" he nodded as he set off out of the kitchen. The change in angle as he set off revealed that Sharon had moved her position slightly and it became very obvious what she had been previously hiding. Unable to resist the temptation Gus smirked. "Andy, interesting to see that there's going to be six more weeks of winter" he said with a nod towards his crotch. "Goodnight" he added before starting to chuckle to himself as he walked towards Rusty's room.

Sharon turned to face Andy, both of them slightly mortified but waiting until they heard Rusty's bedroom door close before reacting. The moment they heard it shut they immediately descended into fits of laughter. "It could have been worse," Andy shrugged once he was capable of speech again, "it could have been Rusty."

"Oh God! Do you think he'll tell him?"

"I doubt it."

"It might help if you could control yourself for five seconds" she jokingly chastised him as she smacked him on the arm.

"It might help if you didn't move." They both laughed again before she went back into his arms and kissed him again, compounding his problem as he tried to think of other things should Gus find a reason to return to the kitchen. "So it's pretty crowded around here tonight" he said when they broke apart and he tried to calm himself before Rusty appeared next.

"It's not a problem is it?" Sharon asked. She frowned at him for a moment, a little uncertain about his attitude for that split second. Sharon knew that Andy was slightly uncomfortable if Rusty ever wanted to talk about his relationship with Gus but had always hoped that it wasn't for the wrong reasons, not wanting to steer him wrong and just being uncomfortable having that kind of personal conversation with her son rather than anything to do with him being gay.

"Of course not" he was quick to clear up. "I'm just surprised that's all" he added, still in a state of shock that Rusty had actually plucked up the courage to ask Sharon if Gus could stay the night. "I can't believe this."

"It's not that surprising is it? It was bound to happen sooner rather than later surely" she reasoned.

"You're kidding right?" he said, not understanding why Sharon didn't find the whole thing as surprising as he did. "That Rusty asked you if Gus could stay over tonight in his bedroom, in his bed? Yes, yes it is. It's more than surprising, it's shocking. How did the kid not die from embarrassment on the spot?"

Sharon laughed as she slowly came to realise why Andy was so surprised. "He nearly did which is why Gus took charge and asked if he could stay the night while Rusty hid in his room" she explained before they both started to laugh hysterically at the young man's expense.

"What did you say?" Andy asked, still laughing.

"I said of course he could stay the night, anytime he wanted, what do you think I said?"

"'No deflowering my son!'" Andy suggested.

"I think it's a little late in the day for that don't you?" she replied with a raised eyebrow, alluding to his relationship with Gus rather than anything that happened before that fateful evening in Griffith Park all those years earlier. "He's been staying the night with Gus for months now. Not everyone is like you and more than a little slow on the uptake when they're having a move put on them" she teased, tugging on his tie.

"Yeah okay but I assume that's because Rusty's sex eyes are a lot better than yours."

"Andy!" Sharon cried with horror as she smacked him across the arm. "I don't want to think about my son's sex eyes thank you very much."

Andy laughed as he always did when he'd said something that made her give him a quick smack across some part of his anatomy in response. "If they're anything like yours I bet Gus thought he was having a seizure." Sharon immediately smacked him again as he continued to laugh. "Had I known this was going on I would have skipped my AA meeting and come straight over tonight."

"Why?"

Andy shrugged as if the answer was as plain as the nose of her face. "So I could have tormented him to death obviously."

"Not if you wanted to keep breathing you wouldn't and don't you dare say anything to him in the morning" she warned, jabbing him in the chest with her finger to make sure her point came across to him.

"I wouldn't dream of it" he grinned.

"I mean it."

"I know you do" he said as he wrapped his arms back around her. "You've got that Darth Raydor thing going on that chills mere mortals to the bone."

"Oh shut up."

He laughed and blew a quick raspberry on her neck. "So did you say anything to Rusty when he re-emerged from his bedroom?"

Sharon smiled at the memory, having to virtually tie herself in knots most of the evening so that she didn't laugh at Rusty and his blatant discomfort. "Well not about Gus staying the night no. Since he could barely look me in the eye I didn't think it was such a good idea" she explained as they both laughed again.

"Oh breakfast is going to be so much fun in the morning" he beamed.

"No it isn't. Andy, I swear if you say anything..."

"Would I?" he asked as innocently as possible.

"Yes you would" she said with Darth Raydor glaring into her with real menace. "I mean it if you say anything to him you will not like the consequences."

"What if I just smile?"

"No" she stated with zero wriggle room in her voice whatsoever. "Don't even look at either of them. Keep your eyes on me and your breakfast and that's it" she warned.

"That's okay," he shrugged, "after tonight I don't think Gus and I will be looking at each other in the eye for a while anyway."

"Oh I don't think it's your eyes he's going to be avoiding from now on" Sharon corrected before they both started laughing hysterically once again.

"Just one comment? Please?" he begged.

"No, I mean it."

"Or else what? You've already threatened my suspenders this evening" he reminded her. "What else are you going to do? Threaten them again?" he asked, thinking he had nothing else to fear.

"Well for starters," she said before moving her lips very close to his ear, knowing that the way she was about to whisper combined with her hot breath would drive him wild, "you know that thing you like that I do in the morning?"

Andy smiled as his eyes closed. "Oh very very well."

Sharon snapped her head back and jabbed him in the chest to make sure he opened his eyes again. "Well it'll be a very distant memory indeed," she warned, "if you say anything other than 'Good morning' and 'Nice weather' to either of them tomorrow."

Andy frowned. "Why do you always try to manipulate me with sex?"

"Because it's so incredibly easy" she said simply as she slapped his cheeks with the palm of her hands. "Now with that in mind I'm going to get ready for bed" she announced as she started to edge out of the kitchen.

"But you're already ready for bed."

Sharon stopped and looked back at him from over her shoulder. "Not if I've got company." She set off again in the direction of her bedroom with Andy following close behind. "Not until you clean up the kitchen" she called to him without turning around to face him. He sighed loudly with a hint of frustration as he headed back to the kitchen and she laughed. "And you'd better make sure you stack that dishwasher correctly."

"Jeez we're not even living together yet and you're already nagging me" he complained.

Sharon stopped by her door and turned to face him as he hovered by the couch. "You love it" she said before winking at him.

"Yes I do" he nodded back. As Sharon turned and disappeared into her bedroom he walked back into the kitchen to tidy up, knowing it was more about Sharon wanting a minute to get ready for bed since he had unexpectedly arrived that evening rather than her actually expecting him to clean up the kitchen but he was obviously going to do it anyway. He quickly covered up what remained on the fish and pasta and put it back in the fridge again before opening the dishwasher and depositing his fork and glass in their appropriate places. With everything cleared away he took out his cell phone from the pocket in his pants and jumped up to sit on the counter. He opened the screen and quickly dialled Provenza's number before bringing the phone to his ear.

Provenza picked up his cell phone from the nightstand next to the bed and frowned at the screen when he saw 'Flynn' written across it. He was wearing nothing more than his pyjama bottoms and a Dodgers t-shirt as he sat on the bed, propped up against the headboard with his legs stretched out. He sighed as he answered his cell and brought it to his ear. "Do you have any idea what time it is Flynn?" he barked down the phone.

"Did I wake you?"

"Yes you did as a matter of fact" Provenza lied.

Patrice sighed with annoyance. She was lying at the bottom of the bed in an orange satin nightgown with dozens of bottles of purple nail polish spread out before her as she slowly and methodically painted her husband's toenails, using him as a guinea pig to test out all of the colours she had. "No you haven't Andy!" she shouted loud enough so that Andy would be able to hear her and know that Provenza was lying to him.

Provenza quickly covered the mouthpiece with his hand so that Andy wouldn't be able to hear anymore. "Don't tell him that or I'll never get rid of him." He brought the phone back to his ear. "What do you want?" he asked him just as Patrice opened yet another bottle of polish and moved onto his right foot since she'd run out of toes on his left. Provenza quickly tried to pull his foot from her grasp. "Not the other one too!"

"But you're lopsided" Patrice reasoned.

"Oddly enough I wasn't intending to keep them this way" Provenza groaned.

Andy removed his phone from his ear and stared at it, like he might be able to see what was happening on the other end of the line. "What the hell are you two doing?" he asked when he'd brought it back to his ear.

"Nothing!" Provenza snapped back.

"I'm painting his toenails!" Patrice again shouted at volume.

"Why did you tell him that?!" Provenza cried.

Andy laughed. "She's what? Are you wearing a negligee too?"

"I'm just testing out some new colours" Patrice explained.

"What colour are they?" Andy asked, the smile on his face practically audible.

"What does it matter what colour they are?" Provenza asked, desperate to move the subject on to why he was calling rather than what was going on between him and his wife.

"They're different shades of purple Andy!"

"Stop telling him that!" Provenza yelled. "Flynn what do you want? Or are you just calling on the odd chance that I was being emasculated by my wife?"

"I have a favour to ask."

"Can't you ask the Captain? Where is she anyway?"

"She's in bed."

"Oh what a coincidence so was I" Provenza shot back, still sounding beyond grumpy.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Andy said as he rolled his eyes. "Look I've been to see an open house tonight and I'm meeting my realtor there tomorrow morning. Sharon can't come with me to see it because she has some budget meeting with Taylor and Pope she can't get out of. So will you come with me to give me another opinion?" he asked.

"Where is it?"

"It's not far from Sharon's condo."

"What does he want?" Patrice asked, opting to whisper this time.

"He wants me to look at a house with him in the morning" Provenza explained.

"Are you two buying a love nest together?" Patrice asked loudly as she laughed.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Provenza cried.

"Jeez! Has Patrice been speaking to Sharon?" Andy asked, rolling his eyes.

"I don't know." Provenza lowered his phone so that he could speak to his wife. "Have you been talking to the Captain?"

"About what?" Patrice said, the smile stuck to her face.

"About me and Flynn?"

"Why? Do I need to talk to her about you two?"

"This is getting me nowhere" Andy complained as he tried to turn the conversation back to the reason why he had called so he could get it arranged and get into bed before Sharon fell asleep without him. "So will you come with me tomorrow to look at the house or what?"

"Do I have to?"

Patrice sighed. "Andy he'd love to come and help you!" she yelled.

"Okay great well I'll..." Andy started before being cut off.

"Wait, do I get any say in this?" Provenza asked the both of them.

"Not at all Louie. Not at all" Patrice said sweetly. "Andy, tell Sharon I said hello" she shouted again loud enough so that he would be able to hear her.

Provenza removed the phone from his ear and pointed it at her. "Do you want to just speak to him yourself?"

"No I have a whole other foot and five more colours to try out."

"So you're coming?" Andy asked.

"Yes I'm coming" Provenza nodded for Patrice's benefit. "Text me the time and the address and I'll meet you there."

"Okay thanks. I'll text Buzz too and see if he can come along and film it all so Sharon can see it later."

"Just ring him" Provenza replied.

"He might be asleep."

"So could I have been potentially."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Goodbye" Andy said as he hung up the phone. As he stared at the screen for a moment Provenza did likewise before both mumbled "Idiot" at the other even though their phone call was long since over.

Andy thought for a moment and then typed out a quick message on his phone to Buzz, asking him to come and film the house for Sharon in the morning, sending him the time and address in case he said yes. After sliding his phone in his pocket and jumping down from the counter, he closed the dishwasher with his foot, turned the kitchen light off and strolled towards Sharon's bedroom, closing the door behind him.


	28. Chapter 28

_As usual I'd like to start by thanking everyone who read the last chapter and walkerdude1, GrammyIda, MaxiP99, seaford71, Ilovedesserts, Elaine Huang, froggy62, Secret writer65, maidenpride, battgirl2, HeiBeSo and the two guests for leaving reviews. They are as always very much appreciated. Thank you as well to everyone who got in contact via Twitter where you can find me at DHPLover._

 _Every single day I seem to switch my opinion on who Stroh is going to kill (if anyone). On one of my 'Sharon is going to die' days I started to write something down which escalated very quickly. As a result if she does die I have my final chapter, most of which is already written, as Andy talks to her one final time (even though she isn't there) and finally tells her what happened in Barstow amongst other things. If she doesn't die then expect a VERY depressing one shot in February as I release a huge sigh of relief that I get to finish this story a different way._

 _This chapter picks up at the end of Skin Deep 5x4 and is fairly self-explanatory. It's essentially split into two with much of the first portion written immediately after the episode aired, so once again I've been sitting on this for a while (BTW it was only after a conversation with maidenpride that I realised the English spelling of mould is different to the American spelling, a fact that will only interest me)._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Sharon could feel him behind her as she stepped onto the stone path that led away from the house, grumbling and snorting like an angry bull in a field. She stepped to one side, moving onto the grass to allow Andy to pass her, his rage and distress seemingly growing by the second as he mumbled to himself and gestured wildly, likely to have her eye out at any moment if she got too close to him before he had chance to fully calm down and take a deep breath. She stopped for a moment and watched as Andy stomped towards his car, in the midst of what was one of his typical over the top hissy fits (usually only associated with Mike mentioning _Badge of Justice_ once too often during the course of one twenty four hour period or the Dodgers suffering a particularly heavy loss) as she started to chomp down on her bottom lip so that she didn't laugh at him and his very obvious distressed but highly amusing state, knowing that would only make the situation worse. Sharon heard the door close behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Rusty, rather sensibly, keeping out of the way, offering her a sincere and sympathetic smile given the task she was faced with, the young man fully understanding Andy's disappointment and that it was one of the rare occasions when he needed to stay out of the way while his Mom 'handled' him.

Sharon had naturally been very eager to get out of that house for obvious reasons but like Andy she too was utterly heartbroken by what had happened. Even before she had seen the place in person she wanted that house, she wanted it because of the excitement in Andy's voice when he first told her about it the evening before they found the body. She wanted that house and the life she was going to make in it with Andy and Rusty and their collective brood of children over the holidays not only because it was so lovely and perfect for them in every way imaginable (ignoring the black mould obviously) but because Andy loved it so much. It was very clear just looking at him that any disappointment she felt by what had happened, and it was an awful lot of disappointment indeed, it was nothing compared to how Andy currently looked and sounded, his overly dramatic sad face with his shoulders slumped and those big brown eyes of his with the usual twinkle when he was in a good mood sadly absent. What was clear was that for the time being she needed to put her feelings to one side with her sole purpose for the rest of the day being to try to cheer Andy up again for the sake of his stress levels and blood pressure more than anything else, especially as he thought they were suddenly oh so close to moving in together only for it to fall apart.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" Andy cried as he continued to stomp his way towards his car. Again Sharon turned to face Rusty, the look exchanged between them easily read and understood as she silently requested a little time and space to calm her love down before they left. "It was perfect! Perfect! But I had to say his name!" Andy sat down on the hood of his car with a thud, burying his head in his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees and leant forward. Sharon was slow to approach him, letting him vent for a moment longer. "Why? Why? Why did I do that? Why did I say his name? It was perfect!"

Sharon smiled at him, more amused than really sympathetic at that point as she battled not to laugh at him as his tantrum appeared to be coming to a thankfully swifter end than usual. "I know, I know it was. Andy I am so so sorry" she said with real sympathy. She moved to stand directly in front of him and instantly felt his forehead rest against her abdomen as he sought any sort of comfort from her. She stroked his hair with her fingernails a couple of times before she cupped his face and leant down to kiss the top of his head. Rusty hovered close by, trying his hardest not to laugh at his would be Step-Father as he sulked like a child or to intrude on what was a private and intimate moment between the two of them as Sharon battled to calm him down, knowing that climbing into a car with a very angry and distraught Andy Flynn was not a good idea in the slightest, it was more advisable to climb into a car with a hungry bear.

Andy sighed melodramatically. "We will never find another house as good as this one" he whined. Sharon sat down next to him on the hood of the car and gestured for Rusty to join them and sit next to her, deciding that she would rather tackle the situation as the family they had become rather than alone, even if Rusty remained silently by her side throughout. As Rusty plodded towards them, taking his time, Sharon slowly ran her left arm around Andy's shoulders as she rubbed his arm with her right, resting her head on his shoulder. "I had to say his name! I had to say 'Provenza'! It's a good job I didn't say it twice or the whole place could have instantly vanished into a sink hole with us going in after it."

Rusty sat down next to Sharon, sinking slightly lower due to the curve of the hood before she put her right arm around him too, an arm around both of her boys. She looked towards Andy and chuckled to herself. "Andy as much as you currently feel inclined to do so I don't think you can blame black mould on Lieutenant Provenza."

"Wanna' bet?" Andy asked as he turned to look at her with big sad eyes. "If you say his name four times into a mirror he appears behind you and craps all over your day. George Clooney my ass." Rusty immediately laughed, understanding the reference and Provenza's extremely high opinion of himself.

Meanwhile Sharon looked at him absolutely baffled, unsure how George Clooney fitted into the situation and a conversation about Lieutenant Provenza of all people. "What does...? Never mind." She shook her head as she returned her attention back towards trying to sooth him. "Andy I know you're disappointed and believe me you're not the only one who is but trust me when I say that the perfect house for us is out there somewhere. Probably even better than this house, we've just got to find it that's all but find it we will" she told him, looking for the positives.

Andy rested his head on top of Sharon's on his shoulder and let out a long, almost pathetic sounding whine. "I know but after everything we've already done to get this far…" he said in a very high pitched cry that cause a bird in a nearby tree to squawk back at him.

"Oh Andy don't worry." She lifted her head up and allowed Andy to rest his on her shoulder before she turned to kiss the top of it a couple of times. "It's not like you've been made to look utterly stupid or said anything completely idiotic in pursuit of this house have you?" She exchanged a quick amused smile with Rusty as they both enjoyed the way she teased him sometimes. Although Rusty wasn't there at the time he had soon been filled in on what had happened when they watched Buzz's crime scene video for the first time with Provenza more than gleefully letting the young man know what a complete and utter idiot his Step-Father in waiting actually was, not that Rusty didn't already know that himself, after all he did virtually live with him as it was and had seen him accidentally put his foot in his mouth more times that he could count.

Andy crumpled forward and put his head in his hands, sighing dramatically as he continued to cringe about his inability to stop talking the other day in Electronics, having relived the moment many many times since. "Oh God" he cried, his hands not muffling the sound such was the volume of his despair.

Sharon laughed at him as she rubbed his back. "But if you'd like to share any more insights into the various buoyancy levels of different breast and butt implants that you've collated over the years through _all_ of your vast experience with members of the opposite sex then Rusty and I are all ears. Aren't we?" she asked as she looked at Rusty.

"Oh absolutely" Rusty replied, enjoying the torment.

Andy sighed as he sat bolt upright, preparing to explain himself properly for the first time since he'd managed to jam his foot into his mouth and then swallow it. "All I was trying to say was you'd think her breast implants would have kept her afloat rather than her butt implants because they were much bigger and firmer looking" he said, once again not really thinking before speaking. Sharon's eyes widened as she just smiled at him, waiting for him to realise what he'd just said. "According to Provenza I mean! That's what he said. To me they looked about the same…not that I was looking! I mean I only saw the house, I didn't look at her at all. It was just the way that they felt…after Morales had removed them and I picked them up in the evidence bags. I didn't touch them on her body! I swear! Oh God! Just kill me please! Just kill me!" Andy buried his face in his hands as he crumpled forward again and Sharon practically hurt herself trying not to laugh at his obvious torment.

Over the course of the day as they continued to work on the case _everyone_ had taken the time to speak to Andy about what he had said in front of Sharon while they watched the video in Electronics. Provenza was the first to speak up and after he'd finally managed to stop laughing at him and revelling in his apparent torment he said 'Ye Gods Flynn, what were you thinking? Don't you ever engage your brain at all?' Buzz just grinned at him and laughed, having seen the way that his Captain looked at her boyfriend as she asked him for a copy of the video so she could see the house, he knew that he was going to be let off the hook despite the fact that he couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth for more than a minute at a time but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Mike was far less subtle in his reaction and just laughed at Andy nearly every time he looked at him for the rest of the day much like he did with Buzz when he took a direct hit to the face with the green dye pack from the bank. Amy was much more blunt about her feelings in a very protective way towards her Captain, a woman she very much classed as a friend, and told him 'A little word of advice Lieutenant, women really don't like it when their boyfriends check out other women even if they are dead and women definitely don't like to hear about it in a room full of their colleagues.' Julio was equally as blunt in his response and told him 'Sir when you're struggling to get your girlfriend to move in with you maybe don't check other women out in front of her.' None of it was stuff that Andy didn't already know but he had absolutely no idea how or why he'd allowed his mouth to run off in the way that it did other than the simple fact that he just wasn't thinking. To say he was mortified was an understatement but it was one of those moments when he simply couldn't stop himself from talking even though he knew Sharon was standing right there next to him and whereas she might otherwise have ignored it during any other case and tortured him later, the personal nature of the case and the fact that the body was found in a house they wanted to buy together meant that it was difficult for her to not treat him as her boyfriend as well as her Lieutenant throughout the entire investigation.

Rusty laughed hysterically, enjoying Andy's torment for a moment longer. "Mom please put him out of his misery before he passes out again and we have to take him to the hospital" he pleaded, as much as he liked to watch Andy squirm like a worm on a hook he also disliked having to travel back and forth to the hospital to see him and keep him company while Sharon was at work (not that he minded visiting him a couple of times a day while he was in hospital but because he struggled to cope with how upset and worried his Mom was when he could do absolutely nothing to help).

Sharon laughed along with him as she put her arm on Andy's back again and began stroking it up and down. "Have you dug yourself a big enough hole there or would you like to carry on digging a little longer?" she asked him with a smile.

Andy sighed. "At this point I think I'd need a stool to see out of it."

"Or a ladder. Believe me Andy, my beautiful boy, you'd need a ladder."

Andy sat up straight again and turned to face Sharon, his face serious and suddenly full of regret despite the fact that she was only teasing him and he knew it. "You know I only have eyes for you" he said sincerely.

Sharon smiled and shook her head with a roll of her eyes before she kissed him on the lips, letting it linger for a moment despite the presence of her son. "I do. Luckily for you I most certainly do" she told him before kissing him again.

Andy turned to face the house again and sighed with nothing but disappointment before he leant forward to see Rusty as he perched next to Sharon further along the hood of the car. "So Rusty, I know you're more than happy where you are in the condo," he said and letting him know that he appreciated the sacrifice he was all but forcing him into making so that he could buy a house with Sharon, "but leaving the dead owner in the living room and the dead property expert in the pool and the toxic black mould on every single wall to one side for a moment, do you think you could see you and your Mom living some place like this with me in the near future?"

Rusty looked back towards the house and couldn't help but smile and not just because the whole thing had ended so disastrously and, in his opinion, amusingly. Yes he didn't want to move at all because he loved the condo, it was the only real home he'd ever known, but at the end of the day he had come to realise that it really wasn't his decision to make. Now that he was in a relationship of his own, thinking that perhaps he was actually in love with Gus but currently being unable to vocalise it, he now understood how Sharon felt about Andy and knew it would be very wrong of him to stand in the way of the two of them moving in together, in a house that would be where they would live happily together for the rest of their lives long after he had moved out one day. The best thing Rusty could have done was to speak to Andy about it the way he did at PAB the day before, hearing it direct from the horse's mouth that Andy wanted and expected him to move with them, confirming that he wasn't in the way of them moving forward, that Rusty was a part of the family that Andy wanted, that he was now Andy's family. It was the reassurance he so desperately needed to relax and accept the move albeit still a little reluctantly because if he had his way Andy would simply sell his house and move into the condo and that would be that. However in truth the fact that they were looking for a place with a swimming pool and a master bedroom a _long_ way away from his bedroom was also an appealing prospect to him if they really did have to move.

"Well as long as it doesn't attract dead people..." Rusty started to reply.

"Oh we'll set out some traps on the lawn to keep the dead people away" Andy insisted as if they were living in an episode of _The Walking Dead_ and dead people breaking into their home would be a real problem and a common occurrence. "And Provenza too for that matter, that's a no brainer."

Rusty looked at the house again, admitting to himself that something like it would be a nice place to live especially compared to where he used to live five years ago as Buzz so bluntly pointed out to him when he initially voiced his concerns. "Then, yeah, sure, I can. Why not" he said with a fair amount of positivity.

Andy's smile immediately erupted across his face. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. It'll be great" Rusty nodded.

"Oh kid!" Andy cried. He stood up quickly and moved to stand in front of the young man with his arms stretched out like he was waiting for a hug. As Rusty remained rooted to the spot on the car with no intention of moving or hugging him, Sharon's smile beamed at them, loving it when they seemed to bond without her giving them an order and pushing them together. "Come here. Come on."

Rusty sat up a little straighter with a pained expression of his face. "Andy it's okay..."

"Come on!" Andy cried, gesturing for him to get up and move towards him. "You can call me Lieutenant and pretend I'm trying to frisk you if it makes you feel any better." Rusty sighed and reluctantly stood, moving into Andy's embrace but keeping his arms at his sides, knowing it would please him as well as his Mom. Andy was quick to wrap his arms around him and ensured that he was going nowhere without a fight, also in the knowledge that Sharon would appreciate it. "There it is" Andy smiled as he patted him on the back. Sharon glowed as she stared at them before getting up and joining in, unable to leave them alone and grabbing Rusty from behind in a group hug. Andy adjusted his hands and put them on Sharon's waist as Rusty remained squished in the middle of the pair of them, like the filling in a very disturbing Oreo. They stayed like that for a moment as Rusty waited for his torment to end.

"You know this is turning weird now right?" Rusty asked, his voice muffled slightly by the way his face was pressed against Andy's chest.

"Who cares?" Andy shrugged. "We're not moving here." They broke apart from their hug almost immediately afterwards before Rusty and Sharon sat back down on the hood of the car as Andy turned back towards his dream house once again and sighed.

Sharon leant forward and took Andy's hand in hers, squeezing it. "I am really sorry Andy" she told him again, needing him to know that he wasn't alone in his disappointment since she wasn't exactly on board with the idea of moving in together at the very beginning.

"I know" he said with a nod as he turned to face her, seeing for himself how excited she had become about the house and the life they were going to share together in it as they walked around and he showed it off to her. He sighed again before turning his attention to Rusty and his continued quest to try and sell the move to him despite the positive words he'd already expressed moments before. "If you needed any more convincing kid, think about this, when we find a house to buy, you get to decorate your own room from scratch exactly how you want it." Andy wasn't an idiot despite what Provenza claimed about him quite frequently. He knew things with Rusty were still extremely delicate despite his positive words on the subject but that didn't mean he wasn't going to stop making the case for the move.

"Huh" Rusty replied in response before he thought about it for a moment, having never had the opportunity to do something that most people his age had taken for granted many times before in their lives. "You know I've never really decorated a bedroom before. We always moved around so much when I was a kid that there wasn't much point plus there wasn't any money."

Sensing what Andy was doing and that it was clearly working as she also strived to get him excited about the idea of moving, Sharon was quick to join in and encourage the positive thinking that had already started. "Well we might have some funds left over from the sale of Andy's place and the condo so we could get you some new furniture as well if you wanted" she suggested, squeezing Andy's hand and letting him know she appreciated his efforts.

"Exactly" Andy nodded. "You could have it exactly how you want it. Decorated how you like and no more of Sharon's weird artwork everywhere and creeping you out."

Sharon let go of his hand and sat back with her arms folded across her chest as she glared at him. "Hey!" she cried and then lunged forward, pinching the back of his knee without warning after lulling him into a sense of security while Rusty laughed at his latest faux pas. "And what may I ask is so wrong with the artwork in Rusty's bedroom?" she asked, loving the way that she had decorated her spare bedroom that her children and sometimes Jack occupied before Rusty took it over and added a few posters here and there to make it his own.

Within a matter of seconds that now trademark look of panic appeared across Andy's face as he began to backpedal as quickly as humanly possible. "Nothing. Nothing at all" he said quickly, his voice once again coming out a little higher than normal. "It's just you know...well...I just think..."

"Shouldn't you be making a beeping noise if you're going to back up this quickly Lieutenant?" Rusty laughed.

"Be quiet" Andy shot at him, thinking he could quite easily get himself into enough trouble on his own without Rusty helping him too. "Look the kid is twenty. Need I say anymore?"

Sharon narrowed her eyes at him. "I think you're better off quitting while you're already behind my boy, don't you?"

Quick to change the subject Andy turned his attention back to Rusty. "And think about this Rusty, we could even have a man cave in the new house" he suggested.

Rusty laughed. "A what?"

"A man cave," Andy repeated, "where we can get the full sports package. I'm talking the full package."

Rusty frowned, not really enjoying sports all that much with the exception of it being something he enjoyed watching with Sharon because she loved it so much. "I'm not really seeing the appeal."

"Then think about Gus" Andy said, desperate to get him onside in this regard. "He likes sport right and action movies on a big screen. He likes all of that stuff right."

"Yes he does" Rusty nodded.

Sharon folded her arms across her chest again as she listened to them talk. "So all of this would be for Gus, not you two?" she asked with mild amusement.

"Exactly it's for Gus and Provenza," Andy maintained as his nostrils flared like crazy while he quite clearly lied to her, "so he can escape Patrice's clutches and be a man every once in a while."

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "He can't be a man now?"

"Not in the way he'd like" Andy replied. "In a man cave you get to scratch what you like when you like without getting into trouble."

Rusty frowned with a little disgust. "Yeah no offence Lieutenant but I'm starting to go off the idea if it's just a room with a TV and you and Lieutenant Provenza synchronised scratching in front of the Dodgers" he said with a shudder as Sharon just laughed at the pair of them.

"It's not just that, it's a real man cave. You know big TV, recliners, mini fridge, pool table."

Rusty slowly started to smile, finally seeing the appeal especially since it was the sort of thing that Gus would simply adore. "You know I'm beginning to like this idea more and more" he said as he stood and joined Andy on the lawn.

"See. I told you" Andy cried as he joyfully slapped him on the back.

Sharon smiled at them both and shook her head. "You're not having a man cave" she said flatly. "Either of you so get that thought out of your minds right now."

"Why not?" Andy asked.

Sharon stood and joined them on the edge of the property. "Because I said so that's why. No house of mine is ever having a 'man cave.'"

Andy and Rusty glanced at each other for a moment as they realised they were being bossed around once again with absolutely no choice in the matter whatsoever. "And just like that we're both supposed to cave in and agree with you?" Andy asked as he frowned at her. "You lived on your own for far too long. In case you haven't noticed you're outnumbered here now" he said as he pointed between Rusty and himself. "It's two against one now Raydor and the boys win every time" he added, almost taunting her.

Sharon folded her arms once again, making it clear that she meant business and shouldn't be messed with. "Really? It's like that is it?" she asked, humouring them both.

"Yes" Andy confirmed before he nudged Rusty with his elbow, seeking his support on the matter as part of his 'Guy Code.' "Right?"

Rusty nodded. "Yeah, right."

Sharon smiled, playing along for a moment. "Okay well then how about this, you two find a nice big house for your man cave and move in it together and I'll stay in the condo, alone and put my hideous artwork and Christmas angels everywhere I like? Good idea? Yes?"

Andy and Rusty glance at each other again, matching frowns on their faces. "Maybe not" Andy said quickly.

"Not so much, no" Rusty agreed.

"I thought so," Sharon said smugly, "but why don't you discuss it between yourselves a little more and get back to me." She turned and sat back down on the hood of the car with her arms folded and a smile on her face as she waited for them to come to a decision.

"Are you really going to allow her to boss you around like that?" Rusty asked Andy with a smirk, highly amused by the way his Mom had him wrapped around her little finger and could basically make him do (or not do in this case) anything she wanted.

"Are you?" came Andy's instant reply.

"I have no choice, she's my Mom."

"Yeah well I don't have much choice either if I want to keep on..."

"STOP!" Rusty shouted at full volume as he covered his ears with his hands before Andy had a chance to say anything else and potentially scar him for life especially at a time when Dr Joe out of town at a conference for a week.

"I was going to say 'if I want to keep on staying out of the doghouse'" he told him, revealing that he had been talking very innocently indeed. Andy took a step towards Sharon as she remained perched on the hood of the car so that he could talk to her despite the fact that she had clearly heard everything they'd just said. "Okay we've discussed it and maybe we don't really need a man cave in the new house after all."

Sharon laughed. "Oh good. I love it when all three of us are on the same page."

"It's funny though how it's always a page from your book" Andy pointed out.

"Naturally" she replied with a smirk, a smirk that quickly faded as she saw Jason slowly walking towards Andy out of the corner of her eye with a look of intent on his face.

Clearing his throat and suddenly moving a little tentatively as if he was concerned by Andy's reaction, Jason tapped him on the shoulder and then took three very quick and large steps away from him again. "Erm...Lieutenant" he said cautiously as Andy instantly tensed up, his fists clenched and his face turning red. "If I could just speak to you for one moment."

Almost menacingly Andy turned around on the spot very slowly to face him. Sensing what was coming Sharon leant forward and took hold of his hand again, squeezing it. "Blood pressure Andy. Blood pressure" she warned, like Rusty, not wanting to spend the rest of the day at the hospital with him.

"I'm just as shocked about this discovery as you are," Jason insisted, "but if you can look at the bigger picture for one moment and you'll see…"

"The bigger picture? The bigger picture?" Andy cried, not holding back on his anger or his emotions for even a second. "Are you kidding me? The bigger picture he says!"

"Lieutenant I know you're upset about this…"

"Upset?" Andy scoffed. "Buddy trust me you don't want to see me when I'm upset. Now if I were you I'd go and get in your car and forget you ever tried to sell this hell hole to me in the first place."

"But Lieutenant…"

"Here let me help you" Andy said grumpily as he put his hand on Jason's back and virtually pushed him in the direction of his car at the other end of the property.

"But Lieutenant, the bigger picture."

"The bigger picture is I drown you in that swimming pool if you don't stop talking."

"I think you might be overreacting slightly" Jason said more than a tad ill-advisedly as Sharon buried her head in her hands and wondered if she was going to have to zap her boyfriend with a stun gun in the following five minutes to get him under control and in the car. "Just look at those views and the pool."

"And the toxic mould" Andy reminded him as he continued to push him towards his car.

"But if you ripped out the inside…"

"Before or after I rip out your insides?" Andy asked as Jason managed to plant his feet and turn around to face his infuriated potential buyer.

Rusty looked towards Andy as he jostled Jason with more than a touch of concern about him, not least because he didn't want to have to help carry him into the car should his now raging blood pressure cause him to pass out again. "Should we stop this?" Rusty asked Sharon.

"Maybe later" Sharon replied, never taking her eyes off Andy since she too was concerned over the effect his rage and the stress was having on his health but while also realising that he needed the time to vent his anger a little, rather him venting at Jason than at her. "We should let him blow off some steam first. Believe me Rusty you don't want to be trapped in a car with a very angry Andy."

Rusty laughed. "You make him sound like the Incredible Hulk."

Sharon nodded, a smile on her face. "There are some similarities."

Across the other side of the yard Andy was trying his hardest not to completely flip out in front of Sharon as Jason stood before him and continued to try and convince him that the effort of gutting the house from top to bottom would be more than worthwhile in the end. "Jason if you don't move away from me right now I will shoot you" Andy warned as he began to frantically tug on his earlobe to calm down, it quickly turning redder than his face.

Sharon was quick to lean towards Rusty and whisper "Don't worry he hasn't brought his gun."

Rusty was less confident and simply asked "Are you sure?" in reply.

Sharon thought for a moment before turning her attention back to Andy who was virtually being chased around the yard by Jason as he begged him to reconsider his choice to not put an offer in for the house. "Andy!" she called loud enough to ensure she was heard over the argument taking place between them.

Andy stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing his name. "What?!" he bellowed instinctively and almost aggressively with a face like thunder. Almost immediately afterwards he schooled his features as his brain kicked into gear and he realised that it was Sharon trying to get his attention. He turned towards her and smiled. "Sorry sweetheart. Yes?" he asked like he was suddenly a completely different person.

"Are you armed?" she asked.

Andy nodded frantically. "And dangerous" he cried, with Sharon being able to easily tell that he was lying for effect to convince Jason otherwise.

Sharon smiled back at him for a moment, reading his face instantly as he went back to arguing with Jason. "It's fine" she assured Rusty with a hand to his knee.

Rusty laughed in response as the pair of them continued to watch Jason chase Andy around the yard, for some reason thinking that would make Andy change his mind about the house when in fact it was only making him angrier. Rusty paused for a moment before he spoke. "I know I haven't exactly been enthusiastic about this move so far but it's just...the last time I lived with a man it wasn't exactly..." he said as he felt the need to explain his initial reluctance.

"I know Rusty" Sharon said softly as he nodded and took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "Me too" she said simply. "Me too." Rusty didn't need to explain his anxieties about the move, they were obvious for both Sharon and Andy to understand but then again so were Sharon's and it was the reason that Andy had so readily agreed to take charge of finding them a house and not force an immediate move on either of them. In the beginning Sharon had lived with her parents obviously, then she had roommates in college and more when she rented her first apartment. Then there was Jack. There had been no one since Jack other than her children and she hadn't lived with Jack for an awfully long time (his very occasional couple of night on the couch aside which she permitted solely for the sake of their children and the feeling of obligation that came with her upbringing and more than a dash of Catholic guilt) and when she did it really didn't work out too well. It was always in the back of her mind that she could possibly have done more, could have done more to save her marriage and to keep Jack in her life and part of her did wonder if one of the reasons that it hadn't worked was because she was simply a nightmare person to live with. As a result she was still worried, not only that she was taking such a huge step with a man once again but also because she wasn't entirely sure (despite what he said) that Andy was going to like living with her despite the fact that they practically lived together already and it was going perfectly well.

"I am really sorry that this hasn't worked out Mom" Rusty said sincerely, seeing the joy on both of their faces as they strolled around much of the house hand in hand and planned their lives together in it.

"Join the club" she shrugged.

"I can see now just how much it means to Andy and to you."

"I know Rusty and thank you but really despite everything it's not the end of the world" she said, determined to see the positives in the situation. She sighed, still sad that their perfect house was really anything but in the end. "There are other houses out there, maybe not as good as this one but they are out there."

"So what now?" Rusty asked after he'd watched Jason chase Andy around the yard one more time.

Sharon kept her eyes firmly fixed on Andy should she need to step in for his own health at any moment. "Well first we cuff and sedate Andy and bundle him in the trunk of the car to stop him from committing murder," she said before they both laughed, "and then we keep looking to see what's out there. Our perfect house is waiting for us somewhere, we just need to find it."

"But if you could only see past the black mould..." Jason cried as he tried to herd Andy back towards the house like he was a sheepdog and Andy was a stray member of the flock.

"See past it to what exactly?" Andy quickly pointed towards Sharon and Rusty sitting on the car. "My girlfriend and my kid both coughing their lungs up? Would you put your family in there?"

As the argument continued not far from the front door, both Sharon and Rusty smiled for the exact same reason. It was true to say that Rusty now had a fair few men in his life who loved him unconditionally in the shape of the squad and in particular Provenza and Buzz but it was now different with Andy. It was the second time that Rusty had heard Andy call him 'my kid' (with the first time being as he chased a naked man around his car on Christmas Day as they drove to Nicole's house for dinner) and considering he was so concerned that he was in the way of them moving in together just a couple of days earlier he had to admit that it felt good. It didn't matter that perhaps Andy was only saying these things and acting that way because of Sharon, although he didn't honestly believe that for a second if he was completely honest, it still felt good to have a father figure love him in that way. With that in mind he simply felt compelled to speak up.

"I've been thinking about it and just because this place is…" he started only to be cut off.

"Unliveable?" Sharon suggested.

"Yeah right," Rusty nodded, "well like that doesn't mean you two can't still live together." Sharon stared at him for a moment and frowned, for once taking her eyes off Andy as she tried to work out what Rusty was trying to say to her. "Look what I'm saying is," Rusty said before taking a very big breath and then continuing, "if while you're looking for a house for us to move into you want Andy to move in with us at the condo, I'd be okay with that."

Sharon smiled, unable to help herself. "Really?"

Rusty looked towards Andy who stood on the curb at the other end of the yard with his head in his hands as Jason refused to get into his car and leave him alone. "Why are you still talking? Do you want me to arrest you? Is that what you want?" Andy asked Jason.

Rusty smiled at Andy and laughed to himself. There was no denying that Andy Flynn was a good guy, that wasn't always the case but it was clear that he had done his best to make amends as best he could and the Andy that Rusty knew was a very good guy indeed. Yes Andy was stupid and yes he thought he was funny when he quite clearly wasn't and yes he had the tendency to fall down a lot and yes he could hardly walk into the living room some days without seeing his ass in his Mom's hands but he clearly made Sharon very very happy and vice versa and that was all that mattered in the end. "Absolutely" Rusty nodded. "I mean if we're going to move in somewhere with him anyway, why not right now? He spends like most nights with us anyway so it wouldn't be a massive change. He could sell his house right away which would make it easier to buy somewhere else right?"

Sharon couldn't help but look at him with genuine surprise especially since Rusty couldn't have been less pleased when they first started to date properly. "It sounds like you've thought all this through" she said.

"I have. To be perfectly honest I was looking for options when I wasn't so keen on moving" he didn't mind admitting, not hiding his desire to stay in the condo and just have Andy move in with them instead.

Sharon looked back to Andy for a moment as Jason seemingly chased him around his car time and time again before turning her attention back to her son with a smile. It was the kind of thing she hoped to hear from Rusty but given his past experiences with men and Mom's boyfriends she didn't honestly expect it so it was the most pleasant of surprises. "Thank you Rusty."

"So are you going to ask him?"

Sharon paused for a moment before answering. "Not yet."

"Why?" Rusty asked, absolutely baffled.

Again Sharon paused before answering, struggling to find the words to say to him when she was having difficulty understanding how she felt herself. "I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't nervous about the idea of moving in with Andy" she admitted.

"But you want to?"

"Of course I do, I just…I don't want to rush into it."

"Seriously Mom you've never rushed into anything other than maybe living with me."

They both laughed for a moment, it truly being the only thing she had ever done without thinking it all through first. "Well that was the exception. Like you I just need a little bit more time before I make that kind of commitment."

"Even though he's likely to stay every single night while you decide anyway?" Rusty pointed out, still not being able to wrap his mind around it. To him it was obvious, they were looking to buy a place together so why wait? Why not just do it immediately?

"Yes." Rusty frowned as Sharon smiled at him, knowing that he thought she was more than a little crazy. "I know it doesn't make any sense to you but I still need just a little more time before we actually do this officially." Time, that's all it was, she just needed a few more weeks before making that huge leap into the unknown with the man she loved, a few more weeks to silence the doubts in the back of her mind and those nagging nerves which continued to plague her.

"Okay" Rusty replied, dragging out each letter. He paused for a moment before adding "You know what you're saying is weird right?"

Sharon folded her arms across her chest and frowned at him. "Listen here Mister, have you told Gus you love him yet?" she asked.

Rusty immediately became flustered. "That's just like completely none of..."

"Have you told him?"

"Why would you even..."

"Have you told him?" she asked again.

"No" Rusty replied finally and looked at her more than a little embarrassed.

"Exactly. So keep your mouth closed." They both instantly laughed at themselves and at each other when they realised that they were indeed just as bad as each other when it came to making a commitment and moving forward in their relationships. "But thank you Rusty" she said as she took his hand and squeezed it. "I will ask him but just not yet."

Rusty smiled at her. "Sometimes I think we're so alike it's hard for people to believe that we're not blood related."

"Blood isn't everything. How much you love someone is all that matters."

"Okay but can I just ask for one favour?" Rusty said.

"Go ahead."

"When you do ask him to move in with us can I have advanced notice..." he started.

Sharon cut in quickly, thinking that Rusty would want advance warning because it was obviously going to be quite a large adjustment even though Andy was already there much of the time. "Of course."

"So I can be out of town and unable to help him move his billions of pairs of suspenders and ties."

Sharon laughed and nodded, relieved that was the only reason he wanted advanced warning and in fact he had no issues with Andy moving in with them. "Well I certainly admire your optimism but you've seen his house. Do you really think he's going to sell it quickly? And that's before they meet his neighbour."

"She called me peaches and offered me a dollar to rub her ankles" Rusty said in a voice which screamed 'I've seen horrible things that I can't forget.'

"I know she did" Sharon laughed. "I half expect that when she sees the moving van parked outside his house she's going to cling to his leg until the Jaws of Life are used." Rusty laughed and nodded. "Now you know why we want to look for somewhere new rather than moving into his house."

"Well if it's going to take so long then why don't..."

"Because I'm just not ready to move in with him yet Rusty and that's all I want say on the subject" she said, putting an end to the discussion. So far their relationship had been taken slowly, painstakingly slowly in some areas but it had worked for them in the long term and she saw no reason to change it now. She would ask Andy to move in with them before they found a house and it would probably be very soon but she just wasn't ready, not yet anyway. "Okay?"

"Okay" Rusty nodded, not really understanding but then again he didn't quite understand why he hadn't been able to tell Gus how he felt about him yet either. "Did you ever think four years ago that you'd be here now and looking for a house with your boyfriend and your son?"

Sharon face instantly glowed as she looked back and forth between the irate Andy still being chased by Jason around his car and Rusty perched next to her. "No" she said simply before she laughed. "Never in a million years but what a lovely surprise my life has turned out to be. It's brought two unexpected and handsome men into my life."

Rather than smiling Rusty's face immediately dropped as he played with his fingers and looked to the ground. "Sometimes I worry about how I may have ruined your life by moving in with you" he said quietly.

"What are you talking about? Rusty I…"

"No let me finish" he said as he met her curious and concerned eye. "We can be so alike in so many ways, never more so than when we met. I was fine on my own, I felt fine and so were you but I feel like I may have broken both of us somehow. I didn't need anyone, I didn't need to rely on anyone and neither did you but…"

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Stop right there" Sharon said, not wanting him to say anymore since she felt he couldn't be more wrong if he tried in his analysis of the situation. "Rusty you haven't broken me, far from it. It may be hard for you to believe just looking at the idiot right now," she said as she pointed towards Andy, "but I would have fallen in love with Andy regardless of whether you were in my life or not. In hindsight it was inevitable. I didn't start looking for a relationship at my age because I was worried about being alone after you move out on your own one day. It just happened. It was always going to happen regardless the moment I took that job, became his commanding officer and he ended up becoming my friend." She looked at Andy again and smiled obscenely as he continued to be chased around the yard by Jason. "He truly is the love of my life and when you discover, practically out of nowhere, that you still have the capacity for love it is never a bad thing Rusty. I am not moving in with Andy because you've broken me and when you eventually find a place of your own I'm afraid to be alone. I'm moving in with Andy because I love him more than anything even though he's potentially the biggest idiot I've ever met in my life." They both laughed at the understatement for a moment. "If anything you've made it easier for me. You've made it easier for me to share my life with someone again after spending so long on my own."

Andy walked towards them suddenly in his quest to shake off Jason. "Someone please get this man away from me" he said before he went back to Jason's car in an attempt to be free of him.

Sharon and Rusty both laughed. "Should we spray them with the hose?" Rusty asked.

"I think that only works on cats, not idiots." She turned her attention back to Rusty and the conversation they were having. "Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm doing this because I want to and I love him, not because I'm planning for a life after you move in with a guy you love. Okay?"

"Okay," Rusty said with his relief quite evident, "and yet you're still not ready to ask him to move into the condo?"

"Oh shut up" she said in response before they both laughed. "Okay I think it's time to break this up." She stood up and started to walk towards Andy. "Andy!" she cried as she grabbed hold of his wrist and dragged him over to the path that lead to the front door. "Wait there" she instructed. "Don't move." Leaving Andy where he was she walked back over to Jason and likewise took him by the wrist, leading him to his car. "We appreciate all of your hard work and effort Jason but we are not buying this house and at this point you're really only making matters worse."

"But…" Jason tried to protest.

"This is non-negotiable" she told him flatly. "Now I suggest you give him a couple of days to cool off and calm down and then he might be in a position to speak to you again about what we do moving forward."

"But…"

"Goodbye Jason" she said simply as she opened his car door for him and gestured for him to climb inside. He nodded, suddenly feeling like he had no other choice in the matter since Sharon seemed to be the 'sane' one of the group and climbed inside, putting his keys in the ignition. Sharon shut the door and stood on the curb waving at him until he took the hint and finally drove away, leaving them in peace. "Right, one idiot down and one to go" she said to herself. She set off towards Andy's car again along the curb as Andy remained on the path with his head in his hands, desperately trying to calm himself down. "Andy come on, let's get out of here" she said, just stopping short of slapping her leg with her hand like she was calling a dog.

Andy sighed before he looked towards Sharon, looking for any sort of comfort. "Could this day get any worse?" he whined at her. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then the sprinklers went off on their automatic timer. Sadly for Andy not only was he standing in the middle of their spray but he was also standing right next to the broken sprinkler head that Provenza had so gleefully pointed out to him, spraying a great plume of water straight at his face and soaking him to the skin almost immediately. At the sight Sharon and Rusty simply couldn't help themselves and burst into fits of laughter while Andy just remained rooted to the spot, unable to get any wetter as he clenched his fists and looked to the heavens. "Perfect!" he cried at no one in particular.

Sharon chomped on her lip to stop herself from laughing as she turned towards Rusty. "We're going to need another minute" she told him, asking him for a little space as she attempted to calm Andy down given the latest disaster that had befallen him.

"Okay" Rusty nodded as he laughed merrily to himself. "I'm going to call Gus and tell him that I'm going to be with him sooner than I thought." Rusty took out his cell phone from his pocket and moved away from them to give them some space, laughing hysterically at Andy as he moved but not until he'd snapped a quick photo of him to send to Gus.

With Rusty out of the way and distracted with calling Gus, Sharon turned back to Andy who was still rooted to the spot as the water continued to hit him in the face and gave him a very sympathetic smile. "Come here" she said, calling him towards her.

Andy stepped out of the spray and plodded towards her, his shoes practically squelching as he moved from the water slopping around in them. "I'm wet" he said simply when he finally stood before her, drops of water dripping from his hair and down his face.

"I noticed" she said as she chuckled. "I don't care. Come here." She opened her arms out wide for him to enter her embrace and he immediately took her up on it, closing the gap and wrapping his arms around her as she did likewise, not caring one jot about how soaking wet he was. After a moment she turned and kissed him on the side of his head. "What did I say to you about your blood pressure and the stress of all of this getting on top of you?" she said kindly although she was actually giving him a good telling off because her worry about his health was genuine.

"I know but…"

"No buts, blood pressure and stress" she told him simply. "Live long enough for us to move in together." She pulled out of his embrace slightly and cupped his face, kissing him on the lips a couple of times as the water continued to drip from his hair and down his face. "Come on" she said as she gestured towards the car. Andy nodded and moved to sit back down on the hood for a moment, his head in his hands as he leant forward. Sharon stepped towards him and cradled his head in her hands once again, stroking his wet hair with her fingers. "And you were so happy too." She kissed the top of his head. "Where's my Happy Andy gone?"

"He died in there" Andy replied as he pointed towards the house without actually looking up. "Choking on black mould and looking like a complete moron."

Sharon laughed before she kissed the top of his head again. "Will he ever be back?"

"Maybe at Christmas" he whined again as he finally looked up to meet her eye.

"Oh good. Only five months to wait" she joked. "Come on." She grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. With Andy standing in the gutter and Sharon just perched on the curb it was the only time that she was actually taller than him. She smiled warmly before kissing him again. "Take me home and I'll see if I can find a way to cheer you up and take your mind off it."

"I don't see how that's possible."

"Oh yeah?" Sharon smiled. "Rusty is staying the night with Gus tonight so we could…" she put her hands on his shoulders and moved in close to his ear as her words trailed off for a moment before whispering to him. As she spoke his eyes closed and a smile spread to his face for the first time since black mould became a factor in his life.

"Get in the car!" he demanded suddenly. "Rusty! We're leaving!"

Rusty waved at them, wanting a second to finish his conversation with Gus first before moving. "I've got to go. I'll see you soon. Okay. Bye." Rusty hung up his phone and set off back towards the car. "Would it be okay if you dropped me off at Gus's apartment?"

"Even better. Get in the car" Andy practically shouted as he climbed into the car and started the engine, not caring that he was about to soak the seat and probably leave a puddle of water in the footwell.

Rusty looked at Andy and then to Sharon with utter confusion at Andy's sudden and rather dramatic change in attitude. "What's got into him suddenly?" he asked.

"You don't want to know" she said with a smirk as they both followed Andy into the car before he had chance to leave without them.

It was well out of their way, after all the house that they had hoped to buy was not even a mile from the condo but neither Sharon or Andy really minded dropping Rusty off at Gus's apartment, both of them more than keen to finally get a look at the place where Rusty was spending so many of his nights and also to catch a glimpse of his mysterious and extremely freaky sounding roommate. Plus there was an added incentive as far as Andy was concerned which made the nearly seventy five minute round trip even more worthwhile in his eyes. If he deposited Rusty with Gus himself then there would be no sudden reappearance from him if he didn't have his car and since Andy now had plans with Sharon and was essentially 'on a promise' so to speak, more than willing to allow her to try and lighten his mood in whatever way she wanted and if that included sex, especially since he'd managed to put his foot in his mouth so spectacularly just a couple of days ago, he was more than happy to take her up on her up on it given that he was under the assumption a lot of cold showers were in his future until she had fully forgiven him.

With Rusty dropped off and Andy having given Gus's roommate the once over, ensuring that he let him know several times that he and his girlfriend were both police officers and that they very much had their eyes on him, they set off home again. Sadly as each mile ticked by Andy's mood started to drop again as did the beautiful smile that was affixed to his face as they left the 'house of horrors.' He was so excited, so happy, the house of his dreams and the life that he wanted so desperately was within his grasp all of a sudden. It was so close he could almost taste it and yet just as quickly it had gone again. Having not the faintest idea what Rusty had told Sharon as Jason chased him about the yard about asking him to move into the condo with them right away, which was coming sooner rather than later even if she wasn't quite ready for it that week, he felt as he drove them back to _her_ condo that he was as far away from living with her properly as he had been even before they even started dating.

By the time they arrived back at the condo Andy was in a mood so dark he would need a flashlight to see his way out of it again. Sharon opened the front door herself (a job Andy liked to do for her ever since she gave him his own key, holding the door open for her like the perfect gentleman he tried so hard to be) since Andy was so far behind her, dragging his feet along the hallway. As she held the door open for him she kicked her boots off and hung up her jacket on the peg by the door. She turned just in time to see him enter very slowly, more damp than anything at that stage but with a face as miserable as a spanked backside. She desperately tried not to laugh at his sad and sorry face as he dragged his feet like a sullen teenager. After a moment she shut the door behind him and watched him walk straight to the couch and immediately face planted down onto it without removing his jacket or his shoes, his face buried into the couch cushions as his feet hung over the edge. She again started to bite down on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing, knowing that would only make the situation worse.

With Andy settled and clearly not going anywhere for the foreseeable future Sharon walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, pouring herself a large glass of white wine, thinking she'd definitely need it if Andy was in one of those moods that would require an awful lot of handling. She sipped on her wine as she returned the bottle to the fridge before putting it down on the kitchen counter and walked over to the couch, putting her hands on the back and leaning over her sulking boyfriend.

"Are you okay?" she asked, still battling not to laugh.

After a beat he lifted his face up and out of the pillows so that she would be able to hear him when he spoke. "No" was all he said before his face flopped back down again.

Once more Sharon couldn't help herself but laugh, chuckling into the back of her hand to try and stifle the noise. "Has there been some sort of mix up? Have I brought my son home with me rather than my boyfriend? Or have I stumbled into a remake of _Freaky Friday_?" Andy just sighed very melodramatically which only succeeded in reminding Sharon of Rusty when he did the exact same thing when he had yet another tantrum about how being a witness against Phillip Stroh was continuing to ruin his life. "What happened to 'Rusty get in the car'?" she asked as she ran her hand through his damp hair. "I thought we had plans for the evening."

Andy turned his face to the side to enable her to hear him without moving too much. "I'm no longer in the mood."

Sharon laughed. "Andy you're never not in the mood" she joked although she really believed that it was the truth. "You forget you once told me what you got up to with that nurse in the hospital after you'd been stabbed by Bobby Harris." Despite Brenda telling him to keep his hands off the nurses when she left him in hospital Andy had done anything but, striking up an instant relationship with a very young and stunningly beautiful nurse who seemed to have something of a Florence Nightingale complex and put a move on any handsome patient that crossed before her. Their relationship didn't last long, hardly longer than it took to wrap up the case but that was to be expected since Andy simply got better and he was no longer appealing to her. He'd forgotten all about her in truth until he was in hospital with his blood clot and she appeared on his ward, causing him to break out into a cold sweat and forcing him into telling Sharon all about it in case his former conquest said anything that would only land him in hot water if he wasn't completely honest with her.

"People change."

"You've not changed that much." After a moment Sharon dropped her hand to his ear and started to play with it in a way which had previously always made him smile but for once he didn't react in the slightest. "Wow, you really are miserable." Again she couldn't help but laugh at him as if he was having yet another one of his _Badge of Justice_ jealousy hissy fits.

"You'd better not be laughing at me" he said after he heard her tittering to herself.

"Of course I'm not laughing at you" she lied before placing her hands on the back of the couch again, her silent laughter continuing and making the whole couch shake slightly.

"Then why is the couch shaking?"

"An earthquake?"

Andy lifted his head and turned to glare at her. With his full focus on her face Sharon battled to not laugh again, her lips practically trembling she was suppressing it so hard. "What's going on with your lip then if you're not laughing at me?"

"Nothing. It's just a facial tick brought on by stress and...disappointment" she said. Andy continued to stare at her for a moment, not buying a word of it before flopping back down again anyway. "Is there nothing I can do to cheer you up?"

Andy raised his head again to speak. "No. I'm too depressed."

Yet again Sharon tried very hard but failed not to laugh at him. She gave him yet another very sympathetic smile before rounding the couch and climbing up and on him, lying stretched out on top of his back, her lips very close to his ear. "There must be something I can do to cheer you up?" Andy shook his head as best he could from side to side to indicate that there wasn't but that didn't mean he wanted her to stop trying. "What about if I..." she started before her words trailed off and she started to suck and nibble on his earlobe instead. Once more he didn't so much as flinch. "Okay. Maybe not." Moving away from his ear her hand slipped underneath him as best she could and strained to reach his waist.

Again Andy turned his head to the side so that he could be more easily understood. "If you're looking for my car keys they're in my other pocket" he said rather grumpily.

"Oddly enough that's not what I was aiming for. I was trying to rub your belly, that usually helps when you're feeling upset."

"I am not a dog!" Andy cried.

Sharon laughed at him as his bad mood showed no signs of abating. "I know you're not but I also know how much you love my nails scraping up and down your body."

"Not today."

Sharon pulled her hand back out from underneath him again and started to run it through his damp hair instead, quickly realising that her nails raking up and down against his skin and sex weren't going to solve this particular problem, knowing that he was going to need some reassurances about his future and their future together since he was clearly so very disappointed at being so close and then suddenly so far away from his goal and dream of living with her. That being said Sharon had another option up her sleeve before she moved onto that. "What if I were to do something that I know always gets your engine running?"

"Such as?" he asked, his interest peaked.

"I may have something squirrelled away for a special occasion" she told him before she kissed his ear again. "What if I was to step out of that kitchen shortly wearing nothing but the beautifully cooked turkey in my arms?"

He sighed. "I'm not hungry."

"You're turning down sex and turkey?" she asked, utterly gobsmacked. "Oh Andy!" she cried as she settled on top of him and really started to feel sorry for him, no longer finding it more than a tad amusing. She cuddled him in silence for a short while, occasionally pressing her lips to the back of his neck. "I'm sorry Andy" she said finally. "I really am so sorry. I know I wasn't exactly enthusiastic when you first asked me to move in with you but I need you to know that I am desperately disappointed about this too. I loved that house. I really did. I could already see us living there and knew exactly where I was going to put all of my angels at Christmas."

He laughed for the first time since Jason had approached him again outside of the house. "Where were you?" he asked, curious as to where he would have had to have coped with her dozens of (in his opinion) freaky looking angels.

"On every available surface naturally."

Andy laughed again which was quickly becoming music to her ears as he ever so slowly started to cheer up a little. "Naturally" he said before he sighed again. "Oh well it's all irrelevant now."

"No it's not because we will find somewhere else Andy, we will...as soon as Jason stops being so frightened of you and picks up the phone to call you again" she told him before her hand attempted to slip underneath him again.

"I told you my keys are in my other pocket."

"I was looking for your gun" she informed him. "Rusty was worried you were actually going to shoot him."

"If I could have I would have."

"No you wouldn't" she said with a chuckle as she extracted her hand again.

"Oh yes I would" he replied, sounding more grumpy than threatening. "He could have said something before you'd had a look around the place. Instead he just got our hopes up only to crap on them at the very last minute." He sighed, sounding as sad as she had ever heard him. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well firstly we need to get more comfortable." She climbed off him quickly and perched herself on the very edge of the couch before flicking off his shoes and dropping them to the ground. Seeing that his socks started to drip from the water they'd been sitting in while encased in his shoes, she pulled them off too and dropped them with his shoes. "Take your jacket off" she instructed.

"Yes ma'am." Andy sat up and removed his jacket, throwing it on the chair furthest from the television since it was a hell of a lot dryer than his shoes and socks.

"Now, lie down on your back."

He stared at her for a moment before asking "Do you ever tire of bossing me around?"

"Nope never" she confirmed before adding "On your back please." Andy did as instructed and lay down on his back with his head on a cushion and his arms wide open, expecting Sharon to lie on him and cuddle up to him at any moment. As anticipated Sharon lay down on him before he wrapped his arm around her and she started to rake her nails up and down his forearm since she couldn't quite get her hand up the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing. They stayed like that for a while, both of them with their eyes closed as they savoured the feel of the other and a moment to relax in each other's arms.

As she lay there, inhaling the intoxicating scent below her that was all him, a mixture of his aftershave and just pure Andy Flynn, her mind started to race, getting up to full speed in a matter of seconds. As she thought that familiar feeling started to settle into the pit of her stomach again. She suddenly felt hot, dizzy and sick all at the same time and it wasn't just caused by the butterflies seemingly doing somersaults in there. It was like there was a volcano trapped within her that was just waiting to erupt at any moment if only she would allow it to happen. The last time she felt like that she was sitting in Andy's car that night she told him she loved him for the very first time, that night that they slept together for the first time. Her throat began to tingle as she felt the words there, waiting to come out, waiting to just ask him to move in with her and Rusty right away while they looked for a house to buy. Her mouth suddenly felt dry as she tried to work out if she was about to faint, throw up or wet herself, whichever it was she needed to get off the couch and Andy as well for that matter. Maybe she was going to do all three before she finally plucked up the courage to ask him. Andy opened his eyes and looked at her, sensing that something was going on as she seemed to tense in his arms but without realising what was going through her mind.

Sharon closed her eyes tight as she got ready to spit it out, to take the bull by the horns and live her life to the fullest while she still could, to do what she wanted immediately rather than dragging her feet and waiting especially since she came so unbelievably close to losing him before Christmas. She swallowed and opened her mouth, waiting for the words to fall out. "Why don't you just move..." she started before pausing and then almost shouting "your desk a little?" She closed her eyes again and mentally kicked herself, incredibly annoyed that once again the words just wouldn't come out when she wanted them to. She sighed and consoled herself with the fact that at least it wasn't as bad as last time when she tried to tell him that she loved him but only succeeded in shouting 'I love you…hoo' instead, although he was staring at her with just as much confusion as he did back then.

"What?" Andy asked, utterly baffled.

"Did I not tell you?" She floundered for a moment as she battled to claw back the situation and make it appear as if she hadn't gone completely insane. "Chief Taylor has been on at me to make sure that the Murder Room has a clear exit route in case of a fire. Erm...he told me the other morning during the budget meeting. He thinks your desk is a fire hazard if I need to escape from my office in a hurry." When she finished speaking she finally registered that Andy was looking at her like she had just belched up a hoof, knowing that something was quite obviously going on but was at a complete loss to work out exactly what. "I told him that your desk has been there from the moment PAB opened so there's no need for it to suddenly be a fire risk now right?"

"Right" he repeated, still trying to work out what was happening.

"So leave it. Or not. Whatever you think is for the best in this situation." She put her head back on his chest as she mentally chastised herself, thinking she'd be very lucky if she escaped from this situation without Andy insisting that she speak to a psychiatrist.

Once more he looked at her absolutely baffled before speaking. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you" she replied sweetly, pushing her lips to his chin.

He stared at her for a moment to see if she would break and reveal what was really going on but Sharon quickly looked away from him and his questioning gaze, a sure fire sign to him that something was definitely occurring but he had quickly realised when he became her friend that she would never reveal all to him or anyone else until she was ready. "And that has what to do with us moving in together?" he asked.

"Nothing it just popped into my head is all" she said, kissing his chin again as her hand stroked his face.

She was disappointed, scratch that, she wasn't just disappointed, she was utterly distraught that she hadn't been able to ask him to move straight into the condo as soon as he sold his house but she consoled herself with the fact that she always listened to her gut in these situations. There was a reason why she was struggling to ask him. Maybe it was just because she needed a little more time, at least that's what she hoped was going on. It was clear that it was coming, of that she was certain. She wanted to ask him and knew that it wouldn't be long. She just hoped that it would come with more warning and in a more appropriate situation than it had when she told him she loved him and nearly sent his car careening off into oncoming traffic.

She sighed. "For now you'll just have to stay here with me a lot more often until we find somewhere perfect" she said, making the best out of a bad situation. Andy was already staying there at least six nights a week and it had become closer to every night since they decided to buy a house together and he had finally stayed the night following an AA meeting. It seemed like a ridiculous distinction to her let alone anyone else but while Sharon knew that he still had his own home she felt more comfortable about having him stay with her all the time but could feel that the situation was beginning to wind down. She had stopped short for the time being of asking him to move in as Rusty had so surprising suggested, him being on board was the last thing she needed so now it was just a matter of a few more weeks until she finally asked him to sell his house and move into the condo while they continued their search.

He sighed overly dramatically which woke her from the daze while she thought everything through for the hundredth time. "You believe me don't you? That I'm disappointed too?" she asked. Andy just sighed, letting her know that he wasn't entirely convinced that even if the house had been perfect that he still would have got her to move into it with him. "Andy I phoned a realtor last night."

"What?" he said, not hiding his surprise.

"I phoned the realtor that my neighbour used and told him that I needed a valuation and there was a very good chance I'd be putting my condo on the market by the end of the week" she informed him truthfully.

"Really?"

"Yes. I wanted that house" she said as she squeezed him. "I want to live with you Andy, that hasn't changed, that won't ever change just because of one false start and a little black mould."

"Little?"

"Okay a lot of black mould."

"It'll happen" he said with another sigh.

"I know." She kissed his neck a couple of times, trying her hardest to make him relax since his blood pressure and his health was _always_ at the back of her mind. "You know when I said to you the other day, that if you did all the heavy lifting as far as finding a house was concerned that I didn't want you getting too stressed about it?"

"Yeah" he replied, knowing what was headed in his direction.

"Well this is what I meant. I don't want you tying yourself up in knots over this."

"Sharon I don't get stressed, it's just not the sort of person I am."

"Really?" she said, not believing a word he was saying, seeing for herself how often he would tug on his earlobe when things got the better of him. "Because you looked pretty stressed to me earlier."

"I'm just disappointed. I'll get over it. I just need some time."

"Not too much time I hope. We're never going to move in together if you don't perk up and speak to your realtor again."

He sighed again before suddenly becoming very animated and shouting "This is all Provenza's fault." Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "What? It is! Everything bad that has ever happened to me in the last twenty years has been because of him."

"I really don't think you can blame black mould on Lieutenant Provenza."

"So it was just a coincidence that the moment I mentioned his name the ceiling virtually fell down on us."

"Yes it was."

Andy frowned, still wanting to blame Provenza for everything that had happened. "Okay maybe not on this occasion but he's usually to blame. It's always his fault, getting me into all sorts of trouble and ruining things for me. That whole mess with the body in his garage, you remember?" Sharon nodded, having heard that story multiple times in the last twelve months as he continued to rant over it. "That was his fault. I wanted to call it in but he didn't and I got into trouble for it and it ended up costing me a small fortune. Then there was the time that he left all the evidence from our case in the trunk of his car and it got stolen."

Sharon's head snapped up as she stared at him, that very single minded Captain from Professional Standards suddenly waking from within. "What? He left evidence in the trunk of his car and it got stolen?"

Andy looked panic stricken for a moment. "Erm...no."

"That's what you just said" she reminded him as she sat up a little.

"Whatever you're not in Professional Standards anymore and that was a lifetime ago."

"Okay" she replied suspiciously as she lay back down on his chest.

"He dropped Ray Hodge's coffin down the stairs. Yes we found a murder victim in the coffin as a result but I got it in the neck for it and the crap slapped out of me from Ray's widow" he went on as Sharon tried not to laugh at his rant. "He picked up those flight attendants."

"Did he really? Are you sure you weren't just a little to blame for it as well?"

"No!" he all but shouted in reply. "It was all him! I just wanted to get home and get to bed..." Suddenly panic set in again as he realised what he'd just said and what that could possible mean. "Alone! Get to bed alone!"

Sharon laughed. "Sure you did."

"Honestly."

"Okay. Go on."

"It was his idea to go and serve those papers" he continued. "I'd have been at home in bed when that dude fell off the balcony if it wasn't for Provenza. And let's not forget that if it wasn't for Provenza and Liz and that God damn wedding ring I wouldn't have been in that jewellery store when it got robbed."

"So far all of this has been worked related."

"He's crapped on me at home too" Andy insisted.

"Has he?" Sharon asked, still highly amused by the whole thing since she had seen for herself that half the time Andy was equally to blame for what had happened as Provenza was, although getting him to admit that was another thing entirely.

"Yes!" Andy cried, trying his hardest to remain as dignity personified as he told stories that in truth left him with very little. He thought for a moment, racking his brain to find a more personal example of where Provenza had 'ruined his life.' "Do you remember the woman, the one he mentioned that glued my…you know, glued my stuff to my leg?" he said, not wishing to elaborate any further unless he had to and Sharon had somehow forgotten the story Provenza had blurted out in her presence before Christmas.

Sharon laughed into his chest. "Oddly enough that story is pretty hard to forget."

"Yeah well he introduced me to her" Andy explained and therefore the reason why he thought he was completely innocent in the situation and Provenza was all to blame.

"But didn't she seek vengeance upon your boys because you slept with her sister?"

"They were identical twins! I couldn't tell the difference!" he cried in his defence.

Sharon rolled her eyes so hard they almost fell out of her head. "Do you honestly think anyone is really going to buy that excuse Andy?"

"It's the truth!"

"Okay" she said simply as she subtly rolled her eyes again. "Well what else?"

"He ran me over once."

"Did he?" Sharon asked surprised.

"Well kinda" he shrugged. "By all accounts I was so drunk that I curled up into a ball and went to sleep on the hood of his car outside his house."

Sharon laughed hysterically. "And what? He failed to see you? You're a bit large for a hood ornament aren't you?"

"Provenza claimed that he couldn't wake me so he started the car and put it in reserve before slamming on the breaks." Again Sharon laughed at him, choosing to have a very light hearted response to some of his escapades while he was still drinking because he was so hyper sensitive and ashamed about it and spoke about his past like that so rarely as a result. "I slammed into the windshield so hard I thought I was going to die."

"That's not exactly running you over."

"He as good as ran me over. Then he set my car on fire."

"The same night?"

"No we were out celebrating his last divorce and he was hammered" Andy explained.

"What about you?"

"No I was sober by that point and after everything he'd done for me after I got sober I was his fulltime babysitter when he wanted to drink as I tried to repay him" he said, feeling the need to take care of him in the same way that he was looked after when he was at his most vulnerable. "So I was driving him home from a bar and he lights up a 'Victory and Freedom' cigar I think he called it. Well anyway he puffs on it twice before complaining that it tasted like a damp sock and threw it out the window. At least he thought he'd thrown it out the window. In reality it hit the glass and bounced into the back of my car. We were driving past McArthur Park before I noticed the flames in my mirror and had to pull over."

Sharon laughed and nodded in response. "Okay I accept that he was to blame for that but I think it's an even split between the pair of you for everything else, especially at work. Is he to blame for Barstow as well?" she asked before he had chance to refute her claims.

"Yes he is! He was the one that..." His words suddenly and rather dramatically came to an abrupt halt as he realised what he was saying and stopped himself before he said something he would regret for the rest of his life.

"That what? He was the one that what?" she asked, desperate to know what had happened precisely because he was so desperate that she didn't find out.

"Nothing."

"I will find out eventually you know."

"Oh no you won't" he stated categorically. "I'll kill everyone who was there or knows anything about it including myself before I let that happen."

Sharon laughed. "Isn't that a little extreme?"

"No it isn't. It really isn't" Andy insisted.

"Is Barstow the reason you know so much about breast and butt implants?" she asked, sniggering into his chest as he all but glared at her.

"I don't know a lot about breast and butt implants at all!"

"That's not how it sounded to me."

"Well that was his fault too!" Andy cried.

"How was it?" Sharon asked as she laughed again, unsure how Andy running his mouth off about breast implants in front of her and the rest of the division was somehow Lieutenant Provenza's fault.

"Why didn't he get me to shut up?" he cried to the heavens.

"Oh trust me Andy, no one will ever be able to work out why you didn't just shut up rather than opening your mouth as wide as you possibly could before ramming your foot in it" she said as she laughed at his discomfort once more. "And it's always him? You're never responsible for getting him into trouble?"

"No. Never" he said, trying to sound as innocent as a Saint but his smile was sadly telling a different story.

"Well since you brought up his final divorce what about his last but one wedding night? Did your best man's speech result in him starting his marriage by being kicked out of the marital bed and spending the night spooning you or not?" she asked with a smug smile.

"Yes but that wasn't my fault."

"Oh really?"

"Yes" he insisted. "I was just telling a funny story. It was Wilson that blew up a giant photo of it and held it up for everyone to see" he went on, not feeling at all responsible for what happened that evening. If anything Andy felt more like the injured party with his date fleeing when she realised that Provenza would be spending the night in their room and wrongly assuming that she was being asked to sleep with both of them, informing Andy that she 'didn't do threesomes anymore.'

"Yes but if you hadn't handcuffed him to a stripper and sprayed him with cream from a can in the first place then there wouldn't have been a photo to produce would there?" she explained like she was talking to a child, besting him with her logic.

"But that's not the point."

"Oh I think it is boy" she laughed before she kissed him on the lips, letting it linger for a moment or two so that he wouldn't answer back. "Do you know what I think?"

"No but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

Sharon glared at him for a moment before continuing. "I think that across the city, poor Patrice has to listen to this same nonsense coming out of her husband's mouth as I do as he blames everything on you."

Andy shrugged. "Well that's her fault for marrying him."

Sharon laughed. "My point is you're as bad as each other and both to blame most of the time."

"Maybe" he said more than a little reluctantly before he paused and then became really quite animated. "But he's more to blame than I am and there were no problems or black mould in that house until I said his name."

Sharon laughed again and kissed him, if for no other reason than to silence him once more since they seemed to be going around in circles about who or what was to blame for the black mould. "Look when you start thinking rationally which I acknowledge you're not prepared to do right now you'll soon realise that you should be thanking Lieutenant Provenza for all of his help."

"Help?" he scoffed.

"Yes" she nodded. "He's spent the last couple of days glued to that woman's phone, fielding calls and putting off people interested in that house so that we could buy it. Not to mention the way he handled everyone who had actually made a bid on the place already. Then there was the press on top of that. Jason will probably never be able to sell that house now because of everything he said on the news."

"Maybe" he shrugged, not wanting to really admit it.

"No maybe, yes absolutely Sharon. Say it after me 'Sharon you're right.' Come on. Say it."

"Is it not good enough that you think you're right without me having to repeat it all the time too?" he asked with a frown and a pout.

"I don't think I'm right, I know I'm right" she replied simply.

"In your opinion."

"And according to all of the available facts. Well come on, let me hear it" she said, fully prepared to wait until he admitted that she was right. Andy looked away from her and towards the balcony, making a grunting sound as he did which seemed to make his whole chest vibrate. "What was that?" Sharon asked, trying not to laugh. Andy simply grunted again. "Was that a 'Sharon darling you are so right' grunt or an 'I'm so sorry I'm a complete and utter idiot' grunt?" Andy didn't reply but simply grunted again. "Oh it's both! Well I'm so glad you've finally admitted it." She laughed to herself again and kissed him on the lips.

"I haven't" he replied defiantly.

"But..." Before she had chance to go any further he cut her off with his lips crashing against hers in a rather prolonged embrace, using the same tactic she had used on him to great effect over the last six months of their relationship. "I thought you were no longer in the mood" she said virtually into his mouth as he continued to try and silence her.

"I'm not. I'm just trying to get you to shut up" he said as he broke their kiss for a moment. Sharon laughed at him before kissing him back, thinking at the very least that it stood a chance of cheering him up. "Have you forgotten?" he asked when they finally broke apart.

"Yes" she lied as she laughed, certain to bring it up again later like he was certain to bring up his Super Sperm at the next possible opportunity.

"Okay then."

They settled back down again, Andy gently and slowly moving his hand up and down her back while she lay on him and did likewise, raking her nails up and down his forearm. She waited for him to fully relax again beneath her before she decided to continue the conversation. "And to think Lieutenant Provenza tortured those poor people for no reason which, may I add, he did for you, so that we could buy that house." Andy sighed, it was a sigh that let her know he agreed but he was never going to admit it out loud and it only succeeded in making her laugh. "He did that from the goodness of his own heart too."

"More like so I'd stop talking about it."

"We should really take them out to dinner to say thankful for all of his hard work and effort with the press even though it was ultimately in vain" Sharon suggested, really thinking that they owed him a least a bottle of wine for the way he fielded call after call on Heather's phone alone without all of his other efforts.

"You're phrasing that like I have the option to say 'No' when really you're just telling me that's what's happening right?"

"Right" she laughed before she kissed him. "You catch on fast."

"No I just know when I have no choice in the matter and even if I do say 'No' you'll just go out of your way to manipulate me into it, usually with sex or on occasion with turkey" he pointed out, not that he was really complaining. Yes Sharon would often use sex in order to get him to do something that he didn't particularly want to do but it wasn't like he didn't get anything out of it in exchange.

"And there were some that said this relationship wouldn't work." She laughed for a moment as he just nodded. "Come on, it'll be fun" she said as she kissed his chest. "When was the last time we went out on a double date with them?"

"After Christmas."

"Right, so we're long overdue a catch up. Two couples out together, having a good time and by couples I mean me and Patrice and you and Lieutenant Provenza obviously." She laughed again, burying her face in his chest as he looked down at her unamused. "Don't worry, we'll turn away if you two want a romantic interlude." She laughed again, shaking violently as her sides started to hurt to the point where she had to look away from him as he continued to stare at her incredibly unimpressed.

"You think you're so funny don't you?" he said once she'd finally calmed down.

"Oh come on. We need to say thank you for his help."

"I'm waiting for my bribe. I'll answer you then."

"I've agreed to move in with you haven't I?" she pointed out. "Is that not a big enough incentive?"

"That's an incentive to scour the city looking for somewhere even remotely habitable for the three of us and your legion of angels to live out the rest of our days, not to have dinner with Provenza."

"Tough, you're coming. Aren't you?" She stared at him waiting for an answer and when it became clear that none was forthcoming she quickly moved her hand to the back of his knees and started to pinch them.

Andy laughed as he squirmed and tried to extract her hands from the back of his knees. "Yes, yes, I'll take the four of us out to dinner to say thank you" he promised.

"Good" she said with an appreciative smile before she kissed him on the lips. "Thank you." She lay her head back on his chest again and snuggled in close, loving to lie on him as he held her. Once more she waited in silence, lulling him into a false sense of security before speaking again. "So...why do you know so much about breast and butt implants exactly?"

Andy's mouth opened and closed for a moment like a goldfish as he struggled to come up with an answer that wouldn't make him look like a pig. As she watched him Sharon tried her hardest not to laugh at his apparent discomfort but it was proving to be difficult. "I don't" he said simply after what seemed like an eternity. Sharon just glared at him, not believing a word. "Other than what I learnt from George Andrews obviously" he added, grasping at straws and quite clearly lying his ass off.

"Lieutenant Provenza's ex-partner George Andrews?" she asked, playing along.

"Right. You know he...she's a woman now. Well she's had...you know stuff done that I can't even think about without crying," he said as he pointed towards his crotch and his eyes almost watered at just the thought, "but she also had breast implants obviously. And she told me that you know she struggled to go swimming because every time she tried to go under the water they'd...well they'd bring her right back up to the surface again." He looked at her smugly, satisfied with the answer that he'd managed to think up and deliver so quickly, thinking he'd pulled off that particular lie rather successfully.

"Really?" Sharon asked, not believing a word.

"Yeah really" he replied as his sniffed and twitched his nose, hoping that Sharon wouldn't see his nostrils flaring and knowing he was blatantly lying to her. "Other than that I honestly don't know anything, I was merely making an assumption based on all of the available facts laid out before me."

"Not all of your available experience with members of the opposite sex?"

"No. I don't have any experience other than what George told me. Honestly it was just an assumption" he insisted once again, still kicking himself that he didn't know when to shut the hell up.

"Well you know what happens when you assume? You make an ass out of you and me in the middle of Electronics in front of the rest of the division" she replied with a smile.

"I know but I was just..."

Sharon shook her head and smacked him on his chest with the palm of her hand. "Oh calm down you big dope. I'm only teasing you" she laughed.

Andy let out a big sigh of relief. "Oh thank God."

Sharon laughed and pressed her lips to his chin. "But if you could keep that sort of thing to yourself from now on, especially when all of our co-workers are in attendance I'd really appreciate it."

"I will. I promise. It'll never happen again."

"For your sake as well as our house hunting prospects I hope it's never an issue again. And speaking of which, by the way boy," she sat up slightly so that she could see his face while she poked his chest, "I have a bone to pick with you."

"Other than about the breast and butt implants? Because you've said time and time again that anything that happens at work is not to be brought home with us under any circumstances and yet..."

"But there are of course exceptions to every rule" she cut in with a smile.

Andy's jaw dropped open. "You're breaking one of the rules?" he asked with a gasp.

"Oddly enough yes but that's not what I'm talking about." She propped herself up on her elbow a little to ensure that she could see his face and vice versa. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on at that house?" she asked, a tiny hint of irritation to her voice. She'd been holding it in until the case was over, the whole thing already too personal for her liking without telling Andy off in a personal capacity at work too. She wasn't just shocked when Amy answered her question 'Well what's so special about that house?' while they stood over Heather's body in the morgue, she was absolutely livid. She simply could not believe that Andy would have the entire division roll out and get her to go to the morgue to meet Dr Morales without telling her that the body she was going to see was found in the house he wanted them to buy. She felt like a fool, a prize plum as Amy filled her in and Morales tried his hardest not to laugh. Of all the things to not tell her instantly, had she had the chance she would have smacked the crap out of him while using four lettered words that she never ever used unless Jack was there but by the time she arrived back at PAB and summoned him into her office, closing the door, the sheepish smile on his face let him off the hook, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to bring the subject up again later.

"What do you mean?" Andy asked confused.

"Why didn't you call me when you found a dead woman in the pool of the house you were looking into us to buy?" she said, high levels of exasperation in her voice as her initial annoyance started to come flooding back.

"Should I have?"

Sharon rolled her eyes and gave him a quick slap around the back of his head. "YES!" she cried at a volume loud enough to cause her neighbours to complain. "Yes Andy! Yes you should have called me! Instead I had to find out while I was at the morgue from Amy and in front of Dr Morales that the reason this was a major crime was because my boyfriend was potentially one of the last people to see the victim alive."

"And that was important because?"

"Because it made me look like a complete idiot as I didn't know what was going on" she told him while in a state of disbelief that she had to, not understanding why Andy couldn't see what her issue was instantly. "I didn't know that you and the other two Stooges had found a body in our potential future home."

"Well technically the body was in the pool and not in the house so..."

That remark earned him another smack around his head before he'd had chance to even finish his thought in his head. "Semantics Andy! Semantics!" she cried again. "You still made me look like a complete idiot for not knowing what was going on."

Andy shrugged, still not really seeing what the big deal was. "If Provenza had found a body in a house he was looking at he wouldn't immediately call Patrice and tell her. He'd do his job first."

"But Patrice isn't his commanding officer and the person in charge of investigating the crime" she explained very slowly in a valiant attempt to make her (sometimes) incredibly dense boyfriend understand where she was coming from.

"Good point. Okay you're right" he nodded as he conceded that she had a point about his behaviour and it was yet another foul up he'd committed over the last couple of days. "I'm sorry I didn't give you the heads up in advance and I promise I'll never do it again."

"Funnily enough Andy I hope you don't find a body in any other house you look at" she said as she lay her head back down on his chest.

"But if I do I'll definitely call you before you go to the morgue."

"Thank you."

After a moment Andy sighed again. "And this week started off so well and now..."

"Look on the bright side" Sharon said as she cut in quickly before he had chance to fall into another dark mood of disappointment and despair.

"There's a bright side?"

"Yes," she nodded, "you may have convinced Rusty that moving out of here and into somewhere new isn't such a bad idea after all."

"That's true" he smiled, being thankful for small mercies wherever he could take them and the bright side really was that Rusty wasn't quite so resistant to the idea as he had been a few short weeks earlier. "He did really seem to be getting behind the idea."

"Up until you made him hug you" she joked, it being no secret that she loved to see two of her boys get along so well and embracing each other from time to time (usually at her insistence).

"As far as I'm concerned as his Mom's boyfriend if I'm not annoying him or weirding him out then I'm just not doing my job properly."

"Oh well then in that case, congratulations."

"Thank you." They both laughed. "You really wouldn't let us have a man cave if we had the room? It could be another way for us to bond" he suggested, knowing it was never going to happen but he thought he could at least try his best.

"I don't care. It's not happening" she told him sternly.

"And yet you get to fill the place with those creepy ass angels?"

"Yes."

"Why exactly?" Andy asked, unable to resist pointing out the double standard.

Sharon lifted her head and smiled at him. "Because you love me" she said simply before she pushed her lips against his once more.

Andy nodded after they broke apart. "Yeah okay" he conceded with a smile before they both laughed.

"I wonder how Rusty would decorate his room" Sharon pondered after a few moments of comfortable silence. "The first time I allowed Ricky to decorate his room the way he wanted he painted it completely black from floor to ceiling."

"It sounds a bit like Provenza's mind" Andy joked.

"He was going through a Goth stage," Sharon explained with another very large roll of her eyes to show exactly what she thought of him at the time, "because of this girl he liked at school."

"Doing something stupid for a girl huh?" Andy laughed.

"Yes well you'd know more about that than most wouldn't you?" she teased, kissing his cheek as he frowned at her. "Thankfully his 'Dark Period' as Emily liked to call it was over before the paint had chance to really dry."

"I think we're going to escape that with Rusty. He's more likely to have François Truffaut film posters hanging everywhere. Or Bobby Fischer."

Sharon laughed with surprise. "What do you know about François Truffaut?"

"I put one of his movies on once just to piss off Provenza" Andy shrugged.

Sharon laughed at him before they fell silent once again, just enjoying cuddling each other in the peace and quiet. After a moment she smiled into his chest, unable to help herself. "I told you not so long ago that it was only a matter of time before you got each other into trouble again."

"How is any of this my fault?" he asked since it wasn't his fault that someone was murdered in the pool of an open house he'd visited.

"Aside from not telling me where the body had been found and your vast knowledge about buoyancy levels of different implants?"

Andy thought for a moment, sucking on the inside of his mouth before nodding "Okay." She laughed in reply and snuggled back down on his chest again. After a second he tapped her on the arm before he spoke. "Hey I never told you what with being otherwise occupied, I met Paula Poundstone the other day" he said with a smile.

"Where?"

"In Yu's waiting room, having an appointment for the Botox special I suppose."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope. She claimed it wasn't her. Now I'm a lot of things but I'm not blind, it was definitely her. I wonder who else the good fake doctor had on his books?" he pondered, not really expecting an answer.

"What would you have done if you'd walked in there and discovered Sharon Stone sitting in the waiting room?" Sharon asked as she laughed, Sharon Stone featuring quite prominently in his nightmares over the years with the women hating the sight of him and often trying to stab him whenever she made an appearance after he drifted off to sleep.

"Before or after she tried to stab me?" he asked and making her laugh. "I'd have run out that door as fast as my legs could carry me and left everything up to Provenza and Mike to deal with."

"And you don't think they'd have found the whole thing slightly unusual?"

"No, Provenza knows how much she wants to murder me" he explained. At the time as he sat in a car next to Provenza on another night time surveillance operation he had nodded off, waking up suddenly as he screamed 'Sharon! No!' Since their division was also under the constant scrutiny from a certain Captain from FID as well during that period, Provenza could only leap to one conclusion, declaring his absolute disgust at the same time. Andy had to explain, letting his partner know that he kept dreaming that Sharon Stone was trying to kill him and he had no interest whatsoever in Sharon Raydor of all people.

Sharon laughed at him, amused that he'd let Lieutenant Provenza know all about his night terrors. "What? It's true. If he ever bumped into her I'd worry he'd give her my address" Andy said as he shuddered with fear.

Sharon laughed again. "Maybe he already has" she teased.

"I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by now if that was the case."

"Then it's a good job we're moving soon."

"Yeah, soon" he said with a sigh.

"I know but in many ways I think it's all for the best as I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to move from here yet" she offered, still trying to look for positives in the disaster. "I have unfinished business in this condo." He frowned at her a little confused as she raised her head from his chest and shuffled up his body slightly, moving closer to his face. "You see I've yet to get you completely naked on that balcony" she said as she pointed in the direction of the balcony door and then crashed her lips into his should she be able to tempt him in the coming moments. "We can't move until that's happened at least once" she added before kissing him again.

Andy laughed. "Oh really?"

"Really."

"And what would your neighbour have to say about that?"

"I really don't care" she shrugged. They both laughed before she kissed him again, still seeing if she could use sex to cheer him up and get him out of the funk he was currently in. "And Rusty is out so we could..."

"Oh no!" he replied defiantly although he was awfully tempted to say the least. "Not on your life pretty lady."

"Have you suddenly gone shy?"

"Yes. The moment the door was closed and locked behind me with my unmentionables blowing in the breeze" he explained. At the time he was incredibly annoyed that Provenza had told Sharon what had happened to him years earlier when one of his frequent indiscretions with members of the opposite sex had left him naked and helpless on a balcony until Provenza rescued him but since Sharon found the whole thing hysterical and continually tried to get a repeat performance from him, he'd opted to let it go. "As a consequence I'm never doing that again."

"What's the matter? Are you afraid?"

"More like scarred for life."

"But so I'm lead to believe that only happened because you'd been a very bad boy and she was after revenge" she reminded him, not that she needed to with the whole incident traumatising him for life. "Oddly enough I'm not after revenge, I'm after something else entirely" she added as she kissed him again.

"And yet I just don't trust you."

"You don't trust me?" she asked, pretending to be offended.

"Not with this" he clarified. Sharon laughed. "Sharon Raydor you are without a shadow of a doubt the love of my life and as a result I have signed my life over to you in every single way possible, proving that I trust you more than anyone else in this entire world but not when it comes to being naked on the balcony." Sharon laughed at him again causing him to throw her a suspicious look. "And that laugh really isn't helping matters either."

"What do you think I'm going to do?"

"I don't think anything. I know you far too well Raydor and I know for a fact that you'd lure me out there with the promise of sex and then lock me out there for your own amusement, leaving me all naked and helpless."

"Oh I'd never leave you alone out there all naked and helpless."

"Oddly enough I just don't believe you."

Sharon laughed again. "What would I have to do to get you to believe me?"

"Well first of all you could stop laughing which doesn't seem likely right now and then you could...nope, no, there is no chance you are ever going to get me naked on that balcony" he stated categorically.

"But what about the swimming pool in the house we're going to buy?"

"Well that's completely different" he said with a shrug. "Firstly no one will be able to see me and everything I have to offer if they look up suddenly and secondly I could always hide my unmentionables in the pool until you unlock the door or Rusty comes home to rescue me."

Sharon laughed. "And won't that be a treat for him. It's really not going to happen?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you but no. You'll have to make do with getting me naked on the dining table instead" he said with a wink.

"Not where my son eats breakfast!"

"Fine then we can do it down the other end" Andy shrugged.

Sharon laughed. "It's not happening."

"You didn't have any qualms when we did it on my kitchen counter or my kitchen table" he pointed out, seeing it as yet another double standard.

"Well that's different" Sharon replied simply.

"How is it?"

Sharon shrugged. "Rusty doesn't eat there."

Andy frowned at her as he thought for a moment. "Yeah we need to get the kid his own dining area in the new house."

Sharon laughed at him, kissing his chest before silence fell upon them once again. After a moment or two Andy sighed very melodramatically. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"I'm feeling old."

"Feeling old?" she repeated. "Because the house had black mould in it?"

"No because when we went around to 'Doctor' Yu's house the other day and after the door was opened by that crazy ass nurse Buzz tackled to the ground she said we'd need to come back because they didn't have enough Botox in stock for both me and Provenza." Sharon hid her face into his chest as she chomped down on her lip to stop herself from laughing at him. "Then Yu tried to bribe me into not arresting him with cosmetic procedures." With that she simply couldn't help herself and started laughing loudly. "It's not funny. Do I really look that bad?"

Sharon chuckled to herself again. "No sweetheart" she said before she kissed him on the lips. "Not at all" she added as she ran her hand down the side of his face.

"I spent ten minutes looking at myself in the mirror this morning. I'm starting to look like an old scrotum" he said grumpily.

Once more Sharon couldn't help but laugh at him. "No you don't" she insisted.

"You're biased and clearly partially sighted. You did marry Jack after all." Sharon laughed again and shook her head at him and his latest bout of idiocy. "I hate getting older. Every five minutes I seem to be sprouting hair someplace new." Although she tried not to, Sharon had to laugh again, finding the whole thing ridiculous. "And it doesn't help that you find it so funny either. I mean look at my eyebrows. I'm reaching that stage where mice flee from me because they think I'm an owl. And my fingernails" he continued as he looked at his hand. "No one tells you that the older you get the harder your fingernails get. I mean what is the evolutionary purpose behind that? So that I could one day skit up the wall like a lizard?"

Sharon laughed at him hysterically, it taking a good long time before she calmed down. "What do you want? Do you want to end up looking like Heather S Lutz?" she asked him.

"Hey at least she didn't look like this" he replied as he pointed to his face.

"You know in terms of getting me to give you some sympathy and...other things," she said as she removed her hand from stroking his forearm and pushed it up and under his shirt, her nails dragging up and down the side of his body, "this is definitely a new tactic for you."

"I'm being serious" he insisted. "I know it must come as a surprise to you but I'm not currently after sex. I'm ageing here as we speak."

"That makes both of us" she pointed out.

"But it's different for men."

"Oh of course it is!" she scoffed. "Because men are always being criticised for looking haggard as they age aren't they? You're talking utter nonsense and you know it. Women just get older but men become handsome and more distinguished."

"I feel like old cheese." Again Sharon couldn't stop herself from laughing at him. "Stop laughing at me I'm being serious" he said as he started to chuckle himself, the smile on his face letting her know that he wasn't being that serious with her.

"I would but you're being utterly ridiculous. You, my beautiful _boy_ , still look as good as the day I first met you. A little greyer maybe but still utterly beautiful" she said, kissing him again.

"You don't think I need Botox?"

"Only as much as I do."

"Well you certainly don't but I'm starting to..."

"Do you know what I see when I look at you?" she asked, cutting him off in his prime.

"A scrotum with eyes?"

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "The rest of my life." She pushed her lips to his in an almost searing kiss as his hands briefly went into her hair. "I love this face. Don't ever change it my beautiful boy" she added, kissing him again.

"Not even butt implants?"

"Definitely not butt implants."

"It would mean we wouldn't need a floaty budget if we bought a place with a pool."

Sharon laughed. "I think I could afford to buy you one of your own so you don't need to worry about that boy."

"With the way you grab my ass it may be a genuine option for the future, with mine all squeezed out of shape" he told her like he was complaining when she knew that he liked it.

"I'm just making sure that you don't miss your neighbour" she informed him, with Andy's elderly neighbour often squeezing his backside like a stress ball when she got the chance.

"Oh so that's the reason why my ass is always in your hands."

"One of the reasons yes" she confirmed and then brushed his lips with hers.

"When did Jason say he was going to call?"

"He didn't. I told him to wait for you to calm down for a few days first and then you'd call him" she explained, feeling that if Jason called Andy before he was ready then it would just make the situation and his mood even worse.

"A few days? You'll be lucky."

"Yes I thought I was being a tad optimistic."

"Oh well" he said with a sigh. "At least this gives you a bit more time to work on and hide all of those nasty habits you have before we move in together" he suggested with a cheeky smile.

"What nasty habits?" she asked with indignation.

"I don't know" he shrugged. "Whatever it is you do and hide from me when I'm not here."

"I don't have any nasty habits thank you very much. I'm the perfect person to live with, just ask Rusty."

"Ah yes, the boy who won't eat anywhere near the couch and has to stack the dishwasher a certain way under threat of death" he pointed out, expecting for his knees to be attacked at any moment.

"Well if that's all I'm hiding you don't have much to worry about do you?" she said smugly as she snuggled back down into his chest, her hand still moving up and down his side underneath his shirt.

"That's just the stuff I know about" he said as he kissed the top of her head. "I have no idea what other deep dark secrets you have."

"I don't have any."

"Yeah right" he said with a smile. There were times when Sharon irritated the crap out of him and he knew that likewise he did the same to her but they loved each other, even when they irritated and hated each other. But one of the fears that they both had was discovering those little things about each other that they'd so far been able to keep hidden although that seemed unlikely. Not only were they spending at least six nights a week together, they also worked together side by side and had done for years so the notion that either had anything to hide from the other at that point seemed more than a tad ridiculous and yet the fear remained. "This is why Provenza's marriages always end so quickly. They move in with him and find him chewing on his toenails and that's the end of that."

"He doesn't do that does he?" Sharon asked horrified, that being a lot more than she needed to know about her second in command, already in the possession of stories about his colourful past with women which was frankly far too much information.

"I have no idea. Well he doesn't now at any rate." He suddenly realised that because of everything that had happened with the house and the case taking priority, he hadn't told her about what he'd heard over the phone when he called Provenza and asked him to come and check out the property with him the following morning. "I never told you did I? When I called him the other night to ask him to look at that house with me Patrice was painting his toenails" he told her with glee.

"She was what?" Sharon laughed as she sat up to see his face to tell if he was lying to her or not. "Painting his toenails?"

"He claims she was just trying out some new colours on him but I think there's more to it."

"Were they still painted the next day at work?" she asked, finding it hard to get the image out of her mind that Lieutenant Provenza had been standing next to her for the last couple of days with painted nails lurking beneath his formal shoes.

"I don't know. The dead body in the pool of our dream house distracted me too much to actually ask what was going on in his shoes" he said, in reality he really didn't want to know if they were painted or not.

"Anyway, what about you?" she asked as she put her head on his shoulder so that she could see his face without having to move from that point on.

"You're not painting my nails!" he cried.

Sharon laughed. "No. That's not what I meant. What about your bad habits?" she clarified.

"I don't have bad habits" he stated as he closed his eyes, a small smile creeping across his face as he waited for Sharon to start a great long list of all of the bad habits he had and she frequently thought about murdering him about.

"Two words: Shoes. Towels" she said simply.

"Shoe towels?" Andy asked puzzled. "Are you telling me you've invented some sort of shoe towel in your spare time?"

"No" she laughed. "I'm talking about your habit of abandoning your shoes around the bedroom willy nilly so that I inevitably fall over them in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom, not only stubbing my toe but usually crashing into the closet as well" she explained, his shoes really driving her mad some days because she kept tripping over them and despite repeated requests for him to move them out of the way he had so far failed to do so.

"I don't abandon them" he lied.

"Then why are they just lying randomly in the middle of the floor? Why aren't they put away in the closet?"

"Because we can't all be a neat freak like you Raydor."

"Neat freak?" she asked, exasperated that he was missing her point completely, more focused on not breaking her pelvis as she fell over his shoes rather than wanting her condo to look like a show home, like nobody lived there. "Andy complaining that I'd fallen over in the middle of the night and banged my hip because I'd tripped over your shoes on the way to the bathroom yet again and getting annoyed at finding wet towels lying everywhere is not being a neat freak" she protested.

"I've never left a wet towel lying anywhere in my life."

"Ooh you liar!" she cried as she pinched the back of his knee and he laughed hysterically. "It must be such a chore when the hamper is all five feet from the shower" she grumbled as he continued to laugh.

"Well what about you?"

"What about me? I've already told you I don't have any bad habits" she stated, not expecting any sort of rebuttal from him, at least not on the same level as his shoe and wet towel abandonment.

"Yeah okay so we're ignoring the fact that you're a blatant thief now are we?" he asked before he kissed her on her forehead just in case she thought he was really complaining about her. "You steal my food, you steal my clothes and if I had any money I'm sure that would go too."

Sharon laughed. "Borrowing your shirts is hardly in the same league as leaving wet towels on the floor."

"Okay. Then let's focus on the bathroom" he said as he suddenly looked deadly serious like he was interrogating a suspect. "When's the last time you shaved any part of your anatomy with a razor that wasn't mine?" As he waited for an answer Sharon just frowned at him, more often than not using his razor because it was simply better than hers. "You can't can you? By the time I actually come to shave in the morning my razor is duller than one of Buzz's Reserve Officer stories."

At a loss as to what else to say she asked "What would you prefer?"

"I'd prefer you to use your own razor" he genuinely grumbled.

"How about I just stop shaving my legs altogether? How would you like that?" she asked, knowing what his answer would be since an hour hardly went by when she was wearing a skirt or a dress without him gazing at them with his tongue hanging out.

Andy looked at her in awe for a moment, his mouth open and with an almost glazed quality coming across his eyes. "Is it wrong that I'm incredibly turned out right now?" he asked as he pulled her tighter to his body.

"Yes" Sharon laughed as she smacked him on the chest with the palm of her hand. "Anyway those aren't bad habits" she insisted.

"Oh yes they are."

"Fine but they're bad habits you're already aware of before we move in together" she pointed out with complete certainty that she had nothing else to hide from him that he would find irritating. "That's it. I have no more."

"I can believe that" he said softly as he smiled at her lovingly. "I've always told you, to me Sharon Raydor you are perfect" he said with a shrug and then proceeded to push his lips to her in a long, slow kiss.

"And you Andy Flynn are very much a work in progress" she joked. She laughed as he pretended to look a little put out by her statement before smiling. She kissed him back. "God I love you" she told him before kissing him again. "My beautiful boy" she added, kissing him once more before snuggling back down onto his shoulder, her hand moving from under his shirt and gripping hold of his shirt collar instead. "Have you lived with anyone since Sandra?" she asked after a few moments of silence. He looked at her with a frown so that she could see how reluctant he was to be having that particular conversation. "Oh come on!" she cried, tired of having to drag some of his colourful history from him like extracting a tapeworm from a lion. "I'm not judging. I'm not asking for details but a general sense of how many women you've lived with just out of curiosity would be nice."

He paused before muttering "Not really."

"Not really?" she asked confused, unsure how you could 'not really' live with someone.

"Well I say no but I'm sure if you ask them they'll give you a different story."

Sharon laughed and suddenly understood what he was telling her. "Oh I'm sure they'd have lots of stories to tell me if I ever had the opportunity to talk to any of them."

"Well that's never going to happen" he said with almost a frightened look, not wanting the love of his life to speak to anyone who may try to talk her out of spending the rest of her life with him. "I've had a couple of women spend...prolonged periods in my house," he explained, "but I never actually asked anyone to move in with me between Sandra and you. In fact you're actually the first person I've ever asked to move in with me."

"Uh-huh" she said with a smile. "So it was just a misunderstanding?"

"Something like that."

"Like the misunderstanding you had with Nicole and Sandra about the extent of your relationship with me a couple of years ago?" she asked with a smile, enjoying that she could still torture him about that.

"Something like that" he replied as she just laughed at him before she kissed his cheek. "What about you? I'm assuming there was no one between Jack and now considering you never told the kids you were dating anyone during that time."

"You assume correctly. I've spent an awful lot of time living on my own which I suppose is why I'm so difficult to live with now" she said by way of a further explanation why she had insisted on taking their relationship so slowly and was initially so hesitant towards the idea of moving in together.

"You're not difficult" he told her kindly as he kissed her forehead. "You're a challenge but it just so happens that I love a challenge, especially one that's so worthwhile with such great rewards for persistence." He kissed her again only on the lips this time as her hand moved to stroke his cheek.

"You're such a smooth talker" she told him and not for the first time. "Do you know that?"

"I do try" he replied as he always did to that statement and kissed her again.

"Where was your first place?"

"On my own?"

"Yes" she nodded, always hungry for stories from his past that she didn't already know.

"Well technically my first apartment was my Mother's womb" he joked. Sharon laughed and gave him a playfully slap to his chest as he laughed with her for a brief moment. "After I left college I had a small apartment not far from the airport. When I say small I mean it was like a shoe box but with fewer windows and locks. The place used to rattle every time a plane went overhead. It was like there was a constant earthquake going on."

"Oh a real babe magnet then?" she asked with a smile.

"Well I was already with Sandra by that point."

Sharon smiled at him. "You really met each young didn't you?"

"Too young in hindsight" he said with a regretful shrug, not trading the life he had with Sharon for anything but that didn't stop him from wishing he had handled things better when his marriage started to fall apart for the sake of his children and also Sandra.

"Oh I see. So all of those wild oats you failed to sow before you married you set about sowing after your divorce huh?" she teased

"Of course" he nodded frantically as a joke before they both laughed. "God she hated that apartment. Never wanted to step foot into it. I should have known then things were never going to work out between us then. I just can't stand to be bossed about like that" he said without really thinking about it first.

"Hummmm. I've noticed" Sharon replied like Darth Raydor.

"I didn't mean by you" he said as he back peddled like crazy. He laughed and kissed her lips a couple of times. "I like it when _you_ boss me around" he confirmed with a waggle of his eyebrows, making it sound like he got off on it at work.

"Well no getting cheap thrills from it while we're at work" she warned with a grin.

He frowned at her again and the idea that she could control what he thought about while they were at work. "You may be my Captain within those four walls but you've got no control over what does and doesn't give me a cheap thrill while we're there" he said as his face erupted into a smile.

Sharon laughed. "I'll keep it in mind. Where did you move to after the apartment by the airport?"

"The house" he said with a slight air of melancholy to his voice. "The house we raised the kids in…well where Sandra raised the kids in" he corrected. "I liked that place. I really did. It had good bones. It was a great house to wake up in on Christmas morning, you know?"

"I do. It sounds very much like the old house my parents had. And after that?"

"Well I couch surfed for a little while after we split up with Provenza thankfully taking pity on me for the longest time. I mean I didn't really know him all that well at the time. He wasn't my partner but I knew him, we'd worked together and I'd occasionally seen him in a bar or at a party" he explained. "It's only when you hit rock bottom and bounce and lose all your family as a result that you find out who your true friends are. At the time they were too few and far between except for Provenza who helped me more than anyone else to get back on my feet again." The gratitude in his voice was there for her to see. It was when he was at his lowest that help came from a completely unexpected source in the form of a colleague he was cordial with at best and nothing really approaching a friend. Provenza took him in when no one else would, he found him an AA meeting, found him a divorce lawyer (he did have several on speed dial at that point although he blamed them all for leaving him with less money than he thought he should have) and eventually helped him find somewhere to live which left Andy wondering what would have happened to him if Provenza hadn't been there.

Sharon smiled at him, hearing things she'd never been told before and suddenly beginning to understand the relationship Andy had with his best friend (aside from her of course) so much better than she did before. "Really?" she asked, still smiling as her hand stroked his face.

"Yeah and don't think I haven't paid for it every single day since then" he grumbled as she laughed. "I mean my partner at the time, Ray, he offered me his basement to crash in but he was drinking as much as I was at that point and I didn't think it would be good for me so it was Provenza's couch or a motel. Then it was one crappy apartment after another until I got myself settled before I bought the house."

"And no one has lived with you in that time?" she asked again, finding it hard to believe that out of all of the relationships he'd been in between his divorce and asking her on a date that not one of them was serious enough or long enough to include cohabitation.

"Well Provenza a couple of times when he was in between wives," he joked as she laughed at him again, "and houses but no women, not really." He turned his head slightly so that he was looking her in the eyes. "You're only going to be the second woman I've ever lived with, family aside." He kissed her on the lips with him actually more pleased than she was that she part of a very small and exclusive group who he wanted to share his life with. "What about you?"

"My first apartment was beautiful, well to us at least, me and my three roommates" she said with a smile as she reminisced but that quickly faded. "It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Jack had hit on all of them before we got married."

"Three roommates huh?" Andy asked, his eyes sparkling and a cheeky grin on his face as he tried to get her attention away from the man who had let her down repeatedly.

"Yes."

"All female?"

Sharon sighed and shook her head when she realised why he was smiling about it, assuming he already had images of naked pillow fights going through his head. "Yes you pervert but nothing went on" she said as she smacked his chest.

Andy laughed. "Hey a guy can dream can't he?"

"Then it was the house with Jack but by the time Emily and Ricky left for college and their own lives it was far too big for me and being left alone with just your thoughts like that in a place like that just wasn't healthy for me" she said with a tinge of sadness. "So I sold it and I moved here. It broke my heart to leave, all those good times because there were good times too in amongst the horror and the yelling and the trauma and the crying, they were hard to say goodbye to."

He kissed her forehead, understanding how she felt, before he said "So this is pretty uncharted territory for the both of us then?"

"Well it's not the first time either of us have lived with someone."

"But it is the first time either of us have lived in sin" he grinned as he waggled his eyebrows.

Sharon laughed. "Ah! Living in sin. What would my Grandmother say?"

"'Good God Sharon your boyfriend has got a great ass'?" he offered.

Sharon laughed again. "And she'd be right about that" she confirmed with a kiss, only not having her hands on his rear end because she didn't have access to it. "I think I'm going to enjoy living in sin with you."

"Me too" he confirmed and then kissed her. "Best not say that in front of Rusty though."

Sharon laughed. "Oh I think that's a given" she replied.

"We'll need to think up some house rules" he mused after a moment of thought.

"House rules?"

"Yeah" he nodded. "I mean other than no TV in the bedroom and no moving the spoons."

Sharon laughed. "Oh that's easy. No leaving your shoes and wet towels everywhere" she told him with a poke in the ribs.

"Yeah okay" he shrugged.

"And Rusty's already insisting on his 'Pyjamas must be worn outside of the bedroom at all times' rule" she told him, her amusement evident over the not so small fact that when Rusty saw Andy walking around in just his boxers and a t-shirt it drove him absolutely crazy, not just because he was tired of seeing Andy's legs but also because it was a constant and visual reminder that he was in fact his Mom's boyfriend and everything that entailed between them behind closed doors.

"Does that include Gus too?" he asked, feeling like there was one rule for him and one rule for Rusty's boyfriend. "I couldn't fail to notice that he came strutting into the kitchen the other night with his legs on display and without a care in the world."

"Oddly enough I don't think Rusty has a problem looking at his boyfriend's legs" she pointed out before pausing and then admitting with a shrug "I don't mind too much myself."

"Oh really?" Andy asked, under the assumption that she was talking about his legs when in fact she was referring to Gus and his very strong looking and shapely calves. He kissed her on the lips.

"Yes" she said, kissing him back. "Gus has got a fabulous pair of legs" she teased.

"Hey!" Andy cried, pretending to be offended.

Sharon laughed into the crook of his neck. "But they're not a patch on yours." She kissed him on the lips again, confirming that she was only messing with him. "But he does have a really good pair of legs and not a bad backside to go with them either."

"Oh my God! Please tell me you've not been ogling your son's boyfriend?"

"Of course not" she said as if it was as unlikely as her flapping her arms and flying to the moon whenever the mood took her. "Anyway it's not ogling its admiring" she insisted as if the distinction was clear and obvious. "I've admired his legs and backside from a distance." Andy stared at her agog for a moment, struggling to believe his ears, not bothered that she did it but expecting Rusty to be horrified if he ever caught her. "What? It's one of the benefits of having a gay son, getting to check out the boys he brings home" she shrugged.

"Did you do the same with Emily?" he asked, suddenly thinking of her as a cougar and a MILF when Emily was a teenager, around the same time that they met for the first time.

"Sometimes but only when they were from her ballet school and clearly gay."

"Oh I see. Focusing in on the gay ones so they wouldn't fall in love with the MILF looking at their legs and drooling huh?" he asked, beyond amused that she had admitted that she so blatantly spent so much time ogling young men in relationships with her children, just as he liked to claim she had done to him long before they were friends.

"Something like that."

"Does Rusty know you eye Gus up like this?" he asked, sensing the possibility of having a bargaining chip he could use against her to get his own way from time to time, like how she manipulated him into doing stuff he didn't want to do with sex.

"I don't 'eye him up'!" she protested although in truth he'd actually hit the nail on the head perfectly. "I admire him from a distance. Very much like I used to do with you before we started dating."

"Well now I know you're lying because you ogled me for years."

"I did not!" she shouted for about the hundredth time in the last six months.

"What is that expression? I think the lady doth protest too much?" he laughed.

"In this case the lady is going to beat you to death if you bring this up again" she warned him with a very large smile. Andy laughed and kissed her forehead again. "I can't really think of any other house rules although I'm sure Rusty may have a few more" she said, expecting him to have a long list of conditions they had to abide by if he was to move house without any complaints. "Like no physical contact in the swimming pool type rules."

"Then what's the point of having one unless I get to run my hands all over you while we're in there?" he asked before he crashed his lips against hers, letting her know exactly what he would use any potential swimming pool for in case she'd missed his blatant hints. "Not swimming" he confirmed with a waggle of his eyebrows and kissed her again, his tongue plunging past her lips and leaving very little room to misunderstand his meaning.

Sharon laughed against his lips and then asked "How about exercise?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about, it's perfect exercise" he winked. She laughed at him again and kissed him back, letting it linger for a moment or two. "I've got another one" he said with enthusiasm after they broke apart. "Absolutely no and I mean for any reason, absolutely no watching _Badge of Justice_ in that house" he demanded. Sharon laughed, his request not coming as a surprise in the slightest. "This isn't funny. I'm being deadly serious."

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried with exasperation. "This is becoming a sickness with you do you know that?" she said, thinking he actually needed therapy to get him over his obsession and over the top jealousy when it came to Mike's other job.

"No it isn't. I can't just dislike something?"

"Not if you've never even seen it."

"I don't need to see it to know just how bad it is" he grumbled. "I can just tell" he added as he looked away from her for a moment because he expected to be told off shortly and not for the first time as far as this topic was concerned. A few seconds later his head snapped back towards as he stared at her almost panic stricken. "Wait. You've not seen it have you?" he asked, fearful of her answer.

"No" she said simply while deliberately making it sound like she was lying just to torment him a little more.

"Sharon?"

"No" she said again, a very prominent smile on her face.

"Are you telling the truth?"

Sharon laughed at him, running her hand down his face again. "Of course I'm telling the truth. I won't deny that I do look up what each new episode is about so if Mike asks me if I've seen it I can at least look like I'm interested and I watch it but I've never actually seen it" she said, keeping that same smile on her face so that he was never entirely certain she was telling him the truth. He looked at her suspiciously. "Oh my God! Andy I'm not lying to you."

"Okay" he said simply although his tone suggested he was anything but.

"I have to ask this" she said with a smile. "What would upset you more? If you found out I'd been cheating on you with...I don't know Judge Grove for example or..."

"Why Judge Grove?!" he immediately shouted, still thinking that the man in question wanted her despite the fact that he was apparently happily married.

Sharon laughed at him. "Because I knew it would make you react like that" she said as she laughed again and kissed him on the lips.

"He wants you."

"No he doesn't" she laughed again. "He's happily married and that's an end to it. Anyway, what would upset you more?" she asked turning back to her original question before Andy's jealousy got in the way again. "Discovering that I'd been having an affair with someone, not Judge Grove or that I secretly watched _Badge of Justice_ with Rusty when you were at an AA meeting?"

He looked at her with shock, trying to hide his rage. "That's it isn't it? That's what you do? You wait until I'm at AA and then you watch that show?" he said, convinced that was what was happening under his nose and he'd spent years being completely oblivious to it.

"No I don't watch Mike's show I..." she started only to be cut off again.

"It's not Mike's show it's..."

"You're missing the point" she said as she covered her face with her hand, getting yet another Andy inflicted _Badge of Justice_ headache. "It seems almost redundant asking now but which would bother you more, me having an affair or me watching that show? Like I don't already know" she laughed.

Andy shrugged, rather annoyed and for once not really acting that way for effect. "Well either way you're still cheating on me so I really can't separate the two." Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. He turned to face her. "You'd never do that to me would you?" he asked.

"No. I would never cheat on you with Judge Grove."

"That's not what I meant."

Sharon laughed again, in disbelief that she was being forced into having this kind of conversation with an adult. "No" she assured him. "I would never watch _Badge of Justice_ since you feel so strongly about it."

He smiled at her, a smile that reminded her of how he looked the first morning they woke up in bed together and he realised that it hadn't all been a dream, they really had made it to that point and she did love him. "Thank you sweetheart" he said before he pushed his lips to hers. "You always know the perfect thing to say."

Sharon laughed, secretly loving that he was such a colossal idiot at times. "Fine. _Badge of Justice_ isn't allowed on the TV in our house but likewise I never want to hear 'Badge, Badge, Badge' ever again either. Okay?" she asked.

"But that's not a house rule..."

"It's my house rule" she insisted, wanting him to sign some paperwork to that effect before she was forced into murdering him and asking Rusty to help dispose of his body. "Yes or no? It's not too late to call this whole thing off and go our separate ways you know."

"You wouldn't dare."

Sharon stared at him straight in the eyes for a moment. "Try me" she said simply.

Andy studied her face for a moment as he battled to determine if she was telling the truth or not, sometimes struggling to read her when she narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine!" he said caving in to her demand. He sighed loudly to show his frustration as he cuddled her even tighter to himself and she laughed. "No flushing of toilets while I'm in the shower."

Sharon laughed but actually hoped the plumbing would be better in their new house so it wouldn't be an issue anyway. "Deal" she nodded. "Although there is a way to stop that."

"Oh yeah?"

"Always make sure you're up early enough to share the shower with me" she told him with the lightest of kisses to his lips, leaving him wanting more.

"Oh you are so on" he said enthusiastically before he kissed her back.

"I'll believe it when I see it. You love sleep too much."

"I love you more."

"Smooth talker" she told him once again.

"I do try my very best." Sharon laughed at his typical response to that compliment before he sighed again. It was a sigh filled with frustration and despair, letting her know that he was far from over the disappointment of their dream house not being fit for purpose.

"I know" she said with a sigh all of her own. "We'll find another house. A better house. One that hasn't had two people die in it in the space of a couple of weeks."

"Knowing our luck it would probably have been haunted too. We could have woken up with an old lady in our bed."

"You mean that hasn't happened with Mrs Williams?" she joked.

"Not for the want of trying."

"She's going to cling to your ankle when you do eventually move out of there" she told him not that the thought hadn't crossed his own mind.

"I know" he said with a slight shudder. "I may have to do it in the dead of night. Some sort of moonlit flit so that she doesn't try to stab you."

"Stab me?" Sharon questioned.

"Yes, for stealing me away from her" he joked with sometimes him feeling like Mrs Williams actually thought she was in a relationship with him. "I'm just thankful she doesn't know your last name. We could have some sort of _Fatal Attraction_ thing going on. We'd come home one day and find Rusty boiling in a pot on the stove." Sharon laughed at him, keen to avoid his neighbour as much as she was keen to avoid her own. "That woman is terrifying."

"She's a little old lady."

"A little old lady who pinches really really hard and for some reason is always dressed in next to nothing when she lures me over there to change a lightbulb in her bedroom which has mysterious stopped working for the fourth time in two days" he explained, shuddering from the horror once again as she laughed at him. "I'm not kidding. This negligee she had on last time, my God!" He blinked a couple of times as if the imagine was burned onto his retinas. "I'm not entirely sure what it was made from but I think it was a cobweb" he added as she again laughed at him. "It was the closest I've come to drinking in twenty years to try to get rid of the memory."

"Oh what it must be like to be you and having all of these women just throwing themselves at you" she teased.

"It's awful. I feel like a piece of meat."

Sharon laughed hysterically. "Have you thought about changing your aftershave?"

"If it was as simple as that I would have done it already" he said as if he couldn't walk through the streets without a disguise and not having swarms of women trying to rip his clothes off and devour him. "I think we could get pretty good odds of her hiding in one of the boxes before they get piled into the moving van. I can see us just collapsing into bed at the end of the day, exhausted but nowhere near done unpacking and then out she pops with a cleaver, like an over the hill Norman Bates."

"Would you try and save me?"

"Eventually, once I'd stopped screaming."

"Oh my hero! I think Mrs Rose is likely to throw a parade when she finds out we're moving."

"Well you shouldn't be so noisy and troublesome should you Raydor?" he said simply as if she truly was the menace that her neighbour often claimed her to be.

"I guess not. Jack's Mother always said I was a troublemaker."

"And how right she was" he teased, smiling at her joyfully as his hand stroked her hair away from her face. "If you're not playing inappropriate music at high volumes, you're having orgasms on the balcony..."

"Once" Sharon replied in regard to the incident on the balcony a few weeks earlier when his hand had slipped between her legs as they cuddled under a blanket, her moans being easily overheard by Mrs Rose on her balcony and leading her to complain about the noise yet again. "Once that happened and it was..."

"Yeah, yeah it was all my doing but there's still plenty of time for plenty more before we move" he said with a wink before their lips met again.

"I thought you said I wasn't going to be able to lure you naked onto the balcony."

"And you won't but that doesn't mean I can't make you feel good out there" he said with another wink before he kissed her once more. "So that's loud music, screaming orgasms on the balcony..."

Sharon laughed. "Screaming orgasms now?"

"Oh yeah, you have no idea how loud you can be Raydor. You've almost burst my eardrum before now" he said as he put his finger in his ear and rattled it around as if he had some permanent hearing loss as a result. "Is it any wonder the kid wants a bedroom clear on the other side of the house?"

"Excuse me that's you who's insisting on that not Rusty and if anyone is noisy between the two of us it's definitely you" she told him.

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree."

"Sure but I'm right" she said categorically. "Anyway you were saying."

"Right. So loud music, screaming multiple orgasms on the balcony," he said before Sharon laughed again due to the escalation from 'orgasm' or 'screaming multiple orgasms' in a matter of minutes, "allowing murderers into the building..."

"Oh God don't!" she cringed, still feeling horrified and guilty about the whole thing despite the fact that she wasn't to blame in the slightest for what had happened at the hands of Wade Weller.

"And that's without all the stray men you keep bringing home and keeping."

"How do you know about them?" she joked. Andy just frowned at her, looking far from impressed by the implication. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding" she told him after she pecked him on the lips.

"I think Mrs Rose will probably throw a party for the entire building once she sees the back of you." Sharon nodded and laughed at him, fully expecting a very large celebration when she did move. "It's almost worth my moving in here instead just to piss her off."

"Oh the perfect way to make a decision."

"Hey it works between me and Provenza. I think to myself 'What would piss him off the most?' and then I do that."

"Why am I not surprised?" she laughed. She paused for a moment before switching her train of thought for a moment. "I now understand why you chose not to tell Nicole we were looking for a house yet. I phoned Ricky and Emily last night and told them we were on the verge of moving. Now I'll have to call them back again and tell them what's happened."

"Are you going to leave out the implants?" Andy asked, his eyes pleading with her.

"That depends on how good you are to me between now and then" she told him with sparkling eyes and a kiss to the lips. "They were both so excited for us."

"Really?"

"Yes. Well of course and they were excited about the prospect of us having a pool in the yard as well. I think they were already planning their Christmas morning swims."

"They weren't the only ones" Andy said with another sigh.

Sharon sat up slightly as she frowned at him. "I don't understand you."

"That's not the first time you've told me that" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "That's not what I mean. I mean because there's a pool on the roof of this building that you flat out refuse to use." She had tried many times to get him to come and have a swim with her at the end of a very long and tense day, thinking that if swimming didn't relax him (still always with one eye on his blood pressure although she had managed to stop mothering him to the extent where he noticed her doing it anymore) then the sight of her in a swim suit would do the job and yet he wouldn't step foot up there.

Andy shrugged. "I don't like an audience."

"Oh I see. And what do you think you're going to be getting up to in this pool if we get one?" she asked as her hand danced around the top of his jeans, pushing his shirt up and running her finger nails across his stomach in a very tantalising fashion.

"Well for starters," he said with a smile before he dropped his lips to hers, "I was thinking," he continued only to pause and kiss her again, "that I could," he paused and kissed her once more but let it linger before finishing with, "drown the majority of your Christmas angels in it."

Sharon smacked him, not only because her much cherished angels were under threat but also because he'd led her to believe he had exciting and more importantly naked plans for the pool. "You wouldn't dare" she said, glaring at him and pointing a finger into his face. He laughed at her and settled back down, putting his head down on the cushion again. "You don't like an audience" she repeated with a shake of her head. "That's the same reason you gave for why Christmas angels are not allowed in the bedroom of the new house."

"Exactly" he replied with an oh so familiar and mischievous smile. "In both cases I'm planning on doing stuff with you that really doesn't require an audience" he explained with another waggle of his eyebrows which led to another assault on her lips.

Sharon laughed as he pulled away again. "Oh well in that case you'd better hope that we find a place before Christmas or you'll be in trouble and celibate throughout the month of December won't you?" She bopped him on the end of his nose with her finger, making her point abundantly clear to him as she grinned.

He looked at her baffled for a moment. "What are you talking about?"

"I agreed to keep them out of the bedroom in the _new_ house. You said nothing about the condo. So if we're still here at that point and you really don't like an audience then, well I guess it sucks to be you." She grinned at him again, determined to strike a deal with him that enabled her to keep her Christmas angels wherever she liked and in all probability add to her vast collection.

"That's cheating."

"No it's not. There was no mention of the condo when we were discussing it over dinner" she reminded him, specifically taking note of their deal at the time so that she could trick him into getting her own way if they hadn't moved by then.

"Yeah well I was hoping I'd have you out of here by then." As always Andy tried his hardest not to rush Sharon about anything, taking his lead from her back when they first started dating. Although he was disappointed at the time that they weren't going to move in together instantly, he recognised that taking it slowly would enable Rusty to warm up to the idea much like the way he'd warmed up to him when they first started dating. However in Andy's mind 'slowly' meant it may take a couple of months, not that they'd still be living separately come the holiday season. The idea that Sharon believed a move before the New Year was even slightly unlikely was a blow to him despite the amount of time he actually spent in her bed rather than his own. Little did either of them know that an invitation to move in with her into the condo was only a matter of three short weeks away.

"Me too but if that doesn't happen on the schedule you have marked out then it'll be a lot of awfully cold showers for you" she teased as she tried to lighten his mood again with herself hopeful that any move would be wrapped up long before holiday preparations took over. She kissed him on the lips, biting on his bottom lip for a moment to tease him further. "I'll even flush the toilet in the bathroom to help you if you like" she joked as she laughed at him.

"Like you could keep your hands off me for a whole month" he said as he seemed to ooze confidence from every pore. She laughed at him and shook his head, amused by his opinion of himself even though he was actually right, she would stand no chance of not putting a move on him for thirty days. "Those angels would be out of there so quickly their necks will snap from the g-force."

"And what makes you so certain of that?"

He smiled at her smugly. "How much you liked me in that Santa suit."

"Well that I can't deny" she admitted, their lips meeting again. When they pulled apart she studied his face for a moment, still desperate to ask him to just move into the condo as soon as he sold his house but she knew that if she opened her mouth the words would simply not be there. Still she wanted to tell him something since he'd taken their latest setback so hard, something to set his mind at ease about their future. She kissed him again and then rested her head back on his shoulder. "It wouldn't be so bad if you had to move in here right?"

"No" he said with a smile, not opposed to the idea in the slightest because his sole objective was to move in with her as quickly as possible although buying somewhere bigger was still his number one choice but he would live anywhere as long as they were together. "As long as I get to live with you I'll live anywhere. I'm not kidding. I'd live in a cardboard box under a bridge if it means I get to live with you."

"Well we'll call that Plan C for now" she joked, making them both laugh. "We'll find somewhere and if not then you just move in here before the end of the year."

"Right" Andy nodded, in truth a little confused as he wondered if that was an invitation to move in with her immediately and he was just being oblivious to it like he was when she was putting a move on him before his accident. Opting not to jump to conclusions and to wait for Sharon to make any invitation impossible for him to miss, his mind moved onto a related subject and a question he'd been putting off for a while at that point. "I don't want this to sound like I'm angry or annoyed by it because I'm not, I'm really really not," he said, ensuring that she understood and accepted what he was saying, "but after last time I have to ask, has Emily told Jack yet that we're moving in together? I'm just wondering how long it'll be until he finds a reason to pop by the Murder Room and crap on our day."

At the time when Jack announced to the entire division and Chief Taylor that Andy was off work because he had a blood clot which was actually pretty serious he was as mad as hell (along with Sharon and Provenza for that matter) but not at Emily. He fully accepted that children talk to one parent about the other after a divorce, Nicole had told him about Sandra from time to time and he knew likewise that she probably told Sandra about what he was up to. That wasn't a problem, he accepted it and even benefited from it (especially when Nicole let slip that Sandra and Michael had hit a rough patch after he accidentally set fire to half her wardrobe when the electric closet he'd built for her when spectacularly wrong which led to him sleeping in the basement for close to a month) so his problem was not with Emily. He, like Sharon and Provenza, put the blame firmly on Jack's shoulders, knowing he'd done it deliberately just to cause trouble because no matter what he said to the contrary he was still in love with Sharon and would do anything to split them up even though he knew she would never come back to him again, that door firmly closed in his face and he knew it. Andy's question about whether Emily had told Jack that they were moving in together was not because he was going to be upset with her but because he wanted to be prepared for Jack to pop up and try his hardest to sabotage them again, feeling that if they had some warning they could at least prepare for it.

Sharon sighed, feeling to blame herself for Emily spilling the beans to Jack who then in turn told everyone else when Andy had requested that the whole thing just be kept within their collective family. "She apologised" she said simply.

"I know and I'm not complaining in the slightest" he reiterated, never having blamed Emily and had told her that himself when he had been there when Sharon was talking to her via Skype and she had apologised to him yet again. "She's going to talk to her Dad. I'm glad she talks to her Dad and naturally she's going to talk about you. I know what it's like when the shoe is on the other foot but I was just curious because if she's told him he's bound to put in an appearance sooner rather than later" he explained as he battled to get her to understand what his concern actually was.

"I don't know" Sharon replied, the thought never having crossed her mind before until that moment and leading her to expect an appearance from her ex-husband at any second as he tried to rain on their parade. "I wouldn't have thought so, not after the last time. She was really mad with him for what he said. I don't think she spoke to him for a couple of months after that so I would assume not" she added, suddenly feeling the need to call her daughter so that she would know whether to expect a surprise visit or not.

"Okay. It's just you know, forewarned is forearmed."

"I know. A heads up before he sticks his head out from behind whatever rock he's been hiding behind would be nice, that way I can arrange for you to be out of the building" she said casually, not joking in the slightest.

"No chance" Andy cried, flat out refusing to let her tackle Jack alone if he was to find a reason to drop by PAB unannounced just to see if the rumours were true.

"Okay then. Since I can't give you Valium I'll have to knock you out with a short sharp blast with a taser instead."

"You'd better do Provenza as well then because he was just as pissed as we were about it."

"No problem" she shrugged. "And then when you're both unconscious and probably covered in pee and Mike and Julio have helped me drag your limp bodies into Interview One we can pose you into compromising positions and take photos." She laughed at the thought as he just frowned at her unamused. "While we're on the subject of my ex-husband," she said slowly, not wanting to poke the bear but realising she had to, "I'm going to give you a heads up now so you've got plenty of time to vent your anger and get used to the idea."

"Oh God what?"

"It's nothing too bad" she lied. She sighed and decided it was better to just spit it out and tell him rather than breaking it to him gently. "Since both Emily and Ricky didn't come home for Christmas last year and neither of us..."

"Oh God!" Andy cried, knowing what she was going to say to him as he covered his face with his hand. "Don't say it!"

"And neither of us saw them and of course I told Nicole last Christmas that they should come here or wherever for the holidays this year and of course Emily and Ricky will be here this year..." she went on, unable to say the words suddenly as she began to ramble.

"Oh just spit it out."

"Sorry. I'm sure they might ask if it was okay for their Dad to pop by for a couple of hours on Christmas Day" she finally told him, not wanting Jack over while they had dinner but knew that Emily and Ricky would want to see him for an hour at least and therefore she would have to allow him to be invited over for their sake.

"Oh God!" Andy cried. He knew it was mean of him because he had been in Jack's position and knew how it felt but that didn't mean he had to like it. "Is it not bad enough that we have to deal with Sandra and Michael you have to inflict us with Jack too?" he whined.

Sharon laughed at him, putting the feelings of two of her children above what she and Andy felt about the situation. "I'm sure it won't be for long" she said, more hopeful than certain. "He'll probably bring this French fancy that he currently has to show her off and then make it abundantly clear why they're leaving early so I really wouldn't worry about."

Andy sighed. "It's times like this I wish I still drank."

"No you don't" Sharon said with a smile, running her hand down his face before turning him to make him look at her. "He is their Father, Andy. Think about all the years that Sandra has silently gritted her teeth while you..."

"Excuse me?" he asked, almost choking on his own tongue at the notion that Sandra would remain silent when he dropped by to see his kids on Christmas Day.

"Yeah okay" she acknowledged. "But you know what it means to be invited by your children to special occasions right?"

"Right" Andy replied with a sigh.

"And Nicole and the boys and my lot will all be here and will very much be on your side" she assured him, positive that if Jack even thought about going on the offensive with him then every single person there would leap to his defence and tell Jack off (even Sandra who was always there for Andy if he really needed her and had the attitude that if anyone was going to abuse him and drag his name through the mud in front of people he loved, it was going to be her, she'd been married to him and that meant she got first dibs and the privilege by right).

Andy waited for a moment and then smiled at her, a smile she knew all too well. "When does the sex bribe come into it?" he asked.

Sharon tried not to laugh, instead rolling her eyes and making a noise of utter disgust like it was the worst thing in the world. "Do I really have to do that?" she whined.

"Yes. I want it in writing" he demanded. "If I'm going to be forced to be nice with Sandra and Jack on Christmas Day then..."

"Oh this is just about playing nice" she said with quite a lot of surprise. "I thought you'd be more upset about the possibility of having to share your precious turkey with them."

Andy's eyes widened as the full extent of the horror hit him. "I hadn't even thought of that!"

Sharon laughed at him, knowing Andy would rather donate a kidney to his worst enemy then to share any of his turkey with them. "Be nice, share your turkey," she said as her hand danced around his waist again, "and I will put it in writing that I will do you until you can no longer feel your legs when we go to bed on Christmas Day." Andy looked at her with a dopey but highly aroused expression on his face as he blinked dramatically. She waited for a moment to see if he was going to answer her before continuing. "Is that a yes or a no then?" Again Andy didn't reply, continuing to stare at her with a lust filled gaze. She laughed at him. "Is there any blood left in your brain at this point?"

"Not a lot no" he said as he played up to the idea that he was currently so aroused he could barely see straight. She laughed at him and shook her head. "Of course. Of course I'll behave myself no matter what" he promised, not needing a bribe to see how much it would mean to her let alone Emily and Ricky if he didn't make a scene and kept his temper under control throughout the day. "I wouldn't say anything for the sake of your kids, you know that" he said before he kissed the side of her head, prepared to do pretty much anything she asked him to do he loved her that much. "Don't worry."

"I'm not worried. I know you" she told him as she smiled at him. She knew she didn't need to bribe him or warn him to behave or anything else because she knew him and knew he would not embarrass her like that but still she thought preparing him early was never a bad idea. She kissed him on the lips a couple of times. "Thank you but it might not even happen anyway. A lot can happen between now and then."

"Yeah but thanks for the heads up" he told her, appreciative that he could get his tantrum out of the way months before the day itself. "I'd still like that in writing though" he joked.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"When are you going to start using this tactic at work?" he queried.

"What tactic?"

"Bribing me with sex. When is that coming into the workplace?"

Sharon rolled her eyes. "It isn't."

"But what if you're asking me to do something I don't want to do."

"I've got bad news for you my beautiful boy, you get paid to do what I tell you whether you want to or not" she informed him with the authority in her voice coming through loud and clear. "And just in case there are any lingering questions or doubts, I also outrank you so you _have_ to do what I tell you even when you don't want to."

"Okay but would it kill you to give me a look?"

"What kind of look?"

"A sort of 'I know you don't want to do this but you have to and I'll make it worth your while when we get home' kind of look" he explained, knowing she would never go for it since they had a perfectly fine and fully professional wall between them at work which was working beautifully but he couldn't help but push his luck nonetheless.

"That doesn't sound exactly professional to me."

"Oh but it would because I would be the only one who would know what it means" he reasoned as he tried his hardest to tempt her into doing something she would never ever normally do at work, constantly testing her resolve and boundaries as much as he could without ever taking it too far.

"Funnily enough I'm sure everyone else would recognise the obscenely goofy look you give me in return" she pointed out with Andy already pulling a ridiculous enough face that caught everyone's attention when she told him she was ready to leave work before they walked out of the Murder Room hand in hand at the end of most working days. "How about this as an alternative, every time I ask you to do something you don't want to do at work you do it because that's your job and you're paid to do it. How about that?"

"I think my way is better." Sharon stared at him for a moment until his face revealed that he was about to give in, making her laugh. "But your way also has its merits I suppose."

"I'm so glad you agree" she chuckled.

"Do you know what day it is next week?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Monday? Tuesday? Thursday? Wednesday? You need to be more specific here boy."

Andy looked at her agog, not quite believing his ears for a moment. "Did you just quote _The Godfather_ to me?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't a coincidence and in fact Sharon really was the most perfect woman in the entire world.

She smiled as she thought about what she'd just said. "I think I did. How do you like me now?" she asked with a smile. She laughed at him as he just stared at her with disbelief, once again looking a combination of amazed and unbelievably turned on before he kissed her, unable to resist since she'd spontaneously brought up _The Godfather_ so casually into the conversation at a point when he didn't think she could get any more perfect for him. "Anyway you were saying? What about next week?" she asked, knowing full well what he was referring to but wanting to tease him a little bit longer to keep him on his toes.

"It's our anniversary."

"Is it?" she asked, pretending quite convincingly for a moment as if she had no clue they were approaching that particular milestone and didn't think it was that big of a deal in the slightest.

"You didn't know that?"

She playfully slapped his chest as she laughed. "Of course I did but I was just testing you."

"Oh I see. It's like that is it?"

"When it comes to men and anniversaries I know better than to just assume that you will remember these things" she told him before she kissed him, not accusing him of being at all forgetful in that regard but her past experiences couldn't help but cloud her opinion of the world and men in particular.

"Let me guess, Jack didn't remember your anniversary?"

"Jack didn't remember when Emily and Ricky's birthdays were much less my birthday or our wedding anniversary" she said with a sigh.

"Ah but you see this is where he and I differ."

"Oh this is where you differ huh?" she asked, smiling before she kissed him. They may have been very much alike over twenty years ago with the way that they both allowed alcohol to ruin not only their lives but also the lives of those who loved them but they couldn't be more different now, a point that she made to Andy over and over again and was one of the many reasons why she loved the bones of him.

"Indeed" he nodded.

"I've got news for you my beautiful boy" she said before she kissed him again. "You are the complete opposite to him in every single way imaginable and I thank my lucky stars every day that I have you" she told him, kissing him again.

He smiled at her, running his free hand through her hair for a moment as his other continued on its merry journey moving up and down her back. "Plus how could I forget a single thing about you Raydor?" he asked as he continued to smile at her. He had proven time and time again that he seemed to remember absolutely everything she had ever said to him since they'd become firm friends. The case in point was when he remembered the rancid meal she liked to order from Rusty's favourite Chinese takeout, the place they had eaten from once together over twelve months earlier. To most it wouldn't seem that significant but to Sharon who had come to expect nothing from the men in her life other than disappointment, it meant the world and compelled her to tell him how she felt about him for the very first time. "So do you want to do something?"

"What like? A memorial service for the fish you killed with your menu flames?" she joked, laughing happily away to herself as he frowned at her.

"They didn't die" he maintained for (what seemed to him anyway) the hundredth time.

"Then why were they floating to the top of the tank?" she asked.

"They were I don't know...resting" he said as he stopped just sort of going into the complete Dead Parrot sketch from _Monty Python's Flying Circus_.

Sharon laughed at him. "Resting?"

"Yeah. Fish sleep don't they?"

"But probably not at the top of the tank while they float upside down" she pointed out.

"Yeah okay so one or two of them might have coincidentally died from old age at the same time as I dropped my menu in the tank, but back to my original question, do you want to do something not fish related or not?" he asked, wanting to take her out for a meal and spoil her rotten if for no other reason than to say 'Thank you' for ever letting him so much as catch a glimpse of her naked, let alone agreeing to spend the last year of her life with him and making him the happiest he'd ever been in his life.

"For our first anniversary? Of course" she said, being unable to hide her disappointment if he didn't want to mark the occasion with at least a meal. "Why would you think I wouldn't want to do something?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I assumed we'd go out together on our actual anniversary, work permitting of course but..."

"Oh I think this is one of those occasions when work has to take the back seat regardless for one night unless a disaster occurs" she insisted before she kissed him since so many of their plans over the last twelve months had been cancelled because of work taking priority.

He smiled, it being music to his ears after he'd been blackballed at so many of the finer Los Angeles restaurants due to last minutes cancellations because of work. "I'm glad to hear it but surely the Sharon Raydor famous sense of occasion is bound to try to kick in and demand some sort of lavish party" he suggested. Sharon laughed and smacked his chest. "What? Am I wrong?"

"In this instance yes you are."

"Oh?"

"While the fact that I have managed to put up with you and your nonsense for a whole year without murdering you suggests I should warrant a very large party, perhaps a parade and maybe even a medal..." she said with a smile.

"Gee thanks" he grumbled before she could say anymore.

Sharon laughed, cupping his face with her hand. "But it's our anniversary, just yours and mine and since it's our first one, I don't want to share it with anyone but you" she told him before their lips met.

Andy nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me."

"Good" she said, sounding very pleased indeed and then kissed him again. "What did you have in mind?" she asked. Andy instantly smiled at her, it was an utterly filthy smile as he already planned the later part of their evening and what he was going to do with her. Sharon read his face without much trouble, laughing at him and smacking him on his chest. "If you think I'm going to put out without being wined and dined first you've got another thing coming buddy."

He laughed before he kissed her, having already made a reservation at a restaurant under the assumption that she would want to go out and celebrate with him as just the two of them. "I've got a place in mind. A place I think you're going to love."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Leave it all up to me. I'll make the reservations and sort everything out" he told her, for some reason not wanting her to know that he had already arranged the whole thing. He kissed her gently before telling her "All you need to do is show up."

"That I think I can do" she nodded, her hand brushing his cheek. "Still, it would have been nice to have gone back to Serve again. It could have been our little tradition. Too bad you're banned from there."

"I am not banned!" he insisted once again despite all of the available evidence.

"That's not what it sounded like to me."

"Then you weren't listening properly" he said with a grumble. "Probably because you were too busy trying to keep your mind and your hands off of all of this" he said as he gestured down the length of his body as she laughed, still convinced that she'd been ogling him for decades and wanted to do him on the table at the restaurant during their first date. "They actually said that they would _prefer_ it if I didn't go back there again. They'd _prefer_ it. A very big difference to actually being banned from the place."

"Yeah okay" Sharon said, less than convinced. She paused for a moment before sighing and muttering "Those poor fish."

"I replaced them didn't I?"

Sharon looked at him surprised. "Did you really?"

"Yes. I went back two days later before I picked you up after Mass and..."

"Security actually let you through?" she joked.

"Yes they did. For your information they don't actually have armed guards and an electric fence posted outside with my photo, ready to shoot me if I tried to enter."

"There would be if I owned the place."

"Yeah well you can be mean to me Raydor."

She laughed again and kissed him. "Did you really replace the fish?"

"I did" he nodded, not telling her at the time because if he was perfectly honest he was incredibly embarrassed about the whole thing, setting fire to his menu because he was so unbelievably nervous. "I went and asked how much it would cost for me to buy them some new ones by way of an apology for my accidental fire."

"And?"

"And after I'd swallowed my tongue and they'd revived me I wrote them a cheque" he said, still paying for those fish a whole year later. "It was without doubt the most expensive meal of my life." He turned towards her and smiled, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. "It was worth it though. Oh so worth it." Their lips came together in a long slow kiss, dancing against each other for what seemed like an age. "What is a first anniversary anyway? Paper?"

"That's only for wedding anniversaries."

"Yeah but it'll do for now." He winked at her as his smile beamed, making her blush slightly as she expecting him to go into his usual 'You find me so irresistible you're going to propose to me' routine but much to her surprise he didn't. "Paper right? This'll be easy."

She looked at him intrigued. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. We all know how big of a turn on you find paperwork" he joked playfully although he sounded deadly serious and part of him did believe it. "All I need to do is get myself into a little bit of trouble at work with Provenza, maybe accidentally run a suspect over and give you some extra paperwork to do. Voilà!"

She glared at him for a moment although she knew he was joking. "Don't you think you're in enough trouble with your breast and butt implant musings without doing something stupid in the coming week as an anniversary gift?" she asked.

"You may have a point" he nodded.

"Exactly. And anyway you don't need to go to that much trouble. Dinner will be fine. You don't need to get me anything" she insisted, not wanting him to waste his money on her when they were trying to buy a house together and needed every spare dime they had for that endeavour.

"Not even a medal?"

Sharon shrugged. "I'm sure the division and perhaps Nicole will already have that arranged for me." They both laughed as Andy agreed that was certainly likely, Nicole being more than thrilled that Sharon was in a relationship with her Father and a real relationship at that. Their lips came together again in what started as a very innocent kiss but came quite heated very quickly as their celebrations seemed to start early but Sharon had other ideas, something she knew he'd like a lot more than a 'roll in the hay' on the couch. "Rusty's out" she managed to say against the assault of his lips.

"Yeah?" he replied, his mood improving from when they first arrived back at the condo and he seemingly wasn't interested in doing anything.

"So, want to take advantage?" she asked, smiling at him as he slowly started to smile back at her.

"What did you have in mind exactly?"

Sharon sat up suddenly and swung her left leg over him, straddling his lap as her hands landed on his chest and his came to rest on her hips. "Well we could continue to make out on the couch like a couple of teenagers" she offered.

"Who would so no to that?" he said as he sat up to kiss her.

"Or alternatively..."

"There's an alternative?"

"Oh yes and something you might like even better."

"Oh yeah?"

She pushed his chest with the palms of her hands to make him lie back down again. She leant down and moved her face just centimetres from his as his hands cupped her backside. "How about we order from that Tai place you like, make some tea..."

"Uh-huh."

"And while we wait for it to arrive we crawl into bed, grab my laptop and...look for houses online" she said quickly.

Andy smiled up at her. "I've never been more turned on in my life" he said as she laughed before he kissed her. "If you're lucky I may even put out later" he said with a wink.

She laughed and kissed him again. "Come on" she told him as she climbed off his lap and stood by the couch with her hand out for him to take.

Andy took her hand and sat up. "Yes ma'am."


	29. Chapter 29

_Once more let me start by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter and to eelise187, maidenpride, xbleeple, seaford71, GrammyIda, Ilovedesserts, StefanieWildermann, froggy62, MaxiP99, Elaine Huang, Imperfect Being, HeiBeSo and the two guests for leaving reviews. If you'd like to get in touch on Twitter you can find me at DHPLover._

 _By accident this chapter has turned into my longest ever at over 42,000 words because it is essentially two chapters in one and I've put some serious blood, sweat and tears into it, not least getting it ready to post today rather than next week. Part of it takes place the day after_ _ **Snitch 4x5**_ _on Sharon and Andy's first date and the rest takes place a couple of days after_ _ **Crashed Out 5x5**_ _on their first anniversary (someone asked me to write more about their first date a long time ago and although I can't remember who that was, I have remembered and this is for you)._

 _The conversation in the car that they speak about is in Chapter 3 as Andy spoke to Rusty at the table in the middle of the night about first dates and Gus if you need to go back and refresh your memory about what that was about._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Twenty-Nine**

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July 2015**_

 _Andy got out of the elevator on the eleventh floor and checked himself again, straightening his tie and making sure that his hair wasn't sticking up like he'd just been savaged by wolves on the drive over. He took a very deep breath as he slowly walked towards Sharon's door, the fifteen steps it usually took to reach 1109 seemingly taking forever as he felt his heart almost beating out of his chest. As he stood outside her door he took another long deep breath, trying valiantly to calm himself down before he raised his hand and went to knock on the wood. He paused when he noticed that his hand was trembling, shaking like it had never done before. He sighed. He didn't remember first dates being this utterly nerve racking in the past but then, he thought to himself, this wasn't just an ordinary first date was it? It was a first date with Sharon Raydor, his friend, his Commanding Officer, his… He clamped his hands under his armpits in a valiant attempt to still them. It didn't work, he could still feel them shaking and only adding to the nervous energy that he felt, like a bottle of soda that had been shook up by a paint mixer, waiting to erupt at any moment._

 _Andy kept taking some very deep breaths as he tried his hardest to calm himself down. He'd never been this nervous before in his life, not on his wedding day, not when his kids were born, not even in court. But under the circumstances he felt that his frankly over the top nervousness was fully justified. Andy had realised in the days that lead up to finally asking Sharon out on a proper date that…well that was it. Regardless of whether their relationship ended in marriage and him dying in her arms or after just one perfect dinner, it was the very last first date he was ever going to go on. He loved Sharon, he was completely and madly in love with her, of that he was certain and had been for a very long time, maybe even a couple of years by that point and if dating her didn't work out then he simply couldn't imagine his life with anyone else._

 _He started to pace around outside her door to calm himself down or at least desperately try to. It was then that the worry hit him again. No matter how many times he had practiced asking her on a date in his mind in the days before he finally managed to spit the words out so that she heard them it was the one word that he had neglected to use. Date. Just one syllable. Date. How could he forget to mention that it was an actual date date rather than a dinner as friends that they frequently went out on? Did he have a mini stroke as he was asking her? At the time his mouth was so dry and his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he worried he was going to at least pass out if not have a full blown heart attack. Did Sharon know that this was different to all the other times he'd asked her out over the last couple of years? Could she sense it in the way that he asked her? That it was a proper date? He had absolutely no idea if he was completely honest with himself and hoped that Sharon may give him a clue one way or another. If that didn't happen then he knew he'd have to try and work it into the conversation somehow and gage her reaction to know if they were on the same page or not. Oh God he desperately hoped that they were on the same page or this was going to ruin his present and his future, wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with the woman who gave him butterflies in his stomach from a simple smile aimed in his direction._

 _He'd been beyond distracted all day as he counted down the minutes until they could leave PAB, making him feel like a kid in school again as he waited to escape the Nuns and venture out onto the streets of Harlem with his friends in search of trouble and more than a dash of mischief. With Provenza having the day off from work either side of the weekend to take care of some 'personal business' he was temporarily second in command of the division meaning that he physically cringed every time his phone rang, praying that they weren't going to be rolled out and have to cancel the whole thing at the last moment. Throughout the day he simply could not stop looking at his date. If he stole one glance over his shoulder at her all day he did it a thousand times all the while as Sharon appeared completely calm and composed and hard at work, hunched over her desk, as cool as a cucumber, just Sharon. What did that even mean anyway? Why was he so unbelievably nervous if she quite clearly wasn't? Did that mean she didn't know it was a date? That it was just their usual dinner that they went on at least once a week?_

 _He looked at his watch. He was early. He'd told her he was coming to pick her up at seven o'clock but it was still only a quarter to seven. Sharon probably wasn't even ready yet. He knew from personal experience that it seemed to take her forever to get ready for a dinner out with him, not that she needed to, she looked beautiful anyway. The glow to her face, the sparkle in her eyes, her long long legs as she… He shook himself out of his distracted gaze and decided that he wouldn't knock on the door until seven o'clock, not wanting to come across as too eager. He still had plenty of time to pace up and down and calm himself down before knocking on the door…unless Rusty were to suddenly leave or come home. Was the kid out? Andy quickly and quietly moved back towards the elevator so he could at least pretend like he had just arrived if he was caught lurking outside. Why couldn't he calm down?_

 _Inside the condo Sharon was looking at herself in the mirror as she sat at the vanity in her bedroom, more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. "What are you doing?" she asked herself quietly so that Rusty wouldn't hear her and think she'd gone temporarily insane. She shook her head and sighed. "It's Andy Flynn!" she cried as if that should be a calming factor rather than causing her heart to flutter. She suddenly smiled at herself. "It's Andy Flynn" she repeated, unable to remove the smile from her face as she nervously chomped down on her bottom lip._

 _Sharon's nerves matched Andy's, her hands trembling as she sat at her vanity, making it difficult to apply her makeup, thankful that she had regained enough control to avoid making herself up to look like a clown or a Picasso painting. She picked up the glass of white wine that sat before her, the second glass she'd had that evening and it wasn't even seven o'clock yet. She polished off the glass and took a second to smell her breath. She cringed. She really didn't want Andy to know that she'd been drinking before he'd been to pick her up. Firstly she tried her hardest not to drink around her friend unless she was incredibly stressed (having more than the odd glass of wine when blowing off steam after Stroh made his break for freedom for example) because she felt uncomfortable, like she was somehow taunting him and his sobriety, a feeling that was only reinforced due to his flat out refusal to discuss his addiction with her. Secondly she just didn't want him to know that she was so nervous she had been driven to drink in order to calm down. Sharon opened the drawer in front of her and grabbed a breath mint from a pack she had not used since her last date which was….It was so long ago she couldn't quite remember which only added to her nervousness._

 _Still sucking on her mint she stood and moved to stand in front of the full length mirror in the corner of the room. She had bought herself a brand new dress just for the occasion, for their first date, thankfully being able to sneak out during lunch while she pretended to Andy and the rest of the division that she had a dental appointment. It was pale purple, almost lavender like that shirt of Andy's that she loved to see him in so much. It had an intricate lace pattern from top to toe and hugged her in all the right places. It was a dress that she knew Andy would love. Andy. Her hands flew up to her face. What was she thinking? She was going out on a date with Andy Flynn! Her eyes widened. Oh God she was going out on a date with Andy Flynn. Her smile beamed as those butterflies, the same butterflies that danced around her stomach when he asked her, appeared in her stomach again. They'd been there all day in truth._

 _Sharon had cringed every time the phone rang throughout the day in case they had a murder dropped into their laps, not wanting to have to choose work over dinner with Andy, like had happened on so many occasions in the past except it felt different now. Despite her best efforts to focus solely on work she simply couldn't stop herself from staring at him all day, spending more of her time looking at him longingly through the glass than working through the mountain of paperwork on her desk and yet Andy never seemed to look at her, not even once, making her question why she was clearly so much more nervous and excited about it than he was. The whole thing had made her beyond distracted all day long. By the time she had put her tea cup in the refrigerator in the Break Room and taken the milk carton into her office she realised that she was officially too nervous and too distracted by him and forced herself to close the blinds to her office so that she could at least attempt to stop looking at him. Sadly it wasn't a case of 'out of sight, out of mind' though because she just couldn't stop thinking about him and continued to do so throughout the day._

 _She couldn't remember the last time she felt that excited about a date or anything really, but at the same time she was also so worried that by taking that next step with Andy, of having a romantic relationship with him that they could potentially ruin the relationship they already had together, the friendship that she had come to value so much let alone the working relationship they had. That's if it really was a date date anyway. What if she was wrong about it? Was it just another dinner with a friend like they'd done a least once a week for close to two years? Andy didn't actually say that it was a date, that word clearly missing from his invitation. He had asked her out much like he'd done dozens and dozens of times before but then there was that word. Romantic. He had claimed that the restaurant was one of the most romantic in the city. Was that just a passing comment or did that mean it was a proper romantic date?_

 _She had to find out one way or another for her own sanity more than anything else. She was going to come across as a complete and utter fool if she started acting like it was a date all evening when it clearly wasn't. How would she ever look him in the eye again if she was wrong, let alone work side by side with him on a daily basis? She'd have to retire, there was no other way around it. If she was wrong she'd have to retire and possibly flee the country and change her name. Susan, she could pass as a Susan if she'd completely misread the situation. Susan from Iowa who used to work in PR, no one knows what that is anyway. But then Andy had used the word 'romantic' to describe the restaurant she thought to herself once again as she smiled obscenely, like she was trying to convince herself that she was right. She'd yet to tell Rusty what was happening precisely for that reason, because she wasn't actually sure if it was a date or not. Assuming the young man wouldn't really take that much notice anyway because they went out together so often that it wouldn't seem unusual, sometimes up to three or four times a week recently if work didn't get in the way. Until she knew for sure it was a date she was going to keep it to herself. Plus she could really do without Rusty's smug smile since he still insisted they'd been dating for over a year anyway._

 _She took another deep breath before swallowing her mint, almost choking on it. She had to calm down or at least find a Valium stashed in the back of a drawer somewhere. At the rate she was going she was either going to vomit on Andy's shoes when he arrived or she was going to be so drunk that it would probably be the end result anyway, potentially after she'd thrown herself at him with the words 'Take me big boy!' and probably shown him her underwear too. She looked at herself in the mirror again. She suddenly felt old and frumpy, too old to be going out on a first date and far too old to be considering entering into a relationship, considering having sex again after... 'Oh God!' she thought. 'What am I doing?' As she stared at her reflection she couldn't decide if her makeup was understated or if she looked like an over the hill hooker. Either way it would have to do now she thought as she suddenly realised that she'd been standing in front of that mirror for a good five minutes and her daze was only broken by the sound of Rusty letting Andy into the condo._

" _Sharon! The Lieutenant's here!" Rusty called from the living room._

" _I'm just coming" she called back. She took one final very deep breath before she pulled her shoes on, grabbed her purse from her bed and went to face the music, all the while as she tried to work out how she could ask if it was a date or not without coming across as a complete lunatic in the process and scaring Andy off her for life._

 _Sharon's smile beamed as she slowly walked into the living room and saw him for the first time that evening, hovering by the couch and clutching a bunch of flowers that could only be for her. Ordinarily and if it had been anyone other than Andy she would have taken the stunning bouquet in his hands as a sign that it was a date but it was not uncommon for Andy to bring her flowers simply because he knew that she liked them. It was yet another reason why she realised that she could so easily fall in love with him, if she hadn't done so already. She looked him up and down. He looked gorgeous but then he always did in her opinion, finding him incredibly attractive the first time she ever met him over twenty years earlier although she was keen that he never discover that fact. Andy was wearing a dark suit and his lavender shirt and tie like he somehow knew what colour she was going to be wearing. How did they always end up wearing the same colour? It was one of those great mysteries of the universe because they certainly never spoke about it beforehand and coordinated their outfits. Sharon was accustomed to seeing him in a suit because of work and boy could that man wear a suit like the best of them but there was something different about him as he stood in her living room. There was no obvious visible change in him, he looked like he always did, like Andy, so quite clearly the change was in how she was now looking at him, looking at him as her date rather than her friend. Oh please for the love of all things Holy let it be a date she thought to herself once again, not above asking God for a helping hand in that regard. She slowly and purposefully walked towards him and noticed immediately that on closer examination he looked nervous, his hand possibly trembling as he stuffed it into the pocket of his pants and out of sight. It had to be a date didn't it? It simply had to be…unless she was wrong._

 _Andy's breath was stolen as she slowly walked towards him. He swallowed hard. He was in trouble, big, big trouble with this woman and he knew it. He'd never seen that dress before and he was pretty sure he knew everything she owned by now, especially the dresses that made her legs look like…he prayed that he wasn't doing anything too blatant like drooling with his tongue lolling out like a cartoon character. Sharon looked beautiful, radiant even but was she also just a touch nervous? Were her hands trembling as they clutched her purse like his were inside his pocket? Did that mean she knew it was a date or was it merely just wishful thinking on his part? All he knew for certain was that he wanted to walk up to her and kiss her on the lips, kiss her hello like he usually did (although not on the lips, always restricting himself to her cheek as a friend would do) but he found himself rooted to the spot and unable to move, if this was indeed a date he really didn't want to rush ahead and ruin it._

" _Hi" Sharon said finally as she came to a stop in front of him._

" _Hi" came the instant response. Silence fell immediately afterwards as they just stared at each other, smiling like fools but while being unable to look the other in the eye without blushing. Rusty looked at them as he sat at the table finishing off a hamburger, completely baffled by what was happening in front of him, not sure what was going on between them other than they were both acting weird and looking at each other strangely, like they were staring at each other. "These are for you" Andy said as he held the flowers out for her to take. "I mean obviously, these are for you."_

 _Sharon laughed before she dropped her purse on the back of the couch and gladly took the flowers, bringing them closer to her nose and inhaling their sent._ " _Thank you. Andy, they're beautiful." He wanted to reply, wanted to say 'Just like you' but he couldn't force the words from his mouth, making a weird grunting noise instead as Sharon frowned at him with more than a little confusion. "I'll just put them in some water and then we can go."_

 _Andy nodded but stayed where he was like he was glued to that particular spot on the floor as Sharon walked into the kitchen. "Okay. Take your time" he finally managed to force out, waiting just that fraction too long and making it sound slightly odd to both Sharon and the ever watchful Rusty._

 _Rusty continued to watch on intrigued as Andy seemed to stare after Sharon until she finally disappeared from his view and into the kitchen with her flowers. He frowned at him puzzled as he swallowed his final bite. Andy had bought Sharon flowers before but only when it was her birthday or as a thank you or when they'd been out together and they'd passed a flower stand or something. He'd never bought her some to the condo before they went out to dinner like what a real date would do. Rusty continued to frown at him as he thought. To him they both seemed to be acting weird, really weird. They both seemed to be trembling with nerves and he knew for a fact Sharon had polished off two glasses of wine while it took her even longer than usual to get ready. Then there was the way they were looking at each other, not taking their eyes off each other while at the same time avoiding any real meaningful eye contact. Suddenly it all started to make sense to him._

 _Rusty got up and followed Sharon into the kitchen with his empty plate. He watched her for a moment as she filled a vase with water. He peered around the corner at Andy, seeing him fidgeting on the spot before going back to Sharon. "What's going on?" he asked, keeping his voice as low as possible so that Andy wouldn't overhear him._

" _What do you mean?" Sharon asked innocently as she dropped the flowers into the vase, already nervous enough without Rusty interrogating her about it._

" _With you two? You're both acting really weird. Like weirder than usual. What's going on?" he asked, certain he knew but looking to hear Sharon say it first since she didn't exactly react well the last time he told her that in his opinion they were already dating._

" _What makes you think something is going on?"_

 _Rusty frowned, far from amused by the way Sharon wouldn't answer a simple direct question. "Do you have to answer every question I ask with another question?" he asked, expecting another to be fired at him imminently._

" _Is it a problem if I..."_

" _Sharon!" he cried with frustration, not caring if Andy heard him or not. It was in that moment that he suddenly realised he was right, they were going out on a date, a real date, finally. Nicole was going to be thrilled. He smiled. "Oh my God! This is a date!" Sharon was quick to shush him, waving her hands at him frantically so that he'd lower his voice. "It is isn't it? This is a date" Rusty said gleefully but in much more hushed tones so that he was more likely to get a response. "You're going out on a real date tonight with Lieutenant Flynn. You are aren't you?"_

" _Oh okay yes I am" Sharon confirmed with a hint of annoyance that she hadn't been able to keep it from him for more than three minutes due to her uncharacteristic behaviour. Rusty smiled at her, delighted that he was right about the two of them after all this time. "Oh shut up! Don't give me that 'I told you so look' I'm really not in the mood for it right now."_

 _Rusty looked at her confused. "Why? What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be happy right now?" he said, unsure why she wasn't walking on air at that point, knowing full well that they already had feelings for each other, feelings they were unwilling to admit to themselves much less each other for over a year at least in his opinion (and also Nicole's)._

 _Sharon quickly peered around the corner to double check that Andy wasn't listening to them. Much to her relief he had in fact moved closer to the door, looking like he was more than ready to leave. She turned back to Rusty. "If I'm perfectly honest I'm still not one hundred percent sure that this is actually a date date?" she admitted, chomping on her bottom lip as the full extent of her nervousness became even more than apparent to her son._

 _Rusty blinked at her several times in disbelief before answering. "What?"_

" _He didn't exactly use that word when he asked me to dinner, I've more assumed that it's a proper date then him explicitly telling me that it was" she explained, barely talking above a whisper at that point._

" _Okay. Then what exactly did he say to you?"_

" _He asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him tonight since things had quietened down at work and then he told me that the restaurant was new and close by and that it was one of the most romantic restaurants in Los Angeles."_

" _And?" Rusty asked, still not seeing where her confusion was coming from, the whole situation pretty clear cut in his mind._

" _And it may have just been a passing comment about the restaurant and not necessarily an invitation on a you know…date date" she said as her shoulders slumped, only when she said it out loud and to another person did she realise just how utterly ridiculous she sounded._

 _Rusty shook his head and tried his hardest not to laugh at her. "Oh my God! Even when you are actually dating you still don't know it. Do you want me to ask him?" He suddenly moved as if he was about to leave the kitchen. "Hey Lieutenant!"_

" _No! Don't you dare!" Sharon cried as loud as she dared so that Andy wouldn't hear her as she tugged on Rusty's hand to get him to stop._

 _Andy poked his head around the corner. "Yes?"_

" _Where are you eating tonight?" Rusty asked, quickly thinking on his feet._

" _It's a new place called Serve, not far from work. I've heard some really good things about it" Andy replied with a glowing smile, a genuine sense of excitement to his voice._

" _Nice" Rusty nodded._

" _I'll just be one more minute" Sharon told him, eager to get him back towards the door so that she could continue her conversation with Rusty._

" _No problem. Take your time" Andy smiled before he moved away again, fully prepared to wait by the door until Sharon was ready to leave, feeling like he was picking up his date for prom and trying his hardest to avoid speaking to her suspicious and overly protective Father._

 _Once he was sure Andy was out of earshot again Rusty turned back to Sharon. "Why won't you let me ask him if this is a date date?" he whispered._

" _Are you kidding? I'm not going to get my son to ask my friend, my colleague if we're going out on a real date or not."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Because I don't want to come across as completely crazy that's why" Sharon said with exasperation, her nervousness increasing by the second as she spoke to him in confidence._

 _Rusty laughed. "Oh trust me you've gone well beyond completely crazy by this point. You're well into butterfly net territory and yet I'm the one in therapy."_

" _Thank you Rusty. Thank you so much. As if I wasn't nervous enough already" Sharon said with a sigh as she went back to arranging her flowers in the vase, simply as something to do with her hands in an attempt to stop them from shaking._

" _What have you got to be nervous about? It's Andy Flynn" Rusty reminded her, thinking he was the last person in the world she should be nervous about having dinner with because they did it so often._

" _Exactly! It's Andy Flynn! What if I'm wrong?" she said, her voice filled with nothing but nerves and worry. "What if I go there tonight assuming that it's a date date and I'm completely wrong and I end up making an utter fool of myself? Or worse, what if it is actually a date date and I ruin it by assuming that it isn't?" She put her head in her hands. "It's Andy Flynn."_

 _Rusty smiled and dropped his hand to her shoulder. "Right, it's Andy Flynn. So?"_

" _So he's my closet friend in the world and I'm his Commanding Officer, either way regardless of what this actually is it could cause problems between us."_

" _Or it could be just the start of something great" he offered with a smile as she continued to chomp down on her bottom lip and he came to realise that she was now beyond nervous, never having seen her like that before. "Well what are you going to do?"_

 _Sharon sighed. "I'm going to see what happens and if things are still a little up in the air towards the end of the meal I'll just bite the bullet and I'll ask him."_

 _Rusty nodded. "Okay. Good luck. You're going to need it."_

 _Sharon frowned at him. "You're really not helping."_

" _I have an idea. Here let me Google it." Rusty pulled his cell phone from his pocket and opened it, quickly going onto the internet and starting to look it up._

" _Google what?"_

" _How to tell if you're on a date or not" Rusty explained as his thumbs tapped frantically on the screen._

" _Oh this is ridiculous."_

" _Do you want to know or not?" Rusty asked, lowering his phone._

 _Sharon thought for a moment before she poked her head out of the kitchen to speak to Andy again. "I'm so sorry Andy, I'll just be one more minute" she said with a smile._

" _Okay, no problem" he nodded back._

 _Sharon went back into the kitchen and peered over Rusty's shoulder to see his cell phone screen. "Well?" she asked anxiously as they started to run out of time._

" _Hold on." Rusty scrolled down the screen until he found the relevant information for his Mom's situation. He started to read. "'You wouldn't think you'd have to wonder 'Am I on a date or not?'" He laughed. "Yeah right, whoever wrote this clearly hadn't met anyone like you two." Sharon just frowned at him as he went back to reading. "'I can't count the number of times…' Yada, yada, yada. Okay here we go. 'Number One: Determine how far of a break it is from the norm.' Well you go out like all the time so this is normal right?"_

" _Except he's never described a place as 'romantic' before" Sharon reminded him._

" _Then maybe this is the first romantic place he's ever taken you to?" he offered._

" _No, we've been to plenty of places that you'd think were romantic if you were on a date."_

" _Okay so that's no help." He turned his attention back to his phone. "'Number Two: How many nerves are involved?'" Rusty looked at her and burst out laughing again. "Well the Lieutenant looks more flustered than I've ever seen him before in my life and I'm not sure if you're going to vomit on me or pee on my foot."_

" _Keep it up and you might find I do both, nerves or no nerves."_

"' _Number Three: Talk to your mutual friends.'"_

" _Well that's not happening" Sharon said flatly._

 _Rusty smiled at her. "Why not? Embarrassed?"_

" _No. It's none of their damn business what Andy and I get up to that's why smarty pants" she said, thinking that if it was actually a date and they were going to give a romantic relationship a go between them then they would_ have _to inform Chief Taylor first before anyone else because she was dating not only within her division but also a subordinate. "What's the next one?"_

"' _Number Four: What's the activity?' Well it's dinner so that's pretty datey right?" Sharon nodded although having dinner with Andy was far from unusual. "'Number Five: What's the setting?' A romantic restaurant" he said with a shrug as he continued to scroll upwards and quickly scan the information. "The rest are all about how you feel afterwards." He put his cell back in his pocket and smiled at her. "Well I think that's pretty clear. This is a date."_

" _Do you really think so?"_

" _Yes but then I also think you've been dating for over a year so what do I know?" he said with a shrug, a smug smile still plastered to his face._

 _Sharon rolled her eyes at him, really not in the mood for him to make light of the situation as she saw it. She walked past him and moved to the other side of the bar to see her date as he patiently waited by the door. "Sorry about that. You know teenagers and their problems" she said as she gestured towards Rusty._

" _Yeah. Sure. I'm the one with the problems" Rusty grumbled so that only Sharon could hear._

 _She turned to frown at him, shooting him a good Darth Raydor glare for good measure before she picked up her vase of flowers from the bar and moved them to the table. Very slowly she walked towards Andy, grabbing her purse from the back of the couch along the way. "All ready. Shall we go?" she asked brightly, trying her hardest to conceal her nerves from him as much as possible._

 _Rusty slowly walked towards the couch as they headed to the door, never taking his eyes off them for a second as a smirk settled on his face. It was quite clear just looking at them how nervous they both were leading him to the obvious conclusion, that it really was a real date after all although it seemed neither were really certain of that fact themselves. As he went to sit down he suddenly spied Sharon's choice in footwear. He did a double take, not really sure he was actually seeing what he thought he was the first time. He looked again and smiled. Sharon was quite clearly wearing two different types of shoe, both a shade of purple to match her dress although they were slightly different shades but more importantly one clearly had a much higher heel that the other, giving her a rather pronounced limp as she walked but such were her (and Andy's) nerves and distracted state, neither had noticed._

 _Rusty laughed to himself as he realised in all good conscience that he couldn't let his Mom leave the condo like that, needing to draw her attention to it and quickly. "Oh Mom" he said to get her attention, using the 'M' word more and more as he spoke to her of late._

 _Sharon slowly turned to face him, a look of 'Please for the love of God leave me alone, I'm nervous enough already' spread across her face. "Yes Rusty?" she asked with exasperation._

 _Rusty swallowed for a moment, the look on Sharon's face making him change his mind about telling her, instead hoping that neither would notice and no one else would draw her attention to them. "Have a lovely evening."_

" _Thank you" she said kindly. "We will. I'll see you later."_

" _Bye kid."_

" _Bye Lieutenant."_

 _Andy grabbed hold of the door handle and pulled it open, gesturing for Sharon to leave ahead of him. She smiled at him and moved to leave with Andy almost putting his hand onto the small of her back to guide her like he sometimes did before quickly pulling it away and stuffing it back into his pocket again, his nervousness clear. He gave Rusty a quick wave goodbye and then closed the door behind them._

 _Rusty sat down on the couch and laughed to himself. "Oh my God! Idiots." At that particular moment in time he was too busy laughing at the pair of them to really process what was actually happening and what that meant for Sharon as well as for him. By the end of the night, by the time Sharon would return home from her date it would have hit him: his Mom had a boyfriend. In the past his Mom having a boyfriend meant one thing, he was about to be pushed out and potentially pushed around and although he knew that was never going to happen with Sharon (after all her children came before anything else in her life and Andy had been nothing but kind to him over the years) those old wounds, those old scars that had never really healed made him worry. Little did he know that it would take months and for Andy to have a near death experience for him to be completely comfortable with him in his life as something other than his Mom's friend and colleague, something he was completely unaware of as he sat on the couch and laughed as they headed off on their first real date._

 **Sunday 10** **th** **July 2016**

Sharon walked out of her bedroom in a stunning black dress, just tight fitting enough to compliment her figure but not restrict movement and more importantly her breathing, putting on the last of her earrings, a pair of diamond drops that Andy had bought her for her birthday. She edged into the living room in search of her jacket, finding it hanging over the back of the couch where she'd left it. With her earrings in place she looked towards Rusty's bedroom and his open door, the end of the hallway glowing from his lamp.

"Are you in or out tonight?" she called in his direction.

"Out. I'm staying over with Gus" Rusty shouted from his bedroom.

Sharon smiled, more than a little pleased that she and Andy were going to have the place all to themselves that evening, not that she would _ever_ ask Rusty to clear out for the night for them so that they could have some alone time. "Okay but just make sure you..."

"Text you when we get home" Rusty said, correctly anticipating what she was going to ask him to do since he heard the same thing every time he stayed the night with Gus in his apartment. "I will. I promise."

"Thank you."

"I could say the same thing about you you know" Rusty said as he briefly poked his head out of his bedroom before disappearing again. "I wouldn't be playing the role of protective son properly if I didn't insist on my Mom texting me too when she arrived home after a date with a strange man."

"Andy? A strange man?" she laughed. Once more Rusty poked his head out of his bedroom to look at her, smiling and nodding in agreement, thinking that Andy could be a very strange man indeed at times. "Yeah okay." Rusty laughed as he went back into his room again. "I appreciate the sentiment Rusty but I've already got Andy playing the role of my protector, I don't need you doing it as well."

"Why? What did he do this time?" he asked, sensing the irritation in her voice.

"Nothing." She sighed. "He was just a bit twitchy when we rolled out together the other day that's all" she explained, not really wanting to go any further into the matter with him since she saw it as a private matter between the two of them.

When they had gone to search Glen's apartment, assuming that he would be there, not only did Andy insist on driving her, something that in truth she actually liked because firstly it meant she didn't have to focus on the road while she thought through what they were about to do and secondly it gave her the chance to speak to him about it, a highly experienced officer in such situations. However she felt that Andy was also very protective of her while they were there with potential danger on the horizon. Sharon had started off by leading the way towards Glen's apartment, laying down the law to her Lieutenant and making it clear that she was fine but he still tried to take charge, shielding her from danger and in all fairness as the most senior experienced officer on the scene aside from Mike he was probably right to do so but that didn't mean she had to like it, feeling like he was treating her as his girlfriend (and as a woman) rather than as his Commanding Officer in that situation and it was something she was planning on talking to him about when the opportunity presented itself (not thinking about it at all when the same thing happened as they searched Wade Weller's house, her Lieutenants taking charge but being unable not to ponder Andy's motives now that they were together).

"Why what happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened" she called back to him. Suddenly there was a knock at the door, resulting in a frustrated sigh to fall from her lips. She looked at it confused, wondering who on earth it might be since Andy had his own key and simply let himself in over the last few months rather than knocking. She gritted her teeth as she went to open it, expecting it to be her neighbour Mrs Rose with yet another complaint because she claimed she could hear them breathing too loudly in the kitchen.

She swung the door open and was surprised to find Andy on the other side, leaning up against the doorframe and smouldering at her in a dark grey suit and blue shirt and tie, looking absolutely divine while holding a bunch of red roses in his hand. "Andy! Why are you knocking? Did you forget your key?" she asked, delighted to see him but confused nonetheless.

"No. But I knocked on this door twelve months ago this very night so I thought I'd do it again now" he explained. She smiled at him as she stepped aside and let him in. She closed the door behind him as he turned to face her. "Happy anniversary sweetheart."

She smiled at him as she closed the small gap between them. "Happy anniversary my beautiful boy" she replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his lips in a very long and deep kiss, Andy's arms following suit and wrapping around her waist as he pulled her flush against him, his flowers being dropped to the floor behind her. They stayed like that for the longest time, almost making out like a pair of teenagers as Rusty came out of his bedroom and walked into the living room, rolling his eyes at the pair of them before sitting down on the couch completely unnoticed and picked up his laptop from the coffee table.

After leaving them a moment longer, Rusty cleared his throat to alert them to his presence. "Just so you know you're both way too old to be making out like that in the living room" he told them.

They broke apart and laughed a little breathlessly, their foreheads resting against the other for a moment. Sharon kissed him one more time on the lips before she looked over his shoulder to see Rusty on the couch. "Thank you Rusty."

Andy extracted himself from Sharon's embrace and stooped down to pick the flowers up off the floor. "For you my dear" he said with a wink as he presented them to her.

"Thank you" she replied as she took and them and inhaled the scent. "They're beautiful."

"Like you" he told her with a smile. He didn't get to say it a year ago such were his nerves and his continued uncertainty over whether Sharon knew he'd asked her on a real date or not so he was damn sure he was going to say it to her this time.

She pushed her lips to his again in thanks. "I'm just going to put them in some water and then I'm ready" she said as she headed towards the kitchen with Andy following close behind.

"Take your time. The reservation isn't until seven forty five."

Rusty turned on the couch slightly in order to see his would be Step-Father and speak to him properly. "Happy anniversary Lieutenant. Congratulations on not screwing up too badly in your first twelve months."

Andy laughed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Thanks kid."

"But for full disclosure since you've made it this far I should tell you that Lieutenant Provenza and I made a bet about you" Rusty informed him, looking rather pleased with himself. "He said you'd screw it up within a month which means I won, so thanks."

Andy frowned at him, not that they'd been betting on his relationship and in particular on him screwing it up but that Rusty thought he could get any winnings from his partner without a serious fight and prying his wallet from his cold dead hands. "Has Provenza actually given you the money yet? Have you pried it off him?" he asked.

"No not yet."

"Yeah well good luck with that" Andy laughed. "There are more sightings of Bigfoot then there are of Provenza's wallet."

Sharon dropped her flowers into a vase of water, leaving them as they arrived in the plastic and paper until she had more time to deal with them in the morning. "Just out of curiosity what did you say?" she asked Rusty.

"I said two months but he's still here, like a really bad smell" he joked, pointing at Andy like he was a dead fish abandoned in a heating duct.

"And I'm not going anywhere kid so get used to it" Andy told him, it sounding more like a threat than a promise as Sharon laughed.

Rusty laughed at him. "So where are you going?"

"A little Italian place I know in Westwood."

"Oh good" Sharon replied as she walked over to him and picked up her jacket from the back of the couch. "I like a little Italian" she added, running her hand down his tie with a wink.

Andy smiled at her. "I know you do" he said before kissing her on the lips.

"Still in the room guys, still in the room" Rusty reminded them.

Andy laughed as he took Sharon's jacket from her and held it open for her to slip into which she instantly did. "I was going to book us a table at Serve like twelve months ago," he said as he straightened her collar before she turned to face him, "but I figured it was inappropriate for me to turn up when they're probably having a memorial service for the sadly departed fish."

"I think that's a good move" Sharon said as she playfully slapped his cheek with the palm of her hand. "Having the murderer turn up at the memorial service is always in bad taste in my humble opinion."

"How did you set fire to your menu?" Rusty asked. "I mean how is that like even possible?"

"Those things are really flammable I'll have you know" Andy maintained.

"As are your pants by all accounts" Sharon added, smiling at him sweetly as she said it.

"What?" Rusty asked as he laughed. "You set your pants on fire too?"

"Trust me Rusty you don't want to know" Sharon told him while never taking her eyes off Andy, the smile permanently fixed to her face as she enjoyed teasing him as much as he enjoyed teasing her.

Andy smiled back. "What about you Burning Fire O'Dwyer?" he queried, still seeking an explanation as to where that particular nickname had come from.

Sharon sighed as she smiled, still not prepared to fill him in on what had happened that one summer evening while she was in college. "The more you ask, the less I am likely to tell you" she confirmed before kissing him on the lips. "Learn to live with the disappointment" she added with another playful slap to his cheek.

"Come on Rusty you must know where that name comes from."

"Sorry Lieutenant. I don't have a clue" he said with a shrug.

"Someone must know" Andy reasoned, beginning to get desperate about the whole thing.

"But none of them are going to tell you" she grinned before quickly kissing him on the lips once again as she continued to taunt him. "But to answer your question Rusty he was far too busy being nervous to notice that his menu was too close to an open flame."

"I wasn't nervous" Andy replied instantly, lying through his teeth as he battled to control his nostrils so that the young man wouldn't know he was being less than truthful.

"And yet the flames suggested otherwise" Sharon teased once again.

"I don't know Andy, you looked pretty nervous when you left here back then" Rusty said as he laughed, having never seen him look as flustered before or since and given that he'd spent an awful lot of time with him over the last seven months in particular, it was the very definition of a damning indictment. "You looked more than nervous, both of you. Wait let me just check" Rusty lifted himself up so that he could see Sharon's feet, noting that unlike twelve months ago she was wearing a matching pair of shoes. "Yep just checking."

"Just checking what?" Sharon asked a little confused.

"That you're wearing shoes that match this time. We wouldn't want a repeat performance."

Sharon frowned at him as Andy just laughed, relieved that he wasn't the only one so nervous that he did something stupid on their first date. "I still can't believe you let me leave the building like that" she said, heaping the blame on Rusty for not pointing it out to her before they left.

"I tried to stop you but you gave me one of those looks" Rusty explained.

"One of what looks?"

"One of those 'Leave me alone or I'll kill you with my eyes' looks."

Andy laughed. "Oh yes, I know the one" he said as he nodded.

"Well then maybe you should stop being so incredibly irritating" she told her boyfriend as she grabbed his chin, kissing his lips once again. Sharon picked up her purse from the couch next to Rusty and then lay her hand on his shoulder, wanting his complete and undivided attention for a moment. "What time are you heading out? Are you going to eat first because there are leftovers in the fridge?"

"Yeah I'm going to wait an hour and then go over to the restaurant. When Gus gets off we're going to a late screening of _Planet of the Apes_ at the Nuart Theatre."

"Sounds like fun" Sharon replied.

"Yeah. You had a supporting role in that didn't you Lieutenant?" Rusty joked, laughing to himself as he began to frantically tap away on the keyboard of his laptop.

Andy sighed and pointed at Rusty as he looked in the direction of his dinner companion. "Sharon he's picking on me again" he whined like he was Rusty's little brother and he'd just given him a wet willy in his sleep.

She laughed. "Boys will be boys. Text me when you get in please" she all but demanded as she tapped Rusty on the shoulder to ensure she got a response from him.

"I will but it'll probably be late..."

"I don't mind" she insisted as she cut him off mid-sentence. "Text me when you get there please. I don't care what time it is" she added, preferring to be woken up in the middle of the night by her phone beeping to know that he was safe rather than not knowing, a certain escaped serial killer always in the back of her mind as far as her son's safety was concerned.

"Will do."

Sharon nodded, satisfied that Rusty would do as she'd asked without the need to nag him any more about it. She turned to Andy. "Ready?" she asked as she took his hand in hers.

"Absolutely."

The couple were just about to head towards the door when a thought suddenly dawned on Rusty and he turned around quickly to face them. "Oh before you go, do you need me to Google anything tonight?" he asked rather smugly as he smiled up at Sharon.

"What?" Andy asked confused as his eyes travelled back and forth between Rusty who was grinning like a fool and Sharon who was glaring at him like she was five seconds from placing him under arrest.

"Nothing. Rusty thinks he's being funny" she explained, shooting Rusty yet more daggers. The fact that neither were one hundred percent sure they were on a date twelve months ago was pretty worn territory, discussing it during their date as well as many times since but Sharon really didn't need him to know that Rusty had been Googling the subject in the kitchen with her while Andy waited patiently by the door to leave, that was one level of crazy she didn't need him to know about, not yet anyway.

Rusty laughed to himself, for once Sharon's death stare having no effect on him since he thought the whole thing was so unbelievably funny. "That's because I am" he nodded, his smugness looking and sounding exactly like Andy, a clear sign that he'd been spending so much time with him of late.

"Goodnight Rusty" she said with another glare while she smiled at him.

"'Night kid."

"Bye. Have a nice time. Don't set fire to anything!" Sharon laughed at Andy as they stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind them. Rusty smiled at them as they left. In complete contrast to twelve months earlier he felt relaxed and happy for his Mom, enjoying seeing both her and now Andy so happy with each other, a feeling that was not about to change and only likely to grow.

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July 2015**_

 _If there was one thing that Sharon and Andy could be guaranteed to do while they were together it was talk. Yes they'd had their fair share of comfortable silences when they had nothing to say and simply enjoyed each other's company but they both actually liked that about themselves as a couple, it coming to prove just how close they were and how well they knew each other that it simply wasn't an issue. However more often than not they always found something to talk about, never expecting that to change between them, that was however, until the drive to Serve on the night of their first official date. Conversation had been hard during their short journey to the restaurant as both of them felt their nerves completely take over them and basically rendered them both mute. Not that either of them really minded it, the silence affording them the chance to continue trying to work out if the other knew it was a real date or not without having to just come out and ask the oh so embarrassing question. Thankfully since Serve was so close by the journey was relatively short and they were soon put out of their misery but not before they kept stealing sneaky glances at the other as Nat King Cole played quietly on the car stereo._

 _They pulled up outside of the restaurant and were soon at the front of the valet line. A young man dressed smartly in a suit (looking more like he should be dining at the restaurant rather than parking cars outside of it) bounded over to Andy's door and opened it, handing him his valet ticket before he'd even had chance to unbuckle his seatbelt let alone stand. Andy climbed out of the car and made his way quickly around to the passenger side door, with Sharon having already opened it and swung her legs out before he arrived._

 _As Sharon planted her feet on the floor and shuffled forward to stand up she looked down for the briefest of moments, her eyes instantly almost coming out of her head at the sight she saw below her. As Andy waited patiently by her door with his hand outstretched for her to take and climb out of the car she blinked several times as she stared at her feet, thinking she had to be seeing things and by blinking rapidly she would make it go away. It didn't. She was wearing two different types of shoes. Two different shoes. She blinked again. They were still there, taunting her, laughing at her, her left shoe a whole shade lighter than her right and that wasn't where the differences ended, her one foot considerably higher off the ground than the other due to the different size heels. She couldn't believe it, feeling like she would have been less shocked to have looked down and seen a dead pigeon on each foot. How had Andy not noticed? How had she not noticed?! Why hadn't Rusty said anything to her? Then it hit her, he had, Rusty had seen them. He'd tried to tell her as they left but she gave him a withering look which clearly made him change his mind. She closed her eyes tight and waited for the ground to swallow her whole. Due to the difference in the heels she must have been walking funny since the moment she stepped foot out of her bedroom and yet_ no one _pointed it out to her?! Why hadn't she felt it? Was she really that nervous about dinner with Andy Flynn? The answer was simple. Yes, yes she really was that nervous._

 _She looked to the heavens, no longer seeing Andy standing next to her such was the complete and overwhelming mortifying feeling that was suddenly consuming her. "Oh my God!" she mumbled to herself as loud as she dared before she put her head in her hands._

 _Andy looked at her puzzled, his hand still outstretched for her to take. "Sharon?" he said, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin like she'd completely forgotten that he was standing there next to her the whole time. "Everything okay?" he asked with concern._

" _Yes. Everything's fine" she said as cheerfully as she could. She smiled and took his hand as she climbed out of the car, an instant spark surging through her body and settling in her stomach as she touched him for the first time as her date, well as she hoped was her date. Temporarily distracted by the most simple and chaste coming together of their hands, it was only when she took her first step away from the car so that he could close the door that she noticed the dramatic height difference between her shoes, having to raise one heel off the ground slightly so she could stand evenly._

 _Andy closed the door after he released her hand, pointing towards the restaurant._ " _After you" he said with a smile._

 _Sharon smiled back at him while she mentally cursed that he was acting like such a perfect gentleman (admittedly as he always did with her), wanting to hide her footwear behind him should it cause her to limp but she knew him far better than that. She set off towards the door of the restaurant, battling long and hard to walk normally and as a result almost making her forget how to walk. How had she not noticed earlier? How did she not notice the two different colours when she first picked them up from her closet? Damn wine clouding her judgement and her vision! She tried her hardest not to limp as she moved, worried that at the very least she might be coming across as a very glamorous pirate and at worst, a complete lunatic._

 _As they walked the short distance into the restaurant Andy continued to annoyingly keep his distance, walking a few paces behind her at all times making him feel more like a bodyguard than her dinner companion. Still Sharon could feel him behind her, his breathing seeming to be a little quicker than usual, the smell from his intoxicating aftershave wafting towards her nose and driving her utterly insane. 'Oh please God let this be a date!' she thought once again. She quickly snapped out of her daze once again and assumed that he had to have seen her unusual footwear by now but he still never said a word, making her come to the conclusion that he was just being a gentleman. Unbeknown to Sharon, Andy simply hadn't noticed her feet despite how much attention he was currently paying her legs, blind to everything with the exception of how beautiful she looked. He was keeping his distance for one simple reason, he wanted to touch her. He wanted to put his arm around her waist or take her hand firmly in his but he knew he shouldn't, not wanting to push things between them too soon…that's if he was indeed on a date, opting to stuff his hands deep into his pockets instead so that he wouldn't be tempted further._

 _Once inside the restaurant Andy finally joined her by her side as they approached the desk, the maître d' standing behind it looking like a caricature of French waiter from the 1940s. "Hi. Reservation for two under Flynn" Andy said as the maître d' smiled back at him, his moustache curling up at the sides and making him look like Dudley Do-Right's archenemy Snidely Whiplash._

 _The maître d' quickly scanned the computer screen before him and nodded, picking up two menus from the stack behind him and then gestured for Sharon and Andy to follow him. "Of course. If you'd like to follow me" he said as he set off through the restaurant._

 _They followed him, slowly making their way through the restaurant and to their table, Andy once again annoyingly keeping his distance and causing Sharon to overcompensate in her movement, trying her hardest not to limp and then almost limping as a result. The maître d' came to a stop near the back of the restaurant at a table next to a large tropical fish tank. The most obvious thing that Sharon noted as she approached their table was the music. A band was playing in the far left hand corner of the room, instrumental versions of classic French songs while couples slow danced before them. The interior of the restaurant was red and gold, covering everything from the floor to the ceiling, reminding Sharon of Christmas. The lights were dimmed and a candle flickered on every table making the entire room glow. The whole place looked beautiful with most tables set for just two people and all very small, adding to the intimate and romantic feel, Andy had certainly been right about that, it was romantic._

 _Andy was quick to move to Sharon's chair and held it out for her as she sat down, but again it was not that unusual for him to do that so when she thanked him with a warm smile it still didn't answer her question about whether it was a date or not. Andy sat down opposite her, their knees almost brushing together such was the size and intimacy of the table they'd been seated at. As they both took their menus the maître d' said something to them before he left, though neither of them really heard him, so focused as they were on each other._

 _Left alone to peruse their menus, Andy kept his eyes locked on Sharon at all times, wanting to say something to her but was suddenly at a loss for words. It made him worry for a moment because that wasn't them, they'd never stopped talking to each other, any silence between them because that's how they wanted it rather than having nothing to say. It was one of the things that made them such great friends, even when they had a little falling out (like the misunderstanding with Nicole before Christmas when the awkwardness of what had happened combined with how she started to view him differently meant that she wanted to avoid him but didn't) they still always talked to each other, having both tried the opposite with their spouses and knew that disaster would only follow that decision._

" _So what do you think?" he said finally as he looked around their surroundings. "Pretty nice place huh?" He paused for a moment before continuing. "Romantic right?" he asked, putting the word out there once again to see her reaction._

 _Sharon looked around her and smiled at him, avoiding his eye for a moment since he'd used that word once again, romantic. "It's beautiful" she said as her eyes went back to her menu again, not really reading it but needing to stare at it as she continued to battle her nerves._

 _Still no clearer than he was five minutes earlier Andy opened his menu and stared at it for a moment before his eyes drifted upwards and he gazed at Sharon adoringly from over the top of it. She looked beautiful, better than he thought she'd ever looked and she always looked amazing although he admitted to himself that perhaps he was more than a little biased in that regard. His mouth felt dry. He so desperately wanted to tell her how breathtakingly beautiful she was but he feared that his overwhelming nerves would stop him from getting his words out without fainting or getting completely tongue tied. They were on the very tip of his tongue. He took a deep breath and then swallowed. He slowly lowered his menu which caught Sharon's attention and made her look up at him. It was now or never._

" _I have to say this," he started before taking another deep breath and swallowing again, "Sharon, you look indescribably beautiful tonight."_

 _Sharon instantly blushed as her mind raced, a sense of warmth creeping up her entire body and spreading to her fingertips and toes as the butterflies continued to do somersaults in her stomach. She was still not sure if she was on a real date or not and Andy's unexpected but very welcome compliment hadn't really clarified matters for her. It was not the first time that he had told her she was beautiful although admittedly it was the first time that he'd said it in quite that way, making it sound like something you would say to a date, while he looked at her nervously._

" _Andy..." She went to…well she wasn't quite sure what she was going to say to him in response but in the end it didn't really matter because it was in that moment when she noticed that Andy was so preoccupied staring at her that he'd dropped his menu forward onto the candle in the middle of the table and it was now on fire and yet he couldn't have been more oblivious to it. "Andy!" she cried suddenly. "Your menu is on fire!"_

" _What?" he asked confused, still oblivious to the flames in front of him._

" _Your menu is on fire!" she repeated as she pointed at it._

 _Andy finally looked down and noticed the not so small flames rising from the top of his menu and beginning to warm the ends of his fingers._ " _Oh shit! Shit!" he shouted more than a little panic stricken as he took to his feet, his menu in his hand, unsure of what to do as he ummed and ahhed. He flapped for a moment, the normally cool and calm Andy Flynn being anything but as he attempted to blow the flames out like he was blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, starting to panic even more when it didn't work since this wasn't the cool, smooth persona that he desperately wanted to show to Sharon that evening._

 _Sharon looked around them, spotting an ice bucket cooling a bottle of champagne at the next table. "Put it in that ice buck..." she started to say._

 _Before Sharon could finish her sentence Andy had opened the lid to the fish tank sitting next to them and dropped his menu into the water. A stunned silence settled between them as they stared at the menu as it slowly sank to the bottom of the tank, smoke still in the air as the fish darted out of its way and it came to rest on the pebbles. Andy sat down again with a thud._ " _Fires out" he said as he turned to face her._

" _I noticed" was all she could say in response, completely stunned._

 _Within seconds the maître d' came stomping over to them with a face like thunder, his hands on his head as he stared at Andy utterly horrified. "What the hell is going on here?!" he screamed loud enough to draw the attention of all the other diners who had somehow managed to miss the commotion with the flames. "What did you...? What have you done to my fish?" he again bellowed as he examined the fish tank and did a quick head count to make sure they'd all survived._

" _We had a small fire but it's out now" Andy replied, feeling like he was back in school again and one of the Nuns had caught him in a game of 'You show me yours and I'll show you mine' with Sally O'Brian. The maître d' just glared at him for a moment before picking up the candle from the table and blowing it out before Andy set fire to anything else, slamming it back down on the table again before stomping off. Andy and Sharon looked at each other in silence for a moment, more than a touch of shock spreading across their features until they burst out laughing, howling in hysterics at what had just happened._

" _For future reference," Sharon started once she was able to stop laughing, "should anything else catch on fire tonight, there's an ice bucket right there at the next table."_

" _Yeah I see that now" Andy replied before looking at the tank and the fish still trying to escape the path of the menu. "Do you think they'll be okay?" he asked._

" _The fish?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _I'm sure they'll be fine" Sharon said with no real certainty to her voice. No sooner were the words out of her mouth then one of the fish, a red and purple Siamese fighter, slowly floated to the top of the tank, quite clearly dead. "Or not. I'm sure it's just sleeping."_

 _Within seconds another fish floated belly up to the top of the tank as the maître d' appeared again with a small red tablecloth in hand from out of nowhere and making them both jump. He froze for a moment by their table, giving Andy a look of absolute disgust before he covered the tank with the tablecloth so that no one would be able to see the damage he had caused. Not surprisingly given the size of the tank, the tablecloth only covered about half of it, the sunken menu and a few fish still visible at the bottom. The maître d' stomped away again but not before he shot Andy another filthy look making Sharon burst into laughter._

" _It's not funny" Andy insisted._

" _I beg to differ" Sharon said as she continued to laugh, clutching her sides as it started to hurt she was laughing so hard. From a combination of the nerves and the joy of seeing Sharon laugh in such a way, he couldn't help but laugh with her. "Oh Andy you can be such an idiot at times!" she said as she smiled at him._

" _Only at times?"_

" _I was trying to be generous."_

 _He smiled at her. "Thanks Sharon. I love you too." They both instantly stopped laughing as his words really hit home, him only meaning it playfully and as a friend but such were their feelings they both immediately leapt to the alternative conclusion. Andy was mortified for a moment, in disbelief that he'd said that to her although he was fairly certain that's how he really felt (slowly realising that he had serious feelings for his Captain and friend around the time their appetisers arrived at dinner before the first time she accompanied him to_ The Nutcracker _with his family)_ _even if he was about as ready to say it in that way as she was to hear it while she was once again left to work out what that really meant._

 _So distracted with each other they both failed to notice that the maître d' had returned to their table until he thrusted a new menu into Andy's hands._ " _If I were you Sir I would enjoy my meal tonight as we would prefer it if you didn't come back any time soon."_

 _Andy watched agog for a moment as the maître d' stomped away again before he opened his menu and finally looked at it. Sharon laughed again. "You know before I started to go out to dinner with you I never once got banned from a restaurant" she told him._

" _I'm not banned."_

" _That's not what it sounded like to me" she grinned back at him._

" _Then you need to have your ears looked at" he joked, still a little embarrassed by what had happened. "He said he'd_ prefer _it if I didn't come here again, there's a difference" he again insisted._

 _Sharon laughed and shook her head. "Whatever makes you feel better Andy. The point is these things never happen when I'm out with anyone else."_

" _Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he queried._

 _Sharon smiled at him, it stretching from ear to ear. "I think it's a good thing. A very good thing." They smiled at each other for a moment. As Sharon returned to looking at her menu she could sense that Andy was still watching her and battled to stop her cheeks from turning red as she felt that warmth return to her body, her nerve endings alight in a way she hadn't felt in years. It was then that she realised that she could have gone out that evening in fluffy duck slippers and he probably wouldn't have noticed. That could only mean one thing, it had to be a date didn't it? He had set his menu on fire while telling her how beautiful she looked after all, but how to ask him without coming across as crazy?_

" _What are you having?" she asked, desperate to say something to him._

" _Oh I..." he said as he looked down and really read the words on the page in front of him for the very first time. "I don't know" he said as he looked back up at her. "I forgot to look at my menu" he admitted before they both laughed._

" _And here was me thinking you'd already ordered with smoke signals" she joked, laughing when he looked back at her with a far from amused frown._

" _Can you do me a favour? Can you not tell anyone about this please?" he begged._

" _Oh I'm not so sure about that" she teased with a smile. "Surely I need to warn the likes of Lieutenant Provenza in case you try to do it again."_

" _Oddly enough I don't bring Provenza to romantic places with candles and flammable menus" he pointed out, still unsure if she knew it was a date or not so feeling the need to point out the differences and hoping that she would fill in the gaps._

" _Oh really?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Just me?" she asked shyly, similar to Andy still seeking confirmation that they were on more of a romantic dinner date than a regular meal with a friend._

" _Just you" he replied. They smiled at each other again, still neither of them really sure if they were reading the situation correctly. At once they both looked at their menus again, sneaking glances at each other over the top when they thought the other wasn't looking._

 _Moments later the maître d' returned to their table to take their order rather than a regular server since, in his opinion (and he was the sort of man who was never wrong in these situations he thought), Andy was clearly a trouble maker and he wanted to handle him personally. "What can I get you?" he asked, still looking extremely unhappy._

 _Andy gestured towards Sharon. "Ladies first."_

" _Thank you" she replied with a smile as her eyes dropped back to her menu and scanned the entrees once again. "So many fabulous choices. Can I have the lobster Bolognese please" she said after a moment's thought._

" _A wonderfully choice ma'am" the maître d' replied as he wrote it down. He smiled at Sharon as he took her menu but that quickly faded and became a glare as he turned his attention to Andy. "And for you?" he asked, spitting the words out._

" _What are your specials? Do you have any blackened fish?" he joked. Sharon laughed loudly as she put her head in her hands, unable to look at either of them as she battled not to snort laugh in front of Andy, still wanting to keep that little embarrassing habit hidden from him for as long as possible. Unlike Sharon, the maître d' was not amused in the slightest. "Sorry, joke."_

" _And how witty you are Sir. Perhaps you should have a career on the stage" he replied dryly._

" _Actually I'm LAPD."_

" _Well I knew you didn't work for the fire department" he muttered as he looked at the fish tank once again. Sharon started to bite down on her hand to stop herself from laughing at him as Andy remained rather flustered by it all still._

" _I'll have the Santa Barbra black cod" Andy said as he closed his menu._

" _Very good and to drink?"_

" _A cranberry and soda."_

 _The maître d' wrote it down and then turned to Sharon. "And for you ma'am?"_

" _The same please" she nodded._

" _You don't want a glass of wine?" Andy asked and not for the first time, sometimes fighting a losing battle to get her to have a drink when they went out to dinner together._

" _No I'm fine thank you. A cranberry and soda will more than do" she insisted, aside from not liking to drink in front of him she felt that the two glasses she'd already had were more than enough. She turned to the maître d' to essentially end the conversation before Andy ordered her another drink like he so often tried to do. "Thank you."_

" _Okay." He snatched the menu from Andy as he took another long, hard look at the fish tank. "I'll put that in for you. In the meantime if you could refrain from setting fire to anything else Sir it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much" he added before walking away._

" _Jeez anyone would think I did it deliberately" Andy grumbled as Sharon once again broke out into uncontrollably laughter. "What?" Andy asked, pretending like he didn't know what was so funny before laughing along with her. "Well that's settled it then, I don't think I'll be allowed back in here again for a very long time."_

" _Oh I think that's a given. I guess we'd best take full advantage of it while we still can then" she suggested before they both smiled at each other._

" _I do wish you'd let me order you some wine. I've told you a hundred times I don't mind if you drink in front of me. Really I'm fine" he insisted._

" _And I've told you a hundred times that I don't need any wine when I'm out with you. A cranberry and soda will do me just fine." They smiled at each other again before their attentions were drawn to two more of the fish slowly floating to the surface of the tank and past the table cloth, looking more than a tad dead. Within a matter of seconds the maître d' appeared again and covered the tank with a second table cloth, taking his time to pull them both this way and that to get it perfectly covered. Sharon and Andy smiled at each other as they tried not to laugh or make it abundantly obvious that they were watching him. Sharon nodded in the direction of the tank as if indicating that Andy should offer to help him. Andy frantically shook his head, worried that he may get a punch to the face if he so much as looked at him while he worked as Sharon continued to smile at him. Suddenly they became aware that they were being watched by the even more irate maître d'. He adjusted the table cloth one final time before glaring at Andy once again and walked away. Sharon laughed instantly. "If your fish is on the rather small side I think we can guess where they got it from" she joked, laughing again. "You're going to have to leave an awfully big tip."_

" _Well what are they doing having menus that flammable to begin with? It's a fire hazard."_

" _Not expecting someone to drop them on a candle would be my guess" she said matter-of-factly before she laughed again._

" _Well at least something good has come out of it" he said with a smile, putting his elbow on the table and resting his head on his hand, gazing at her slightly more adoringly than a friend normally would do in a similar situation. "I can't remember you laughing like that in a long time. It's nice to see."_

 _She smiled back at him. He was right. It had been a really long time since she'd been able to relax, truly relax, Andy not seeing her like that since before Phillip Stroh's break for freedom months earlier with Rusty now in constant peril as she saw it. She had confided in Andy about Rusty's continued protection the moment she put it in place, making him swear to secrecy (with only Lieutenant Cooper and Andy in the know much to his surprise, assuming that Sharon would have told Provenza and Buzz of her concerns and asked for their advice since they were essentially her co-parents in chief). She'd likewise filled him in on her decision to let his undercover protection detail go and to allow him to just live his life but she still hadn't fully relaxed since, that feeling always there as he battled to make her the old Sharon again, the Sharon who had become so care free following her divorce from Jack and Rusty's adoption before Stroh got out._

" _You're right" she nodded. "It has been a long time. I hadn't realised how desperately I needed a good laugh like that" she said, the gratitude clear in her voice._

" _It looks good on you."_

" _It feels good."_

" _Then my decision to deliberately set my menu on fire just to amuse you has worked" he said confidently as he blatantly lied to her._

 _They both laughed. "Is that your story?" she asked, amused._

" _And I'm sticking to it" he confirmed before they both laughed again._

" _Thank you for this."_

" _No, thank you for coming" he insisted. They smiled at each other again in silence for a few brief moments, their eyes only dragging away from the other when a server suddenly placed a glass of cranberry and soda in front of both of them, neither knowing he was there before the appearance of their glasses. "Oh thank you" Andy said, trying his best to hide his surprise at the server's sudden appearance._

" _Thank you."_

" _You're welcome" the server nodded before he headed off to his next table._

 _Andy picked up his glass and held it aloft, signalling his intentions. "If I may propose a toast."_

 _Sharon smiled shyly. "You may." She picked up her glass, holding it in the air to mirror his pose. "What shall we drink to? Other than the fish?" she joked before laughing._

 _Andy laughed and nodded. "Right other than the fish. To erm..." He thought for a moment before meeting her eye as confidently as he had done all evening. "To us" he said simply._

 _She smiled again, still not really sure Andy's toast meant what she thought it did. "To us" she repeated before they chinked glasses together and both took a sip._

" _Oh I've been meaning to ask," Andy started before taking another sip of his drink, his mouth unusually dry, before putting it back down on the table, "how did Emily's opening night go?"_

 _Sharon instantly beamed with pride as she thought about her daughter. "Just wonderful by all accounts. She's dancing in front of a packed audience every night and the reviews, oh Andy they're just..."_

" _I know. I saw" he smiled. "They're amazing. She's amazing."_

" _Then why are you asking me if you already know?"_

 _Andy shrugged, his shyness creeping back into his posture again. "Because I know you like to talk about her and I like to watch how your face glows and your eyes sparkle when you do."_

 _Sharon felt her cheeks warming again as she smiled. "You really read the reviews?" she asked, not one hundred percent sure that Jack even went as far to do that and she was his own flesh and blood._

 _Andy shrugged. "Well I may have somewhat of a vested interest in her career, you see I know her Mom pretty well" he said with a wink._

 _Sharon laughed. "Oh really?"_

" _Yeah. I simply don't know what I'd do without her" he said honestly. Sharon blushed again, it being more obvious this time as she drew her eyes away from him and looked at her fingers on the table for a moment. Instantly a bit of panic set in for Andy as he thought that perhaps he had gone a little too far on that occasion, still with the uncertainty of Sharon's expectations for the evening plaguing him. "Plus you know she's my Commanding Officer and I like to try and impress her so she's not so hard on me."_

" _Oh I see" she said, meeting his eye again. "And how's that working for you?"_

" _Okay, not so bad" he replied. "It usually all depends on whether my partner gets me into trouble doing something stupid or not." They both laughed. "And er speaking of which, are you and Amy okay?" he asked, thinking that talking about work was currently a safe option given his levels of uncertainty about how things were going._

" _Yes. We're fine" Sharon confirmed, not liking to have to raise her voice with any member of her division when she felt that they were stretching the rules slightly, no matter how good their intentions were. "I'm not a fan of her keeping secrets from me in regards to a case but she made the right call in the end and I'm glad. I'm just thankful everything worked out the way it did" she said, thinking she would have a different opinion had their case fallen through because they didn't have access to Amy's very young eye witness._

" _Yeah and in time for us to come here."_

 _Sharon laughed, her relief about that also apparent. "Indeed."_

" _Good" he nodded before they smiled at each other again and Andy turned the conversation back to their previous discussion before they got side tracked with work. "So does Emily know what's next for her or do they not plan that far ahead in her business?"_

" _She does actually" Sharon nodded as her smile quickly faded._

" _What? What's wrong?" he asked, reading her immediately. "Are they cancelling her contract or something? She's their best dancer according to all the reviews. They can't get rid of her without a good reason right?"_

" _No, no thank goodness it's nothing like that. The whole company has been invited to perform in London" she explained._

" _Wow! That's amazing!" Again Sharon smiled in response but it didn't spread to her eyes with Andy noticing the difference immediately without her uttering a sound. "Or not. What's the matter? London? Yuk right? You're against warm beer and fish and chips?"_

 _Sharon laughed. "No not at all. I'm really so excited for her, truly I am. She's going to love it over there, I know I did."_

" _But?" Andy asked, encouraging her to continue._

" _What makes you think there's a but?"_

" _Your face. I know you Raydor, you can't hide anything from me."_

 _She smiled at him, loving that she had a…had a friend (until she had confirmation that he was anything more) who knew her as well as Andy did, but her smile didn't last. "It's over Christmas" she explained sadly._

" _Ah! I see."_

" _Which means obviously she can't come home for the holidays" she said with a sigh, her disappointment more than clear to someone who didn't know her, let alone to someone like Andy. "She was talking about turning it down but I told her not to be so ridiculous. It's the chance of a lifetime not just to further her career but also to travel and she shouldn't be giving it up just for me because it's the holidays."_

" _Still, she's your little girl and it is Christmas" Andy replied, fully understanding how she felt especially since she loved the holidays so much and spending that time with her far flung children. "What about Ricky? Is he still going on vacation? Skiing right?"_

 _Sharon looked at him surprised, not for the first time shocked that he had remembered something so completely unexpected. "You remembered?"_

" _Of course I remembered" Andy replied with a shrug as if it was no big deal._

 _Sharon smiled shyly at him again. "Yes he is. He said he'd change his plans and come home for the holidays instead since Emily can't but I've told him not to. Just because Emily can't come home doesn't mean he shouldn't have a good time with his friends especially when he's had the whole thing booked for such a long time already. I know it's far too early to be thinking about it right now but I guess it'll just be a quiet year with Rusty and our turkey for two" she said, again her words tinged with a little sadness and disappointment but never wanting her children to sacrifice their own adventures just to spend time with her._

" _Not necessarily."_

 _Sharon sipped on her soda and hummed in response. "Mummmmm?"_

" _The two of you could always come and have dinner with me at Nicole's house" he suggested._

 _Sharon looked slightly taken aback for a moment, pausing before she responded. "Christmas dinner with you at Nicole's house?" she repeated as if she had somehow misheard him._

" _Yeah. I mean if you'd like to of course" he said, suddenly a little less confident than he was a moment earlier. "You'd both be more than welcome and I'd love to have you...I mean to dinner" he corrected quickly as he worried about Sharon thinking he meant something else entirely. "We'd love to have you to dinner, both of you. Nicole and I and everyone else we'd love to have you and Rusty over for dinner at Christmas, if you'd like to of course and since the kids are away and..."_

" _I'd love to" Sharon said suddenly, cutting him off._

 _Andy smiled. "Yeah?"_

" _Yes. I'd love for you to have me...I mean over for dinner" she said correcting herself just like Andy had done as her cheeks started to turn red from embarrassment. "I...we'd love to join you for dinner" she confirmed._

" _Good. Good."_

" _Good." They smiled at each other for a moment, both of them thinking very different things as confusion continued to cloud their judgements. Andy assumed that things were going very well and that Sharon knew it was a date date if she was thinking more long term in regard to their relationship and already thinking about Christmas plans together. Sharon on the other hand remained more than a little confused by what was happening, still not sure if she was on a date or not. The invitation to have dinner with him and his family for the holidays was gratefully received and she was already looking forward to it but was it just another friendly invitation like the trips to_ The Nutcracker _over the last two holidays rather than anything more she wondered. "How is Nicole by the way?" she asked._

" _Yeah she's good, great, Dean too. Boys both doing really well. They ask after you" he told her, very pleased by that as she smiled back at him, feeling the same way. "They want to know when they can come and stay the night with us. They seem to have got it into their heads that we live together or something."_

" _Oh I wonder where they could have got that idea from?" she teased._

" _I have absolutely no idea" he replied innocently._

 _Sharon laughed. "I'm sure. Are they working together any better now? Nicole and Dean?"_

 _Andy shrugged, more than a little confused by her question. "I think so. I didn't know they were having problems. She doesn't really tell me stuff like that yet but I haven't heard any complaints or anything so I guess so. How do you know they were having trouble working together?" he asked intrigued._

 _Sharon smiled at him, her embarrassment about the subject still there and bubbling beneath the surface. "That's what she came to work to talk to be about before Christmas."_

" _Oh. Right" Andy said simply, everything suddenly becoming clear to him._

" _She wanted to know how I managed to boss you around during the day and go to bed with you at night since Dean seemed to be struggling with it after her promotion" she told him with a smirk, loving to torture him on that particular subject regardless of how mortified she was at the time when she discovered Andy had been blatantly lying about her and their relationship to his entire family._

" _I see" he said as he shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. "Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" he asked as he pulled at his collar._

 _Sharon laughed. "Not since the fire was put out" she teased._

" _Do you mind if we change the subject?"_

 _Sharon laughed and nodded. "Sure. How's Dan?"_

 _Andy sighed. "Do you mind if we change the subject?" he said again a little sadly._

" _That bad huh?"_

" _There's been no change since the last time you asked me. He doesn't answer my calls, he doesn't want to see me. There's not much I can do if I can't even get him to answer a phone."_

" _I know but he'll come around, I'm sure of it. If Nicole has then he will too" she said, always trying to make him look to the positives as far as his fractured relationships with his children were concerned._

" _Well we both know the reason why Nicole has" he said as he raised his glass into the air and gestured towards her like he was toasting her in thanks, thinking that Sharon and his lies about the extent of their relationship was the sole reason that he now saw more of Nicole that he did five years earlier._

" _That had absolutely nothing to do with me and everything to do with you and how hard you've worked to change your life for the better" she insisted, always thinking that he was too hard on himself and frequently telling him as such when opportunity presented itself._

" _Yeah well she always was a Daddy's girl."_

" _Just like Emily but believe me you have a much better relationship than she has with Jack so credit where credit is due." She raised her glass in the air and toasted him before taking a sip. "Can't Nicole speak to him?"_

" _I don't want to put her in the middle."_

" _Well if you feel the need to lie to him about me too a heads up would be appreciated" she teased, laughing at his apparent discomfort once again._

" _I didn't lie, I just didn't correct them on their mistake."_

" _Yeah okay" she laughed._

" _I'm never going to live that down am I?" he asked with a sigh._

" _Not until one of us dies" she confirmed before they both laughed, both of them relieved that they could now laugh about the whole thing considering how awkward things were in the days that followed Nicole's visit to PAB. "I've been meaning to tell you, I caught the tail end of_ Father Goose _last night before I went to bed and I have to admit it, you're right."_

" _He's just like Provenza in that movie isn't he?" Andy pointed out gleefully, having told her on many occasions that he thought Cary Grant's character was essentially a more handsome version of his partner._

" _Absolutely, in every way except the hat. How long has he had that thing anyway? It seems as permanent a fixture in the LAPD as he is."_

" _Oh decades" Andy confirmed with Provenza's bucket hat having appeared socially long before it appeared professionally. "He's had the thing so long it's started to stand up on its own." Sharon laughed. "I'm not kidding. Have you smelt it? I don't think he's ever cleaned it. It's practically a living organism of its own by now" he claimed as she laughed again. "He only used to wear it outside of work, you know to attract the ladies."_

" _Oh of course. I mean who doesn't go weak at the knees at the sight of a bucket hat?"_

 _Andy hummed as he smiled at her. "In that case I may need to invest in one by the end of the weekend" he joked._

 _Sharon laughed at him. "I think letting women see that you've still got a beautiful head of hair is more of a turn on when you get past sixty" she informed him._

" _Oh really?"_

" _Yes. A full head of hair and all your teeth."_

" _Wow Sharon, you're really shooting for the moon there" he joked, thinking she was so beautiful and so amazing in every single way, shape and form that she could have any man she wanted rather than picking from the very bottom of the barrel._

" _Oddly enough not all men fit so easily into both categories. You're definitely one of the exceptions and a real catch for one lucky lady" she said, dropping a rather loud hint in the hope that he may confirm if she was indeed that lucky lady or not._

" _Fingers crossed" he replied quietly, locking eyes with her. They both fell silent again as the wheels continued to turn in their minds. "Which is one of the reasons why Provenza wears that hat at work all the time now." Andy pointed to the top of his head and whispered "Bald patch."_

 _Sharon laughed. "Really?"_

" _Oh yeah and don't let him give you any of that BS about it being a solar panel for a sex machine either" he said with a disgusted shudder as she laughed again. "He spends more time in front of the mirror each morning covering it up then Rusty does."_

" _How do you know how long Rusty spends in front of a mirror every morning?"_

 _He smiled. "You told me."_

 _She felt her cheeks warm again, compelled to ask him the question but still feeling unable to. "Do you have the habit of remembering everything I've ever told you?" she asked instead._

 _Andy shrugged as if it was nothing. "I try to."_

" _Except when it came to reprimands when I was working in Professional Standards?"_

 _Andy laughed. "That's not entirely true. I listened. Sometimes."_

" _Then why have I sent you to Sensitivity training more than once?" she asked._

" _Because you're mean Raydor! Mean!" he joked as they both laughed. "Okay I admit I may not have always listened to you like I should have done in the past."_

" _Then what's changed?" she asked since he now seemed to remember everything she'd ever told him from the moment they started going out together regularly as friends._

" _I realised what I was missing out on by not listening" he admitted a little quietly. They smiled at each other in silence as she came over all shy again, hoping that he cheeks hadn't turned as red as they felt._

 _Sharon used the temporary break in the conversation to think for a moment. The way that Andy was speaking to her, well it wasn't that it was all that different to how he usually spoke to her, he was always kind, he was her closet friend after all, coming to rely on him more than Gavin or Andrea by that point. But he just seemed different in a way that she couldn't quite put her finger on and that brought her mind back to that question once again: was it a real date? Was she right? She had to find out one way or another and keep her fingers crossed that he would find the whole situation amusing and it wouldn't completely ruin their friendship if she was wrong. She sighed, fear continuing to cloud her judgement and make her less brave by the second. She sighed again. It was a risk worth taking in her opinion to find out if they were on the same page or not because if they were and their evening at Serve was indeed a real date then the possibilities were endless._

 _She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. There were a million reasons why she shouldn't ask the question and only one reason why she should, she wanted it to be a date, she wanted to have a real relationship with him. She took a very deep breath, it coming out shakier than she wanted it to._ " _Andy" she said simply as she put her hands flat on the table, determined to ask the question that was stuck at the back of her throat like a fish bone._

" _Sharon."_

" _Andy" she said again before she paused. "Is this a date?" she asked suddenly._

 _The moment the words left her mouth Andy almost started to choke on his own tongue. "Excuse me?" he said as he coughed and beat his chest with his fist, stalling more than anything else._

" _This. You, me, here, tonight. Is this a date?" she asked again._

" _Erm..." Andy said as he stalled once more, suddenly lost for words. "Do you want it to be a date?" he asked nervously._

" _That's not answering my question. That's deflecting" she said, seizing control of the conversation and very much putting Andy on the back front. By his reaction Sharon began to think that she was right and it was indeed a proper date but given his overly nervous response she still needed him to confirm it if for no other reason than to torture him a little. "Answer the question. Have you asked me out on a date? Is that what we're doing here? Is this a date?"_

 _He fidgeted in his seat again. "Did I not say that when I asked you last night?"_

 _Sharon smiled, already having her answer but still wanting to hear him actually say it. "No. No you didn't. You said it was new and nearby and called it the most romantic restaurant in Los Angeles and you were right, it is but you never mentioned if it was actually a real date or not."_

 _Andy paused. His biggest fear for the evening had come true, Sharon didn't know it was a date but he quickly assumed that given her question, it could only be good, feeling that she wouldn't ask unless she thought it was and more importantly because she wanted it to be and yet he still couldn't force himself into giving her a straight answer._ " _But does the word 'romantic' not imply..."_

" _Not really no" she cut in. "You could say that Nicole's wedding was romantic, very romantic in fact but that wasn't a date was it?"_

 _Andy laughed, his nervous energy obvious. "Well not according to Nicole and Rusty. It was most definitely a date according to the pair of them."_

" _Right."_

" _Okay." He took a deep breath and Sharon knew what was coming before he opened his mouth, having heard similar speeches from him many times before both professionally and personally with them all taking on the same structure. "Have I made mistakes in the past? Obviously. Did I lie to my family about the nature of what was going on between us? A little. Do we go out a lot? Of course we do. Have those been dates in the past? Possibly. Have I ask..."_

" _Andy..."_

" _Have I asked you to events that could have been classed as dates in the past? Definitely."_

" _Andy."_

" _Yes."_

" _Talk to me" she said softly, wanting him to relax._

 _Andy paused as he played with his silverware for a moment. He looked up and met her eyes, completely confident all of a sudden. He hadn't been clear to her the night before and what was the point of telling her anything but the truth. The way he felt he was fairly confident that he was already in love with her so he had to jump in feet first and be completely honest._ " _Yes. I asked you out on a date. This is a date. A proper date. Finally" he said loudly and clearly so there was no misunderstanding him this time._

 _Sharon smiled back at him. "Okay" she said, blushing wildly._

 _If he was perfectly honest that wasn't the response he was expecting, suddenly thinking that perhaps she didn't want it to be a date after all, now seeking his own clarification. "So that's okay with you? This being a date? That's okay?" he asked nervously._

 _Sharon smiled again before meeting his eye._ " _It's more than okay with me" she told him which made his face erupt into the largest smile she'd ever seen on his face, making her heart flutter. "Really, it's much more than okay with me." With the confirmation that she so desperately craved for over the last twenty four hours she knew instantly that they needed to be very careful with how they handled their new relationship and take it very slowly in the beginning. It hit her like a frying pan to the face that she already had romantic feelings for the man sitting opposite her, there was a significant chance that she was already in love with him so felt optimistic that a relationship could indeed work between them but also realised that it would be very easy to rush things between them and that could potentially cause problems. The problem was she knew Andy better than anyone else and vice versa, he was her closest friend, her confidant, the man she relied on at work and with the way she felt about him it would be very easy to fall straight into bed with him, that night even, and rush their relationship but if things were going to work between them then they needed to ensure it wouldn't effect work or the friendship which she valued so much first. The way he was smiling at her would make it all the harder but she really needed to do it her way and slowly, needing to find a way to tell him that before the night was over. "Our first real date" she said, unable to stop smiling._

" _Yes. Our first real date" he repeated._

" _Okay. Good" she nodded before leaning a little closer to him across the table. "But for future reference and clarity Andy, the next time you ask someone out on a date make sure you let them know that's what's happening so there's no more confusion."_

 _He fidgeted nervously once again before looking her in the eye, his confidence growing by the second as his nerves eased. "Since you mentioned clarity I should say that for the record I have absolutely no intention of going out on another first date for the rest of my life."_

 _She smiled, more than a touch relieved since she felt the exact same way. "Oh. Good" was all she was capable of saying in reply._

 _"Good" he repeated before they smiled at each other again, grinning like fools._

 _"I'm glad."_

 _"Me too" Andy confirmed. They smiled at each other again, unable to do anything else such was the relief and the emotion they were feeling. The change in them was immediate, their shoulders relaxing as all the tension and the uncertainty and the nerves from the evening so far vanished, a slight excited anticipation taking its place along with a level of confidence that discovering they were on the same page and pretty damn pleased about it too gave them. They were on a date, a real date, the confusion now firmly behind them and nothing but optimism and a real sense of determination to make their new found relationship work, allowing themselves to look at each other as a potential partner for the first time.  
_

 _Andy cleared his throat, despite his relief that everything was going as he hoped his nerves were still playing havoc with his body, making him thankful that he hadn't started trembling and caused the table to rattle like they were in the midst of a powerful earthquake. "I'm sure Provenza will probably disagree but I really don't care" he joked, knowing that he clearly had Provenza's blessing despite his concerns over what might happen to both of them and the division if they couldn't make it work as a couple._

 _Sharon nodded, expecting resistance to come from her second in command given that he loathed the very sight of her when she first took over the division and in his opinion 'stole' his job. He had warmed up to her a lot since then, mainly because of Rusty, a mutual respect settling between them and of course the friendship she'd had with Andy but nevertheless she wasn't actually sure he would call himself her friend. "I assumed he may have a problem with me..."_

" _No, no, no" Andy said quickly as he cut her off, waving his hands frantically in the air. "It's nothing like that" he insisted, needing her to know that Provenza was on their side as he regretted bringing it up in a moment when he was at a loss for anything else to say. "His concern is over the balance of the division in case this doesn't work between us, that's all, it has nothing to do with you."_

 _Once more Sharon couldn't hide her surprise, thinking she would have to hear many rants from his partner about 'sleeping with the enemy' should their relationship make it that far. "So you told him? You told him you were asking me out on a date tonight?" she asked._

" _I did. I was looking for a little...moral support let's say" he explained, his surprising but incredibly endearing shyness putting in an appearance once again and making her heart flutter._

" _You told Lieutenant Provenza that this was a date but you didn't tell me?" she teased with a smile, enjoying watching him squirm slightly at her words._

 _Andy smiled back at her and laughed slightly. "Is this the way it's going to work between us? I generally do something a little bit stupid and you make fun of me every chance you get?"_

" _I think there's a fairly good chance of that happening and that's on days when you don't start a fire" she told him. She laughed at him while he smiled, taking it all on the chin as he realised he was already enjoying dating Sharon Raydor. "Have you got a problem with that arrangement?"_

" _Not in the slightest. I just wanted to make sure since you brought clarity into the situation."_

" _Is there anything else that needs a little clarity?" she asked._

" _No other than for me to say, I'm really glad that you're here" he said, his voice almost turning to a whisper by the end of the sentence, a gravelly tone to his words that shot straight through her and making her realise just how much trouble she was going to be in with the man seated opposite her._

" _Me too." Silence fell between them as they just smiled at each other for a moment. "So we have Lieutenant Provenza's blessing?" she asked, playing with the straw in her glass to give her something to do with her hands._

" _Well I wouldn't go that far but like I said his concern is more about the balance of the division in case this doesn't work between us" he explained again with it being one of the reasons why he hadn't asked her out on a real date sooner, the disruption to the division and their friendship giving him cause for concern._

" _Why wouldn't it work?"_

" _I have absolutely no idea" he almost whispered again. Their smiles matched each other's once more. "It's one of the reasons why I waited for him to have a couple of days off work before I asked you out" he confessed. "I wouldn't have been able to cope with him all day otherwise." They laughed. "In fact I'm not entirely sure that he's not here right now and hiding behind his menu while he keeps an eye on us" he joked, pointing to a couple of figures across the room who seemed to be concealed behind their opened menus rather suspiciously._

 _Sharon laughed at him. "To taser me and drag you out of here should the wicked witch from FID think about laying a hand on you?"_

" _Oh he'd be too frightened to taser you" Andy replied instantly. "I'd be the one twitching on the floor and probably peeing myself."_

 _Sharon laughed again. "He wouldn't do that."_

" _Yeah you're probably right, this place is far too expensive for Provenza to eat here" he joked although there was an element of truth about it. "He's probably waiting outside between two parked cars."_

 _Sharon laughed as she sipped on her cranberry and soda. "Where is he anyway?" she asked. "He didn't say. Have they gone away for the weekend?"_

" _Provenza? On vacation? Are you kidding me? Those legs in shorts?" Andy shuddered at the mental image and making them both laugh. Provenza had been deliberately tight lipped over why he wanted the day off work either side of the weekend because he was taking such a huge step in his own personal life and was nervous enough about it without having the world and his wife knowing all his business too and in all likelihood joking with him over it too. "No, it's much bigger than that."_

" _Oh?"_

" _Yep," he said with a smile, pleased for his friend as he desperately sought the same sort of relationship he had, "Patrice is moving in with him this weekend, that's why he's had the time off work so that he could help her move in and unpack."_

 _Sharon's smile beamed, absolutely thrilled by the news. "Really?"_

" _I know, the woman must be crazy right?" he joked. "I mean who in their right mind would voluntarily move in with that guy?"_

 _Sharon laughed at him while shaking her head. "Oh hush. I think they make a lovely couple. I'm really pleased for them."_

" _Yeah me too but Mike and I still have a bet on how long it'll take Patrice to empty his house and replace all of his old crap with something even approaching modern and tasteful." In truth he had been sworn to secrecy but Andy couldn't help but have a bet with Mike on the subject and as for Sharon, well he was already in the habit of telling her everything anyway so knew she could keep a secret._

" _It's not that bad is it?"_

" _Oh it is" Andy insisted. "Ask Rusty, he stayed there for a few days right? You walk in there and you can immediately tell that he's been divorced five times plus it has this smell. A smell that can only be described as hotdogs and despair. A little like that damn bucket hat" he joked, trying his hardest to keep her laughing as much as possible._

 _As if on cue Sharon laughed again. "Don't think I'm not going to tell him that on Tuesday" she warned him, her smile revealing that she was only teasing him._

" _I'll deny everything."_

" _We should propose another toast." Sharon raised her glass back into the air as she cleared her throat for a moment. "To Lieutenant Provenza and Patrice on their new living arrangements."_

 _Andy picked up his glass and chinked it against Sharon's. "To Provenza and Patrice" he toasted before they both took a sip of their drinks. Sharon immediately put her glass back on the table but Andy kept his in the air. He swallowed hard as he avoided looking at her for a moment causing Sharon to look at him quizzically. Finally he meet her curious eye once more. "Now that's we've cleared up my intentions for the evening I think we should try this again."_

 _She laughed nervously and nodded. "Okay."_

" _To us."_

 _Sharon smiled shyly and picked up her glass again. "To us" she repeated, chinking their glasses together again and finishing their toast with the smallest sip._

" _I er...never mind" Andy said, quickly changing his mind about what he was going to say._

" _Oh go on. What were you going to say?" Sharon encouraged._

" _I er...I dreamt about you last night?" he admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders._

 _Sharon blushed instantly. "Really?"_

" _Yeah. A pre-date dream."_

" _Did you tell me it was a date in your dream?" she teased once again._

 _He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah" he said as she laughed._

" _Was I protecting you from Sharon Stone?"_

" _You were actually."_

 _Sharon laughed, always amused when Andy confessed he'd spent much of the night running away from a beautiful woman who wanted to murder him. "Did I manage to save you?"_

" _Yes you did as a matter of fact but then suddenly she was gone and we were at the Dodgers" he explained as he looked confused at the randomness of his own mind. She laughed at him again. "Then I remember losing you in the crowd and by the time I found you you'd turned into Provenza but you were still you, you know what I mean?" Sharon nodded as she laughed, knowing exactly what he meant. "And you or rather he had a pumpkin stuck on his foot that wouldn't come off."_

" _And then what happened?"_

" _Then I woke up and reminded myself never to eat cheese that close to bed again." She chuckled to herself once more, shaking her head at the randomness that went on in his mind on a quite regular basis. "What do you think that means?"_

" _That we should arrange to go to see the Dodgers play soon since we missed out last week and that you don't want either pumpkin soup or pumpkin pie over Thanksgiving" she suggested._

 _Andy laughed and nodded. "You could be right. But as long as I get to eat the turkey I don't mind." Sharon laughed as she rolled her eyes, struggling to equate Andy the vegetarian and healthy eater and Andy the turkey fiend as the same person since they were quite clearly at odds with each other. "What?" he asked as she continued to laugh at him._

" _I just find it incredible that you of all people are that terrified of…well any woman actually but least of all a very leggy and attractive blonde."_

 _Andy smirked before he answered. "I've never much been into blondes. Give me a red head or a brunette any day of the week." He winked at her as he suddenly oozed with confidence and was pleased to see that she blushed in response, her cheeks seeming to colour even more than earlier now that she knew she was on a real date. "Besides in my dream she's terrifying. She reminds me a little of you ten years ago."_

 _They smiled at each other and the animosity that they shared not that long ago in complete contrast to how they now felt about each other. "Well if you treat her anything like how you used to treat me ten years ago then no wonder she wants to stab you" she told him, shooting him a little trademark Darth Raydor glare for good measure._

 _They both laughed. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for strong, confident, scary women." He winked at her again before they both smiled. He paused before he spoke again. "What about you? Any interesting dreams last night?"_

" _Not that I can think of no" she replied after a moment's thought. "I certainly didn't dream about you last night although things might have been different had I known that this really was a...that this really was a proper date."_

 _He smiled at her again for a moment, not completely buying Sharon's claim that she wasn't one hundred percent sure that it was a proper date. "You really didn't know this was a date?"_

" _I wasn't sure, let's put it like that" she clarified which was the truth. She hoped that it was a date but after he neglected to use the word, she really wasn't sure she hadn't made a grave error in judgement._

" _That erm...that beautiful dress suggests otherwise" he suggested, still having his breath stolen every now and then when she smiled at him, looking better than he thought he'd ever seen her. Sharon blushed once more. "I'm not so sure you heard it earlier because of the flames and the fish and the yelling but," he said as she laughed at him, "Sharon you look indescribable beautiful tonight. As always."_

 _She bit on her bottom lip for a moment as her heart seemed to race and the blood thundered past her ears, overwhelmed by his words. "Thank you. You don't scrub up too badly yourself" she told him, managing to avoid telling him that he looked panty wettingly, groin grindingly fab for fear it was_ far _too much too soon. "My wardrobe choice was dictated upon the possibility that I was right and this was a date."_

" _Oh I see" he nodded. "And if the thought had never crossed your mind?"_

" _I would have come in my bathrobe and slippers obviously like I usually do when we go out for something to eat together."_

 _Andy laughed. "You'd still have been the most beautiful woman here."_

 _She smiled at him shyly. "You're full of flattery tonight Lieutenant Flynn."_

" _I'm just telling it like I see it."_

" _Did no one ever tell you? Flattery will get you everywhere." They both laughed, it being the most forward thing she would say to him for quite some time until she felt they were ready to move their relationship forward. "I hoped it was a date. I hoped. I hoped." She laughed to herself nervously._

 _He smiled at her before he nodded in the direction of the band over his shoulder. "Will you dance with me later? I promise not to tread on your toes."_

 _She laughed and nodded. "I'd love to" she said. She paused for a moment, a far away look on her face as she smiled. "It's been a long time since we've danced together."_

" _It has."_

" _Nicole's wedding" she said, not that she needed to remind him, the way they moved about the dancefloor in front of dozens of people who loathed him to his very core, her hand on his lower back as she rested her head on his shoulder, was one of his favourite memories. Andy nodded. "Are you going to be as nervous with me this time as you were then?" she asked. At the time he was nervous and awkward for a couple of reasons. Firstly because the looks of disgust he was given throughout the wedding and the following reception made him want to hide away at the back of the room but secondly because he was with Sharon. It was the first time they'd been anywhere that wasn't to do with work and although Sharon made it more than abundantly clear that it wasn't a date and she was a married woman, he still found himself nervous and unsure of where to put his hands on her when she dragged him to the dancefloor by his tie to force him to dance with her._

" _Oh even more so since that wasn't even a date."_

" _But there are still people in this room that look like they want to hurt you" she joked with a nod towards the maître d' who kept a watchful eye on their table from his position by the kitchen in case Andy decided to set fire to the tablecloth or the curtains._

 _They both laughed as they glanced over at the man in question scowling at them. "But not as many thankfully" he said, pretending to wipe sweat from his brow out of relief. He paused for a moment as he smiled. "Are you going to drag me to the dancefloor by my tie again?"_

" _Wait I thought you were proposition me in this situation" she said, meaning it perfectly innocently as in he should be the one leading her to the dancefloor rather than the other way around despite how it actually sounded. The double meaning of her words hit her almost immediately as she blushed and he laughed, covering her face with her hand from embarrassment. "To dance. Propositioning me to dance" she clarified as he continued to laugh. "You know very well what I meant."_

 _He winked at her. "Luckily for you I do." They smiled at each other again, never breaking eye contact as their server arrived at their table with a basket of bread, their first date going much better than either had dared to hope._

 **Sunday 10** **th** **July 2016**

In contrast to a year ago when their drive to the restaurant was a torturous and quiet affair with the tension between them easily being cut with a knife, Andy pulled up his car to the long line at the valet stand with Sharon's hand firmly clutched in his as they waited and she laughed hysterically, tears threatening to fall from her eyes she was laughing so hard. "It was nothing but crying and screaming with mess coming out of both ends like a fountain" Andy explained as she continued to laugh at him.

"Who was exactly? The baby or Lieutenant Provenza?"

Andy laughed and kissed the back of her hand. "Both usually but in this instance it was just the baby."

"How many babies have you delivered on the job?" she asked curiously. "You make it sound like a regular occurrence."

"That's how it seemed at the time" he said with a nod, feeling like at one point in the early part of his career he was delivering a baby nearly every other shift. "While I was on patrol I had three in the space of a week. But only one since with Provenza when we were stuck in traffic on the way to see the Lakers. Needless to say we missed the tip off and I never wore those shoes again" he said with a grimace. Sharon laughed. "Has it ever happened to you?" he asked.

"No," she said simply before adding, "well I nearly gave birth to Ricky in the car but that's a whole different story."

Andy looked at her surprised, never having been told what a close call she had when her second child was born. "What?" he asked, his jaw almost hanging open.

"What's that face for?" she asked as she ran her free hand down his cheek a couple of times, closing his mouth for good measure afterwards before he had chance to attract a fly. "I've told you this before surely."

"You told me you had to drive yourself to the hospital while in labour with Ricky because that asshole was passed out on the living room floor…"

"Actually it was by the front door," she corrected, not that it really mattered, "but carry on."

"Too bad your waters didn't break as you stepped over him" Andy muttered, not for the first time letting his feelings towards a certain Jack Raydor be known, thrilled that Jack's loss was most certainly his gain and yet he still felt very angry at the way he had treated her and their children before they separated for the final time. Sharon laughed at him, of the opinion that the past was firmly in the past the older she became. "But you never told me you came that close to giving birth to him in the car."

"Didn't I?" Sharon asked surprised since they'd had a couple of conversations over the last couple of years about the birth of their children so it could only come as a slight shock that she'd omitted that rather dramatic part of her story. Andy shook his head in response as he moved the car one step closer to the front of the valet line. "Oh yeah" she replied as if it was no big deal in the slightest. "I could hardly sit by the time I pulled up outside."

Andy grimaced at her before he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, feeling the need to comfort her about something that happened decades earlier. "Jeez you're even making my eyes water."

Sharon laughed at him especially since he had proven he could be a big baby when it came to pain, a side effect of not being able to take anything strong enough to relieve it because of his history with addiction in her opinion. "Yeah well try crowning when you're stuck at a red light at an intersection" she said, once again giving the impression that it was no big deal. "I bit down so hard on my steering wheel to stop myself from screaming and upsetting Emily in the back seat that I swear I left teeth marks that were still visible when I sold it" she added with a slight roll of her eyes. "I take it you were there to drive Sandra to the hospital both times?" she asked, having heard from Sandra herself on Christmas Day just what a nightmare Andy and his sense of humour were in the delivery room.

"The first time I was" Andy confirmed without going into too much detail, knowing that if he did it would only result in yet another a roll of the eyes and probably a smack around the shoulder headed in his direction. Due to reasons that he couldn't quite understand himself he tried to ease Sandra's labour throughout with humour, something she really wasn't in the mood for since her nether regions were starting to stretch beyond all recognition. She punched him hard enough to give him a black eye in the delivery room but before that she bit his hand at an intersection when he started stroking her hair like a dog and told her that it wasn't yet time for her to 'open wide.'

Andy looked at her from the corner of his eye before continuing, letting her know instantly that there was a story there somewhere, a story she would get directly from the horse's mouth the next time she saw Andy's ex-wife, probably at Christmas time. "The second time I was at work and got to the hospital just in time to see him born and coincidentally just in time for Sandra to punch me in the face yet again and tell me that we were never having sex ever again which in truth wasn't that far off the mark" he said, for once not joking since the cracks in their relationship were already starting to appear long before Daniel was even conceived.

"That poor woman."

"That poor woman?" Andy scoffed, his voice taking on a very high pitch. "The first time she gave me a black eye and the second time she damn near broke my nose she hit me that hard" he grumbled.

"While trying to deliver the baby you'd put in her" Sharon pointed out, not for the first time being completely on Sandra's side as far as that sort of thing was concerned.

Andy nodded, knowing he wasn't going to get any sympathy from Sharon where the birth of his children was concerned. "Yeah okay" he grumbled as she laughed at him. "How did we get onto this subject anyway?" he asked.

"Oh how do we ever get onto any subject?" she laughed, conversation always incredibly free flowing between the pair of them, covering anything and everything.

Andy turned his head to look at her, the valet line currently not moving. "I have had some of the most bizarre conversations of my life in the last twelve months with you Raydor" he said with a smile, clearly pleased about it.

"Me too" she replied with a matching smile. "Here's to twelve more months just like them." She quickly unbuckled her seat belt to be able to lean towards him and kiss him on the lips, only breaking apart when the valet line cleared before them.

Andy stopped his car at the front of the line and instantly had his door opened for him by the valet. He took the ticket being held out for him and put it in his coat pocket before he climbed out. "Thank you." As the valet waited by Andy's door he bolted around the other side of the car to grab hold of Sharon's door just as she was opening it. He held out his hand for her to take to help her out of the car.

"Thank you" she said as she gladly took his hand and stood, immediately kissing him on the lips when she was on her feet and face to face with him.

"You didn't do that a year ago" he grinned as he closed the car door behind her.

Sharon moved in close to his ear to ensure that only he could hear what she was about to say. "You'll find that as the evening goes by I'm going to do an awful lot of things tonight that I didn't do a year ago" she informed him before kissing him on the lips again.

Andy stood with his mouth open for a second, desperately trying to stop all of the blood in his body from heading towards his crotch. "On second thoughts I'm not really that hungry after all" he joked before pretending he was heading back to the car. Sharon laughed at him as she tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the restaurant. As they strolled hand in hand the few short steps to the door, Andy brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You look so beautiful tonight" he told her lovingly.

Sharon smiled at him, still blushing at his words like she did twelve months earlier when he told her something similar but not nearly as much. "Thank you and may I add well done for managing to say it without setting fire to anything this time" she teased. "Is that why you've said it outside?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he replied with a roll of his eyes as she laughed, silencing her with a brief and chaste coming together of their lips. "How many times are you going to mention that tonight?" he asked.

"It's hard to say" she said with a twinkle in her eyes as they stepped inside. "At least another dozen times as a conservative estimate and that's only if you're lucky." She smiled at him, loving to tease him as much as possible. He shook his head in response, kissing her hand again as they approached the desk and an extremely cheery looking woman standing behind it.

"Good evening. Welcome to Giovani's. Do you have a reservation?" she asked, continuing to smile in a way that they both knew had the tendency to upset Provenza and make him angry.

"We do indeed. Flynn, party of two" Andy replied.

The maître d' nodded and looked at the computer screen in front of her, her eyes quickly landing on their reservation. "Okay" she said simply as she picked up two menus from the stack next to the computer monitor. "Mr and Mrs Flynn if you'd like to follow me" she said as she slowly set off through the restaurant.

Sharon and Andy turned to smile at each other, both amused by the assumption that had been made about them. "After you Mrs Flynn" Andy said as he winked and gestured for her to lead the way. Sharon laughed as she tightened her grip on his hand and set off, pulling him with her. As they walked through the tables she smiled almost quizzically to herself. "What?" he asked, eager to know what was going through her mind to make her smile like that, like she was about to burst out laughing at any moment.

"Nothing. I'm trying just to work out if I should be offended or not."

"By what?" he queried.

"By the insinuation that I could be your wife" she joked. As they arrived at their table Andy tried his hardest to appear offended by her words, his mouth wide open. Sharon laughed at him and kissed his cheek before sitting down in the chair the maître d' was holding out for her before she handed her a menu. "Thank you."

Sharon took a moment to look around and take in her surroundings. She was honestly a little surprised to learn that there was an Italian restaurant in the city that she had never been to with Andy since he was so proud of his Italian heritage (like his Irish side) and they both enjoyed the cuisine so much. The inside of the restaurant was beautiful given that the outside made it look like an illegal card game was probably taking place inside when the building wasn't being used as an industrial dry cleaners. Their table was in the centre of the restaurant with every one on the rather small side just like at Serve, giving it a very intimate vibe. There were candles on every table which Sharon spotted immediately upon stepping foot inside, especially given what happened a year earlier and keen to avoid a repeat performance almost as much as he was. The décor was minimalist, the kind of place where they wanted their customers focused on the food and their dining companions rather than pictures on the wall or elaborate chandeliers. Again like Serve a year earlier there was a band and small dancefloor across the room, with Sharon again realising that Andy had probably picked it because of its similarities to where they had dined on their first date.

Andy sat down opposite her, their knees just about touching under the table as he took his menu. "Thank you."

"Your server will be with you shortly to take your order and answer any questions you may have. Have a lovely evening" the maître d' added before setting back off to her desk.

"Oh before you go," Sharon said, stopping the maître d' dead in her tracks, "can I just double check, are these menus fire resistant?" she asked as she tried her hardest not to laugh.

The maître d' looked between the pair of them absolutely baffled while Andy scowled at his date. "Ignore her. She thinks she's funny" Andy said, never taking his eyes off Sharon.

"That's because I am" she grinned.

The maître d' nodded and smiled, not really having the faintest idea what was going on and not feeling the need to enquire further. "Enjoy your meal" she said simply before scurrying away before any more random and confusing questions could be sent her way.

Almost simultaneously they opened their menus and started to scan the list of entrees while Sharon continued to laugh to herself. "You're not funny" Andy told her, avoiding her eye as he battled to avoid showing that he found it equally as amusing.

"Oh I think I am." Sharon looked up suddenly, lowered her menu and blew out the candle between them on the table. "Just to be on the safe side" she said with a wink before she laughed again and returned to looking at her menu.

Andy laughed silently to himself and shook his head. After a moment longer he dropped his menu to the table, carefully avoiding the smouldering candle in the unlikely event that he managed to do it two years running and then looked around him. "So what do you think?" he asked as he gestured to their surroundings.

Sharon smiled as she again looked around the room. "It's nice. Have you been here before?"

"A couple of times."

Sharon smiled at him. "Oh yes?" she asked suggestively.

"It's not like you think" he said, eager to clear up the misunderstanding quickly since he didn't want Sharon to think he had brought her to a place where he'd brought dozens of other women before her. "With Provenza. I've been here a couple of times with Provenza."

"Then it's exactly what I was thinking" she said as she laughed and making his shoulders relax, Sharon only teasing him. "How very romantic. Was it your anniversary then too?" she joked, laughing at herself once again. "These tables are awfully intimate for two friends just having a casual dinner."

"What do you want from me?" Andy shrugged. "We both like Italian food."

"Did you play footsie with each other?" she asked, unable to resist given that she assumed their knees would have touching while they ate just like theirs were now. Without waiting for an answer she pushed her chair back slightly to enable her to slide her foot up his leg before it came to rest it on his lap. He smiled and dropped his hands to it, rubbing her ankle, the perfectly innocent act hidden by the tablecloth.

"Oddly enough no" he replied with a very fake air of annoyance. He looked down at her foot in his lap. "Matching shoes. This must be a special occasion" he said with a wink.

Sharon dropped her foot to the floor again, rubbing it up against his ankle instead as she pulled her chair closer to the table. "How did you not notice?" she asked, still amazed by the whole thing. "Seriously. I was limping so badly I must have looked like I was born on the side of a hill."

"Me?" he said. "How did you not notice?"

Sharon shrugged. "I was nervous."

"And I was also nervous and...otherwise occupied" he said with a wink after a moment of thought, beyond distracted all evening by the way she looked in her dress to notice what she had on her feet. She laughed at him and shook her head. "Did you look at yourself in the mirror in that dress? No wonder I started a little fire."

"Little?" she asked as she laughed, the flames getting bigger every time she told someone about what he'd done. "Well I did buy it just on the off chance it was actually a date" she admitted, selecting it precisely because she knew he would like it.

Andy laughed. "Then thank you" he said enthusiastically. "It was and you were and are still are absolutely beautiful." He reached across the table and took her hand in his, pressing his lips to the back of it before dropping it back to the table, not letting go for a second. "I mean did you not feel the difference as we walked to the car even?" he questioned, still baffled that she could walk so far without noticing the difference in the height of the heel.

"No, not at all" she said honestly, still flummoxed herself. "I'll be honest it's not the first time I've done it. I dread to think how often it happened when I was pregnant with Ricky. Baby brain combined with not being able to see my feet was a dangerous combination where my shoes were concerned. Not to mention Emily was forever playing with them in my closet so they were never in a pair or where I left them." Andy laughed as she smiled at him, not wanting to take her eyes off him for more than a moment all evening. "I honestly thought you were just being a gentleman."

"I was, by keeping my hands in my pockets so I could keep them off you all evening."

Sharon smiled, biting on her lip for a moment before confessing something that she'd never told him before. She leaned forward slightly as her thumb moved back and forth across his hand. "If you hadn't I'm not entirely sure you would have been met with much resistance" she admitted.

Andy frowned at her, a little puzzled by what he was hearing. "What?"

"Do you remember what we spoke about in the car? In my parking garage before you walked me upstairs?" she asked, referring to the fairly lengthy conversation they had after he had driven her home following their first date.

Again Andy looked at her confused, remembering everything from that evening so vividly but at a loss to work out what she was referring to. "Sure" he nodded. "We spoke about a second date and then you asked if it would be okay if we took things very slowly and I," he paused and sighed before finishing with, "reluctantly agreed."

Sharon laughed, his reluctance at the time easily noted but making her fall for him all the quicker given that he so readily agreed to do something he clearly didn't want to do. "You did indeed and then you said something along the lines of if anyone in this world was worth waiting for it was me. Do you remember?" she asked.

"I do but as it turns out that was a huge understatement" he said as he rested his head on his free hand and gazed at her. "Now that I know how good my life is with you I would have waited until the end of time for just five minutes with you."

"Just five minutes?"

"But what a five minutes it would have been" he practically growled at her as her cheeks began to colour slightly. "But what does that have to do with me keeping my hands to myself?" he asked, failing to connect the dots in his mind.

"If you had tried to kiss me in that moment I wouldn't have stopped you" she admitted with a smile. "In all probability I would have dragged you into the back seat of that car and things would not have gone slowly at all." Andy's mouth immediately dropped open with genuine shock at what he was hearing as she just laughed, honestly having no idea that things could have gone very differently and a lot quicker had he not have been such a gentleman that evening. In truth however, he wouldn't sacrifice the relationship they now had for a quick fumble in a car twelve months earlier if he had the chance to do it all over again, loving the life that he had with her more than anything. "Your face!" Sharon said as she continued to laugh at him.

"And you're only telling me this now?"

"Well when would you have liked me to have told you?" she asked.

"A year ago tonight would have been nice."

Sharon laughed again, getting the reaction she was expecting from her surprise confession. "Yes it would have been in the short term but I have fears that we might not be sitting here right now celebrating a year together if we had" she said honestly, having thought about it several times over the course of the year.

"Do you really think so?" he asked, having wondered the same himself a couple of times.

"I don't know but at any rate I wouldn't have wanted to have taken that risk" she admitted, not wanting to ruin the relationship they had always driving her decision making in the first few months of their relationship. "The point is, as hard as it was and as frustrating as it was at the time taking our relationship so slowly in the beginning I'm glad things have worked out just the way they have."

"Me too" he nodded. He quickly let go of her hand to push his chair back slightly, taking to his feet and walking the two steps to his date, kissing her on the lips a couple of times. He sat back down again and took her hand in his once more with absolutely no intention of letting it go again until their food arrived.

"I take it you've never done that with Lieutenant Provenza when you've had a dinner date here?" she asked before she laughed, loving to tease him about his 'boyfriend.'

"Maybe once or twice but only because the Dodgers had won" he joked and making her laugh at him. "You do realise that you've got Patrice calling me Provenza's boyfriend now too don't you?" She laughed again, finding the whole thing beyond hysterical. "It's okay for you to laugh about it but I'm getting it in the neck from Provenza now."

"Another lover's quarrel?" she asked with a gasp. "Will you two ever learn to just get along? Have you considered couples counselling perhaps?" she teased before laughing at her own joke.

"I'll give you a lover's quarrel in a moment" he grumbled as she laughed again. "Couples counselling I ask you. What if I were to make the same jokes about you and Andrea? How would you feel about that?"

She smiled and shrugged. "Go right ahead. I don't mind."

He sighed with a little bit of frustration, knowing that he was defeated but deciding to accept it because if he got to tease her about his Super Sperm and a dozen other things then she could have that. "It's a good job I love you" he told her.

"Oh I know it is" she replied. He winked at her before she opened her menu and he followed suit, neither letting go of the other's hand for a second. "What's good here?" Sharon asked as she looked at the list of entrees.

"In my opinion everything except for the marinara sauce. It's awful in fact. Not a patch on Trattoria Spoleto."

"Then why haven't we gone there tonight instead of here?"

"After last time?" he asked with a certain amount of horror since the last time they ate there together literally the world and his wife walked in and interrupted their discussion. Sharon laughed and nodded at him. "Besides not wanting an audience tonight as I take every opportunity that's handed to me to spend time with you alone I thought this place was more romantic as I try my hardest to continue to woo you this evening" he confirmed with a wink.

She laughed at him and the notion that he still needed to woo her at that stage in their ever blossoming relationship. "Oh trust me Andy you've already wooed me and that is never going to change my beautiful boy."

"But that doesn't mean I'm ever going to stop trying" Andy replied simply. Sharon smiled at him as she started to blush, quickly turning her attention back to her menu, glancing at him from over the top of it. "That's a lovely colour on you. It suits you" he said as her cheeks coloured further.

"Look at your menu."

Andy laughed. "Yes ma'am."

Andy's eyes dropped to his menu as they both studied them in silence for a few moments until their server arrived, clearing his throat to get their attention. "Good evening. My name is William and I'll be your server this evening. Are you ready to order?"

Andy nodded at Sharon to let her know that he was ready. "I think so" she told the server as her eyes went back to scanning the menu in front of her.

"Okay what would you like?"

"I'm torn between the carbonara and salmon cannelloni" she said before she hummed as her finger went back and forth between the two options. "I'll go for the carbonara please" she said finally before handing him her menu.

"Good choice. Sir?"

Andy closed his menu before announcing "I'll have the salmon cannelloni." Sharon looked at him with surprise since he'd ordered her second choice. "What?" he asked her and her rather surprised gaze. "You're going to eat half of mine anyway so I might as well order something you want to eat right?" he reasoned with a smile.

The waiter laughed at him, having heard that before. "Very good. And to drink?"

"A bottle of Chardonnay for the lady and a cranberry and soda for myself please."

"Andy..." Sharon went to cut in, trying to stop him from ordering her alcohol.

Andy held his hand up to stop her from talking as he turned his attention to their server, gently squeezing her hand in his as he spoke. "She's going to try to cancel the wine and order something dull and non-alcoholic but we're celebrating tonight so you should just go right ahead and ignore her" he instructed him.

"Yes Sir. I'll put that right in for you." The server picked up Andy's menu from the table and headed off to put their order in, leaving them alone.

Sharon sighed. "Andy I've told you before..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know" he said cutting her off since they'd had that very conversation many times before even when they were still just friends. "You don't need a glass of wine when we go out to dinner but look at it from my point of view. From past experience I know that the drunker I get you the more likely you are to put out later" he joked as he winked at her.

Sharon laughed. "Oh I see. Well in that case you've made a very wise decision because you were getting nothing without a little booze first" she teased and clearly lying.

"Really?" he asked a little uncertain for a fraction of a second.

Sharon just winked at him in response as she smiled, making him laugh. A comfortable silence fell between them for a moment as Sharon played with their joined fingers on the table. "Have you thought about your irrational demand yet?" she asked finally, very conscious of the fact that she had used hers one year ago to the day but Andy was still keeping his in reserve.

"I have indeed" he nodded.

"And?" she asked, still fearing that he was going to demand something she wasn't so keen on but would have to do it regardless, like forcing her to admit that she'd been ogling him since the first day she first met him nearly twenty five years earlier, something she was not keen on admitting to him because it would only make him gloat even more than he did already.

"I haven't fully decided yet. I'm edging more towards something truly big indeed to make it worthwhile since I only get one."

"Like what?"

"Like you'll just have to wait and see and then you're going to do it without argument just like I did Raydor" he told her with a smug smile.

Sharon laughed and nodded, acknowledging that she had no option to argue with him once he had decided what he was going to use it on. "Okay but just to be clear you're _not_ using it to find out where my college nickname came from" she told him like a warning.

"Oh I know that."

"Finally given up asking me?" she asked more in hope than expectation.

"Nope" Andy shrugged. "I figure I'm a Detective so I _will_ find that out eventually without using up my irrational demand. Besides what I have in mind is so much bigger than that."

"Why do I suddenly feel frightened?"

"Because suddenly and for the first time I have all the power in this relationship and its glorious" he cried, raising his fist into the air in celebration.

Sharon laughed at him. "You have all the power?"

"In this regard yes. You may be the boss at work and ninety nine percent of the time at home as well," he said, pausing when Sharon started to laugh at him, "but my unused irrational demand will push everything back in my favour eventually, and probably when you least expect it. I might use it to get you to retire with me or maybe even to marry me," he said, pausing again when he saw her blushing at his words, "or to get you to stop calling Provenza my boyfriend." Sharon laughed again. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Ooh the anticipation is going to kill me."

He winked before he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I just like to keep you on your toes" he told her, winking again.

"Still I liked what I used mine for, it helped to lead us to where we are right now" she said, with Andy insisting that her asking to take their relationship slowly in the beginning was her sole irrational demand for their whole relationship.

"That makes two of us."

The server arrived seconds later with their drinks. "Okay we have one bottle of Chardonnay and a cranberry and soda." He put the cranberry and soda in front of Andy before putting an ice bucket next to the table. He poured Sharon a quarter of a glass and waited for her to sip it and nod with pleasure before he filled her glass up and put the bottle in the bucket. "Enjoy" he said simply and moved to his next table.

Sharon sipped her wine again, humming as the flavour hit her taste buds. "Any good?" Andy asked as he nodded towards her wine, enjoying the rare occasions that he could get her to fully relax and have a drink around him when they went out to eat.

"Fabulous."

"Good" he replied, winking at her again. "I forgot to ask you the other day." Andy quickly wet his whistle on his drink before putting it back down on the table again. "How did it go with Cynthia on Friday?" he asked, eager to know if their combined efforts had been enough to convince DCFS to let Julio become a foster parent.

"Oh." Sharon sighed, letting Andy know all he needed to without adding to it. "It was hard to tell. She was so focused on what happened last week."

"Did you tell her about his nomination?"

Sharon nodded. "Eventually for all the good it did. I mean I can understand that from her position she has to put the welfare of the child first but surely Julio is better than no foster parent at all" she reasoned.

"She's worried about putting a kid with him if he then immediately goes out and does something stupid at work I guess."

"I know but surely having a child at home who depends on him will alter his behaviour at work and stop him from doing things like that again. Having children changes you doesn't it?" she asked, seeking Andy's perspective since he was once in the same boat. "Did you find yourself acting differently at work knowing you suddenly had Nicole and Daniel depending on you at home?"

"Well it depended on what was actually going on at the time" he replied, getting a slightly quizzical expression in return. "When I had chance to think about a situation first, I mean really think about it then of course it had an effect on my decision making. Having a wife and kids at home that were counting on me to make to home at the end of every day did make me stop and think before I put myself directly in harm's way but it doesn't always happen like that, you know that as well as I do. Most of the time you don't have time to think on the job and you just react on instinct to what's happening around you and then you find yourself doing things that put you in the firing line and you wonder how the hell you ended up there to begin with. It's basically what he did the other day with Provenza. He just reacted. I don't supposed he thought about what he'd done until it was all over." Sharon hummed in reply, understanding what he was saying to her although she'd never really been in that situation herself in a very long time. "What about you? Did you make any changes after Emily was born?"

"Instantly and without a second thought" Sharon said quickly, it mirroring how fast she made the original decision. "I rode my desk the moment I returned to work after having Emily. At the back of my mind I still hoped to go to law school at that point but I realised that I could no longer put myself in danger like that, not when I had Emily at home and with Jack already becoming more unreliable by the day, she couldn't lose both of us." She sighed to herself, not for the first time wondering what her life could have been like had Jack even been ten percent more reliable than he was. "What did you say to Cynthia when she spoke to you?"

"I told her the truth. That Julio's actions had context because of the case and I would probably have done the same thing in his shoes."

"And that's the truth?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled at her. "Well maybe not but I was trying to help the guy out a little" he shrugged, saying whatever he thought may help Julio the most. "But you're right. Family really does change things and now I have you and I have Rusty so I don't intend on doing anything stupid that takes me away from either of you" he promised.

She smiled, Andy's words being music to her ears. "So no more jumping on moving vehicles like James Bond?" she asked.

"Definitely not. I promise."

"I'm very glad to hear it." They smiled at each other for a moment before a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "I have to admit I was glad and more than a little intrigued to see you slightly nervous and sweaty on Friday morning when Julio announced we were getting a visitor from DCFS." She smiled into her drink for a moment as she sipped on it, still more than amused by how anxious Andy was as they awaited Julio's visitor. "Worried that it was going to be your little friend were you?" she teased, knowing that he had dated someone from DCFS before they became friends.

"I've told you before, I no longer have a little friend at DCFS."

"And yet those beads of sweat that covered your forehead until Cynthia walked into the room told another story entirely" she teased again.

"There was something wrong with the air conditioning around my desk the other morning" he insisted and quite clearly lying through his teeth.

"Yeah right" Sharon replied before they both laughed.

"You really enjoy torturing me don't you?"

"More than anything" she grinned.

In truth Andy had been more than a little worried as they awaited their visitor to interview everyone in the division about Julio and his suitability to become a foster parent. His 'little friend from DCFS' as Sharon liked to call her in order to torture him was actually the last woman he dated before Sharon and he really didn't treat her that well at all. In fact he had treated her appallingly once he'd got all the information he needed from her about Daniel Dunn. As a result he was worried, fearing that she might see him and Sharon together (word had spread about their relationship like wildfire as soon as Chief Taylor found out about it) and it would be like waving a red rag in front of a bull resulting in her spilling some bile that would only cause damage to the way Sharon thought of him and he really didn't want that, least of all as they were preparing to celebrate their first anniversary together (the first of what they both hoped would be many). He desperately wished he could go back in time and change what he'd done, still feeling guilty about it but then again he felt that way about a lot of his life.

"It's perhaps the wrong word to use under the circumstances but I had fun the other day" Sharon said to him in between sips of her wine.

"Doing what?"

"Being out in the field with you. I liked it. I liked it a lot" she told him.

Andy smiled, enjoying hearing it. "Did you?"

"Yes, I did. It made a nice change even though the moment it looked like anything even remotely serious was about to happen you stood in front of me like a human shield" she said, not really grumbling about it but still feeling like he was perhaps thinking as her boyfriend in that moment rather than as her Lieutenant when they heard the elevator arrive and he stood in front of her behind the wall. "My brave protector."

"Of course I did" Andy shrugged, thinking his actions were perfectly reasonable under the circumstances. "What else did you expect me to do?" Sharon didn't reply, just simply rolled her eyes at him, appreciating the thought but she didn't need him to protect her out in the field, being more than capable of taking care of herself. "Don't look at me like that Raydor. It had nothing to do with us being together and everything to do with it being a potentially incredibly dangerous situation," he said as he grabbed both of her hands in his and squeezed them before continuing, "and in those situations it's common place for our Commanding Officer, regardless of who they're dating to be out of the line of fire while the minions of the division like me and Mike take control" he reminded her since Sharon was still fairly new to going out in the field with her division even though she'd been in the job for over four years, unlike Chief Johnson who always wanted to lead the charge and frequently did. "It had nothing whatsoever to do with us. I would have done it with anyone that outranked me and apart from anything else I have more experience in those sort of situations than you do even though you could probably out shoot me with a beanbag gun at over a hundred yards."

"Probably?" she asked.

"Okay you definitely would," he relented as she laughed, "and with every other weapon at your disposal too."

She smiled at him. "Oh?"

"Yes, watching you fire anything makes me so hot and bothered and beyond distracted that I can't see straight let alone shoot straight" he told her, trying to cross his eyes to make a point as well as to amuse her.

"I've noticed" she nodded as she laughed.

He smiled, determined to get her to see that he was acting purely as her Lieutenant rather than a blurring of the lines. "I promise Captain, it had nothing to do with us at all. I was just doing my job like I'd done hundreds of times before" he told her honestly, never being able to completely switch off that he was in the field with the love of his life but at the same time doing his job and making sure he put his body between his Commanding Officer and danger at all times because that's what was expected of him.

"Okay but actually I was thinking of it more along the lines of you doing it because I'm a woman rather than your girlfriend" she clarified with both thoughts crossing her mind over the last couple of days.

"Not true. Not true at all" Andy insisted with that thought never entering his mind. "I'd do the same with Chief Taylor or the Pope if they were there instead because it's my job to go first so put that in your pipe and smoke it" he told her bluntly before they both laughed, the debate over with neither side really able to claim victory. He leant forward and kissed her hand again. "I liked you being with me too. It was nice. It was the highlight of what's been a tough old week. Raked up some old wounds" he said, alluding to how Jack's name had managed to work its way into their investigation once again. "How are you feeling?" Sharon gave him a rather weak smile and sighed, telling him all he needed to know. "That bad huh? Want to talk about it?"

"Not tonight. Not when we're celebrating us. I don't want to think about him at all." Once more he squeezed her hand, a small signal that he was there for her and always would be as she sighed again. "Even when he's not sitting opposite me with a client he still has the habit of popping up in an Interview Room at the most inopportune moments."

"Sadly it's always going to happen I'm afraid."

"I know. I just wish it didn't happen with such alarming frequency."

"They seemed like the kind of people he would be mixed up with."

"And I bet they've got far more money out of him than I did for Emily and Ricky over the years." She sighed again as she battled to shake off the feeling of melancholy that was trying it's hardest to settle over her and ruin her mood. "Do you mind if we change the subject?"

"Sure. Has Rusty spoken to his Mom lately?"

Sharon sighed again. "Do you mind if we change the subject?"

Andy laughed and nodded. "Absolutely." He quickly brought his free hand to his mouth and coughed to clear his throat, letting Sharon know what was about to happen or at least what she thought was about to happen.

"Oh God!" she cried but in a way that let him know she was only playing with him. "Please tell me you're not going to sing in here, where there are people, people with ears" she teased as she looked around at the room full of people. "Please don't get us banned from another restaurant."

Andy laughed. "No I'm not as a matter of fact wise ass" he told her with a frown as she laughed back at him. "Sharon..."

"Andy."

He smiled at her, trying his hardest to remember the words to the makeshift 'poem' he'd found online to memorise before he started. "There is a long way that we still have to go but I want to take it real sweet and _slow._ " She laughed as she blushed wildly at him and his well-rehearsed words. "Savour each and every moment I spend with you, hoping that you cherish such lovely memories too. Let's bask in the joy of counting away the blessings that life gives us every day" he finished with a flourish. "Happy anniversary sweetheart" he said, winking at her before kissing her hand once again.

"You've been practicing that haven't you?"

"How did you guess?" he asked as he laughed.

"It was beautiful. Thank you." He winked at her once again as she ran her fingers across his knuckles, sighing to herself with complete and utter contentment. "There were many many things I expected when I first entered into a relationship with you Andy Flynn but I honestly never expected to be as constantly surprised as I am."

"In a good way?" he asked cautiously.

She laughed and nodded. "Yes in a good way. A very good way."

"Well it's all part of my mission to keep you on your toes Raydor, to keep the mystery going, repairing the damage after you threw up in front of me" he joked as she hid her face behind her hand from embarrassment.

"I thought we were forgetting all about that."

"Hey if you can't throw up in front of me then who can you?"

"Now there's romance" she noted before laughing.

"The kind of romance that only comes when you reach a certain age."

"Well now you're just making me feel old."

Andy laughed. "That's not my intention I assure you but I couldn't be more pleased to be older, have all of my past experiences to know a good thing when I have it and to not have all of that teenage angst to go with it."

"I know" she smiled. "Things are much less complicated these days."

"And better in every way imaginable" he told her. She smiled at him before he raised himself up slightly, leaning forward to kiss her on the lips from across the table. "I have something for you" he said when he sat back down again.

Sharon frowned at him. "Andy I told you not to buy me anything."

"I know but I decided to ignore you and get you something anyway." Andy reached into his inside jacket pocket and very carefully produced a very small, very delicate origami angel that he had clearly taken the time to fold himself. It was no bigger than his ring finger, its edges slightly raged from its time spent in his pocket and came complete with crooked and misshapen wings with its hands clamped together in front of its chest as if in prayer. He placed it on the table in front of Sharon as she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "For you my dear."

Sharon slowly and carefully picked it up, fearing it may crumble under her touch. "Oh my God. Andy" she said quietly as she started to examine it closely.

"I hope you like it" he said as Sharon continued to examine every square inch of its tiny and delicate form. "There are about forty seven of its ugly and slightly deformed brothers and sisters covered in blood at my house if you want them too."

"You made this?" Sharon asked, the delight clearly audible in her voice as she looked up from it for the first time, locking eyes with the love of her life. Andy held up his hands for her to see, revealing that he had dozens of tiny papercuts on his fingers that she hadn't noticed earlier. "Aiming for death by a thousand cuts huh?" she asked as she laughed.

Andy nodded. "Partly but in the main I just wanted to see you smile." Giving him exactly what he wanted she couldn't help but smile at him, it spreading from ear to ear. "But I may need my fingers kissing better later."

She laughed again. "I'll definitely pencil it in." She turned her attention back to the angel in her hands, gazing at it in awe not only because it was truly beautiful and unique but also because Andy had taken the time and effort to make it for her himself.

"So do you like it?"

"I do. Andy I love it. She's so beautiful."

"How do you know it's a she?" he questioned. "Have you looked up her dress?" Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "You really like it?"

"Yes." Sharon raised herself out of her seat slightly before she leaned across their intimate table and kissed him on the lips. "I do. So much. Thank you" she told him before she kissed him again and then settled back into her seat.

"You're welcome sweetheart." He paused for a moment as Sharon continued to gaze at the angel in her hands before she finally placed it on the table between them. "Next year is cotton" he told her, already planning ahead. "It's a good job I'm good at sowing." Sharon laughed. "I'm just hoping you marry me before we get to year five and we reset back to paper to give me some extra time before I have to start whittling one out of a tree branch for wood or something."

Sharon laughed and nodded, trying her hardest not to blush since he'd brought up the 'M' word once again even though she knew it was only in jest. "Oh so that's the reason why you hope I'll marry you one day" she said a little quietly and more than a touch shyly.

He smiled at her. "Yes, one of the reasons."

She reached across the table and took hold of his tie, pulling him towards her before their lips met in the middle. "Thank you" she told him, her fingers stroking her angel again.

"What about me? What did you get me?"

"We agreed on no presents."

"So I get nothing?" he asked, acting like he was disappointed when he really wasn't expecting anything in the first place.

"Actually I do have something for you."

Andy sat up expectantly. "What is it?"

"Something made of silk and lace" Sharon told him with a rather sultry smile.

"Where is it?"

"Underneath this dress and the rest you'll just have to wait and discover for yourself later" she told him with a wink that had his jaw dropping open almost comically.

Andy reached across the table and took both of her hands in his as he lowered his head until it came to rest of his place setting as he groaned in a mixture of pleasure and pure agony at having to wait until he got to unwrap his 'gift.' Sharon laughed and kissed the top of his head. "You're killing me, you know that?" he told her as he looked up to meet her eye. "Killing me!"

"You once told me that there were worse ways to go" she teased, her foot continuing to move up and down his calf under the table.

"Oh there are, believe me there are" he nodded before raising his hand into the air. "Cheque please!" he said quietly since he was only joking. Sharon laughed as he sat up straight again but didn't let go of her hand for a second. "So."

"So."

"A whole year."

"Indeed" Sharon replied as she smiled at him. "Should we be sitting out on the patio for safety's sake? Are you going to set fire to anything to celebrate?"

"If you're lucky you'll find out later Raydor" he told her with a wink and making her laugh.

"I look forward to it." She sipped on her wine for a moment before looking him square in the eyes and asked "So how do you think we've done?"

"Well that's a loaded question if ever I've heard one" he replied, looking like he was really terrified by it all. "I feel a little hot under the collar like I'm about to get a report card at school or some sort of annual review."

"Oh really? That's funny because that's exactly what's happening right now" she joked as she laughed. "Time for our annual review and for both of us to get any possible grievances off our chests and point out where there's room for...improvement shall we say" she suggested.

"You have grievances?" Andy asked, suddenly sounding genuinely concerned.

"No but it's always good to keep you on your toes too" she told him before they both laughed. "If I'm perfectly honest with you I could do with not having to go to the hospital this year, that you could do for me" she added.

"Oddly enough I could do without that too. I don't exactly enjoy being cathed you know" he reminded her as she laughed. "Okay. Done! No hospital. Anything else?"

"You could stop making fun of Rusty's hair."

"Ah I would but that has nothing to do with our relationship so I'm sorry but I can't" he replied simply as if his hands were tied and he had no choice in the matter whatsoever.

"True but you could still do it for me so that I no longer have to listen to him complaining about it all the time."

Andy laughed. "I will as soon as he stops making fun of my hair."

"I'll see if I can arrange a deal."

"Well if anyone could it's you" he nodded and making her laugh.

"What about you? Any grievances you'd like to share with me?" she asked.

Andy looked at his watch and frowned. "How much time do we have?" he asked and as anticipated received a playful slap around his arm in retaliation. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Although you could always stop hitting me" he told her as he rubbed his arm, making out as if she had genuinely hurt him.

"Then stop being so annoying" she told him simply.

He laughed and nodded. "I'll try my best."

"So come on then" she said, trying to encourage him. "You must have something."

"Nope."

"No?" she asked with more than a touch of surprise, thinking that she must have done at least one thing over the last twelve months that had driven him to utter despair.

"No. I have no grievances, no room for improvement, no nothing" he stated categorically. "I couldn't be happier. My life is currently perfect and will only be improved by finally finding a house for us to move into together." He kissed her hand again before they smiled at each other, Sharon utterly delighted by his words. "How about you?"

Sharon smiled as she thought for a moment, finally meeting his eye when she had found the words she wanted to use to fully express how she felt about him and the life they were building together. "Cards on the table, Andy I have never been happier in my life than I am right now" she told him sincerely as her voice started to break slightly, the emotion of the moment all consuming. "I have never laughed as much as I have in the last twelve months and I have never felt as loved in my life as I am when I'm with you."

"Well that makes two of us" he replied, kissing her hand once again. "Sharon these have been the greatest twelve months of my life." He picked up his glass and raised it into the air. "Here's to twelve more months just like them."

"And many many more" Sharon added as she picked up her glass of wine.

"Right and many, many, many more."

"But without the hospital" Sharon reminded him.

"Right. Definitely. Without the hospital and absolutely without being cathed." Sharon laughed and nodded, like Andy thought she had insisted it happen to him while he was unconscious. "Cheers."

"Cheers" Sharon replied, clinking their glasses together before they took a quick sip.

"Happy anniversary sweetheart."

"Happy anniversary my beautiful boy." They clinked their glasses together again before they both leant forward, their lips meeting in the middle of the table. "I love you Andy."

"Good. I love you too" he replied as their lips met again.

"Did you think we'd get to a year?" she asked after a moment.

"Yes" Andy stated flatly, the tone of his voice revealing that he really was that certain about their relationship from the very beginning. "I had no doubts whatsoever twelve months ago when I eventually clarified that we were in fact on a date," he continued as she laughed at him and nodded, "rather than just having dinner with a friend and you didn't run from the table screaming with your arms flailing that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you, whether you liked it or not."

Sharon laughed again. "Really?"

"Yes really. I would have locked you in the basement of my house if necessary" he joked and made her laugh again. "What about you?"

"Well I think Rusty may have noticed around Christmas time if I'd been keeping you chained up in my storage space against your will as some sort of sex slave."

Andy laughed. "I didn't mean that. I meant did you think we'd get to a year?"

Sharon smiled. "Well as you know I'm a slightly more cautious person than you are."

"Are you? Really? I hadn't noticed" he replied with great exaggeration.

Sharon glared at him, giving him a quick smack on his arm as he laughed. "So being cautious like I am I wanted to know how we would get on working side by side while dating first before declaring one way or another" she told him, not that it was really a surprise. "I knew instantly that our relationship would work, that we would work as a couple because as Rusty and Nicole had pointed out we were already in one but just not having sex..."

"Like a married couple."

Sharon laughed. "Right so as long as we could continue to work together while we dated without our change in circumstances getting in the way then I knew we'd make it" she told him, insisting that they take everything so slowly precisely because she so desperately wanted their relationship to work more than anything.

"We were both more optimistic than Provenza then" he replied, making her laugh once again. "If he told me once that I was going to ruin the balance of the whole division by asking you out on a date he told me a thousand times."

"I think we've done rather well over the last year keeping us away from work," Sharon stated, rather pleased with herself before she added, "when you're not getting injured on the job or finding bodies in houses you're looking to buy for us obviously." They both laughed, both feeling that those were the exceptions that proved the rule. "I think we've done very well" she smiled, they lips coming together across the table again.

"Me too," he replied before adding, "Captain" with a wink.

"Captain," Sharon said with a rather dramatic roll of her eyes, "which you only managed to continue calling me for about a week" she chastised.

"Don't give me all the blame. You were just as bad!" Andy fired back as he laughed, both of them as bad as each other when it came to keeping everything completely professional at work until they'd had chance to inform Chief Taylor about their change in circumstances. "You called me 'Lieutenant' for less than two days before you were back to calling me Andy again" he reminded her.

"That's not the point."

Andy laughed at her and the double standards he often felt that she had. "Do as I say not what I do huh?" he teased.

"Exactly" she replied, dignity personified before they both laughed. "And to be fair it wasn't completely out of place for me to call you anything other than 'Lieutenant' unlike you" she told him as he laughed again, thinking they'd both failed but he had failed more obviously than she had in her opinion. "But I still can't believe we didn't make it until we told Chief Taylor" she said, feeling slightly embarrassed about the whole thing.

"We tried at least and it wasn't our fault that work and his conference schedule got in the way. Anyway it was worth it just to see Provenza's face. The way he looked at us every time we addressed each other during those first few days." They both laughed, remembering vividly the way Provenza looked beyond surprised when he heard them addressing each other so formally all of a sudden when he was expecting the exact opposite following their first date. "I thought his head might actually explode."

"Did he ask you how our first date went?"

Andy nodded and sipped on his drink before responding. "Eventually. He said he'd been forced into asking Rusty how it had gone since I hadn't told him and because we'd suddenly gone back to calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant' but Rusty wouldn't tell him."

"Well to be fair Rusty didn't know how it had gone either" Sharon shrugged and letting him know that Rusty hadn't just been deliberately obstructive because he wasn't at all happy about their relationship but rather he genuinely didn't know how it had gone.

Andy looked at her surprised. "You didn't tell him what happened when you got home?" he asked, assuming that it was the sort of thing she may have told him instantly given how quickly the young man had become hostile towards him at the start of their relationship.

Sharon smiled. "No I didn't and he didn't ask other than to see if it was a real date or not when I arrived home" she explained. "I assume because Lieutenant Provenza told him how we'd been addressing each other at work he was under the impression that it had gone badly until I corrected him and eventually told him otherwise...and then I may have slightly traumatised him."

"Traumatised him how?" Andy asked confused.

"Instead of just telling him that things were going well and we were dating rather than just continuing to go out as friends, I decided to be much more direct about it and informed him we needed to get a plan in place," she paused, knowing she was about to drop somewhat of a bombshell given how long it had actually taken for them to finally sleep together, "for," she paused again, "overnight guests in the condo."

Andy's jaw dropped open, almost hitting the table. "What?" he cried. "When was this?"

Sharon smirked, more than aware that Andy was going to be a little pissed that she prepared Rusty for him staying overnight in the condo a good six months before she actually invited him to do just that. "About a week after we started dating" she admitted and then cringed as she awaited his inevitably over the top reaction.

"What?!"

Sharon laughed, getting the exact reaction she was expecting which was one of the reasons why she simply hadn't told him about it sooner. "To begin with he thought I was talking about him and his friend TJ when I mentioned guests staying overnight until I corrected him and told him that you might be staying the night every now and then in the future" she informed him gleefully before sipping on her wine.

"Sure but not until six months later" Andy cried with exasperation.

"Well I didn't know it was going to take us that long to get to that stage at the time and I wanted to make sure I prepared him well in advance of you staying over."

Andy blinked at her with exaggeration a couple of times with his mouth open, looking a mixture of stunned and utterly gormless. "So let me get this straight, if I'd have made a move on you in the car after our first date you wouldn't have resisted, you would have..."

"Had you right then and there."

"Right and then you told Rusty that you wanted me desperately," he said, only pausing when Sharon started to laugh at his use of the word 'desperately,' "six months before you actually told me? Is that right? Or have I misunderstood the situation?"

"That's about the gist of it yes" she said with a smile. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well no but I wish you'd clued me in sooner."

Sharon laughed and nodded. "Me too" she confirmed as she leant across the table to kiss him on the lips. "Me too."

Andy smiled as his attention turned to Rusty being told that his Mother intended on bringing him home at night and inviting him into her bed. "And when you told Rusty that I might be staying over every now and then in the future how did that go over?"

"Erm...not well" she replied bluntly before they both laughed. "He was simply horrified at the thought of one morning walking out of his bedroom and finding you at the breakfast table in nothing but your bathrobe."

"And instead he found me in the middle of the night in the kitchen in my underwear icing a black eye" he reminded her as they laughed again. "So you really did know then that things were going to work out between us?"

"Well no not exactly" she corrected, more hopeful at the time that certain about it. "I hoped it would and I desperately wanted it to because aside from the fact that I realised sometime between the conversation we had in your car and saying goodnight at my door that I might have already been in love with you at that point, I wanted you more than I've ever wanted anyone before and I know I'm going to feel that way for the rest of my life" she told him, leaning forward to kiss him on the lips again.

"And yet you still managed to keep your grubby little hands off me for another six months?"

"Hey I didn't say it was easy" Sharon laughed, finding it just as hard as Andy did during the more chaste portions of their relationship which seemed to drag on forever. "Do you have any idea how much yoga I did in those six months?" she asked, chuckling away to herself as he did likewise. "More than what's natural I can tell you."

"Yoga?"

"Yes. Yoga and lots and lots of strawberries."

Andy smiled at her. "That sounds like the perfect afternoon with you if you ask me" he told her, both of them laughing as she nodded in agreement.

"As a result I can now bend my body in ways that weren't even possible thirty years ago let alone what should be possible for a woman of my age" Sharon claimed as she flexed her hip and winced a little bit as a result.

"Oh I know!" Andy replied enthusiastically and extremely gratefully. "Believe me I know!" he added as they both laughed. "If anyone knows what you can do with your body it's me so I suppose I should be grateful that your sex eyes were so so unbelievably bad."

Sharon frowned at him and not for the first time when he started to mock her apparently awful 'sex eyes.' "They're not that bad" she replied defensively.

"Admittedly they've improved a lot from when I first saw them" he confirmed, sex being the last thing on his mind when she first tried them on him, at the time more concerned that she had an eye infection or she was about to pass out. "You try them on me now and I know you're looking for me to put out instead of assuming you've had some really bad seafood and you desperately need to see an optometrist."

"You exaggerate."

"Oh I wish! You should show Provenza and get him to guess what's going on" he joked.

Sharon smacked his hand on the table before she linked their fingers together again. "I am never showing Lieutenant Provenza my sex eyes thank you very much" she stated without any wiggle room in her voice, making him laugh instantly. "Maybe you should just be less oblivious to these things."

"Hey at least I know now when you're trying to put a move on me" he replied, seeing that as more important than the signs he missed either side of his accident.

"Only because my hands grabbing your rear end have tipped you off" she said bluntly and making them both laugh. "Do you know what I think?" she asked as she took a sip of her wine and deliberately kept him waiting. "I think you knew all along" she grinned. "I think you knew what those eyes meant and what I was trying to do and you were just too nervous to do anything about it." She smiled at him smugly, satisfied that she thought she was right.

"That is completely untrue" Andy insisted. "Yes I was nervous that first time and about rushing you before you were ready but if you'd have given me any clear hint that you were ready believe me I would have taken it because being the ridiculously patient and incredibly well behaved boyfriend was hard on me too you know."

Sharon smiled at him. "And what did you do exactly?"

"I've always been of the opinion that you can't go wrong with a very cold shower and a few very deep breaths" he told her, making them both laugh. There was no denying that he was frustrated as he waited for a clear sign from Sharon that she was ready to move their relationship forward but at the same time he was so in love with her he was just grateful to be spending any time with her at all. "Thank God those days are behind us."

"Are they?" Sharon asked as Darth Raydor put in a very brief appearance as she glared at him for a moment with menace. "That all depends on if you continue to toe the line or not." They both laughed, unable to stop themselves in the circumstances. "And if you keep making fun of my sex eyes."

"Oh I would never again make fun of your sex eyes...not now that I know that's what they are at any rate." They laughed again before Andy asked "What did you do after our first date?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just as I ask. What did you do after I left? You didn't spend a couple of hours trawling the internet and looking for better options did you?" he asked since he opted not to come inside for a cup of coffee, feeling that if they were ever going to make a go of their 'go slow' relationship then he needed to leave, something Sharon, it now seemed, was also feeling at the time.

Sharon laughed. "No I didn't. As a matter of fact I went straight to bed."

Andy smiled. "Did you sleep?" he asked, not sleeping at all the night after their first date.

"Not a wink" she confirmed as they smiled at each other. "How about you?"

"I don't think I even managed to close my eyes at all the entire night. I was too busy smiling like a fool and thinking about you" he confessed with a shrug, being too high on life and the possibilities that lay ahead to feel sleepy.

"I noticed when I received a text from you at around 4am" she pointed out. She was at once surprised but delighted when she got an early morning text message from Andy following their date, telling her once again that he'd had a wonderful time and that he couldn't wait to see her for lunch on the following Sunday and therefore knowing that he couldn't sleep.

Andy laughed, a tinge of embarrassment making its way into his posture. "Well I didn't expect you to still be awake when I sent it. I thought you wouldn't get it until the morning."

"I got it right away."

"And yet you didn't reply immediately."

"Well I didn't want you to think that I was too eager" she told him, at the time clutching her phone in her hands for about an hour as she decided if she should answer him immediately or not, eventually deciding to wait until the morning.

"But it was okay to phone me three times on the Saturday?"

Sharon shrugged. "We were watching the same movie and I wanted to talk to you about it" she said a little shyly as he laughed at her, constantly having her finger primed over his name on her phone throughout the ninety minutes of the movie as she fought and lost the battle to call him repeatedly.

"Oh yes because normally you love it so much when I talk all the way through a movie."

"Well that was different."

"In what way?"

"I couldn't remember if he was really trying to kill her or not" she said simply, remembering that she called Andy for the third time as Cary Grant climbed the staircase with a glass of glowing milk in _Suspicion_ , unsure of his intentions. Andy laughed and nodded. "And anyway, I just wanted to hear your voice" she admitted honestly. They smiled at each other again before Sharon sighed, her thumb going back and forth across his knuckles. "Life would be so much simpler if we told people how we felt when we felt it rather than waiting until the time felt right."

"It would, it really would so let's make sure we never do that again."

"Deal" she said simply, smiling at each other before he kissed her hand. "I love you."

"I love you too" he replied, kissing her hand a second time.

"I wish I'd manage to tell you that I loved you before your surgery" Sharon said more than a touch ruthfully before she sighed, her frustration with herself clear. "It was on the very tip of my tongue but no matter what I did I just couldn't say it."

"Me too."

"But at least you managed to write it down so I would have found out eventually if you hadn't," she paused, struggling to say the unthinkable, "if you hadn't woken up again."

He winked and then kissed her hand again. "You would have been forced into buying a Ouija board" he joked, trying to make light of a situation that Sharon could find nothing to smile about.

"That's not funny."

"I know" he nodded, continuing to smile at her. "I tried to tell you but then my Doctor very kindly threw you and that beautiful looking turkey out of my room" he explained, feeling like he was just about to tell her when his Doctor spoke up and Sharon simply told him 'Andy I'll wait for you.' "What would you have said if I'd had the time to tell you?" he asked.

"I would have told you how I felt too and ignored the frantic cries of 'Out! Out!' from your Doctor" she replied, more hopeful that certain of what her response would have been at the time. They both laughed. "I don't think it would have made it easier for me if you had told me. I was already kicking myself as they wheeled you away but I think if you had told me it would have been harder for me to wait for you to come back."

"Holding Provenza's hand." Sharon nodded at him and it was quite easy for him to see that it was an upsetting subject for her, having to live through a couple of hours of agony that he simply slept through, so he tried his hardest to lighten the mood. "Do you know how much trouble I got into over that?"

"Over what?"

"Over Provenza having to hold your hand the entire time I was in surgery. He complained about that for weeks" he grumbled almost as much as Provenza did at the time, in both cases purely in jest.

They both laughed. "He took my hand first" Sharon informed him, still surprised herself with how kind he was to her throughout, holding her hand tightly until they knew Andy was going to be okay, doing it as much for him and he did for her.

"I know he did. He told me" Andy told her. "He said he felt obligated to take care of you because I'd told him that I loved you which you know earned him a case of red wine and tickets to the Dodgers as a thank you but I still got into trouble over it."

Sharon laughed. "Well all I can say is never do it again and it won't ever be an issue."

"I won't. I promise" he replied.

"Why didn't you tell Lieutenant Provenza that our first date had gone well? Were you too embarrassed about admitting that you were dating the former demon of FID?" she asked as they laughed again, under the assumption that he would have called Provenza immediately and told him everything that had happened (with the exception of the menu fire).

"No not at all" he assured her. "It was for a couple of reasons actually none of which were anything to do with you I promise you of that."

"Then why?"

"Well firstly I knew he'd try to rain on my parade and crap all over it because again he was worried that if things didn't work out between us that the harmony of the division was going to be destroyed" he reminded her, that always being Provenza's biggest concern which was fair enough because of the disruption caused when Gabriel and Daniels broke up resulting in him taking care of the situation personally.

"Ah and he'd be forced to take sides?"

Andy nodded. "And we both know he would have picked you" he said flatly before they both laughed. "Secondly because it was just fun to torture him." Sharon laughed and shook her head. "What? If he'd just come out and asked me how it had gone I would have told him the truth but he didn't."

"I guess he was too busy trying to stop Patrice from emptying his house of all of his furniture at the time."

"Maybe" he laughed. "I think he was worried I was going to cry on his shoulder if it hadn't gone well."

"What?" Sharon asked with surprise.

"I think there was some concern deep down that you might break my heart one day and send me reaching for the bottle again" Andy shrugged.

"I was never going to do that."

"I know."

Sharon sighed as her thumb continued to brush over his knuckles and she gazed at him. "I wish you'd asked me out sooner" she told him and not for the first time.

"Me too. But then again I also wish your sex eyes were better so there's that too."

Sharon hid her face behind her free hand out of sheer embarrassment. "Forget my sex eyes! I wish I'd never spoken to Emily about it now" she said, dropping Emily and her advice into a conversation with Andy for the very first time.

Andy looked at her with surprise. "What? You spoke to Emily?" Sharon nodded from behind her hand, too mortified to speak for a moment. "And she told you to do that?"

"Yes, she did" she finally admitted as he laughed at her discomfort. "Well you weren't picking up on any of my hints and since I didn't want to throw myself at you and I was beginning to get desperate, I decided to ask Emily for some advice since she'd dated a lot more recently than I had."

Andy laughed again, finding the whole situation even more amusing because Emily had told her to do it and clearly had never seen her in action to know just how horrible they were. "And she told you to look at me like you'd eaten a bad clam?" he questioned.

Sharon narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. "No. She told me to give you a look that let you know that I wanted sex. Which I did, perfectly well I thought up until the moment you tried to book me an appointment to see an optometrist" she sighed.

Andy laughed. "In my defence have you looked at yourself in the mirror when you're doing it?" he asked, resisting the temptation to cross his eyes and stick his tongue out in his very typical exaggerated impression of her sex eyes.

"Yes. I have. Unfortunately Emily hadn't which is why she told me to do it as Plan B" Sharon explained, still hiding behind her hand.

"And what was Plan A?"

"Something a lot less subtle" Sharon replied, pausing before she elaborated further. "She wanted me just to grab you, throw you down on the floor and climb on top of you."

They both immediately laughed, acknowledging that Emily's more direct approach wasn't really Sharon although she had certainly come close to it before Andy's accident. "And what was wrong with that idea?" Andy asked as he continued to laugh. "Other than potentially breaking my hip and putting me further out of action?"

"I was too nervous to be that direct and in hindsight with how oblivious you were I'm not sure you would have taken the hint."

"Oh I think I would have got that one just fine" he said enthusiastically as he continued to laugh. After the laughter died down he sighed, smiling at her with awe. "If only we just said how we felt" he added, almost completely echoing what Sharon had said a few moments earlier.

"We got there in the end and that's all that matters now" Sharon shrugged.

"Cheers to that" Andy replied before he kissed her hand.

Sharon bit on her lip for a moment as she thought of confessing something she had not told him before. Andy picked up his drink and sipped on it, making Sharon wait a second or two before she spoke so that he didn't do a spit take in her face. "I bought new underwear" she told him finally.

Andy almost growled with pleasure as he smiled at her, squeezing her hand. "Now you're just blatantly teasing me."

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "I don't mean for tonight although I have." Andy groaned at the mere thought causing Sharon to laugh at him again. "I meant after our first date. The following Saturday morning I went out and I bought all new underwear" she explained very casually.

Andy's jaw dropped open, immediately registering what that actually meant in terms of how Sharon was looking at their relationship following a single solitary date. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Why?" he asked, seeking clarification that it meant what he thought it did.

"Because when I got home after our first date and I was getting ready for bed it suddenly occurred to me that I had drawers full of old lady underwear" she explained.

"You've so far from an old lady I can't even..."

"That's not what my underwear drawer screamed at me" she told him, at the time thinking that Bridget Jones had nothing on her twelve months ago. "It screamed this person hasn't had sex in...Well this person hasn't had sex in several years and since I was already planning on letting you see me in them I decided I needed to make a very quick and significant upgrade before you actually did."

Andy stared at her blankly for a moment before he replied. "So just to be clear, you told Rusty that you wanted me..."

"No I never told him that" Sharon corrected, thinking that if she had Rusty would still be screaming about it all this time later. "I just told him that you might be staying over from time to time in the future."

"So in other words you wanted me?"

Sharon sighed. "Okay yes I wanted you desperately" she openly admitted, making them both laugh loudly enough to draw attention from a neighbouring table.

"Right so you told Rusty you wanted me and you told your underwear drawer that you wanted me" Andy listed as he counted them off on his fingers.

"It's not like I spoke to it and told it what I was planning on doing with you."

"Close enough. But you didn't tell me."

"I told you with my sex eyes" Sharon said as she pointed to them while trying her hardest to deliver perfect 'Come to bed' eyes but only succeeding in looking like she had trapped wind in the presence of royalty and therefore had no other option but to keep it in.

Andy laughed at her, his now default reaction when Sharon attempted to use her 'sex eyes' on him rather than being that much more direct. "Another secret" he teased with a shake of his head, meaning it solely in jest this time. "Will you ever stop keeping secrets from me Raydor?"

"I'm trying to" she replied, having made more than a serious effort to tell Andy immediately anything that was bothering her or anything people would share in any other relationship. "Will you ever stop being nervous with me my beautiful boy?"

"I'm trying to" he said before he pushed his lips to the back of her hand a couple more times and then smiling up at her lovingly, feeling anything but nervous that evening compared to how he felt twelve months earlier when he was afraid to even touch her.

"Emily called me this afternoon. She remembered. Wished us both a happy anniversary."

"Nicole did likewise."

"Like two peas in a pod those two."

"Like a real family."

"Because they are, because we are" Sharon told him with more than a little pride and pleasure making it to her voice. Andy smiled back at her as she squeezed his hand. "How many times have you made it to a year?" she asked

"Dating someone?"

"Yes. There was Sandra obviously and…" she said, encouraging him to fill in the gaps.

Andy smiled at her and chuckled to himself. "Why do you like delving into my past so much?" he asked given that Sharon was always filled with questions he wasn't so keen on answering since he was a little sensitive about some of his behaviour in the past especially when it came to women.

"Because you hate it and every detail I manage to squeeze out of you lets me know you that little bit better and makes me love you all the more, especially when you tell me something that you clearly don't want to."

"Like what happened in Barstow" he grumbled, his resistance growing every time she asked about that particular little secret.

"If you ever tell me what happened there then I think we'll officially have run out of things to talk about" she joked.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the not so small fact that hell had frozen over but whatever." They both laughed. Andy sighed as he leant on his free hand and gazed at her, always happy to give Sharon what she wanted even though he didn't particular like it. "Just Sandra and you. That's it" he shrugged. "They tell you in AA when you first get sober that you have to take everything slowly and everything in stages. You'd fit in perfectly" he joked and making her laugh. "You need to be able to take care of yourself first, alone and without alcohol and that's step one. Then there's step two where you buy a plant and see if you can keep that alive too. Then you move onto a pet."

"But you've never had any pets."

"I have a Provenza and that's essentially the same thing" he said with a shrug and making her laugh. "He's just like a dog. I wouldn't want either slobbering on my couch." They both laughed. "And then you build your way up to a proper relationship" he explained.

"And?"

"And I never really got that far since I got sober until twelve months ago. Everything between Sandra and you was just filler."

Sharon smiled, not so secretly pleased that despite the tales about her boyfriend that had swept the LAPD over the years she was in the select company of one other. "No one before Sandra?"

"No. We met each other young, while we were in college and it just worked you know, like how it worked with my parents and her parents and then we got married and had kids. It was just what you did, you know?"

Sharon nodded, understanding the expectations upon him at that age because they were the same expectations she carried around with her when she met Jack. "I do. I really do."

"How about you?" Andy asked. "Just He Who Shall Not Be Named?" Since Sharon had already made it clear that she didn't want to so much as think about Jack on a night when they were celebrating their relationship he opted not to use his name.

Sharon laughed, noting that Jack and Voldemort probably did have a lot in common. "Yes" she confirmed. "Just Jack but there were obvious gaps in between when he upped and left when the mood took him which curtailed our run somewhat and we kept starting the clock over again." She smiled at him, looking more than a tad pleased about it. "It's not going to take us long to surpass it."

"Hallelujah to that" Andy cried as she laughed.

"Any dreams to tell me about this year?" she asked. Andy looked at her puzzled as he hummed in response. "Last year you told me that you'd be dreaming about me the night before. Anything to tell me this time?"

Andy thought for a moment as he tried to recall any dreams. "Not that I can think of. I don't remember dreaming at all last night."

"I think you did. You woke me up at about 2am kicking me as you trashed your legs around like crazy" she told him, for once Andy waking Sharon up in the middle of the night with his restless thrashing rather than the other way around.

"Did I?" he asked with surprise.

"Yes. You kicked me four or five times."

"I'm sorry" he said sincerely and upset at the thought that he had hurt her in his sleep. "Why didn't you wake me?" Sharon just smirked at him, finding it easier to wake the dead than it was Andy without actually punching him or holding his nose closed. "Right, stupid question. I don't know what I was dreaming about."

"You were probably running away from Sharon Stone again."

"That's highly likely" he nodded and making her laugh.

"You know a lot of other women would feel threatened when their partner repeatedly tells them that they've been dreaming about another woman" she told him with a smile, Andy seemingly dreaming about Sharon Stone more times than she'd eaten a hot meal.

"Even if that woman is trying to stab me?"

"Yes because if anyone is going to murder you then surely it should be me as some sort of reward" she joked, both of them laughing as a result. "I watched you sleep a good hour after that" she added, unable to sleep and finding it relaxing to watch Andy at such peace with the world.

Andy eyed her with suspicion. "I'm sensing that if I was to check your phone right now the last photo on there would be of me asleep with my mouth open." Sharon laughed, having actually taken five photos of him as he slept. "And yet when I watch you sleep its 'creepy.'"

"You were wearing my bathrobe. It was like waking up to find Norman Bates staring at you."

"It was the wig and knife right?" he joked.

Sharon laughed at him, shaking her head. "You can be such an idiot at times but you're my idiot" she said as she smiled at him.

"That may be the nicest thing you've ever said to me" he grinned before they laughed. "And by the way that's another dollar for your 'curse jar'" he insisted, suggesting a few weeks earlier that she start putting a dollar in a jar every time she called him an 'idiot,' it starting to happen with alarming frequency, most of it fully justified in her opinion. "Don't think I'm not keeping track. I'm going to buy me a Porsche by the end of the year."

Sharon laughed, admiring his optimism. "Keep dreaming my boy, keep dreaming." She went to say something else but changed her mind, her mouth opening and closing and letting Andy know instantly what was going on.

"Go on, say it."

"Say what?"

"Whatever it was you were going to say before you changed your mind. I'm guessing it's not good if you're having second thoughts about it" he said, expecting another bomb shell to be dropped on him like when she told him that Rusty was going to be a big brother.

"No it's nothing like that" she told him, smiling so that he didn't think the sky was about to fall down on him. "It's just...do you feel like getting out of here for a few days at the back end of the summer?" she asked, leaning forward to say it as if it was some sort of state secret. In truth she saw it as another big step forward, yes they were moving in together and yes they'd already spent a few days together in New York but that was more about visiting family than it was about them as a couple. In her mind going away together without meeting a family member was another huge leap into the unknown, desperately wanting to do it but regardless was a little nervous about bringing the subject up.

Unsure what Sharon was talking about, Andy looked around the restaurant for a moment. "I don't think service takes that long in here" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "I meant the city" she clarified. "How about a couple of days away just the two of us at the end of the summer?" she suggested, biting on her lip as she said it and letting him know that she was nervous about asking him despite the invitation.

Andy sat forward and leant across the table as if he was about to whisper a secret to her that he didn't want anyone else to hear. "Well I'll have to run it by my Captain first and I should warn you, she's a real ball breaker so we may have a battle on our hands" he teased and knowing full well he was probably going to get into trouble over it.

Sharon glared at him, awakening the old Captain from FID. "If you really want your balls broken keep talking boy" she warned him playfully.

Andy laughed, relieved that his knees hadn't come under attack. "As long as my Captain can get us some time off work without too much trouble, I'd love to" he confirmed. "Where did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, anywhere" Sharon shrugged, really not minding where they went as long as they went together and they went alone. "I just enjoyed New York so much in May, having that alone time that I wanted to do something similar. Just a few days away, you and me."

Andy thought for a second before suggesting "We could fly up to San Francisco and see Ricky if you like."

Sharon smiled, once more so unbelievably grateful that she had a man who embraced her children like his own even though that wasn't what she currently wanted from him. "That's a lovely idea and as much as I really appreciate the gesture on your part and I want to see my second born I was thinking more along the lines of having not a single person we know tagging along and getting in the way" she explained.

"Ah! I see. That sort of few days away." Understanding what sort of mini vacation Sharon had in mind and immediately jumping on board with the idea he waggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh. "Well then in that case wherever you like sweetheart. You pick the place and I'll be sure to pack my birthday suit." He winked at her, making her laugh again at his very light hearted assumption that it would be purely a naked vacation with not much sightseeing and exploring to be done. "Maybe Cancun? Or Oahu even? Where did you say you've stayed before? The Pink Palace right?" he asked, trying his hardest to remember some of the very loud hints Sharon had dropped as they had drinks at Provenza's house before Christmas.

"Isn't that a little far to travel for a weekend?"

"Not really. It's just five hours by plane" he reminded her. "We could leave late on the Thursday. Come back last thing on a Monday. That gives us three and half to four days of nothing but sand, sea and...I'm sure you can guess the rest" he added with another waggle of his eyebrows, her laughing at him again. "We might even be able to find ourselves a decent last minute deal if we have to wait for Taylor to give us the okay at short notice."

Sharon smiled but it didn't last long, the wheels in her mind starting to turn as she began to doubt her own suggestion. "I think that's a great idea. But..."

"But what?"

"Well on second thoughts we might have to push it back by a couple of months" she said, thinking that the timing might not be right given the plans they already had.

"Why?"

"Wouldn't we be moving ideally around then?" she asked, realising that one may get in the way of the other, with the house move having to take priority over a few days away from the stresses of work and daily life.

Andy nodded in agreement with an ideal plan of action already laid out if everything went how they wanted it to. "Ideally, by then, one way or another I think we might already be living together," he said, hoping to have at least moved into the condo by the end of the summer if they hadn't found anywhere to buy, "and with all the stresses involved in a move and since you're so obsessed with my blood pressure and stress levels..."

"Take that back! I am not obsessed with your blood pressure and stress levels at all" she lied, more obsessed with the health of Andy Flynn than she was with Christmas angels.

"Pull the other one Raydor it's got bells on it."

"I haven't!" she lied again.

"Please you've been more obsessed with my stress levels since I started looking at houses then you were with checking my blood pressure after my surgery" he told her with a roll of his eyes, still loathing having his girlfriend mother him.

"Well forgive me for not wanting you to drop dead on me."

Andy laughed as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Anyway I think a few days away will do us both a lot of good around then. And let's not forget how smearing your body with sun block always seems to lower my blood pressure" he growled.

"Yes and raise something else" Sharon said innocently, referring to the way it always made him smile and nothing else. Andy immediately laughed, his mind in the gutter as Sharon's hand flew up to her mouth with embarrassment. "I didn't mean that" she said quickly.

"You're pure filth at times Raydor, do you know that? You're making me blush."

Sharon smacked his hand as he continued to laugh. "I didn't mean that."

"Of course you didn't."

"Honestly. I was thinking about your smile and nothing else. Raising a smile!" she insisted.

"Okay. I believe you, thousands wouldn't" he teased.

"That's my line."

"Where do you think I got it from?" he asked, both of them laughing. "Since you've brought it up and put the idea in my head, let me take you away somewhere nice where we can both completely relax without an easily traumatised twenty year old down the hall."

Sharon smirked at him. "Why do these decisions always come back to sex with you?"

"I ask again, have you looked at you?" he said as he gazed at her. She laughed at him and shook her head. "I'm only kidding. A few days relaxing on a beach with a good book and a cool drink? I think we could both use that right?" Instead of instantly agreeing Sharon simply laughed at him. "What?" he asked confused.

"No I think it's a great idea" she said as she continued to laugh. "You might even be able to finish the end of the chapter of that same book you've been reading since Christmas."

"What do you want from me?" he shrugged. "I'd rather watch you read then read myself."

"No you'd rather distract me from reading then read yourself" she corrected him.

"Everyone has to have a hobby."

"Do you even remember what that book was about in the beginning?"

"Yes" Andy replied categorically.

"Really?"

"Not a word" he admitted with another shrug, confirming Sharon's suspicions and making her laugh. "What can I say Raydor? You're just very very distracting when I'm trying to read in bed."

Sharon laughed again. "So you'd like to?"

"I'd love to" he replied and confirming it with another kiss to the back of her hand. "Speak to Taylor, find out when he can spare us both and I'll check out some possibilities and prepare Provenza for a couple of days in your office" he told her, knowing that Provenza would complain loudly about their absence and his increased workload while also loving being left in charge during that period.

"You don't have to do it all you know."

"It's just my chance to be the boss at home and besides, you have enough on your plate so it's the least I could do." He kissed her hand once more before he told her "You have all the best ideas Raydor."

"Well I am a Captain. It's part of my job."

"Your best idea was inviting yourself to Nicole's wedding."

Sharon smiled at him. "Don't I know it." She leant forward just far enough to encourage him to do likewise, kissing each other on the lips. Sharon looked over his shoulder towards the small band and dancefloor which was occupied by several couples dancing. "Are you going to ask me to dance later? Or do you only do that here with Lieutenant Provenza?" she teased.

"With that guy? Are you kidding? Talk about two left feet" he complained as she laughed.

"So are you?"

"There's a very good chance that I might" he nodded.

"Ah but are you actually going to do it this time?" she asked. "Twelve months ago you asked the question but you never actually got around to inviting me to dance with you after dinner" she reminded him since his nerves got the better of him as the night wore on and he was suddenly reluctant to dance should he make a fool of himself again or more likely that she might feel his hand trembling on her back.

"Well there were a lot of candles by that band. I was naturally frightened in case I set you on fire too." They laughed before he smiled at her very shyly, looking like he did twelve months earlier when he finally confirmed that it was actually a date. "By that point I was suddenly very nervous about laying a hand on you as I'm sure you noticed."

Sharon nodded, suddenly looking a little shy herself. "I did. Without fail when we went out to dinner before that night you would either take my hand as we walked back to the car or at the very least put your hand on my lower back. And yet twelve months ago, nothing."

"Well things had changed between us and even before you asked if we could take things slowly I wanted to try and kiss you but knew that I shouldn't, not that soon."

"But you can do it now, make up for lost time." He smiled at her before climbing out of his seat slightly to kiss her on the lips. "I don't think I ever said thank you."

"For what?" he asked as he sat back down.

"For a couple of things. For asking me out on a real date finally" she said, smiling at him before they both laughed. "For being such a gentleman and for taking everything at my pace when I knew you really didn't want to at all."

Andy pulled a face like he disagreed with her final statement as he cringed slightly. "It wasn't that I didn't want to" he said.

"It's that you really really didn't want to?" she suggested.

"Yeah a little like that" he admitted before they laughed. "No, I've told you before, I'm glad we took things so slowly. If I think about it now it's easy for me to say that I was already in love with you long before I asked you out on that date. It would have been very easy to have rushed things as a result but I think in this case listening to my Captain has finally paid off."

"Yes finally" she said, her eyes sparkling at him with menace. "It's only taken you over twenty years to actually listen to me."

"I'm an old dog. It's very hard for me to learn new tricks."

Sharon sighed as she smiled at him. "I love you Andy Flynn."

"I love you too" he told her with a wink before he pulled back slightly, spotting their server headed their way from over Sharon's shoulder with their food.

 _ **Friday 10**_ _ **th**_ _ **July 2015**_

 _Andy unbuckled his seat belt and quickly climbed out of the car, running around to the passenger side before Sharon had chance to open the door, doing it for her and holding it open. Sharon smiled at him as she climbed out, her cheeks still feeling flushed from the way he spoke to her when they parked up in the parking garage of her building, accepting all of her rules and conditions for their relationship without any real complaint, just a small frustrated sigh, proving himself to be the gentleman she always knew he was._

 _They were silent as they rode the elevator up to Sharon's floor, as usual Andy insisted on walking her all the way and usually going inside for a cup of coffee before going home back in the days when they were still 'just friends.' As they walked to her door there was still no real physical contact between the two of them with the exception of the slightest and completely unintentional touch of their fingers as they moved. There was electricity in that touch, surging through both of them. They both felt it immediately, turning to smile at each other. Sharon simply couldn't believe the difference. Over the years as their friendship had started to blossom and evolved into something deeper, physical contact had just become the norm between them. Andy had kissed her in the moments after Rusty's adoption became legal, they would often hug each other hello and goodbye, Andy would put his arm around her on the couch as they watched a film or even a game or even if they were out on a walk together, he'd even take her hand sometimes as they walked to the car after dinner. Then there was the kiss before her quickly rearranged Christmas party at PAB. It was hardly what you'd call friendly, their lips lingering against each other's that little bit longer than was normal as he had become accustomed to kissing her on the cheek. But it was suddenly different, the coming together of their fingers in a most chaste way changed everything. Just by adding the word 'date' and deciding to try, to try having a romantic relationship between them had opened up new and exciting possibilities and a touch that had seemed so natural just over a week ago now set their souls on fire and had them begging for more._

 _Sharon knew instantly, it may take some time to get all of their ducks in a row but their relationship was going to work and they both knew it even before that slight coming together of their fingers. It was going to be hard, they both knew that, taking it slowly but the hardest part Sharon assumed was going to be getting Andy to agree to taking things slowly in the first place. She was wrong, oh boy she was wrong. The hardest part was going to be keeping her hands off him while everything else fell into place, seeing if they really could work together and date before things got too far. If Andy could handle being bossed around by his girlfriend during the day and continue to follow her orders, everything would work out between them and their relationship would gladly be accepted by the rest of the division. However keeping her hands to herself was made all the more harder by the way he reacted and the words he had said to her as they sat in his car in the parking garage. 'If anyone is worth waiting for it's you.' Oh how she wanted him in that moment, to push her mouth to his and devour him in a way she'd been trying to ignore for months. It was going to be so difficult but she was determined because it was the very last relationship she was ever going to have, of that she was absolutely certain and as it turned out Andy felt the exact same way._

 _As they came to a stop outside of Sharon's door they smiled at each other for a moment, neither sure what to do or say next given the step they had made in their relationship that evening and the conditions that step had come with._

" _So erm...would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?" Sharon asked finally as she took her keys out of her purse and put them in the lock, turning back to face him before she attempted to open the door._

 _Andy paused before he answered, clearly weighing up the pros and cons in his head. "I'd love to" he said finally, smiling at her in a way that had recently had her heart fluttering._

" _Great" Sharon said as she exhaled, not realising that she'd been holding her breath._

" _But I think I'd better get going" he said quickly, desperately wanted to add 'Because I really want to kiss you and if I ever stand a chance of stopping myself I need to leave as soon as possible' but knew better, not wanting to apply any pressure to her in the slightest._

" _Okay."  
_

 _Andy knew he had to explain even before Sharon spoke. He buried his hands into his pockets for a moment and therefore ensuring he kept them to himself. "Erm...things are...things are different now between us and you want to take things slowly so I really feel that I should probably..." he said as he pointed towards the elevator._

" _Okay" Sharon nodded again, feeling more that slightly relieved as she felt the exact same way about him and realising that coffee could turn out to be a very bad idea indeed if they were going to take things slowly._

 _Silence settled between them for a moment before Andy asked "So...a second date huh?"_

" _Yes." Sharon couldn't help but smile at his awkwardness. She had told him in his car just a matter of a few minutes earlier that she wanted to give a relationship with him a go and go on a second date with him and yet the normally so confident Andy Flynn, the man who had had more women than she had probably had cups of tea was suddenly anything but, making her even more desperate to kiss him than she had been in the car._

" _I'm not sure I can wait until Friday" he told her honestly._

" _Good. Me either" she replied quickly before they both laughed, some of the tension leaving their bodies as they continued to relax._

" _Sunday? After Mass?" Andy suggested. "I could take you out to dinner? Maybe go for a drive up the coast? I know a place that I think you'll like. They have great seafood and wine so I'm led to believe."_

 _Sharon smiled. "That sounds wonderful. I'd love to."_

 _Again Andy looked nervous, more nervous than perhaps she had ever seen him as he seemed to force the words out of his mouth. "But still as like a date right or just as friends?" he asked as he continued to search for the confirmation he already had. They had discussed it all in the car when they arrived back at the condo, him asking her to dinner as his date the following Friday and yet he still needed another confirmation that they were on the same page._

" _Do you want me to be honest?" Sharon asked, her shoulders relaxed and filled with confidence the likes of which he had never seen from her before, a surprise indeed given the confidence that often oozed from her at work._

" _Yes, please if you could."_

 _She took a very deep breath, her final few nerves coming back to the surface. "Andy I think it's highly unlikely that I'm ever going to agree to go out with you as just a friend ever again" she said plainly, smiling at him._

 _Andy's smile shone as he let out a breath. "Good. I'm glad."_

" _Me too" she told him, grinning at each other like complete idiots._

" _So I'll come by and pick you up about twelve thirty. You get home from Mass at around midday right?" he asked._

 _Sharon stared at him for a moment, slightly taken aback. "I do" she nodded. "Shortly before midday, that's right. How do you know that?"_

" _You told me once when you were asking why I didn't go to Mass anymore. Remember?" he said, smiling like he thought remembering that kind of detail was no big deal at all._

" _I do but...but how do you remember?" She knew Andy was thoughtful as far as she was concerned but she was now surprised by him. It was at least the third instance that evening of him remembering something she had told him months earlier and none of them important things that you'd expect someone to remember._

 _Andy smiled at her shyly. "It's my job to remember these things about you Raydor" he told her, the adoring look in his eye something she had honestly never seen from him before and hadn't seen from a man in a long time. She blushed once again, having spent most of the evening thus far with her cheeks turning red. Andy's face suddenly dropped as he took a step closer to her but while still keeping his distance and not applying any undue pressure. "Sharon I have to ask, I'm sorry" he said before pausing as he mentally kicked himself before continuing, needing to ensure that Sharon was fully aware of what she was getting into with him. "Are you really sure about this? Are you sure you want to do this? You? Me? Us? Dating? Dating a guy like me? A lapsed Catholic and alcoholic with a kid that loathes him? Your friend? Someone you work with?" he asked, rambling as all the reasons why he thought she was crazy to be even considering dating him came rolling off his tongue._

" _Are you done?"_

" _I think so" Andy replied as they both laughed, the tension once again returning like storm clouds, thickening the air between them. "I think I pretty much covered all the bases there. Made myself look really good and a real catch if you were at all sitting on the fence about it."_

" _I'm not sitting on the fence."_

" _Really?"_

 _Sharon shrugged as her hands came together in front of her. "Andy I've never been more sure of anything in my life...unless of course you want some time to think things over?" she asked suddenly as she began to panic a little as if he was already looking for a way out but needed to tread carefully in how he ended it because she was his Commanding Officer after all._

" _Absolutely not" Andy told her in almost a whisper. They smiled at each other again. "Well I should go..."_

" _Yes okay but before you do can I make one more request?"_

 _Andy smiled and folded his arms in front of him, fixing her with a glare. "You've already had your irrational demand in this relationship. Don't think you're going to get another one out of me Raydor before I've used mine."_

 _Sharon laughed and nodded. "I know but this is more about work than anything else but it still relates to us...erm...to us dating" she said a little nervously, the word 'date' still meaning so much to both of them._

" _Okay. Shoot."_

" _Erm...just for now and just while it's still so new and we start to work things out between us I think it would be for the best if we went back to calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant'" she said, already trying to build a wall between them at work since she'd had such a hard time all day not staring at him longingly._

 _Andy nodded, seeing her logic immediately. Like Sharon he too had struggled all day to keep his focus on work so was more than willing to try anything that would ease how he felt over the coming weeks as they worked out their new relationship. "Okay."_

" _Only for a while, and only at work until we've had chance to at least notify Chief Taylor about our change in circumstances."_

 _Andy smiled and nodded, already in the knowledge that he'd have to play everything by the rules from that point on if he wanted a real relationship with 'Rulebook Raydor.' "And submitted all the appropriate paperwork huh?" he teased._

 _Sharon laughed. "Of course."_

" _Sure. Not a problem."_

" _And maybe erm...maybe keep it just between us until then, just while Chief Taylor is away at his Conference. We really should tell him before anyone else" Sharon stated, feeling that she had to tread incredibly carefully because she was dating not only within her division but also a subordinate._

 _Andy smiled. "Oh I see, everything by the book even when it comes to dating huh Captain?"_

" _Yes" Sharon replied, expecting that kind of a response from him. "Until I've notified my Supervising Officer that I'm dating within my division I think it's for the best. I wouldn't want the legendary PAB grapevine getting to him before we've had chance to tell him ourselves."_

" _Without Taylor there is no legendary PAB grapevine" Andy pointed out, not being the only one to think that all gossip started and ended with Russell Taylor. Sharon laughed, nodding frantically in agreement. "Okay and if for no other reason than it'll confuse the crap out of Provenza when he comes back to work on Tuesday." Sharon laughed again. "Plus it'll stop everyone from trying to talk you out of it."_

 _Sharon laughed before she said "I think that's highly unlikely."_

" _What that they'll try and talk you out of it?"_

" _No, that they'll succeed" she clarified. They smiled at each other again, both desperate to close the gap between them but also accepting that if it was going to work everything was going to happen very slowly indeed. "So it's okay with you?"_

 _Andy nodded. "It is indeed Captain."_

 _She laughed at him. "You don't have to call it me now, only when we're at work and just until we report it."_

" _Hey I might as well get some practice in and anyway I always try to call you Captain at work" he reminded her, thinking that she would probably struggle with it more since she often addressed them all (with the exception of Provenza) by their first names._

" _Except for the other week in Electronics."_

 _Andy shrugged. "A small slip of the tongue."_

" _Something that happens to you a lot I suppose?"_

 _Andy smiled, choosing to be daring in that moment since Sharon was clearly already laying the foundations for a long term relationship with him, taking it all very seriously because she was serious about him. "Since we're taking things slowly you'll just have to wait until you get bored of it and find out for yourself." He winked at her, ensuring that his meaning was fully understood as she chewed on her bottom lip. "Goodnight Sharon."_

 _She took a couple of steps towards him, taking his tie in her hand and running it through her fingers for a moment as he watched her. She straightened it before she met his eyes. "Goodnight Andy." They smiled at each other again, neither keen to move and end their evening even though they knew they should._

" _Well I'll wait until you get inside, you know sketchy neighbourhood and all" he joked. Sharon laughed as she finally let go of his tie, turning to the keys that were still dangling in the lock of the door and opened it. "Goodnight."_

" _Goodnight."_

 _Sharon smiled at him one final time before walking inside and closing the door behind her. The condo was swallowed up by darkness with the exception of the single lamp left on by the couch and the glow on the cheeks of the woman by the door. Sharon leant her back up against the door and smiled like a fool, trying not to laugh out loud as she suddenly felt like a teenager. On the other side in the hallway Andy was doing the exact same thing, leaning up the wall next to her door with the same goofy smile on his face. After a moment he nodded to himself, running his fingers across the number on her door and desperately suppressing the desire to sing 'On The Street Where You Live' like Fred in_ My Fair Lady. _As he walked towards the elevator he had a spring in his step as he did a near perfect Fred Astaire style jump heel click, feeling on top of the world._

 _Sharon locked the door behind her and removed her heels as she walked towards the lamp, relieved that her feet were free on them and she was no longer lopsided. She turned off the lamp before heading towards her bedroom, stopping in her tracks when she heard Rusty's bedroom door open._

" _Sharon? Are you home?" Rusty asked as he stayed in his room, Stroh's return to freedom still making him slightly cautious when he heard noises at night and causing him to ask._

" _I am."_

 _With that Rusty poked his head out from his room. "Well? Was it a date or not?" he asked._

" _Yes. It was" Sharon replied simply as she opened her bedroom door._

" _And?"_

" _And nothing. I had a very nice time" she told him, not really wanting to go into detail with her son about it and also still thinking that Chief Taylor should know before anyone else and that included family. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Rusty."_

" _Goodnight."_

 **Sunday 10** **th** **July 2016**

Sharon and Andy virtually fell through the front door to her condo, their lips attached to each other's, their hands holding onto the other in an embrace as much as they were also trying to keep themselves upright. Andy closed the door with his foot at the second attempt as they continued to slowly move forward. Sharon dropped Andy's keys and her purse, missing the table that was usually their home and causing them to clatter on the hard wood floor and echo around the quiet apartment. As Sharon slowly backed further inside she flicked her shoes off her feet, her height changing dramatically but that didn't mean their lips parted, them adjusting to the change instantly.

Suddenly Sharon came to her senses and the need to double check that Rusty was indeed out for the night with Gus came into her mind, not wanting him to walk in on them if he hadn't. "Wait just one second" she said against his mouth before she managed to drag her lips from his and turned in his arms.

Andy's hands never left her body despite the way she turned away from him, one hand on her stomach as he held her in place, pressed against his body, the sign of his arousal apparent against her bottom while his other hand cupped her breast through her dress, his lips latched onto her neck like it was their home. Sharon tried to focus on the job at hand but she could hardly keep her eyes open and stop herself from moaning such were Andy's ministrations.

Sharon managed to compose herself finally, putting one hand on top of Andy's for a moment to still it on her breast as her other lay flat on the wall, trying to brace herself. She knew that if Rusty had had a change of plan he would have texted her while they were out precisely because he wouldn't want to walk in on what was currently taking place (deciding to spend the night with Gus well in advance of their anniversary because pretending Andy was a eunuch was simply no longer working for him but more than that, wanting to give them the place to themselves as they celebrated a year of being together) but still she needed to double check just to put her mind at ease before things went any further.

"Rusty?" she called as she desperately tried not to moan as Andy's lips continued their assault on her neck. "Rusty? Are you home?" She waited for a moment, trying to count to ten in her head as Andy's lips moved to her ear. Satisfied that they were completely alone, Sharon quickly turned on the spot, opening up his jacket slightly to grab hold of his suspenders. "Okay" she told him before their lips crashed together again and she pushed his jacket off his shoulders.

"What a difference a year makes" Andy said with a smile between heated kisses.

"Absolutely" Sharon replied. "Now shut up and kiss me."

"Yes ma'am."


	30. Chapter 30

_Let me start once again by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter and special thanks to eelise187, Imperfect Being, seaford71, xbleeple, walkerdude1, sweethregz1, Elaine Huang, maidenpride, froggy62, HeiBeSo, Battgirl2, clairabelljsy, Adler, GrammyIda and the two guests for leaving reviews. If you'd like to leave a review for this chapter I would very much appreciate it or you can get hold of me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Thank you as well to Kelley H who reviewed my one shot from last year and asked for another chapter. Since that story fits in perfectly with what happened after Andy's heart attack I will be taking it apart and putting it into this story eventually and therefore giving it a second chapter and beyond._

 _ **Warning:**_ _Part of this chapter briefly strays into_ _ **M**_ _territory but since it's solely about manipulation rather than the sex I'm hoping to get away with it without changing the rating. If you're at all sensitive then simply don't read the small section in italics._

 _This story is usually focused solely on Sharon and Andy and although that's still true of this chapter it's much more of an ensemble piece since I was presented with the perfect opportunity to write something with everyone in it. To be honest I've had issues writing this one for one simple reason: I struggle to watch Tourist Trap. It's not that I think it's a bad episode, I think it's a good one but two of the 'English' accents in particular are SO bad I can only watch it with the sound off and don't get me started with the whole 'thrown under the coach' nonsense._

 _This chapter takes place at the end of_ _ **Tourist Trap 5x6**_ _at Mike's party and is fairly self-explanatory. I fully acknowledge that part of this chapter is probably the stupidest thing I've ever written and would never happen (although in my mind it obvious would) but when the idea got stuck in my head I simply could not stop laughing about it so I kept it in, making the episode more enjoyable as I imagine this was going on at the same time. In an effort to get this posted as quickly as possible I haven't had chance to check for typos as many times as I usually like so forgive me if it's littered with them._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty**

Provenza slowly rocked back and forth in his chair, his hands spelling out the imaginary newspaper headline as he spoke. "Oh, I can just see Ogden's headline now. 'Intrepid London Reporter Solves Major Crime for LAPD" he said as he smiled at his Captain.

Sharon laughed at him and nodded. "Well he did do his part, Lieutenant." As she spoke she watched Mike as he grabbed his bag ready to leave and started to make his way towards her and Andy and out of the Murder Room. Very quickly she grabbed hold of Andy's arm. "Oh, here we go" she said in just above a whisper as she started to push Andy towards Mike, very much against his will. "Go" she added quietly.

Andy rolled his eyes with just a hint of annoyance but did as he was told, knowing full well that it was in his own best interests as far as his girlfriend was concerned to do what she wanted on this occasion. "H-Hold on a second, Mike." Andy quickly walked over to Mike, intercepting him on his journey towards the door and took his bag off him. "Where do you think you're going with that Platinum TV Choice Award?"

"Andy, I think it's about time I bring it home."

Andy took the award out of Mike's bag and put it on the empty desk next to his as Provenza prised himself out of his chair and went to retrieve the celebratory balloons stashed around the corner and out of sight. "No, no, I think it's about time that we all share and celebrate in your success" Andy replied, trying his hardest to sound as happy and as genuine as possible as Sharon gave him the thumbs up from across the room, pleased that Andy was doing this for Mike after having been forced to really bend Andy to her will over the last couple of days in order to get him to do it.

"No, I think the time has really passed" Mike insisted.

"No, no." Andy turned Mike around just in time to see his friends and colleagues converging on him en masse. The look on his face was priceless as Amy walked towards him with a large cake that had the _Badge of Justice_ logo emblazoned on top of it in frosting while Provenza held some balloons and Julio and Buzz had their arms filled with plastic glasses and bottles of sparkling apple cider. "The time has not passed" Andy added as Amy put the cake down on the empty desk.

"Oh, you can't believe we're just gonna ignore something this important?" Amy asked as she wrapped her arms around Mike and hugged him tightly.

"Oh my God" was all Mike could say in response, more than slightly overwhelmed by what was happening to him, more so than the night he won his award with the opinion and praise of his colleagues in the LAPD meaning a hell of a lot more to him than the opinions of his Hollywood connections.

"Such a big deal" Amy added as they pulled apart.

Mike laughed, still in a state of shock about it all. "Thank you."

Buzz helped Julio start to pour several glasses of the apple cider as Julio added his support to Mike, saying "We all share a lot of dark and horrible things here at work, Mike" in what was possibly the biggest understatement of his life.

"And this is a really good thing" Buzz reiterated as he began to pass the now full glasses of cider around the group so that they could toast his achievement. "And you deserve to be proud of it, Lieutenant. Everybody grab a glass."

With his glass in one hand and the balloons in the other, Provenza looked at the contents of his glass with a fair amount of horror and disgust. "Oh my god this smells like," he said before pausing and bringing it closer to his nose to confirm his suspicions, "apple cider."

Sharon laughed before replying "Because it is" in unison with Andy.

"We are at work, Sir" Buzz reminded him as everyone laughed, they may have just been about to leave for the day but they were still at PAB and everyone did need to drive themselves home again shortly.

Sharon raised her glass as she started a toast. "To Lieutenant Mike."

"To Mike" Andy added with a raised glass, making sure that he said it loud enough so that Sharon could clearly hear him and know that he was playing nicely as he was all but ordered to do the night before.

Adding his voice to the growing chorus of celebrations, Julio said "Lieutenant Mike" as he clinked glasses with him.

"And to _Badge of Justice_ " Andy added, trying his hardest to make it appear as if the words on his tongue weren't causing an extremely bitter taste like he was experiencing the worst case of acid reflux in his life. He turned away from the group as he said it, allowing him the opportunity to roll his eyes before taking a sip of his drink.

"Hear, hear!" Buzz replied as he raised his glass higher into the air.

"Lieutenant Mike" Amy joined in before she took a sip of her cider, smiling with surprise as the flavour hit her taste buds, it tasting a lot better than expected. "It's pretty good" she added.

"So how many seasons is it now, _Badge of Justice_?" Buzz asked, lying if he said he was an avid watcher of it, reminding Mike of their usually unsociable working hours if he asked why he hadn't seen the new episode the night before in the past.

Andy picked up the knife from next to the cake and clutched it in his hand like he was about to stab someone as it hovered menacingly above the cake with nothing but intent while his body blocked it from view and more importantly while Sharon was distracted by the ongoing conversation. "I know. Really, it seems like it was just yesterday" Sharon told Mike, having the polar opposite view to Andy who felt like he'd been having to endure constant discussions about that show for most of his adult life. Andy stabbed the cake and dragged the knife down the centre, ripping the heart out of _Badge of Justice_ in the only way he could.

"I know" Amy agreed. "So maybe we could all get like a background or..." she paused as she sought the appropriate technical term to use with the man so closely linked to Hollywood while Andy grimaced at the mere thought of nearly everyone he knew and loved making an appearance in an episode and therefore forcing him to watch it as he scraped the knife right to the bottom of the cake, "what do you call, like a walk-through."

"I wanna play a cop" Buzz announced.

Andy continued to plaster a fake smile on his face (not that anyone could see it since his back was turned but opted to keep it there anyway should he be caught by Sharon scowling instead and end up spending the night in the dog house) as the rest of the group continued to chatter about the show and he virtually murdered the cake. "Anyone want a piece of this really delicious cake?" he asked, barely being heard above the general chit chat as his knife scraped across the middle of it.

"You know I could probably arrange for a set visit one of these days for everyone if you'd like," Mike offered, forever liking to share the perks of his 'other job' with his friends and family, "obviously work permitting of course."

"Oh Lieutenant that would be amazing" Amy enthused. "I didn't get to go with you last time when you were in the...what was it called? The video room right? Something like that."

"Ah! The Panorama Room" Mike corrected her. "That was a lot of fun and really helped us out a lot, seeing the all the video play side by side like that."

Andy rolled his eyes as he continued to cut up the cake into equal portions but despite his back being to her Sharon knew exactly what he was doing, using her 'Mom eyes' that could seemingly look around corners and just sensing that he was probably pulling a face and silently grumbling in response to Mike's statement. She casually stepped towards him and pinched the back of his knee. "Hey!" Andy cried as he flinched and Sharon just laughed at him. "I nearly sliced my finger off" he lied as he held the digit up in front of her face like he expected her to kiss it better.

Sharon put her free hand on his shoulder and moved in close to his ear, completely secure in the knowledge that everyone else was far too busy listening to Mike talk about the show to pay any attention to them and the way she was about to scold him like a naughty child who had put gum in his brother's hair. "That won't be the only thing I cut off if you don't behave yourself this evening" she warned him playfully with a smirk before very quickly pushing her lips to the side of his head. Andy smiled at her in response, once again confirming that he was going to behave himself during the course of their little impromptu party before Sharon moved back to stand between Provenza and Mike in the middle of the action.

"You know I'm sure Jonny will be more than pleased to see everyone again and maybe he could arrange some visitor passes but I'm not sure I can take everyone all at the same time" Mike explained, not feeling like he could take something the size of a tour group to the sound stage they filmed the show on without a lot of planning and an explicit invite from Jon Worth himself.

"Oh that's okay Mike, you go on without me" Andy insisted at volume. "I'm fine." After slicing up the cake and putting it on the plates ready to eat, Andy sat on the edge of his desk with a slice, looking more than a tad miserable despite the fake smile on his face which didn't make it to his eyes as he seemed to grimace when his backside came into contact with his desk. He looked up from his cake to see Sharon staring at him, shooting him a look of warning. "What?" he asked her, smiling even more manically as he continued to pretend that he was behaving himself as he'd been ordered to do.

"No worries Andy I'm sure I could probably arrange it so that everyone can come along, after all I am an award winning member of the writing staff now." Mike laughed to himself, saying it purely light-heartedly, seeing his role in the writing of the episode in question as so minor and so insignificant he was almost embarrassed that he had been nominated for the award let alone had won it but he was proud of himself and the show nonetheless.

"Oh goody" Andy grumbled sarcastically, not realising that he'd actually said it out loud rather than just thinking it in his head.

"I'm sorry Andy?" Mike asked, not quite catching what he said. "What?"

Andy floundered for a moment as he saw all eyes pointed in his direction, Sharon's burning into him in particular. "The cake. Good cake. Goody, good cake" he finally said and not entirely convincingly. As Sharon stared at him, knowing full well precisely what he had just said, Andy put another forkful of cake into his mouth so that he didn't say anything else and get into any more trouble. As he chewed he once again seemed to fidget on the spot as he sat uncomfortably as if he was sitting on a bed a nails. Sharon shot him yet another warning glare which was suddenly mixed with a little bit of confusion as the awkwardness of how he was sitting started to hit her.

"So Mike, what's your episode about exactly?" Sharon asked as she tried to turn her attention away from Andy and his increasingly unusual and childish behaviour. "I don't think I caught that one when it aired" she added. The moment the words came out of her mouth Andy tried but ultimately failed not to laugh at her, in the knowledge that she Googled each episode to find out what it was about in case Mike asked if she had seen it since she quite clearly wasn't allowed to watch it because of Andy and his obsession with it. As Andy's laugh quickly turned into a cough and he acted like a piece of cake went down the wrong way, Sharon sent another glare his way.

"Well as you all know by now _Badge of Justice_ is about a specialist squad tackling crime and corruption inside the LAPD" Mike started to explain as looks were instantly exchanged between Andy, Provenza and Julio about the notion that anything like that actually took place amongst their colleagues. "My episode was called 'Haters Gonna Hate' and it was about two Sergeants working side by side within the same division, and essentially one murders the other and tries to bury him at Griffith Park because he was jealous over his colleague's part time job in the movie world."

Provenza and Sharon almost did spit takes as they tried not to laugh out loud since Mike's episode was essentially about him and Andy and _Badge of Justice_ without him even realising it. "Really?" Sharon asked, biting on her bottom lip as she continued to battle the laughter that was desperately trying to burst out of her and reverberate around the Murder Room. She smiled again and glanced at Andy out of the corner of her eye as he glared back at her, once more fidgeting on the spot like his desk was burning his backside. "Well, that certainly sounds like a very good and intriguing storyline to me Mike."

"Jealousy," Provenza mused, "one of my favourite ever motives."

"Yeah well I only co-wrote it but when Jason, he's one of our regular writers," Mike stopped virtually mid-sentence as he thought for a moment. "You guys remember him right? The guy who came on a ride along with Julio and myself a couple of years back so that he could make some notes and see us in action?" Sharon nodded as she sipped on her cider, almost answering for the group as a whole.

"Didn't you go out with him for a while Sykes?" Julio asked, clearly teasing her.

"Twice" Amy confirmed. "I went out with him twice and then I had to break it off."

"As in he's a eunuch now?" Andy queried with another grimace and clearly joking.

Everyone laughed at Andy as Sharon shook her head at him and smiled. "No Lieutenant. Not as in he's a eunuch" Amy confirmed. "I ended our relationship, if you can even call what we had that, after just two dates."

"Why? What did he do?" Julio asked.

"Well aside from him being far too short for my liking, no offense Lieutenant," she said in the direction of Provenza who rightly looked instantly put out by the insinuation about his height while the rest of the group laughed, "he had the tendency to drone on and on and on about his TV show every second of every day including during our dates. Frankly it was as annoying as all hell so I had to end it for my own sanity."

"Droning on and on about a TV show huh? I have idea what that must be like" Andy replied before Sharon shot him yet more daggers with her eyes even though the comment had largely managed to bypass Mike completely, going well over his head.

"Well anyway he came to me with the idea for the episode and asked for my help in writing it if I was interested. Something in the storyline just really hit home with me you know?"

"I can't imagine why" Provenza replied, talking into his glass in such a way so that only Sharon could really hear and understand him.

Sharon laughed at him as she walked over to Andy and stole a large lump of cake off his plate and put it in her mouth with a hum. "Hey!" Andy protested as he watched her with rapt interest while her eyes closed with pleasure and she sucked the frosting left on the very ends of her fingertips. "There's cake right there. I've even cut you a slice" he added as he pointed towards it, indicating a piece that had a lot less frosting on it than all the others with Sharon being the polar opposite to his former Chief when it came to cake (and most other things in all fairness) who seemed to be made up of fifty percent frosting at any given moment.

Sharon winked at him. "But yours always tastes better than mine" she told him, winking again before she stole another large chunk of cake from his plate and popped it in her mouth as she moved to stand next to Provenza again.

Provenza laughed as he watched their brief exchange, seeing himself and Patrice in them. "Get used to it Flynn. Patrice is the exact same way. I've not eaten a meal to myself in the last eighteen months. Women just have to steal food" he stated like it was a scientific fact backed up with copious amounts of research and test groups. "It's built into their DNA, like the constant need to criticise my driving."

Sharon put her hands on her hips and looked at him extremely put out by the insinuation. "I take great offence at that Lieutenant" she told him as Amy nodded along in agreement with her Captain, also annoyed by what he'd just said.

"Yeah Patrice has every right to criticise your driving" Andy offered before everyone laughed at him.

"That's not what I meant. I meant stealing food" Sharon clarified.

"Why?" Andy questioned perhaps a little ill-advisedly. "You do it all the time and he's seen you, multiple times in fact. The last time the four of us went out to dinner together you ate more of my meal than I did" he reminded her with a smug smile as Provenza nodded along furiously in agreement.

"I did not!" Sharon protested. "I had two mouthfuls maximum and you'd already finished. Amy help me settle this" she said as she turned to face her. "Do you steal any of Lieutenant Cooper's food?"

"No, never. Never have done, never will do and that's not just because Chuck's diet is beyond disgusting to say the least" Amy replied with a grimace of her own.

"Thank you Amy" Sharon said as she folded her arms defiantly across her chest and turned to face Provenza with a smile of smug satisfaction.

"Well Sykes isn't going to admit it is she Captain? Least of all to you. Mike? Opinion please?"

Mike smiled sheepishly at Sharon and Amy, knowing he was about to contradict them and that they really weren't going to like it. "Sorry Captain, Amy but Cathy is the exact same way, worse when it comes to any sort of seafood or strawberries."

At the mere mention of the word 'strawberries,' the one item of food that Andy knew full well that Sharon would bend over backwards to get, he started to smile and Sharon knew it without even looking at him. She slowly turned to face him and his beaming smile with a scowl. "Do not even" she warned him, the beginnings of a smile making its way to her eyes as he laughed at her.

Provenza raised his arms along with his glass and the balloons into the air in celebration, like Mike had just scored a field goal. "And the men win, three to two. Thanks for playing ladies, better luck next time. Collect your consolations prizes by the door on the way out" he cried triumphantly.

Sharon and Amy glanced at each other, both unimpressed. "I'm pretty sure both Patrice and Cathy would tell completely different stories Lieutenants" Sharon told them calmly, her voice taking on a quality like she had just caught a suspect in a lie and was about to go in for the kill.

"But since they're not here you'll just have to take our words for it" Provenza grinned.

Andy fidgeted on the spot again, his face clearly showing an awful lot of discomfort as he tried his hardest to hide it from the group and in particular Sharon. Julio stood next to him as he picked up a slice of cake, giving him a look of confusion and concern at his colleague's apparent discomfort. "Are you okay Lieutenant?" he asked with genuine concern.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Julio nodded and shrugged, taking Andy at his word as he took a big bite of his cake. "Wow! This is really good cake" he said as he pointed at what remained on his plate.

"It is, it really is and I don't normally like cake all that much" Sharon added as she took another huge chunk off Andy's plate, winking at him again as she chewed it. "But this is delicious."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just have your own slice?" Andy asked again.

"No thank you. I'm not that hungry." Fully relaxed for once in the middle of the Murder Room and enjoying the company of her colleagues as they celebrated with Mike, Sharon ran her hand through Andy's hair in a very intimate and tender way before she winked at him again and moved back to stand next to Provenza and Mike. "So what does Cathy think about your Hollywood lifestyle these days Mike? Does she enjoy the glitz and the glamour of it all?" she asked even though she knew she would probably pay for it later, practically hearing Andy grind his teeth together as she spoke.

"More to the point Mike," Provenza butted in with a smile before he could answer their Captain's question, "does Cathy know that you arrived at our crime scene the other evening in a limo full of young, beautiful looking, leggy women in _very_ short skirts?"

All of the men in attendance laughed as Mike simply frowned at the question. "Judging by that face I'm guessing not" Andy said more than a little gleefully, enjoying the fact that Mike had the potential for getting into trouble rather than him and Provenza for a change.

Mike sighed. "That was just the hair and makeup team on the show" he explained matter-of-factly as he shook his head dismissively.

"Oh yes I'm sure it's all perfectly innocent and easily explained away but my question my dear Michael was does your wife know all about them or not?" Provenza asked once again.

Everyone laughed this time as Mike just smiled at Provenza. "Yes Provenza, she does as a matter of fact. She knows them all very very well" he insisted, exaggerating a fraction but knowing that none of them would be able to tell.

Provenza laughed into his cider, not believing a word. "Yeah right."

"She's been to the set many times over the last couple of years and she's met them all at one time or another. I'm not hiding anything from my wife, believe me" Mike stated as Andy and Provenza continued to laugh at him, not believing a word he was saying. "What? I'm not" he added as he started laughing along with them.

"Okay then answer me this," Provenza started once again like a dog with a bone, "how long does it take for these young, beautiful, leggy, hair and makeup girls to do _your_ hair every time you're on set Mike?"

"Or do they just polish your head?" Andy asked before he and Provenza laughed again.

Mike smiled once more at them and shook his head. "Since I'm not an actor they don't do anything at all for me actually but I do sometimes have lunch with them on the set when we're on location" he informed them, the phrase 'on location' causing Andy to roll his eyes for about the hundredth time since the party started.

Provenza laughed with Julio joining in. "Oh I'm sure you do" Provenza nodded gleefully.

Sharon tutted and shook her head at the two of them as they ganged up on Mike and put him on the spot. "Leave him alone. It might surprise you both to find out that there are actually some men in this world that don't have the morals of alley cats when it comes to women unlike you two, and Mike is definitely one of those men" she said as she put her hand on Mike's shoulder and patted it.

"Thank you Captain" he replied with obvious gratitude.

Andy and Provenza looked at each other for a moment, both of them looking more than a little put out by Sharon's accusation. "What does that mean?" Andy asked with a pout.

"Are we not both happily settled down?" Provenza pointed out as if that erased all of the many many missteps they had taken in the past with members of the opposite sex.

"Finally" Buzz interjected, having witnessed more than he wanted to over the years as far as the two senior Lieutenants of the division and women were concerned.

"Only because you're both too old to be doing anything else" Julio suggested.

"I'll have you know Julio that there's still a lot of candy left in this piñata" Provenza claimed with a frankly alarming sideways thrust of his hips for effect.

Julio grimaced with disgust and he wasn't the only one. "Sir I think that falls under TMI."

"A what now?" Provenza asked, baffled.

"Too much information Sir."

"Then why didn't you just say that?" Provenza asked with exasperation.

"To be completely fair," Sharon said as her smile went between her boyfriend and his best friend, "I must concede that you have both grown up to a certain extent of late, I'll give you both that."

"Thank you" Provenza replied with a bow.

"And only forty years too late as well" Amy suggested and making everyone laugh with the exception of the two men in question who continued to look incredibly annoyed by the whole conversation at their expense.

"Forty?" Buzz laughed. "I think you mean more like fifty five" he corrected.

"Hey! We've been…"

Sharon put her hand up to silence Andy before he could say anymore. "Before you go any further need I remind you both of all of the _very_ informative and intriguing revelations you let slip about each other before last Christmas?" For a moment Andy and Provenza just stared at each other, both slightly annoyed that Sharon was clearly right and if they wanted that information to be kept from the rest of their colleagues they needed to drop the subject sooner rather than later. "Should I enlighten the group or would you two pair of clowns prefer to do it?"

"No thanks" Andy quickly replied.

"We're fine" Provenza confirmed. "Mike, as you were saying."

"Boy you two" Mike laughed at Andy and Provenza along with the rest of the group, enjoying that their Captain was able to wrap them both around her little finger such was the change in her relationships with them both compared to twelve months ago let alone five years earlier. "And to answer your question Captain, yes Cathy absolutely loves it. She adores the glamour when we get invited to award nights like the other day and she gets to dress up and walk a red carpet and her friends just love that I'm on a first name basis with someone like Jon Worth. Then there's the added bonus of the extra money in my account to help with our tuition shock."

"And how's that been Lieutenant?" Buzz asked.

"Still pretty shocking if I'm honest but it's certainly helped a lot" Mike said with the relief about that clear in his voice. "We've not had to downsize as a result at any rate which obviously Cathy and I and my business manager are all very pleased about."

Andy rolled his eyes as he listened to Mike, shuffling in his seat again as he looked more uncomfortable as the seconds ticked by. "Badge, Badge, Badge" he said under his breath.

Being the only one to hear him as they continued to talk amongst themselves while they questioned Mike about his Hollywood lifestyle with Amy unable to resist asking more about Jon Worth (not least his ability to conjure up a clean and pressed shirt seemingly out of thin air), Sharon narrowed her eyes and walked towards Andy. He watched her slowly approach him before she pushed his knees apart slightly to stand between his legs and then reached behind him to put her glass on his desk thus almost pressing herself against him and being able to whisper into his ear without drawing attention to what she was doing. "Behave yourself and you'll be duly compensated later" she told him in a voice just above a whisper. She then subtly kissed him on the side of his head as she picked her glass up again, being subtle solely so that no one would know she was essentially telling him off rather than because she didn't want anyone to see her kissing him while at work, it was the end of the working day and a celebration after all so no one would think for even a second about the sudden blurring of the professional and personal boundaries that they fought so hard to maintain at PAB. She gave him one final look that let him know she meant business before she returned back to Provenza's side just in time for a break in the conversation. "Julio, have you heard anything more from DCFS?" she asked.

"No not yet ma'am." Julio sighed which told the group all they needed to know about the state of affairs with DCFS without the need for him to elaborate further. "I was hoping to have heard something one way or another by now but I haven't. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but I'm not overly optimistic if I'm being honest with you Captain."

"We tried our best for you Julio" Andy told him, needing him to know that all of them in their own inimitable way (even Provenza) had done their best to help him when they spoke to Cynthia about what an amazing foster parent he would be.

"I know that Sir and I'm thankful for that, I really am but I guess certain things just aren't meant to be, like me getting the chance to be a Father."

"It'll happen Julio, you'll just have to be patient" Mike told him kindly, more keenly aware than all of them put together just how much his friend longed to be a Father and in truth what a wonderful Father he would actually make if he had the opportunity.

"Patience, something that will come in very handy when you are eventually given the opportunity to be a Father and you discover that they've totalled your car after taking it without your permission but for the record Julio I would like to point out that I was as unhelpful with DCFS as humanly possible" Provenza told him with his balloon clad hand across his heart. Everyone laughed, taking it in the spirit with which it was intended.

"So what's the change there?" Andy butted in quickly which was met with more laughter.

"Thank you Lieutenant."

"You're welcome!" Provenza replied. "Any time!"

Buzz put his hand on Julio's shoulder with more than a touch of sympathy. "I wouldn't lose all hope yet Detective. Surely DCFS would be crazy not to see that you'd make a great parent to a child in need."

"Thanks Buzz but it's about more than just that," Julio shrugged, "more than me being better than no one. It's about safety, not just the safety of the kid but mine too. I'm not sure they could have picked a worse week to come and speak to you all about me."

"That's not entirely true Julio. They could have come when you were suspended" Provenza offered, once again making everyone laugh at him.

"Sometimes I don't know where we'd be without your optimism Provenza" Andy laughed.

Sharon squeezed Julio's arm. "Chief Taylor was more than happy to speak on your behalf Julio. We managed to allay some of her initial concerns when we told her that you weren't under investigation, that the whole process was to determine if you were eligible for the Medal of Valour" she told him, trying to make him see the positives when there weren't many to be had.

"And I appreciate that ma'am but medal or no medal something tells me that the circumstances that caused me to earn it won't help my cause in the slightest." Julio sighed again, more than a little fed up and frustrated about the whole situation. "Still it was nice of Rusty to put in a good word for me ma'am. I really appreciated that."

"Well if anyone knows the benefits that come from an emergency placement with a police officer it's him" Buzz stated as he smiled at Sharon, causing her to blush slightly as everyone else joined Buzz in smiling at her.

Provenza raised his glass in the air, feeling the need for another toast. "Cheers to that" he said as everyone joined him in raising their glasses into the air. Sharon smiled at him before shyly turning towards Andy who similarly had his glass raised into the air to toast her honour as he winked at her.

Sharon smiled at Andy in return and he could easily detect the twinkle in her eyes, making him fearful of what she was about to say and in truth he had every right to be. "Maybe Andy could put a good word in for you Julio. He has a little friend working over at DCFS who might be able to pull a few strings" she said before she laughed into her cider, never tiring of teasing him on the subject, secure in the knowledge that she had nothing to worry about as far as Andy and other women were concerned.

"You're not funny Raydor" he replied with a glare.

"Oh I think I am" Sharon laughed.

"Do we really want to know what this is about?" Provenza asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Oh it's just a small matter of one of Andy's ex-girlfriends working at DCFS that's all" she told them gleefully, her eyes never leaving Andy's for a moment as they continued to sparkle at him.

"She wasn't my girlfriend" Andy insisted, hardly calling the way he used her and abused her to get the information he needed about Rusty's Father before dropping her like a stone anything approaching a relationship or using the term 'girlfriend' to describe her.

"Then why did you get all hot and sweaty the other day when Julio told you that someone from DCFS was coming over to interview us all?" she asked as everyone started to laugh at Andy's apparent discomfort as he remained on the back foot.

Andy sighed as he searched for an answer. Eventually he said "There's no way I can answer that question without getting into trouble." Once more everyone laughed at him as Sharon shook her head.

"Smooth Flynn, very smooth" Provenza laughed.

"Thank you" Andy nodded, winking at Sharon as she continued to shake her head at him.

"Anyway," Buzz said as he turned the conversation back to where it had originally started, "when you do eventually become a foster parent Detective Sanchez and it will happen of that I am certain, my only request is that I don't have to spend so much of my day taking care of them while you all work" he all but pleaded much to everyone's amusement.

"Where is Rusty anyway?" Provenza asked, looking around him in case he had somehow not noticed him lurking in the corner somewhere, glued to his cell phone. "It's not like him to turn down an invitation to a party, especially when _Badge of Justice_ is concerned."

"He was hoping to meet with his Mom tonight and cook her dinner" Sharon told him.

Provenza understood immediately, being the only one other than Sharon, Andy and Gus to know that his Mom was pregnant with Gary's baby. "Ah. I see" was all he said in reply rather knowingly.

Andy looked at his watch, having expected to have heard that Rusty had called Sharon by that point to tell her what had happened. "Has he called you yet?" he asked, not elaborating further for the rest of the group to understand what they were talking about.

"No not yet" she replied, glancing at the time herself. "He's probably waiting for us to get home before he fills us in on what's happened" she reasoned, assuming that he probably needed some time to calm down first if things hadn't gone well before talking about it.

Buzz looked at the three of them confused for a moment, a similar expression on the faces of Mike, Julio and Amy as none them had the faintest idea about what was going on or what they were talking about. "Are we missing something here?" he asked.

"Has he not told you?" Sharon asked with genuine surprise, figuring that since he had told Provenza what was happening in his life then he surely would have told Buzz too.

"Told us what?" Mike asked.

"Lieutenant?" Sharon said questioningly, having assumed he might have filled them in.

Provenza held his hands in the air defensively. "It wasn't my place to say anything. That's all up to him or you or even Flynn to tell everyone, not me" he insisted.

"Hey you can leave me out of it" Andy said quickly. "I'm just here to listen and to tell the kid to keep breathing when he looks like he's about to flip out" he added as he shuffled on the spot once again, still looking rather uncomfortable which was noticed by everyone. "That's my job in this family."

Sharon smiled at him as she walked towards him, brushing her hand across his shoulder before leaning her elbow on it as took her place by his side, wanting his moral support for a moment as she explained. "Well I guess there's no point in hiding it from you because I know he'd want you all to know what's going on after everything we've been through together." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Rusty's Mom..."

"You're Rusty's Mom" Andy cut in quickly as he looked up at her. "You know that."

"Hear, hear!" Provenza concurred as he raised his glass into the air again.

Sharon smiled at Andy as her hand went through his hair again before she nodded her thanks at Provenza. "Okay then, let me rephrase that slightly." She sighed once more as she stepped away from Andy and more into the group again as she addressed them all, wanting to be in the middle of them as she explained. "Rusty's biological Mother is pregnant."

Nearly all at once their mouths dropped open in disbelief at what they were hearing as silence fell on the Murder Room for a few seconds. "What?" Julio asked since he was the first one to get his mouth moving again after that bombshell.

"Oh my God" was all Buzz could manage as his hand flew up to his face and all of Rusty's tetchy behaviour of late (most of which he had attributed to not wanting to move out of the condo and into a house rather than anything that serious) suddenly made perfect sense.

"Let me guess, that Gary creep?" Mike asked, fearing the worst.

Sharon nodded. "You're kidding us?" Amy all but pleaded.

"If only she were" Provenza said as he finished off his cider in one go as if it was a glass of red wine and may actually be able to take the edge off the conversation.

"But just to be clear we're _not_ adopting this one too in case any of you were wondering" Andy quickly told them, sounding as serious as he could. They all laughed at him with it being the perfect tension reliever they so badly needed since they were all so surprised and indeed horrified by the news that Rusty was going to be the half-brother of a child fathered by a man who used to beat him and abandoned him at a zoo. Sharon just smiled at him, more than anything appreciating what he'd said since once again he had basically referred to Rusty as his son as well as Sharon's. He smiled back at her and winked again.

"She's going to keep the baby obviously," Sharon explained, "but also just as obviously Rusty is a little upset and raw about the subject right now and just a little…"

"Single minded" Andy again interjected as Sharon and Provenza nodded in agreement. "Very single minded about it."

"Right." Sharon sighed again, her demeanour as she spoke about it easily letting them all know that she was stressed about the situation and probably not sleeping a whole lot as she worried about Rusty and to be fair Sharon too, something Andy in particular knew all too well. "Rusty thinks the baby should be put up for adoption the very moment it's born and won't hear another word about it, Sharon obviously feels otherwise and as such things are difficult between them. I've tried telling him that if anything were to happen to his Mother than he would be the baby's next of kin which I hope gave him food for thought but we'll just have to wait and see."

"She was calling him earlier today while you were in Electronics" Provenza told her. "I tried my best to get him to pick up and speak to her but I don't know how much good I did."

"Regardless thank you Lieutenant and I appreciate your efforts but he just won't budge even with a little applied force. He's as stubborn as someone else in this room that I won't mention" she added as she looked at Andy and smiled, getting a ripple of laughter from the group as they realised she was right.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Andy said with a roll of his eyes as she laughed at him. "Are you going to tell them about the rest of it?"

"The rest? What rest? What else is there to say about it?" Sharon queried.

"How about the way I had to practically wrestle you away from your bedroom door for close to an hour the other night while the kid spoke to her about the baby in the living room so that you weren't spying on them? How about that?" he asked, knowing that he was taking his life into his own hands since he was bringing something very personal into work but such was the relaxed and social atmosphere he opted to be brave. Sharon just glared at him.

Provenza laughed loudly, the only one brave enough apart from Andy to do so when Sharon was showing glimpses of her Darth Raydor alter ego. "What? You did?" Provenza asked as he continued to laugh.

"It was like wrestling an octopus, an octopus that kept repeatedly kneeing me in the balls to get away and listen at the door" Andy told them while he kept his eyes locked on Sharon, a smile on his face as he again took his life into his own hands. Everyone laughed at him including Sharon who couldn't help herself as Andy again shuffled a little uncomfortably on the spot, giving them all the impression that he was perhaps still suffering from the assault on his nether regions all those weeks earlier.

"Accidentally" Sharon said to the group, making sure they understood that she hadn't taken to just beating up her boyfriend when the mood took her. "I accidentally kneed you in the groin" she added, turning her attention back to Andy again.

"The second time sure, that was an accident I'll give you that but the first time, that was most definitely deliberate as you quickly went insane" Andy told her. Once more everyone had to laugh at them and the way they spoke to each other, truly loving those very rare moments when they got to socialise with their Captain when she was so relaxed, allowing for some more private details to be shared with them.

"I didn't go insane" she stated categorically before she turned to face the rest of the group again, feeling the need to justify her actions from a moment when she had been acting unlike herself but for a very good reason. "I just needed to listen to what they were saying and you were in my way. I only wanted to make sure he wasn't upsetting her."

"And I only wanted to make sure you didn't upset him" Andy reminded her again.

"You can't argue with that logic Captain" Provenza nodded.

Sharon smiled at Andy, still appreciating his efforts and intent even if she hadn't shown it particularly well at the time. She turned back to the rest of the group. "Well anyway now you know what's going on so if he brings it up to any of you or he reacts badly to anything at the moment, that's why" she clarified, not wanting any of them to think that Rusty was being rude when he clearly had an awful lot going on inside his head.

"Poor kid" Mike sighed. "I mean Rusty obviously" he clarified quickly, not wanting to make it sound like he thought Rusty's Mom had little to no chance of staying sober and looking after the baby when it was obviously a fear front and centre in everyone's minds.

"That's okay Mike, I understand" she nodded.

"Is he not the least bit excited about being a big brother even?" Buzz asked, already knowing the answer if he was being honest with himself but feeling the need to ask anyway.

"Only as much as Provenza is when he has a physical on the horizon" Andy joked and making everyone except the man in question laugh.

"I don't need a physical" Provenza scoffed as he sucked his stomach in a little. "I am in tip top condition" he added, gesturing the length of his body with his hands as if he had the body of Thor going on underneath his shirt.

"Yeah tip top chronic condition" Andy interjected and making everyone laugh once again.

"I'll see if realising that he's going to be the baby's next of kin makes any difference but I've currently given up trying to talk to him about it because he just doesn't want to listen to me or to anyone else on the subject for that matter, not even Gus" Sharon said with a sigh that screamed nothing but frustration. She then turned to face Andy. "He's not spoken to you about it recently has he?" she asked, realising that they'd had very little time of late to talk about that sort of thing.

"No, nothing" Andy replied as he shook his head. "Other than complaining over breakfast this morning that I'd been shedding all over the bathtub again he's not said much to me at all" he shrugged as everyone laughed at him although they weren't quite sure what he was talking about.

"Shedding?" Amy asked on behalf of the group.

Andy rolled his eyes before answering. "At least once a day he compares me to a dog and that's if he's in a good mood" he told them which resulted in more laughter.

"Then stop making fun of his hair" Sharon told him with a smile.

"I keep telling you, it's my job as his Mom's boyfriend to irritate the crap out of him as much as humanly possible" Andy stated as if it was part of his job description and he had absolutely no choice in the matter. "Back me up here guys. Am I right?"

Everyone laughed at him again as Provenza simply shook his head. "I still find it shocking that he didn't let you bleed out on the bathroom floor when he had the chance" he told him.

"That makes two of us Lieutenant" Sharon replied as she kept her eyes on Andy, getting another wink from him in return.

"Since we're on the topic of children..." Julio started, only to be cut off in his prime.

Sharon could sense without even looking at him that Andy was about to say something, probably about his so called 'Super Sperm' and quickly pointed a finger at him. "Be quiet!" she told him sternly. Andy did nothing but laugh back at her in response while everyone else looked between the two of them completely baffled. "Sorry Julio, carry on" Sharon said with a smile as she shot Andy another warning glare, not wanting to discuss his sperm or what he was under the misapprehension he could do with it in the middle of the Murder Room.

"Okay" Julio said, drawing out the word to show how completely confused he was by what had just happened. He shook his head, dismissing it and turned his attention to Amy. "Have you and Coop ever talked about kids Sykes?" he asked, a smirk on his face as it was clear that he more interested in teasing her about her relationship with Cooper rather than showing a genuine interest in her family plans for the future.

Amy looked at her feet for a moment, looking perhaps more uncomfortable about the topic of conversation than anyone had ever seen her before. Electing to be truthful since they'd discussed it as recently as that morning while they were tailing their suspect at Venice Beach, she looked up and smiled at Julio, showing a level of confidence that she didn't actually have in that area. "We have as a matter of fact."

"And?"

"And I've told Chuck that we can discuss the prospect of us having children together as soon as he agrees to take early retirement and stay at home and raise them while I continue with my career and working here with all of you" she stated very matter-of-factly. Her response came as a surprise to no one, least of all to Sharon who raised her hand into the air for a high five with Amy quickly obliging her.

Sharon had been in that position herself of course and knew what it was like to be not just a working Mother but an incredibly driven and ambitious working Mother to boot. Although Sharon had virtually given up the life she originally wanted and had indeed planned out for herself, going to law school and becoming a lawyer rather than staying as a cop, for the sake of her family (and that included Jack too at that particular point in time) she refused to give her career up and continued to work, smashing one glass ceiling after another as she forged a home for herself within the LAPD and Internal Affairs. So she knew exactly where Amy was coming from and could fully understand her stance, not wanting to give up a job she adored to raise children. Sharon had always thought she would have continued to have worked after Emily and Ricky were born regardless of the circumstances because she loved her job so much but at any rate she didn't end up having any choice in the matter. With Jack out of her life more often than he was in it and sometimes taking their savings with him when the children came along she simply had no other choice but to continue working to put food on the table and a roof over their heads since she got zero child support or any other support for that matter from Jack (financially or emotionally) and help from St Josephs, although extremely welcome, only went so far at the end of the day.

"At any rate I don't think we're even approaching being ready for something like that yet Julio, having children" Amy added.

It was not something that she was completely against in principle but she also saw no rush to get on with it and do it especially since she was more than determined not to give up her career with the most elite group of detectives in the LAPD, knowing that nearly every other officer in Los Angeles would gladly take her place in a heartbeat if she did. She knew she'd more than upset Chuck earlier in the day (how could she not know and not just with the words she'd used either but also the tone she'd used towards him) but she didn't want to lead him on, always being honest with him when the subject was raised and simply having to tell him how she felt so that they weren't wasting each other's time or rather so that she wasn't wasting his time. If Chuck really wanted marriage and kids and a dog and a white picket fence type of life that much then he was free to have it…but he needed to find that life with someone else. It would kill her if he did leave her, wanting a family more than he wanted her but she would also understand why if he did.

Sensing that Andy was about to try and speak again Sharon was quick to point a finger at him for a second time. "Andy Flynn I am warning you now! Do not even think about it!" she warned him once again.

Andy laughed hysterically to himself, his innocence fooling no one least of all Sharon who knew him better than anyone else. "What?" he asked innocently as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. "I'm just sitting here, eating my cake, minding my own business" he laughed, having to look away from her to avoid the feeling that her eyes were likely to burn a hole in him shortly.

Provenza looked at them confused, a look mirrored by the rest of the group. "Anything we should know about Captain?" he asked.

"Nothing at all other than Lieutenant Flynn over here is under the misapprehension that he's funny when he quite clearly isn't" Sharon stated, never taking her eyes off Andy for even a fraction of a second.

"Well I could have told you that" Provenza replied.

"And yet you went out on a date with him anyway" Mike couldn't help but add, still never quite really believing that it had happened let alone that they would still be together twelve months later.

"Well he does have his plus points" Sharon shrugged.

"But sadly none of us can think of one right now" Provenza stated loudly as Sharon laughed. As the conversation quickly went back to Julio's chances of becoming a foster parent one day soon, Provenza kept his eyes on Andy, noting that not only was he behaving himself more than usual where _Badge of Justice_ celebrations were concerned but that he also seemed to be sitting a little uncomfortably and constantly fidgeting. With everyone else distracted and Andy well out of earshot if he kept his voice down low, Provenza leant in close towards Sharon's ear. "What is the matter with him today?" he asked as he glanced towards Andy who was once again fidgeting on the spot. "Is he sitting on a bed of ants or something?"

Sharon grabbed hold of Provenza's arm for a moment as she rolled her eyes, having noticed herself that Andy had been fairly grumpy and fidgety all day without any real obvious cause coming to light. "I was going to ask you the same thing. I didn't know if you were keeping another one of his secrets from me" she said with sparkling eyes.

"Secrets? When have I ever kept one of his secrets from you?" Provenza asked, more than a little offended by the insinuation that he had helped Andy deliberately deceive her.

"How about when he went to see the Doctor?" she asked as she looked at him over the top of her glasses. "You said and I quote…"

"You're going to quote me?"

"Oddly enough I tend to remember when someone lies to my face, especially when it comes to the health of someone I love." Provenza smiled at her sheepishly and nodded before she continued. "You said and I quote 'If it was really serious, I wouldn't have told you'" she said, still more than a little annoyed that the true extent of Andy's health issues were kept from her not once but twice, leading her to worry that there may be a repeat performance in the future if she couldn't break them of the habit before then.

"In my defence Captain," Provenza started as he put his hand across his heart, "I didn't know how serious it was at the time and the moment that I did find out I made sure he told you right after he told his 'Captain.'" They both laughed at each other for a moment as they shook their heads, the rules always there and making it sound like Provenza was talking about two different people. "So what's wrong with him?"

"Oh I have no idea" Sharon told him as they both observed him fidget in his seat once more. "At least he's behaving himself and that's all I currently care about."

"And on that subject Captain what exactly did you have to bribe him with to get him to do this for Mike tonight?" Provenza asked with a smile, knowing full well that his best friend had probably been manipulated into playing nice.

Sharon smiled at him as she folded her arms. "What makes you think I've had to bribe him at all?" she asked to which Provenza just smirked at her. "Honestly Lieutenant we've been together for just over twelve months now, do you think I'm incapable of manipulating him into doing something he doesn't want to do without a bribe being involved?"

"If I'm honest Captain and with all due respect I really don't want to know" Provenza said and making her laugh before she turned and smiled at Andy adoringly, as her second in command just watched her.

 _In truth it wasn't so much a bribe as it was the perfect example of how easily Sharon could manage to manipulate Andy and the situation to her advantage by using sex. The idea of throwing Mike a little celebratory party had hit her the moment that he walked into the Murder Room wearing a tuxedo, carrying his shiny award and a very proud smile on his face but she knew that the problem in throwing such a party would be her rather stubborn and_ extremely _jealous boyfriend._

 _After one too many snide comments in Mike's direction, not least 'Be careful you don't rub all the fake platinum off that award' she had decided that it was the perfectly opportunity for Andy to finally grow up as far as_ Badge of Justice _was concerned and make the first move when it came to the party and being pleased for Mike and his show. With that in mind Sharon also made the first move when they climbed into bed the night before their little celebration as she formulated a plan to bend Andy to her will and also leave him completely incapable of saying 'No' to her even if he desperately wanted to._

 _Her rather aggressive attitude struck Andy immediately as she walked out of the bathroom and essentially pounced on him as he sat in bed reading, knocking the book from his hand and removing his t-shirt before he had even had chance to register she was in the same room as him. It was not at all unusual for Sharon to take charge in bed or to be particularly aggressive for that matter so he simply didn't see her great master plan coming in those first few moments as she devoured his lips. It was only a short time later after she flipped them over and very slowly sank down on top of him that he began to suspect that perhaps something else was going on between them other than sex. After pausing for slightly longer than usual as she adjusted to the feel of him inside her she narrowed her gaze as she looked at him square in the eyes, pulling his hands away from her hips and pinning them to the bed by his sides, stopping him from touching her and leaving him completely at her mercy as she loomed over him with more than a touch of menace. Then she said it._

" _We need to talk about_ Badge of Justice _" Sharon told him very matter-of-factly as if that sort of conversation was completely common place while they were having sex._

 _Andy blinked at her a couple of times before he spoke, thinking that he had to be hearing things. "Excuse me?" he asked._

" _We need to talk about_ Badge of Justice _" she repeated, a smile on her face._

" _What? Now?" Andy asked with exasperation as he looked about him as if he was making a point of getting her to look at their surroundings and reminding her about what they were in the middle of doing._

" _Yes now."_

" _If you're trying to ruin the mood then those are the three little words that will do it every time sweetheart_."

 _Sharon smiled at him before she rolled her hips, instantly getting his complete and undivided attention as his eyes closed and he groaned while attempting to thrust along with her. Just as quickly as she started moving she stopped again as she glared at him, letting him know that she meant business. Andy swallowed hard as his eyes opened, realising that nothing was going to happen between them until he'd at least heard her out first. He swallowed again. "_ _Okay._ Badge of Justice _. What about it?" he asked as he tried his hardest to focus._

" _I think it would be nice if we threw Mike a little party tomorrow after work to celebrate his award. Don't you think?" she said, phrasing it as a question when in reality he had very little choice in the matter, it was happening and he either liked it or he would be in very serious trouble with her._

 _Andy didn't immediately respond so Sharon simply rolled her hips again to get his attention. He groaned when she stopped and sighed. "_ _Yes, yes, that sounds like a great idea to me" he said as he tried to sound very enthusiastic in an attempt to end the discussion._

" _Good" she nodded. "And I think it would also mean an awful lot to Mike after everything you've said over the years about his part time job and the show if you were the one to lead the celebrations."_

" _What?" Andy asked truly horrified to which Sharon simply responded by rolling her hips yet again, feeling him try to move his hands to touch her as she kept them pinned to his sides. "Yes, yes, absolutely. I'll do it. Whatever you say. I'll do whatever you want. I promise" he practically shouted as he felt like he was currently being tortured and would do whatever she wanted to make it end, not that it was an unreasonable request in the slightest and he knew that, in all likelihood agreeing to it anyway because Mike was his friend without the use of such blatant manipulation._

 _Sharon smiled as she leant down and kissed him on the lips, practically devouring them as she released his hands and rolled her hips once more._ " _I'm so glad when we're on the same page_."

As Sharon recalled the previous evening and smiled at Andy she had the feeling that she was being watched, turning her head to see Provenza smiling at her in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on, a smile he would never have used when he looked at her five years ago. The two of them had become very close over the years, a mutual respect forming long before she started dating his best friend and growing to love one another as friends but there was just something unusual about the way he was smiling at her that was different to normal.

"What? What's so funny?" she asked him.

"Nothing it's just I don't think I've ever said this to you before but…thank you" Provenza said, closing his eyes briefly and nodding as he said those final two words to her, a warm tone to his voice that had started to appear as he spoke to her more privately and personally over the last twelve months or so.

"Thank you? For what?" Sharon asked confused.

Provenza looked at Andy and his smile widened, the concern that he had about his friend having his heart broken and possibly ruining what little remained of his career long over, no longer fearing he may relapse as a result if their relationship didn't work and absolutely delighted to see him happier than he'd ever been in his life. "You are _very very_ good for him Captain and I'm extremely grateful for that" Provenza said softly. "Extremely grateful."

Sharon smiled at him before she turned to look at Andy. "That makes two of us Lieutenant."

"Then cheers to that" he said as he raised his glass into the air.

"Cheers." Sharon clinked her glass against his before they both took a sip.

Andy eyed them suspiciously as he watched from his position sitting on his desk, having seen them talk and share a toast together. "What are you two whispering about? As thick as thieves and twice as suspicious" he asked with a smile, his question loud and intriguing enough to earn the attention of the rest of the group.

"What's the matter Andy?" Mike asked as he laughed. "Worried?"

"What by these two being so cosy together? Terrified! Positively terrified!" Andy cried as they all laughed at him. "It's as frightening as last Christmas when I walked into Nicole's kitchen and found this one," he said as he pointed at a grinning Sharon, "cosying up to my ex-wife over a bottle of wine."

They all laughed at him, revelling at his apparent (and mainly fake) discomfort. "She was just passing along to me a couple of tips on how to handle you" Sharon said with a rather large smile as she too enjoyed torturing him.

"I don't need handling" Andy insisted.

Provenza scoffed. "We beg to differ."

"Well?" Andy asked. "What are you talking about?"

"A big pile of none of your business that's what we're talking about" Provenza told him as he and Sharon closed the gap between them and essentially putting an end to their brief but private discussion.

"Are you really not going to tell me?" Andy asked again.

Provenza shrugged. "Not in this lifetime."

Andy frowned at them both for a moment before he started to laugh, registering the balloons still clutched tightly in Provenza's hands. "Hey do you know who you look like holding those balloons?" he asked.

"Enlighten me."

"The old guy from _Up_ " Andy told him before Julio, Amy and Buzz all laughed at him.

"The who from what now?" Provenza asked, not having a clue what he was talking about.

"The guy in the cartoon _Up_ " Andy repeated but was only met with a confused frown from Provenza in return. "You know with the balloons tied to his house and the dog and the kid and the bird and they go to the waterfall."

Julio pointed at Provenza as he laughed. "Yes he does" he said, laughing hysterically.

"You've never seen it?" Andy asked.

Provenza sighed with irritation. "What is it about me exactly that makes you think I would sit down and watch a cartoon out of choice?" he asked, restricting his viewing habits to either sport or westerns unless Patrice had control of the remote control in which case he watched the inside of his eyelids and snored to the point where Patrice had to turn up the volume.

"Have you never watched a movie with your Grandkids Sir?" Julio asked.

"The only thing I watch with my Grandkids Julio is my bank balance as it slowly ticks down to zero before my very eyes" Provenza replied grumpily before he turned his attention back to Andy and his apparently unusual viewing habits. "And what are you doing watching cartoons anyway?"

Andy shrugged, as he glanced at Sharon from the corner of his eye. "With Nicole's step kids" he said, as his hand moved to cover his nose before anyone noticed that he was lying, should Sharon had informed someone other than Rusty how to work out his tell.

Sharon laughed loudly, snorting at she did. The entire group quickly turned to look at her with it being unclear if they were surprised by the fact that Sharon secretly snorted when she laughed or if they were awaiting the secret which she clearly had to tell. Andy narrowed his eyes at her as he silently pleaded with her not to reveal the truth. "More like on his own on the couch every Sunday morning" Sharon gleefully told them as she smiled at him.

"What?" Provenza laughed, not believing his ears.

"Is no one going to mention the snort laugh?" Andy asked. "Come on!"

Andy's question fell on deaf ears as they all ignored him, all eyes fixed on Sharon as they waited for her to elaborate further. "It's his little ritual" she told them as she moved to sit next to Andy on his desk and put her arm around his shoulders in a very intimate way but more like she was embracing a child rather than her boyfriend. "Every Sunday morning I find him sitting on the couch in the living room with a bowl of cereal in his lap and watching cartoons" she revealed, often finding him missing on a Sunday morning before discovering him on the couch in front of the Disney channel like a five year old.

"No I don't!" Andy protested.

"Oh yes he does" Sharon replied quickly. "Ask Rusty, he's seen him."

"Awww!" Amy cried as if she had just seen a kitten playing with a duckling before she hugged him, unable to stop herself. "That's so sweet Lieutenant."

"Sweet?" Andy asked, horrified at her word choice.

"Oh God whatever you do Amy please don't call him 'adorable' or we'll never hear the end of it" she said as she smiled at him, her hand patting his shoulder. "He'll be sulking for days."

"What is this? Pick on Andy five minutes?" he asked, feeling under siege.

"Cartoons and cereal?" Provenza cried. "How old are you? Five? Ye Gods!"

Andy turned to face Sharon, looking far from impressed from the turn the conversation had taken. "What happened to the rule about the two of us keeping personal matters outside of this building at all times?" he asked.

Sharon shrugged. "We're at a party. We're celebrating."

"I'm going to remind you of that later" Andy told her as he fidgeted in his seat once again, clearly uncomfortable. Sharon looked at him with a mixture of confusion and concern creeping across her face at Andy's increasingly odd behaviour which had only escalated as the day had gone on. She was just about to ask him if everything was okay with him when Provenza spoke first.

"Cartoons? Seriously?" he cried. "What have you done to him Captain?"

Sharon laughed. "Me? Nothing" she insisted. "This is the same condition he was in when I received him. This cartoon obsession happened when he was in your custody Lieutenant, not mine. I take no responsibility for it."

"Custody? What am I? A dog?" Andy grumbled.

"You can't blame this on me" Provenza replied, ignoring Andy's protests as if he wasn't even in the room. "It could quite easily be your influence in the years leading up to you losing your mind and deciding to finally admit that you were dating him."

"Oddly enough I was never at the condo on a Sunday morning before then" Andy reminded him with Provenza still maintaining that they had been dating for at least eighteen months longer than they had been simply to annoy him even though he knew the truth.

"Exactly. How much influence do you think I've had in a year? You had custody of him for twenty plus years before he so much as had a civil word to share with me" Sharon pointed out as she smiled at the man in question.

"I really don't like where this conversion is headed" Andy whined, feeling like he was being ganged up on. Sharon laughed and briefly rested her head on his shoulder until he fidgeted in his seat once again. She looked up and frowned at him, her concern continuing to grow by the second. In response Andy simply shook his head at her as if he was dismissing her concerns out of hand as he ran his hand loosely around her waist, trying his hardest to keep her next to him and as close as possible since there was something he wanted to try and discuss with her as subtly as he could without anyone else hearing.

"My point exactly. After twenty years I have had more than enough" Provenza cried to the heavens as he put his hand across his heart. "I have served my time. Some murderers we've had pass through here have served less time. I handed him over to you when he returned to the field after Christmas, he's yours, he's your responsibility now, I have washed my hands of him" he added and making everyone laugh except Andy who looked more than a touch offended by the whole conversation.

Sharon smiled warmly at Andy as she spoke to Provenza. "I'm sure I should say thank you but..."

"You don't need to tell me Captain," Provenza interjected, "I know." Once more everyone laughed, not least at the incredibly annoyed expression on Andy's face and yet his irritation at being ganged up on paled into insignificance compared to the joy he felt watching the love of his life and his best friend socialising in such a way given their starting point just a few short years earlier.

"Okay enough about me" Andy announced, trying to put an end to his torment as quickly as humanly possible. "Time to talk about something else."

"Any plans to write any more episodes Lieutenant?" Buzz asked, feeling like Andy had been tortured enough and was genuinely interested in Mike's Hollywood career.

"Oh jeez" Andy muttered under his breath just loud enough for Sharon to overhear given her position sitting next to him. She glared at him and pinched his shoulder. "What?" he asked innocently. She didn't reply, simply stood up and moved to stand between Provenza and Mike again, feeling like Andy was less likely to complain if she wasn't there to listen to him.

"I mean you are an award winning writer now after all," Buzz continued, raising Mike's award into the air triumphantly like it was an Oscar, "aren't they begging you to collaborate on another episode if you can find the time?"

Mike looked at them a little embarrassed for a moment, still a little uncomfortable about all the attention he was getting but enjoyed it nonetheless. "My name has been mentioned in the writer's room when they've been discussing plans for next season according to Jason but I'll just have to wait and see what happens" he shrugged, not really expecting to get the call and end up with story credit on another episode again. "If Jason does indeed need my assistance again then I'll gladly lend him a hand, so long as it doesn't get in the way of work of course."

"So how did you go about writing it?" Amy asked.

"Oh well this is where it gets interesting" Mike said as he prepared for one of his incredibly long and detailed explanations that would make Buzz and Amy regret asking the questions in the first place.

"Oh jeez!" Andy grumbled once again with Sharon once more hearing him before he rather uncomfortably fidgeted on the spot with a face like thunder.

Sharon stared at him for a moment with a scowl before she crossed back over to him as subtly as humanly possible to tell him off. "You can't pretend to be happy for your friend for just five minutes?" she asked him as quietly as possible so that no one else could hear her. "You never know, you might find it interesting."

Andy scoffed. "I doubt that." Sharon frowned at him, letting him know just how annoyed she was with him when he had promised to behave himself, accepting the odd comments here and there but the constant miserable face he was wearing was a step too far. Andy glanced over her shoulder to make sure that everyone else was distracted listening to Mike before he continued. He sighed. "It's not that. It's...nothing" he said, changing his mind half way through his sentence.

"If it's not that then what?" she asked as her hand rubbed up and down his arm as she stood in front of him, her concern growing by the second that there was something seriously wrong with him, something he had yet to tell her or Provenza about. "Is something wrong? Are you feeling okay?" she asked, looking at him like she did when he was explaining about his blood clot in her office, clearly worried but trying and failing to hide it.

"I'm fine" he replied quickly in an attempt to alleviate some of her fears. "It's nothing. Honestly it's nothing." He smiled at her but it did nothing to fool her, only making her worry a little bit more about him if that was even possible.

"No it's not, you're clearly lying to me." Sharon put her drink down on the desk next to him so that she could put her hands on his shoulders. "You forget I can tell. There's something obviously wrong with you. What is it?" she asked, not prepared to let him off the hook until she got an answer, regardless of their surroundings.

Provenza couldn't fail to overhear what they were talking about as well as the incredibly concerned expression on Sharon's face. He frowned as he stepped towards them. "Flynn? Captain? Is everything okay?" he asked.

Andy rolled his eyes and sighed as he smiled at Sharon. "Everything is fine Provenza." Andy looked up at the rest of the group and noticed that they were all starting to pay attention to them as the conversation about _Badge of Justice_ ended more than a touch abruptly. Not wanting an audience Andy leant in close to Sharon and whispered to her. "Can we step inside your office for a moment? Can we talk in there?"

"Yes. Of course" she nodded. Andy immediately stood and walked straight into Sharon's office, moving awkwardly along the way as if he had suddenly become bow legged. Sharon looked at Provenza and shrugged at his equally concerned face before she followed Andy inside and closed the door behind her. She found Andy inside hovering by the chairs but not sitting down, making her concern grow further. Sharon perched on the edge of her desk with her arms crossed, unsure about how worried she should actually be in that moment, sitting to attention like she did when he told her about his clot but being closer to him this time, being ready to wrap her arms around him as soon as she knew the truth. "What's going on?"

He paused before he spoke. "I've got something I need to tell you."

"Okay." Sharon tried her hardest not to let her breath shudder as she became aware out of the corner of her eyes that Provenza had moved so that he could see them through the glass, equally worried now and wanting to keep an eye on proceedings even if he couldn't actually hear what they were saying.

"I thought I could do this but I was wrong and boy have I paid the price for it big time, this has been without a shadow of a doubt the longest day of my whole God damn life" Andy told her with more than one grimace.

Sharon stood and moved towards him, her hand on his shoulder and absolutely worried to death about him. "Andy what's going on? You're starting to worry me now. Are you ill? Is something..."

"No! No! Oh God no!" Andy cut in quickly as he began to realise that she was thinking the worst about his health given the way he'd been acting and grimacing all afternoon and into the evening. He took her hands from his shoulders and held them tightly in his as he smiled at her reassuringly. "Sweetheart it's nothing like that. I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked, not really believing him. "Do you need your blood pressure..."

"Sharon, Sharon, listen to me. I'm fine" he told her in as reassuring a tone as he could muster. "Really, I promise I am absolutely fine." He smiled at her and kissed her hands as they remained clutched in his, all that he would do in that moment even though they were technically off the clock and at a party.

"Then what's happening? Because something is clearly going on with you today and it can't all be because of Mike's award and _Badge of Justice_. So what is it?" she asked once again, feeling that he had been fairly grumpy and fidgety all day long without any obvious cause except Mike and his award.

Andy released her hands as he struggled to force the words out of his mouth. "Okay, but just hear me out first before you react to what I'm trying to tell you." He sighed as his hand rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. "Since Rusty was going to be out tonight I wanted to take advantage and...you know surprise you and like I said I was going to tell you earlier, I _needed_ to tell you about it earlier to make it all worthwhile but we never seemed to find a spare five minutes alone and when we weren't stupidly busy and I thought we'd have this whole case wrapped up long before now so I could tell you because I couldn't tell you in front of everyone else and then Taylor was always hanging around or that stupid English reporter and I thought I was being ridiculous and it was the stupidest idea I've ever had in my life and I didn't want to distract you from work and I..."

"For God's sake Andy will you just spit it out!" Sharon shouted at him, beyond frustrated at the way he was rambling once again and leaving her all the more baffled by what was happening. "What on earth is going on?"

Andy sighed and closed his eyes before answering. "I'm wearing your underwear" he said, offering no further explanation as to his rather bizarre confession and choice in wardrobe.

Sharon blinked at him with exaggeration for a few moments in silence, honestly not really believing what she was hearing. "What?" she asked, briefly wondering if they hadn't been drinking apple cider at all and she was in fact as drunk as a skunk and hearing things.

Andy opened his eyes and looked at her, seeing an utterly gobsmacked expression looking back at him. "Under my pants" he confirmed a little pointlessly. "I'm not wearing my boxers today. I'm…I'm wearing a pair of panties. Your panties to be precise." He paused as he waited for her to say something in reply. Instead she just stared at him in a state of shock, that was until she started to laugh at him, laughing harder than he had ever seen her laugh before, surprising not only him but also Provenza who was still watching them through the glass. Sharon started to roll around the desk as she laughed, drawing the attention of everyone on the other side of the glass as Andy desperately tried to shush her, glancing over his shoulder and seeing that they were drawing a crowd. "Okay! Okay! Keep the noise down will you or everyone will find out!" he said as he walked towards her and tried to get her to be quiet.

"Oh Andy!" Sharon cried as she continued to laugh, burying her face into his chest, holding onto the lapels of his jacket as she continued to laugh, tears falling from her eyes.

"It's not funny okay! It's supposed to be..." he stopped as he thought about it, not really sure what his intentions were if he was completely honest when he elected to pull on a pair of women's underwear rather than his own that morning. "Oh I don't know, it's supposed to be sexy I guess or something, I don't know." Still unable to speak, Sharon continued to laugh at him. "Oh God! Just kill me!" Andy covered his face with his hands from the horror of it all, still not believing that he'd done something so idiotic himself. "Please just kill me! Put me out of my misery I beg you!"

Without knocking Provenza suddenly flung the door open, still concerned by what was going on despite Sharon's laughter. "Is everything okay Captain?" he asked, as he observed his partner looking filled with horror while Sharon continued to hold onto him as she laughed.

Sharon still couldn't speak for laughing as Andy's head snapped to see him while she still clung to the lapels of his jacket. "Everything is fine" Andy insisted. "We just need a moment. We'll be back out in a minute." Provenza looked at them absolutely baffled before Andy started to frantically wave him away with his hand, needing him to leave as soon as possible.

"Is there anything you'd like to share with me?" Provenza asked, his curiosity peaked.

"No! Just get out of here please!" Andy cried. Provenza nodded, still more than a tad confused by the whole situation before he went to leave. "And shut the door." Provenza scowled at him before doing as instructed, looking at them through the glass for a second before going back over to stand next to Mike again.

Finally Sharon managed to compose herself enough to remove her glasses and wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked up to meet his eyes. "You're wearing panties?" she asked, still thinking that she must have heard from wrong.

"I am indeed" Andy confirmed with a very confident smile.

Sharon took a moment to process the information before responding, a smirk very prominent on her face. "I know you love Cary Grant but isn't this taking it a little too far?" she asked as she started laughing again, the rumours about what Andy's favourite actor wore under his suit as he filmed various films common knowledge.

"Oddly enough that is not the reason I've done this."

"Then why? Why have you done this?" she asked. "What could possibly have motivated you to do this? To do something so utterly utterly ridiculous?"

"You!" Andy cried. "I did this for you! Why else do you think?"

"For me?" Sharon asked before she looked at him absolutely baffled. "I don't understand. Why would you do something like this for me?"

"You told me to do it!"

Sharon thought for a moment as she frowned at him. "No I didn't! I think I would remember telling you to do something as utterly ridiculous as to come into work in a pair of panties Andy" she told him before she laughed again.

"Well clearly you don't!" Andy glanced through the glass and noticed that Sharon's laughter was continuing to draw a crowd so he turned his back to them a little more. "Do you mind if we turn this way slightly? We have an audience gathering" he told her as he nodded in the direction of the eyes watching them intently.

"Are you frightened that someone may be able to lip read?" Sharon smiled at the crowd watching them, amused that they were watching them while at the same time wanting Provenza in particular to know that everything was okay.

"Well not until now for Christ's sake." Andy turned a little more, ensuring no one would be able to see his face. "Will you just turn this way please?" Sharon nodded and did as she was requested as she continued to laugh at him, fearing that she would never be able to stop since she found it so hysterical. "You really don't remember this?" Sharon shook her head, still unable to stop laughing to answer him vocally. "Okay. Fine. A couple of weeks ago when I found that stash of clothes you'd stolen..."

"Borrowed" she corrected as she started to calm down in order to listen to him.

"Whatever, that you'd taken from me and was wearing when I was at the house," he said for he had long stopped referring to his house as 'home' since home was where Sharon and Rusty were, "I asked if you were going to give me something of yours to wear in exchange."

Sharon looked at him utterly confused. "And? How do you get from there to here?"

"Because you said you were going to give me a pair of your panties and you'd find it kind of sexy to look at me sitting at my desk all day and knowing that I was wearing them under my suit all day! That's how!" he explained, the idea sticking in his mind until a week earlier when he decided he was going to do it, picking a quiet day (or so he thought) when they had nothing but paperwork to do so it wouldn't matter if she was a little distracted at the thought of Andy sitting behind his desk with that going on beneath his suit.

She thought for a moment as she tried to remember the conversation he was referring to and had evidently taken to heart. Then it hit her. Yes she had said it to him but it couldn't have been more in jest, a light hearted throw away comment meant as a joke as he grumbled about her stealing his clothes and not for him to take seriously and actually do. Sharon stood before him and put her hands on his shoulders as she laughed loudly again. "Andy! I WAS JOKING!" she cried as she started laughing uncontrollably.

Andy's shoulders slumped as he put his hands on his head. "Yes I'm beginning to realise that now!" he said as the full horror of just what an idiot he'd been hit him hard. Since Sharon had joked with him about it (now registering that it was actually a joke and not a genuine request for him to do) he had gone back and forth on whether to actually do it or not. At first he dismissed it, thinking it was ridiculous before slowly coming around to the idea and deciding to go for it, picking a day when he thought Rusty was going to be out (although that clearly was not the case now) in order to surprise her but it had turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life. Not only had Sharon been joking with him but he'd spent all day in such epic amounts of discomfort that he was contemplating turning himself into a eunuch in order to just make it end.

Andy covered his face with his hands as Sharon continued to laugh at him. Suddenly she stopped. "Oh my God! They're not actually a pair of mine are they?" she asked. Andy just looked at her, a neutral expression on his face. "Andy? Are they mine under there?" she asked again as she pointed at his crotch. Andy's mouth opened and closed for a second without a single solitary sound coming out of it. "Andy?"

"Well I wasn't going to go out and buy some just for the occasion was I? How weird would that look?" he said as an attempt to justify his actions.

"What?"

"What if you'd found them in my house before I'd had chance to explain? There's no way you would have believed what I was going to do with them" he explained. In reality the mere thought of Sharon finding them and leaping to the wrong conclusion terrified him which is why he opted for a pair of hers instead. He sighed, his worry about his numerous mistakes in the past clearly visible. "I didn't want you to think I'd been having an affair or something" he told her, looking almost shyly as he said it as if that sort of thing really bothered him, Sharon not trusting him for even a fraction of a second.

Sharon laughed at him, instantly forgiving him for in all likelihood stretching a pair of her panties beyond all recognition because he was concerned that the alternative may make her not trust him. "Oh Andy!" she cried as she smiled at him and cupped his face with both of her hands, still in a state of shock that they were even having the conversation to begin with. "Just when I think you can't possible get any stupider you..."

"Come to work in your panties?"

Sharon laughed again until a thought suddenly hit her and her eyes widened. She pointed a finger at him as she tried to compose herself enough to speak. "If they're mine you had better not have stretched out a pair of my favourites, I'm warning you now boy."

"Stretched out?" Andy asked and suddenly sounding highly offended as he put his hands on his hips. "Are you calling me fat?"

"No!" she laughed. "I'm calling you a man with very different body proportions to me, not to mention that your hips are just bigger than mine anyway" she pointed out to him.

Andy fidgeted on the spot, pulling at his backside with discomfort as Sharon could finally understand what his problem had been all afternoon and evening. "Yeah well I don't think you're getting back in them again without a pair of my suspenders to hold them up for you" he told her, acknowledging that his hips had stretched them out. Sharon could do nothing in response except laugh uncontrollably at him once again. "They're so tight. I haven't been able to feel my legs properly since just before lunch" he whined. Sharon laughed once again, starting to be in real pain she was laughing so hard. "I'm so glad you find this so funny but it's not exactly the reaction I was going for you know."

"What reaction were you going for?" she asked, still not really understanding why he had done something so inexplicably stupid just for her even if it had been a genuine request.

"I don't know. To get you all hot and bothered while you sat at your desk and looked at me through the glass as you finished up your paperwork I guess" he told her, imagining that she wouldn't be able to take her eyes off him as she finished her reports once he had found an appropriately quiet moment to tell her, a moment that simply hadn't arrived all day much to his increased horror and continued discomfort. "Something like that." He sighed. "All I've done is make you laugh at me and given myself the worst God damn wedgie in the entire world. It's like sitting on cheese wire. How do you wear these things all day?" he asked, his nether regions currently so sore he was on the verge of tears.

Sharon laughed. "If you think that's bad you should try a bra."

"No thanks. I'm good. The one you trapped me in the other day was _more_ than enough for one lifetime thank you very much" he said grumpily, being trapped in that particular bra over his shirt for a good hour because he couldn't undo it himself and Sharon refused to help him, wanting him to learn like she was teaching a child to ride a bike.

Sharon laughed as her hand stroked his cheek, loving him, the ridiculous, stupid, goofy, bad tempered man more than she ever thought possible in that moment. "Oh my God! Andy I can't believe you've done this."

"Join the club."

Suddenly and without warning Sharon stopped laughed and Andy's desired effect started to take over her, liking the idea more and more, her neck and face starting to flush from the laughter as well as a hint of arousal. "So?" she said to him.

"So what?"

"Which pair?"

"Excuse me?"

"Which pair are you wearing?" she asked as she smiled at him, biting on her bottom lip.

Andy shrugged. "Does it really matter which pair they are?"

"Yes! Of course it matters" she told him as if her answer was really quite obvious. "If I'm supposed to be getting all hot and bothered at the mere thought of you wearing them under there then surely I need more details and that includes the colour. So come on, spill."

"Oh believe me I am spilling!" Andy told her with another pained grimace. "I'm currently spilling out of them everywhere as we speak." Sharon instantly started laughing again with Andy waiting for her to calm down before he spoke again. "If you must know they're pink."

"Pink?" Sharon cried with a little horror. "Really? With that shirt and tie?" She started laughing again, amused at her own joke as Andy simply looked to the heavens with exasperation, the conversation not going in the way he thought it would.

"Yeah because that's what's most important here. Can you focus for just one minute please? So we can make an excuse and get out of here."

Sharon laughed again, having no intention of leaving their little party any time soon since this was his whole idea to begin with, for her to enjoy the thought of him wearing them while they were in the Murder Room. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just..." She laughed again, her face pressed into his chest in an attempt to stop herself. "And how do they feel?"

"Horrendous! Utterly horrendous!" Andy said in complete honesty, truly having the most uncomfortable day of his life (or at least the most uncomfortable day since he had been forced into dressing in drag along with Provenza when they attended a retirement party). "They offer less support than a pair of clown pants. I'm flipping, I'm flopping and I'm spilling out from all sides. They have to be without doubt the least supportive piece of lace I've ever come across in my life."

Sharon laughed again, unable to stop herself from picturing what he had just described. "Oddly enough they're not designed to provide support for your specific type of anatomy Andy" she pointed out.

"Then I feel _very sorry_ for drag queens and something needs to be done about it immediately for their sake alone."

Sharon's head landed on his chest again, in real agony she was laughing so hard. "Oh Andy please stop! You're killing me!" she pleaded, tears falling from her eyes and starting to get a headache from the lack of air.

"Stop laughing!"

"I can't help it!" she said once she was capable of words again. "What possessed you?"

"You said it would be sexy so like a fool I believed you and I thought why not? I do like to try and surprise you Sharon in case you've failed to notice, to…I don't know, keep the mystery and the romance going in this relationship for as long as possible."

"I was joking!" she told him once again.

"I understand that now!"

Sharon laughed at him again before an almost wicked smile spread across her face as her eyes drifted south. "So come on then" she encouraged.

"Come on then what?" he asked confused.

"Let me see" she said as she edged closer to him and tried to grab the top of his pants.

Andy looked around and saw Provenza through the glass still watching them very closely. He quickly took a step away from her, pulling his jacket together as if that could somehow stop her from accessing his waistband. "No! I'm not showing you here" he stated categorically.

"Why not? Why else have you done it if not to let me see what's going on under there while we're still at work?"

"Because I was planning on telling you this morning when we wrapped up the case but it dragged on and on and then time got away from me and I was too focused on not chaffing myself to death that I forgot about this stupid party" he told her with yet another frustrated sigh. "I was hoping to be home and out of them by now and coincidentally have you out of yours as well."

Sharon laughed again. "You are such an idiot" she told him once again.

"Thanks but oddly enough I was really aiming for sexy."

"Oh believe me it is very very sexy too but at this moment in time you're also a gigantic idiot" she said again while laughing herself silly. "Why didn't you just go to the bathroom and take them off if they were causing you that much trouble all day? No one would know that you were going commando."

"And give up after all this time? No way!" he cried, refusing to give up when he'd suffered so much all day. "I'm in too far. And so are they at the moment" he said as he tried to extract them from his backside for about the four hundredth time that day while Sharon laughed at him again.

"One of these days Andy you'll learn that being stubborn is not a virtue and it's got you into an awful lot of trouble throughout your life my beautiful boy."

"I'm beginning to realise that yes" he nodded before he sighed. "Can we just go home now so I can get out of them please?" he begged.

"Not yet no. The party isn't over and we still have cake and apple cider."

"But Mike's already had his drink and a slice of cake and I've behaved myself...mostly. Surely that's it now, I've done everything you've asked of me and more and at any rate my balls are so unbelievably sore and hot I swear to God you could start a fire with them" he told her as he grimaced once again, his discomfort extreme to say the least. Sharon laughed again, laughing loudly and for some time as the noise caught the attention of everyone on the other side of the glass in the Murder Room. "Please keep the noise down or they'll know something is going on."

"Trust me Lieutenant Provenza already knows something is going on" she informed him, should the way he walked into her office earlier to check on them have slipped his mind. "Wait until he finds out what it actually is. He's going to die."

"Don't you dare tell him! I mean it Raydor!" Andy said at a high volume as he pointed a finger at her with warning.

Sharon put her hands on her lips as she glared at him, a smile still making its way onto her lips. "Raising your voice to your Captain in her office? Naughty naughty Lieutenant Flynn. Don't make me put an official reprimand in your...lace wrapped package" she joked before laughing again.

"Oh no! Don't try pulling that crap with me Raydor" he told her, feeling like anything but her Lieutenant in that moment. "We may be standing in your office but it's the end of the day, we're at a party and right now you are anything but my Captain so that's not going to fly."

Sharon laughed again, only joking with him and enjoying her chance to torment him a little more. "Well you're going to have to tell him something. He's clearly noticed you've been fidgety and moody all day and that was before he came in here to check up on us." They both turned to look through the glass, seeing Provenza staring back at them with a confused but still worried expression on his face. "What do you want to tell him?"

"Nothing. I'll tell him I'm having a bad day and that's it, end of conversation."

"Oh please? Let me tell him?" Sharon begged as she put her hands together as if in prayer.

"No!"

"It could be my birthday present."

"No!" Andy shouted once again before he started laughing, unable to help himself given the way Sharon was smiling at him and thinking about just how ridiculous the situation was on a whole, a situation he had created himself. "If you tell him about this then I'll tell him about your lack of underwear at his house before Christmas" he warned her. "Then not only will he be so traumatised that he'll probably retire immediately regardless of his pension situation with Liz but you'll also have to explain to everyone else why he's screaming as he sets his couch on fire in the middle of the Murder Room."

Sharon folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him, letting him know that she really meant business and she was not to be messed with. "Andy I am warning you now, if you tell anyone what I did you will not be having sex again for a _very_ long time and that is by no means an empty threat" she told him, speaking slowly and clearly to make sure he had understood everything she had said to him.

Andy folded her arms to match her stance. "And what if I was to say the same?"

Sharon laughed at him, scoffing at his suggestion that he could withhold sex. "Andy you've already proven time and time again that you can't withhold sex for more than thirty seconds at a time let alone for the rest of your life. So that kind of threat isn't going to work with me boy" she told him more than a touch smugly.

"Excuse me?" he replied and trying his hardest to sound offended. "Neither can you thank you very much, so I'm telling him." With that he pretended as if he was about to move to the door and go outside to tell Provenza all when never in a million years would he dare to tell anyone about what had happened before Christmas. Firstly he would never betray her trust like that and tell one of her secrets to a colleague (even if he was his best friend too), secondly it was personal and therefore for his ears and eyes only and thirdly if he were to ever tell someone about it there would be a zero percent chance of any kind of repeat performance in the future if he did.

"Don't you dare!"

He simply smiled at her and she knew he would never do it (although that wouldn't stop him from threatening it if the need arose) because he loved her far too much to ever break that kind of promise to her, loving him all the more as a result. "See it's not so nice is it when the panties are on the other foot so to speak" he said.

Sharon laughed. "Well you'd know all about that wouldn't you."

He frowned at her. "Two can play at this game and I am being deadly serious. If you tell Provenza about this, you will _not_ be having sex again for a very long time" he stated again.

Sharon laughed as he continued to frown at her, clearly annoyed that he was so weak and pathetic where sex was concerned and she knew it. "Oh please Andy! You'll have given in before we reach the parking garage and it'll only take that long if there's someone in the elevator on the ride down" she joked although there was an element of truth about it.

"I am not that easy" he lied.

"Oh yes you are" she replied before she smiled and opted to prove her point to him and therefore put an end to the conversation. She closed her eyes for a moment and hummed, a little moan making it in there as well just to tease him further.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?" she asked innocently as she smiled before doing it again, her moan a little louder this time and even more obvious.

Andy looked to the heavens and let out an exasperated "Oh God!"

Sharon laughed at him again. "See! I told you and that's without me bending over or God forbid licking my lips in your presence" she added as she laughed again. There was no doubt that her ego had grown quite a lot over the past twelve months precisely because of the way that Andy looked at her and reacted to her, making her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when he looked at her so adoringly and with such lust on days when she felt nothing but old and frumpy before that moment (something she didn't have that much experience with in all honesty. Any flings before Andy were purely about her need for a man made orgasm and as such she didn't care what her 'ride' of choice thought of her in the slightest and Jack, well Jack looked at her the same way in the beginning but as his addictions became more important to him, he hardly had a kind word to say to her let alone an adoring look). As they both saw it, the best thing about their relationship was that they were very close friends long before they were lovers and could and did talk easily about absolutely everything together and as such they had a relationship that was built on a lot more than a simple physical attraction to each other, with that being simply an added and oh so wonderful bonus. However that meant Sharon could do very little in Andy's presence sometimes without him becoming turned on to the point of blindness.

"Okay! Fine!" he sighed. "You're right and I'm wrong and apparently horny and pathetic too but please don't make that sort of noise again while my gentiles are being held hostage by your underwear, I am begging you."

Sharon collapsed onto his shirt front again as she laughed. "Oh Andy!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

She managed to compose herself well enough to look him in the eye again while clutching the lapels of his jacket. "But I still don't understand why you would do something like this, of all the idiotic things to do."

"Because I thought it would be a turn on!" he cried as loud as he dared without anyone overhearing what they were talking about.

"Oh it is! It definitely is" she laughed. "Laughter is always the best turn on in the world!"

Back on the other side of the glass as the party continued, Mike walked over to Provenza as they both watched their Captain laughing uncontrollably in her office and she clutched onto Andy for dear life while he looked incredibly unimpressed until she looked away from him, when a smile would spread to his face. "What is going on in there?" Mike asked since Provenza had popped his head in earlier to check on them.

"I have no idea" Provenza answered honestly.

Mike smiled. "It's nice to hear though isn't it?"

Provenza smiled in return as he nodded. "Yes it is. Very nice indeed."

Back inside her office Sharon grabbed hold of Andy's suspenders with both hands so that he couldn't step away from her as she tried to convinced him to let her see what was happening beneath his pants. "Please let me look" she pleaded.

"No" he said as he took a step backwards and away from her, his suspenders being released and snapping against his body as a result. "Ow!" he cried as he rubbed his chest and took yet another step away from her and into the corner. "You'll just have to wait until we get home if you want to see what's going on under here."

"Go into the blind spot. No one will see you there."

"According to you and Hobbs this office doesn't have a blind spot" he reminded her since the last party they had enjoyed at work before Christmas resulted in Sharon having a glass of Julio's extremely potent eggnog and being suitably emboldened enough to kiss Andy in her office for the first time, using what she thought was a blind spot until Andrea informed her otherwise.

Sharon smiled and edged closer to him once again as he took another step away. "It does if you get right in the corner" she said as she pointed to the corner behind the door.

"No."

"I'll make it worth your while."

"The fact that I've spent the day like this and more uncomfortable than I've ever been in my life should already make it more than worth my while when we get home thank you very much."

"Please let me see."

"No" Andy said again as he took another step away from her, being backed into the corner blind spot without realising it.

"Come on."

"Nope" he stated categorically. Sadly for Andy by this point Sharon had edged towards him so much as he backed away from her that he crashed into the corner and the door with a rather loud bang, grunting when he realised that he was essentially trapped as she moved in for the kill.

On the other side of the door in the Murder Room they all turned to look at the door in the direction of the bang before hearing Andy cry "Sharon! I mean it! Don't you dare!" They all turned to look at each other more than a tad confused and just as equally amused by it all before looking towards Provenza, wrongly assuming he knew more than they did.

Provenza rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Trust me if I'm going to get to sleep tonight at all then we need to just ignore it" he told them as he finished off yet another glass of apple cider while pretending it was wine.

Inside her office Sharon had Andy completely pinned up the corner, her hand on the waist band of his pants as she tried to look down them. "Hold your stomach in" she told him, wanting to get a glimpse of what was going on without doing something so obvious as to close the blinds or disappear off to the bathroom with him, something that would _never_ happen.

"Oh so now you want me to hold it in" he queried since she was forever telling him off for sucking him stomach in around her, especially when he didn't have a shirt on.

She smiled at him sweetly. "Yes, but only so I can see down your pants and then you're _never_ doing it again. Now come on, suck it in boy."

"Fine!" Andy sighed and did as instructed with really not that much choice in the matter since he was pinned in the corner with no hope of escape and he was fairly confident that no one could see them on the other side of the glass. Sharon grabbed the waist band of his pants and pulled them out slightly so that she could look down them and catch a fleeting glimpse of what was going on beneath. Andy smiled as she did it, his plan not entirely going to plan (not that many of his plans ever did if he was honest) but it had ended up being worth it in the end. With the glimpse she wanted stored in her memory for the rest of her life, Sharon's hand flew up to her mouth as she laughed hysterically again, having to walk away from him and clinging to the edge of her desk as she laughed harder than he'd ever seen her. "That's still not the reaction I was going for" Andy said as he pushed his shirt back in his pants properly again and slowly walked towards her.

Sharon turned to face him before she grabbed the lapels of his jacket and laughed into his chest again, feeling like she would never be able to stop. "I'm so sorry my beautiful boy but it's all I've got to offer you right this second" she said as she continued to laugh.

Andy waited for a moment, a smile on his face as Sharon calmed down a little, finally starting to compose herself and wipe the tears from her eyes. "Are you done? Can we go home now and get me out of them?" he all but pleaded.

"No. Not yet. The party isn't over" she informed him with a smile.

"Close enough and Mike won't care if we sneak off a little early."

"No but I will and I thought the whole point of this," she paused as her fingers danced in the air for a moment in the direction of his pants, "tantalising wardrobe choice was so that I could spend some time at work in the knowledge of what you had going on underneath your suit." Once more she smiled at him smugly, by now not only enjoying the idea of Andy wearing them but that by keeping him in them for even longer she was also torturing him.

"It was. So what?"

"So we can't leave until I've done that."

"But..."

"No buts. This was your idea, now let me enjoy it." Andy looked at her completely agog for a moment before she simply raised herself up onto the balls of her feet to plant a very chaste kiss to his lips and then took his hand in hers and led him from her office and back to the party. "Sorry about that" Sharon told the group who had all at once looked towards her office door expectantly when they heard it open. "Andy and I just needed to discuss a little something in private." Andy glared at her for a moment while she still clutched his hand tightly before she forced him to sit back down on his desk again, sitting next to him with her arm on his shoulder so that she couldn't go anywhere and rather enjoying the fact that she knew something that no one else did, what Andy wanted after all.

Provenza couldn't help but look at them both with a fair amount of concern despite the large beaming smile on Sharon's face, a smile which only grew when she looked at him. "So everything is okay?" he asked.

"Everything is wonderful Lieutenant" Sharon told him, smiling at the group before barely containing her laughter at Andy as he sat beside her looking incredibly pissed but amused by her reaction at the same time. "Just wonderful. What have we missed out here?"

Provenza continued to look at them both suspiciously before he answered. "Mike was just telling us all about the creative process he goes through when writing a television series" he informed them before he rolled his eyes and making it easy for both Sharon and Andy to tell that they had missed another one of Mike's very long and detailed explanations that had probably lasted the entire time they were shut up in her office and discussing Andy's unusual underwear situation.

"Oh jeez" Andy grumbled quietly but it was still loud enough for Sharon to hear and give him a quick squeeze of his shoulder to remind him to behave.

Provenza smiled into his drink as he added "And I was plotting his death."

Mike laughed. "Hey you asked me about it."

"I did indeed my dear Michael, I did indeed but if you would be so kind as to answer me this, have you ever tried to explain anything in under a thousand words?" Provenza asked, expecting to get a similarly incredibly long answer in response as everyone laughed. "Ever?"

"If you don't want to talk about that then what do you want to talk about?" Mike asked.

Provenza looked back at Sharon who was still smiling like a fool and fighting a losing battle when it came to not laughing at Andy again. "Well firstly what the Captain has been finding so incredibly funny would be nice?" he said as once more they all turned to look at her expectantly.

Sharon laughed and shook her head, feeling Andy tense beside her as he started to fear that she might tell at least Provenza what he had inexplicably done for her. "I'm afraid that if I told you that Lieutenant then..."

"I'd have to kill you all and then myself" Andy stated grumpily as Sharon continued to laugh at him. "Think of something else to talk about."

"Like what?" Julio asked.

Andy shrugged. "I don't know, the weather."

"The weather?" Amy scoffed.

"Remind me that I'm busy the next time you two throw a dinner party" Provenza said as he pointed between the pair of them, resulting in more laughter, not least because the idea of Lieutenants Provenza and Flynn going out on a double date with their Captain would never stop being as bizarre as anything you would see in Ripley's Believe It or Not.

"So Lieutenant have you put an offer in on that house then or what?" Julio asked, taking it upon himself to change the subject and since none of them had heard a word about it since they had wrapped up the murder investigation he was more than a touch intrigued.

"No Julio, don't..." Sharon cried even though it was far too late to stop him.

Provenza looked to the heavens before he shouted "Ye Gods!" Andy groaned long and loud, giving just a small indication of what was to come as Sharon and Provenza put their heads in their hands, preparing themselves for the inevitable.

Julio looked between the three of them with a look of utter confusion. "What? What did I say?" he asked.

"You had to ask!" Provenza cried at Julio, making sure that if he had to listen to Andy whine about black mould for about the four thousandth time since it was discovered in their dream house then Julio was going to feel his wrath too. "Of all the possible topics for conversation and you had to pick that one?!"

"Yeah. Why?" Julio shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal?" Andy all but shouted at the group as he shuffled forward on his desk slightly as he became extremely animated, it temporarily taking his mind off the discomfort he was feeling in his nether regions. "I'll tell you what the big deal is. This is the big deal."

"And on a day when we have apple cider instead of wine as well" Provenza grumbled. "Ye Gods, my life!"

"Black mould. That's what the big deal was!" Andy informed them.

"Black mould?" Julio asked as he tried not to laugh.

Amy on the other hand had no such issues and allowed herself to laugh loudly at Andy before she spoke. "Really? That house had black mould in it?" she asked as she continued to laugh with Mike, Julio and Buzz soon joining her. They had all wondered why there had been no mention of that house since the case was wrapped up but simply hadn't found the time to ask. Now that the truth had come out they simply couldn't help but find it highly amusing given the extreme lengths and efforts that both Andy and Provenza went to in the days that followed the discovery of the body in the pool to scare off all of the other potential buyers and keep it just for him and their Captain.

"Yes" Andy said in an incredibly high pitch before continuing. "When SID went in there and moved all the furniture out they found that the whole place was covered in black mould from floor to ceiling." Once more everyone laughed, beyond amused by Andy's rotten luck. "I think it was the only thing keeping the place upright."

"Is this true Captain?" Buzz asked with a hint of disbelief.

Sharon nodded with her head still in her hands before she finally looked up. "I'm afraid it is."

"And you didn't want to strip the place down to the bones and start again Lieutenant?" Julio queried, not seeing the situation as the unmitigated disaster that Andy clearly did.

"Oddly enough no we didn't. If it wasn't bad enough that two people had died in there in the space of a couple of weeks, the whole place was practically toxic. Then to top it off my God damn realtor waited until I'd shown Sharon and the kid around every square inch of the place and finally got them both on side before he dropped that bomb shell on us! After everything! After everything we'd done to get that far and scare off the other buyers and the place turns out to be unliveable. But that's just my luck isn't it?" Andy ranted as his face started to turn red while he yanked furiously on his earlobe in an attempt to alleviate some of his stress.

Sharon sat up a little straighter as her hand started to stroke his back up and down, all these months later still concerned by the level of stress that he took on his shoulders in looking for a house for them to buy as well as always keeping one eye on his high blood pressure. She knew that he was still very upset about the whole situation and more than a little on edge that the delay may somehow cause her to change her mind about the whole thing (despite the amount of times she had told him that it simply wasn't going to happen and the life they wanted to build together would come with a touch more patience). At that moment in time an invitation for Andy to move into the condo as soon as he sold his house was there on the very tip of her tongue but she still wasn't quite ready to say the words to him just yet, it getting closer to happening with every passing second.

"I finally get close to completely changing my life for the better," Andy went on, "getting everything I've ever wanted, everything I'd ever dreamed of and then this happens! I just..."

"Ye Gods! Enough!" Provenza cried with exasperation, tired of hearing the words 'black mould' by that point. "So the house had a little black mould in it. So what? Big deal! Get over it already Flynn and just look for somewhere else. It's not the only house in this city you know so there's absolutely no need to get your panties in a bunch about it." No sooner were the words out of Provenza's mouth then Sharon started to laugh uncontrollably once again as Andy glared at her. Completely baffled looks headed her way as she hid her face into Andy's shoulder for a minute, her sides in utter agony she was laughing so hard.

Andy leant in close to her ear as she continued to laugh hysterically against his shoulder. "I am going to kill you later" he whispered to her, his eyes burning.

"Captain?" Provenza asked as she started to compose herself.

Sharon finally managed to compose herself and sat up straight again, wiping the tears from her eyes before she replied. "I'm so sorry Lieutenant, you were saying?" she said and trying her hardest to pretend that she hadn't seemingly burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

"Just hold on one second" Provenza said as he smiled at her along with the rest of the group, more than a tad intrigued to know what had her laughing so hard. "Captain would you care to share with the rest of the class precisely what is so amusing?" he asked, sounding every inch like her principle rather than her second in command.

"No it's nothing" Sharon replied since there was no way she would tell them the truth. She floundered for a moment as she battled to find something to say other than the truth as she could feel Andy glaring at her from the corner of her eye. "It's just I've decided to let the whole thing go now that's all, the house, the black mould, the whole shebang. I'm letting it go even if someone else isn't quite ready to do the same just yet" she added as she glanced at Andy should anyone fail to comprehend her meaning. "Yes that house was perfect for us in every way imaginable but there are other possibilities on the horizon I'm sure of it. And as I keep telling the rather sullen looking gentleman to my right," she went on as she squeezed his shoulder, "the perfect house for us is out there somewhere, we've just got to find it."

"Have you looked at anywhere else since?" Mike queried, still grinning as he found the whole thing incredibly amusing.

"Not yet. Andy's realtor is still a little too frightened to call him right now" Sharon answered, once more smiling at Andy as she thought about how ridiculous he looked being chased around the yard by Jason.

Buzz looked at them both confused. "Frightened?"

"Yes" Sharon laughed as she heard a little grunt of anger rumble in Andy's throat, still very upset about everything that had happened. "Jason unfortunately tried to get Andy to see the bigger picture in regard to stripping the house back and so he spent about twenty minutes chasing him around the front yard and threatening to shoot him while Rusty and I watched from the hood of the car." Everyone instantly laughed at Andy while he remained looking pissed to say the least.

"What happy family doesn't have that same story to tell?" Provenza joked, all of them more than amused that these sorts of things only ever seemed to happen to Andy Flynn, wondering if he'd run over a black cat while smashing a mirror in the past or something equally as bad luck inducing. "Why don't you just move into the condo already?" he asked Andy, really not understanding why he wasn't already living there as it was.

The Murder Room was more than a tad tense and silent for that split second with Sharon immediately wondering if Rusty had spoken to Provenza about what they had discussed outside of the house of horrors when he suggested she just ask him to move in. Meanwhile Andy was extremely curious to hear what Sharon was going to say in response even though the question was directed at him, opting to remain silent as he looked to her to answer. At the back of his mind was always that fear he was going to push Sharon into something she wasn't ready for, not wanting to apply any undue pressure on her and continuing to treat both Sharon and Rusty like horses that could easily be spooked by a gust of wind let alone by the pressure of actually living together.

"Well we're still calling that Plan B Lieutenant," Sharon told him as she smiled at Andy, still wanting him to know it was definitely an option for them if their house hunting went on for too much longer without success meaning Plan B could be put into action very shortly, "but for now we keep looking. I'm sure it won't take us long and if it does then…well we revert to Plan B, Andy moves into the condo and we really thrill my neighbour."

Once more they were greeted with puzzled looks, no one sure what her neighbour had to do with them moving in together. "What's your neighbour got to do with anything?" Julio asked before anyone else had chance.

"She hates Sharon" Andy stated bluntly.

Mike laughed. "What?"

"Really?" Amy asked shocked, finding it hard to believe that someone could dislike her Captain let alone hate her but then again she had never worked alongside Chief Johnson during her 'That woman!' phase.

"No she doesn't hate me. She..."

"Loathes you to your very core?" Andy suggested.

Sharon nodded and conceded his point. "Yeah a little like that" she agreed and making everyone laugh, still finding it hard to believe.

"Why?" Buzz asked.

Andy smiled before he said very proudly "Sharon's a menace" and then proceeded to waggle his eyebrows at her.

Once more everyone laughed, now finding the whole situation even more unlikely. "What?" Provenza asked.

"You heard me. She's a menace" Andy repeated. "She's loud and uncouth, keeps getting up to God knows what on that balcony," he said with a smile and knowing he was probably going to get into trouble over it later, "and she keeps bringing stray men home and letting them live with her."

"I assume he means Rusty and himself?" Provenza asked Sharon.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "Yes indeed Lieutenant…or as far as he knows anyway" she added as she turned to face Andy, getting a wink from him in return.

"Well what have you done to upset her ma'am?" Julio asked, knowing that there must be a story lurking within somewhere if only they could pry it out of the pair of them.

"I exist" Sharon shrugged. "That's bad enough to offend her it seems."

"So wouldn't it just be easier to move into the Lieutenant's house instead?" Buzz asked.

All at once Andy, Sharon and Provenza shook their heads and said "No" in unison.

"Definitely not" Andy added.

"Rather suffer my neighbour than his" Sharon confirmed.

"Why?" Amy asked.

Sharon smiled and nodded at Andy. "She wants him."

"And me" Provenza stated with a frown.

"And Rusty" Andy nodded.

"She pinched me so hard one of the last times I saw her I could hardly sit down for close to a week" Provenza grumbled as his hand instantly gravitated to his backside and started to rub it as if he could still feel the pain nearly eighteen months later.

"He's not kidding" Andy told them as they laughed. "He spent the entire afternoon as we watched game four of the World Series, lying on my couch with an ice pack on his butt and demanding beer and pizza."

"How is that different to every other World Series?" Mike asked as everyone laughed, having been at Andy's house himself when Provenza had occupied the couch and expected to be waited on hand and foot like the Sultan of Brunei.

"How old is she?" Julio asked since his online dating hadn't exactly been a roaring success.

"Old enough to be my Mother and yet she can still pinch really hard" Provenza told him and bursting his bubble as he rubbed his backside once again.

"Really, really hard" Andy confirmed even though he no longer had the bruises as evidence such was the infrequency with which he stayed at his house over the last several months.

"So just move into the condo already" Provenza repeated.

Once again Andy glared at him, shooting him a look of 'Please stop saying that!' as Provenza looked back at him a little puzzled. Since Sharon had agreed to move in with him he and Provenza had spoken about it at length (even though Andy usually avoided discussing his relationship with Provenza since neither Sharon or Provenza would be overly pleased about it but for very different reasons) with Andy expressing his ever growing list of fears about everything falling apart if he attempted to rush her. Provenza found the whole thing utterly ridiculous and had told him as such, scoffing and telling him he was crazy because it was clear that Sharon quite clearly adored him and simply couldn't understand why they were waiting when he and Patrice didn't, asking her to move in on a Monday and it happening the following weekend. However Andy felt that he knew Sharon better and in truth he did. It didn't matter how desperate he was to move in with her and he really was desperate by that point, not caring where they lived as long as they lived together, he was also desperate to not apply any undue pressure onto her shoulders (and that was without taking Rusty's feelings into consideration).

"What?" Provenza asked as Andy continued to glare at him.

"Nothing" Andy replied, trying his hardest to smile so that Sharon didn't twig what was going on. Despite his best efforts it was easy for Sharon to work out what was happening as she smiled at him. The problem was she still wasn't quite ready to ask him to move into the condo with her just yet (and it was most definitely not going to happen right there and then in a room full of their colleagues anyway) although it was getting closer by the day, by the second even, just needing that one little extra push to make her finally ask the question.

Before the conversation could go any further and with the situation becoming increasingly awkward as far as Andy was concerned such was his desire to not push Sharon into anything before she was ready, they were interrupted by Taylor, whistling as he walked into the Murder Room. "Oh. Hello" he said, freezing for a moment when he saw them all gathered together and holding glasses in their hands before continuing his journey towards them. "Everyone is still here."

"Chief" Sharon said as she sat up a little straighter and removed her hand from its spot resting on Andy's shoulder almost without thinking, caring what he thought about her and how they handled themselves at work even though it was a party and work was long over.

Provenza saw the very small change in his Captain's posture and frowned before he moved to stand in front of the pair of them, taking Taylor's attention and blocking them from view because he didn't want to see his Captain lose her rather relax state due to his sudden appearance. "Good evening Chief" he said as he took charge of the situation.

"What's erm...what's going on here?" Taylor asked as his finger pointed in the direction of the cake and the nearly empty bottles of apple cider. "You guys having a party?"

"More like a little impromptu get together to celebrate Mike's award Chief" Sharon corrected as it became very clear very quickly that he was looking rather put out that an invitation hadn't made it his way.

"He's a writer now" Andy said with the fakest of smiles as he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Ah yes, which explains the tuxedo the other day. Very good. Very good." An awkward moment of silence followed as Taylor just stared at them. "Oh erm…congratulations again Lieutenant."

"Thanks Chief" Mike nodded as they shook hands.

Another awkward moment of silence descended on the Murder Room until Sharon peered around Provenza and asked "Anything I can help you with Chief?"

"No, no. I just thought I'd swing by personally on my way home to leave a note and let you know Captain that tomorrow morning's meeting with Chief Pope has been pushed back by a couple of hours. Dental emergency apparently. He won't be available until the afternoon."

"Okay Chief. That's not a problem. Thank you for letting me know" Sharon said with a grateful smile.

"Yes well, I won't keep you. Enjoy the rest of your party" Taylor told them as cheerily as he could as he went to leave, even though it was very clear he was a little offended at not receiving an invitation when his office was virtually in shouting distance.

"We should probably be going too" Andy said as he tried to stand.

Andy didn't get very far as Sharon put her hand back on his shoulder and forced him to sit back down, smiling smugly at him. "No, we're fine" she insisted as he glared at her while Provenza and Mike eyed them both suspiciously before they turned their attention back to the very slow moving Taylor.

"Would you like a slice of cake Chief?" Mike asked, like Sharon feeling more than a little guilty at what Taylor was clearly perceiving to be a snub rather than none of them thinking about telling him (and the infamous grapevine that started from his lips) of their plans so that he could join them.

Taylor stopped and spun on the spot. "Sure. Why not."

"Great!" Provenza cried as Taylor walked back towards them. "I'll cut you a slice to take home with you." Provenza quickly started to cut another slice of cake, eager that he not stay and celebrate with them, not because he was being mean but rather because he wanted to keep the relaxed atmosphere for the sake of his Captain more than anyone else which would surely vanish if he hung around.

Taylor came to a stop once more before he said "Thank you" and an uncomfortable silence descended again as Provenza scraped the cake onto the plate. "So you're a writer now?" he asked Mike as just a way to end the silence.

Mike shrugged. "Part time."

"Here you go Chief" Provenza said as he handed him his cake and then patted him on the arm as if he was giving him a send-off. "Have a good evening."

"I will. You too" Taylor replied. When no one else said a word he smiled before he said "Well goodnight all" and set off towards his office again.

"Goodnight Chief" Sharon called after him.

"Bye" Taylor waved as he disappeared out of sight.

Once she was one hundred percent sure he had gone Sharon looked to Andy in particular since she had forced him into helping arrange it all and asked "Should we have invited him?" with a slight grimace.

Andy shrugged. "It's not like we sent out engraved invitations or anything."

"And anyway I can relax more without the Chief breathing down our necks" Provenza told her almost dismissively.

Sharon knew that it had nothing to do with it and that he had essentially shooed Taylor away from the party for her so that she could continue to relax. She smiled at him more than a touch gratefully as her hand returned to Andy's shoulder. "Lieutenant, how's Patrice?" she asked, having not had the time to go out to dinner with the pair of them in a while because of work and general life getting in the way.

"Good thank you Captain. Very good."

"Well she's not divorced him yet so that's an improvement" Andy joked to which Sharon instantly rolled her eyes and gave him a quick slap across his chest. "What?" he asked innocently. "In all the years I've known him this is the longest he's been married without spending at least one night sleeping on my couch because he's been kicked out of the house for doing something stupid. This should be a double celebration. Hell we should be throwing Patrice a parade!" he joked again with Mike and Julio laughing because they knew he was talking his way into trouble rather than it being particularly funny.

As if on cue Sharon elbowed him in the ribs much to everyone's amusement. "You'll be sleeping on their couch if you're not careful my boy and I'll be the one with the parade."

Everyone stifled their laughter before Mike asked "Under the thumb there much Andy?"

He nodded. "Yes I am, and very happily so Mike" he confirmed.

"Smooth talker" Sharon told him and not for the first time as she shook her head at him.

"The way I see it is this," Andy started to explain, "she's the boss of me at work so in order to be completely fair that means that when we get home…she's also the boss of me." Everyone laughed at him as he sighed as if he was leading a hard life where he wasn't allowed to do anything he wanted when the truth was he couldn't be happier.

Sharon rolled her eyes at him again. "Actually we have a discussion at home" she informed the group while keeping her eyes locked on Andy.

Andy nodded. "Before we do things your way."

Sharon shrugged. "Well that's just because I'm always right" she said with a smile. "Anyway Patrice and Lieutenant Provenza can't be having any problems between them yet, not until the honeymoon period is over and they haven't even been on a honeymoon."

"Have you at least looked into booking a honeymoon yet Lieutenant?" Amy queried.

"Provenza? Spend money?" Andy scoffed. "You're kidding right?"

"This from the man who only bought a new car to impress the Captain" Provenza shot back much to Andy's horror. He glared at him while Sharon smiled, enjoying seeing Andy on the back foot. "What? Don't look at me like that. You did!" Provenza insisted. "After spending fifteen years driving around in the same piece of broken down crap that could be left downtown with the keys in the ignition and wrapped in a big red bow and it still wouldn't be stolen, you suddenly went out and bought a brand new car just because you were too 'embarrassed' to be driving the Captain around in your old one."

"That's not why I bought it" Andy insisted and clearly lying given the way his nostrils were flaring like he was about to breath fire like Smaug the Terrible.

Provenza smiled and took a step closer to Andy, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Flynn, Flynn, Flynn, I've got some very bad news for you my friend, the Captain and I had a little chat recently and she's filled me in on how to tell if you're lying or not."

Andy turned to look at Sharon absolutely horrified. "What?!"

Everyone instantly laughed. "You can?" Mike asked, thinking it was quite possibly one of the funniest things he'd ever heard.

"Oh I've been able to work it out for years" Sharon shrugged. "Back in the good old days," she said with a smile and letting everyone know that she meant it purely in jest since her life was a million times better now than it was back in her FID days both personally and indeed professionally, "when I was running Internal Affairs and I seemed to have him in my office more often than I do now but of course I never told him that."

"And how do you tell if he's lying?" Buzz asked.

"His mouth moves" Provenza joked.

"You're not funny" Andy snapped back.

"His nostrils flare" Sharon told them with much glee as he frowned at her.

"Really?" Julio asked.

Sharon nodded. "Oh yeah, like he's trying to breathe fire."

"I was right wasn't I? This is pick on Andy day isn't it?" he grumbled. "Do I have a 'Kick Me' sign on my back too? Have you put superglue on my steering wheel? You've all decided and now I just have to sit here and take it in silence" he said annoyed as he folded his arms.

"Oh how I wish it was in silence" Provenza said ruthfully as everyone laughed.

Mike smiled at Andy and gave him a sympathetic tap on the arm. "Tough break Andy. In your case honesty really is the best and only policy" he said with a blatant sigh of relief that they were talking about Andy and Cathy hadn't found a way to work out when he was being less than truthful.

"Hey I've always said, there should be no lies and no secrets in a relationship so I'm perfectly fine with this arrangement" Andy insisted, a smile on his face.

Julio stared at Andy's face for a moment before he pointed at him. "Your nostrils are flaring" he shouted gleefully before everyone laughed, noticing immediately that Andy had little to no control over what his nostrils did at any given moment.

"How did we even get onto this subject anyway?" Andy grumbled once again and utterly desperate to change the subject. "Weren't we talking about Provenza being too cheap to book a honeymoon for him and Patrice?"

"We'll come back to that in a moment. Did you really buy a new car just to impress me?" Sharon asked him, having never heard this piece of information over the last twelve months.

"No" Andy said nervously as he battled to keep his nose under control for once. Everyone took a step closer to him as they studied his face in an attempt to see if he was lying or not. It didn't take long for Andy to realise that he simply had no other choice but to confess. "Okay maybe I did but I wasn't trying to impress you at all. When we first started to go out to dinner and to the movies and whatever as friends a lot more regularly I was perhaps a little embarrassed to be driving you around in that old crappy car" he admitted.

Sharon smiled at him, biting on her lip without realising it and inadvertently driving Andy mad. "Why?" she asked, baffled as to what was wrong with his old car.

Andy glanced at the group and saw them staring back at him and listening with interest, making him wish they were having the conversation in private. "Why?" Andy repeated as he laughed, seeing it as obvious. "When we went to Nicole's wedding you asked me if you needed a tetanus shot before you climbed in there, that's why" he told her as everyone laughed, no one more than Provenza and Mike who both had experience with that particular car which smelt like an abattoir and gave you a near death experience every time you climbed in it.

"I was joking" Sharon laughed as she again rested her head on his shoulder as she tried to compose herself. "Trying to lighten your mood a little and get you to relax before you snapped yourself in two from the tension."

After Andy had driven over to the condo to pick her up (allowing them both enough time to hurry home from PAB to go and change into appropriate wedding attire) and they had walked down to his car in the parking garage, he couldn't have looked tenser about the whole thing and she completely understood why. She knew the level of hostility that would head his way from Sandra's family from the small amounts of information that she had managed to gleam from him (assuming the same levels of hostility would be sent in Jack's direction from her family when Emily and Ricky eventually tied the knot) when she essentially invited herself to the wedding so she could understand why he didn't want to go. She knew Andy would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't go and walk Nicole up the aisle which was why she had invited herself to ensure he went but also to support him, a man with a similar past to her husband but unlike her husband she could see for herself just how he had changed in the twenty years she'd known him. At the time of the wedding they were just colleagues, not even approaching friends (although that would come in just a matter of weeks following the wedding such was the good time they had together, laughing and talking easily) but she saw it as her job to keep him relaxed and smiling, joking with him as much as possible, taking his hand during the ceremony, keeping him talking through the reception and then finally dancing with him in the middle of the dancefloor or rather in the middle of 'enemy territory,' doing it all for him because it was the right thing to do.

"Yeah well anyway," Andy said, still embarrassed by the state of that car regardless of whether she was joking or not, "I felt more comfortable driving you around in something a little newer after that remark."

"And with actual safety features" Provenza chimed in, often complaining in the past that the seatbelts didn't work which was a real issue given that in his opinion Andy drove like a complete 'maniac.'

"That car was safe" Andy protested.

"Sure it was, about as safe as a chimp with a handgun and considering how often he drives me around in it as well Captain," Provenza said as he put his hand on his heart, "all I can say is thank you very much for saving my life."

Sharon laughed. "You're welcome Lieutenant." She paused for a moment and then asked "But what's this I hear about you setting fire to his car?"

"What?" Provenza cried, still annoyed that Andy told his Captain absolutely everything but currently at a complete loss to remember which incident she was actually referring to.

"He did!" Andy shouted, pointing at him.

"After your last divorce became finalised?" Sharon added.

"Oh that" Provenza shrugged as the memories came flooding back to him. He shrugged. "It was an accident and I was drunk." The group laughed as once again they realised that Sharon was right and a wonderful and previously unheard story lurked on the horizon. "If Flynn had windows that actually opened when you wound them down then it wouldn't have happened would it?"

Andy couldn't believe his ears. "So it was my fault?"

"Yes, you and your crappy car" Provenza insisted.

Sharon laughed, knowing that it had the potential to turn into a full blown argument with both of them blaming the other until one of them became horse. "Okay then what about you running him over?" Provenza simply frowned at Andy instead of replying as yet more confirmation came his way that Andy did indeed tell Sharon everything. "He was on the hood of your car or something?"

"Ye Gods Flynn! Do you have to tell the Captain everything?" Provenza cried.

Andy nodded. "Yes I do as a matter of fact" he stated with a shrug before Sharon just smiled at him, loving the fact that he did tell her everything, a major change for her when she was previously married to a man who had more secrets that Victoria.

"For the record Captain I didn't run him over" Provenza explained. "He was asleep on the hood of my car when I wanted to move it into my garage. When he wouldn't wake up due to the bottle of scotch he almost finished in one large gulp I maybe hit the brakes a little too hard and sent him flying into my windshield and rolling to the ground."

"A little? You nearly broke my nose!" Andy shouted, rubbing it as if it still hurt. In the days before Andy got sober they weren't friends, just colleagues but they still travelled in the same circles so when Provenza hosted a Super Bowl party Andy was invited as one of the guys, arriving drunk and only getting drunker as the day wore on.

"So? You were about ninety proof, you hardly felt it at all if I recall correctly. It barely woke you up. I moved you out of the street and onto the sidewalk didn't I?" Provenza reminded him as if that act alone should result in the Medal of Valour heading his way. "I could have left you there to be mowed down but I didn't. And why has all of this been brought up so suddenly anyway? It was over twenty five years ago."

"I was..."

Sharon was quick to cut Andy off, squeezing his knee to distract him and stop him from talking, not wanting the conversation to go off about the house again with Andy trying to blame Provenza for everything bad that had ever happened to him in his life. "No reason Lieutenant" she said with a cheery smile. "It just cropped up in conversation the other day and this has been my first chance to ask you about it. But anyway, back to our original discussion" she continued with her eye firmly on the prize for the sake of Patrice rather than anything else. "By the time you finally get around to booking your honeymoon it'll be time to start planning what you're going to do on your anniversary, which I hope for Patrice's sake as much as your own will be a vacation Lieutenant."

Andy shrugged. "Well he always has been a fan of two for one offers." Sharon looked at him and laughed, putting her head on his shoulder as everyone else laughed with her.

Provenza looked at the two of them, his best friend and the love of his life and how they were sitting, by no means all over each other but just comfortable and very much together (her head resting on his shoulder and his hand very loosely around her waist, his thumb just coming into contact with her hip) and smiled. He couldn't help but think about just shy of a year earlier when he saw them 'coming out' so to speak for the first time at Mariana's funeral when she took his hand firmly in hers around the rest of the division, the change in their relationship even more apparent at the makeshift wake that followed at a local bar (they'd all been upset by her death at the time, no one more than Andy, so a celebration of her life and a job well done both from the squad in solving her murder but also by Rusty in identifying her seemed like a fitting book end, a life that couldn't be saved but was very much worth celebrating) where they had a few drinks after the burial while Rusty went out with Gus. It was as they relaxed with a cold drink that the rest of the division got to see them together properly for the first time. In all fairness it was also Provenza's first time seeing them like that too. Such was the speed that they were taking their relationship they weren't yet ready for any sort of double date with him and Patrice and in an act that was very unlike Andy, he hardly said a word to Provenza about Sharon now that they were actually dating. In the past Andy never seemed to shut up about Sharon much to Provenza's annoyance but the moment that they finally got together he never said a word, just smiling a lot instead, smiling in a way that upset Provenza a lot. They were a lot alike in that regard, falling in love and suddenly any sort of bragging or a need to share details ended. As the rest of the group chatted amongst themselves, Sharon and Andy cut themselves off, eyes only for each other as they talked and enjoyed the company of the other, catching everyone's attention as they laughed more than anyone had seen either of them in the past as they shared intimate but oh so nervous touches as they still adjusted to looking at each other openly as something other than a friend and a colleague.

As the 'wake' continued and Mike, Julio, Amy and Buzz talked and enjoyed a rare hour or so just to socialise with each other away from PAB, Provenza sat and watched his friend and Captain. Yes he'd been worried in the beginning, more than worried but not for the reasons that Andy thought for a while but kept from Sharon. Provenza was mainly worried in case it didn't work out between them and there was no denying that. He was worried about it effecting work and one of them being forced into transferring (like what he eventually had to do with Gabriel and Daniels for the sake of division harmony) but more than that he was worried for them both individually. He knew Sharon extremely well by that point and he knew Jack and so he knew exactly what he'd put her through time and time again and he worried that she wouldn't be able to suffer through it a second time if it went wrong, not coping herself and not being able to give Andy a second chance if the need came because she simply didn't have another second chance to spare after wasting them all on Jack. Likewise he was worried for Andy. He had been there to pick him up once when no one else wanted to (being hardly the most ideal person for the job at the time since they were colleagues and not much more although they had been out together socially as proven when Andy passed out drunk on the hood of his car after Provenza's Super Bowl party) and he wasn't sure he would be able to help him a second time since it had been clear to him for over a year before he finally asked her out that he was already in love with her, having never seen him that in love with someone in all the years he'd known him and all the women he'd known in that time. To see them make it to a year when he wasn't entirely sure that Andy was even going to live that long at one point, to be looking for a house to buy together, to be rock solid in their relationship and head over heels for each other was a great joy to him and the sentimental old fool that lurked deep below his gruff exterior but he would rather no one else found out about that.

"Patrice and I have decided to hold off on our honeymoon a little longer so that we can afford something special" Provenza finally told them once they'd stopped laughing at how cheap he was. In truth they had spoken about it a lot and although Provenza knew people would think that he was to blame for their lack of honeymoon thus far because he was cheap to say the least, it couldn't have been further from the truth. In reality Provenza wanted to spoil his bride, wanted to make up for the wedding that he wanted to give her but she declined so that meant a honeymoon that spared no expense. Sadly such things required more money than they currently had so they had elected to wait and other than a few days in Palm Springs over Easter, hold off on their honeymoon until they could afford something truly exceptional.

"But speaking of anniversaries and since I already have a drink in my hand and everyone here to join in with me," Provenza raised his glass into the air as he smiled at her warmly, "Captain, Flynn, happy anniversary to you both."

Sharon blushed as she smiled. "Thank you Lieutenant."

"Wait! You remembered?" Andy asked, genuinely surprised.

"Of course I remembered. You wouldn't shut up about her for weeks on end before you finally plucked up the courage to ask her out on a date" Provenza grumbled for effect as Sharon smiled at Andy who in turn glared back at his partner rather annoyed. "'I'm going to ask Sharon out on a date.' 'I'm going to ask Sharon out on a date.' Ye Gods! How could I forget? I could hear you saying that in my sleep." Provenza rolled his eyes as his hand rubbed his face.

"Which, by the way Lieutenant," Sharon said as she turned to smile at Andy again, "was the one word he neglected to use when he finally did ask me to dinner. I had to sort of guess at his intentions that evening."

"You're a detective aren't you?" Andy shrugged.

"It's really your anniversary?" Amy asked joyfully.

Sharon nodded. "Last week" she said before she turned to look at him again. "I've put up with him for a full twelve months without killing him or at the very least maiming him a little."

"Are we forgetting the black eye you gave me in your sleep?" Andy asked.

"Yes because that wasn't deliberate and if I maim you because you've decided to try and be funny it will be very very deliberate, I promise you that" she warned him much to the amusement of everyone including Andy.

"Yeah, yeah. I've already told you, Nicole said she's put your medal in the mail and they're planning a parade in your honour" Andy joked.

Mike smiled at them both, equally parts surprised and pleased. "Holy crap, a whole year. Well congratulations Captain and erm Flynn, I...honestly never expected you to get this far" he said honestly as everyone laughed and nodded in agreement.

Andy frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Mike shrugged casually. "Oh you know we all thought you'd probably find a way to screw it up long before now." Almost immediately everyone nodded in agreement with Mike's statement, even Sharon as Andy looked around the group with bewilderment.

"What? Why?" Andy asked.

"Have you met you?" Provenza said bluntly.

"We even had a bet on it" Mike informed him.

"With Rusty?" Andy asked since the young man had confessed when he came to pick Sharon up on their anniversary that he had won a bet with Provenza on how quickly Andy would screw up their relationship, Rusty winning by default because his guess was the closest.

"No that was just me when he seemed rather reluctant about this whole arrangement and with you being his potential Step-Father one day," Provenza told him, "but we all bet with each other about how long it would take you to screw it all up."

Andy looked at them all absolutely horrified. "What? You bet on us breaking up? How could you?" he shouted, accepting that Rusty and Provenza having a wager as a joke was one thing but all of his friends and colleagues assuming he was going to find some way to ruin what he had was another thing entirely.

"Oh it was easy, I wrote it all down" Provenza shrugged. "Just a small wager from everyone on when it would all go spectacularly wrong kept under lock and key in my desk drawer so there could be no cheating or altering of the information."

"I don't believe this" Andy cried again looking incredibly annoyed.

"But don't forget that we were all rooting for you both at the same time Lieutenant" Amy was quick to confirm, hoping that they really could make a go of their relationship but at the same time having a small wager in case they didn't, just like what they had done with her and Cooper. "We all wanted to see you two make a go of it and stay together forever."

"Yeah it sounds like it but at the same time having a sly bet in case it didn't?" Andy turned to look at Sharon. "Did you know about this? That they were betting on us?" he asked.

Sharon opened her mouth to find the words but Provenza spoke up first before she had a chance to say anything, laughing as he spoke. "Know about it? She took part in it" he took great delight in informing Andy.

Andy looked at Sharon shocked, as if he had just discovered she had been cheating on him or worse, had been watching _Badge of Justice_ when he was at AA and not only that but that she enjoyed it too. "What?!"

Sharon smiled at him and shrugged. "If it makes you feel any better I won."

"You won?" he asked as he fidgeting on the spot, his underwear arrangements still causing him grief despite the distraction of the conversation. "What do you mean you won?"

"Everyone else had bets on us breaking up in a timeframe that ranged from three weeks to six months and as a result I won." She smiled at him again and shrugged as her hand landed back on his shoulder and she leaned into him a little more, his hand moving a little closer to her hip as a result. In all fairness Sharon was quite annoyed herself when she stepped out of her office and heard them all placing bets on her relationship with Andy but her attitude soon softened and saw it as a chance to make a point to them and thus ensuring no one else ended up with the money.

"Why? What did you bet?" he asked.

Sharon shrugged again. "Never."

"Never?"

"Yes. I said you were never going to screw it up and we'd be together for the whole death do us part thing unless I murdered you first of course" she told him with another matter-of-fact smile.

He smiled at her, rather pleased by what he was hearing. It was music to his ears as they sat together in the restaurant on their anniversary to learn that Sharon genuinely thought their relationship was going to work from the very beginning, being so certain she started to make plans to make sure they did everything properly and by the book because they also worked together. "Really?" he asked as his smile continued to grow.

"Yes."

Andy thought for a moment as he started to tug on his earlobe out of stress, still shuffling in his seat due to the lace currently holding his genitals hostage. "Well now I'm worried that you've stayed with me just to win the money" he cried.

Sharon laughed. "Oh I don't need the money that badly and anyway," she said as she grabbed hold of his chin and made him face her, "you can be far too irritating to put up with for any reason other reason than I really want to."

Everyone laughed at her with the exception of Andy. "Well that's comforting." He shuffled again, his discomfort growing by the second for a couple of reasons. "I can't believe you all bet on us breaking up."

"To be fair Sir in the beginning the idea of you two dating was weird" Julio said in their defence even though he didn't think they actually needed one.

"Really weird" Buzz confirmed with more of a smile than the baffled expression Julio had just pulled as he raised his glass into the air. "Anyway Lieutenant Provenza is right..."

"Oh how I love hearing that" Provenza crooned as if Patrice had just been whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

Buzz simply scowled at him while everyone else laughed. "A double celebration is in order and you both definitely deserve a toast, Captain you especially" he said as politely as he was able and making everyone laugh. "Captain, Lieutenant, congratulations and here's to many many more years together."

"Oh Buzz don't be mean to the woman" Provenza joked, getting a frown from Andy in return. "Captain, Flynn, congratulations and cheers."

"Cheers" everyone said in unison as they all raised their glasses into the air and toasted them before taking a quick sip afterwards in celebration.

Sharon smiled at them all slightly overwhelmed before she turned and kissed Andy on the side of the head, doing it because she knew he would never try to cross that line at work without a written invitation signed by both his Captain and Chief Taylor. "Thank you. Thank you all" she said.

"Personally I think Flynn is the one that should be saying thank you to you but whatever" Provenza joked with a dismissive shrug and making everyone laugh.

With everyone temporarily distracted as they laughed at Provenza, Andy leaned in close to Sharon's ear and whispered "Can we go yet?" in very much a pleading tone, desperate to get home as soon as possible and free his crotch from its lacy hell.

Her eyes sparkled at him. "No. I'm enjoying myself" she teased.

"I'm not and neither are my balls" he whispered back and making her laugh.

"So what did you do on your anniversary?" Amy asked as she dragged Sharon's attention from Andy, her cheeks suddenly slightly flushed. "Anything special to celebrate?" In the full knowledge that her Captain had a very well-toned and established 'sense of occasion' she didn't expect that their milestone had passed by without some sort of celebration especially given that when she herself had reached a year with Chuck he had insisted on taking her away for the weekend but then he was a much more of a romantic person that she was.

"Nothing big. He took me out to dinner" Sharon told her with a smile.

"Nice. Where?"

"That little Italian place in Westwood" Andy said as he gestured towards Provenza, having been there with him many times before despite its rather romantic ambiance. "You know the one."

"Great wine" Provenza said before shaking his head. "Terrible marinara sauce."

"That's the one" Andy confirmed.

"Well I thought it was absolutely lovely" Sharon confirmed. "Of course it would have been nice to have gone back to the same restaurant we went to on our first proper date but sadly Andy is still banned from there right now and for the foreseeable future." Andy frowned at her as she laughed again, taking great delight in telling people what a fool he had made of himself by setting his menu on fire when his nerves got the better of him.

"Banned?" Mike asked.

"I'm not banned" Andy insisted.

Sharon laughed. "Oh yes you are."

"I'm not!"

"How do you get banned from a restaurant?" Provenza laughed. "Did you send your lentils back to the chef once too many times?"

"No" Andy sighed as he rubbed his face with his hand.

"Then why did they ban you Sir?" Julio asked.

"Because he was so nervous when we arrived that he managed to set fire to his menu with a candle on the table" Sharon announced gleefully before she smiled at him sweetly, enjoying his torment as everyone else laughed.

"What?" Amy laughed.

Mike shook his head. "You did?"

"You were really that nervous?" Provenza asked him, sounding slightly astonished by this revelation, yet more confirmation for Sharon that Andy had indeed not said a single solitary word to anyone about their first date.

"Are you kidding me? It was the last first date I was ever going to go on in my life and I knew it, of course I was nervous" Andy told them, if anything down playing just how nervous he actually was at the time. "I could hardly see straight I was so nervous."

Amy smiled at him and nodded. "That's a very good answer Lieutenant."

"Yes it is" Sharon agreed as she smiled at him. "A very good answer" she added before he winked at her, his thumb just grazing her hip so that she could feel it for the first time.

Provenza shook his head, not hiding his amusement and surprise. He hadn't heard a single word about their first date at the time much to his surprise, expecting to have a second by second breakdown when he returned to work as he plotted Andy's death in his mind but instead he was told nothing and left baffled by how they had suddenly gone back to calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant' again. "How could you be that nervous?" he asked.

"I wasn't the only one. Sharon left the condo wearing two different types of shoes" Andy announced and deflecting some of the attention and laughter away from himself.

Sharon sighed. "I do wish I'd never told you that."

"And I wish you'd stop telling everyone that I set fire to my menu."

"And killed some fish, let's not forget that" Sharon replied, getting her own back for the shoe comment as quick as a flash.

"You killed some fish as well?" Mike laughed.

Andy shrugged. "No."

"Yes he did" Sharon told them. "He dropped his menu in a nearby aquarium to put the fire out and that's the reason why he's banned from Serve for life." She turned to Andy and grinned at him. "And the reason boy," she said with the word 'boy' instantly causing Amy to smile as she realised that a little pet name had just been allowed to slip in their presence, "that I feel compelled to tell everyone that you were so nervous you set your menu on fire is because it was very very funny and still is." She grinned at him again. "But just to clarify a few things for me please Lieutenant," she said as she turned back to face Provenza, "he really didn't tell you he set fire to his menu on our first date?"

"He didn't tell me anything Captain" he replied.

Andy smiled at her smugly since she'd always doubted that he was telling the truth about it, thinking that maybe it screamed as being yet another one of Andy Flynn's trademark tall tales like what he claimed his middle name was. "Really?" she asked Provenza as she smiled at Andy.

"He never said a word to me about it" Provenza confirmed. "I honestly thought it had been an unmitigated disaster when I returned to work on the following Tuesday and you were back to calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant' again."

"Oh yeah" Mike nodded, having noticed the same thing twelve months earlier.

"Yeah I noticed that too" Julio said.

Amy shrugged. "I assumed you'd had a fight."

"No, quite the opposite as it turned out" Sharon smiled.

"Wait, what do you mean you 'noticed that too'?" Andy asked. "What was so unusual about me addressing my Captain as 'Captain' a year ago?"

"Because it was 'Sharon this' and 'Sharon that' over and over again until I went insane and I wanted to stuff a couch cushion in your mouth to get you to just shut the hell up" Provenza grumbled.

"No I didn't!"

"But you did say it in Electronics that once" Buzz reminded him.

"Yes you did" Mike nodded.

Sharon laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. "See, I told you."

"We both heard you Lieutenant" Buzz said, bursting his bubble even more. "It made it kind of obvious that something was going on between the two of you."

"Ah but it wasn't" Andy told them honestly. "Not until about a week later."

"It was close enough" Provenza replied.

Andy sighed. "Is it not bad enough that I have to hear how often I'm wrong at home without all of you guys confirming it here too?" he said as they all laughed at him again and Sharon squeezed his shoulder.

"In the end Captain I asked Rusty if he knew how your date had gone and he wouldn't tell me either" Provenza told her, still a little annoyed that Rusty had been so tight lipped about the whole thing, especially when he had just given him two hundred dollars (admittedly for something completely different but Provenza didn't seem to think that it should make even the slightest difference at the time).

"He didn't know" Andy answered now that he was in full possession of all the facts.

Sharon smiled at Andy before turning back to Provenza. "He didn't know what had happened until a couple of days later" she explained.

"Despite the fact that I took you out to dinner on the Sunday afternoon" Andy pointed out, still finding it all rather improbable that Rusty hadn't been able to work out for himself that their first date had been a roaring success just from the look on Sharon's face alone let alone that they spent around ten hours together on the following Sunday.

Sharon shrugged. "Yeah but that wasn't exactly unusual" she told him.

Despite the fact that Rusty had Googled the rather bizarre subject 'How to tell if you're on a date or not' before Sharon and Andy left the condo on their first proper date and could tell just from the look on Sharon's face that she clearly wanted it to be, her rather restrained reaction when she got home left him utterly perplexed by what had happened. It wasn't that he wanted details as such and oh God how he really didn't want to know the details of what went on between them (as proven by his horror when Sharon suggested a plan for overnight guests in the condo just over a week later), but some indication one way or other to know if they were now dating and if a future Step-Father was very much on the horizon would have been helpful but Sharon never said a word about it other than to confirm that it was a date before she went to bed. The reasons for this were simple, to begin with she was nervous, terrified even, worried about losing Andy and the relationship they already had in an attempt to have more which made them both more than a bit tentative (despite the fact that Andy would later grumble about them practically needing a chaperone because they were taking things so slowly). However the main reason she held off on telling Rusty was because she wanted and needed to do everything in a specific order. That order started with making sure it was going to work between them first when they returned to PAB on the Monday as they tried to balance working side by side with each other while dating and also adjust to looking at each other romantically outside of work before telling her children that she was dating and then finally Chief Taylor.

Andy nodded. "True but can I just add one thing." He pointed a finger in her face and smiled. "I told you I hadn't blabbed to anyone" he gloated, knowing that she had always doubted he was telling the truth when he claimed he hadn't even told Provenza that their first date had been a success and they were now dating properly.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah" she said, smiling and realising that she had just used the standard Andy Flynn response when she proved him wrong in the past.

"And he didn't Captain" Provenza confirmed. At the time he was a little concerned about his friend. With Rusty not having an answer to his question and the sudden change back to 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant' again he was too afraid to ask what had happened in case Andy broke down in front of him. "In the end it was Taylor who told me about ten minutes after you'd filled him in about your change in 'relationship status.'"

"Quelle surprise" Sharon replied before everyone laughed, none of them surprised in the slightest that Taylor hadn't been able to keep it to himself for more than an hour. Sharon grinned at Andy before sipping on her cider and humming as the taste hit her. "But enough about us, Amy how long have you and Lieutenant Cooper been together now? It must be a couple of years at least."

Amy nodded, smiling at the mention of Chuck's name despite the problems they were continuing to have over where their relationship was ultimately headed. "Yes, about two and a half years roughly Captain" she confirmed, glad to be able to discuss it now that the incessant teasing from her male co-workers had long since ceased with them moving onto tormenting first Andy about his relationship with Sharon and now Julio and his series of utterly disastrous internet dates.

"Any plans?" Provenza asked. When he was met with a confused look from Amy in return he opted to be a lot less subtle and started to whistle the wedding march. His whistling was immediately met with laughter from everyone except Amy who looked at him completely horrified.

"My God you're like an old fish wife" Andy cried.

"Or Chief Taylor" Mike commented to yet more laughter.

"I'm just curious," Provenza said in his defence, "you know how much I hate going to weddings" he reminded them.

"And those are just your own" Andy pointed out.

Amy frowned, not the type of person who ever considered getting married and that was before she met Provenza and had been talked through all the reasons why his previous marriages had failed. "Honestly Lieutenant I have seen enough arguments against marriage in this job to ensure I never do it myself no matter what my Mother says to me over the phone" she told him, having seen enough marriages end in murder or adultery to even consider doing it herself.

"Come on Sykes, marriage isn't all that bad" Mike remarked. "Right Provenza?"

"Right, my sixth has been wonderful" Provenza replied, currently as happy as he'd ever been in his life.

"So far" Andy added before Sharon pinched his knee. "Ow!"

"Wow, what a ringing endorsement" Amy said dryly, still firmly of the opinion that Louie Provenza should be the last person in the world to be offering any kind of relationship advice, an opinion that was formed before she'd even had a chance to really get to know him and his vast number of ex-wives.

"But you have to remember he looks like that after five divorces" Andy said as he covered his knees before Sharon had chance to attack them again. "Imagine what he would have looked like without them."

"Imagine what my bank balance would look like wouldn't them" Provenza grumbled.

"No offence is meant to anyone in this room and I really mean that," Amy said as her eyes scanned the group and ensured that everyone had heard and accepted that statement before she continued, "but between you you've had what? Ten marriages and only three have been successful?" she pointed out.

"So far" Provenza was quick to remind her with one eye on his partner and the love of his life, expecting to serve as best man at their wedding sooner rather than later despite Sharon's tendency for foot dragging.

"Right, so far" Amy agreed with a smile and a glance towards her Captain. Andy bumped his shoulder against Sharon's and winked at her since that comment was clearly aimed at the two of them. "I am more than happy spending the rest of my life living with my boyfriend without the need for all of the additional expense and paperwork to go with it."

"Marriage isn't for everyone" Sharon shrugged in support of Amy.

"Well..." Andy started to say before being silenced by Sharon's finger on his mouth.

"Utter one word about me proposing to you and you'll wake up to find your suspenders down my garbage disposal, I warn you now" she told him, her eyes sparkling with menace. Everyone laughed in response as Andy just smiled at her, that not being what he was about to say but letting it go anyway. "What about you and Cathy, Mike? How long has it been?" Sharon asked, deflecting the attention away from herself once again.

"We're going on twenty five years this year" Mike replied.

"Really?" Sharon smiled. "Twenty five years. That's fabulous."

"Any plans?" Julio asked.

"Cathy keeps going back and forth between having a party to celebrate with family and friends and going on vacation" Mike explained, both of them wanting to mark the occasion with a large celebration but settling on what that celebration would look like was proving to be difficult. "But a lot of it will depend on work and waiting for the hiatus so that I can get time off from _Badge of Justice_ before any decision is made."

"Oh jeez" Andy grumbled once again.

Sharon squeezed his hand and turned to whisper into his ear as subtly as she could manage given that they were surrounded by their colleagues. "Don't make your discomfort all day go to waste by spoiling it all now" she told him.

"Yes ma'am."

"Surely Mike they must go on vacation at some point in the year, even in Hollywood" Provenza reasoned, not understanding or caring how Hollywood worked but found it hard to believe that they didn't have any time off at all.

"Of course but when _Badge of Justice_ goes on hiatus it's statistically usually very busy around here" he explained, not seeing the two events as linked but noting that the beginning of the Spring tended to bring out the worst in people for some strange reason.

"Ah!" Provenza replied.

"So you see, it's difficult" Mike added, enjoying the extra money that his second job gave him but not the lack of free time when he already had a job that required him to work long and often unsociable hours.

"Not necessarily Mike" Sharon interjected, the optimism in her voice clear for him to hear. "Twenty five years of marriage more than deserves a few days away so I'm sure we can work out some arrangements if you come to any decisions" she told him, determined to do everything in her power to allow both him and Provenza the opportunity to go away on a much needed and deserved vacation when they wanted to.

Mike smiled, appreciating the thought. "Thank you Captain."

"We've talked about it ourselves" Sharon added as she glanced at Andy. "Seeing if we can both steal a couple of days off work either side of the weekend towards the end of the summer."

"I think that's a great idea" Provenza said with enthusiasm, clapping his hands together.

"Only because you want Sharon's office while we're gone" Andy pointed out, still with no idea what he actually wanted her office for while they were away.

Provenza smiled. "The thought never crossed my mind" he lied.

Mike laughed. "Yeah right."

"What do you want to do in there anyway?" Andy asked, a little frightened of the answer.

"That's for me to know and you think about" Provenza replied with a shrug.

Mike grimaced with more than a touch of horror and disgust as a series of alarming images passed through his mind, most of which involved Provenza without any pants on. "Thank God the Captain's office has blinds" he said as everyone else thought likewise and laughed.

"Really? I think that makes it worse" Andy said, pulling a face like he'd just seen his ex-wife walk into the Murder Room and begged him to take her back. "We'd need to get those crime scene cleaners in before we could step foot in there again."

"And an exorcist" Buzz added.

"When is your anniversary Mike?" Sharon queried.

"October but like Provenza and his honeymoon I don't think it really matters when we go as long as we end up going eventually" he said with neither of them locked into a specific time that they wanted to go, being the sort of couple who were more than prepared to just go with the flow.

"How did you meet?" Buzz asked.

Mike laughed before he answered. "It's a funny story actually."

"Ye Gods!" Provenza cried with a roll of his eyes. "The short version please" he begged.

Everyone laughed, silently agreeing with Provenza even though they were certain that it wouldn't be a long technical answer. "Her Father ran me over" Mike said simply with a rather matter-of-fact shrug of her shoulders.

"What?" Andy laughed.

"On purpose?" Amy asked.

"Jeez I hope not" Mike replied before elaborating further. "I've never actually asked. I was walking towards the Santa Monica pier when I saw the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid my eyes on coming towards me."

"I hope this was Cathy?" Buzz said.

Mike laughed and nodded. "Yes it was Cathy. I hesitate to say it was one of those cliché love at first sight moments but it really was, it literally hit me like a tonne of bricks…and then her Father's car hit me" he explained much to everyone's amusement. "I'd stepped into the middle of the road without realising it but thankfully he wasn't going that fast at the time. Still it earned me an afternoon in the hospital and a first date as a result."

"Ah so it was like a Florence Nightingale effect" Andy said with a smile, it being something he knew an awful lot about especially since he had a brief but intense relationship with a nurse he had met while in the hospital after being attacked by Bobby Harris. "The sympathy vote works every time."

Mike laughed and nodded, getting a first date because he had managed to make Cathy laugh when she came to see him in the hospital rather than because she felt sorry for him. "Something like that. I'm not sure she would have noticed me if her Dad hadn't knocked me down but you just never know where love will strike" he shrugged, never expecting to meet the love of his life as he crossed the street on his way to meet his friend.

"Indeed" Andy agreed as he nudged Sharon's shoulder again. "Cheers to that."

"What about you Julio?" Provenza asked, still wanting to encourage him as much as possible. "Have you dipped your toes back in the dating pool again recently?"

"No Sir" he replied rather glumly. "I was tired of getting stood up if I'm honest. I'm blacklisted in most of the restaurants in the city by now for cancelled reservations."

Sharon smiled at Andy. "A little like you" she joked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"Have you tried some of the dating apps?" Buzz asked Julio, all of them keenly aware that the last time he tried to date a colleague it didn't end so well.

"Apps?" Provenza scoffed. "You don't need the apps to date Buzz."

"I beg to differ Lieutenant" he replied instantly. "Not all of us can meet the love of our lives at a hospital or as they crossed the street or at work" he added as his eyes moved from Provenza to Mike and then finally Amy before nodding at Andy and Sharon as if to prove his point.

"She only picked me because I was closest to her office" Andy told him with a nod towards Sharon as she shook her head at him and laughed.

"Well we all knew it wasn't for your intelligence" Provenza stated, making it sound like anything but a joke.

"Some of us have to go the extra mile when opportunities like dating a friend and colleague don't fall into our laps" Buzz continued, showing his experience with all the various dating websites without any real success.

"Did I not try to help the pair of you out at my bachelor party?" Provenza cried, still of the opinion that he'd done everything in his power to set Buzz and Julio up with women that night and the reason they failed was all down to their lack of charm and charisma. "Did I not encourage you both to speak to as many women as possible that evening? To offer you the benefit of all of my vast experience?"

"Yes but not until I had four or five cocktail sticks glued to my face" Buzz reminded him, that forfeit sabotaging him before he even had chance to open his mouth and say 'Hello' to any woman that evening.

Provenza shrugged. "It was a conversation starter" he insisted.

"Sure but each conversation started with the words 'Get the hell away from me freak!' and ended pretty abruptly after that" Buzz shouted, still really annoyed about the whole thing not least because he was convinced the marks from where the sticks were super glued to his face were still visible if anyone looked at him closely.

"It wasn't any easier on me Buzz. I had to speak to them without any pants" Julio reminded him with every woman he attempted to speak to that evening (strippers aside) looking at him like he had just escaped from a padded cell.

"Which oddly enough didn't seem to hurt your prospects" Buzz replied.

Julio shrugged. "What can I say? I've got good legs."

"Exactly but no one looks good with cocktail sticks on their face" Buzz whined again.

"You know Buzz, it's that kind of attitude that didn't help you that evening" Provenza said as he butted in, thinking the whole cocktail stick problem wouldn't have been such an issue had Buzz approached the evening with a much more positive attitude. "Help me out here Flynn, did I or did I not encourage them as much as I could?"

"Sorry, I can't help you" Andy replied quickly as he glanced at Sharon and smiled. "I'm under strict instructions to forget that you ever had a sixth and final bachelor party" he told him, not caring if anyone thought he was whipped or not.

"What?" Provenza asked, alarmed by how much his friend was 'under the thumb' when he himself was also in a similar position and very happily so at that.

"I think it's for the best for all concerned" Sharon said, smiling at Provenza.

"To be fair, I could live with that arrangement too" Mike nodded enthusiastically. "I don't need Cathy to know what happened that evening."

"You never told her?" Amy asked.

"Are you kidding me? Why would I tell her?" he replied, thinking it was more than his life was worth if he told her not just because he'd been to a strip club but had then lied to her and claimed that they'd been called into work rather than being mock arrested because they'd stumbled into and nearly ruined an ongoing surveillance operation. "I very much enjoy living and something tells me she wouldn't actually believe me if I told her I spent the entire time talking to one of the bartenders about _Badge of Justice_ in that strip club rather than anything else." Everyone laughed and nodded in response with neither Amy or Sharon really believing him that he had done that in truth, not believing a lot of what the male component of their division had claimed went on that evening.

Andy turned to whisper to Sharon while everyone else was distracted. "Does he have to drop the name of that crappy show into every conversation?"

"Oh hush!"

"I'll be honest Lieutenant I don't really believe you so there's even less of a chance that Cathy would and since the rest of you were either drunk," Amy said as she eyed Provenza, Julio and Buzz with suspicion, "or have very good reasons to lie about what happened," she added as she looked towards Andy, "I think the Captain is right and it's probably for the best that we forget all about it."

"For Cathy's sake above all else" Sharon insisted.

"Agreed and on the subject of Cathy I'd better head home or I'm going to be in trouble" Mike said as he picked his award up and put it in his bag for the second time that evening.

Provenza finished off his latest glass of cider before agreeing. "I was just thinking the same thing" he said, looking at his watch and knowing that Patrice would already be wondering where he was.

"Sure," Andy smiled, "your toenails aren't going to paint themselves."

Everyone laughed, stopping dead in their tracks. "What?" Buzz asked on behalf of the group.

"Nothing" Provenza replied, glaring at Andy.

"Lieutenant do you want to take the rest of this cake home for Cathy?" Amy asked Mike as she looked at the leftover cake on the spare desk next to Andy's.

"That's a good idea" Mike responded with a nod. Amy quickly pushed all of the cake into the centre of the board before Julio picked up the paper plates and cups and took them back into the Break Room with Buzz following with the empty cider bottles and Amy with the knife and the remaining cups. As Provenza went and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair Mike turned to his Captain who was still perched next to Andy on the edge of his desk. "Thank you so much for this Captain" he said.

"Well no it wasn't just me." Sharon stood and put her hand on Mike's shoulder. "We all felt the need to celebrate your achievement with you." She turned to glance at Andy who smiled at Mike in return, still behaving himself as he had promised to do.

"Well either way Captain I really appreciate it."

"Aww!" Sharon cried as she opened up her arms and hugged Mike, holding him tightly. Mike looked at Andy from over her shoulder, not being able to hide the alarmed expression on his face as he now knew how Julio felt when she hugged him following his return to work after getting shot.

"Don't fight it Mike" Andy told him with a shake of his head. "It only makes her hold on longer." Sharon pulled away from Mike and glared at Andy which did nothing to silence him. "Like that face hugger thing from _Alien_ " he added and got an inevitable smack across his arm. "Ow!"

Mike and Provenza couldn't help but laugh at him and the way he was able to get himself into trouble from a relatively innocent situation as Julio, Buzz and Amy walked back into the Murder Room and started to gather their things. "Thanks again for this guys" Mike said, feeling the need to thank them all in person again.

As the five of them slowly walked towards the door and the elevator Sharon went into her office to retrieve her purse and Provenza put his arm around Mike's shoulders. "Well we deal with enough dark crap around here my dear Michael. It's been nice to celebrate something good for a change" Provenza told him as they disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

Andy watched them leave and stood up, pulling at his underwear as he picked his cell phone up from his desk and put it in his pocket. He settled uncomfortably on the edge of his desk again as he waited for Sharon to come out of her office. A few moments later she appeared with her purse on her shoulder and closed the door behind her. Andy looked up as she walked towards him and took his hand.

"Thank you" she said as she squeezed his hand.

Andy stood, a look of confusion on his face. "For what? If it's for the…you know horror show that's really," he paused as he gestured towards his crotch, "going on under here you should save your thanks until after you've actually seen it properly."

Sharon laughed. "I didn't mean that. I meant for this" she said as she gestured towards the room to indicate the party. "For being a very good friend to Mike despite your feelings on the subject."

"Well I can't take all the credit, I was kind of manipulated into it."

"I didn't manipulate you" Sharon protested.

"Oh really? Then what would you call it?"

Sharon thought for a moment before replying with "Gentle encouragement?" She leant in close to whisper into his ear even though they were alone, always mindful of her surroundings and position despite the time of day and completely empty Murder Room. "Why don't you take me home and I can encourage you some more" she added in a very sultry tone.

He smiled at her. "You have all the best ideas" he said as they started to leave the Murder Room hand in hand.

"I know and oddly enough none of them feature wearing someone else's underwear."

"No usually they involve no underwear at all" he said with a wink.


	31. Chapter 31

_Once more let me start by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter and in particular MaxiP99, xbleeple, eelise187, seaford 71, StefanieWildermann, froggy62, Elaine Huang, maidenpride, jujuone23, Baker St, HeiBeSo and the two guests for leaving reviews. As usual if you want to get in touch with me you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Since I write this story on my laptop and once I switch it off at work on today for Christmas and I don't want to put it on again until 2018, this is probably the last chapter I post while the show is still on the air. As previously stated I am going to keep posting until I finish, not only because I have SO many notes written already for other chapters but because I enjoy writing it so much. So I'm going to keep posting whether people read it or not._

 _ **Note:**_ _All of this including the author note above and below this paragraph was written_ _ **before**_ _Tuesday. Even though I expected it I feel like I've been hit with a car. Several weeks ago when I first thought this was how it might end I started to write what I hoped was a one shot where Andy would have his final conversation with Sharon after her death, it now seems as that will be the final chapter of this story. I'm not sure there will be much between the wedding and that chapter but we'll see and time will tell if inspiration hits or I have any specific requests. In looking at my notes I can now confirm that this story will end with Chapter 70 and I still intend on writing every single word of it no matter how long it takes because I still enjoy writing it. In the notes I have made for other chapters I have already written_ _ **lots**_ _of conversations between the two of them about what they were going to do after retirement which has suddenly turned from mildly comic to incredibly tragic since it'll never happen. Likewise all the dialogue for the chapter where Sharon brings Andy home from the hospital after his heart attack is already written. In it she gets upset at the thought of nearly losing him and he tells her something along the lines of "I wish I could say it wasn't but we both know I'm going to be the one to go first in this relationship" which now makes me cry just thinking about it since he was so wrong. Anyway I just wanted people to know how many things that were perfectly light hearted before Tuesday are now going to tug at your heart strings if you're still reading then and they were all written_ _ **before**_ _the events of Tuesday. The only thing I have altered in this chapter since Tuesday is Andy calling Sharon 'babe' instead of 'sweetheart' on one occasion since he said it in part four._

 _A huge chunk of this chapter was written in the immediate aftermath of the episode (specifically the conversation at the hotel and what happens at the condo) and I'm pleased to say that the following episodes meant this could still have happened and fitted into the narrative perfectly. It's not as silly as other chapters because the episode itself wasn't like that but there's still some humour there as I focus on how Sharon was feeling at that hotel once she had really thought about what had happened and digested it. I hope you agree with the choices I have made._

 _This chapter takes place during and after_ _ **Moral Hazard 5x7**_ _and is fairly self-explanatory._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty One**

It was a day that wouldn't particularly stand out in her mind from most other incredibly hard and taxing days at work for Sharon when she sat back one day and thought about her life (although by no means was it an everyday occurrence that the majority of her division were repeatedly shot at by a lunatic intent on killing as many people as possible but being a police officer and danger pretty much came hand in hand on the best of days) with the exception of three extremely significant conversations with Andy that would go on to shape their immediate and long term futures together.

The time between the first round being fired at her squad in the hallway outside of Elliot Chase's hotel room and Sharon hearing Andy's voice over the radio was probably only a couple of seconds in reality but to her it felt like an awful lot longer, it felt like a lifetime. It was no exaggeration for her to say that her life was up on the floor, pressed completely flat to the ground to keep out of danger while getting repeatedly fired upon by a mad man. She had absolutely no idea what was happening up there as she waited below other than her squad, her friends and more importantly (although she was loathed to say one mattered more to her than the others but the truth was he did) her boyfriend, the love of her life were all in mortal danger, diving out of the way as the bullets burst through the walls and the door and staying as close to the ground as humanly possible as round after round continued to head their way, shredding everything in their path. Regardless of how she felt Sharon had to be professional in those seconds, she had no other choice as Captain of the division and running the operation from the scene but that didn't mean that a sense of panic didn't instantly kick into her gut as she felt every single hair on her body stand up on end while a bitter taste formed in her mouth as her heart started to beat out of her chest, stealing her breath when she needed it the most. She was at work. She had a vest on along with her badge and gun, she was the Captain of Major Crimes and she was running the operation to take down a psychopath before he was able to kill anyone else. That meant she had to try her hardest to see Andy solely as her colleague and nothing more in those first few terrifying moments but that was easier said than done especially since she had simply never been in that kind of situation before since they had started dating.

With Amy and Buzz standing right next to her and in truth being just as concerned as she was about the fate of their friends and colleagues, Sharon tried to remain as calm as she could but all three of them were worried. It was then that Andy flashed through her mind and the last thirty minutes they'd spent together, depending on how things were turning out upstairs perhaps the last thirty minutes they would ever spend together. There was the nod that they had shared with each other as they walked into the lobby of the hotel and went their separate ways, the non-verbal and completely professional way they had of communicating with each other while at work and telling the other that they loved them and to be careful when they simply couldn't embrace each other and whisper it into each other's ears. It reminded her of the moments after they set up outside the church when they were waiting to arrest the fake cops who unceremoniously gunned down officers Leary and Tracey in the street. Clad in her cardigan while clutching her purse and looking as threatening as a baby chick in a cake paper tutu, it was agreed that Sharon would tackle the suspect in the car on her own to begin with, pretending to be a lost woman seeking his help and making sure they caught him with his guard down. Sharon and Andy had only been dating just two short weeks at the time and they hadn't even got as far as sharing their first kiss let alone had told anyone that they were finally dating properly but they already loved each other (and had done for well over a year in Andy's case), a similar nod coming as they set up outside, him telling her to be careful even though he was going to be right there behind her with his gun already drawn and more than ready to pounce at a second's notice if need be, unable to say it verbally since no one knew they were now more than friends and colleagues.

Then there was the drive to the hotel. In the past they had very rarely driven together. Under similar circumstances she always drove with Provenza, number one and number two together as she barked out orders over the radio in preparation for their operation but that had all changed now with their growing relationship. There was no discussion about it but everyone just assumed they would ride to the scene together with both appreciating the quiet ride to the scene and a few moments alone before they headed into a potentially very dangerous situation that they both knew could end up costing them their lives if things didn't go to plan. But before that was the elevator ride down in PAB. Everyone else went on ahead but Andy waited for Sharon so that she could ride with him, holding her vest for her as they walked to the elevator while she put on her badge and gun. There were no words spoken on the way down other than 'Is this okay?' as both of them helped the other on with their vest, it being the only way they could protect each other that day, knowing she was going to send him off into danger while she waited away from it all and at a very safe distance. It was not something that she had much choice about in reality and she freely acknowledged that she would probably have to do it again, many many times in fact but that didn't mean she had to like it, not one bit.

When Sharon finally heard Andy's voice over the radio for the first time since the gunfire started, shouting at Chase at the top of his lungs to drop his weapon and come back over the railings of the balcony she could have cried but that could wait until later, until she was home and alone as she kept the same neutral and professional façade for the world and continued to do her job with the same level of professionalism as she had always had and demanded of herself. At that moment in time she still had a job to do, they all did for that matter. It was only as she slowly approached Chase's battered and broken body lying on the ground in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by the money he had blasted from the balcony with his home-made cannon that she finally looked up and saw Andy for the very first time since the barrage began. Always the consummate professional himself he simply shrugged back at her, letting her know that there was nothing he or Mike could have done to stop Elliot from jumping to his death. Seeing him, seeing that he was okay was just what she needed to finally make her shoulders relax and release the breath that she didn't even realise she had been holding.

As Amy went to get the uniformed officers to completely seal off the courtyard for SID's arrival since it was now also a crime scene and Buzz videoed the body on the ground Sharon took a few steps away, a hand to her mouth as she desperately tried to compose herself for a moment. Her breath was shaking, showing the emotion locked within her as her hands trembled slightly from the adrenaline rush as much as with relief to discover that Andy was not only alive but seemingly completely unharmed. She looked back up to the balcony and realised that Andy and Mike had gone back inside, still doing their jobs just like she was, just like they were trained to do regardless of the circumstances.

Sharon took another long shaky breath as she finally fully composed herself, bringing her radio to her mouth as she once more looked up to see if she could see her squad on the balcony. "Is everyone okay up there? Is anyone hurt?" she asked, needing to know that Provenza and Julio had also escaped unscathed from the assault before she could fully unclench since she had yet to lay eyes or ears on either of them.

"No, we're fine Captain" Mike answered on behalf of the group but with Provenza's pained groans making it to her ear in the background as he spoke over the radio.

"Really?" Sharon asked less than convinced given what she could hear. "You're all okay?"

"Well pretty much" Andy replied as he watched Provenza struggling to breath due to the pain in his chest as he lay on the floor in the hallway, his ribs already beginning to bruise beneath his vest, something Andy himself had a lot of experience with.

"Ma'am have we got an ambulance down there for the Lieutenant?" Julio asked having never left Provenza's side since the moment he was struck by the shrapnel after he failed to dive out of the way in time, feeling the need to protect him and repay the favour from many years earlier when their roles had been reversed and Provenza had practically sprinted (for him anyway) to the helicopter as he was being carried towards it.

"Lieutenant?" Sharon cried. "Which one? What happened?" she asked, sounding positively frantic for once and anything but the women they had all come to know and love.

"Nothing I'm fine" Provenza groaned over the radio, trying and failing to sit up due to the restrictions of his vest as well as the agonising pain in his ribs as he thought to himself it would hurt a lot less if he had really been shot.

"Provenza has taken one to the vest" Andy explained as he crouched beside him and helped him up into a seated position as Julio assisted, propping him up against the wall.

"And I'm fine" Provenza reiterated with another agonised groan as he closed his eyes and grimaced. "I don't need an ambulance at least not until Patrice finds out what's happened anyway and then you might need to call the coroner." He looked down at his jacket and saw the gaping hole in it, big enough to fit his finger through so it was highly unlikely that Patrice would believe that a moth had done it and he simply hadn't noticed when he slipped it on that morning. Even if he could somehow manage to avoid Patrice seeing the bruise that was surely already appearing on his chest and his apparent discomfort when he did something as simple as breathing, there was no way he could hide his jacket from her, she would _have_ to be told and he would have to accept that the topic of 'retirement' would be brought up once again.

"Just let them check you over to make sure you haven't broken any ribs" Andy told him.

"We're on our way down Captain" Mike said simply, thinking that in a game of three against one they would be able to wrestle Provenza into the elevator, get him downstairs and receive some much needed medical attention to just make sure he was okay whether he liked it or not.

With the courtyard sealed off Sharon, Amy and Buzz walked through the doors to wait by the elevators for the rest of the division to come down with Sharon unable to completely relax until she saw that each and every one of them in person were in one piece and she really did mean all of them and not just Andy. When they did eventually come down and the elevator doors opened Provenza was clearly in a lot of pain and being propped up by Julio and Andy on either side of him as he struggled to comfortably breath without being in pain, a cracked rib a very real possibility aside from the bruising but it could have been so much worse, something that simply didn't bare thinking about.

"Will you get off me" Provenza grumbled as he half-heartedly tried to wriggle from their grasps. "I don't need an ambulance although a stiff drink wouldn't go a miss right about now." Ignoring him completely Andy and Julio moved him to the centre of the lobby and sat him down in a chair as everyone gathered around him with looks of concern on their faces.

"It's best to be safe than sorry Lieutenant" Sharon said as she crouched down next to him to get a closer look, laying her hand on his shoulder as she showed her concern. "Patrice would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you." Before he had chance to respond and in all possibility roll his eyes at her two EMTs hustled towards them with carrying their equipment over their shoulders. Sharon stood quickly and moved out of their way so that they could get closer and examine the patient. "Can you check him over?" she asked as she gestured towards Provenza. "He's taken a blow to his chest."

"Yes ma'am" the taller of the two replied as they dropped their bags to the ground.

The EMTs both crouched next to Provenza and unzipped their bags, immediately digging through them. With how he was struggling to breathe properly for a moment because of the pain in his ribs one immediately whipped out an oxygen tank and attempted to attach the mask to his face only to have him swat them away like they were a buzzing fly. "Unless you've got beer in that thing get it away from me right now!" Provenza shouted as loud as he was able without causing himself more pain. He tried his best to stand in an attempt to flee from the unwanted attention of his colleagues and medical professionals but was stopped when Andy put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into his chair, after how Provenza had taken care of him throughout the experience with his clot it was now his turn to make sure Provenza did what was best for him.

"Just sit down and do as you're told" Andy told him in a tone that signalled he meant business and he would wrestle him back into his chair if he needed to.

With Provenza reluctantly being taken care of Sharon gestured for everyone to follow her as she moved a few steps away. Gathering in a circle around their Captain they waited for their orders as Sharon briefly put her hand on her head as she suddenly realised it was pounding like she had a migraine, that awful bitter taste still in her mouth as she battled to make her brain function efficiently and find the words that she knew were there somewhere. "Julio if you could stay with Lieutenant Provenza please while he's being checked over, make sure he allows the EMTs to do their jobs" she said as she started to dish out jobs.

Julio sighed as he glanced behind him at Provenza who was still resisting all attempts to help him and make him feel a little bit more comfortable. "And how do you suggest I get him to do that ma'am? He's not exactly cooperative" he said in what was quite possibly the biggest understatement of the day.

Andy shrugged. "I don't know. Threaten to call Patrice if you have to, that'll change his tune" he said, remembering quite vividly how the threat from Amy to call Sharon and tell her what had happened to him had made him quickly get into the back of the waiting ambulance and go to the hospital after his 'dust up' with the car.

"Yes Sir" Julio nodded as he walked back over to Provenza to keep watch over him much like he had done from the moment that shrapnel hit his chest.

"Mike if you'd like to take Buzz upstairs to film the room and the corridor before SID get here that would be great thank you" Sharon continued, receiving a nod from Mike before he and Buzz set off back towards the elevators. "Amy call the coroner and get SID down here immediately. We may not have anyone to prosecute in this case anymore but we still need to process this scene correctly."

"Yes Captain" Amy replied as she walked away with her cell phone in her hand.

"Andy if you could come with me please. This way" Sharon instructed without any need for further elaboration on where they were going and what she wanted him to do when they got there.

As Sharon took off with real purpose in the direction of the courtyard with Andy in tow, if he was honest struggling to keep up such was the speed she was going, Amy dropped her cell phone to her side and suddenly had a question she needed an answer to. "Oh Captain!" she called after her.

"Sykes!" Provenza immediately shouted as he removed the oxygen mask from his face so that she would be able to hear him. "Sykes!" he called again. He groaned with a little pain from where he had shouted to get her attention as he held the mask back to his face and gripped his battered ribs. Amy trotted over to him expectantly. Provenza removed his mask again before speaking, giving a quick nod in the direction that Sharon and Andy were headed. "She's just heard him being shot at over the radio and knowing her like I think we all do by now, she probably didn't so much as flinch on the outside. Give them a second" he pleaded, expecting them to be having a private moment away from prying eyes rather than knowing that's what was going on for certain. Amy nodded and realised that he was right, seeing for herself just how she had stood there as the sound of the gunfire echoed around the courtyard and hardly flinched something she doubted she would have been able to have done if it was Chuck up there instead.

Andy obediently followed Sharon, expecting her to go straight out into the courtyard and to the body so he was left more than a little surprised when she changed course suddenly and led him down a corridor towards one of the conference rooms. "Have we got officers with the body?" he asked as he followed one step behind her.

"Yes."

After leading him to a completely empty corridor Sharon suddenly stopped in front of him and turned on the spot to face him. "Where are we…" Andy started only to be cut off in his prime as Sharon placed a hand on either side of his face and kissed him forcefully with as much passion as she could muster in that moment. It was a long and slow kiss as he kept his hands on hers on his face, very much aware that this was breaking the rules that they had established while at work but that Sharon needed to do it in that moment given what had just happened upstairs and how close all four of them had come to getting shot. As they pulled apart he looked at her a little stunned, really not accustomed to having his 'Captain' kiss him at work.

After a moment of silence as they just stared at each other from a few inches apart Sharon finally spoke. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked as she started to run her hands all over his body, looking for any injuries that he might not have noticed sooner because of the adrenaline surging through his body at that moment much like what had happened to Julio when he was shot in his side in the basement of the parking garage with Copper a couple of years earlier. "Did he shoot you?"

"No. Sharon I'm fine" he said as she continued to run her hands over every square inch of his body as she inspected him. He grabbed her hands in his and held them tightly to stop her. "I'm fine. Listen to me." He squeezed her hands again as he tried to get her attention. "Sharon listen to me. I'm fine" he insisted, saying it slowly as he kept his eyes locked on hers so that he knew she was listening to him and was taking in everything he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked again, the concern loud and clear in her voice.

"Yes I'm sure. I'm fine." He dropped her hands and opened up his jacket so that she could see his shirt below his vest for herself and note that there wasn't any blood seeping through it. "Look not a scratch on me. Sharon I'm fine."

Her eyes raked his body just like her hands had previously done before they settled on all of the plaster on his jacket, making him look like he was covered in dust from head to toe. "What's this?" she asked as she started to brush the plaster off his shoulders and sleeves.

"It's nothing it's just the plaster from the walls. I'm fine Sharon, honestly."

"Really?"

"Yes. Sharon I'm fine, honestly." As he continued to try and reassure her that he was okay aside from a little dust on his suit he kept saying her name over and over again as often as he could, trying to ground her since it was clear to him just how traumatic the whole experience had been for her as she listened to it, even more so that it was for them diving out of the way of it upstairs.

Without warning Sharon suddenly lunged towards him before stopping and only brushing her lips lightly against his, giving him the most gentle of kisses imaginable. They had done their jobs, both of them, they had done them perfectly and completely professionally and now that the danger was over and given the extreme circumstances it was okay to let that professional wall slip for a brief moment as they both let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I love you" she told him, her eyes locked on his.

"I know and I love you too. I'm fine Sharon. Really."

Suddenly it was there again. That strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her hot and feel beyond nauseous. The feeling she had largely ignored and suppressed after the disaster with the house when she lay on the couch in Andy's arms and tried to ask him to move in with her straight away but only succeeded in getting him to move his desk at work slightly to the left and confusing the hell out of both him and Chief Taylor in the process. It was the same feeling that overtook her in the car as Andy drove her home and she told him that she loved him for the very first time. She felt like she was about to empty her stomach on his shoes but she knew she wouldn't, this was something else entirely. She knew exactly what this feeling was. This time she wasn't going to ignore it. This time she had to do what her gut and her brain and her heart were screaming at her to do and finally stop herself from dragging her feet for a moment longer with the man that she utterly adored more than anything in the world. She made her decision, it was never going to happen again. Her foot dragging was over and she was about to start her new life with Andy in earnest.

"Move in with me" she finally said, surprising herself a little when the words managed to escape her throat at what seemed like the fifth attempt.

Andy frowned at her, looking more than a tad confused. "I thought I already was when we found a house without black mould and dead people in it" he said as he laughed.

"No, I mean now" she clarified, looking as serious as he had ever seen her. "Move in with me now. Pack up your house and move in with me as soon as you sell it" she said as she took his hands in hers, gripping them tightly. The main plan was still to find somewhere to buy together and not move in with each other before that but it had been in the back of Sharon's mind all along. Once Rusty had told her it was more than okay with him for that to happen, suggesting she just ask him (mainly because he really didn't want to move out of the condo in the first place) it was only going to be a matter of time before she did just that, waiting that little bit longer until she was sure she was ready to take that next step with him. She freely acknowledged to herself that this request was probably only coming when it had because of what had just happened moments earlier upstairs but at the end of the day did that really matter? He could have died moments ago, she could have lost him so really what was she waiting for? She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and the sooner that they started the rest of their lives the better.

"Okay" Andy nodded, looking more than a little shocked by the sudden and frankly completely unexpected invitation, feeling completely overwhelmed by it. "Are you sure?" he asked, wanting to give her a way out if she was already regretting asking him if it was a 'heat of the moment' decision based on what had just happened.

"Without a doubt" she replied before her lips met his tenderly, them dancing together as she let him know just how serious she was in her request. She sighed as her hand moved to stroke his cheek. "I don't want to drag my feet in this relationship a second longer. I want you to move in with me as soon as humanly possible" she told him before she kissed him again.

As they broke apart again Andy didn't want to say it but he felt that he had to, needing to give her a way out if she wanted it given the circumstances that prompted her to make her welcome but surprising invitation. "If you're just saying this because…"

"I'm saying this because I love you Andy Flynn and I want to spend the rest of my life waking up in your arms" she said as she cut him off in his prime before he said 'No' under the false assumption it was what she really wanted. "So sell your house, as fast as you can and move in with me" she insisted.

Andy smiled at her, looking every inch happiness personified as his shoulders began to relax. This was the invitation he had been waiting for since the moment he told her he was selling his house and asked her to come with him, only not really suggesting it as the best and most obvious solution to their housing conundrum because of the way she reacted the first time he brought it up, never wanting to apply too much pressure too soon and allow her to make the first move. "Really?" he asked as his smile continued to grow by the second.

"Really" she repeated confidently before she kissed him on the lips again, letting it linger as long as she could given that they were still at work and they had a very small window of opportunity to be alone and have this conversation. "Andy as far as I'm concerned from now on if you're in your bed and I'm in mine then one of us is in the wrong place and since your bed is like sleeping on a stack of dead bodies you need to come home with me." They both laughed at the thought as they continued to smile at each other like fools.

"Okay" Andy nodded simply, there being no need to say anything else.

"Okay." Sharon kissed him on the lips again before she looked behind him and towards the lobby where she could see more uniform officers arriving and assembling, realising that their private interlude had already gone on for far too long but it needed to be said right there and then so that she could continue and get on with her job without it weighing heavily on her shoulders until they returned home and by which time she could have allowed her nerves to get the better of her once again. She already felt lighter for having asked him, a spring in her step, like she had been liberated. "We should…" she said as she pointed behind him and her words trailed off.

"Yeah. Are you okay?" he asked, still more than a little concerned for her mentally after what had happened.

"I'm fine" she told him with a smile that didn't quite make it all the way to her eyes. Sharon quickly brushed some of the plaster dust off of Andy's shoulders and arms before she wiped a stray smudge of lipstick from his lips with her thumb until suddenly that professional wall came slamming down between them again and they were Captain and Lieutenant once more. "Come on."

"After you Captain" Andy said as he stepped out of her way and allowed her to lead. Sharon smiled at him, her hand quickly moving to his face to stroke his cheek and down his arm to squeeze his hand before she set off, leading the way back towards the lobby and the job they still had to do.

With the scene processed and the suspect dead at his own hands not much more time was spent at the hotel by the core of the Major Crimes division. Once the EMTs had given a very reluctant and grumpy Provenza the once over and concluded that aside from a very nasty looking bruise, possibly a cracked rib beneath it all and whatever Patrice would do to him later once she had found out what had happened to him on a day when she had already insisted that he retire very soon, he was good to go so everyone returned back to PAB and the paperwork that awaited them. It was there, after the case notes were finalised that the second of three incredibly important conversation took place between Sharon and Andy that day. With Chief Taylor brought up to speed and fully briefed on what had happened at the hotel, Provenza's injury and on their soon to be new living arrangements (with Sharon deciding that she wanted to tell him immediately which came as a huge surprise to Andy when she informed him of her plans in the car ride back to PAB as he had thought there was still a good chance she might change her mind again after the adrenaline rush had faded and life continued on as normal but clearly that was not going to be the case and her invitation was something more than a reaction to what had just happened, she had asked him to move in with her because she wanted him to and nothing less) and with Rusty dispatched to Gustavo's apartment so he could finally relax himself and think about anything other than those damn partial prints from Buzz's case for a few hours, they were left alone for only the third time that day after Andy had rolled out in the dead of night to go to the tow yard.

Sharon rested her head back onto Andy shoulder as he put his arm around her and led her back towards the Murder Room, both of them still laughing about the possibility of Rusty becoming a lawyer rather than a journalist, with Andy wondering which one of the two he would dislike the most. "Well that went a lot better than expected" Sharon said, expecting Taylor to have a _lot_ more to say on the subject of them moving in together given his rather stunned face and awkward reaction when they first told him that they dating although she did really appreciate his praise of their professionalism, something she had never really expected to hear from him despite the hard work that went into keeping their relationship away from PAB (Taylor's praise meaning a lot to her since they had continued to work side by side without incident after they had started to spend their nights together).

Andy laughed in agreement. "Something tells me it's the part of the job that he hates the most."

"Oh without a doubt" Sharon agreed before she laughed with him.

As Sharon walked towards the door of the Murder Room Andy suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, needing to speak to her in private for a moment longer (as private as a corridor in PAB could be) without parading her through the Murder Room and to her office before they re-joined the others. "You know I really can't help but think that we've made an error here" he told her with a frown.

She stopped and turned to face him, looking confused and more than a little concerned that perhaps he had been the one to change his mind about the move (even though that was incredibly unlikely but who ever said fears were rational). "What do you mean?" she asked as she stepped closer to him.

Andy buried his hands into his pockets and shrugged before responding, his mouth hanging open long before any words found their way out. "Shouldn't you maybe have spoken to Rusty about all of this first before we told Taylor?" he asked, already feeling like he was treading on the young man's toes just dating Sharon without moving into his home without any real warning or his consent.

Before Sharon had a chance to answer one of the elevators dinged to greet its arrival and Patrice came running out of it at high speed (considering she was wearing a pair of heels), a frantic look on her face as she rushed towards them. "Where is he?! Where is he?!" she bellowed with huge amounts of worry.

Andy pointed towards the Murder Room. "He's at his desk" he said simply before both her and Sharon jumped out of Patrice's way as she marched straight past them and through the door towards her battered and bruised husband. "I think she's going to kill him."

"I think you might be right," Sharon said as she stared after Patrice until she vanished around the corner before turning her attention back to Andy, "and which is exactly what I'd be doing right now if you'd been shot instead of the Lieutenant." Sharon took his tie into her hands and began to play with it, slowly running it through her fingers, their subtle way of kissing each other at the office without pushing the boundaries.

Andy laughed as he watched her play with his tie. "You would have yelled at me if I'd taken one to the vest?" he asked.

"Until my throat was so sore that I was unable to speak for over a week," she told him more than a touch emphatically before they both laughed, "once I knew that you were going to be okay of course." She smiled at him for a moment. "I've already sat by your hospital bed once in the last twelve months Andrew Flynn and I am not so keen on repeating it for a very very long time."

"Me neither." They smiled at each other again, his tie still in her hands as it ran through her fingers. "Luckily it was Provenza and not me and I get to live to have this conversation with you. So I ask you again, shouldn't you have told Rusty about this before Taylor?"

"What about?" Sharon asked, deliberately acting dumb to torment him since she knew what his reaction would be when she finally told him what she and Rusty had been discussing on the hood of his car as Jason chased him around the front yard.

"About me selling my house as soon as possible and moving straight in with you both at the condo?" he clarified.

"Oh that." Sharon shrugged nonchalantly. "No" she said simply before she released his tie and went to walk into the Murder Room without elaborating further, a teasing sway to her hips as she moved.

"Wait, come back here" Andy said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him again. "What do you mean 'No'?"

"It's exactly as I said, no" Sharon shrugged again before she made another attempt to walk back into the Murder Room far too casually for Andy's comfort.

"Hold on" Andy cried as he started to tug on his earlobe out of stress without even realising he was even doing it. Sharon stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, a smile on her face when she saw the treatment his earlobe was currently getting. "What's going on? Are we going to pretend I'm not actually moving in with you because I'll be honest I'm far too old to be hiding from your kid in the closet and he's far too old to believe us either."

Sharon smiled again as she folded her arms, sensing a story on the horizon, a story that he usually liked to keep to himself as he tried to hide his colourful past with members of the opposite sex away from her should she start to look at him differently as a result or her trust in him waver for even a second. "That sounds like you've done it before" she said with a raised eyebrow and speaking as delicately as possible so that he didn't freak out about it as he so often did when confronted with his past.

"I may have done" Andy shrugged as he tried not to smile.

Sharon rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "Do I really want to hear this story?"

Andy shrugged again. "It was either hide in the closet or climb down the drain pipe" he confessed in a rather more casual way than she had grown accustomed to when similar topics came up for discussion between them. They both laughed before he sighed and began to look at her with a fair amount of apprehension. "Are you sure you still want to do this or have you changed your mind? Have you changed your mind about us?" he asked as he looked at her concerned for a moment until she smiled at him and took his tie in her hand once again.

"No Andy, I have not changed my mind about us. It is nothing like that at all" she said quickly as she continued to run his tie through her fingers. She smiled at him before she confessed "If I'm perfectly honest it was Rusty's suggestion."

"What was?" Andy asked confused.

Sharon took a deep breath and smiled at him before she answered, knowing that Andy was perhaps going to be more than a little surprised by what she was about to say. "Asking you to move into the condo rather than looking for somewhere to buy together" she admitted with a shrug.

Andy looked at her absolutely flabbergasted for a moment, his mouth hanging open as he seemed to blink dramatically at her, looking utterly gormless. Finally he found his voice and the words fell out of his mouth quickly. "What? When? When did you say this to you?"

Sharon smiled as she shrugged at him. "A couple of weeks ago as we sat on the hood of your car looking at the house of horrors" she told him very casually once again.

Once more Andy looked at her as if the lights were on but nobody was home for a couple of seconds. "What? Well where the hell was I?" he asked, utterly shocked that Rusty seemed to be so accepting of him moving in with them in complete contrast to how he reacted when they first started dating.

"You were running around the front yard screaming at your realtor that you were going to shoot him if he didn't leave you alone."

Andy thought for a moment as he digested this new information. Finally he started to smile, extremely pleased that it appeared he had _finally_ completely won Rusty around and he now had no issues with him moving in with them. "Did he really say that?" he asked.

"Yes despite the fact that he was witnessing you act like a complete lunatic before his very eyes at the time" she joked. "He said that since that house had fallen through and it may take us longer than we initially hoped to find a place together why not just ask you to move in with us right away" she said as she shrugged again as if it really was no big deal.

"So he's really happy for this to happen? For me to move in with the two of you?"

"Yes he is" Sharon smiled. "He feels that it wouldn't make that much difference to his life because you practically live with us anyway and to be perfectly honest he still doesn't want to move out of the condo so he would prefer that option anyway and always has done."

"Huh" Andy said with surprise as he smiled but that soon faded as he started to look back at her with curiosity. "Well why are you only just telling me about this now?" he asked a little confused since it had been three weeks since the incident with the house of horrors and this was the first time she had mentioned it.

Sharon sighed and avoided his eyes for a moment as she played with his tie. Eventually she let it go and took a step back and away from him, leaning up against the wall with her hands by her sides so that she didn't grab him when she desperately want to. "I wasn't completely sure that I was ready to live together at that point" she admitted a little awkwardly despite the fact that he spent nearly every night with her anyway, the knowledge that he still owned his own home enough to keep her nervous demons at bay. "I still needed a little more time to mull it over before actually asking you."

Andy smiled at her and nodded, fully understanding that Sharon needed more time to think things over first like she did with every single big and important decision in her life thus far, most of which weren't anywhere near as big as deciding to move in with her boyfriend after a divorce and spending several decades alone. "Okay but you're ready now?" he asked a little tentatively.

Sharon sighed before she answered. "In all honesty Andy I really don't know."

"Sharon..." Andy said with a smile as he stepped towards her with his arms open and ready to pull her into his embrace.

"Nope" Sharon said with a shake of her head as she cut him off, putting a hand on his chest to stop him. "Not while we're at work" she insisted as she pushed him away from her. As much as a cuddle from Andy sounded divine in that moment as she continued to worry about ruining what they had by taking their relationship forward they were still at work and after how Chief Taylor had just praised them she was not about to ruin that now. "Go back over there" she instructed.

"But..."

"No. No buts. Chief Taylor has just been praising the pair of us for our conduct at work and our continued professionalism" she reminded him thinking that his arm around her as they walked towards the Murder Room was one thing but a prolonged embrace in the hall as she discussed her fears about moving in together with him was one step too far in that moment. "I'm not going to ruin that now by running my hands all over you in the corridor" she added and inadvertently alluding to the fact that far from worry about the opinion of Chief Taylor, the real reason that she didn't want him near her at that moment in time was that if he was to hug her she would struggle to keep her hands to herself and stop them from wandering down to his backside as they so often did and that was just not going to happen. "So go and stand over there and put your hands on the wall."

"Okay" Andy laughed as he took a couple of steps away until his back came into contact with the wall opposite her. "I'm over here and I've got my hands to myself" he said as he showed off his hands before he put them on the wall like he was a magician trying to prove that he didn't have half a dozen claustrophobic doves hidden up his sleeves. "Talk to me. What's going on? What's wrong?"

Sharon sighed as she paused and looked for the words to explain precisely what was going on inside her head, them sticking at the back of her throat like her invitation to move into the condo had done for several weeks. "Andy I'm still nervous" she said with a shrug.

"Nervous? About us living together?"

"Yes. I'm more than nervous about it if I'm going to be perfectly honest with you" she openly admitted before she sighed again. "I love you Andy, more than anything in this world," she added, feeling the need to ensure he knew that above all else regardless of how nervous she continued to feel, "but I'm absolutely terrified."

Andy laughed, nervous about it himself if he was being honest with her. "Why?" he asked as he slowly started to move towards her again. "What do..."

"Nope. Back over there" Sharon said sternly like she was talking to someone she had just caught stuffing a frozen turkey down his pants in a grocery store as she pointed back to the wall. Andy laughed but obediently returned to his spot opposite her so that if anyone were to walk past and see them in deep discussion i.e. Chief Taylor who had made it abundantly clear just a few minutes earlier that he must be keeping a watchful eye on them and their conduct at work if he went out of his way to praise them for it, then it would appear like a perfectly innocent conversation was going on that could be work related rather than something a lot more personal at the end of what had been an extremely trying day. "Why?" she repeated as she sighed like the answer was as obvious as the nose on her face. "In case it doesn't work. In case you hate living with me officially with no home to escape to and living together turns out to be a complete and utter disaster." She paused again before she quietly added "I don't want to lose you."

"Sharon you won't lose me."

"You say that now but how do you know for sure?" she asked, the fear of losing the relationship she already had with him driving her from their first real date, preferring to remain as friends and nothing more than lose him altogether in attempting to have more.

"I just do" Andy shrugged as he smiled at her kindly and making her shoulders relax a little. He couldn't see the future but she was the love of his life and he was determined to do everything within his power to spend the rest of his life with her. "Why wouldn't it work?"

"I don't know, for a thousand silly little reasons. Living together can add stress and pressure to a relationship that wasn't there before" she rightly pointed out to him as her brain looked for more specific examples but for once came up blank. "I've known couples perfectly happy and content for years or decades even and then they move in together or they suddenly decide to get married and the whole thing instantly falls apart and the relationship ends. I don't want that to happen to us."

"That's not going to happen to us" Andy said simply.

"But how do you knows that? You can't see the future. What if I get on your nerves? What if you get on mine? What if we irritate the life out of each other?" she rattled off quickly. She sighed and was annoyed that she could only think of Jack in that moment. Jack was the only man she had ever lived with (her children and Father aside) and for the first few years it was great but it obviously didn't last. Jack had always tried to blame his addictions on her and still did (one of the last times she had seen him when he rocked up at the condo drunk and cried 'Well who would come here sober?' which passed the buck firmly to her) to a certain extent. Sharon didn't really believe that for one second, the blame solely Jack's and yet at the back of her mind it was always there, thinking that perhaps she had done something to cause him to start drinking in the first place, that she was such an awful person to live with that she was the root cause of his addictions. When she was thinking logically she knew that she wasn't to blame but late at night when she was alone and couldn't sleep, the thought came back to her as it had done from the first moment Andy suggested moving in together.

"Like how?" he asked, thinking if they hadn't annoyed each other too much since they'd been spending six nights a week together on top of working side by side all day long then that extra night wouldn't cause too much trouble for them.

"I don't know. I've already told you about your shoes and wet towel issues."

"Which I've made a serious effort to stop doing lately."

"I know and thank you so much for that by the way but what if we argue about the way you stack the dishwasher or for leaving the toilet seat up?" she said as she again battled to find any sort of reason that could drive them apart. "Something so unbelievably stupid that escalates to you sleeping on the couch and me not speaking to you?"

Andy laughed, finding the whole thing utterly ridiculous regardless of his own nerves that he was still trying to hide from her since he had been nothing but nervous with her throughout their relationship thus far. "If it means that much to you if you leave the toilet seat up I promise not to yell at you" he joked.

Sharon sighed. "Andy, please be serious" she begged.

"Oh Sharon!" he laughed as he shook his head at her. "You think you're the only one that's nervous about this?" he replied, pausing to let that thought sink in before he continued. "I've lived with just one woman in my entire life and that didn't go so well. In fact it was an unmitigated disaster. I worry that it's going to be too much, that I'm going to be too much. That after we spend all day together at work that you're going to be sick of the sight of me when we get home come four weeks after living together" he admitted, never worried that she would irritate him but minute to minute changing his mind from thinking that extra night wouldn't damage their relationship to suddenly thinking it may be too much as he was going to drive her crazy and she would quickly grow fed up and feel suffocated by him and the extra attention. Sharon laughed at him. "It's not funny. I genuinely worry about it."

"Really?"

"Yes. You're worried that we're going to irritate each other and I'm worried you're going to be sick of the sight of me in a couple of weeks" he told her honestly.

"I'm never going to be sick of the sight of you Andy Flynn" she said with a smile as she took the two short steps towards him and took his tie back into her hand. "I feel alive when I'm with you Andy. You were my home long before we decided to move in together. I love you."

Andy smiled at her as she continued to play with his tie. "Not as much as I love you which is why I'm just as worried about ruining what we have as you are and making you sick of the sight of me but since I love you as much as I do I also figure it's worth taking the risk in order to spend the rest of my life with you."

She sighed as she let go of his tie. "But what if it doesn't work?" she asked again, never going to change her mind about deciding to live with him but while still worried about it nonetheless.

"But what if it does?" he asked determined to look for the positives despite his fear that he was going to make her loathe him. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Look what are we talking about here really? I've spent what? On average four to five nights at your condo a week for the last six months."

"Sometimes more lately. A lot more."

"Exactly" Andy replied enthusiastically. "We already virtually live together as it is, the only difference is I'll have my name added to everything, help you pay the bills and stop using a visitor's parking space in the garage."

Sharon smiled at him but once more it quickly faded. "But money can ruin relationships" she said with that being her biggest concern after irritating each other. Jack's behaviour couldn't do anything but have a negative effect on her psychologically and although she did trust Andy implicitly especially when it came to their soon to be shared finances, the memory of Jack up and leaving and taking most of their money with him was always lingering in the back of her mind.

"Yes it can but not ours because I don't have any anyway" he joked and making her laugh. "Sharon don't think of it that way, think about how we already live and go from there. Other than you're going to be forced into giving up more of your closet space for my clothes, sharing the utility bills and someone aside from Gus cooking something other than Christmas cookies in that oven not much will actually change."

Sharon nodded, accepting all of his points and agreeing with him but that still didn't take away all of her irrational fears. "I hope you're right."

"So do I." He smiled at her. "It's okay to be nervous about this. It means you're taking this seriously. Sharon all you have to do is remember that I love you more than anything in this world and I'll do everything within my power to make this work."

"But what if it doesn't?"

Andy shrugged. "At least we tried and we won't die wondering about what could have been. Trust me there is nothing in this world worse than regretting the chance that you didn't take" he said, rightly thinking that they would regret not taking their relationship forward more than they would if they didn't even at least try. Sharon leant towards him and kissed him on the lips, holding his tie as she did it. As he had been instructed to do earlier Andy kept his hands to himself even though it was clear that Sharon couldn't a moment longer but then she did outrank him after all. When they broke apart he smiled at her. "I thought we were being completely professional at work" he reminded her.

"Oh shut up" she said before they laughed. She continued to play with his tie for a moment before she tugged on it a couple of times like she was bell ringing in a church, met his eyes and asked "Are you coming home with me tonight?"

"Just try and stop me" came the instant reply before they just smiled at other in silence for a moment. "Why does Taylor look at us like a pair of zoo animals when we discuss us being together?" he asked finally with a frown.

Sharon laughed. "He does get uncomfortable doesn't he?"

"Uncomfortable?" Andy scoffed, thinking that was the biggest understatement of all. "I get the impression he'd be less shocked if you started dating a tree."

"Oh Andy cut yourself a break, you're not that bad" Sharon joked. Andy laughed and nodded but his laugh quickly turned into a very long and loud yawn. Sharon ran her hand through his hair before she cupped his cheek. "Are you tired?" she asked, knowing that he must be as he was rolled out like the rest of the division in the middle of the night and they had hardly had chance to draw breath much less rest all day since.

"Just a bit" he admitted, long since stopping keeping his tiredness to himself like he had done when he returned to work following his clot.

"It's been a long day."

"And an even longer night before that" he said as he took hold of her hand that was cupping his cheek and pressed his lips to her palm. "Speaking of which, did you manage to go back to sleep after I rolled out last night?" he asked, it being one of the bigger challenges that they faced in their relationship with Sharon feeling awful about trying to go back to sleep when Andy had been rolled out and she knew she was going to be needed at work eventually, it not being something she was aware of before he started spending the night.

"Yes" she nodded.

Andy smiled at her. "And the truth now?"

"What makes you think that isn't the truth?"

"Knowing you like I do Raydor."

Sharon sighed, knowing that she couldn't and more importantly wouldn't lie to him. "I didn't have much sleep but I tried. Honestly I did" she told him truthfully, trying her hardest to go back to sleep but aside from missing the feel of him and his warmth next to her and the soothing sound of his breathing, the longer it took for Andy to come home the more likely it was that they hadn't been stood down and she would probably be needed at the morgue before the sun had come up.

"No cleaning? No reading a book?" he queried with the faint smell of cleaning products always a tip off in the past when he returned to the condo and the scent revealed that she hadn't been back to sleep at all.

"No. I stayed in bed with the lights off and I tried to go back to sleep" she told him with the very important word there being 'tried.' "Of course it didn't work because I kept waking up and checking the time and wondering where you were and what you were doing. When you didn't come home within a couple of hours I felt like I was living in limbo and on borrowed time waiting for Lieutenant Provenza to call to meet you at the morgue in the morning."

"It'll only get worse when I move into the condo properly" he pointed out and offering her yet another way out of her impulsive invitation if she had subsequently changed her mind and now regretted it.

She took his tie into her hand once again. "Good. That's exactly what I want."

"Me too" he replied with a smile.

"Come on, let's finish up. The sooner we're done the sooner we can go home and celebrate" she told him as she took his hand and pulled him in the direction of the door to the Murder Room.

"That sounds like a plan to me." As Sharon goes to lead the way Andy remains rooted to the spot, their hands breaking apart as a result. Sharon turned to face him with a curious look as she wondered what was occupying his mind. "Do you think she's finally stopped screaming at Provenza yet so we can go back in there?"

Sharon paused and listened for a moment. "I can't hear any screaming."

"At least he's got a legitimate reason to complain now he's been shot" he said with a shrug. "Did you see the amount of cold and flu crap he's got on his desk today? I mean the guy looks cold blooded murderers in the eye every day but he's frightened of a little head cold?"

Sharon laughed and scoffed. "You're one to talk boy."

"What?"

"When Rusty had stomach flu you didn't come near him for weeks. What are you going to do when you move in if he gets sick?" she queried.

"Lock him in his bedroom and paint a big red cross on his door obviously" he joked and easily making her laugh. "It'll be different when I'm sharing a house with him and I'm there to take care of him and to take care of you" he said with a wink. "Come on. Let's face the music. I have a feeling I'm about to be yelled at by Patrice" he added with a grimace as he held the door open for her to walk through first.

"Why would she yell at you?"

The moment they stepped into the Murder Room it was like Patrice had been waiting for him, ready to pounce and yell the moment she laid eyes on Andy again. "And what exactly were you doing while Louie was getting himself shot?" she asked at volume while she smacked him across the arm several times before she turned to glare at her husband again.

Andy turned to Sharon and smiled. "See, I told you" he said with a shrug before he turned back to his attacker to defend himself. "I was lying on the floor a few feet away and trying not to get shot myself, that's what I was doing."

"You were up there with him?" Patrice asked since the only information she had from Provenza was that he had been shot and that was it. Suddenly realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks as she reached out and took Sharon by the hand. "Where were you?" she asked with her voice suddenly filled with concern rather than anger.

"I was downstairs in the courtyard and listening to it all happen over the radio" Sharon explained fairly nonchalantly as she shrugged, pretending as if her heart hadn't stopped for a moment as she heard the gunfire and knew that the love of her life was in the centre of it.

Patrice took a step closer to Sharon as she realised that Sharon had also been through a severe trauma that day, listening to it over the radio and yet knowing her like she did already that she wouldn't have reacted, just doing her job like she knew everyone else had. "Oh God! Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine" Sharon said with a smile before she headed off towards her office. It was easy for them all to see that her smile didn't reach her eyes and it was easy to work out why. Aside from the butterflies in the pit of her stomach that had come from asking Andy to move in with her, excitement and love mingling with the nerves of it all, the fact that she heard round after round being fired at him earlier was causing a painful ache in her chest, something that she was hoping to suppress for as long as possible or at least until she and Andy had made it home and they could have some privacy (locking herself in the bathroom and pretending to have a shower while she sobbed a genuine possibility). It would be fine for her façade to crumble once she was at home although she desperately hoped that it wouldn't but she absolutely wouldn't allow it to slip while she was still at work.

Patrice watched Sharon go into her office and sit down behind her desk before she turned to face her boyfriend. "Andy?" she asked questioningly and knowing that Sharon was clearly keeping things in. Andy simply shrugged at her. As far as he was concerned Sharon was fine if not more than a little anxious about asking him to move in with her and Patrice had simply got her wires crossed since she didn't know that. If Sharon was behaving oddly at all and he didn't really think that she was after speaking to her at length in the hallway just moments earlier it was because she was nervous about the move and asking him so suddenly. Patrice looked to Provenza for a moment and got him to sit back down with a hand on his shoulder. "I want a quick word with Sharon before we leave. Stay here and play with your little friend for a moment" she said as she pointed at Andy before she walked towards Sharon's office.

Mike laughed at the pair of them. "'Play with your little friend'? What are you five?"

"Do they arrange play dates for both of you very often?" Julio asked with a smile.

"Not since Christmas" Andy replied.

"When he ruined everything" Provenza cried as he pointed at Andy, still heaping all of the blame on his shoulders for that disastrous evening at his house.

"Me?" Andy shouted back. "You're the one..."

"Stop! Oh my God!" Buzz shouted louder than both of them and suddenly rendering them mute as they looked at him stunned. "Must we listen to this same argument every week? It's exhausting. You're both to blame. You're both idiots and I don't know how either of them put up with you at all."

"Well said Reserve Office Watson" Amy applauded as Mike and Julio nodded along in agreement while Andy and Provenza were rendered momentarily speechless.

Meanwhile Patrice slowly opened Sharon's office door, knocking on it gently as she did. "Sharon?" She looked up and smiled at her as Patrice shut the door and sat down opposite her, a very sympathetic look on her face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Sharon sat back in her chair. "Patrice, I'm fine. Honestly" she said cheerily.

"Because it's okay if you're not."

"Is it okay if I'm just okay?"

"Of course" Patrice nodded, pausing for a moment before she continued, feeling a little like a dog with a bone in this regard. "But don't be surprised though if it suddenly washes over you later."

"This is not the first time I've put them in harm's way" Sharon shrugged while she sat forward again and picked up a pen as if the day they had just endured as a unit was as boring and as uneventful as a day filled with nothing but paperwork and a sexual harassment seminar.

"No but it is the first time you've helplessly listened over the radio as a mad man shot at your boyfriend." Sharon sat back in her chair again as she listened. "Look I know it's completely different to your situation with Andy and today but Louie isn't the first cop I've been married to" Patrice reminded her. "Patrick, he worked homicides too. Once there was a triple homicide that he was investigating. A fourth victim survived and was brought into the ER when I was duty. Patrick came to talk to him and then without warning all hell broke loose. They really wanted this guy dead because they tried again right there in the hospital. I heard the shots from down the hall. They seemed to last forever and just as long for us to be given the all clear to go in there and help. Patrick was fine, not a scratch on him thankfully but for those first few minutes while I...well I'm sure you understand" she said as she gave Sharon another sympathetic smile.

Sharon nodded. "I do. I really do."

"All I'm saying is," Patrice started before she paused and reached across the desk to take Sharon's hand in hers, "and I hope you don't mind me saying this, but this is one of those occasions where it's okay to let your personal life into the building." She paused again as she waited for her words to sink in. "If you need to talk about it call me, call me at any time. Or talk to Andy, just don't bottle it up."

"Thank you Patrice but I'm fine, really" Sharon insisted and not entirely convincingly. "I can't honestly say that I gave it a second thought earlier" she lied. "I was just doing my job so it was like Andy wasn't even up there."

Patrice nodded, not really believing what she was hearing but realising that she wasn't going to get any further and that was all up to Andy when he got her home. "Okay." Patrice stood and straightened her dress. "Well I'm going to take Louie home now, get him something to eat, possibly beat him to death" she added casually before they both laughed.

"Take good care of him" Sharon instructed not that she needed to as she glanced at him through the glass.

"Oh I will, right after I murder him."

Sharon laughed. "He did a good job today. You should be proud of him."

"Oh I am," Patrice confirmed, "you have no idea but it's the part of him that's terrified of a head cold after being in the same room as a corpse for five minutes that may not survive the night." Sharon laughed, knowing that Provenza was a hypochondriac at the best of times not that Andy was any better. "If I beat him to death in the middle of the night please go easy on me. Maybe get me one of these deals you're so famous for" she pleaded and making Sharon laugh once again. "Goodnight Sharon."

"Goodnight Patrice."

Patrice nodded and walked out of her office, pulling the door to behind her but not shutting it completely. She marched straight over to Andy as he hovered by Provenza's desk and ran her hand up his arm and to his shoulder. "Take good care of her tonight please."

"Always" Andy nodded.

Patrice turned to Provenza with a smile. "Come on you. It's time to take me out to dinner." She put out her hands for her husband to take and very gently pulled him to his feet but that didn't stop him from letting out a pained groan as he did. "Goodnight everyone."

A murmuring of 'Goodnights' filled the room before Patrice and Provenza left hand in hand. Andy turned to look at Sharon in her office. He thought for a moment about what Patrice had said to him, not really seeing that Sharon was particularly upset by what had happened that day but took her advice anyway, walking towards her office before knocking on the door and entering. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm fine. Really I'm fine" she insisted.

"I was just checking" he shrugged with a smile before he paused. "Provenza and Patrice have gone. He's going to spend the rest of the evening listening to reasons why he should retire immediately."

"What? Lieutenant Provenza wants to retire?" Sharon asked horrified.

"No but Patrice wants him to" Andy told her with Provenza immediately coming to him to share the news of Liz's upcoming nuptials along with Patrice's insistence that it was also the perfect opportunity for him to finally retire as soon as he found a spare ten seconds.

"Because he got shot?"

"No, because Liz is getting married."

Sharon thought for a moment. "His ex-wife Liz?"

"That's the one." Andy moved to sit on the edge of Sharon's desk right next to her as she sat back in her chair to listen to him with interest. "He received an invitation to her wedding through the mail this morning."

"You're kidding?" Sharon laughed.

"Nope. Patrice brought it straight over here to show him, with more than a few hints about retiring."

"How's he handling it?"

"Not well if I'm honest" Andy explained. "I mean they hate each other with the fire of a thousand burning suns but she was wife number one and as such they have a special bond, you know."

"Well that's understandable" she nodded, realising herself that if she did eventually end up marrying Andy one day that it would always be different to her marriage to Jack because he was her first husband and they shared children, the memories (even the bad ones) bonding them together for life whether she liked it or not.

"I think he's a little hurt that she didn't at least warn him before sending him the invitation" Andy explained to her even though he didn't quite understand that part of his reaction himself, not being invited when Sandra married Michael and neither did he want to be either or to be told in person that it was going to happen.

"Even though he's been married five times since?" Sharon queried.

"Hey I didn't say it made any sense" Andy shrugged before they both laughed. "But he's really bothered by it. They hate each other but they have kids, they have a connection and always will which I guess is something I can relate to."

Sharon nodded. "Me too. But what does that have to do with him retiring?"

"His pension" Andy reminded her.

"Ah!"

"Yeah I know I thought he'd be celebrating."

Sharon thought for a moment before she frowned, looking more than a touch worried about the whole thing. "He's not really going to retire is he?" she asked, not sure that she would be able to do her job as effectively without her second in command by her side.

"Are you kidding? He'd rather marry Liz again himself" he said before they laughed.

"But if Patrice wants him to retire..."

"She won't be able to talk him into it, trust me" Andy insisted.

"I don't know she talks him into eating beets and goat cheese" she reminded him.

"You mean the trash can does" he corrected as they laughed again. "Trust me, he's not going anywhere anytime soon, of that I am certain."

"I don't know what I'd do around here without him."

"You don't think Mike would make a good second in command?" Andy asked.

Sharon smiled at him. "Mike? What about you?"

"I figure the rule book may have a little something to say about that which would make Mike the perfect choice if Provenza did retire" he said with a shrug and feeling like she would be more comfortable with someone between the two of them in the pecking order at work, knowing she was always concerned with how things between them at work looked to the outside world. He winked at her. "Are you ready to go? I feel the need to take you home and spoil you rotten."

"This wouldn't be because Rusty is out would it?" she grinned.

"Of course not. The thought never crossed my mind once" he lied with a goofy smile which made her laugh. "Come on, we can pick up something to eat on the way home."

"Home?" she repeated with a smile.

"Yes home" he repeated before he leant down and gave her a very quick and chaste kiss on the lips. He stood up and held his hand out for her to take which she quickly did and took to her feet. "We can start cleaning out your closet to make room for some of my stuff."

Sharon grabbed her purse from the drawer behind her, pulling it over her shoulder before she turned the lamp off on her desk and taking Andy's hand again. "I never agreed to that" she said as seriously as she could. "You're living out of garbage bags or you can stay where you are."

Andy laughed. "Yes ma'am."

They drove 'home' separately since they had both cars at PAB (Andy rolling out to the tow yard in the middle of the night when he had been staying at the condo and Sharon following on early that morning once Provenza had called her) but had both briefly stopped while they picked up some take out from a Thai restaurant that Sharon loved that was not too far from her building. When they arrived at the condo she waited for him by the door to the parking garage so that they could travel upstairs together despite the fact that he had his own key. Sharon had been pretty much silent ever since they left work, silent but holding his hand in hers so tightly, like she was frightened to let go of him for fear he may disappear altogether. Andy noticed that something was up with her immediately, realising that Patrice had been right all alone but knowing Sharon like he did he knew that asking her what was wrong before she was ready to speak to him would only lead to her clamming up even more until she was ready to talk to him. To cover the silence and his obvious concern about her given how quiet she was and what Patrice had said to him before she took Provenza home, he tried his hardest to ignore it and filled the silence himself while they waited for their food and during the ride up in the elevator with amusing tales of his youth (something Sharon simply adored listening to and usually always bought a smile to her face when she wasn't rolling her eyes at him) in the faint hope of cheering her up a little (it had been an incredibly long day after all and she was clearly troubled that, like what happened a couple of years earlier with Brandon North, she wasn't able to talk Elliot down and save his life on top of everything else that had happened). As they approached the condo door Andy felt Sharon's grip on his hand tighten, leading them to their third and final significant conversation of the day.

Andy opened the door to the condo with the bag of takeout hooked around his wrist and banging against the door as the other remained in Sharon's vice like grip. With the door open Andy gestured for Sharon to enter first as he always did, her letting go of his hand finally as she walked inside and turned on the lights. "So I was thinking if we were..." he started to say as he closed the door but his words were soon cut off by Sharon's lips attacking his as she cupped his face with her hands. It was long and forceful as she practically devoured his lips, his free hand wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against his body while the other holding the food dangled limply by his side. The risk of suffocation was the only thing that broke them apart as they just stared at each other for a moment, nose to nose and gulping in the air. "Hi" Andy said, currently at a loss for anything else to say.

"Hi yourself" Sharon replied with a smile as her hands moved around the back of his neck. As quick as her smile appeared it just as quickly vanished as she suddenly and without any real warning broke down into floods of tears, letting go of Andy and moving a few steps away from him, turning her back so that he couldn't see her face and the steady flow of tears pouring down her cheeks as she loudly sobbed.

"Sharon?" Andy asked with real concern as he dropped the bag of food on the ground.

"I'm sorry" Sharon sobbed as she covered her face with her hands and refused to turn back to face him, not wanting him to see her in such a distressed state. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry."

"Sharon? Hey, come here." Andy quickly closed the gap to her and wrapped his arms around her before he kissed the side of her head. "What's wrong?" he asked as he tried to make her look at him.

"No. Don't" was all she could say, the words barely audible as she continued to cry. Her hands remained covering her face as she buried herself into Andy's chest, not allowing him to get even a glimpse of her face.

"Sharon…" he started to say before she wriggled from his grasp and squatted on the floor, her hands still hiding her face as her sobs continued unabated, if anything getting louder and longer. "Sweetheart." Andy very quickly dropped to the floor, leaning up against the wall between the front door and the hallway to the bedrooms before he reached out and pulled Sharon towards him. He opened his legs and lay them flat against the floor as he made her sit between them, her back resting against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and just held her, her hands still covering her face as she sobbed, crying in a way that he had never seen her before. After a moment he pulled her back further towards him so that the back of her head was resting on his shoulder as he pressed kiss after kiss to her hairline on the side of her head, not really sure he knew what was going on but realising that he needed to wait for her to calm down first before she would be ready to talk about it with him. No more than five minutes past by although to Andy it felt a hell of a lot longer as he continued to hold her tightly to his chest, never stopping the gentle kisses on any part of her that he could reach. Slowly her sobs began to subside as she relaxed in his arms, her hands finally moving away from her face as she took one shaky breath after another, trying her hardest to calm down. Satisfied that she was calm enough to talk to him Andy finally spoke. "What's the matter?" he asked softly with yet another kiss to the side of her head. "If this is about you know," he swallowed, fearing the worst but knowing he had to ask the question just so that she would stop feeling like that, "moving in together, if you've changed your mind you can tell me you know. I may not be happy about it but I don't want you to feel like this. Nothing is worth feeling like this about. You can tell me if you don't want to…"

"Oh Andy" Sharon cried as she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand while she laughed at him and his knack of constantly leaping to the completely wrong conclusion, her voice filled to the brim with emotion and still trembling an awful lot especially for someone with the composure of Sharon Raydor. "You really are a colossal idiot sometimes. It's not that at all" she insisted before she sighed.

Andy reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief, handing it to Sharon who took it gratefully and proceeded to wipe the tears from her face with it as he wrapped his arms back around her tightly and with no intention of letting her go again anytime soon. "Then what?" he asked at a complete loss as to what was going on if she wasn't having second thoughts about asking him to move in with her.

Sharon took a long and shaky breath before she could speak and try and explain as best she could how she was feeling. "I try so hard to not see you as Andy at work, to not see you as my Andy, my beautiful boy" she said as her voice continued to tremble. "That you're just another one of my Lieutenants. I try so so hard" she told him as the tears started again, pouring from her eyes as she opted to place her hands on top of Andy's as he held her rather than mop them up. "But today when I heard that gunfire over the radio I just…"

"Oh Sharon" was all he could say in response, now understanding what was going on and that Patrice had been right in her assessment all along. It wasn't something that he had given an awful lot of thought to since it happened following their initial conversation in the hall when she asked him to move in with her because they were both doing their jobs and Sharon was nothing but the consummate professional. Then he began to think about how he would have reacted if their roles had been reversed, if she had been up there in danger while he listened over the radio. He'd have been in that elevator the second he heard that first shot and when he found her he would never have let go again. With that in mind he pulled her even tighter to his chest and continued to kiss her head and neck as he cuddled her, the tears continuing to fall from her eyes, unable to stop them now that they had started after holding it in and holding it together all afternoon and evening.

"I tried to ignore it and just do my job but there was this paralysing fear that shot through me like a bolt of lightning and I couldn't react" she explained as she continued to sob. "I was your Captain. I could only react as your Captain. But it's so hard." She put her head in her hands briefly as she leant forward but Andy was quick to pull her back to him, her head back on his shoulder as he kept his lips in constant contact with her head and neck, a constant reminder that despite what had happened that day he was still very much alive and there with her and he always would be. "By now I've grown accustomed to the worry that comes with sending you all out into dangerous situations but it's become that so much more difficult since you decided to act like you were James Bond and failed spectacularly."

"Hey!" Andy cried as he pretended to be offended, trying his hardest to bring the smile back to her face even if it was only fleetingly. "I look great in a tux so I happen to think I'd make a pretty good James Bond especially if you were my Moneypenny." He kissed just below her ear a couple of times as she laughed at him, her hand coming up to stroke his face while the other clutched his arms wrapped around her. "The name's Flynn, Andy Flynn. License to kill but only if I want to spend a couple of days with your friends from FID afterwards" he joked which once again got her laughing at him. "Shave his head and give him a cat and Provenza is essentially Blofeld anyway." Sharon laughed once more as she turned her head to look at him for the first time, a smile on her face but which did very little to distract from how red and puffy her eyes were or the tracks from her tears down her cheeks. "There we go. That's the smile I wanted to see." He smiled at her as he now understood why she was so upset, realising that something like that was going to happen sooner rather than later given the line of work they were both in but he was at a loss on what to do to help her and make her feel better about it. He couldn't promise that it would never happen again because it could and probably would but he had to do something to stop her from feeling this way ever again or at the very least stopping her from bottling it up until it suddenly exploded out of her.

Sharon kissed him on the lips, them dancing together in a very long and slow embrace before she leant her head back on his shoulder again and sighed. "When we went on that first date I thought I'd planned for everything, planned for every single eventuality. How we would handle dating and working together. How I'd handle giving you a direct order. How I'd handle the situation if you disagreed with me. I didn't plan on how I'd handle people shooting a couple hundred rounds at you while I listened on the other end of a radio" she explained with her being on edge ever since his accident but that paled in comparison to what happened earlier that day.

"I know. I know" Andy said as he kissed her neck again.

"You say that but you've actually got no idea."

"You're kidding right?" he asked a little surprised. "Do you think it was a picnic listening to you hang up on me before you went all Wonder Woman when that Wade Weller freak was in your building?"

"I know Andy but that was before…"

"It was before we started dating officially sure," Andy nodded, "but it was long after I fell in love with you."

"What?" Sharon asked with surprise as she turned her head to look him in the eyes once again. What she saw staring back at her made her heart swell. He wasn't lying, there was no flaring of his nostrils or a sly smirk on his face or any other tell-tale sign that he was being less than truthful or exaggerating for effect. In his eyes she saw sincerity and truth, he really had been in love with her for over two years before he asked her out on a real date.

"Don't act so surprised Raydor" he replied with a shrug. "I've told you before you've had my heart to play with as your little chew toy since just after we'd finished the appetizers before the ballet that first time." He pressed his lips to just above her ear before he whispered "I've loved you ever since."

She sighed, a lot of emotion coming out in it as she finally fully relaxed into his embrace, her head now permanently resting on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms across his around her body. She closed her eyes as his lips continued to press to her hairline. "I wish you'd told me how you felt back then."

"So do I" he replied before he moved to kiss her neck again. He paused for a short while as he patiently waited for her sobs to dry up completely and for her breathing to calm down. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

"Yes you can stay right here and talk to me. I just want you to talk to me. I want to hear your voice in my ear" she said as she closed her eyes again and took another long, deep and shaky breath. She had stood and waited earlier for what seemed like forever to hear his voice over the radio and now all she wanted to do was listen to him rumble in her ear, it didn't matter what he said as long as he was there and talking in her ear. "It took everything I had today not to panic in front of Amy and Buzz and it seemed like an eternity until I heard your voice over the radio" she explained to him as the tears started to flow once more.

"I'm so so sorry. I should have thought" he said, not giving her a second thought at the time as he focused on not getting himself shot and then trying to get Elliot of surrender to them.

"No you shouldn't. You were too busy doing your job and trying not to get shot." She began to wipe her eyes with Andy's handkerchief, unable to stop herself from crying now that she had started again. "Damn it. I'm sorry" she said as she willed herself to pull it together and to stop herself from sobbing. "I tried so hard to not get emotional and now it's pouring out of me" she said as she managed to laugh a little, feeling like a broken faucet that was on the verge of flooding the bathroom.

"Pour away babe, pour away" he told her before he went back to pushing his lips to every part of her that he could reach while he waited for her to compose herself again so that she would listen to him. "We need to come up with some sort of code word to use over the radio to let each other know we're okay if something like that ever happens again" he suggested.

"What like 'Banana'?" she joked before they both laughed.

"Not exactly but something similar wouldn't hurt."

"We can't do that, it wouldn't be professional" she said with another sigh.

"It would be if everyone else used it too" he replied. "Seriously what harm would it do? I think today gave everyone a fright. Some sort of code word to let each other know we're okay would be good for all of us." She nodded in agreement, knowing that Amy and Buzz had also been anxious as they waited for the gunfire to end and a headcount to begin. They continued to sit in silence for a few moments as Sharon took shaky breath after shaky breath and tried to calm down and Andy continued to push his lips to her cheek. "What can I do to fix this?" he asked, seeing it as his job to ensure that she never felt this way ever again as long as he lived. "Do you want me to take a desk job? Do you want me to retire?"

"No, no Andy!" she cried. "God no." She turned her head to look him in the eyes again as she ran her hand down his face. "This is my problem not yours, I'm the one that has got to work through it."

"There is no 'Your problem' or 'My problem' anymore. There's only 'Our problems' and we _will_ fix this" he stated categorically. "I promise." He kissed her cheek once again as the tears continued to flow, his words of love and always being there for her ensuring that the tears she was trying to keep in fell freely.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you've had to see me like this" she said as she continued to wipe her face with his handkerchief. "I must look a real sight" she laughed.

"Sharon you always look beautiful."

"Even covered in snot?"

"Especially covered in snot" he said very matter-of-factly. "This is your sexiest look along with morning hair and dog breath" he joked. She laughed at him as he kissed her cheek. He kept his mouth next to her ear before he told her "Look I'm not Jack okay. I used to be. I used to be worse even but I try very hard not to be that kind of guy anymore."

"And you're not" she said as she turned to look him in the eye, making sure that not only did he hear her but also accepted what she was telling him. "Really you're not my darling boy" she added before she kissed him on the lips.

"Good. Don't hide anything from me. Don't keep things to yourself or bottled up" he said softly while still making it sound like an order rather than a request. "I'm here. I'm always going to be here for you, even when you do irritate the crap out of me."

Sharon laughed. "I know. Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. It's just what happens when you love someone" he told her simply. She turned to look at him once again, their lips meeting in a very slow and tender kiss, it lingering for a while. When they broke apart she returned to resting her head on his shoulder. They both sighed. "It's not been a completely bad day today."

"Oh yeah?" she asked intrigued. "How so?"

"Well I got to drive around with you today for starters. I liked that. I liked that a lot" he said before he kissed her neck again. "I felt like your chauffeur while my badass Captain gave her orders to her minions over the radio." She laughed as he kissed her neck again. "So that was definitely the high point of my day."

"Not when I asked you to move in with me?" she queried.

"I meant professionally" he clarified. "You asking me to move in with you here is one of the highlights of my life" he said sincerely as he kissed her cheek.

Sharon closed her eyes for a moment as she pulled his arms around her middle even tighter. "How do you always know the right thing to say to me?" she asked before she sighed with it not being just the words that he used when he wanted to charm her or get her into bed but he always seemed to know what to say to alleviate her fears and worries, when she felt stressed or was simply just having a very bad day, he always knew what to say to her.

"Your kids sent me a user's manual when we first started dating" he joked and got an inevitable and immediate gentle slap around the back of his head with her palm of her hand in retaliation. He laughed. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

"You'd better be" she warned him with a smile.

"No they sent me football pads and a helmet instead because they knew how much you were going to beat me." The end result was also inevitable as both of her hands darted to the back of his knees and began to pinch them. "Not the knees! Please not the knees!" he pleaded as if he was in a torture chamber. "Anything but the knees!" She stopped, putting her hands over his again and making him hold her even tighter to his chest. He kissed her cheek once more. "So, Rusty is sounding more like a lawyer these days is he? Following in his mother's footsteps, kind of."

"I just think he's starting to sound more like a lawyer the way he's thinking about Buzz's Father and the evidence that's all" she said, loving to see her son so enthusiastic about something, something that he could conceivable do for the rest of his life as his chosen career if he wanted to. "That idea for the partials and using them to find a potential witness was inspired, you have to admit that."

"Yeah. It was" he said before he paused, a smile quickly appearing on his face. "You know we should have a bet."

"On the partials?" Sharon frowned. "Andy that seems..."

"No, no, no. Nothing like that."

"Then what on?" she asked, turning her head to look at him with confusion.

"On whether the kid switches majors or not" he shrugged.

Sharon laughed as she returned the back of her head to his shoulder. "I am not betting on my son my dear Andrew" she said, the use of his full name letting him know that it was absolutely not going to happen although the smile on her face told him a different story.

"Why not? You bet with everyone else on how long our relationship would last" he took great pleasure in reminded her, still in a state of shock about that, partly because she had been included on a bet when he wasn't probably because it was more likely that he would ruin their relationship than she would but also because Sharon appeared to be so extremely confident from the very beginning of their relationship that what she had with Andy was the real deal and they were in it for life.

"I didn't bet on us per se" she replied. "I simply told them that you and I were for keeps and I knew that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you." She turned her head and once again captured his lips, kissing him long and slow as she briefly removed her hand from on top of his and cupped his cheek.

Andy smiled at her as they broke apart before quickly returning to the topic at hand and refusing to be distracted by her lips, reminding her "Right and then you put twenty dollars in a jar and put a bet on it." They both laughed as she nodded, that fact indisputable. "By the way have they paid you yet?"

"Yes they have actually" Sharon replied much to Andy's surprise.

"And? What did you spend the money on?"

Sharon grinned at him. "It contributed to that little anniversary present I got you" she told him with a wink, referring to the underwear that she had bought just for the occasion.

"Oh well in that case thank you so much for betting with them." They both laughed before she rested her head back on his shoulder and he kissed her neck again. "So come on then, if you're that convinced the kid is going to turn his attention towards the law have a bet with me about it. Let's say twenty bucks. I bet you twenty dollars that he won't change his major and he'll continue to focus on journalism" he announced as he oozed confidence, convinced that Rusty's eye could not be turned away from journalism so easily such was his focus and determination where his vlog was concerned.

Sharon smiled and nodded. "Okay. It's a deal."

"Shake on it." Sharon laughed and unwrapped her hands from his to shake it before she wrapped them around herself again. "I look forward to spending my extra twenty dollars on something frivolous."

"Like what?"

"Like on Dodger Dogs the next time I take my girl to a game." Sharon laughed at him while he kissed her shoulder and her hand came up to run down his face again. "And no tipping him off about it either. Absolutely no cheating here Raydor" he warned her, not usually expecting Rulebook Raydor to cheat but where a bet with him over Rusty was concerned there was a high probability she would do everything in her power to turn things to her advantage just to be able to dance in his face when he was proved wrong once again.

"Do you really think Rusty would change his major just to make you lose a bet with me?"

"Yes. Absolutely" Andy replied very matter-of-factly. Sharon laughed at him. "Of course he would. I know how it works with you two. Sometimes I sit there at the dining table and it's like you have your own private language going on and I'm just an interloper that you both have to put up with" he told her and only pretending to grumble, loving that he was part of a proper family again even though to a certain extent he was still on the outside looking in some of the time. Sharon laughed at him again. "No wonder he's going to take after you professionally too."

"Wait, I thought you were betting that he wouldn't" she reminded him.

"And I am but you seem to be right about everything else." He slowly kissed her shoulder again, another reminder that he was still there and everything was going to be okay. "He's a smart kid. He can do anything he puts his mind to, like someone else I know in this very room" he said before he kissed her shoulder again. "I bet you were the smartest kid in your class, a real teacher's pet."

Sharon laughed and shook her head at him. "Why does doing well at school make me a teacher's pet?" she asked, not seeing the two things as being connected even though both facts were actually true in her case.

"It doesn't but bringing an apple for teacher everyday does my little Rulebook Raydor" he pointed out before she laughed and he kissed her cheek.

"And what about you? I suppose you stole the apples from the teacher's pet?"

"Oh you know me so well" he replied and confirming her suspicions. She laughed at him once again as he kissed her shoulder. "After I beat them up of course."

"I imagine you were far too busy trying to look up the dresses of all the girls to do any good at school" she theorised as her arms wrapped even tighter around his as he continued to hold her against his chest despite the fact that his back and knees were beginning to ache.

"I did okay when I paid attention" he told her with a shrug.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, not believing a word he was saying. "And what was your best subject at school?"

Andy smirked before he proudly announced "Biology."

Sharon laughed at him as she turned her face into the crook of his neck for a moment. "I should have known!"

"Yeah well I have a lifelong allergic reaction to Nuns. It made learning difficult."

"Oh I'm sure."

"It did" Andy insisted as she continued to laugh at him. "Does it upset you that you're stuck with a boy with no book smarts?" he asked before he blew a raspberry on her neck.

Sharon laughed. "Thankfully you have other positives."

"Like what?"

"Like you're very good with your hands" she said as she laced their fingers together.

He laughed and nodded as he squeezed her hand in his. "So when did little Sharon O'Dwyer decide she wanted to become a lawyer?" he asked with it never really being discussed between them before. Over the last couple of years they had spoken about most things and Andy knew that she had dreams of becoming a lawyer before Jack put paid to that goal of hers but he had never found out where that desire had come from.

Sharon thought for a moment as she tried to pinpoint what age she was when law first caught her eye. "When I was about fourteen I suppose. When I was very little I wanted to be a ballerina, a little like you" she joked before laughing at him, a hand on his cheek again.

"Naturally" Andy nodded as he indulged her, loving that she liked to tease him about his childhood and in particular his very brief and surprising history with dance as a way to keep him out of trouble. Likewise he was also very pleased that she had now calmed down enough to laugh with him again, being unable to fix the problem for her, that was something that was only going to go with time and then it wasn't likely to happen until they both retired one day but the least he could do was make her forget about it and her worries while they were at home.

"Then under the guidance of my Grandmother I had my nose firmly stuck in my Bible."

"Until you discovered boys."

"Right" she nodded. "And then it was the law."

"And where did that come from?" he asked again.

"A friend of my parents actually" she said with a smile as she again turned to try and look him in the eye as she explained. "I remember they had this dinner party and my Dad's friend had just got remarried to a lawyer as it turns out. The first time I ever met her she came across as the most strong, confident, classy, insanely intelligent woman in the world and to top it off she was so funny and kind as well. She spoke to me a lot over dinner and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up and I didn't really know so I asked her about her job and the way she described it, well it was all I wanted to do after that. She helped people, really helped people from all walks of life. So instantly I took a liking towards the law and told my parents that I wanted to go to law school" she said with a shrug.

"And? Do you regret it now? That you couldn't do that?" he asked, keen to know if she regretted the road not travelled even though the one she was forced to take eventually led her directly to him and the life they now shared.

"I used to" she replied honestly. "Late at night after Jack had left and I didn't have anything approaching the life I'd hoped for while I was at college I regretted it. Lying in bed when you're alone and your mind starts to wonder but not anymore." She stroked his cheek before she kissed him on the lips. "I'm now the happiest I've ever been."

"And you help a hell of a lot of people" he reminded her.

"I know and joining the academy seemed like the most sensible side step at the time while Jack went to law school." She sighed as she looked forward again and leant her head back on his shoulder, she utterly adored her life but there was always going to be a 'What if?' at the back of her mind. Sensing that Andy pushed his lips to her neck a few times as she raised a hand and ran it through his hair. "What about you?"

"What about me?" he asked as he continued to brush his lips up and down her neck tenderly and without any expectation of it going any further that evening.

"You've never told me. What with your family and their and your continued run-ins with the law why you wanted to become a cop?" she explained.

He smirked for a moment and looked at her suspiciously. "Has Rusty never told you?"

"No. Why would Rusty tell me?" she asked confused. "How does he know?"

"He asked me once and I figured it was the kind of story he'd tell you when we first started dating to try and scare you away from me."

"Oh really?" Sharon laughed. "And should I be scared?"

"No, not at all. I'm sure you'll like this story" he grinned, knowing he was going to get a very large roll of her eyes and a question about how his parents didn't murder him very shortly, possibly before he'd even finished telling her. "When I was a kid, Brian and I 'borrowed' our cousin's motorbike and went for a little joyride around the neighbourhood."

Sharon shook her head. "Why am I not surprised by this story?"

"Yeah well we were caught and we were taken downtown."

"Were you locked up?"

"We were" he nodded as he smiled, not in the slightest bit ashamed or embarrassed about his extremely troubled past as he grew up almost feral. "There was this cop, Officer Nickels. I knew him from around the neighbourhood and he was always having a word with me about one thing or another but on this occasion he told us that the way we were headed we were going to end up in a cell for real one day unless we made a genuine effort to change" he explained.

"He scared you straight?" she asked and not hiding her surprise for one second since it was something that she had tried and failed to do with him many times before while she was still working in Professional Standards and he made one of his very frequent trips to her office especially before he stopped drinking.

"Not exactly" he said with a slight grimace, not wanting to tell her that he was just as bad after speaking to Officer Nickels and deciding he would be better off being a cop but that he was just better at not being caught. "I just figured that I would be better off locking people up than being locked up myself."

"Oh I see. Rather take on the dirt bags than be a dirt bag yourself?"

"Something like that" he nodded before he kissed just above her ear again.

"Is he still alive?"

"I have no idea. I doubt it. Why?"

"I would have sent him a thank you card" she told him. "A thank you for scaring you straight and putting you on the path that led to me." She turned to face him again as best she could, capturing his lips in another very long and slow kiss.

"I think I should be the one thanking him" he replied after they broke apart before their lips met again in another long and slow embrace. Suddenly the sound of Andy's cell phone ringing in his pocket and cutting through the silence broke them apart. "Shit! Sorry" Andy said, not really sure why he was apologising for his phone ringing but apologise he did anyway. Sharon leant forward slightly so that he could reach into his inside pocket and retrieve his phone. He looked at the screen, both of them fearing that they may have caught another case so soon after wrapping up the last one. "It's Nicole" he announced as they both relaxed with relief. Sharon leant back against his chest again as he answered his phone and brought it to his ear. "Hey sweetheart."

"Hi Dad. I'm not interrupting you at work am I? Do I need to call back later?" Nicole asked quickly like she always did when she called him, never knowing if she was interrupting him at work or when he was standing over a body (remembering quite vividly Provenza's cries over the phone when she called her Father and he distractedly kicked a severed head across the beach like he was playing soccer) such were his unusual and antisocial working hours.

"No, no you're fine. I'm at home" he told her. Sharon smiled to herself as she heard Andy refer to the condo as his home once again, running her hand up and down his arm. "Sharon and I are just relaxing in front of the TV" he lied convincingly. Sharon turned her head from Andy's shoulder and kissed his chin, very grateful that he hadn't told her exactly what they were doing and that she had broken down the moment they had walked through the door.

"Hi Nicole" Sharon said loud enough so that she would be able to hear her.

"Hi Sharon!" Nicole called back. "Tell her I said hello" she instructed her Dad.

Andy removed his phone from his ear and said "She says hello" to Sharon before bringing his phone back to his ear. "So what can I do for you sweetheart?" he asked.

"I'm glad you asked. I actually need a favour."

"A favour? Okay. Shoot" Andy replied as he looked at Sharon a little confused.

"Do you remember Dean's cousin Jarred?" she asked.

Andy thought for a second as he tried to match a face to the name. "The bald guy who tried to give me an oxy at your wedding reception Jarred?" he asked. Sharon frowned at him for a moment as she wondered what on earth they were talking about to prompt such a response from him. Andy simply smiled back and shook his head, letting her know that it wasn't an issue and she had nothing to worry about. "Yeah, oddly enough he does tend to stand out in my memory" he said with Jarred one of a _very_ small number of people who came to speak to him and Sharon at Nicole's wedding reception without giving him the impression that he wanted him dead, instead he offered him a fistful of oxycodone and called him 'Sugar Tits' before vomiting in the centre piece on the next table.

"Yeah well he's sober now and working as a sober living assistant for this actor guy."

"Okay" Andy said, still not connecting the dots to his mind to understand what it was exactly she wanted him to do.

"Who it seems recently died of an apparent drug overdose."

"Right."

"But Jarred thinks there's more to it."

"More to it how?" Andy asked, still a little confused.

"Like he did his job properly and he knows for a fact that the guy was completely sober. So he thinks that someone deliberately overdosed the guy. He was murdered" Nicole explained and hoping that her Dad would quickly take the hint and offer to look into it for her and Jarred without having to ask him to explicitly.

"Okay and where do I come into it?" Andy asked, not taking the hint and so unaccustomed to his children asking him for anything.

"If you've got time next week can you go over and see him and just hear him out?" she asked. "The officers who came to the house couldn't have been less interested in what he had to say, in fact one of them just called him a 'Drama queen' but his job is obviously at risk if his death is listed as an overdose. I'm not asking you for anything major, or for you to get anyone else involved or even tell Sharon, I'm just asking you to hear him out and see if you think he might have a case."

"Okay, well give me his details some time over the weekend and I'll go and see him early next week" Andy offered as he tried his hardest to hide the fact that he was utterly thrilled that Nicole had come to him with such a request, that he could potentially help her in a way that no one else could and in a way he wouldn't have dreamt of before Sharon came with him to her wedding.

"Oh that's great Dad! Thank you so much" Nicole cried.

"But I'm not promising anything" he warned her, unable and unwilling to create a case for her that simply wasn't there if Jarred was wrong. "I'm just going to go and talk to the guy."

"I know, I know that and I understand perfectly but I just ask for you to hear him out and see if it looks…I don't know…suspicious to you I guess, you know as a homicide detective."

"Okay, no problem, that I can do."

"Oh Dad you are amazing."

"You're not the first person to tell me that" Andy joked.

Nicole laughed as her mind instantly went to Sharon. "I'm sure. Well I'll let you get back to your relaxing evening with your girlfriend" she said, still delighted that her Dad had found someone not only to love but who clearly adored him in return. "I love you Dad."

"I love you too sweetheart. Bye."

"Bye."

Andy hung up his phone and placed it on the floor next to them and their abandoned bag of food rather than getting Sharon to move so he could put it back in his pocket again. "Is she okay?" Sharon asked since she had only heard half of the conversation and that had left her feeling somewhat confused about what Nicole wanted from him.

"She's fine" he said as he wrapped his arm back around her middle and laced their fingers together once more. "She wants me to speak to Dean's cousin, see if there's a chance that an actor client of his may have been murdered" he explained.

Sharon turned her head to smile at him. "She's asked you" she said with pride and knowing all too well it wasn't the sort of favour she would have asked of him five years ago such was their rather fractured relationship back then.

"Well to be fair I am the only homicide detective that she knows," he said as he downplayed it slightly, "and she's not likely to ask Michael anything other than 'Please stop setting fire to my curtains.'" Sharon laughed and nodded. "Still, it feels good that she's asked me to do this, that she felt like she could ask me to do this."

Sharon kissed his cheek before she asked "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No let me speak to the guy first" he insisted, not wanting to go straight to the top of his division until he knew there was definitely a case there to be investigated. "If there's a chance it could have been murder I'll bring it to my Captain to take a look at" he added before his lips pressed to her neck again.

"You should take Mike with you. With his Hollywood connections he may be able to see a motive where you won't" she suggested as she tried to be helpful for Nicole's sake. Andy immediately rolled his eyes, knowing that if he asked Mike for help it would lead to yet more of the _Badge of Justice_ verbal dribble spilling from his lips at record speeds. She sighed. "Don't think I don't know you've just rolled your eyes at me" she told him sternly.

Andy's jaw dropped open as he looked at her with shock. "How do you know that?"

"Oh please Andy, it's not that hard to work out for someone who doesn't even know you as well as I do" she told him before he rolled his eyes again, them almost rolling out of his head. "I felt that" she told him as she pinched the back of his knee as a punishment. "Take Mike with you and ask his opinion" she told him with it coming out like a direct order from his Captain. "It's possible he'll know who might have most to gain from his death if it is a murder."

"Yeah okay" Andy sighed, appreciating Mike's help and the extra eye but knowing full well that in doing so it was going to open the _Badge of Justice_ floodgates and there was a very big chance he might need surgery to make his eyes face forward again before the case was over, if indeed there was a case there to begin with.

"And it'll be good for your rehabilitation too" Sharon told him as she tried not to laugh, Andy's handkerchief now abandoned in her lap since she didn't currently need it.

"Excuse me? My rehabilitation?" Andy scoffed, really not liking the direction that the conversation was headed in.

"Yes. As I try my hardest to cure you of this extreme _Badge of Justice_ obsession" she said with a roll of her eyes all of her own, thinking that sometimes Andy spoke about that show more often than Mike did and Mike did speak about it a lot. "Step one was getting you to play nice during Mike's party to celebrate his award. Step two is asking for his advice on Hollywood matters."

"Okay and what's step three?"

"Getting you to watch an episode."

"Nope! No! It's never going to happen!" Andy stated emphatically

She smirked. "And what if I were to bribe you into it?" she asked, knowing that she could get him to do almost anything if she asked him to but by calling it a bribe it made it sound like he had some say in the matter when in fact he didn't, fully prepared to do anything for the woman he loved short of murder if she asked him to.

"There's nothing I want that much. Sorry sweetheart, it's not going to happen."

She turned her head to look at him again, pressing her lips to his chin a couple of times in quick succession before her hand stroked his cheek. "You've said that before but I was still able to bend you to my will" she reminded him with a wink.

"Yes but now I know what's coming so I can easily prepare myself with more impenetrable defences" he said as if he had a shell like a snail he could hide in whenever Sharon asked him to do something he was less than keen on.

"Impenetrable defences?" Sharon laughed hysterically as she kissed his chin again. "Are you going to invest in a chastity belt?" she asked as she continued to laugh at him.

Andy smiled at her, overjoyed that he now had her laughing in such a way given that she was so distressed and seemingly inconsolable when she first walked through the door. "Maybe" he replied before he pushed his lips to her neck. "Maybe I'll just used my irrational demand to ensure that crappy show is never mentioned under our roof again."

Sharon smiled at him, the gravity of what he had just said and what that meant for their little family hitting her hard and swelling her heart to the point where she was on the verge of tears again. "Our roof?" she said, her eyes misting over again only this time for all the right reasons, as her hand went back to his cheek.

"Yes" he grinned before his lips kissed their way from her shoulder to her ear again as he squeezed her tightly against his chest. "Our roof" he repeated as she turned to look at him once again. Their lips met in a searing kiss, a kiss of a promise for more, the life they were going to have together moving forward and an evening spent lying in each other's arms (especially since Rusty was out for the evening) in bed as they banished the trauma of the day as soon as Sharon was ready to move from their current position on the floor.

When they broke apart she continued to stare into his eyes as her hand stroked his cheek, not wanting to let go of him or vice versa for the rest of the night and beyond. Finally she smiled at him and then informed him "There's just one small problem there my beautiful boy, Rusty also lives under our roof and is not part of this irrational demand deal we have going on unless of course you'd like to give him one too?"

"Oh no way!" Andy replied quickly. "He'd use it so I was never allowed in the bathroom or I always have to wear pyjamas or something. It's not worth it."

Sharon laughed. "So is that a no then?" she asked.

"Yes, that's a no" he confirmed, preferring to have to endure _Badge of Justice_ on their TV while he complained and mocked it at length rather than having to wear pyjama bottoms all of the time. Sharon chuckled as she ran her hands up and down his arms again as they held her. Andy smiled, pleased that the dark clouds were continuing to lift for the time being although it still seemed unlikely that they were going to get up any time soon despite the pain that was beginning to build up in his back. They continued to sit in silence, her head resting back against his shoulder as his lips moved back and forth along her hairline every now and then. A few moments later Andy started to look around them. "You know out of all the places you could have picked for a complete breakdown tonight you've picked a good one" he joked.

Sharon laughed at him while giving the back of his knee a quick pinch. "It was either here or in front of the fridge" she laughed as if she had any real control or say over her sudden and completely unexpected emotional breakdown the moment they stepped through the door. "Do you like it?" she asked.

"I do. I really do. I've never seen the underside of that table before" he said as he pointed towards the table against the wall opposite them where he had got into the habit of keeping his keys, cuffs, badge and gun when he stayed the night.

"Neither have I by the look of it" she replied as she learnt forward a little and lowered her head so that she could see the underside of the table and more importantly the dust and dirt that lingered there seemingly untouched for weeks. "Oh my God! That floor is so dirty. I feel so ashamed" she said with a shake of her head before she leant back against him again.

"Well that's it Raydor, with floors that dirty there's absolutely no way I'm moving into this hell hole now!" Andy cried, trying to sound as serious as he could. Sharon laughed as Andy's attention was drawn to something hanging from the underside of the table. "Is that…is that some sort of nest?" he asked as he stared at it with curiosity.

"Oh God I hope not" Sharon replied utterly horrified. They both leant forward and stared at it in silence as they tried to work out exactly what it was without moving from their spot on the floor. Andy sat back again, bringing Sharon with him until she was back in her now very familiar position against his chest with the back of her head on his shoulder.

Andy brought his lips to her ear and kissed his way around it as he spoke in a very teasing manner. "You know, I happen to know a really good house cleaner that I think you might like" he said.

Sharon smiled as she held his arms around her even tighter. "Oh really?"

"Oh yeah" he confirmed as his lips moved down to her neck.

Sharon closed her eyes as his lips moved around her neck and his voice rumbled in her ear, an unexpected shot of desire running through her like a bolt of lightening. "What's he like? Give me the details" she pleaded.

"Well he's live in so he'll need somewhere to sleep" Andy grinned as his lips continued to press against her neck between each word.

Sharon smiled. "I think I could arrange to share my bed with him."

"I thought you might" he said between kisses to her neck. "He's charming, very well dressed and incredibly handsome" he told her as he continued to blow his own trumpet so to speak.

"He sounds wonderful." Andy hummed in agreement as his lips continued on their journey around her neck until she suddenly turned to look at him. "Can you give me his number so that he can move in here instead of you?" she said as seriously as she could.

Andy's mouth dropped open dramatically as he pretended to be offended. "Hey!" he cried as Sharon just laughed at him as she ran her hand down his cheek.

"What's the catch?" she asked. "This guy sounds perfect so there must be some horrible flaw lurking somewhere" she reasoned as she continued to pretend that they weren't talking about the man holding her as they spoke.

"There's no catch I promise but I must warn you that he likes to clean in nothing but an apron and an incredibly sexy smile" he told her before he kissed her neck again.

"Now there's an image" Sharon laughed.

"You'll love it."

Sharon nodded, agreeing that she most definitely would like it even though there was someone else who lived with them that most definitely wouldn't. "Are you deliberately trying to make Rusty move out?" she asked purely in jest.

Andy thought for a second before responding. Rusty moving out was obviously not what he wanted (unless Rusty did want to and there was no pressure from him whatsoever to speed him up on that front) and he knew that Sharon knew that and she knew he was only joking with her about it but still it left him wondering. Several weeks later he still wasn't one hundred percent sure if Rusty had spoken to Sharon about what they discussed at PAB before he took them both to see the 'house of horrors' or not. He was under the assumption that Rusty must have said something to her given the revelation that it was apparently his suggestion that he move into the condo with them rather than buying somewhere new together but without confirmation he opted to tread as carefully as he could. The reason for that approach was simple, he didn't want Sharon to worry about Rusty and regardless he had handled the situation himself, talking to the young man and soothing his concerns, something that he apparently did very well considering that Rusty was much more relaxed about the whole idea of late. "Did he tell you?" Andy asked.

"Did who tell me what?" Sharon asked as she turned her head to look at him, an anxious expression suddenly plastered to her face.

"Rusty, about what we spoke about the other week?" he said.

Sharon suddenly looked panic stricken. "No...what..."

"Don't panic! Don't panic!" he said quickly to alleviate her fears instantly. He kissed her on the lips to make sure that she understood that everything was okay and there was no cause for concern. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise you." He sighed as he realised that she had no idea what Rusty had spoken to him about and it was something that he could have kept to himself. "When we were dealing with the murder at the house of horrors the other week he stopped me at work while you were out speaking to Heather's parents to see where he stands I suppose" he explained.

Sharon frowned at him confused. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"He asked me if he was in the way of us moving in together" he said before he shrugged. "I think he was worried I wanted him to move out or something when we buy a house" he told her before he shrugged again, trying his hardest to make it seem like it was no big deal and the matter was closed and Rusty was more than comfortable after their discussion.

"He didn't!" she cried. Sharon instantly put her head in her hands and felt utterly mortified for a moment, having truly believed that she had spoken to Rusty enough over the last few weeks since she decided to move in with Andy that she thought he knew he would be coming with her wherever it was that they eventually ended up as a family. She thought that he knew that, she thought that she had made that abundantly clear to him. Evidently she was wrong.

Andy nodded as he smiled, still trying to make her see that everything was okay and she had nothing to worry about in this regard. "He did."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him the truth. I told him he was coming with us and I was looking for somewhere for all of us, all three of us. That if you thought for even one second that I was trying to get rid of him I'd be out on my ass so fast I wouldn't know what way was up anymore" he added, feeling that it was important that Sharon understood that he knew that and he would _never_ ever even consider asking Rusty to move out right now or in the future for that matter. "That's why he came with us to see it the other week. I wanted him to see that us buying a house together was nothing for him to worry about and it was somewhere for all three of us to live as a family and give it a go."

Sharon nodded as she smiled at him for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?" she asked.

Andy shrugged and then kissed her cheek. "Because he came to me about it and I don't know, I thought I'd try to handle it on my own since I'm being given a second chance at this whole parenting business" he said, truly appreciating that he was being given a second chance to be a good Father, not just with Nicole and how close they had become over the last couple of years thanks to Sharon but also with Rusty, being there for the young man even if he didn't particularly want him to be in the very beginning. Andy shrugged again. "I figure it's my job now to deal with these things when he'll let me of course."

"Thank you" she told him sincerely before she kissed him on the lips. Sharon honestly didn't mind admitting that Andy wanting to help her out with Rusty and then doing so without feeling the need to tell her about it was something she had zero experience with. With Emily and Ricky she had essentially parented alone. Even when Jack was there he was more like a third child in the family than her husband and their Father so she was still parenting alone in her opinion despite his physical presence. She'd had help over the last few years when Rusty came on the scene from Provenza and Buzz but they weren't actually in the same mould as Andy was now, the role of his eventual Step-Father. It was going to take her some time to adjust to it, just like how it was still taking Rusty time to adjust to having a man in his life who actually cared about him and really was the positive Father figure and a role model he'd never had before but she knew they'd both get there in the end because Andy wasn't going anywhere and Rusty was more than okay with that.

"No need to thank me" Andy said again like the whole conversation with Rusty and the way he had been forced to once again reassure him was no big deal. He kissed her on the lips again. "Only our problems from now on remember. Speaking of which, that nest is definitely a problem" he said as he pointed towards it hanging underneath the table before they both stared at it again. "What the hell is it?"

"I have no idea but I'd rather it wasn't there."

"Poke it with a chopstick" Andy suggested.

Sharon laughed. "No."

"Go on" he encouraged.

"No."

Andy removed his hand from around Sharon's waist and reached towards their bag of abandoned take out next to them to try and grab a chopstick. "Here I'll get you…"

"No!" Sharon shouted a little louder than she intended and startled him. She grabbed his hand and wrapped it around her middle again, not wanting either of them to move a muscle just yet. "Stay here with me just a bit longer please" she asked quietly.

He looked at her for a moment in silence before he nodded. "Your wish is my command milady." It didn't take a genius to work out that Sharon was still more than a little upset by the events of the day and despite her tears drying up on the whole and her mood improving by the second she still wasn't close to being ready to let go of him and move from their rather unusual position on the floor. Andy leant in close to Sharon's ear, kissing her again before he began to sing to her, her eyes closing as his voice rumbled in her ear. " _Once I had a secret love, that lived within the heart of me. All too soon my secret love became impatient to be free. So I told a friendly star the way that dreamers often do, just how wonderful you are and why I'm so in love with you. Now I shout it from the highest hills even told the golden daffodils. At last my heart's an open door and my secret love's no secret anymore._ " He kissed her neck a couple of times as Sharon hugged his arms even closer around her and sighed contently.

Sharon turned to smile at him. "Did you just sing Doris Day to me?" she asked.

"I believe it was _Calamity Jane_ to be precise" he told her. Sharon smiled at him before she laughed, Andy's choice in movies as a youngster a constant surprise to her. "What? It was a cowboy…technically, sort of and I'd watch literally anything at the movies, even Doris Day movies."

Sharon settled her head on his shoulder to make sure that she could look him in the eye before she spoke, cupping his cheek with her hand. "I love you Andy Flynn" she told him before she kissed him on the lips. "I wasn't looking for this and I never ever expected to feel this way again, least of all at this age. I didn't even think I had the capacity to feel this way again but now that I have you I don't know what I'd do without you" she told him with the raw emotion coming back to her voice as her eyes misted over.

"You don't have to" he told her before he ghosted his lips against hers, their eyes slipping closed for a brief moment as their lips came together. "Sharon I've been waiting for you my entire life. Now that I've finally got you I don't intend on going anywhere for a very long time." They kissed again, Sharon's hand continuing to cup his cheek as the other held his across her body, only breaking apart when they heard the unexpected sound of the key in the lock of the door.

Rusty and Gus walked in through the front door and immediately froze in their tracks when they saw the pair of them sitting on the floor not too far from the door, thankfully spotting them before they tripped over their legs. "Hey" Rusty said and making no attempt to hide his surprise or his confusion as he shut to door and put his keys back in his pocket. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

It was hard to work out who was more worried in that moment, Sharon or Rusty. Sharon had always prided herself on being a strong woman, keeping her emotions completely in check until an appropriate moment when she could vent them in private (although what had she done that day other than keeping it all in until an appropriate moment when she was home alone with Andy?). Whether it was Jack up and leaving suddenly the last time and taking her money with him or Andy's health scare or any one of the hundred things that had happened to Rusty since she'd known him she had always managed to keep it all in as much as possible on the whole (his accusation that she was trying to get rid of him in front of Lieutenant Provenza when Daniel Dunn suddenly put in an appearance aside) and only letting her emotions out when she was alone so she knew Rusty was going to worry about her after finding them like he had, her eyes still red and puffy from the tears she had shed. As for Rusty well he had become accustomed to walking in on things that he rather wished he hadn't, not that it was anything too much if he was being completely honest (unlike some of the things he had seen and heard going on between his Mom and whatever scumbag she happened to be dating at the time as he grew up). Although Sharon seemed to permanently have Andy's ass in her hands he had never walked in on anything other than kisses and cuddles so seeing her on the floor like that, like Andy was trying his best to comfort her was not only odd but incredibly upsetting since he could see how much she'd been crying.

Sharon smiled up at her son as brightly as possible while she still held onto Andy's arms wrapped around her middle, making sure that he didn't attempt to get up now that Rusty had come home. "Hi. We thought you were staying over with Gus tonight" she said and not hiding her surprise at seeing him. Neither had any objection to Rusty and Gus changing their plans at the last minute and spending the night at the condo when they had expected to be alone but it did make her wonder if something was wrong given that their plans had possibly changed.

Rusty looked at Gus with a fair amount of confusion, seeing that same expression coming back in his direction before he looked back towards his 'parents' and then answered. "I am...I mean we are but I forgot to bring my laptop." He took a deep breath as he frowned at them still sitting on the ground. "Why are you two sitting on the floor? Is everything okay?" he asked with quite a lot of worry in his voice.

"Everything's fine Rusty" Sharon told him with a smile.

"Then why..." Rusty said before he stopped, seeing the handkerchief in her lap and realising that she had indeed been crying and quite a lot at that given how red and puffy her eyes were. "Mom have you been crying?" he asked as he crouched down beside her. "Andy? What the hell…?" he started to say, putting the blame firmly on his shoulders and under the assumption that he had done something to upset her regardless of how they were sitting telling a completely different story.

Andy held his hand up to stop Rusty in his tracks, quickly understanding what he was thinking the worst and concerned that he thought he'd done something to upset her, cheating on her perhaps and he was very quick to correct any mistakes he may have, wanting to speak instead of Sharon since she was still more than a little upset by everything that had happened that day. "It's okay. It's fine" Andy said as he made sure he met Rusty's eye. "Things got a little scary at work today and your Mom just got a bit upset about it that's all" he explained before he kissed her on the side of the head and she rested it back on his shoulder having sat forward a little when Rusty walked in.

"Scary how?" Rusty asked still confused. "Is everything okay?"

Gus stepped towards them, originally wanting to keep out of what was quite clearly a family matter but then felt the need to speak when he realised what must have happened. "Wait is this what I heard on the radio in the car?" he asked. "Were you at that hotel? Did some guy shoot at you?"

Rusty's eyes widened with alarm as he turned back to look at Sharon and Andy, almost losing his balance as he continued to crouch next to them. "Someone shot at you today?" he asked Sharon utterly horrified.

"No, no" she said in a very reassuring tone as she took Rusty's hand in hers and squeezed it. "I was downstairs the whole time listening to it over the radio, far away from any danger, I promise."

"Mike, Julio and Provenza were in the firing line when it happened" Andy told them, leaving his name out of it deliberately so that Rusty wouldn't worry about him, knowing he would be worrying enough knowing that Provenza was almost killed.

"And Andy" Sharon said when he neglected to add his name as she put both of her hands on top of his again and squeezed them.

Andy nodded. "And me" he confirmed like it was nothing.

"You were there?" Rusty asked, still sounding distressed by what he was hearing.

"Yes" Andy nodded again.

Rusty paused for a moment, lost for words as his eyes travelled over the both of them as he checked for injuries just as Sharon had done in the immediate aftermath when she got Andy alone. "Well are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Better than Provenza anyway" Andy said a little unwisely as he shrugged.

Rusty suddenly stood upright, looking absolutely panic stricken at the thought that something had happened to Lieutenant Provenza. "Why? What happened to Lieutenant Provenza?!" he cried.

Sharon quickly grabbed his leg with her hand. "Calm down. He's fine."

"He took a piece of shrapnel to the vest that's all" Andy told him with another shrug.

"Well is he okay?" Rusty asked, still panicking.

"He's fine, he just has some bruising but that's it" Sharon informed him.

"Well why didn't you tell me any of this earlier? When I came to see you at work?" Rusty asked, feeling like it had been deliberately kept from him, both the shooting and Provenza getting hurt, because it was a lot more serious than they were letting on.

"I didn't have chance. You were too preoccupied" Sharon told him.

"With those damn partials again!" Gus almost shouted as he slapped Rusty across the arm as if to make a point that he was driving everyone insane over it and he needed to take a break if not for Buzz's sake than for theirs.

Rusty rolled his eyes at Gus before he turned his attention back to Sharon. "Lieutenant Provenza really is going to be okay?" he asked, still a little uncertain if he could believe them or if they were being economical with the truth in order to not worry him.

"He's going to be just fine" Andy reiterated once again. "He's got some bruised ribs that are going to be painful for a while and Patrice wants to kill him but other than that he's fine."

"Can I call him?" Rusty asked as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I should..."

Andy held his hand up in the air to stop him once again. "I'd leave it until tomorrow kid. For now just give them some space and let Patrice take care of him" he told him, realising that Patrice would want no interruptions that evening as she just held her husband, beyond thankful that he was okay and that he had been incredibly lucky.

Gus nodded, being able to easily work out exactly what had gone on that day and into the evening and realising exactly how Sharon felt. "Yeah they could probably do with some alone time and I'm sure they're not the only ones." Gus took hold of Rusty's arm and tried to drag him towards his bedroom but he remained rooted to the spot, not wanting to leave the condo again that evening in light of what had happened. "Come on Rusty."

"What?" Rusty asked confused.

"Your laptop" Gus reminded him as he gestured towards his bedroom.

"But…"

"Rusty, come here." Gus grabbed Rusty's hand again and practically dragged him towards his bedroom very much against his will, shutting his door behind them so that he could speak to his oblivious boyfriend in private. Sharon and Andy looked at each other and laughed as they heard the door close, knowing what Gus was doing for them in the way he handled Rusty and really appreciating it.

Once his bedroom door was closed Rusty frowned at Gus, looking incredibly annoyed by the way he'd been dragged away in the middle of a conversation. "What?" he virtually barked at him.

Gus put his hand on his shoulder to get him to look him in the eye and really listen to him. "Look I know you're concerned and I know it's upsetting to see your Mom distressed like that but what she needs right now is Andy to take care of her and for us to get out of here as quickly as possible so let's get moving" Gus told him, clapping his hands together as a way to make Rusty speed up.

"But..."

"No buts" Gus stated categorically. "Just think about it for a second. He could have been killed today." Gus paused for a moment to let that thought sink into Rusty's mind because despite how he acted in the past and the conversations that they had on the subject not least of which during Provenza's bachelor party, Gus knew that Rusty had become more than attached to his Mom's boyfriend over the last six months. He knew Rusty would probably never admit it without some sort of disaster befalling Andy but it was clear that Rusty now loved him in a way he'd never loved another man before and he had become the Father figure he'd always desperately wanted but had lived without. "She listened to him getting shot at over a radio and still had to do her job. Knowing your Mom she probably did all of that without even flinching. Is it any wonder she's waited until she got home to let some of that emotion out?"

Rusty thought for a moment before he nodded. "I guess you're right."

"You know I am. Let's give them some space. Get your stuff." Rusty nodded at him and started to grab his laptop and stuffed it into his bag followed by a couple of other bits and pieces he had neglected to take with him. Gus opened his bedroom door and went back into the living room to wait while at the same time wanting Sharon and Andy to know that they were going to leave and they would have the place to themselves again very shortly. "He's just getting his laptop" he told them.

"Thanks Gus" Sharon said to him with an appreciative smile.

A moment of comfortable silence descended on the room before Gus stepped towards them as they remained on the floor. "Are your ears still ringing?" he asked Andy since he knew from personal experience that having hundreds of rounds of ammunition shot in his direction from a very close proximity effected your hearing for a short time afterwards. Andy and Sharon smiled at Gus, both of them often forgetting that long before they knew him he was not only part of the armed forces but that he had served overseas in a war zone, doing things they couldn't even imagine for someone his age. It was one of things that made Gus and Rusty so suited to each other, they were very different people but they had similar upbringings and both were forced to grow up a lot earlier than other people the same age.

"No I'm past that stage" Andy told him with a smile that told him he was okay. Sharon turned to look at him once again, having not thought about how his ears may have been bothering him since the hotel. "I'm at the dull high pitch buzz. It's like a bee on helium."

"That's common. It happened to me too" Gus told him almost dismissively. "It'll be gone by the morning." They didn't need to say anymore since they knew Gus didn't like to talk about his service and just smiled and nodded at him. His eyes landed on the bag of food on the floor. "Do you want me to put this in the fridge for you?" he asked.

Andy nodded. "Thanks Gus." Gus moved to pick up the bag but not before he gave Andy's waiting hand a fist bump. Before he had chance to head to the kitchen Sharon ran her hand up his arm for a second out of thanks for everything before he put the bag in the fridge and then leant up the back of the couch as he waited for Rusty.

Moments later Rusty appeared with his bag on his shoulder and that same concerned look on his face. "Okay I'm ready" he said before he and Gus moved to the door. Gus opened it quickly, keen to get Rusty out of the condo and leave Sharon and Andy in peace for the rest of the evening. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Rusty asked as he turned to face them again.

"I'm fine Rusty, honestly" Sharon insisted, not wanting him to worry about her for even a fraction of a second.

"I'll take good care of her kid, don't worry" Andy told him.

Sharon smiled up at Rusty. "Really. Go. Have a good time" she practically ordered him.

"Okay. Okay. We're going" Rusty relented as he turned to leave.

It was in that moment that Sharon suddenly had a thought and realised that there was something she needed to tell him now that he had popped home unexpectedly. She put her hand on his leg to stop him. "Oh but before you do," she paused as she turned her head to look at Andy for a moment, "you should know, I've asked Andy to move in here with us as soon as he sells his house." She knew that everyone (even Andy) would probably think her invitation was a reaction to what had happened earlier in the day and there may have been some element of truth in that but she really didn't care because she knew the truth. She'd been trying to ask him to move into the condo for weeks and that was all that mattered, not what anyone else thought about the timing of her decision.

"Oh. Okay" Rusty said a little surprised. In truth he was a little unsure about what to say for the best. He'd already discussed Andy moving in with them with Sharon and indeed suggested it as the best and most obvious answer himself while Andy was being chased around the front yard by his realtor. At the time Sharon had made it clear that she wasn't yet ready for that to happen so although Rusty was not surprised that she had finally asked him, been waiting for it for weeks, he was unsure if Andy knew he'd suggested it several weeks earlier or not.

"If that's still okay with you?" she asked him.

"Yes, yes. Of course" Rusty said quickly. "Of course it's okay with me" he added with a smile.

"Thanks kid" Andy replied immediately.

"So when is it happening?" Rusty asked, assuming that it would be imminent. "You know so I can arrange to be busy and avoid helping you move" he clarified and clearly joking with them in attempt to ensure they knew how okay he really was with the whole arrangement.

Andy laughed, taking it in the spirit with which it was intended. "I don't know. However long it takes to sell my house I guess" he shrugged.

"Okay, great" Rusty smiled.

"So it's really okay with you?" Andy asked again.

"Yeah sure. I mean you're here all the time anyway so what difference would it really make?" Rusty shrugged. "To be honest it's kinda weird when you're not here by now Lieutenant" he joked. They all laughed at what was probably the strangest compliment that Andy had ever had as well as Rusty still being slightly uncomfortable as proven by the fact that he called him 'Lieutenant' rather than 'Andy.'

"Thank you Rusty" Sharon said as she turned to smile at Andy in a way that screamed 'I told you everything would be okay.'

"Okay well we'll be going. Night" Rusty said. Gus went to leave with Rusty following very close behind until he suddenly stopped and turned back to Sharon and Andy. He dropped his bag to the ground and quickly crouched down beside them, running his arms around his Mom as best he could and hugging her. "Love you."

Sharon kissed him on the side of his head. "I love you too."

Rusty pulled back, releasing his Mom to lean back against Andy's chest again. "Night Andy" he said before it was very clear that the wheels were turning rapidly in his mind. Suddenly he made a split decision and stuck to it, reaching over to hug Andy as best he could what with Sharon pressed against his chest. It lasted longer than the hug he gave his Mom, meaning that Andy had plenty of opportunity of look completely stunned by what was happening as Gus and Sharon tried their hardest not to laugh at him. "I'm glad you're okay" Rusty said as he continued to hug him. Andy patted him on the back as they broke apart and Rusty stood back up.

"Thanks Rusty" Andy said again.

Rusty picked up his bag and put it back on his shoulder before he said "Goodnight" once again and walked to the door.

"Night kids" Andy said before Rusty walked through the open door and Gus followed close behind, waving at them and giving them a warm smile before the door shut behind him. Silence fell for a moment with Andy still more than a little stunned by what had just happened, Rusty freely hugging him without being forced into it. "He gave me a hug."

"I know" Sharon laughed. "You should have got shot at months ago if that's all it takes."

"Hell I'd have let _him_ shoot at me if I'd know that all it takes to make it easier." They both laughed before he kissed her neck again. "There's a lot to admire about Gus but top of the list has to be how he manages to handle Rusty."

"Oh definitely" Sharon agreed, constantly amazed by now Gus could put a lid on some of Rusty's impulses and get him to think about things before acting. "He certainly doesn't take any nonsense from him." Sharon smiled pleased, having witnessed it for herself just how patient Gus was with him and how he managed to put the brakes on Rusty when he was most out of control.

"A bit like how you handle me" Andy joked before she laughed at him.

"It's very clear that Rusty isn't and never will be an easy person to date but they suit each other and Gus is a great leveller for Rusty I think" Sharon mused.

Andy nodded as silence fell between them again. Eventually he kissed her neck and squeezed her a little before he spoke again. "How are you feeling now?" he asked. "Are you okay?" He kissed her cheek before he virtually buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"I'm fine" Sharon replied as her hand came up to stroke his cheek.

"Are you sure?"

Sharon nodded. "Positive."

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No thank you, not yet" she replied, still not feeling hungry.

"Do you want a cup of tea?"

"No."

"A glass of wine?"

"No."

Andy lifted his head, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Is there anything you do want?"

"Yes."

"What?" he asked.

"You" Sharon replied as she turned in his arms and kissed him, her arms going around his neck as they clung to each other.


	32. Chapter 32

_Once again let me start by thanking everyone who read the last chapter, especially seaford71, xbleeple, eelise187, walkerdude1, MaxiP99, maidenpride, jujuone23, HeiBeSo, Liz18, Viez, garfieldlover4u and the two guests for leaving reviews. They were all very much appreciated and a wonderful boost to my nonsense and twaddle confidence so thank you. If you'd be so kind as to leave a review for this chapter that would be lovely or you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Now that I have an end point for this story I keep trying to find ways to make it longer since I enjoy writing it so damn much. As a result not only am I trying to squeeze in a bachelor party and a bridal shower before the dreaded flu strikes (and if there is anything you'd like to read about then please let me know and I'll try to add it in if I can) I have also decided to tweak the ending slightly. Since enough people have asked and in some cases begged me not to kill Sharon in this story I have decided to write two final chapters. The first will follow the show and will come after her death and the final conversation that Andy will have with her, a chapter I have been writing since long before she died but hoped I'd never have to use. The second will be a lot happier and will take place a year and a new heart later on their long awaited honeymoon in Ireland. Both will be posted at the same time and you can pick which ending you'd rather read. That being said the final chapter at this point will be in the late 70s at least so I have no idea when I'll get around to writing it with so much to come before that._

 _As I stated with the last chapter, 99% of the dialogue contained in this one was written before Sharon's death so there is lots of talk about what they'll do after retirement that will now sadly never happen. There are also two stories relating to Andy in this chapter that are both based on real life, the one with the Nuns sadly happened to my Dad and the one with the hill I'm ashamed to say happened to me. Likewise the one with the pony also happened to me._

 _This chapter takes place at the end of episode 5x8_ _ **Off the Wagon**_ _and is nothing but fluff and fairly self-explanatory however the suggestion that Andy left work early to go to an AA meeting comes from the deleted scenes on the DVD where after Jared left Andy asked Mike if he got paid per episode and the answer sent him straight into the elevator in need of a meeting._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty Two**

By the time that Sharon emerged from the Interview Room with Andrea, tired but with the deal finally done and Julio and Amy ready to escort Sean Wheeler to County to spend his first night behind bars before he could go before a judge two days later, she returned to her office and discovered much to her surprise that Andy was nowhere to be seen having already left for the day. He hadn't said goodbye to her before he left but she had been somewhat busy over the last couple of hours so that was to be expected. When she picked up her cell from her desk where she had left it prior to joining Andrea in Interview One she saw that Andy had sent her a text message an hour earlier that simply said _'Felt like going to a meeting. I'll call you when I get back to the house. Love you. A xxx.'_ Concerned by what she deemed as a rather abrupt departure to go to a meeting for the second time in two days as well as opting to stay at his house rather than driving back to the condo, Sharon asked if anyone had spoken to him before he left. Mike quickly confirmed that he had heard him say he was going to a meeting (deliberately neglecting to say that this decision came mere seconds after Andy had learnt that Mike got paid per episode for _Badge of Justice_ and therefore made a lot more than he had initially thought) and saw him leave just moments after Jared did. It was not unusual at all for Andy to leave early (if work permitted obviously) so that he could go to an AA meeting, especially if he missed his usual one because of work and he often did so without saying goodbye to Sharon in the process if the opportunity simply didn't present itself and he felt it was inappropriate to interrupt her but it was however very unusual for him to go to more than one meeting in a week, least of all two in two days without seemingly any clear reason behind it.

With no more information to hand and Provenza seemingly none the wiser as to the reason why he had felt the sudden need to go to another meeting so soon after his last one, Sharon couldn't help but worry about him, assuming that his need to go to AA was connected with the case they had just closed and after seeing the way that Jared had quite deliberately fallen off the wagon after being sober for quite some time. Over the previous few months Andy had certainly made much more of an effort to speak to Sharon about his alcoholism and his recovery, telling her when he wanted to go to a meeting rather than sneaking off or when he felt the need to call his sponsor because he was having a rather bad day (calling him quite regularly for a quick catch up because he was his friend rather than needing to actually talk to his sponsor) instead of keeping it all to himself like he used to but that didn't mean that she worried any less about him especially when he seemed to actively seek help when he otherwise seemed perfectly fine on the outside. Sharon knew a lot of her concerns were purely psychological, her history with Jack and his constant relapses (both with alcohol as well as his gambling addiction) most of which he tried to blame on her even after their divorce (remembering quite vividly his last barb on the subject when he broke into her condo drunk and offered a simple 'Well who would come here sober?' in response) causing her to fret a lot more about Andy than perhaps she would have done had Jack not have been an alcoholic and that was despite knowing that both men may have started off from the same place as their marriages fell apart but were now vastly different in nearly every way imaginable, Andy sober for twenty years without much incident since then and Jack barely able to make it twenty days at a time without going on a bender.

With her paperwork finished and after having spoken to Buzz and Provenza about using the partial prints from the scene to look for a potential 'witness' in the case involving Buzz's Father and Uncle, Sharon left for the day. Since Rusty was out for the night as he drove back from dropping his Mom off at Cathedral City so that she could raise his little sister with Gary's parents Jim and Linda (after Rusty had called her once he had got his Mom settled in and unpacked, telling Sharon where he was and why along with his big news about what he'd said to Gus for the very first time, Sharon had given him strict instructions, telling him to text her as soon as he got home, not caring in the slightest if he woke her up in the middle of the night as a result), she had decided that she would spend the night at Andy's house, being there for him when he got home as a surprise, not just missing him when he wasn't lying there beside her in bed (and by that point they had reached the stage where him staying at his house was a very rare occurrence indeed) but wanting to be there for him if he really was struggling and maybe give him a helping hand in packing up his house a little more in preparation for his move into the condo once his house sold too.

Sharon drove home first to get changed and bring an overnight bag. Given that Andy had spent so much time of his time at the condo of late and she rarely stayed at his house she was unsure how many and which items of her clothing remained there, him bringing a bag full over one evening along with another bag of his clothes after she asked him to move in as soon as he sold his house, beginning to empty it already in advance of his move. With a bag packed full of her essentials and everything she needed to get ready for work the next day she drove over to Andy's house, hoping that she could get there before he arrived home from his meeting and therefore she could give him a very nice and rather unexpected surprise upon his return, potentially even a naked surprise despite the fact that she was still more than a touch worried about him, an ache in the pit of her stomach over why he felt the need for an additional meeting that week.

Sharon pulled up outside of Andy's house and had mixed feelings by the sight she saw or rather what she didn't see. Andy's car wasn't there which meant she had beaten him home. She was at once relieved but also concerned by that fact. She looked at her watch, turning it around on her wrist to see the time, it having slipped around to the underside of her arm again on her drive over. It was nine o'clock. She sighed, quickly realising that Andy had been there a lot longer than he usually was which only served to increase her fears about him.

Before getting out of the car she looked towards his neighbour's house, an elderly woman whose love for Andy bordered on obsession at times and as a result her hatred for Sharon bordered on terrifying. She saw her living room curtains twitch, a clear signal that she was being watched by Mrs Williams and would need to run into the house as quickly as possible to avoid dealing with her and the slim but nonetheless very real chance that she may try to murder her with her own bare hands for trying to steal her 'Lieutenant Hot Pants' from her arthritic clutches. Sharon grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and jumped out of the car, moving as fast as her legs could take her to avoid a confrontation she really didn't need at that moment in time with other things on her mind.

Once inside Sharon turned the light on in the living room and was frankly stunned by the sight that welcomed her. As a conservative guess the house looked like it was already about ninety percent boxed up and ready to be moved into storage. Andy had not said a word to her about how far he'd got with his packing and considering he'd only spent one night there alone since she'd asked him to move in with her the moment he sold his house (and then that was only because the crime scene he had been to with the rest of the division was a lot closer to his house than the condo and he said he desperately needed the extra couple of hours of sleep he'd get as a result), he'd either been packing ever since they first decided to move in together or he'd done an awful lot in a single night. Either way it thrilled her a lot more than she expected it to. She couldn't help but smile and be happy to see how much progress he'd made despite her continued nerves and worry about taking that next step and making that commitment with him, the ever nagging concern about how things could so easily fall apart between them when their lives became even more entwined than they were already. But despite that she was excited for it to finally happen and the sooner the better in her eyes and clearly Andy also felt the same way.

It was a similar story when Sharon walked into the kitchen, boxes everywhere and almost everything packed away and ready to go into storage. She smiled as she looked around, her fingers running along the edge of the counter. She was going to miss that kitchen. They'd had a lot of fun in that kitchen specifically what had happened following Christmas drinks with Provenza and Patrice and Andy's discovery that she had spent the whole night with her underwear on the floor of her bedroom rather than on her body. She laughed to herself. As toe curlingly good as it was it was something that was regrettably never going to happen in the condo while Rusty was still living there, a room that her son ate in and a line she would not even contemplate crossing while that remained the case. She moved to the table, her fingers again running across the surface of it. Two moments came to mind, the first being the way that he had held her as she suffered with stomach flu on Valentine's Day, carrying her around the kitchen so that she could benefit from his warmth and without the strength to do much else but cling to him. The other occasion that sprung to mind was what they both now referred to as their 'first non-date' after Nicole's wedding. As a thank you for not only going with him but also supporting him throughout the evening and ensuring that he stayed until the very end, dancing with him, talking, laughing and making sure he didn't feel too out of place, Andy invited Sharon to his house for dinner, cooking her the first of what would become many meals before they started dating properly. It was a wonderful evening with the conversation between them continuing to flow easily and it inevitably led to more plans being made prior to him driving her home, going to the movies the following Saturday before he took her out for something to eat. In many ways it was the meal that quickly laid the foundation for the relationship they now had.

Sharon opened up the fridge and peered inside. It was sparse for Andy, making it look like a recently divorced man lived there rather than a guy who loved to cook but she was glad to see that he still had the essentials like milk and eggs for breakfast to tide them over. She closed the fridge and walked straight to his bedroom with her bag, turning on the lamps on the nightstands and bathing the room in a warm orange glow. It was the same story in there as it was in the living room and the kitchen, everything packed up and ready to go with the exception of his remaining clothes that still hung in his closet, owning more suits than she had room for in her closet without having a serious clean out of her own wardrobe first, and a picture of the two of them and another of Nicole and Daniel that sat next to his bed. She dropped her bag onto the end of the mattress before going back into the kitchen and started to make herself a cup of tea, having to dig out what she needed from the boxes since the cupboard where his cups usually lived was completely empty which made her realise that he had been surviving on the bare minimum whenever he stayed there. As she waited for the water to boil her mind wandered, thinking about the first time that she'd eaten in that room again. The evening had ended when he drove her home and the first time she ever felt his lips on her cheek. She smiled to herself as she brought her hand to her cheek, still feeling the tingle of his lips pressed firmly against her skin until she was broken from her daze by the sound of the tea kettle whistling on the stove.

With her tea made she took it into the bedroom and looked at her watch again. Andy had to be home within the next thirty minutes or she felt she'd be forced into calling and checking up on him, something she desperately wanted to avoid if at all possible not only because he so often baulked at the idea of her 'mothering' him, claiming that he simply didn't want her to worry about him when there simply was no need but also because she wanted her presence to remain a surprise. She sighed and slowly walked into the adjoining bathroom, deciding she would wait for him in the bathtub and fingers crossed get him to join her when he did finally return. She turned on the faucet and started the flow of the water before she added in a large dollop of bubble bath that Andy only kept there just for her to use or so he claimed even though he always used it himself and liberally so at that. When the bath was ready she stripped out of her clothes, dropping them in his laundry basket before she removed her watch and pulled on his green bathrobe that hung on the back of the door, bringing the collar to her nose as she inhaled the scent that lingered on it. It smelt like him, a mixture of his cologne and that unique smell that was all Andy Flynn, instantly drawing a smile to her face. She looked around the bathroom for a moment and then moved back to the living room again in search of candles, something else which she knew he only kept around for her to not only create an appropriate romantic mood but also because he knew how much she liked them dotted around the room when they would snuggle up together on the couch and watched a movie. Looking around the living room it didn't take her long to realise that they were also boxed up and ready to be put into storage along with everything else he wouldn't be bringing to the condo. Not wanting to rifle through the boxes without him, (very conscious of not wanting to once again inadvertently stumble across the ring box she had seen in his sock drawer the morning after they first slept together, despite not being one hundred percent sure it was what she thought it was she was still keen to avoid it if at all possible) she noticed that he had written on the side of most of them, listing their contents and being surprisingly organised for Andy Flynn, always neat and tidy but hardly what you might call organised. On one box she noted the word 'candles' amongst a long list of other random items in Andy's barely legible scrawl, half of contents she had no idea why he would be keeping let alone putting in storage. She opened the box and laughed at what she saw. By candles Andy had meant the kind you put on a birthday cake, remembering how he had used them on the birthday cake he'd made her a few months earlier when they had returned to his house for a more private and intimate celebration without Rusty down the hall following dinner at her favourite restaurant. With no other option to hand Sharon picked up the candles (wanting to create some sort of romantic mood for his return as best she could with the tools at her disposal) along with a ball of sticky tack in the same box. She grabbed a box of matches from the kitchen and took it all back into the bathroom, putting the candles in balls of sticky tack all along the back edge of the bath and lit them, making the place look semi romantic but also so terribly Andy Flynn at the same time and making her laugh again. She tied up her hair out of the way before putting her tea on the floor next to the bath, removing Andy's robe, turning off the light to leave just the soft glow from the candles and climbed in the tub, enjoying the warm water and instant relaxation it gave her as she patiently but still rather anxiously waited for Andy to return home.

As she sat there, sipping slowly on her tea and letting the water and the heavy scent of lavender relax her muscles and melt away the worries she still held about Andy until at least she knew for certain that she had something real to worry about, she let her mind drift, trying to think of anything other than what could be troubling the love of her life. She sighed as she ran her hand along the edge of the tub. She loved that bathtub more than her own because firstly when she was sat in it Rusty was obviously not a mere few feet away on the other side of the door and he was never going to knock at any moment or question what was happening behind that closed door when one of them would usually sit on the edge and talk to the other while they soaked. The other reason she liked it was because it was _very_ easy to talk Andy into joining her in there and in her opinion leaning against his chest with his arms wrapped around her as they both relaxed was as close to heaven as she could get. She stretched her legs out slightly, trying her hardest to get the water to cover her knees. She always felt Andy's tub was slightly bigger than hers, big enough for both of them to fit fairly comfortable although it was not nearly big enough in her opinion. She had often mused with female friends and family members that if anyone had the brains or the foresight to create a standard bathtub big enough to cover both a woman's knees and her breasts at the same time they should be given a medal and then perhaps a parade in their honour, then again she also thought that there should be an extra faucet that housed red wine for particularly stressful days but that didn't seem likely to arrive in her lifetime either. Despite all of that, none of it was enough to completely distract her as the longer she sat there and waited for Andy the more she worried about him.

Andy turned his car down his street, driving as if on auto pilot, feeling both physically and mentally exhausted as well as just generally fed up about the current state of his existence. Discovering how much money Mike made on _Badge of Justice_ wasn't the real reason that he had been to an extra meeting that evening (although it was certainly pissing him off more than he would ever really let on), it was seeing Jared and seeing how he had fallen off the wagon so spectacularly and for no real reason, no reason at all which made him worry for himself, the unknown causes in life that could make him relapse worrying him more than the big problems that life could throw at him which in turn could lead to something even worse, losing Sharon's unwavering trust and maybe even their relationship altogether if he were to slip and that thought frightened him more than anything else. As he had opened up to her more about his addiction she had made it abundantly clear to him several times that she would stand by him regardless if he ever were to hit a bad patch with his sobriety but after years of dealing with Jack's constant relapses and disappearing acts as a result he feared that Sharon wouldn't have many second chances left to spare and he wouldn't blame her if she ended it at the first sign of trouble to protect not only her but also Rusty too since they'd both dealt with the effects of alcoholism far too much in their lives. He had stayed after his meeting because he had called his sponsor and arranged to meet him for coffee (the main reason why he had decided to stay at his house rather than the condo because he knew he was going to be late, later still after he'd driven back across town and he didn't want to wake her), talking his concerns through with him since he now had more than ever to lose if he were to slip (not just Sharon and Rusty but the relationship he now had with Nicole as well as his career) and that now worried him more than the idea of drinking itself did.

He had a bag of takeout sitting next to him in the car from a Thai place that was a stone's throw away from his meeting with his plan being to crash out in front of the TV with it before sloping off to bed, that was until he saw Sharon's car sitting on his driveway. His reaction was instantaneous and was exactly what the doctor ordered. It was like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders almost immediately as he knew she would be waiting for him inside and he was going to spend the night with Sharon in his arms (or more likely beating the crap out of him in her sleep depending on if she had a restless night or not but either way he would take it over an empty bed any day of the week).

He parked behind her and almost bounded into the house, his mood improving with every step he took as he smiled to himself. When he walked into the house he was not overly surprised to not find her in the living room and likewise in the kitchen too but checked anyway just in case as he dropped off the bag of food on the kitchen table. He assumed that she would already be in bed and may be fast asleep given the lateness of the hour, staying out a lot later than he hoped and far longer than if he'd known Sharon was in his house waiting for him. As he walked into his bedroom he smiled again as he saw his bed empty but a very low light coming from under the bathroom door. He removed his jacket, throwing it on the ratty old chair in the corner of the room before he moved to the bathroom and leant up against the doorframe as he slowly opened the door with the palm of his hand, already smouldering before he'd even laid eyes on her. He smiled once again when he saw the beautiful sight before him in the tub. The candles were still alight although there was not much left of them given their size. Her teacup was on the floor by the bath and she had hardly touched it, him safely assuming that was because Sharon was fast asleep in the tub, her mouth slightly open and just far enough out of the water to avoid swallowing any or getting her hair wet, looking completely at peace with the world and utterly beautiful.

Andy laughed quietly, not wanting to wake her just yet as he walked over to the tub, sitting on the edge of it before holding his tie to his chest with his hand and slowly leaning down to gently kiss her on the lips. It did the job in waking her almost immediately, responding to the kiss and moving her lips against his before she opened her eyes and smiled at him, a contented hum rattling around the back of her throat as they broke apart.

"Hey" he said as his face hovered in front of hers, one hand keeping his tie out of the water while the other braced himself between the candles on the edge of the bath nearest the wall.

"Hey yourself" she said with a warm smile before she suddenly shuddered, her arms quickly coming to wrap around herself as it hit her how cold she and the water now were and revealing just how long she must have been asleep in there. "What time is it?" she asked.

"A little after eleven" he told her without looking at his watch.

Sharon instantly frowned, her concern for him growing once again and temporarily taking her mind off how she felt like she was minutes away from freezing to death. "You're late. I thought you'd be back hours ago" she said calmly, hoping that it didn't sound like she was accusing him of anything when in fact she was just worried about him and wanted to help.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was catching up with a few people and had I known what an utterly wonderful surprise awaited me when I got home I would have been here a lot sooner" he said before he leant down and kissed her on the lips again. "How long have you been here?"

"In your house or in the bath?"

Andy shrugged. "Both I guess."

"Since about nine o'clock which explains why I'm so ridiculously cold and I currently have the skin of a ninety year old" Sharon said as she wrapped her arms around herself even tighter, starting to shiver from the cold.

Andy dropped his hand into the water to feel the temperature before he moved it to her knee to see if she felt just as cold. "Jeez, you're like a block of ice" he said with a grimace. "Let me get you my robe." He stood quickly and grabbed his robe from where Sharon had hung it back on the door again. He held it open for her as he waited in front of the tub. "Here you go."

"Thank you. You're an angel." Sharon stood up in the water, her arms still wrapped around her body to keep herself warm and to stop herself from shivering rather than from any sort of modesty with him before he quickly helped her into it and bundled her up. He tied the sash tightly around her waist before helping her out of the cold water.

With her feet planted on the bath mat and out of the water, Andy pulled the hood over her head before he wrapped his arms around her and started to rub her up and down in a valiant attempt to quickly warm her up. "How's that?" he asked as he pulled her to his chest and rubbed his hands up and down her back and her arms.

"Much better already." She looked up and kissed him on the lips. "Thank you."

"No thank you" he said with an aroused growl and a waggle of his eyebrows that made her laugh, really appreciating the unexpected view he had come home to despite how cold and wrinkly it had made her as he continued to rub his hands over every part of her body he could reach to dry her as well as warm her. "What a lovely surprise to come home to when I was expecting nothing more than a very bad movie and an empty house."

"And a very empty house at that" she replied as she wrapped her arms around him, thinking that holding his freakishly hot body was the quickest way to warm herself up as well as just wanted to hold him. "How have you had time to pack it all up like this? In one night?"

He smiled, enjoying her surprise and to some extent her pleasure at discovering just how ready he was to move in with her. "Oddly enough moving in with you is the only incentive I need to stay up until dawn and pack as much as humanly possible in one night" he explained with a shrug before he dropped his lips to hers, her slight frame seeming even smaller in his arms while wearing his oversized bathrobe and without her heels on. "But what are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining you understand but why didn't you tell me you were coming over and I would have been back earlier?"

"I didn't want to rush you home when you were," she paused as she sighed and suddenly became very careful about what she said to him and how she said it, "very busy at your AA meeting. Once I was here I wasn't going anywhere and I wanted to surprise you." She smiled up at him before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "Have one last chance to spend some quality time together" she grinned before she kissed him again. "Completely alone and without Rusty down the hall" she added, their lips meeting once more.

Andy smiled and chuckled, for once seeing the benefit of the way Sharon liked to plan way into the future. "And here was me planning a whole weekend with the two of us alone in this house with this many rooms to say goodbye to" he told her with another waggle of his eyebrows.

Sharon laughed at him and shook her head, admiring his optimism given their combined age of over one hundred and twenty and the various joint aches and pains they had between them. "There aren't that many rooms for a whole weekend boy" she informed him rather than pointing out neither of them had the stamina for that kind of lust filled weekend although it was a theory she'd definitely like to prove wrong.

"And I'm not twenty one anymore and I was planning on taking my time" he revealed with another grin before their lips met.

"Oh good" she replied between kisses. "I love it when you take your time."

"Oh I know you do" he told her quietly before their lips crashed into each other in a rather prolonged embrace as his hands continued to rub up and down her body as he warmed her.

When they eventually broke apart she rested the side of her head against his chest and sighed with utter contentment. He was in a good mood, something that she was rather pleased to see. It was only the third time she had ever seen him following a meeting in their relationship so far (work aside and then they were both so focused on the job at hand that everything else was pretty much ignored) with him crawling straight into bed and going to sleep when he arrived at the condo the previous evening after his meeting, not saying much at all, and as such Sharon didn't know what to expect when he walked through the door that evening especially since he had left so abruptly. She turned and smiled up at him, her face the very picture of serenity until she started to shiver from the cold again. "And I'm very much looking forward to that very pleasurable weekend alone with you but right now I am utterly freezing and unless you'd like me to actually freeze to death in the very near future you need to put clothes on me rather than take them off yourself."

Andy laughed as his hands started moving quicker. "Oooh sexy."

"Right now I'm about as sexy as the woman in the bath in _The Shining_ " she said before he laughed, feeling like some corpses she'd seen exhumed over the last five years had skin that looked better than hers currently did. "I'm not kidding. I am utterly freezing and wrinklier than a shrimp" she said before she brought her fingers in front of his face to prove it.

He quickly pressed his lips to the tips of her fingers before dropping a kiss to her lips. "Okay, then let's get you dressed and warm." He moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms back around her so that he could continue rubbing her to warm her up as he slowly walked her back into his bedroom. He moved her to the end of the bed before getting her to sit down, adjusting the hood again to make sure she was completely covered. "Let me get your pyjamas. I think you still have a pair in here somewhere" he said as he moved to the bureau and opened the top drawer.

"Or…"

"Or?" He turned to face her and found her just smiling at him, letting him know instantly exactly what she wanted from him. He sighed as if she was really imposing on him but the smile etched across his face told her a very different story. "Fine!" He slowly walked back over to her, his hands on his hips. "You're always trying to get me out of my clothes aren't you?"

"Always" she confirmed.

"Do you know how weird it is trying to seduce and undress a woman wearing my clothes all the time?"

"Have I or have I not bought new nightgowns recently?" she reminded him.

Andy's smile grew as his mind went to the silk and satin nightgowns he had seen her buy the last time they spent a Saturday afternoon at The Grove. "True," he nodded, "and they are without a shadow of a doubt the sexiest pieces of satin I have ever seen in my life."

"Exactly."

"Now if only I could get you to actually wear them."

"Actually I bought them for you to wear" she joked with a wink.

Andy laughed as he pulled off his tie, throwing it on top of his jacket on the chair in the corner before he dropped his suspenders to his sides, them dangling in a way that usually drove his lady love wild, while Sharon undid the buttons on his shirt. With his shirt opened he unbuttoned his cuffs before pulling it off and then putting it on Sharon after he had pulled his robe down from her shoulders. As he started to fasten the buttons again he frowned at her. "Why the one I was wearing may I ask?" he asked once he had finished buttoning it up before he pulled the comforter up and around her shoulders since he could see her shaking slightly, still far too cold.

"Because firstly it's already warm from being pressed against your freakishly hot body all day long and secondly, I like that it smells of you" she explained as she brought the collar to her nose and inhaled the scent.

"Does it smell masculine?" he asked, his voice suddenly becoming a lot deeper as his chest puffed out slightly. Sharon smiled back at him as she thought of the right answer. Before she had chance to say anything he warned her "Be very careful how you answer that babe."

Sharon laughed. "It smells divine."

"Okay. Pants?"

"The thickest sweat pants you own please."

Andy grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants from his bureau and tossed them onto Sharon's lap before he opened the next drawer and pointed inside. "Are you going commando or…"

She smiled sweetly at him. "The stripy ones please."

Andy put his hands on his hips and turned to face her once again. "And what if I was already wearing the stripy ones?" he asked.

"Then you'd be taking them off immediately too. Those stripy ones are mine."

"So you've gone from claiming my shirts to claiming my underwear?"

"No. I've gone from claiming your shirts to claiming your shirts _and_ your underwear now" she informed him, getting another fake indignant frown in return. "What? I thought this was the little arrangement we had now. I wear your underwear and you wear mine" she said before she laughed hysterically, still finding the sight of Andy in a pair of her panties one of the funniest things she had ever seen in her life.

Andy folded his arms and just stared at her for a moment, far from amused. "That was a one-time only thing and it is _never_ ever going to happen again" he stated emphatically before he grimaced and instinctively adjusted his crotch slightly as if he could still feel them holding his genitals hostage. "I swear my balls are still sore and ridiculously hot two weeks later."

Sharon laughed at him again, a hand coming to her mouth to try and stop herself but it simply did no good at all. "Oddly enough I had noticed" she said before she continued to laugh. "In fact they were pretty hard to miss. They almost glowed in the dark" she added before she erupted into yet more uncontrollably laughter having never seen a scrotum that red in her entire life (his balls looking even worse than Jack's did when he accidentally sat down on some poison oak when he took her on a picnic not long after they were married), Andy in a lot of pain they were that sore from where her underwear had rubbed and chaffed them all day long. "It made it easier to find my way around your body when the lights were off" she joked as she laughed again.

Andy tried his hardest to look annoyed but couldn't stop himself from laughing with her. "I'm so very glad you still find it so highly amusing" he said, adjusting his crotch once again.

"Oh Andy I'll still be laughing about this on my death bed."

"Which will be sooner rather later if you tell anyone about it Raydor" he warned as he pointed a finger at her menacingly, utterly terrified that she was going to accidentally let something slip to Provenza one day and thus ending his life as he knew it.

"Why would I tell anyone? What other way to ensure that I never get a repeat performance."

"I've already told you it's not happening ever again."

"Never say never my darling boy" she said as her eyes sparkled at him.

Andy smiled, closing the drawer before he opened another one and pulled out the pair of blue and white striped boxers that Sharon had requested. He handed them to her and then as quick as a flash she pulled the robe off, slipped on his boxers and the sweatpants, going at such speed because of how cold she still felt and as a result putting the speed Superman got changed in a phone booth to shame. Once she was dressed she dropped the wet robe to the floor and pulled his comforter around his shoulders again. "Socks?" he asked after he had watched her dress.

"The thick…"

"The thickest I own" he nodded as he finished her sentence for her. He grabbed a pair of socks from the drawer in his nightstand and then knelt on the floor by her feet and pulled them on. She smiled at him as he did it, Andy on bended knee before her, realising that it was something she hoped to see again in the middling to distant future when they were both ready to take that step. With her socks on and pulled up as high as they could go he stood and kissed her on the lips. "Sweater?" he asked and getting a quick nod in return. Andy moved to his closet and pulled out a Dodgers hoodie before helping her into it, pulling up the zipper and then doing the same with the hood. Now fully dressed again Andy moved to stand between her legs, pulling her against him as he cuddled her and continued to try and warm her before he kissed the end of her nose. "Anything else?"

"I don't think so" she smiled. "Thank you" she added before hooking her hand around his neck and pulling him down so that she could kiss him with gratitude.

Andy stooped and picked up his robe from the floor before moving to hang it up on the back of the bathroom door again. He quickly pulled the plug out of the bathtub and then dried his hand on a towel, going back into his bedroom and Sharon when he was done. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"I could eat. What did you have in mind?"

"I stopped by that Thai place on my way home. I've got more than enough for two."

"Are you sure? I don't want to steal your dinner?"

"Since when?" he asked before he got an inevitable smack across the shoulder as he laughed at her, constantly accusing her of stealing his food. "I'm sure" he nodded. "I've got more than enough for the both of us. Come on, let me make you some fresh tea." He took her hands in his and pulled her onto her feet before he wrapped an arm around her small frame, still trying his hardest to warm her up.

"Let me just get my cell phone first" she replied as she opened her bag on the bed and pulled it out, wanting it by her side at all times in case Rusty arrived home and called her earlier than expected.

With her cell phone clutched tightly in her hand she went back to Andy and the warmth of his arm around her again as they slowly made their way into the living room on their way to the kitchen. "So you're impressed with my packing speed huh?" he asked as they walked between the boxes stacked in his living room before he pushed his lips to the side of her head.

"I am indeed" she nodded. "Somebody's very eager."

"Oh I definitely am" he replied with huge amounts of enthusiasm in his voice, making her laugh at him. "Eager to move in before you change your mind again."

Sharon sighed, long since having grown tired of having this particular conversation since nothing seemed to convince Andy that she wasn't about to suddenly call the whole thing off at the last minute. "I'm not going to change my mind" she told him for what seemed like the hundredth time since they had stood in the parking lot of Trattoria Spoleto waiting for their cars and she gave him her answer, that yes she would move in with him, that she wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with him.

"I know but just to be certain I'd rather make myself homeless so that in the very least you have to take me in out of guilt" he joked before he kissed her again.

Sharon laughed. "You've got all the angles covered haven't you?"

"When it comes to you it pays to have all the angles covered."

She laughed at him again as they walked through the kitchen door. "What happened to your candles?" she asked as her eyes scanned the content lists written on the side of the boxes that were piled high in the corner.

"I disposed of them before I had chance to set fire to anything else" he joked again as she laughed at him, his long and rather colourful past with candles and accidentally starting fires always a source of great amusement as far as Sharon was concerned. "Would you like some tea?" he asked as he moved to fill up the tea kettle with water in anticipation of her positive response, her last cup cold and virtually untouched beside the bathtub.

"Yes please" she replied as she leant up the corner of the counter and watched him. "I'm surprised the kettle wasn't packed already."

"I've left all the essentials until last" he told her as he put the kettle on the stove to boil.

"And the tea kettle is an essential even though you hate tea?"

"But you don't and as I've already told you, I was planning on getting you back here before I move for one last hurrah" he explained in almost a growl as he waggled his eyebrows at her, a prelude to moving in close and kissing her on the lips.

Sharon laughed at him, running her hand down his arm before she moved to the stack of boxes and began looking for some plates and forks. "Okay, where are the plates?" she asked so that she didn't have to ransack all of the boxes in search of them when their location wasn't instantly apparent.

"Everything you could possibly want is now in a single cupboard" Andy explained as he opened a cupboard door by the sink to reveal two of everything that he had kept out in anticipation of her staying one last night there before he moved or the unlikely event that Provenza stopped by to watch the game with him.

"That's very well organised."

"I know. I also know what a turn on you find that kind of thing which is precisely the reason I've done it." She laughed as he walked back over to her and kissed her. "You sit down and get yourself warm and I'll take care of everything else." He kissed her again before he pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and made sure that she took a seat. He went back to the opened cupboard and pulled out two plates, forks and spoons and put them on the table in front of Sharon before he moved the bag of food closer to her. "There you go. Help yourself."

As Andy set about making Sharon another cup of tea and getting himself a glass of water Sharon opened the bag and began rooting around in it. After a few moments she stopped and looked up to stare at Andy. "You've got beef in here" she stated, her surprise more than evident in the tone of her voice. Andy just hummed in response, not even turning around to face her. "Why have you bought beef?"

Andy finally turned to face her and shrugged. "Force of habit" he said simply with yet another casual shrug. He had ordered it by mistake if he was being totally honest, without realising he was doing it he just automatically ordered for the both of them even though he knew he was going to be spending the night alone. It was only when he went to pay that he realised what he'd done and not for the first time at that either but by now he actually liked the smell because it reminded him of Sharon so he didn't bother to cancel it.

Sharon smiled at him. "Come here" she said as she beckoned him towards her with her index finger. Andy smiled and sauntered over, putting one hand on the table and the other on the back of her chair as he lowered himself down to her height. She grabbed hold of his t-shirt and pulled him down even further, kissing him on the lips. "I love you" she told him when they broke apart.

He kissed her again. "I love you too." He winked at her before he moved back to the stove and the now boiling kettle and began to make Sharon her tea while she started to dish out the food onto their plates. With her tea made Andy carried it and his water over to the table and sat down next to her. They both ate in silence for a few moments until he asked "Did I miss anything after I left?"

Sharon shook her head as she chewed, not wanting to speak until her mouth was empty. "No. The deal was signed, Amy and Julio took him to County, paperwork was completed. Nothing out of the ordinary. He's going up in front of a judge the day after tomorrow."

"Good." He paused for a moment before he met her eye and said "I'm sorry for bailing so early but I..."

Sharon put her hand up to stop him in his tracks, not wanting him to apologise because he felt the need to attend an AA meeting of all things. "Andy its fine, you know that. You've always known that even before you and I were us. I've always understood and supported you as I'm sure Chief Johnson did before me."

"I know but still..."

"AA is more important than being in attendance as we wrapped up a deal." She shrugged at him very nonchalantly. "That's it."

"Okay" he nodded. "Okay."

"Although if you continue to make a habit of it Lieutenant I will be forced to put a note in your extremely large package" she joked before laughing loudly at herself.

"Very funny."

"This isn't working for me. I'm still cold." Sharon pushed her plate next to Andy's before she got up and sat on his lap, pulling one of his arms around her and feeling the heat radiating from his body almost instantly. She adjusted her position slightly to make sure that she wasn't blocking his plate and he could still eat. Andy moved his hand to hers for a second, seeing for himself that they were still like blocks of ice and she was shaking slightly from the cold.

He dropped his fork for a moment and started to rub her again. "Better?"

"Absolutely." She held onto his hand for a second as she slowly started to warm up a little, her eyes slipping closed as Andy kissed the back of her neck, his warmth breath hitting her and running right through her like nothing else in the world. "Thank God you're the warmest person on the face of the earth."

Andy laughed. "That's not what you say when it's been a really hot day and you're trying to kick me out of bed."

"I never try to kick you out of bed."

"Do I need to show you the footprints on my body?"

"Okay well maybe sometimes but that's only because it's like sleeping next to a furnace in the middle of a heatwave. Right now it's absolutely divine." She pulled his arms around her even tighter, their already cold food abandoned for a moment as he repeatedly pushed his lips to her neck. They cuddled in silence for a moment as she slowly plucked up the courage to ask the question that had been bothering her since the moment she discovered he had left work early. "What were you doing out so late?" she finally asked him, deliberately not turning to look him in the eye as she spoke. "I mean you surprised me earlier when you just left work without really saying goodbye and then went to a meeting on a Wednesday. Twice in two days. I was a little worried about you. So what gives?" The question hung in the air like a bad smell for a moment with Andy not immediately responding. The resulting silence afforded Sharon more than enough time to regret asking him and she quickly began to chastise herself, shaking her head. "I'm sorry you don't have to tell me. I didn't mean to pry. I know you're trying but you like to keep these things to yourself and I just need to…"

"It's not that I like to keep things like this to myself it's..." His words trailed off as he sighed. "Look Sharon I'm not keeping anything from you and I never will but I'm just thinking of you here. Haven't you dealt with enough of this crap, enough of these problems in your lifetime without dealing with mine as well?" he asked and not for the first time.

Sharon rolled her eyes before she put her head in her hands, long since having grown tired of hearing those words fall from Andy's lips as the reason to why he didn't like to allow her into his world of recovery. "Andy honestly I am so sick of hearing that from you." Without warning she stood up and turned around to straddle his lap, her hands cupping his face and looking him directly in the eye as his wrapped around her waist. "What happened to no more your problems or my problems? Only our problems. That's what you said the other day."

He nodded. "I know but…"

"No buts" she said after she had cut him off with a kiss to his lips. "Andy I knew you were an alcoholic long before you became my friend let alone before we started actually dating and yet I decided to go out on that first date with you anyway." She kissed him again, her hands still cradling his face. "I am in this relationship with you for the long haul regardless of your addiction my beautiful boy." Their lips met again before she confirmed "Warts and all."

"You have warts?" he joked and received an immediately slap around his shoulder as a result. "Ow!" he laughed as he rubbed his latest injury. "I'm kidding." He sighed as he thought of what to say to her. At the root of everything he did was the desire to not allow her to worry about him but it seemed that only made her worry more, his silence far more troublesome than him expressing how he really felt to her. "I wanted to have a coffee with my sponsor. Talk with him for a bit after my meeting that's all."

Sharon bit down on her bottom lip, her worry increasing. "About anything in particular?"

"No not really." Andy shrugged in an incredibly dismissive manner, not seeing it was a big deal in the slightest since it was something he did battle with on a daily basis without her knowledge. "Just general fears about stuff."

"Fears? About what? Your sobriety?" Sharon asked, trying not to sound as panic stricken as she actually felt. Andy just nodded at her in response. "Why? You're not struggling at the moment are you? Andy?" As she waited for an answer she started to stroke his face, really starting to get genuinely worried that he had been struggling on his own and keeping quiet about it, doing it without her even realising what was going on. In truth it was not the first time it had happened. As Jack continued to come and go from her life before she finally ended things once and for all some twenty plus years earlier, she knew the signs of when he was struggling and had fallen off the wagon again but those first few times she missed the warnings completely. At the time she told herself that she was too focused on being pregnant and then having Emily and trying to be a working Mother that Jack's struggles seemed to pass her by, but in all fairness he was very good at hiding them from her which was part of the problem, taking too much onto his shoulders and simply not coping which was very much the same thing that had happened to Andy in the beginning. But all of that experience, most of it negative, had made Sharon even more concerned that she may be missing something and Andy could be struggling in silence and she was none the wiser about what was happening to him.

He smiled at her warmly, it was a smile that quickly eased her concerns and made her heart flutter, it always having that effect on her even if they were at work. "No. Not at all." He removed her hands from his face and kissed them before he shrugged again. "I don't know, I suppose seeing Jared today and how he is got me a bit worried about myself that's all."

"Worried? Why?"

Again Andy paused before he answered, wanting to find the right words to make her fully understand what was happening inside his head and without adding to her worry. "It's like this, the big obstacles in life I can handle," he started to explain, "I can see them coming and I know what my reaction will be and what to do about that, what I do to stop myself from drinking in those situations."

"What do you mean?" she asked more than a little confused.

"Like if anything were to happen to the kids or if you left me for example" he said casually. "I know I'd instantly reach for the bottle and I'm prepared for that. I know how to deal with that and how to try to stop myself from drinking in those situations but…"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Sharon almost shouted, her horror more than evident at the notion that Andy thought it was even remotely likely that she would leave him. "Andy let me stop you right there. I'm not going anywhere so you can get that thought out of your head right now boy."

Andy smiled at her. "I know." He wrapped his arms back around her waist as he held her even tighter to his chest as she continued to straddle his lap. "I know you're not going anywhere" he said before he kissed her. "I know that."

"You've got that right" she confirmed before she cupped his face and kissed him again.

"Besides you can't leave me anyway you'd have no clothes to wear."

Sharon laughed. "That is very true" she admitted since she was currently dressed from head to toe in Andy's clothes before she kissed him again.

"I'm not expressing myself properly." He sighed as he fell silent again for a moment, still looking for the right words to make her understand how he was feeling. "I mean, I'm not worried about that happening or anything happening to the kids per se, I don't worry about that. What I'm trying to say is I know how to handle my sobriety when big things in life like that happen to me, you know with like my accident. I know what to do. A catastrophe could happen and I'm prepared. I know what to do so I don't drink. I have a system in place."

"Okay."

"You understand?"

"I do" she nodded.

"Right but Jared started using again just because it was a Tuesday." He shrugged at her, that not so insignificant fact baffling him and leaving him completely helpless as to how to stop himself from doing the exact same thing in the future. "That was it. There was no other reason for it, no catastrophe that tipped him over the edge, no nothing. He did it because he wanted to." He paused as he shook his head. "I don't want to do that. I never want to do that and I don't know how to handle that. I don't know what to do if that happens to me. I don't know what to do about that."

Sharon sighed as she finally understood how he felt. Her hand started to stroke his face. "No one does but if it were to happen just remember that I'm here for you and I always will be" she told him emphatically and then sealed her promise with another kiss to his lips.

"Until you have enough."

"Well that's not going to happen."

"You say that now but you've never seen me drunk and mean."

"Oh yes I have, you just don't remember because you were either incredibly drunk or painfully hungover at the time." They both laughed. "You spent one of our frequent 'discussions' in my office about your conduct with a suspect calling me 'Legs,' I assumed at the time because you simply couldn't remember my name." He rolled his eyes in response, utterly horrified by his past behaviour as she just laughed at it, the whole thing water under the bridge as far as she was concerned. "Although with your more recent obsession with them I'm a little uncertain about that now." They both laughed again before she sighed as she looked into his eyes. "But I don't care about that. Andy do you know what the last straw was with Jack? What ended our marriage in every way except for on paper?"

"The fact that you kept ogling me all day long at work?"

"No." She laughed and playfully smacked his chest as he smiled at her. "The fact that he didn't care. He didn't care about me or his children or his job or his sobriety. He only cared about drinking and gambling and the next beautiful young thing he could get to sleep with him and that was it and still is to a lesser extent I hope for Emily and Ricky's sake. Those were the most important things to him, drinking and gambling and sex, specifically with someone else and not with me."

"Well like I've told you many times before, that guy is an asshole and a moron."

Sharon laughed and nodded. "And I'm sure Michael has said the same thing about you many times" she suggested since the man in question was so in love with Andy's ex-wife that she had to assume he had wondered why Andy was foolish enough to let her go in the first place.

"That guy? Do you think he even remembers who I am from one day to the next?" he joked with his 'replacement' quite possibly the stupidest person on the face of the Earth according to Andy which wasn't far from the truth since he kept forgetting who he was and if he'd met him before despite the fact that they jointly walked Nicole up in the aisle on her wedding day for example.

Sharon laughed and nodded again before she started to smile at him adoringly. "Because of Jack's addictions our marriage was over long before he left that final time." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Then there's you." Her smile beamed at him as she stroked his cheeks with her thumbs as her hands continued to cup his face. "Since getting sober you have done everything possible to make amends with your children and you can see that in the way that Nicole responds to you, how much she loves you. Emily and Ricky don't have that. They don't have that look of love when they look at or speak about their Father. They have a look of sadness and inevitable disappointment. That's the difference Andy and that's why if you were to have a bad patch and to fall off the wagon for a time I'll be doing nothing but standing by your side, holding your hand and helping you get through it as best I can. Understand?" She had virtually had the same discussion the night before with Rusty as they discussed his Mother before eating the fabulous meal Gus had cooked them. It was very much a conscious decision. She had to trust and support Andy regardless because what was she going to gain from giving up on him at the first sign of trouble should that moment arrive? She had been in that position before only it was Jack that had given up on her and their children rather than the other way around. If the worst did happen with Andy she was not going to give up on him, it was simply not going to happen.

"Yes" he replied before he kissed her. "Thank you" he added and then kissed her again.

"There's no need to thank me, it's just what you do when you love someone. And I do love you Andy Flynn" she told him before she kissed him back. "More than I ever thought was possible" she admitted before she kissed him again.

"Ditto" he said simply before their lips inevitably came together again. "Like I told the kid today, why would I give you up for one last night on the town?"

Sharon looked at him with surprise. "You were talking to Rusty about this?"

"Well sort of I guess. He seemed to be under the impression that I wasn't an alcoholic anymore. I had to tell him that I was and always would be an alcoholic but I just don't drink anymore. Then he was asking some questions about his Mother. Asking why people drink and how do you know when you can give them a second chance and trust them."

She smiled at him, thrilled that Rusty had started to talk to Andy more about these things rather than asking her. "That's the second time he's come to you in a couple of weeks."

"I know. It's progress."

"It most certainly is" she agreed, confirming it with yet another kiss. "What did you say to him?"

"Well I should have told him to come to speak to you since you're the expert in putting faith and trust in old broken down alcoholics but instead I told him that sometimes not giving someone a second chance hurts you a lot more than it hurts them."

"Well it must have worked."

"How so?"

"He's in Cathedral City right now, driving his Mom there so she can move in with Gary's parents and they can raise the baby together" she explained joyfully, thrilled for not only Sharon and her unborn baby but also for Rusty who she hoped may finally be able to relax about her a little more and start to build a more solid relationship.

Andy looked at her surprised. "Really?"

"Yes. So thank you I guess" she said before she kissed him with gratitude. "Whatever you said to him it apparently worked."

"Huh!" he said as he smiled. "I'm glad for the kid. You can see that this whole thing has been eating him up inside since the moment he first found out about it."

"But he's just been too stubborn to do anything about it. He reminds me of someone." She hummed as if trying to think about who that person might be before she smiled and laughed at him, getting a very unimpressed look in return.

"Do you ever get tired of saying that?"

"Not so far no" she replied as she smiled at him smugly until suddenly her eyes widened and she looked at him like a little girl who had just been given her first Barbie doll. "Did he tell you about the sonogram?" It was the sort of thing they would usually have discussed in bed the night before but Andy was so exhausted when he came home from his AA meeting and went out like a light so they didn't say much more than 'Goodnight' to each other.

"No and to be honest I thought better than to poke the bear about it" he replied, knowing far better than to bring up the subject of his Mom and the baby because to say that Rusty was still overly tetchy about the situation was an understatement. His Mom, like many other difficult topics of conversation, Andy knew to stay well clear of rather than risking his already fragile relationship with the young man, only speaking to him about them if Sharon or he himself had brought them up in his presence. Sharon laughed at him and nodded. "I was afraid I may lose a finger" he added and making her laugh again. "So it went okay? They're both okay?"

"They are indeed and you can start asking 'Is she okay?' from now on" Sharon informed him with an awful lot of glee.

"It's a girl?" Sharon nodded and smiled wildly in response. It was easy for him to tell just from her face that she was probably more excited about the baby than Sharon and Rusty were combined, knowing she couldn't wait for her to be born and get the chance to feel her chubby little cheeks. Andy laughed at her and shook her head. "Look at your face! Could you be any more excited about this?"

"Well Rusty clearly isn't and someone needs to be. He's going to have a little sister. It's all so exciting." She reached behind her and grabbed her cell phone from off the table. "Here he filmed it and sent me a copy." She opened her phone and quickly found the video that Rusty had sent her, pressing play and turning it around for Andy to see. "Look." Sharon smiled at him as he watched the video, a neutral expression on his face.

When the video finished Andy frowned at the still image that remained on the screen. "What a lovely…blob" he shrugged, hardly enthusiastic.

Sharon rolled her eyes as she put her phone back down on the table. "Is that all you've got to say?" she said with more than a hint of exasperation.

Andy laughed. "What? What else is there to say right now?" he asked, never really knowing what to say when someone presented him with a baby picture let alone a sonogram picture, other than if he shuddered even as a joke he was likely to get a slap around the face. "It's too early to work out if she's got her Father's hairline or not."

"You're hopeless!" She shook her head as she smiled at him. "I hope you had something much better to say when faced with the sonogram photos of your own kids."

"I did" he nodded. "I remarked that Nicole looked remarkably like that fish in the Amazon that swims up your urethra when you pee."

Sharon slapped him across his shoulder again as she laughed. "Oh Andy!" she cried, still unable to stop laughing as she stood up and turned around, still sitting on him so that his freakishly hot body could continue to warm her but so that they could continue eating their food as well. "You are hopeless" she told him again.

"I do try." With one arm wrapped around Sharon and access to his plate again he picked up his fork with his free hand and resumed eating. "That perfectly reasonably observation got me a slap across the face and two weeks sleeping on the couch" he told her, Sandra really not impressed with what he had to say about the child growing inside her, taking her weeks to calm down about it such were her raging hormones at the time. Sharon laughed at him once again. "Sandra really wasn't a happy person when she was pregnant. At all. I think she hated me more during those eighteen combined months than she did when we finally got divorced."

"Well that can happen" Sharon replied, being far from happy herself during the latter months of both of her pregnancies and that had very little to do with Jack being in and out of her life although it certainly contributed to it.

"Hormones right?"

Sharon turned to look him in the eye. "I hope you didn't say that to Sandra."

"Not twice no." Sharon rolled her eyes at him, his idiocy during his marriage never failing to amaze her. "After I'd been beaten about the head with a coat hanger and kicked out of the house and forced to spend two weeks sleeping on the couch in my partner Ray's basement I thought it was best not to mention it again."

"And who says men can't learn?"

"Did you ever...you know lose it when you were pregnant and kick Jack out?"

"I didn't need to" she shrugged. "He left of his own accord before I had chance and anyway I was never particularly hormonal when I was pregnant." She felt Andy's arm tense around her, making her turn to look at him. The expression on his face was pure disbelief. "What? I wasn't."

"Yeah sure and if I was to ask your friends and family about it what would they say?"

"They'd tell you the same thing" she insisted.

"I can believe that. If you went even slightly Darth Raydor on their asses they'd know never to cross you again or to tell anyone about it or your hormones."

"It hasn't stopped you from doing it over the years" she pointed out.

"Ah but that's because I always thought you were as sexy as hell when you were all riled up and angry at me" he confessed as he rested his chin on his shoulder before he turned and blew a raspberry on her neck.

"No you didn't" Sharon laughed.

"Oh yes I did. Why do you think I never listened to a single word you said to me over the years? I liked to see you angry" he added with a wink.

"Now that I can believe." She dropped her fork and turned slightly on his lap so that she could look him in the eye again and gage if he was telling the truth or not. "Are you seriously telling me you've been getting a cheap thrill every time I've reprimanded you in my office since the moment we first met?"

"No, not since we first met...only after I got sober. Just since then."

Sharon laughed. "Oh so only twenty years then rather than twenty five?"

"Yes. That makes a big difference. A huge difference" he insisted.

She laughed as she stroked his cheek before she kissed him on the lips. "God I love you."

"I love you more" he replied before their lips met again.

"But just to go back slightly before we got side tracked, I will say this, regardless of the cause of it, whether it was seeing the sonogram the other day or realising that he's going to be the baby's next of kin should anything happen to his Mom or even what you told him earlier or maybe he's just starting to realise what a real effort she's making to stay sober for the first time in his life, Rusty's compassion for the both of them, the baby and his Mom, is steadily growing by the day" she offered as she breathed a huge sigh of relief about it, desperately wanting Rusty to have a relationship with his Mother like she wanted Emily and Ricky to have a relationship with their Father.

"Well that's positive" he said with a smile. "Is he going to drive over to Cathedral City to see them both from time to time?"

"I don't know. I hope so. It sounds like Gary's parents will make him more than welcome if he wants to go and stay the night sometime and get to know his sister. Actually what time is it?" She took hold of Andy's wrist and turned it so that she could see the time on his watch. "He should be setting off soon. I've told him to call me when he gets home, I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not." He kissed the side of her head as if to make a point of it, feeling that there was very little chance that he would rest properly himself now that he knew Rusty was on the road until he called to confirm that he was home safe and sound.

"But then again, what are the odds on you hearing my phone ring if you're asleep?" she pointed out, laughing after she said it.

"Just for that remark I'm going to make sure I stay awake until he calls."

"Now that I would like to see. If there's nothing to distract you you're asleep the moment your head hits the pillow."

"I am not."

"Yes you are."

"Well then I'll have to keep myself distracted until he calls" he growled, giving her an almost searing kiss on the lips.

"And how do you plan of doing that exactly?" she asked, deliberately playing dumb.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He waggled his eyebrows at her as she laughed before he kissed her long and hard on the lips, letting her know his intentions for the evening which to be fair were pretty much the same as her intentions when she decided to drive over to his house and surprise him.

"Well just keep in mind that if there's traffic he's going to be longer than a couple of hours."

"Don't worry, I'll take my blood pressure pill, that way I can go all night" he joked, forever bringing up that particular misunderstanding between them from the night they first slept together. Sharon laughed at him before meeting his lips.

When they broke apart she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, her mind going back to Sharon and her attempts to stay sober. "I do hope she can stay sober this time, if not for Rusty than for that little girl."

"She's going to have help," Andy reminded her, "a lot of help it seems so there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic. But anyway speaking of his Mom I've been thinking."

"I thought I heard thunder" she joked.

"Very funny" he replied, far from amused as she laughed. "Since we're still kind of looking for somewhere to buy together with three bedrooms or even if we stay at the condo after I move in, maybe after the baby is born the pair of them could come and stay and see Rusty over the weekend every now and then" he suggested.

Sharon looked at him surprised, not only because he had suggested such a thing so freely but also because apparently they were now only 'kind of' looking for a house to buy, Andy's desire to find a place for them to buy together decreasing by the day now that he was moving into the condo and essentially had everything he'd ever wanted from their relationship. "Really?" she asked, making no attempt to hide her surprise.

Andy nodded as he shrugged. "I mean it would certainly give Gary's parents a break, from both of them for a couple of days at a time" he offered. The idea had come into his head after Sharon had told him that Rusty's Mom was pregnant and thought that to give her a break the baby could come and stay with them from time to time for the weekend so that not only could Rusty bond with her but it would also give Sharon some time to herself, that was of course long before they knew she would be moving in with Gary's parents and a couple of hours away at that too. "And Rusty could see for himself up close how she's doing and you know bond with his sister I guess." For a split second he struggled to read the expression on Sharon's face, making him come over shy and assuming she thought it was a terrible idea. "It's just a thought."

She smiled at him and his apparent shyness. "A wonderful one."

"Do you think so? Or is this just because you've got serious plans to munch that baby to death when it comes along and nothing and no one is going to get in your way of that?"

"No, I'm thinking purely about Rusty and his relationship with his Mom that's all thank you very much...and munching that baby is secondary." They both laughed with Andy knowing just how desperate she was to get her hands on that baby and she was still months from making her first appearance into the world.

"And if it's the ugliest looking thing you've ever seen in your life and looks exactly like Gary?" Andy asked.

"Babies are never ugly Andy, they have character and an old soul but they're never ugly."

"Well if it takes after him in even the smallest way the poor kid is going to have bags of character" he replied with a grimace, wanting to be positive but still thinking that a gene pool that consisted of Sharon Beck and Gary Lewis needed an awful lot of disinfectant.

Sharon laughed at him again. "Let me say once again just how much I love you boy" she told him with another contented sigh before she kissed him.

"Good because I'm pretty fond of you too Raydor" he replied, kissing her back. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

"I was just thinking the same thing" she grinned. She thought for a moment as Andy's not so insignificant comment about them only 'kind of' looking for a house came back to her once again and made her more than a little curious as to what his intentions now were in that regard since he had taken the lead with it all. "Have you spoken to Jason recently?" she asked a little carefully. Andy popped a forkful of noodles into his mouth and hummed in response like he didn't really understand the question. "Since you brought up maybe buying a house, has he found us any more possibilities since the other day?"

"No. Not really" Andy shrugged. "He sent me some details but there was nothing that caught my eye. Suddenly I'm no longer in such a rush other than to sell this place of course."

She laughed. "Oh I wonder why?" she joked, realising that the moment she asked him to move into the condo with her after he sold his house that he simply had everything that he'd ever wanted and as such finding them a house to buy so that they could live together was no longer urgent, he was already going to live with her and he was more than content to stay at the condo if she was too.

"I have no idea. It's a mystery." They laughed before their lips met again. "I'll be honest I'm no longer in a hurry to find somewhere now that someone I know has offered me a bed to share for the foreseeable future after I've sold my house."

"Is that so?"

"Yes they have as a matter of fact. If we sell my house and put everything in storage and then we can take our time. Do this properly. Eventually find the perfect place for us one day."

Sharon smiled. "That sounds like a plan to me." She had made no secret of the fact that she would prefer to stay in the condo as had Rusty but she wasn't alone in their relationship and it was clear when they first agreed to move in together that Andy was looking for a place that was a little bigger and a clean slate, somewhere that was theirs, rather than him moving in with her.

"Good" he nodded before he kissed her.

"So the house from the other day?" she asked, referencing a mystery house that he had very casually mentioned he was going to go and look at over the weekend.

"Let's just say that I have more exacting criteria right now since I'm no longer in a rush." She nodded and laughed at him before she kissed him, understanding him completely.

Since she had asked him to move into the condo with her as soon as he sold his house it had been abundantly clear that Andy had taken his foot off the gas when it came to looking for a house. He went from looking at every single house Jason sent him the details for to turning down even the most perfect of sounding properties which he had previously given serious thought into buying because Sharon's invitation to move in with him right away had given him all that he wanted. Although the condo wasn't going to be perfect for them in the long term with Rusty living there too it was more than good enough for now and since living with her was all that he wanted to do, that was it. As such he was no longer hounding Jason for listings and showing hardly any interest whosoever in buying a house (solely focused on selling his own), turning down perfectly lovely houses for small and insignificant reasons. Sharon had noticed the change in him a week earlier on the night he told her all about Jared and asked if Major Crimes could look into the case for him. He had been to see a house the night before but for once, unlike before she asked him to move into the condo he didn't bring it up until she asked him about it as she tried to take his mind off the case so that they could discuss it with the squad the following morning.

" _Okay, so what do you think?" Andy asked as he turned his attention away from the departing Rusty and onto the matter at hand again. Sharon picked up the file from her side and studied it. "Any way Chris could have been murdered?"_

" _Well, if he was, that would be a major crime. But Jared's suspicions aside," Sharon said as Andy put his hands together and brought them to his chin as he listened intently before Sharon looked up at him, "the question we need to ask is, 'Was there anyone who wanted this young man dead?'" Andy gave her a quick shrug as she looked closely at the file again. After a moment_ _Sharon put the file on the table and smiled at him. "But the way I see it is this, we've got two options here. We can either discuss this now between ourselves and then have the exact same conversation in the Murder Room tomorrow morning with the rest of the division or you can come over here and put your lips to better use." She smiled at him again, letting him know which option she would prefer him to choose. "So which is it?" she asked. Andy smiled at her as he flicked his shoes off and sat next to her, pulling her into his side as he put his feet on the coffee table. As he put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her a couple of times she lay her hand on his chest. "So you never told me about the house last night. Is it a maybe?" she questioned as she pulled her feet underneath herself and curled into his side a little more._

" _Oh it was great" Andy started to gush. "Four bedrooms, three baths, great kitchen, pool, plenty of parking."_

 _Sharon smiled, sensing his enthusiasm. "Great! So when are you going to take me to see it?"_

" _I'm not."_

" _You're not?" Andy nodded. "Why not? It sounds perfect. Unless you're afraid that showing me around will somehow conjure up black mould again?" she joked._

 _Andy laughed. "No. It's nothing like that. It's just too far for Rusty to travel that's all."_

 _Before Sharon had chance to respond to his claim Rusty appeared again, catching the very tail end of the conversation and his name. "What's this?" he asked._

" _A house I looked at last night" Andy explained as he turned to see him. "It was great except the commute would be too much for you."_

 _Rusty shook his head and shrugged, not really caring how far he had to drive to and from college if his Mom and Andy found themselves the perfect place to buy and call their home. "That's okay. I don't mind the extra distance if it's what you both..."_

 _Andy raised his hand into the air to sop him in his tracks. "I mind" he told him emphatically. Sharon couldn't help but smile at him as he spoke, loving Andy all the more for the way that he treated Rusty over the last twelve months, like he was his own son and always taking him into account before anything else when a decision needed to be made that would affect them all. "Look kid the way I see it is this, this house is mine and your Mom's future," he explained, "you know for us to live happily in when we retire but it's your present, it's your right now. If we found the perfect place for us I would gladly compromise and have the longer commute for us to work because it won't be forever. We're, hopefully, going to be retired in this house a lot longer than we're commuting to work from it. So travelling for us right now, especially if we only need to take one car, is no big deal because that's for our future. But you Rusty, you won't be there forever."_

 _Rusty suddenly tensed up, looking worried. "If you…"_

" _Wait a second." Andy removed his arm from Sharon's shoulder and sat forward, removing her from his side and giving Rusty his full and undivided attention as he explained to him. "Before you ask no I'm not pushing for you to move out nor will I ever make such a request of you. You can live with us until we die and the house is yours if you want."_

" _Oh and that's not depressing at all" Rusty cried._

 _Andy and Sharon both laughed at him before Andy continued. "What I'm trying to say is, whereas this house will be for our future and we need it to be perfect for a life after the LAPD, it's your present and you need it perfect right now while you're in college because you probably won't live in it forever."_

 _Sharon smiled at Andy again, appreciating what he was saying more than he would ever really know. In comparison Rusty stood in front of them awkwardly, looking a touch guilty about the whole thing. "You shouldn't have to make a compromise like that just for me. That's not fair" Rusty told him._

" _It's not a compromise" Andy said plainly. "It's saying to you that I'll gladly sit in traffic for an extra hour a day for somewhere perfect when the day comes along when I don't have to do that and for somewhere perfect for you right now." With that Andy sat back again, moving his arm around Sharon's shoulder and immediately pulling her into his side, the debate over as far as he was concerned._

 _Rusty was silent for a moment before he finally said "Okay." He nodded, struggling to get his head around the not so insignificant fact that his Mom's boyfriend would make such a selfless decision and a sacrifice for him when he was so used to the complete opposite happening before Andy came into their lives. "So you're not going to take Mom to see it?"_

" _No, I told you it was no good for us. There are plenty of other houses out there. I'll find one that's right for us one day and until then, what's the rush?" Andy said casually as he shrugged, the change in him really taking Sharon aback even though she understood it fully. "Once I sell my house I'll move in here with you two, no big deal."_

 _Rusty stood looking at his feet for a moment before he finally met Andy's eye. "I may not act like it all the time and I definitely didn't show it when you first started dating Mom but I do appreciate everything that you do for me Andy. I really do. I need you to know that."_

" _I do. I know" Andy smiled._

 _Sharon looked back and forth between the two of them, her chest practically bursting with pride. Rusty quickly grabbed his laptop from the coffee table and headed back towards his room and an early night before taking his Mom to see the Doctor in the morning, his laptop being a clear indication that he wasn't going to go straight to sleep but rather was giving them some time and space alone. Once Rusty was in his room Sharon turned towards Andy and looked at him adoringly. "God I love you" she told him._

" _Good because I kinda like you too."_

" _Only 'kinda'?"_

" _Well you see I have this thing for my Boss lady."_

" _Oh really? Then I might 'kinda' have to shoot her."_

 _Before Andy could reply they heard Rusty's voice from down the hall. "Just so you know I can still hear you and it's 'kinda' sickening" he shouted, regretting not shutting his door the moment he went inside his room._

 _Sharon and Andy both laughed before Andy looked down the hallway towards Rusty's room. "It's not too late to make you commute from North Fontana you know" he shouted._

" _It'd be a similar commute for you" Rusty reminded him._

" _But I can make your Mom drive while I nap in the car. Or I could just retire."_

" _You can't afford to retire" Rusty again reminded him._

" _Well you got me there" Andy said regretfully as Sharon laughed._

" _Goodnight" Rusty called._

" _Night kid."_

" _Goodnight Rusty" Sharon shouted before she heard his door finally close._

 _Andy turned back to Sharon. "Do we have to keep him?" he asked._

" _Yes" she told him as she laughed._

" _I thought so but I just wanted to check." She laughed at him again before their lips met a couple of times, her hand coming to rest on his chest again._

" _Why don't we just look at it if Rusty really doesn't mind..."_

" _But I do mind" Andy said cutting her off. "I don't want him commuting that far" he said simply. He kissed her again before she smiled at him. She knew then like she knew as she sat on his lap in his kitchen a few days later trying to get warm that it was just an excuse really. He was happy with what they had decided to do and that was all that mattered to him. She knew they would probably revisit looking at houses again at some point in the future but for now he was just focused on selling his house and moving in together, everything else could wait until they enjoyed that first and despite the nerves that were still plaguing them both about it, they were very excited to finally make it official._

"We'll find somewhere that's right for us as a family eventually, but right now, what's the rush?" Andy told her matter-of-factly with yet another casual shrug of his shoulders.

Sharon smiled at him before she kissed him on the lips. "I like this plan. I like that it's taking some of the stress and the strain off your shoulders for a little while."

Andy rolled his eyes, appreciating her concern but at the same time extremely tired of what he perceived to be the way she 'mothered' him in the aftermath of his surgery, regardless of how well intentioned it actually was especially since she only wanted to take care of him in the same way he took care of her. "Sharon for the hundredth time I'm fine. I'm not stressed, I'm just fine" he insisted, a smile plastered on his face as if to prove his point that he wasn't feeling even remotely stressed in his life.

"You don't look fine. You look tired" she told him as her fingers gently ran under his eyes, the dark circles and lines making her 'boy' currently look a little older and strained as a result.

"Well I am" he laughed. "It's been a rough couple of days at work" he added with another shrug by way of an explanation before he took her hand from his face and brought it to his lips, caressing her fingertips lightly with his lips.

"I know and I'm so sorry about Jared."

"Yeah I know." He paused as he sighed, still clearly very bothered that a man he hardly knew yet could relate so easily to, had managed to fall off the wagon again but worse than that he had fallen off the wagon and simply didn't see it as a problem in the slightest. "I told him to call me if he needed someone to talk to about it. I only ever dabbled in pills when things got really desperate" he admitted much to Sharon's instant surprise. She tried her hardest not to react to his words, not wanting to appear surprised by his sudden admission to her on the subject since it was something that she didn't know about and he had never mentioned to her before. It truth she had always assumed that Andy wouldn't take a painkiller stronger than an aspirin simply because he was now overly cautious about taking opiates as it could be a gateway back to alcohol again and not because he had been so perilously close to being addicted to them too before finally getting sober. Andy didn't acknowledge her surprised reaction despite feeling her almost tense up in his arms as the words spilled from his lips without registering that it was actually a revelation to her. It wasn't that he had deliberately kept it from her but he was a little embarrassed about it while at the same time not wanting her to have to deal with a partner who suffered with addiction yet again. "But an addiction is an addiction," he said quickly and not pausing to allow questions about that bombshell he had just accidentally dropped, "so if I can help the guy out then I'll try my very best to do that."

"I'm sure you'll be a great help to him" Sharon told him as she tried to sound as positive as possible.

"He's got to want it first, I can't force him."

"I know." She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "Have you spoken to Nicole about it yet?" she asked, thinking that he would have called her immediately to tell her the good news that Jared had been right, Chris had in fact been murdered and he had been able to prove it and find the culprit. Then she realised that there was only one thing that would stop him from doing that: Jared. For reasons that she didn't think she would ever be able to fully comprehend Andy seemed to blame himself for Jared falling off the wagon, taking it so personally despite the fact that it had happened long before their paths had crossed for only the second time in their lives.

Andy sighed. "No not yet. I'll be honest I wouldn't know what to say to her if I do." His eyes drifted away from her face for a moment, his distress over the situation clear for her to see as he retreated within himself and stared into space.

Sharon's hand quickly went to his chin and gently pulled his face upwards as her thumb caressed his cheek to make sure that he looked her in the eye again as she spoke. "Andy my darling nothing that has happened over the last couple of days is your fault. None of it" she stated emphatically. "You took the case on at her request when no one else even saw one there to begin with and then you convinced not only me but the rest of the division about that fact too, proving that Jared was right and then finding the culprit. You couldn't have done anymore. Nicole is going to be absolutely thrilled with you because you did what she asked, you proved Jared right."

"Sure, right up until I tell her that Jared has started using again."

"But how is any of that your fault?" she asked, trying her hardest to make him see sense about it all because it was something that he had zero control over. "You've offered to help him and told him to go back to a meeting. What more is there to do?"

"I don't know." He sighed again, sounding fed up and disappointed, perhaps more than a little helpless too. "The whole thing is just a little too much 'Don't shoot the messenger' for my liking especially when we have such a fragile relationship to begin with."

"It's only fragile in your mind. Nicole utterly adores the man you have become so trust me Andy that is not going to happen. She's going to be absolutely thrilled that you've been able to prove Jared right. That's it. And if you're that worried about it, about her reaction, simply don't tell her about Jared."

"I can't do that. It'll only make her more pissed at me when she does find out the truth and she realises I've been keeping it from her." He sighed once more, the fingers on his right hand drumming on the top of the table like a nervous twitch as he eyed his sobriety ring. "I'll call her in the morning."

"Okay." She paused for a moment and waited for him to stop staring into space and move his focus back onto her before continuing. "Andy trust me she's going to be so proud of you regardless," she said before she kissed him, "like how I am right now."

"I don't think I've said it to you over the last couple of days but thank you Sharon."

"Thank you? For what?" she asked confused.

"For helping with all of this. We only took it on in the first place because you agreed to it so thank you" he told her sincerely. Although they tried their hardest to keep work away from their personal lives and vice versa, both of them realising that they needed to switch off that side of themselves at the end of the day rather than carrying it with them, it still felt good to have someone at home who not only understood how the other felt when they became emotionally affected by what they had witnessed that day at work but also the job itself. It also made it easier for Andy to come to her with a case like they had just closed, being able to ask for that personal favour at work when he might have been reluctant to do the same thing when Chief Johnson was in charge. In truth Sharon would have taken on such a request from any member of her division as long as she saw a case to answer in the first place but regardless it felt good that he was able to mingle their two lives and they could do it without incident and without one side to their relationship interfering with the other.

"Well as it turned out it was a very good call so absolutely no thanks is needed. Between Jared, Nicole and you we caught a murderer who would have otherwise gotten away with it. So I think the thanks should be shared." She stroked his face again before she smiled and kissed him on the lips. "I'm not afraid to admit that I really did worry that we might have to transfer you back to Robbery Homicide if we couldn't work together and do this" she rather shyly admitted, indicating between the two of them before she kissed him again.

"You did?"

"In the beginning of course I did, especially during those first few very tentative and overly cautious weeks. As it turns out working with your family is one of the greatest things in the world so it would have killed me to have been forced into transferring you to another division but I wanted this more, I wanted you more."

"Me too" he replied before he kissed her back. "I would have transferred anywhere to have had a chance to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Anywhere? Oh that's too bad. I would have liked to have seen you back in uniform and on patrol" she laughed.

"You just like to see me in my uniform" he teased.

Her eyes sparkled at him. "Yes I do" she confirmed with a kiss. "I really really do, especially this" she said as her hand travelled down to grab as much of his backside as she could given that he was sitting down.

He laughed and nodded, her statement hardly a revelation since she could hardly leave his backside alone outside of work. "I seem to remember that you didn't look too bad in your uniform yourself" he grinned as both hands came to rest of her hips, pulling her a little closer to his chest.

"And when's the last time you saw me in uniform?" she laughed.

"A few years back."

"A few years back when you had nothing but scowls and attitude for me and that's if you were in a good mood?"

"Yeah but I still thought you looked as sexy as hell in your uniform."

She hummed, not believing a word. "I'm sure."

"I did" he maintained.

"Oh I believe you" she nodded, recalling the very first time that they ever laid eyes on each other twenty five years earlier, crossing each other's path in a hallway at Parker Centre with Andy being beyond obnoxious and crude to her as he blatantly eyed her up and down while practically drooling before he came on to her as she stooped to pick up a pen from the floor. The physical attraction was there between them instantly but it took an awful long time for them to actually like each other, that coming not long after she took over Major Crimes but it had started for Andy the moment he saw her talents with a beanbag gun. "But regardless you had nothing but scowls and attitude for me back then even when you were looking at my legs."

"Ah but that's because they are very good legs" he said before he kissed her and his hand ran from her ankle and back up to her hip along the outside of her sweatpants.

Sharon laughed against his mouth as they broke apart, her legs currently anything but sexy given how long she had spent in a bathtub full of very cold water. "Not right now they're not" she said as she continued to laugh. "At the moment they're still wrinklier than my Grandmother's legs were when she died."

He laughed as he kissed her, his hand moving back to rub up and down her legs in another attempt to warm her up. "Well you know me, I like my women how I like my shrimp, cold and wrinkly." They both laughed at his creative attempt at seduction. "Are you still cold?" he asked, not that he really needed to, he could still feel the way she kept trembling every now and then in his lap.

"Utterly freezing from head to toe."

"I take it you don't want any ice cream for dessert then?"

She frowned at him. "What are you doing with ice cream?" she asked, knowing it was the one thing he never ate and hadn't in several years. "Have you even eaten any this decade?"

"Not much no" he shrugged.

"Then why have you got it?"

"Saving it for you" he said with a wink. "It's very vanilla" he added before he gave her an all too knowing look and rolled his eyes, Julio's recent obsession over just how vanilla the very vanilla protein shakes were that Chris was ingesting driving them all insane.

"Oh I know! What was all that about?" Sharon asked, she like everyone else in the division already fed up enough having to hear 'Badge, Badge, Badge' nearly every single day on top of Buzz's constant remarks about his Reserve Officer Training without having Julio becoming so completely obsessed by something insignificant too.

"I have no idea" Andy replied with a shake of his head.

"Don't you just hate it when people get obsessed over something so small and insignificant like that?" she asked with a smirk as if to ensure he fully got the point she was trying to make to him. "A fixation that drives all of your colleagues and family utterly insane."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sharon laughed at him before she kissed him, cupping his face with her hands again. The moment her skin came into contact with his he could feel for himself just how cold she still was, her hands like ice to the touch. "Do you want to take this order to go and eat the rest in bed?" he said as he nodded towards their half-eaten meals on the table.

"Oh my God I love you!" she cried before she kissed him and he laughed against her lips.

"Grab the drinks and I'll bring the food."

"Oh I love it when you get bossy." She kissed him again before she climbed off his lap and grabbed her cell phone, putting it in the pocket of her hoodie before picking up her tea and Andy's water. Sharon held the kitchen door open for him as Andy picked up both of their plates and followed her through the living room and into his bedroom. "I still can't believe you've packed up so much" Sharon told him as she placed their drinks on the nightstands on their respective sides of the bed.

Andy shrugged at her as he waited at the door for her to climb into bed and get settled so that he could hand her the plate. "I didn't see much point in waiting and I'm at the condo all the time anyway so what was the point of leaving it? Plus when I do sell it, the quicker I'm out of here and moving in with you the better."

"Well I quite agree with that." She rounded the bed to kiss him before she pulled the covers back off the bed and crawled in, pulling the bed clothes as high as she could to cover herself and get warm and then sitting up against the headboard. She looked and saw Andy laughing at her, still standing in the doorway with a plate in each hand. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing it's just of all the times before we started dating and to be fair a little after as we continued to take it so slowly, when I dreamed and fantasied about having you in my bed all to myself this is not what I imagined" he laughed.

"Really?"

"Yes" he said as he slowly walked towards her. "The reality is so much better than I ever imagined" he crooned sincerely. She smiled at him as he handed her the plate.

"Smooth talker, now get in here."

"Yes ma'am." Andy put his plate down on his nightstand before he removed his pants and socks, knowing he'd be far too hot in seconds if he didn't take them off before he climbed into bed. Andy slid under the covers and instantly hooked his legs out from underneath them, leaving just his waist covered but ensuring that Sharon was still completely covered. He picked up his plate from the nightstand and put it on his lap before Sharon cuddled into his side, seeking his warmth as they ate. "Well this is a good way to end my day." He turned to look at her with a smile, kissing her on the lips, still surprised and thrilled to see her when he had imagined a night alone.

"Like I told you when I asked you to move in, if you're in your bed and I'm in mine, one of us is in the wrong place. Unless of course you wanted to spend the night completely alone and I've cramped your style."

"Well I didn't want to say anything but yeah you have" he joked. "I'd planned one last night alone where I was going to do everything you won't let me do at the condo."

She laughed. "Like what?"

Andy shrugged. "Scratch myself, belch loudly, you know guy things." Sharon laughed and shook her head at him. "I've got to get a lot of inappropriate scratching out of the way before I move into the condo. Why do you think Provenza took the day off before Patrice moved in with him? He had to get another fifteen years of scratching out of the way before she curtailed that sort of behaviour entirely."

Sharon laughed again. "Well what are you going to do now that I've ruined your last free evening alone in bed to scratch?"

"You mean my last night alone in the bed huh?"

"Oh absolutely unless you annoy me of course" she joked, currently not imagining a world where she would be so angry with him that she'd make him sleep on the couch, but then she felt that way about Jack once too but reality turned out to be so much worse than she hoped.

"Of course. You know I think I'm very happy to give up that final night of alone time to spend the rest of my life with you" he told her as he gazed at her adoringly.

"That's a wise decision."

"And anyway," Andy shrugged, "that's what I have a car for."

Sharon stared at him for a moment, absolutely baffled. "You've lost me."

"Inappropriate scratching" he told her. Sharon laughed and swatted him across the back of his head before she snuggled back into his side and resumed her meal. "Is there anything you're missing out on tonight? Any last hurrahs you could have had alone in bed at the condo?"

She frowned at him. "What are you implying?"

Andy moved in very close to her ear before he whispered "That you scratch with the best of them Raydor."

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "For your information ladies don't even contemplate inappropriate scratching."

"Yeah right. Who knows what you really get up to in that office with the blinds closed."

"I plot your death mainly" she told him as seriously as she could and making him laugh. "You know just when I think we've reached the peak of utterly weird and random conversations and there can't possibly be anything else bizarre to discuss with each other, you surprise me."

"Well that is my goal in life to keep you constantly surprised" he told her.

She smiled. "Oh yes and what are you going to do for your next trick?"

"Oh you'll love it" he said and making her smile at him in wonder, wanting to know what he had planned next to surprise her. "I'm going to have your face tattooed across my chest" he joked.

Sharon laughed at him again. "But what about this non-existent prostitute I'm going to send you undercover with?" she asked with a roll of her eyes considering that he was so insistent that it was a real possibility. "Aren't you too afraid of what Lieutenant Provenza and all the guys will say when they see my face tattooed on your chest on the monitors?"

"No they already know I'm whipped" he said nonchalantly and making her laugh. "And besides I think they'll be more intrigued to see what you look like as a bearded lady" he joked as he pulled the neck of his t-shirt down a little to flash her his chest just on the off chance that she had forgotten just how hairy it actually was. She laughed at him again. "Or instead of that I could just keep jumping out from behind doors and shouting 'Boo!' That'll surprise you."

"And maybe make me shoot you" she pointed out as they laughed.

They ate in silence for a moment and then Andy asked "Do you know what I'm most looking forward to?"

Sharon looked at him out of the corner of her eye and grinned. "Well since it's you I'm guessing it has something to do with sex" she offered, knowing him far too well even when he was just joking with her.

He frowned at her and paused before he continued. "Do you know what the second thing I'm looking forward to the most is?"

Sharon laughed. "Tell me."

"No longer having to use a visitor parking space in _our_ building. Being stuck in the back of beyond where half the lights don't work and it smells like something died in the wall."

Sharon laughed again, acknowledging that the parking spaces reserved for visitors weren't anywhere near as well-lit or maintained as the ones she and Rusty were assigned to park in. "Oh I see, you're just doing this for a better parking space huh?" she asked.

"Oh absolutely, otherwise I would never have brought up living together at all."

Sharon laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Well there are no free spaces by mine and Rusty's so I don't think you'll be moving too far" she told him a little regretfully.

"You don't think the kid will trade with me?"

"He's already sharing my attention with you and the bathroom, I wouldn't push your luck too far unless you want him to try and push you off the balcony" she joked.

"What about a bribe?" he suggested, not ruling out offering Rusty money so that he didn't have to park in a dark corner that smelled a little like Provenza when he'd spent too long in the sun.

"Like what?" she asked, thinking there was nothing in the world that Rusty wanted enough to offer up his parking space and with how valuable they were in that building he was more inclined to offer a kidney to Phillip Stroh before he gave Andy his parking space.

"I don't know. What if I guaranteed that you'd keep your hands off my ass in the kitchen?" he offered, it being noted by Sharon immediately that he was suggesting something that he simply had no control over and therefore she would in fact be the one to bribe her son on his behalf.

Sharon laughed at him, firmly of the opinion that she didn't have her hands on his backside anywhere near as often as both Andy and Rusty liked to claim. "And how do you propose to do that?" she queried.

Andy shrugged. "I'm going to stop working my glutes when I go to the gym" he stated more than a touch nonchalantly before Sharon just laughed and shook her head at him. "Try to make it less appealing to you."

"Well good luck with that."

"It's all about the ass with you isn't it Raydor? I'm just a hunk of meat with eyes" Andy cried as if he was really complaining about it when in fact he was actually rather happy that there were days when Sharon simply couldn't keep her hands off him even if she wanted to.

"But you do have very good glutes" she told him.

"I also have a brain too you know" he cried as he once again tried to sound like he was genuinely upset about it all. Sharon just laughed and shook her head at him again. "I'm not just a pretty face and _spectacularly_ good ass" he added, making her continue to laugh. "Hey can you imagine if the condo board stepped in and asked Mrs Rose to move a couple of spaces so that we could all park together" he laughed, already hearing her shrill voice complaining about it if it were to happen.

"Oh God don't!" Sharon said as she hid her face into his shoulder. "You would have to check your car for explosives before you stepped foot into it every day."

"Isn't that why we have Rusty?" he asked, thinking that the biggest benefit of having a kid still living at home was making them do the things that he really didn't want to do, even if that included checking for explosives from pissed off neighbours. "To do that sort of thing for us?"

"Try saying that to him and then not only will the bomb detonate with you inside the car but you'll find a dead squirrel in your exhaust every morning in the days that lead up to your demise."

Andy laughed. "Does she know you were thinking about moving?" he asked, of the opinion that Sharon's neighbour would already have planned and prepared a very large going away party in preparation for her moving such was her frankly irrational dislike of her and to be fair Rusty too.

"Mrs Rose?"

"Yeah. Did you tell her? Get her hopes up?"

"No I...wait a second. 'Were thinking about moving'?" Sharon asked, once again not being able to hide her surprise about his sudden change of attitude, going from looking at every single building in Southern California that had more than one bathroom (or that's how it seemed to her especially when she saw details for an abandoned warehouse on his desk) to suddenly having no interest in moving anywhere other than into the condo.

"Yeah, I've already told you, what's the rush?" he shrugged.

Sharon smiled at him, not wanting to hide just how thrilled she actually was that they had decided to stay at the condo for the foreseeable future rather than moving. "No I haven't told her" she said finally as her mind return to their current topic of conversation. "Apart from anything else I'm sure she would permanently have a moving van waiting downstairs for when the day finally arrived. And telling her about it means actually having to talk to her and since she has a list of complaints longer than the list of allegations in your very large package locked securely in my desk and I'm not allowed to actually shoot her, its best I keep my distance as much as possible."

"She's going to be thrilled" Andy laughed, picturing the woman actually weeping with joy when she finally saw the back of the three of them although he suspected she would treat any new neighbours just the same.

"Oh yes, especially since she just used to loathe me, then I added 'that boy.'"

"Now you're adding 'that man'" Andy grinned.

"That's what you think she calls you?" Sharon asked before she started to laugh herself silly, being told on multiple occasions by many of her neighbours in the building just what Mrs Rose actually called Andy when she was taking the opportunity to complain about him. "Oh Andy if only you knew" she added as she continued to laugh.

"What? What does she call me?" Andy asked, his interest peaked.

"I'm not sure you want to know."

"I do. I need to know what I'm up against. What does she call me?"

Sharon took a deep breath to compose herself before answering. "Several of my and soon to be your neighbours have told me in passing that she's been complaining about that," she said before having to stop as she laughed, "'Smug, smirking A-hole.'"

"What? She actually calls me an asshole?" Andy asked, a little annoyed.

"Apparently."

"But she's never said this to you?"

"Have I shot her?" she asked before they both laughed.

"I was more worried that you'd agree with her."

"At one time maybe but not anymore" she told him before she kissed him on the lips. "Either way I think you should try to stay clear of her from now on" Sharon offered with her and Rusty doing the same thing, seeing no point in making the situation any worse by actively engaging in conversation with her. Andy nodded in agreement when a thought suddenly dawned on Sharon. "Which reminds me actually, did you accuse her of pinching your backside a few weeks back?"

"When?" Andy asked innocently but with that single word coming out of his mouth an awful lot higher than it should have done, meaning that if his wildly flaring nostrils weren't a dead giveaway that he wasn't being entirely honest, his tone of voice tipped her over the edge.

"I don't know, maybe three or four weeks ago" Sharon prompted, watching his face closely to see if he would quickly crumble and confess all.

"No!" he shouted a little too loudly than was really necessary, once again another clear indication that he was lying to her. "I don't really remember the last time I actually saw her" he lied.

Sharon smiled at him, incredibly amused. "That's the best you can come up with? Really?" she asked, thinking that he probably got into so much trouble as a kid because he was simply incapable of telling a convincing lie when he wasn't talking to a suspect. "Andy your nostrils couldn't flare anymore if they were made of denim and came from the 1970s."

"It's arousal" Andy told her with a wink.

Sharon laughed. "No it isn't. I know your turned on face and it's far goofier than your lying to me face" she told him, by this point in their relationship knowing what every single twitch of his mouth meant.

"What do you mean?" he asked slightly horrified. "Why is it goofy?"

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?"

"Oddly enough when I'm at peak arousal I'm only interested in looking at you and anyway you're going to accuse me of having terrible sex eyes? You? Mrs Crossed Eyed Squinter" he teased. Sharon instantly gave him a quick slap across the arm in retaliation, still horrified herself that her 'sex eyes' were apparently so horrendously bad that not only had Andy completely missed what they meant for several months but had also tried to book her an appointment at an optometrist and also queried if she was experiencing an absent seizure. "What? You can dish it out but you can't take it."

"I wasn't talking about your sex eyes. Let's face it you're basically always pulling your sex eyes every time you so much as look at me outside of work or God forbid if I bend over in your presence" she joked although to a certain extent it was also the truth. "What I'm talking about is the face you pull when you're turned on to the point of blindness."

"Okay and how do I look then?" he asked.

"Like Lieutenant Provenza does when he sees a pizza, only you seem to drool more."

"I take great offence to that!" Andy shouted grumpily.

Sharon laughed at him. "But you still look irresistible" she told him before she kissed his lips.

"What now or..."

She laughed before she kissed him again. "Always" she told him, both of them chucking as their lips came together again, lingering that little bit longer as a small moan rattled around the back of her throat. "But back to my original question," Sharon said after they broke apart as she refused to be distracted from the answer she wanted, "did you accuse Mrs Rose of grabbing your backside the other week?"

Andy paused for a moment as she stared at him, knowing he was incapable of lying to her and wondering just how much trouble he was about to be in since he had gone out of his way to provoke the demon next door and then deliberately not told her about it. "Well..."

"I knew it!" Sharon shouted, her amusement by what he had done currently outweighing how irritated she also was by it given that the story had made its way through the building like a wildfire and she was apparently the last to know. "Do you want to give her more reasons to hate me?"

"Oh sweetheart she's going to hate you regardless of what I do" he reminded her.

"Oh thank you boy" she laughed before he kissed her. "What did you do exactly?"

"Nothing" Andy said innocently once again. Sharon stared at him in silence for a moment, waiting for him to crumble under the heat of her glare, a tactic that had worked well for her in the past with him when she was still working in Internal Affairs. After a second or two he sighed as he realised he had no other option but to tell the truth. "I was travelling up in the elevator with another woman from the building when we stopped on the fourth floor. The doors opened and in walked Mrs Rose, presumably on her way home after she'd killed and eaten Mr Johnson after mating with him. As the elevator started to move she proceeded to look at me like I was something she'd stepped in on the sidewalk."

Sharon clapped her hands together, applauding him. "Congratulations Andy! That means you really are part of the family now" she declared before she kissed him in celebration.

Andy laughed. "Thank you. So anyway we went up to your and soon to be our floor and when the doors opened I said 'After you' as I tried to be a gentleman but she didn't move. So I stepped out first and I may have accidentally flinched and made out like she'd pinched my butt."

"Andy!"

"What? Your other neighbour thought it was funny and the look on Mrs Rose's face was priceless" he said as he laughed, the memory of her shocked and horrified face probably staying with him for the rest of his life.

Sharon shook her head at him. "What am I going to do with you?"

"I'm pretty sure you can think of something later as a way to keep warm" he suggested with a waggle of his eyebrows, making her laugh until she kissed him again.

Once more they resumed eating in silence, Sharon's head resting on his shoulder as he kept one arm around her to keep her warm. After a moment she lifted her head and gave him a rather suspicious look as the beginnings of a small smile tugged at her lips. "Where did you disappear to yesterday?" she asked as casually as possible.

"When?"

"When you disappeared from Electronics. Where did you go?" she asked again, knowing that she was treading on very dangerous ground. As a couple that worked together (and extremely long hours too, most of which were also stressful) as well as having a relationship and starting to live together too they had worked in some ground rules between them very early on whereby they simply didn't ask each other those sort of questions usually. If they were going to be virtually living and working inside of each other's pockets twenty four seven then constantly asking each other where they were going or who had sent them a text message for example it was only going to cause trouble between them. It was already well established that they had no secrets from each other as it was but if they had to keep telling each other absolutely everything then they were going to end up having no privacy at all and that would never work (for example how could they surprise the other if every move and phone call was questioned) but in this instance Sharon had her suspicions about where he had been and what he had been doing and wanted to know the truth even though she knew it was going to infuriate her.

"Oh that" Andy replied as he floundered for a moment, trying to think of something to tell her aside from the truth. "I just had something that I wanted to follow up on, you know for the case." He shrugged as he brushed his nose with his hand, pretending to scratch it as he tried to hide his nostrils.

"Which was?" Sharon asked, his reluctance to answer confirming her suspicions.

"Just a quick question I wanted an answer to, no big deal."

"Yes, which was?" she asked again, not prepared to drop the subject.

"Do you have to know everything?"

Sharon smiled, remembering having this exact same conversation with Rusty when she not so subtly inquired about Kris and her family when she first started to make an appearance at PAB as his study partner years earlier. "Yes, actually" she replied, giving the same answer as she had given Rusty.

Andy paused as he stared at her, his mouth opening and closing for a moment without any words coming out, then suddenly he erupted. "Do you have any idea how much money Mike makes on that crappy show per episode?! Per episode!" he shouted and making her jump with surprise at his sudden outburst.

"Oh my God! Andy you have a disease!" Sharon cried as her head landed in her hands, her suspicions confirmed and beginning to worry that the moment had arrived when her eyes would actually roll out of her head. "Oh my God!"

"What? I can't be curious?"

Sharon's head snapped up to face him, a face like thunder. "Andy this is not curiosity, it's becoming an obsession. A deeply troubling obsession."

"Did I not ask for his help when I first spoke to Jared about this case the other day?" Andy reminded her, believing that small gesture was going to allow him to get away with many more complaints about _Badge of Justice_ over the coming weeks and months as a result.

"Indeed you did after _I_ suggested the idea to you but how many times have you complained about it since then?" Andy didn't answer her, frowning instead as he realised he didn't have a leg to stand on where that subject as concerned. "I'm being deadly serious here Andrew. If you don't stop this sick and twisted obsession with _Badge of Justice_ I'll..."

"What? You'll do what?"

Sharon sighed, more than tired of hearing Andy complain about Mike's part time job in the world of Hollywood and although there were times when she did find his over the top reactions to it funny she wanted to see an end to it once and for all. "The way I see it is this, you've got two options here. One, you can either continue to whine obsessively about _Badge of Justice_ until you drive everyone around you completely insane. Or two, you can spend the rest of your life sharing a bed with me." She paused for a moment to let that far from real ultimatum sink in as she crossed her arms. "Choose."

Andy studied her face for a moment to see if her ultimatum was genuine or not. He knew deep down that it wasn't a real threat but he also knew he complained too much and she had grown tired of hearing him moan on and on about _Badge of Justice_ (and Rusty wasn't too far behind her let alone Provenza). "That's not a choice" he said simply. She smiled at him and kissed him on the lips. "I pick complaining about the show obviously." He laughed as Sharon darted to pinch the back of his knees, his legs trashing and nearly sending his plate and remaining food flying into the air. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" he said as he put his arm back around her shoulder and kissed her. "Like I would give you up for anything in this world."

"Not even for a Hollywood gig and the money that comes with it?" she asked.

"Well..." he started to say before she pinched the back of his knees again. "I'm kidding. I'd never give you up" he said as he kissed. "Ever" he confirmed, kissing her again. "You're one addiction I will happily have for the rest of my life."

Sharon rested her head back on his shoulder as they went back to eating their meals until it suddenly snapped up again and she turned to look at him with her mouth open in a state of shock. "Oh my God! That's what you were smiling about!" she cried.

"When?"

"Yesterday in Electronics" Sharon said before she smacked his chest. "You we're smiling at Mike the same way as you smile at a freshly cooked turkey except you weren't drooling all over him. I knew something was going on! I knew it! That's where you went isn't it? To find out how much someone like Mike earns as a consultant on a TV show?"

Andy paused again even though he knew he couldn't lie to her. "Well..."

"Oh Andy!" she shouted as she put her head in her hands again.

"What? I was curious. I can't be curious?"

"I've told you, it's not curiosity it's an obsession and this obsession really is getting out of hand. You have got to speak to someone about it" she insisted.

"What? Like an agent?"

"I meant more like a therapist" she corrected.

Andy frowned at her. "I don't need to see a therapist."

"I beg to differ."

"Is it not bad enough I had Julio and Buzz laughing at me all day yesterday for the way you apparently 'handled' me in Electronics?" he complained.

"What are you talking about?" Sharon asked confused.

"The way you looked at me made them both think that I'm whipped" he grumbled. Both Julio and Buzz had laughed at him once they were away from Electronics and they finally had the chance, both of them hearing his snide comment about _Badge of Justice_ before he quickly changed his tune and back peddled when Sharon had glared at him. They simply couldn't resist saying something to him when the opportunity presented itself with Buzz asking if he always backed up that quickly without making a beeping noise and Julio making lots of whipping noises at him every time their paths crossed.

"Oh Andy my darling" Sharon laughed before she kissed him. "I have got some very bad news for you my boy, you're already incredibly whipped." She kissed him again as he looked very put out by the whole thing. He then thought about it for a moment and realised that there were worse things in the world and he really didn't care that Sharon could so easily bend him to her will because he simply adored her. They ate in silence once more for a while until Sharon dropped her fork, it clattering against the plate as she looked at him with a very excited expression on her face. "Oh! I almost forgot! Guess what?"

"What?"

"Rusty called me when he got to Cathedral City with his Mom earlier" she said, pausing for a really long time as she smiled at him and making him prompt her into continuing since that wasn't telling him something that she hadn't already told him earlier that evening.

"Yeah? And?"

"He told me something" she said as she just smiled at him.

"Am I supposed to guess what or are you going to tell me?"

"He told me that he'd finally told Gus that he loves him." Sharon practically squealed with delight as she clapped her hands together, looking happier than he thought he had ever seen her before in her life and she used to look incredibly happy when she had him in her office and was giving him a very loud reprimand when he had a hangover from hell.

Andy laughed at her. "Oh my God!"

"What?"

"Look at you! Look at your face" he said as she continued to look like a dog who had just had a forty ounce steak fall from the heavens and magically land in front of them. "You didn't look this excited the first time that I told you I loved you" he pointed out as he laughed.

"Well that was different" she said. "To begin with you didn't say it, it was written down on paper and realising where that letter had come from and what that meant in regards to how you were feeling at the time you wrote it was...overwhelming." She kissed him on the lips, letting it linger, that moment forever etched in her mind as she accidentally shouted how she felt about him before she received a crumbled piece of paper in return. "Then there was the fact that I'd just told you for the first time or rather shouted it at you and I...well I was ever so slightly emotional and overwhelmed about it all to be too overly excited."

He smiled at her. "I noticed" he said before he kissed her. "Well good for them, it's about time they finally told each other how they really felt." He smiled at her again, knowing what she was probably going to say to him in response.

"And you weren't nervous to tell me at all were you?" she asked as she laughed.

Andy grinned. "Well that was different" he told her before he kissed her again. "To begin with I'd known you a hell of a lot longer than the two of them have known each other, nearly twenty three years longer and then there's the not so insurmountable fact that we also work together." Sharon's smile quickly turned into a frown. "What? What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing." She paused as she shook her head. "It's just the way Rusty reacted to something last night." Andy looked at her quizzically as he ate, waiting for her to fill in the gaps and not pushing her. "I get the feeling that he doesn't exactly...trust Gustavo's boss" she said finally, not failing to notice the way he looked at her when Gus mentioned how much attention his boss was showing him.

"How so? Like he could be up to something criminally?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I don't think he trusts him...with Gus."

"Ah. Like that" Andy replied, understanding fully what she was implying.

"Yes, like that."

"Well is this guy gay?"

Sharon shrugged. "I assume so otherwise there wouldn't be a problem would there?"

"Okay but Rusty trusts Gus right?" Andy reasoned, thinking that if Rusty trusted Gus then he didn't have too much to worry about especially since Gus just didn't seem the type to cheat anyway.

"Only as much as Rusty is ever really going to fully trust anyone" Sharon replied with that always being a factor even with his relationship with her. Building trust with Rusty had been a long term project and just when they'd reached the point where she was secure in the knowledge that she had his unwavering trust she started to date Andy and all of Rusty's past experiences with men and Mom's boyfriends set them back a little. She sighed, only having half a story from dribs and drabs that Rusty had said to her over a number of weeks along with several pointed looks rather than him explicitly saying there was a problem. "I don't know I just hope he doesn't allow it and his fears to get in the way of them being together."

"Yeah I know and I'm sorry but you can't help him" Andy replied, squeezing her that little bit tighter as he kissed the top of her head. From the moment she had welcomed him into her home Sharon's life had revolved around that boy and Andy knew how difficult she found it when she was unable to help him, unable to give him the reassurances that he needed. It was no exaggeration to say that Rusty was the true love of Sharon's life and it pained Andy when he saw Sharon suffering because she couldn't help him. "This is the sort of thing the kid has to work out for himself. It's just part of being in a relationship."

Sharon looked up at him and smiled, stroking his cheek before she kissed him on the lips. "You're suddenly so wise when it comes to relationships" she remarked, finding it highly amusing considering that he had been nothing but nervous and even terrified throughout most of their relationship thus far.

"Yeah well I'm kinda going steady with a girl" Andy told her extremely casually like he was a high school freshman who had taken to bragging about his love life to anyone who would listen, even if it was the school librarian or a lady from the lunchroom.

Sharon laughed. "Oh really?"

"Oh yeah and since I've made it to a year without too many heated arguments," he said with a smug smile, "no prolonged periods in the dog house, not a single night spent on the couch and without her trying to murder me I think I'm doing okay" he confessed.

"There's still time my beautiful boy" she told him as they both laughed until their lips came together. "There's still time." Her eyes sparkled at him like a warning but the smile on her face told a different story entirely, letting him know that he would have to do something spectacularly stupid, on the scale of Provenza's bachelor party and then some, to end up in the dog house again.

"Have you finished?" Andy asked, gesturing towards her three quarter empty plate.

"I think so. Thank you."

Andy picked up both plates and put them on the nightstand, piling them on top of each other before he turned back to Sharon, her hood still up and the covers touching her chin, making her look like she was just about to go on a trek through a blizzard on Hoth rather than just talking in bed. "Are you still cold?" he asked despite the evidence being right in front of him.

"Freezing."

"Okay. Come here." Andy slid down the bed until he was lying down on his back and immediately pulled Sharon towards him. He waited a moment for her to settle with her head on his shoulder, an arm draped across his chest and their legs tangled together as he flicked the covers back over them again before he put his arm around her. He then pulled the covers up as high as he could even though he knew he was likely to boil in the bag in under a minute but not minding in the slightest as long as she was comfortable. When he brought his other hand to link with hers on his chest he kissed the top of her head a couple of times. "How's that?"

"Heavenly" she replied between light kisses to his chest. They lay in silence for a couple of minutes, Andy rubbing his hand up and down her back as he continued to try and warm her while she played with his fingers that rested on his chest. After a moment her fingers slowly started to trace the little marks that covered his knuckles on his left hand. "Where did these come from?" she asked of the high number of tiny scars that littered his knuckles that looked like they had been caused by his hand going through a window.

"What?"

"These" she said as she kissed his knuckles lightly. "These marks on your knuckles. Let me guess, scars from bar fights or 'subduing' a suspect I suppose?" she said with a slight frown, expecting to hear a story that would cause the former Captain from FID to put a complaint in his file.

"Nope. Nuns."

"Nuns?" Sharon repeated, her confusion obvious.

"Yep. Nuns."

Sharon sat up slightly so that she could see his face, looking at him quizzically as she waited to hear what was probably going to be another colourful tale of mischief from his youth. "I'm going to assume you've never actually punched a Nun Andy. At least I hope that's the case although I wouldn't put it past you."

Andy laughed. "No but I've wanted to, believe me I've wanted to plenty of times." With that Andy had nothing else to say on the subject, knowing full well what Sharon's reaction would be if he told her the painful truth and story behind them. Sharon however was not one for giving up so easily especially where Andy and the truth were concerned. She raised her head even higher to look him in the eye, realising that he was reluctant to tell her but wanting to hear the story all the same. Andy sighed and pulled her back down onto his chest, kissing the top of her head a couple of times as he prepared to spill his guts to her. "When I was a kid I was prominently left handed," he said, starting very slowly and being very deliberate with his choice of words, "you know I wrote with my left hand, I was a left handed pitcher and I played with my," he said before he paused as Sharon's head snapped up as she finished that sentence in her mind, "toys with the left hand too." Sharon hummed at him suspiciously as he laughed and she returned her head to his chest again. "But according to the Nuns or rather the vile devils in habits who terrorised my school from dawn to dusk, being left handed was a sign of the devil or something."

"What?" Sharon asked with more than a touch of alarm as she lifted her head to meet his eye once again.

"You didn't know this?" Andy asked with a fair amount of disbelief since they had both been educated by Nuns in their youths but they featured more prominently in Andy's school unlike Sharon's and in fact had only ever been taught by one. Sharon shook her head at him. "But you went to a Catholic school as a kid right?"

"Yes I did but as far as I remember there were no 'left handed Demons' there." She looked at the marks on his hand again, noting that they were only on his left hand as she started to piece together what he was telling her. "They gave you these scars? What did they do to you?" Sharon asked as she started to stroke his face, suddenly feeling really quite upset about what she was hearing for the first time just as Andy had expected, it quickly becoming a battle for her to not shed a tear over it and she didn't even have all the facts yet.

"Well it depended" he explained with another sigh and displaying yet more reluctance to talk about it. He looked at her and smiled. People had laughed and in Andrea's case looked absolutely horrified at him when he suggested that there shouldn't be any secrets in a relationship but he truly believed it, thinking it was the best way to make their relationship work given that she had such trust issues following years of Jack's addictions and affairs. As reluctant as he was to tell her the truth he also didn't want to keep anything from her even if that meant telling her things that he'd rather forget had ever happened to him. "Some of them used to just tie my left hand to the leg of my desk to force me to use my right hand when I wrote and stuff and others," he paused and shrugged, trying his hardest to downplay the situation when it was really quite a serious matter, "in particular that evil Sister Mary Martha witch from hell with a wart on her face so big it practically had its own gravitational pull, well she used to smack my hand with a yard stick if she caught me doing anything with my left hand and I do mean anything."

Andy wasn't alone in the abuse he suffered at the hands of those in charge of his education, care and soul, there were two other boys in his class that were also left handed or rather they were when they started that school but they weren't by the time they left. He was never really sure why using his left hand was the sign of the devil nor did he really care, as he got older thinking that some of the other things he got up to were much more Satan's work but complaining about it didn't do much good, it only got him into even more trouble. It was the reason on the whole that his writing was bordering on illegible because it didn't matter how many times Sister Mary Martha would hit and then tie his left hand to the desk and a pen to his right, he had never fully been able to hold it properly like he could when he wrote with his left as a child.

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried with absolute horror. "So these marks..."

"Scars from where she used to hit me so hard that my knuckles started to bleed" he told her very calmly as if it was the sort of thing that happened to everyone as a child and really wasn't a big deal in the slightest.

"Andy!" Sharon cried again, unable to stop the tears from streaking down her cheeks and landing on his chest, utterly distraught to think that something like that had happened to anyone as a child least of all her Andy.

Andy laughed in response, her reaction worse that he expected. "Are you crying?"

"Yes! Of course I'm crying!" she said as she tried to smile about it. "My boy when he was still actually just a small boy was beaten until his hand bled by the very people who had been trusted to care and education him."

Andy laughed again. "Oh babe" he said as he kissed her tenderly on the lips a couple of times before he cupped her face in his hands and wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "I didn't mean to upset you" he told her, that being just one of the many reasons why she had never been told this before.

"You've not upset me. These Nuns have." She kissed him on the lips, the only thing she could do under the circumstances because as much as she'd like to track down the perpetrators, it would only lead her to the cemetery at that point. "It was child abuse!"

"What?" Andy said as he laughed at her reaction, having never really thought about it that way before despite spending his entire career in law enforcement. "Don't worry I'm not overly traumatised by it."

"And yet when you see a Nun on the street your first instinct is still to shout 'NUN!' at the top of your lungs and point at them until they're out of sight" she pointed out to him as he laughed, before now thinking that he had some sort of Nun based Tourette's Syndrome rather than having even the faintest idea that there was a serious reason behind it. "You nearly gave Rusty a heart attack that first time in the car."

"Well it's just a warning so he could be on alert in case she attacked" he joked. "I probably should have told him this story while he was still at St Joseph's just in case." Once more Andy laughed about the whole thing, seeing no point in doing anything else some fifty plus years later but Sharon continued to look genuinely upset by it all. "Don't look at me like that babe. I'm okay. I'm a right handed guy now with the devil completely drummed out of me."

"Not from my experience" she joked as her mood lifted a little before she kissed him again.

"It's no big deal."

"I beg to differ. What did your parents have to say about it?"

Andy shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Sharon asked, sounding even more shocked that she was before.

"Nope."

"Well why didn't they stop it from happening?"

"Because they agreed with them, that I was an out of control monster and they honestly thought I'd be better off being right handed" he explained, his Mother always putting a Band-Aid on his hand but doing nothing to stop it such was her connection to the church. Sharon again looked at him with absolute horror, unable to comprehend anyone who would sit back and let their child be hurt in such a way for any reason least of all the hand he instinctively held a pen in. "What? What's wrong?"

"I can't believe this. They just allowed this to happen to you? Allowed you to be beaten like that for something that you had no control over?" Andy nodded and shrugged very casually once again. "Andy! I know you were a little monster at times but how could they?" Once again Andy shrugged with nothing else really to say on the subject. "How come you've never told me about this before?" she asked.

"When was an appropriate time exactly? On our first date or the night we first slept together?" he replied, thinking there really wasn't an appropriate time to tell your partner that you'd been physically abused by a Nun during your youth.

"I don't know but I'm sure you could have found the time at some point over the last year."

Andy shrugged again. "You knew I didn't like Nuns."

"Yes I know that but I always just assumed it was because they constantly caught you when you were up to no good with girls, you know using the shine on their shoes to look up their skirts or something, not because they actually abused and beat you for no apparent reason other than the way you held a pen."

"Yeah well" was all Andy could say in response as he shrugged.

"Oh Andy come here." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her heart actually breaking for the adorable little boy she'd seen in so many photos when they went to New York and she'd spent time with his sister. "I am so so sorry" she said before she kissed him on the lips repeatedly.

Andy laughed against her mouth. "As much as I'm all for pity sex," he said when they broke apart, "it was a very very long time ago. I'm okay. Really" he insisted. It hadn't always been the case, on more than one occasion as he started to get sober wondering if some of the physical abuse that he suffered as a child, not just from that one particular Nun but also in the way that his Father used to hit him for no apparent reason other than he was drunk and Andy was there (another sorry story he had thus far kept from Sharon despite the fact that he had casually mentioned it to Rusty as they bonded in the a darkened corner of the strip club during Provenza's bachelor party) contributed to his alcoholism. However if AA only taught him one thing it was that he had to take responsibility for his own actions and his decisions to drink. That wasn't to say that he didn't think it had had some sort of impact on his life and it was one of the things that he had discussed with the therapist he had been to see for a couple of months when he started to see more of Nicole following Sharon's rather unexpected appearance at her wedding, seeking all the help he could get as he seized upon the opportunity he was presented with to repair the relationship he had with his daughter now that she was an adult and more receptive to him.

"But I just don't understand, why didn't your parents stop it?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask them that and that's not happening without some serious smelling salts and an Ouija board" he joked only to be met with the same shocked and upset face in reply. "What?" he asked again as he laughed, really not wanting her to be upset by it which was one of the reasons why he had never told her before. "Sharon I don't know what you want me to say here? I would never have told you if I'd thought it would upset you this much." He kissed the tears from her cheeks before he shrugged. "It happened. It shouldn't have. I'm not traumatised by it although I still _really_ don't like Nuns. I've never told you because it's never come up like a lot of things and that's it."

Sharon nodded at him before she picked up his left hand and brought it slowly to her lips, gently kissing and caressing his knuckles for a moment, making sure she kissed every single mark and scar he had on there, unable to erase the pain or the memory of what had sadly happened to him at such a young age but making sure she took care of him moving forward. When she reached his ring finger she couldn't fail to notice that the scar extended from his knuckle and to his finger, noting that it would be easily concealed by a wedding ring and had been too at one point.

Until she had started dating Andy she had never thought she would one day fall in love again, least of all actually be considering getting married for the second time and even as she lay in bed with Andy and slowly kissed his hand she still wasn't one hundred percent sure it was something she needed or even wanted. Given that it seemed more likely that she could leave Andy unattended in a room with a freshly cooked turkey and he wouldn't instantly eat it all rather than getting Jack to agree to an annulment so that she could marry in church she wasn't so certain it was really an option for her anyway. At Christmas she had made a big deal to Andy in assuring him that marriage was on the table for them and a church wedding wasn't all that important to her (both of them assuming that getting Jack to agree to an annulment so that she could marry Andy Flynn of all people, a man so alike him in so many ways that Jack couldn't see him in any other way than his replacement even though it was he that left rather than the other way around), lying to him because at the time he seemed so insecure about their relationship going forward, in the knowledge that she didn't actually need him in her life and he was only there because she simply wanted him. When the time came if her options ended up being a choice between 'living in sin' for the rest of her life with Andy as her beloved Grandmother used to call it (emphatically telling her that she would need to marry Jack if she wanted to live with him but either way she needed to keep her knees together until the big day and even though she advised her to not bother allowing him to work off his 'devilish needs' with her even after their wedding) or marrying Andy without an annulment and therefore losing that close connection with her church that she had come to rely on for so much of her life, she still wasn't sure which one she would pick if he did propose one day. She was a very traditional personal and always had been, both in terms of her faith and her views of the world and family and those things often came into conflict with each other and she feared that meant they would always come at the expense of the man she loved and that bothered her more than anything else.

"I love you, you know that don't you? I love you more than I ever thought was possible" she stated as she returned his hand to his chest and linked their fingers together, uncertain by what their futures held in terms of paperwork and the associated commitment but nevertheless needing him to know that she loved him more than she would ever be able to fully vocalise to him.

"I do," he nodded, "but it's always nice to hear it." He lifted himself up from his pillow so that their lips could meet, moulding together slowly, not driven by passion or lust on that particular occasion but out of sheer adoration for each other. When they broke apart they smiled at each other with their eyes locked, gazing at each other as they so often did in a way that made those around them feel slightly uncomfortable or like they were intruding when they happened to walk in on them.

"But just so we're clear," Sharon said as her head fell back to his chest again, "are there any other horrors in your childhood that I should be made aware of?" she asked, keen to know what else lurked in his past that made him the man she had eventually fallen in love with.

"Not that I can think of...although I did walk in on my Grandmother naked once."

Sharon laughed at him. "And how was that?"

"A little like how you looked in the bathtub earlier" he joked, immediately laughing as Sharon began to beat him in retaliation. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding."

"As Rusty and I keep telling you, you're not funny." Andy nodded and pulled her back down onto his shoulder again, kissing the top of her head as her hand slipped under his t-shirt so that she could run her fingers up and down his chest as she liked to do. "I can't believe they used to beat you. My poor boy" she said as she kissed his chin. "It partially explains why you were such a delinquent if this sort of thing was happening to you for no reason." Andy just laughed at her in response, amused that Sharon thought it was the cause of some of his unruly behaviour as a child when it really had nothing to do with it, he was just a delinquent like everyone else in his family. "So those little marks on your knuckles are from the Nuns and this," she said as her hand ran across the rather large scar across his abdomen, "was from Bobby Harris right?"

"Yeah, that's one of the gifts he gave me." Suddenly he started laughing as he squeezed her a little tighter. "You know it's funny, I must have looked pretty banged up at the time because you were so nice to me, both on the phone and at the hospital" he said.

"What are you talking about? I was always nice to you" she insisted.

"Then why did you send me to Sensitivity Training three times in the space of less than five months?" he asked, sometimes feeling like she had a personal vendetta against him in the past.

"Because you deserved it" she replied sternly and making him laugh. "I was also very nice to you and extremely concerned for your wellbeing when you were sitting in the back of the ambulance, you've forgotten that one."

Andy looked at her puzzled. "I spoke to you in the back of the ambulance?" he asked, not remembering much that had happened after he put his phone down after calling her and declaring that it was her 'lucky day' until he woke up again in the hospital with Provenza and Brenda staring at him, the former clutching that ridiculous pink 'It's A Girl!" balloon. "I don't remember that."

"I'm not surprised. You gave me your gun, shouted a bit but that was no change to how you usually spoke to me and then before you'd let them look at you properly or had finished giving me a brief statement you passed out from the blood loss. That was the first time you collapsed in front of me" she told him with a pointed look, already having seen him collapse on at least three occasions and that was only because Rusty was 'Flynn sitting' when he fainted in the bathroom prior to his surgery.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm never going to do it again I promise. If I so much as have a headache I'll tell you about it from now on" he promised as she laughed. "The big one on my arm, that was from Bobby Harris too."

"Yes I remember. And this," she said before she kissed the tiny mark on his neck from where his blood clot was removed during his surgery, only really noticeable to the naked eye if you knew it was there and where to look, "was from your surgery."

"Right. The one on my right thigh was from the second time I was shot" he told her before Sharon's hand slipped out from under his shirt and move to caress the small mark on his thigh from where the bullet had hit him. "If memory serves that was the first time you came to see me in the hospital but instead of bringing me a bunch of flowers or grapes or even a balloon you angrily fired question after question at me instead of letting me sleep, wouldn't leave so that I could go to the bathroom and made me wish that asshole had actually killed me" he grumbled with Sharon being his only visitor while he was in the hospital aside from the then Captain Taylor and his partner Ray (not telling his children what had happened to him because he claimed he didn't want to upset and worry them when the truth was he didn't think they would come to see him anyway and therefore was sparing himself the distress and embarrassment of them not turning up).

Sharon laughed at him, her memory of events being slightest different to his. "What did you expect me to do? You'd shot a suspect!" she reminded him.

"Only because he shot me first!"

Sharon laughed again. "That wasn't the point as well you know boy" she said as she poked him in the chest. "Anyway regardless of who actually shot first…"

"Which was him" Andy interjected.

"Whatever, regardless of who shot first, an officer on duty had shot a suspect and it was my job to establish the facts and clear him of any wrongdoing _before_ he could return to work."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Andy replied, his token response of late when she proved herself right, something that happened a lot more than he cared to admit.

"Don't 'Yeah, yeah, yeah' me" she said as she pinched the back of his knee with a laugh. "I was nothing but kind and professional to you the entire time you were in the hospital and you did nothing but glare at me, curse obscenities and continually mutter under your breath while you gave me that smug smile I've spent so many years wanting to slap off your face."

Andy laughed. "And now?" he asked as he gave her the smug smile in question.

"Now I find it very very sexy indeed" she confirmed with a kiss to his lips.

"Ah well it was the drugs you see" Andy explained as an excuse for his behaviour when he was less than pleased to be getting a visit from FID as he lay in his hospital bed following a gang banger taking a shot at him and Andy killing him in return before the punk had chance to correct his aim and finish the job. "They lowered my inhibitions and made me say things I wouldn't normally dream of saying under different circumstances."

She smiled at him, trying not to laugh at the nonsense he was spouting. "You were sober by that point boy so you weren't on any drugs."

"Ah, well then it must have been the pain I was in" he lied.

Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "So it was the pain that lead you to call me a 'harpy' when I started your interview and then proceeded to tell me precisely where I could stick my report?"

"I didn't do that."

"Oh yes you did. I remember vividly. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was still trying to be professional and you were lying prone in a hospital bed with a bullet in your leg and in a considerable amount of pain I would have slapped you so hard it would have made your head spin."

"See, sympathy works every time." He winked at her as she laughed, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it several times as he constantly sought to make amends for the way he had treated her in the past despite her repeatedly telling him that he simply didn't need to, the past was the past and anything that had happened between them professionally before they became friends had no place in the relationship they now had. "That one hurt a lot more than the one in my shoulder did, I can tell you that."

"That's probably because they gave you Vicodin back then and could actually take it."

"You may have a point there" he agreed as he chuckled. "What about you flower?" he asked as his finger started to trace the very small mark on the underside of her chin, a scar that most of the world had never even noticed was there. "This is from where you fell off your pony" he said before he starting laughing.

Sharon laughed with him for a moment before she sighed. "It wasn't my pony. It was a friend's pony" she corrected him but only to be met with more laughter. "Why do you think this is so funny?" she asked. It was not the first time the two of them had had that particular conversation, Andy noticing the small scar under her chin back when they were just friends and asking the question as to how she had ended up with it. Sadly for Sharon he found it just as funny as he warmed her in bed as he did the day she told him about it but without ever really telling her exactly why he found it so amusing.

"It's just the idea that you grew up with a pony..."

"I didn't grow up with a pony" she insisted as she cut him off. "I had to wear a riding helmet because my lazy eye put me off balance and when that was behind me I would occasionally ride my best friend's pony at the weekend since I already had a helmet."

"Okay, but while you were riding your best friend's pony in Connecticut, I was in Harlem and having to wear shoes worn previously by two other siblings and the best toy I had to my name was a stick with a bit of cat shit on it" Andy told her, exaggerating about his lack of toys for effect especially since if he and his brothers really wanted something they would usually just steal it.

Sharon laughed at him as she shook her head. "You know Rusty is absolutely right" she told him. "Sometimes it is like listening to Oliver Twist." She laughed again as she caressed his cheek with her fingertips. "My poor boy" she said before she kissed him on the lips. "Beaten by Nuns, forced to wear twice used shoes while playing with sticks." She kissed him again as she laughed, their backgrounds so similar while at the same time being so vastly different.

"Are you mocking me?" he asked with a fair amount of fake offense.

"Never" Sharon insisted, kissing him again.

"Good job Raydor."

She just stared at him for a moment, her hand continuing to stroke his face. "I wish things had been easier for you when you were growing up but at the same time all of your past experiences add up to the man I utterly adore and want to spend the rest of my life with" she mused.

Andy laughed. "Now you're just trying to get me into bed."

"I've got news for you," she whispered in a way that always shot straight through him, "I've already got you in bed." She grinned before she kissed him on the lips, only breaking apart when he started to laugh again. "Stop laughing at my riding helmet!" she all but ordered with a playful slap to his chest.

"I will" Andy said as he tried to compose himself. "I promise" he added before erupting into laughter once more, unable to stop finding it so funny even if he wanted to try.

"And yet you're still laughing at me."

"Okay I'll stop if you let me frame that photo of you with the eyepatch and the helmet" he offered in reference to the photo he had stumbled across in the back of her closet, a photo she had tried to hide before being forced to explain why she was wearing an eyepatch and a riding helmet due to a lazy eye and the associated dizziness.

"Nope. Never" Sharon stated categorically.

"We can keep it in the bedroom. On my side of the bed. No one will see it but me."

"And me and Rusty and anyone else who happens to wander into my, soon to be our bedroom" she corrected, showing no signs of giving in no matter how hard he begged.

Andy smiled. "'Our bedroom'? I like the sound of that."

"I know" she replied with a kiss. "Me too" she added, kissing him again.

"But just to go back for one second, who else is likely to wander into your, soon to be our bedroom? Is this Mr Johnson again or have you been having assignations with other men without my knowledge too?" he asked.

Sharon laughed. "Assignations?"

"Don't try deflecting Raydor. Answer the question."

Sharon laughed and kissed him on the chin. "The only person I'm having 'assignations' with is you...and poor old Mr Johnson of course" she teased.

"Why you!" Andy cried as he started to tickle her causing her to wriggle under his touch.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried as she laughed, writhing on top of him. Andy stopped, putting his arms around her again. "I meant more along the lines of Ricky and Emily the next time they come to stay because I should warn you now, they like to lie on the end of my bed and talk to me at night before they go to sleep."

"That's okay. So does Provenza" he joked and making her laugh. "He curls up into a ball like a dog" he added and making her laugh again. "But hold up a second. Are you telling me that Emily and Ricky and Rusty have never seen that photograph of you?" he asked with quite a lot of disbelief.

"No! Of course not!"

"Really?" he asked. Sharon nodded in reply before he smiled at her, realising that aside from her late parents he was the only person to have seen that particular photo, not even letting Jack see it at the height of their relationship. "You like me" he all but shouted with that highly annoying shit eating grin which only served to make her roll her eyes at him. "You do, you really like me" he repeated, kissing her forehead.

"More like you found it and saw it before I had a chance to stop you" she maintained although the truth was, had she wanted to stop him from seeing what was in that box and that photo in particular she had plenty of time to wrestle it out of his hands but she simply elected to share that part of herself with him, something she had never done with anyone else, not even her children.

"Fine then I'll keep it in my wallet."

Sharon looked at him baffled. "Why do you want it so much?"

"Because it's a side of you that I'm becoming increasingly aware that I'm in a privileged position to see" he told her before he kissed her lips. "That's why."

Sharon hummed. "I'll think about it."

"So how exactly did a pony do this to you?" he asked as his thumb traced the mark on her chin once again.

"My Dad was helping me on when the...," she paused, knowing he was going to find it all utterly hysterical and could potentially die laughing at her, "when the horse moved and I fell flat on my face in the dirt, banging my chin on a rock that was submerged in the mud." As anticipated Andy laughed long and he laughed loud, gripping his side with his hand from the pain of it all. "It's not funny."

"Why did it move?"

"Other than that horse seemed to hate me?"

"Well it probably wondered why you were always wearing a riding helmet but never went near a horse" he offered, laughing once again. "To be perfectly fair to get to this age in our particular line of work and only have the tiniest mark on your chin from something completely unrelated, you've done very well babe."

"Well certainly better than you anyway."

"Hey I wear these scars like badges of honour."

"Oh of course because most of them were caused by people trying to kill you" she pointed out before he laughed and nodded at her perfectly fair assessment. "And anyway that's not completely true. I have other scars."

"Where?" he asked, having covered every square inch of her body with his hands and mouth over the last nine months without seeing any of note.

Sharon frowned at him, the beginnings of a smirk on her lips. "Well if you of all people haven't noticed them then I'm not going to tell you" she told him.

"Why not?"

She paused before answering, knowing he wasn't going to like what she had to say. Finally she smiled and said "Because men tend to cover their ears and scream when you mention stitches in rips caused during child birth." As anticipated Andy grimaced, almost crossing his own legs as she laughed at him. "I told you."

"Which kid?"

"Why does that matter?" she asked.

"So I know who to blame and beat up for hurting my girl" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "It was with Ricky but as I've already told you it wasn't exactly what you'd call a conventional birth" she said, that huge understatement not passing Andy by since Sharon had waited so long for Jack to come home and drive her to the hospital that when he did arrive hours later and drunk to boot she had no choice but to drive herself there with Emily sitting in the backseat, coming perilously close to giving birth to Ricky in the car. "No episiotomy was needed with Ricky, he just went right ahead and did it himself" she laughed. "Now do you understand why Jack said it was like his favourite bar had burnt down?"

"Ricky! I'll kill him!" Andy cried jokingly with a clenched fist. Sharon laughed before she kissed him. "Did it hurt?" he asked somewhat foolishly given what they were talking about.

"Did it hurt? What do you think?" Sharon asked, shaking her head at how idiotic he could be at times as he grimaced just from the thought of it and he didn't even have a 'lady garden.'

"How many stitches exactly?" he asked after a moment.

"Six."

"Ow!" he shouted, still grimacing as if it was happening to him.

"I told you you didn't want to know about it."

"Which hurt more, the first time with Emily or Ricky trying to rip your insides out like he was Edward Scissorhands?"

Sharon laughed at Andy's perfect choice in words since as eager as Ricky seemed to be to make an entrance into the world he also seemed to cling on at the last moment, expecting to find bits of skin under his nails when he was handed to her. "Giving birth to Emily without a shadow of a doubt" she said after a moment or two of thought. "That first time was truly awful and utter agony and I was far too distracted by everything and getting myself to the hospital and comforting Emily the second time to really notice that I was being ripped apart from the insides" she explained as Andy grimaced again. "But giving birth to Emily, that was tough, that was really tough. After several hours of that I was pretty much numb from the waist down anyway." Andy stared back at her with absolute horror, making her laugh. "The look on your face. Do you want to change the subject?"

"Please" he nodded as she laughed at him. "If Jack hadn't been such an unreliable asshole do you think you would have had more kids?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Probably. I always wanted a large family but it just wasn't written in the stars at the time" she said with a little sad shrug before she suddenly smiled at him. "And now, some twenty plus years later I've ended up with five children anyway and the large family I always wanted and dreamed of when we first got married" she declared joyfully, celebrating it by pushing her lips to his.

"Six" Andy replied, getting a confused hum in return. "Six children. You always forget about Provenza. You're going to end up giving the guy a complex."

Sharon laughed. "Right, six children including Lieutenant Provenza." She fell silent as her hand travelled down to his shin on his right leg and the rather large scar that cut across it. "How did you get this one?" she asked. "Kicking in a door I suppose?"

"No." He paused, looking a little lost for words for a moment. "This is probably going to sound really bad."

Sharon instantly laughed. "Oh how did I know this story was going to start like that? Does this involve a woman or a Nun or a prostitute or anything else that I'm going to disapprove of?"

"Nope. It involves a lot of cherry brandy and a rather large hill in a small fishing village in Italy."

"Oh good. Carry on." Andy went to start his story but was quickly cut off by Sharon's hand going across his mouth to stop him. "No hold on one second." Sharon sat up quickly and grabbed her tea from the nightstand, turning to face him again with her legs crossed like a child at story time and giving him her full and undivided attention. "Okay, continue."

He smiled at her and the way she was sitting like she was about to hear a ghost story at her first ever sleep over. Before he started his hand moved to her leg and began to rub it up and down, still trying to warm her up now that she was partially uncovered. "When I was sixteen my Dad rather unexpectedly came into a lot of money."

"Do I want to know from where?" she asked, disapproval already in her voice.

"Probably not because it wasn't exactly legal." Sharon rolled her eyes and laughed, Andy's story so far going exactly as she expected. In all fairness to Andy's Father he wasn't the one that technically did anything wrong on that particular occasion. He was simply asked to hold onto some money for a few days as he had done plenty of times before that (and more often than not things other than money) but when the owner suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack and no one came to collect it, some six months later he decided that the money was his to spend on what he liked. "So when this money landed in his lap my Mom quickly decided that it should be used to go on vacation as a family, my first ever vacation."

"You'd never been abroad at that point?"

"I hadn't even been out of the State before that point" Andy pointed out. "Now the debate started immediately about where we were going to go. My Dad wanted to go to Ireland and show all his kids where the Flynns had come from, perhaps dump me and my sister in an orphanage there while they were at it but my Mom wanted us to go to Italy for similar reasons."

"Except for the orphanage?"

"Well I can live in hope but you've seen the little marks on my knuckles."

"So your Mom won?"

"Eventually she did," he nodded, "I assume after she'd manipulated my Dad into it."

Sharon laughed. "Well she couldn't have manipulated him too much since you don't have a younger sibling" she suggested, with Andy often telling her that every time his Dad so much as looked at his Mom a little funny she seemed to get pregnant although she wasn't sure how he knew that since he was the youngest of the Flynn clan.

"By the time I was sixteen it was too late for even the Flynn Super Sperm to make an impact on someone her age" he replied, her laughing at him again.

"And yet it could still hit a home run with me according to you?"

"Well I am very very highly skilled in that particular department" he boasted with a grin.

Sharon laughed. "Oddly enough I had noticed."

"Thank you" he replied as he lifted himself up to kiss her on the lips. "So the vacation was booked and we went to Italy to this small fishing village called Cefalu that was just outside of Palermo where my Mom's side of the family was from."

"Did you have any relatives still living there at the time?"

"Hundreds. Or that's how it seemed" he grumbled.

"Oh dear" Sharon laughed.

"Exactly. Nearly every person I met seemed to be related to me in one way or another. On the whole pickings were slim for me and not only because I couldn't speak the language very well but also because I was never sure if the girl I was talking pigeon Italian to was my cousin or not." Sharon laughed again. "Anyway one of cousins Alberto owned a bar that sat in the middle of the village on top of a hill."

"Oh yes?" she said, already having an idea where this particular story was headed.

"And being my cousin and a bit of a drunk himself he would let me have a drink every now and then without my parents finding out about it."

"I should have known."

"So should I back then" he said with a sad sigh. "I was already turning into my Dad at the age of sixteen, drinking too much and then being a lousy Father for most of my life" he stated as if it was an indisputable fact. Before he could continue Sharon leant forward and kissed him on the lips. "What was that for?"

"Because I love you and you are most definitely not your Father" she told him, thinking it was vitally important that he knew that, telling him whenever a comparison came up.

"Well not anymore I hope."

"Definitely not" she replied before she kissed him again. "Definitely not."

He smiled at her in thanks before he continued. "So it was our last night there and I'm at the bar with my cousin and he gives me this bottle of cherry brandy. Now in hindsight I realise that he gave it to me to bring home with me but at the time after I'd already drunk far too much red wine I thought it was to drink there, so I did."

"The whole bottle?" Sharon asked, getting a nod in response. "How big was it?" Andy showed her with his hands, indicating a bottle that was comparable in size to a regular bottle of any other spirit, in other words a bottle too big for a sixteen year old to be drinking on his own in one go. "Oh my God!"

"Now the rest of the evening is kind of fuzzy around the edges."

Sharon laughed. "I can't for the life of me imagine why."

"Yeah right. So it's five o'clock the next morning and my family is ready to start the journey to the airport before we flew home via every major city in Europe or so it seemed at the time but I'm still at the bar. Now my sister knew where I was so she came looking for me before my parents knew I was missing and..."

"Beat you to death?"

"Something like that. So she finds me and says you know, we've got to haul ass and starts to drag me back to my Aunt's house that we were staying in. Now this house was beautiful but it was situated at the bottom of a hill and overlooked the beach and it was a seriously steep hill, I'm talking if Provenza tried to climb it now he'd be dead before making it half way up and it was paved with these really shiny and slippery cobble stones."

Sharon laughed again. "Oh God! I think I know where this is headed."

"So my sister comes to get me and drags me home by my collar, utterly disgusted with the state I was in. Now at some point during the night my shoelaces had come undone without me noticing, probably when I jumped into the pool fully clothed, until the moment I tripped over them as we started to descend the hill."

"Oh Andy!" Sharon cried as she started to laugh hysterically.

"I must have rolled about thirty or forty feet down this hill until I crashed into a fishing boat and sliced my shin open" he said, indicating the scar on his shin to show her just how big of a wound he had got from the incident. Sharon just laughed at him. "Oddly enough that's exactly what my sister did too only she was pointing at me as she did it."

"I'm not surprised" she said as she continued to laugh. "And how was the boat?"

"That's your first question?"

"I've seen pictures of you when you were sixteen and you weren't exactly scrawny so I imagine more damage was done to the boat than to you" she pointed out, the boxing that Andy did throughout his childhood and beyond meaning that he was anything but slight at that age, being roughly twice the size Rusty was when she first met him.

"Good point" he agreed. "I punched a hole right in the side. Let's just say I doubt anyone caught anything in it ever again."

"Well what did you do?"

"My sister wrapped my leg up with my undershirt and she helped me hobble inside."

"And your parents never found out?"

"They didn't know about my leg and the boat, Lizzie sought to that as she patched up my leg in the back of the car without them noticing."

"And the drinking?"

Andy grimaced at the memory before he confessed "I think I made it about four miles or so before I emptied my stomach all over my brother Brian." It was an incident that had since passed into Flynn Family folklore with both brothers dripping with vomit and their Father flat out refusing to stop the car until they reached the airport so that they could change their clothes. Sharon laughed again, grateful that her own children had been a lot more well behaved than Andy was at the same age but Jack's addictions and constant disappearing acts ensured that never happened, neither of them wanting to turn out like their Father. "And that's the only time I've ever been to Italy."

"More like you've never been allowed back since" Sharon joked, imaging 'Wanted' posted dotted around every port and airport in the country should a Flynn try to get back across their borders ever again.

"Something like that" Andy nodded.

"Did you ever make it to Ireland? Walked the footsteps of the Flynns with your family?"

"No. Never. I mean I've always wanted to go and see it but the kids were too young to be taking them that far on vacation and then we got divorced," he said with a very regretful shrug of his shoulders, "and I wasn't going to go on my own or with anyone I was 'dating' so it remains on my bucket list I guess. How about you? Have you ever been to see where the O'Dwyers came from?"

"No. My parents were more focused on the O'Dwyers moving forward than they were with the O'Dwyers from the past" she explained, always wanting to go especially as a child but other priorities and responsibilities ensuring it never happened as an adult either.

"Avoiding a big scandal back in the homeland were they?"

Sharon laughed. "Probably" she replied, thinking that was one possibility to explain why her Dad was so set against going there to see where his Grandparents had come from.

"I bet they have wanted posters up with your whole family tree on there."

"I thought that was the Flynns."

"Well that too" Andy nodded before they both laughed. He played with her fingers for a moment, avoiding her eye as he plucked up the courage to ask the question that was on the very tip of his tongue. He was nervous with her again. He was always nervous with her and he still didn't really know why he felt that way other than he was utterly terrified of losing her altogether even though she had repeatedly made it abundantly clear that was never going to happen. Still everything that had happened between them had happened in stages, moving forward together inch by inch during each stage, whether it was that first tentative kiss or telling each other how they felt or sleeping together for the first time, he couldn't fail to acknowledge how ground breaking and earth shattering it was for them as a couple and what he had to suggest to her next felt exactly the same. Eventually he looked up and met her eye. "We should go together sometime" he suggested.

"It's a bit of a distance to..."

"I don't mean right now or at the end of this summer even," he said with the plan in place for the two of them to escape on a week's vacation at some point before the start of fall, "but you know going to Ireland, it could be something to look forward to when we retire" he said with a casual shrug, once again showing her just how uncertain he sometimes felt with her and their future together.

"Now that's an idea" Sharon agreed, the suggestion lighting up her entire face.

Once more Andy avoided her eye as he played with her fingers, clearly still nervous about what he was about to suggest next. "Or you know maybe one day when we feel the need to celebrate for a week or two after a very big event in our lives" he said finally, looking up and winking her, "we could go then."

Sharon took the hint immediately and smiled at him, thinking that it would be the perfect place for them to spend some time alone together as they explored the countryside and walked along the coast, possibly as a honeymoon. "I think they both sound like fabulous ideas" Sharon declared as she leant over him to put her tea cup on his nightstand before snuggling back down next to him, her head returning to his shoulder. Andy instantly relaxed and she could feel it as she settled into his side again, a long deep breath escaping from his lips like a sigh of relief.

"Yeah well I'm full of good ideas," he bragged a little cockily, his nervousness suddenly gone as quickly as it came, "like asking my Captain out on a proper date." He kissed her on the lips, letting it linger for as long as possible before being forced up for air. "That was probably my best idea of all."

"I thought that was lying to Nicole about me?" she said, teasing him once again.

"Okay my second best."

Sharon laughed. "Well you'll get no argument from me about that" she agreed before she kissed him long and slow on the lips.

"I didn't think I would" he replied with a smile, kissing her again. "Have you spoken to Taylor about it yet?"

"About going away for a few days?" she asked and getting a nod from Andy in reply. "No not yet. I've tried but it just hasn't happened so far."

Andy grinned at her. "Like when you tried to ask me to move in with you?" he asked with barely contained laughter, given that Sharon's first abortive attempt resulted in her asking him to move his desk slightly to the left at work. It was a common pattern with Sharon. She could mock Andy all she liked over how nervous he was with her at every single stage of their relationship so far but she was just as bad, never able to ask or do what she wanted to the first time of asking. The prime example aside from asking him to move in was when she tried to tell him she loved him the first time and only succeeded in screaming 'I love You…hoo!' at him instead. "What did you say to him? Did you get tongue tied half way through and ask him to go on vacation with you instead?" he asked before he laughed.

Sharon looked at him unimpressed for a moment before simply saying "No" and sounding every inch like Darth Raydor in all her pomp. "I'm trying to wait until he's in a really good mood before I very carefully and gently broach the subject of both of us needing some time off work at the same time with him but that's like trying to catch lightening in a bottle."

"Well good luck with that" Andy replied, not at all envious of the task she had taken upon herself, wanting to do it because she outranked him and knowing just how awkward Chief Taylor was in those moments when they had to discuss their personal relationship with him with both of them in attendance, thinking it would go better if she did it alone.

"So tell me, what were you really planning on doing here all alone tonight before I came over?" she asked, thinking he must have had other plans aside from scratching.

"Before or after I invited Mrs Williams over?" Sharon laughed and pinched his knee a couple of times. "I would have come home, got changed into something a lot more comfortable, eaten my takeout in front of the TV before coming to bed and texting you to say goodnight and hoping that you were still awake so that we could talk for a little while." He kissed the top of her head as he pulled her tighter against his chest. "Thankfully I didn't have to and now I've got you in person to talk to instead."

"I don't know what I did before I had you in my bed to talk to every night."

"You plotted the downfall of Lieutenants that had pissed you off in the past" he joked.

Sharon laughed. "If that was really true not only would you be out of a job by now but you'd probably be in jail too" she said as a joke although there was an element of truth to it and they both knew it. Andy laughed at her. "What? You don't believe me?"

"Oh I do. I absolutely know that would have happened if you wanted it to."

"You'd better believe it."

"I used to read" Andy explained, reading an awful lot at night to pass the time before they started to share a bed and hour after hour of random conversations between the two of them became the norm.

"Sports Illustrated? Because I know for a fact that you've never finished a book in your life" Sharon joked, often pointing out that Andy had been reading the same book, maybe even the same chapter of the same book since the first night they shared a bed.

"Yes I have."

"Not while I've been sleeping next to you, you haven't."

"That's because you distract me" he grumbled, trying to hide the smirk on the face since whenever Sharon tried to read in bed he would always find some way to distract her.

"Me distract you?" Sharon asked with disbelief.

"Thank you for finally admitting that sweetheart" he told her before pushing his lips to her rather shocked face and laughing.

"I'm going to have to start reading in the bath again since you won't leave me alone and stop distracting me if I try to read in bed."

"Well that's not going to happen" Andy stated almost dismissively.

"Why not?"

"Because I like to sit on the edge of the tub and talk to you that's why" he explained before he kissed her again. "I'm afraid you're going to have to go with the old staple."

"Oh yes and what's that?"

"Reading on the toilet" he joked. Sharon shook her head and smacked him on his chest as he laughed. "I'm looking forward to never not being able to sleep again" he stated after a moment or two of silence.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't sleep without you anymore Raydor" he told her very matter-of-factly as she smiled at him, feeling the exact same way which was just one of the reasons why she had driven the forty minute plus journey to spend the evening with him, if she hadn't she would have been forced to endure a restless night without him. "It doesn't matter if you're beating me or kicking me or sleeping with your palm on my face, I always sleep better with you sleeping next to me."

"Me too" she replied, kissing him. Silence fell between them for a moment as Sharon's hand started to move up and down his body in a very soothing motion as far as she could reach. With each pass her hand got lower and lower, skirting perilously close to his groin each time and giving Andy a good idea of what her intentions were for the next part of their evening, not that they were much different to his own plans. Andy tried his best not to smile or react, loving it when Sharon would initiate things physically between them which was in complete contrast to his marriage to Sandra towards the end, always having to initiate things himself, usually being turned down and very often feeling like a sex pest that she tolerated in her bed as a result.

After feeling that he was beginning to lose his control Andy asked "Are you tired?"

"Not at all but I am still a little cold" she said before she moved her lips to his neck.

Andy smiled. "Is there anything I do to help that?" he asked.

Sharon put a hand on his cheek and pulled him towards her, ensuring that they were now face to face. "Oh I should say so, yes" she told him before she gave him an almost searing kiss on the lips that left very little room for misunderstanding. "I actually thought it was your specialty."

"Oh it is" he agreed with another shit eating grin before their lips crashed together. "I'm excellent at starting fires" he added before they both laughed at the understatement. "But I must warn you now that what I have in mind may involve removing some of your many many layers of clothing."

"Replace them with these hands and these lips," she said as she paused to brush hers against his, "and you've got yourself a deal."

"Oh you are on" Andy said as he rolled them, pushing Sharon onto her back as he hovered above her before their lips met again. "One last hurrah in the old place without the kid down the hall coming up" he declared, kissing her again.

Sharon laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just the one hurrah?"

"I meant in here" Andy clarified. "Tomorrow morning we've got the bathroom" he added as his lips moved to her neck, battling to get past her hood and the many layers of clothing she was still wearing but were soon to be discarded on the floor.

"Hmmmmmm" Sharon hummed as her eyes closed.

"And then the night before I move out of this place we've got the kitchen," he said as he returned his lips to hers, "and the living room."

"Oh you know how much I love a man who plans ahead."


	33. Chapter 33

_As usual I want to start by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter. To be perfectly honest I'm a little blown away and slightly overwhelmed by the positive response to chapter 32, I wasn't expecting it. In particular I'd like to thank eelise187, Baker St, froggy62, welshcwtch, MaxiP99, xbleeple, jujuone23, Battgirl2, seaford71, MikUSC, Elaine Huang, maidenpride, HeiBeSo and the five guests for leaving reviews, I appreciate them more than you will ever know. If you'd be so kind as to leave a review for this chapter you will make my day. Thanks also to Angie, Alessia Ghezzi, Melanie Claire Darby, Andrea, Rachel Guffin and Vivi for getting in touch on Twitter and letting me know what you thought of it. If anyone wants me you can find me at DHPLover._

 _This majority of this chapter takes place at the beginning of_ _ **Dead Zone 5x10**_ _but it starts between_ _ **Family Law 5x9**_ _and Dead Zone and is posted a week earlier than planned at the request of a gang of very nice people on Twitter. As a conservative guess about 70% of the dialogue was written immediately after the episode aired and it's mainly fluff._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty Three**

Rusty and Mark sat opposite each other in silence at the Conference Room table as the TV played quietly in the background, the boy eating the remnants of his sandwich that a patrol officer had picked him up from a deli around the corner (with Julio insisting that Mark's first and second choices of burgers and pizza were absolutely not going to happen no matter how much he sulked and it was either a fairly healthy sandwich and a banana or nothing) as Rusty fiddled with his phone and planned his next vlog post. It was a comfortable silence. Neither of them had anything to say to the other but neither did they object to being stuck in the Conference Room with each other either. Movement on the other side of the glass eventually caught Rusty's eye causing him to look up just as Julio and Provenza walked into the room. As the two men stepped inside Sharon hovered by the open door in the hallway, staying out of the way while still being there if she was needed.

Provenza cleared his throat before he spoke. "Hello Mark" he said kindly as he smoothed his tie down his shirt front before he straightened it, still wanting to look professional and smart for their potential witness even if said witness was only a child. The boy instantly snapped his head up to look at him, making both Julio and Provenza wonder what would just have happened to them both if indeed looks could actually kill (but then again if that were the case then Provenza would have died four wives earlier at the very least). It was more than suspicion, it was contempt and if they didn't already know it from their previous interactions with Mark over the previous twenty four hours, talking to him about his Mom and how they had been living prior to her death was not going to be easy. Provenza glanced at Julio, already feeling sorry for him for having to deal with Mark at home too but he had warned him to stay away from fostering but he wouldn't listen, however gloating about that fact would have to wait until later, for now they had a job to do and getting Mark to talk to them was likely to prove more difficult than speaking to any of the former Mrs Provenzas without them throwing something at his head.

Provenza cleared his throat again before he continued. "I don't believe I've had the chance to introduce myself to you before. My name is Lieutenant Provenza" he said, saying his name very slowly and stressing every single syllable so that Mark would hopefully take note and remember it. "I'm part of the LAPD and I work with Detective Sanchez here." He paused for a moment, expecting a response to come his way but instead Mark just looked between the two of them in silence, his face reading nothing but suspicion and garnished with more than the odd splash of disgust too. "Do you mind if we both have a little chat with you for a moment?" Again Mark just stared at them in silence, not prepared to answer if he could help it and even then he was going to be incredibly reluctant. Sensing that it was going to be an even longer and drawn out affair that he had initially feared, Provenza turned to Rusty. "Erm Rusty, the Captain wants a quick world with you while we have a chat with young Mark over here. Okay?"

"Erm yeah sure okay" Rusty replied, highly confused by what was going on. "Well goodbye Mark. It was nice to meet you." Once more Mark remained deadly silent, looking at all three of them like they were his worst enemies and he wouldn't bother to waste his own spit if they were on fire. Rusty nodded, unable to not smile at Mark and wondering if he treated Buzz in much the same way when he was in the boy's position, silently hoping that he was a lot nicer than he feared, a flash of Buzz wrestling his crutch from him as he tried to flee the Murder Room playing through his mind. He nodded at Provenza before he stood and walked out the door to join Sharon. "What's going on?" he asked her as he glanced at Mark through the glass.

Sharon brought her finger to her lips and shook her head silently, a clear indication that she didn't want to answer any questions while Mark could potentially still hear them. "Shut the door and we can talk in my office for a moment" she told him in something just above a whisper before she turned on her heels and walked towards her office.

Rusty quickly obliged, shutting the door to the Conference Room and following Sharon who was already waiting in her office for him with her hand on the door handle, shutting it the moment he stepped inside. She stepped towards the glass that separated her office from the Conference Room and looked at Mark through the blinds, shaking her head with dismay and showing her clear distress at the situation they currently found themselves in. "So what's going on?" Rusty asked.

Sharon sighed and sat down on the very edge of her desk to face her son, her fingers briefly coming up to rub her temple and the pain that lurked there, her head starting to pound the moment that Cynthia put in an appearance in the Murder Room ten minutes earlier and dropped the devastating news on them. "Mark's Mother has been found" she explained simply.

"Oh well that's great isn't it?" Rusty asked with a smile. Sharon didn't answer, letting out a long, slow sigh instead as she turned to look at the boy through the glass once more and instantly making Rusty realise that there was a lot more going on than he currently knew. "No? It's not?" he asked as his face dropped. "What's wrong? Has she been arrested or something?"

"No" Sharon said as she sighed again. "Sadly she's been found murdered in Lincoln Heights, her body abandoned in a vacant lot" she stated very matter-of-factly, sounding like the Captain of Major Crimes rather than his Mother in that moment.

"Oh my God" Rusty cried as his hands flew up to cover his face in shock, his worst nightmare from when Sharon first took him into her home and began the search for his Mother had just happened to a boy not even half the age he was then. "That poor kid."

"I know" Sharon sighed as she looked at Mark with Julio and Provenza once again, finding it very hard to tare her eyes away from the boy. "We're taking over the case and we're having all of the information sent over to us right now but Lieutenant Provenza and Detective Sanchez wanted to get a head start on talking to Mark first."

"Are they going to tell him right now?" Rusty asked as he pointed towards them.

"No not yet. As hard as it seems and as upsetting as it is Mark is our only real witness right now and our only physical connection to his Mother so we need to get him to help us as much as he can first before we break the bad news to him and then we need to get Dr Joe over here to help us do it as gently as possible."

"God. I just can't imagine...So you're both going to be pretty late home tonight then huh?" he asked, assuming that he wouldn't see Sharon again until morning and that was only if things went well with their investigation and everyone managed to get away for a couple of hours in order to catch up on some sleep. Rusty had no idea in that moment that Andy had already sold his house and was on the brink of moving in with them but as had become the norm over the last six months in particular he just expected him to stay at the condo every night as he so often did, it now seeming odd and frankly a little worrying to him when Andy didn't stay over, wondering if perhaps they'd had an argument and weren't speaking to each other when usually it was just because he was at an AA meeting.

Sharon nodded as she struggled to take her eyes off Mark. "I'm sorry but it looks that way yes" she said as she finally turned to face Rusty again. "We at least need to make a start on looking at what Hollenbeck division have managed to piece together so far since they found her body before we call it a night. I'm sorry. We'll try not to wake you up when we come home but we'll probably be very late."

"It's no problem" Rusty shrugged, more than capable of feeding and taking care of himself if they weren't going to be home in time to eat with him but he just wanting to know either way if they would be coming home that night or not in the same way that Sharon wanted to know when he was working late on _Badge of Justice_ before he went to college. "I can grab something from the fridge when I get back and I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay and thank you for volunteering to sit with Mark today" Sharon smiled at him. "I know Julio really appreciates your help and I do too."

"It's really not a problem" he replied, more than pleased to help out and return the favour for the people who had done very much the same thing with him when he was first in DCFS Emergency Care although if he was perfectly honest Julio's comment of 'Whatever happens don't leave him at the zoo' after he had volunteered to sit with Mark while he went back to work had upset him more than a little, really not yet ready to make light of being left at the zoo and abandoned by his Mother no matter if it was said purely in jest by a man who was currently very tired and frustrated. "Well you're clearly busy so I'd better get out of your hair and let you get on with it" Rusty said as he turned to leave.

Sharon took to her feet, her hand outstretched to stop him. "Oh but Rusty before you go I need to talk to you about something else first." Rusty came to a stop and turned back to face her, confusion and worry soon settling over him. Sharon smiled at him but at the same time she looked more than a little awkward and nervous which to be fair she was and not just because Andy was about to move in with them more permanently, it now suddenly only being a matter of a few days away rather than weeks or months until it became official, but she was also concerned in case Rusty had changed his mind about it all even though he had stated very clearly just how okay he really was with the whole idea just two weeks earlier when she had last asked him about it.

Rusty looked at her a little confused as that small amount of fear started to steadily grow and spread inside of him, seeming to stretch to his very toes as he waited for Sharon to tell him what she needed to talk to him about. "What? What's going on? Oh God!" he cried as his hand flew up to cover his mouth, instantly fearing the worst once again and assuming it had something to do with his Mother, expecting to be handed a police file very shortly because she had left Jim and Linda's and was in custody yet again. "The last time you started a sentence like that you told me that my Mom was pregnant. What has she done now? Has she been arrested again?"

"No, no. It's nothing like that this time I promise. This is good news…I hope" she said more than a little nervously, her hands taking on the same fidgety quality as they had on the now infamous evening that she sat him down at the dining table and discussed their plans for 'overnight guests' in the condo.

"Okay. So what's going on?"

Sharon took a very deep breath, closing her eyes for a split second before answering. "Andy sold his house today" she said as she exhaled, blurting it out a little more quickly and loudly than she had hoped, very much in the same way as she told Andy she loved him for the first time.

"Oh" Rusty replied as his shoulders instantly relaxed and he smiled, really unsure as to why Sharon had seemed to appear so anxious and on edge about telling him about it since it had certainly been expected for weeks by that point. "Oh okay. So that's good right?" he asked a little cautiously since the look on Sharon's face had left him somewhat perplexed and more than a little worried that perhaps something else was going on, that it wasn't the good news he assumed it was and perhaps she had changed her mind about it all which wouldn't have surprised him in the least. "Isn't it?"

"Yes it is" Sharon nodded enthusiastically, smiling wider than Rusty thought he had ever seen her smile before as he relaxed again. "It's good news. It's great news in fact. Wonderful news."

"So Andy is going to be properly moving in with us at the condo then?"

"Yes he is if that's still okay with you." Again she looked at him a little nervously, the main reason for that being that they hadn't spoken about it for a couple of weeks and she didn't just want to assume that it was still okay, always keeping in mind that it was Rusty's home too and she constantly sought to make important decisions with him as a family.

"It's fine" Rusty replied instantly. He smiled at her, knowing that she needed to see that he really was okay with it before she would completely relax herself, not that his objections would necessarily stop it from happening but she still wanted not only his consent but also his blessing before that final step became official. "I mean he's practically been living with us for the last couple of months anyway, it's only the rest of his clothes that haven't."

Sharon laughed and nodded. "That's true. So you're really still okay with it?"

Rusty smiled at her warmly. He didn't always show it but he did acknowledge that he was in a very fortunate position to have two Mothers who loved him unconditionally but they were so different to each other in almost every single way imaginable, case in point being their vastly different relationships with men, Sharon and his biological Mom chalk and cheese in that regard. In the now thankfully very distant past his Mom had the habit of bringing men home (most of whom were usually horrendously abusive and more often than not drunk or high when he first met them) without thinking about his feelings or welfare in the slightest or usually without even knowing their names but Sharon had taken his feelings into account before even allowing Andy to stay the night with her. As much as he didn't want to think about what happened behind closed doors between the two of them, preferring to assume that any strange noise he may hear as he lay in bed in the middle of the night was coming from Philip Stroh as he snuck into the condo to murder him rather than it being a barely muffled moan or bed springs creaking, he did appreciate that although the biggest reason Andy hadn't stayed the night any sooner than he had was because Sharon never rushed into anything but also because she wanted Rusty to be comfortable with their relationship too before they moved things forward. It was something that his Mom would never have done, in fact on a few occasions he had been kicked out of the living room in their tiny apartment so that she could have drunken sex with the stranger she had just brought home on the couch. With all that in mind and under the circumstances, even if he did have a problem with Andy moving in with them which of course he didn't, how could be possibly object and that was before taking how incredibly happy he made her being taken into account.

"Of course Mom, it's more than okay with me if it's what you want" Rusty insisted, stressing the point that he thought it was purely Sharon's decision to make and if it was what she really wanted than he had no objections to it.

"It is. It really is." They smiled at each other before Sharon's eyes drifted towards Andy as he sat behind his desk with his back to them on the other side of the glass, Rusty's gaze quick to follow hers and onto the man who was quickly becoming the Step-Father he never knew he needed in his life. Suddenly and out of nowhere Rusty started to laugh hysterically to himself. "What's so funny?" Sharon asked, looking at him quizzically.

"I just keep wondering where he's going to keep all his stuff that's all" Rusty told her as he continued to laugh, firmly of the opinion that Sharon couldn't get a single fart in her already packed closet at the moment let alone the other half of Andy's extensive wardrobe.

"Well the bulk of it will be kept in storage for now," Sharon explained, not immediately catching on that Rusty was talking about Andy's clothes rather than his furniture, "until we decide if we're going to keep looking for somewhere else to buy together or if we decide..."

"No I don't mean his furniture, I meant like his clothes and stuff" he corrected. Rusty started to laugh again as Sharon simply frowned at him, already unimpressed with the notion that she simply currently had no room for Andy in her bedroom. "I can't wait to see you both fighting over your closet for space" he said as he continued to laugh. "Man this is going to get so ugly so quickly."

Sharon crossed her arms as she sat back down on the edge of her desk again, looking highly unamused by Rusty's insinuation. "My closet is not that full thank you very much" she told him, sounding every inch like the old Darth Raydor who has terrorised so many in her career (and to be fair Jack too back when he cared about what she thought of him).

"Yeah sure and Andy doesn't hog all the hot water in the morning either. Unless you've got Narnia lurking at the back of your closet and you've never told me, all of his stuff is never going to fit" he insisted.

"There's plenty of room for all of Andy's clothes in my closet and then some" Sharon once again insisted and unlikely to admit that he was right on this subject even if she did happen to agree with him.

"Okay. If you say so" Rusty shrugged, not believing a word he was hearing and his opinion unlikely to change any time soon. "I'm just saying that your shoe collection and his never ending supply of suspenders colliding in one very tiny closet is going to get very ugly very fast and I really don't want to be there when it happens." Rusty laughed again, still amused that Sharon was under the impression her closet was either like the TARDIS or that bag that belonged to Mary Poppins. "I can see all his clothes living on the balcony for a month at least" he laughed again.

Sharon pointed at him as she narrowed her eyes menacingly. "Any more from you young man and I'll give him your closet and you'll be the one living on the balcony for at least a month." They both laughed for a moment before Sharon sighed as she smiled at him. "Rusty are you sure you're really okay with this? With Andy moving in with us?" she asked once again, not sure what she would do if he said 'no' but wanting to ask again all the same.

Rusty glanced at Andy through the glass as he spoke on the phone before he took a couple of steps closer to Sharon. "Does he make you happy?" he asked her, knowing the answer but wanting her to confirm it out loud before he responded any more.

Sharon smiled. "Yes he does" she nodded. "More than I ever thought was possible." She shrugged as she sighed contently, never having dreamed five years ago that she would ever feel so in love again. "Rusty I'm currently the happiest I have ever been in my life, by a long, long way."

"Then yes Mom," Rusty said as he closed the gap between them even more and stood before her, "it's perfectly fine with me that Andy moves into the condo with us." Sharon smiled back at him with more than a touch of relief before he quickly wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to not only confirm that it was fine with him but also in celebration. "So congratulations are in order I guess."

"Thank you Rusty" Sharon said with a hint of emotion in her voice as she continued to cling to him, overwhelmed by the two men who had rather unexpectedly come into her life as a result of being handed the most sought after division in the whole of the LAPD following Chief Johnson's departure, both of them filling a hole in her life and her heart that she didn't even know existed.

"There's no need to thank me. It's pretty clear by now that when you decide you want to bring someone home and move them into your condo it's going to happen, whether they like it or not" he stated quite comically as if she had somehow taken him hostage during those first few weeks he was in Emergency Care, making them both laugh as they pulled apart. "Well you're obviously busy so I'll just head home, get out of the way unless you need me to..." he said, pointing at Mark through the glass to make his point rather than finishing the sentence.

"No we've got Mark covered for now but thank you again for helping out Julio earlier. We all really appreciate it."

"It's really not a problem" he repeated again. "He and Buzz and Andy and everyone else here had to do like the exact same thing for me when I was in Emergency Care right? It's nice to be able to repay the favour in a small way although I haven't complained nearly as much as Buzz did about it" he joked, them both laughing again. "I'll see you later" he added as he turned to leave once more but like the last time he didn't get very far before Sharon stopped him.

"Oh but before you do just one more thing," she said before she paused and smiled, biting on her bottom lip, "when you leave here don't mention anything to Andy about him moving in with us just yet."

Rusty stood in silence looking at her like she'd lost her mind for a moment or two. "Okay. Why not?" he asked finally.

Sharon shrugged again and smiled at him a little shyly. "He received the text message about his house being sold while we were in Electronics earlier," she started to explain as her eyes landed on Andy in the Murder Room again, her smile growing the longer she gazed at him, "and he just sort of announced it in front of everyone just as we were making progress in our case and since we've been so busy ever since I haven't actually had chance to speak to him about it yet."

The real truth of the matter was that since Andy had received that text message from Jason they had hardly had time to blow their noses let alone sit down and talk about the huge step they were just about to take in their relationship following the sale. Sharon had absolutely no issue with the way that Andy had told her the good news, telling her immediately as soon as he knew but at the time they were just making the break that would ultimately solve their case as well as being in a room packed full of their friends and colleagues. In a perfect world it would have been better if Andy had been able to wait until they were alone so they could have celebrated immediately, wrapping their arms around each other but with work the way it was that afternoon that was virtually impossible and more than anything he had been just too excited to wait for even a minute. Since then in the very few and far between moments that she had to think about anything other than the case and then Mark's Mother, a plan of action and a little torture of the love of her life popped into her back of her mind. She was going to wait before saying anything to Andy about it, wanting to drag it out as long as possible until he couldn't take any more. There were two very good reasons for it, firstly if she saw any opportunity to torture Andy she took it and this was even more the case since she knew he was sitting on something that had happened at work the day before to torture her with so she needed her revenge. The second reason was she knew just looking at Andy since he received that message that he was suddenly incredibly nervous about the whole thing despite having zero reason to be, always nervous with her throughout their entire relationship so far and it was a habit that she wanted to break him of as soon as she could.

Rusty still looked at her baffled. "And?" he asked, still not seeing why she didn't want him to mention it to Andy when a handshake between the two of them as he left surely the bare minimum.

Sharon shrugged again as she smiled. "And I'd like to torture him a little bit about it first if that's at all possible" she told him, not mentioning Andy's abundance of nerves and deciding almost immediately as work completely took over everything that she wasn't going to say anything to him until they left PAB and put the whole conversation off as long as possible until Andy was on the verge of exploding.

"What?" Rusty asked, utterly baffled. Without waiting for further explanation he rolled his eyes very dramatically. "Oh my God, even handpicked I still end up with the weirdest set of parents in the entire world" he cried as loudly as he dared without alerting Andy and indeed also without really thinking what that statement implied. Sharon laughed at him while instantly registering and appreciating that Rusty had just referred to Andy as one of his 'parents' for the first time, something she never dreamed of happening during those first few months of dating when Rusty was hostile towards Andy to say the least. "I'll see you in the morning." Rusty grabbed his bag from off the table, slinging it over his shoulder as he walked out of her office with another quick roll of his eyes. Andy smiled at him when he saw him walking towards him as he sat perched on the edge of Amy's desk, having seen them talking and hugging in Sharon's office when he got up from his chair and assuming that she had been telling him about his house being sold. Rusty smiled as he walked towards him but offered nothing more, doing exactly what Sharon had asked of him just seconds earlier even if he didn't quite understand it. "Goodnight Lieutenant. I'll see you in the morning I guess."

"Yeah" Andy replied with a frown, having expected him to say something about the house even if it was just to roll his eyes at him and complain about having to permanently share a bathroom with him from now on. "Night kid." Andy put out his hand to fist bump him which Rusty quickly obliged in doing before he left, looking after him puzzled as he disappeared out the door and around the corner. He jumped a second later as he realised that Sharon had left her office and was now standing very close to him, her eyes locked on the murder board as she crossed her arms in front of herself. "What was all that about?" he asked as he nodded towards her office.

"I was just telling him about Mark" Sharon replied in anything but a lie.

"Oh right" Andy nodded. He tried his hardest not to sound too overly disappointed, missing the smile on her face completely but she could hear it right away and even though she knew it was mean she was determined to continue to leave him dangling for as long as possible until they could finally get away from work. There was no denying that there were a lot of celebrations to be had between the two of them following the sale and it just made more sense to wait until they got home to do just that but Andy's nerves were her main reason to wait. She was fully committed to him and deep down he knew that, she had asked him to move in with her after all, in all likelihood she probably would end up marrying him one day if he asked and yet despite it all he continued to be nervous in their relationship like he was living on borrowed time when he had absolutely no reason to feel that way, as such she liked to torture him a little about it as and when she was able until he reached the stage where he realised that he had no need to fret or be nervous.

Sharon cleared her throat, trying to wipe the smile from her face as the professional shutter came back down and for the foreseeable future she returned to focusing on the job at hand in a valiant attempt to get them out of the building before midnight with another potentially very long day to follow tomorrow. "Has anything been faxed over yet?" Sharon asked the group as a whole as she stepped away from Andy.

"I've got it here Captain" Mike replied, waving the newly assembled file in the air.

With that everyone jumped back into action and set about establishing the facts as best they could work them out given the limited information they had to hand. While Provenza and Julio tried their hardest to pry even the smallest amount of information out of Mark (something that was a lot easier said than done especially given that he simply didn't trust them as far as he could throw them), DDA Rosen was called in to offer his assistance in the case when his connection to Ava became abundantly clear and Buzz cued up the video of her last known movements caught on camera on the screens in the RACER room for them to watch. Once Rosen informed them about Dwight Darnell and the obvious connection between Ava's murder and the Z-Brotherhood things quickly started to fall into place and they had some idea what and more importantly who they were dealing with. However with matters quickly coming to a standstill after Ava's car had been thoroughly searched and they had a prime suspect in the form of Henry Coulson thanks to Mark's _very_ overdue library book but no current address for him and with everyone tired (not least poor little Mark himself who had hardly slept at all since his Mom had left him in the car and walked away) Sharon called it a day, sending everyone home.

As the ensemble started to grab their things and headed for the elevators Sharon hung back and rather casually invited Andy home with her, taking his hand and telling him that she desperately needed him to distract her from their case with a long talk about everything and nothing with him as they cuddled up together in bed to get her mind off it exactly what the Doctor ordered. Andy nodded and smiled at her but felt more than a touch confused by the whole invitation since the condo was now for all intents and purposes his home already and therefore no invite was really required, or so he thought. The uncertainty that he felt meant that he found himself momentarily living in a state of limbo. Sharon had not mentioned the sale of his house since he announced in Electronics but then that wasn't a huge surprise he said to himself, aside from Sharon liking to keep their relationship away from work as much as they could (but him selling his house would surely be the exception to the rule), none of them had found the time to scratch since then much less discuss something so life changing and monumental. No sooner had they wrapped their case up then Cynthia had arrived and dropped the bomb shell about Mark's Mother on them so a spare five minutes to discuss personal matters was at a premium and simply couldn't be spared as he spoke to someone he knew at Hollenbeck division while Sharon spoke with Rusty. Still he couldn't help but worry about it. He thought Sharon had smiled at him when he told her the good news. She smiled at him the way he smiled at her. That's what he thought anyway. The more time that had passed since then without her finding the time to say anything to him or even just give him a small smile as she squeezed his hand the more he became unsure about that fact. Was it a smile or was it a grimace? He had no idea. Had she changed her mind about the whole thing now that it was becoming reality? Sharon wasn't exactly overly enthusiastic about the idea in the beginning. It had taken some serious convincing and some major concessions to get her to agree to it, not least taking it so so slowly and not moving in together right away but she had seemed more on board recently especially when they were looking at the house of horrors. Then the shootout at the hotel happened and she told him just to sell his house and move in with her without buying somewhere together. Just wanting to move in with him as quickly as humanly possible and that was the quickest route to achieving that. He'd hardly spent a night at home since and not a single night apart. But again he worried. Why was he always so nervous with her? When would it end? When would he come to realise that she utterly adored him and she was planning on spending the rest of her life with him? Soon he hoped. He couldn't help but think of the night that they first slept together. After being woken in the night by an elbow to an eye, he returned to bed after a brief and frankly awkward conversation with Rusty in the kitchen with an ice pack. When he climbed back into bed Sharon was quick to straddle his lap and inspect the damage she had accidentally inflicted him with. Despite everything that had happened before they fell asleep, despite covering her entire body with his hands and lips just hours earlier he was suddenly too nervous to even rest his hands on her hips, Sharon sensing it immediately and moving them for him, enjoying the feel of his skin pressed against her own as she continued to ice his eye. He had been nervous with her every single step of the way, even going back as far as before they were really dating and yet he still couldn't see an end to it on the horizon despite her constant assurances, those worries always in the back of his mind and causing him concern. He had realised almost immediately after she had asked him at the hotel to move in as soon as possible that Sharon making that sort of decision, asking him to move in after he could have died just seconds earlier could always be an error of judgement. The adrenaline of the situation as well as the emotional trauma could have forced her into something she really wasn't ready for. Had she changed her mind?

As he held her hand while they walked to the parking garage a couple of blocks away from PAB before they would make their own ways back to the condo separately he couldn't do anything else but fret, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his steering wheel far too tightly. He had ample opportunity to talk to her about it as they walked to their cars and yet he simply couldn't force the words out of his mouth, them stuck in his throat like the 'I love you' he wanted to say to her as he lay in his hospital bed and waited to be wheeled away for life saving surgery. All he could do was fret and hope that when they got back to the condo, to her home, to his home now hopefully since he had sold his house, that they could put off sleep for long enough to be able to discuss it and get everything sorted once and for all so that he knew where he stood and the rest of their lives could finally get started.

It wasn't always the case but Sharon had opted to wait for Andy by her car in the parking garage of her building (if she was cooking for them or just wanted to get out of her shoes or work clothes as quickly as possible she would go up without him and he would let himself in with his key when he arrived). He took it as a very good sign that she was waiting for him as they again held hands up to the eleventh floor but the entire journey was done in complete silence, Sharon resting her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes and leaned into his side as much as possible, another sign that she was extremely tired after yet another long day at work which he desperately hoped may explain why she hadn't yet mentioned his big news.

When they reached their door, making sure they walked passed Mrs Rose's apartment as quietly but as quickly as possible (like they were trying not to wake Smaug in the Lonely Mountain as they searched for the Arkenstone), Andy took out his key and slid it in the lock. "Is Rusty home?" he asked in something just above a whisper, wanting to know just how quiet they needed to be when they stepped inside so that they didn't wake him if it was likely that he was already in bed.

"Yes. He should already be asleep hopefully." Andy nodded and opened the door, allowing Sharon to walk in first before following quickly in her wake. He closed the door as quietly as possible, locking it behind him since it was already so late and they would very shortly be heading off to bed. Sharon hung up her purse on the peg by the door while Andy removed his gun, badge and cuffs and put them on the table with his keys in their regular home (although Sharon was hoping that they would finally move somewhere more permanent and inside their bedroom next to hers when he had officially moved in but that was a conversation for another day). Once Andy was suitable striped of everything work related Sharon put her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself up onto the balls of her feet to kiss him firmly on the lips. "I'm exhausted. I just need to lie down as quickly as possible. Are you coming to bed?" she asked, kissing him again.

"Yeah" he nodded. "I'm just going to get some water first, take my Viagra and then I'll be in" he joked, now forever calling his blood pressure medication his 'Viagra' after Sharon had, to her eternal embarrassment and shame given all that she now knew about the man standing before her, wrongly assumed he was going to need some extra 'assistance' in the bedroom when he mentioned taking a pill just seconds after she asked him to spend the night the first time they slept together.

Sharon laughed at him and nodded, briefly pushing her face against his chest to hide it due to her continued embarrassment at her very wrong assumption. "Okay. Don't be long boy" she requested but with it coming out more like a demand than a request before she kissed him on the lips again. "I have some serious plans for those big, strong arms of yours in a few minutes." She winked at him with a rather sultry smile before kissing him one final time.

With that Sharon turned on her heels and practically sauntered down the short hallway and into the bedroom, her hips deliberately swaying from side to side in a tantalising fashion as Andy watched with his mouth agape, unable to take his eyes off her legs and her backside as she moved and cast a rather seductive glance back over her shoulder at him. Once she had disappeared into the bedroom and Andy regained his senses he virtually sprinted into the kitchen at full speed to get a glass of water, taking his pill from the bottle he kept in his pocket at all times should they not make it home from work and headed off towards the bedroom with his glass. He took Sharon's words and over all demeanour since they'd stepped foot into the apartment as a good sign and celebrations were indeed about to take place between them regarding his house sale and impending move into the condo. They may not have spoken about the move yet he thought, but the way that she kissed him and the apparent plans she had for him as soon as they got into bed could only be good news, at least that's what he hoped as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Five minutes later and Andy was puffing and panting, completely out of breath as his biceps flexed and he tried very hard to maintain what little control he still had while Sharon rolled her eyes and practically ordered him about, directing his movements. "No, no. Not there. A little to the right" she said before a soft sigh escaped her lips.

"There?"

"No, a little further to the right."

"This is a little further to the right" Andy complained, quickly running out of breath and patience given the extra time it was taking compared to every other time they'd done it.

"I'm almost there. I promise I'm so close" Sharon promised.

"Jeez! You'd better be. I can't do this all night you know. I'm not as young as I used to be" he continued to grumble as they both lifted their heads so that their eyes could met fleetingly.

Sharon lifted her head a little further to see him. "Do it properly and it'll be over in a flash."

"Fine" Andy huffed as he went quickly back to work and the task at hand.

"I need it more to the right, just a little more" Sharon begged.

Andy obliged, moving as directly but the frustrated sigh he heard a few seconds later let him know instantly that he was still far from 'mission accomplished' as far as Sharon was concerned. "How much longer is this going to take?" he asked, his patience vanishing as quickly as his breath.

"The sooner you stop complaining and put your back into it the sooner it'll be done. Now move down a little" Sharon replied with her frustration more than evident in her tone of voice. She briefly pondered why men had such problems taking directions, whether it was in a car or on a more intimate footing in the bedroom, they would never ask for assistance or a little suggestion without complaining and making a big deal about it, always insisting that they could do it on their own and didn't need help and Andy was no different, in many ways he was actually worse (the upside down floor tile in the bathroom the case in point).

"Here?"

"Yes right there...no wait maybe..."

"I'm leaving it here" Andy stated categorically as he dropped Sharon's mattress onto the bed frame, feeling that it looked pretty much central to him and even if he was wrong he'd been flipping the thing and adjusting it for over five minutes by that point and he had had more than enough, his arms tired from holding it and completely out of breath from his attempts to heave it into position singlehandedly. "You know when you said you had plans for my big strong arms tonight this is not what I had in mind."

"Oh stop complaining you big baby" Sharon told him as she rounded the bed to kiss him on the lips for his help despite his constant grumbling. "You've been avoiding helping me do this for weeks" she said before she kissed him again. "Now help me make it up so that we can climb in it and collapse." Sharon moved back around the other side of the bed again before she picked up the sheet from the armchair in the corner and threw an end over to Andy as they set about making it. She smiled at him as they finished tucking the sheet in at the corners and smoothed it down. "You've worked up quite a sweat there."

"I wonder why?" he replied, still grumbling at the time it had taken to do what he deemed a very simple job. Sharon continued to smile at him as they made the bed. "You've been doing this on purpose haven't you? Just because you get a little cheap thrill watching me hard at work and sweating" he said as a smile started to brighten his face.

"Oh believe me, it is by no means cheap" Sharon laughed. "And anyway let he who does not get a cheap thrill from getting me mad throw the first stone" she said with a little glare, not prepared to let that revelation fade from her memory any time soon.

They both laughed before Andy pointed out "I'm not sure that's the correct quote."

"It'll do for now" she told him. With the sheet on Sharon threw Andy's pillow at him.

"How do you know this one is mine?" he asked as he dropped the pillow to the mattress.

She smiled at him. "I can smell you on it" she told him, electing to sleep on his pillow on the very rare occasions when he was not lying next to her to help her sleep. Sharon put the rest of the pillows on the bed before grabbing the top sheet and comforter, Andy helping her to pull them on and smoothing them down. "And we're done" Sharon stated triumphantly as she flopped down onto the bed, very tired but at the same time also still teasing him a little, seeing how long it would take him to bring up the sale of his house because she clearly was not going to do it unless his silence forced her hand and she had to a change of plan. "I'm exhausted. It's been a long day" she said as she smiled up at him, her hand reaching up to grab his, tugging him towards her and encouraging him to join her in lying down on the bed.

Andy didn't need to be asked twice and flopped down next to her, rolling onto his side to lean over her small frame and kiss her on the lips. When they broke apart he smiled at her as she put her arms around his neck, sensing he was just about to broach the subject and unable to stop herself from teasing him. "So I got some..." he started to say.

"I'm going to start getting ready for bed" Sharon said as she cut him off mid-sentence. She sat up, trying her hardest to hide the smile on her face as she undid the buttons on her jacket and dropped it on the bed next to them. She knew what she was doing and that she was torturing him, she also knew it was mean but if Andy was going to continue to be an idiot as far as their relationship was concerned and continue to be so unbelievably nervous with her than she was going to play up to it, determined to put off their conversation for as long as possible, or given how tired she was, at least until they were both in bed and they could talk about it properly with no other distractions.

"Okay" Andy replied with a nod, his disappointment clear in his voice as he sat up.

"I'm too tired for a shower this evening. I just want to crawl into bed with my beautiful boy as quickly as possible" she said before she kissed him on the lips and then took to her feet.

"I'll see if he's available" Andy grinned in reply. Sharon laughed as she disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Andy watched her go, a look of worry on his face but thankfully hidden behind her back. He sat there in silence for a moment, just staring into space until he took his cell phone out of his pocket and looked at the text he had received earlier from his realtor. He smiled at it but it soon faded as he looked up at the closed bathroom door and could just about hear the sound of Sharon humming merrily to herself over the noise of running water filling the sink. He sighed as his head landed in his hands, a mixture of sadness and frustration with not the faintest idea what was going on. He got up and put his cell on his nightstand, flipping it onto silent after he plugged it in before sitting on the edge of the bed and taking off his shoes. He immediately put them against the wall and out of the way as he promised Sharon he would do after she requested it (on more than one occasion tripping over them in the middle of the floor in the pitch black on her way to the bathroom and nearly breaking her neck and her hip). He removed his tie followed by his jacket and then pulled down his suspenders before he started to unbutton his shirt. He took his shirt off and then stood up to remove his pants before sitting again and taking off his socks, leaving him in just his boxer shorts and t-shirt. He went to the closet and opened it which turned out to be a struggle in itself due to how much it was already overflowing and that was without the rest of his wardrobe being added to the mix. He took out a hanger for his suit and another for Sharon's jacket. He stared at the closet for a moment longer, his focus on the complete lack of space. It was going to be a squeeze getting the rest of his clothes in there but that was a thought for another day since he wasn't yet one hundred percent sure he was actually still moving in there anyway. He hung up his suit and Sharon's jacket before adding his tie to a clothes hanger that was full of them, having more ties in Sharon's closet than his own currently. He shut the closet and grabbed his shirt and socks, knocking very gently on the bathroom door before he entered. He found Sharon standing in front of the sink, a hand running through her hair as she brushed her teeth. She smiled at him in the mirror, offering him a wink. As he so often did Andy walked straight up behind her and blew a raspberry on the side of her neck, making her squeal with a mouth full of toothpaste while at the same time leaning in to his lips a little. Sharon was quick to pinch the back of his knee in retaliation before he put his shirt and socks in the hamper and then sat down on the top of it to face her.

Sharon finished brushing her teeth, keeping one eye on him in the mirror at all times before she rinsed and dried her mouth and then walked over to him. She ran her hands through his hair, scraping her nails against his scalp in the way that he liked, for once not getting the soft growl from his lips as a result as he leant forward and rested his forehead on her abdomen. "Is this your new thing?" she asked. "Watching me brush my teeth? Is that your new cheap thrill?"

"When you brush them as sexily as you do, sure" he joked.

Sharon laughed and kissed the top of his head before he looked up at her. She could see the nervousness on his face, his eyes without their usual sparkle when there was simply no need for it in the slightest in her opinion, a lesson he desperately needed to learn and quickly too if she was to avoid killing him in the very near future. The truth of it was, as charming and completely adorable as Andy's constant nervousness with her was it actually made her feel very guilty, it appearing on the surface as if they weren't equal partners in their relationship at all, that Sharon ruled the roost and had all the power and Andy was essentially disposable or replaceable when in reality nothing was further from the truth. They stayed like that in silence for a moment, Sharon's hands continuing to go through his hair as she waited for him to continue the thought she had deliberately interrupted prior to walking into the bathroom. When he remained silent she knew she'd made a mistake in interrupting him, realising she should have told him to put a pin in it until they were in bed rather than cutting him off in his prime and torturing him. She sighed. She would attempt to prompt him in the right direction as she got ready for bed and if that failed she would have to do it herself when they were both in bed. "Are you okay?" she asked, resting her cheek on the top of his head.

"I'm fine" he nodded.

"Okay." She cupped his face as she kissed him on the lips. "I'm going to get changed" she told him before she kissed him again. "Don't be long" she added as her hand ran down his cheek and she walked back into the bedroom.

Andy stared after her once again for a moment, still at a complete loss as to why she hadn't mentioned the fact that he'd sold his house and then had seemingly cut him off as he tried to broach the subject for the first time a couple of minutes earlier. He sighed and got up, fetching his toothbrush from the cabinet above the sink and putting toothpaste on it. He looked at himself in the mirror as he again wondered what his future held. Just as he was about to open his mouth and begin to brush his teeth a voice from the bedroom caught his attention.

"So I guess we need to talk" Sharon called through the partially open door.

Andy dropped his toothbrush into the sink with a clatter and all but sprinted back into the bedroom, finding Sharon standing by the closet as she removed her skirt with a shimmy of her hips. "Huh?" Andy asked, not at all certain she was about to say what he thought and hoped she was.

"We probably need to talk" she repeated, trying her hardest to prompt him into starting the discussion again since she had rather meanly cut him off minutes earlier, the look on his face as he watched her in the bathroom letting her know that her teasing had come to an end.

Andy swallowed and nodded. "Okay" he said, feeling as if his forehead was breaking out into a sweat and hoping that Sharon wouldn't notice.

Sharon waited, desperately hoping that he would speak up. When he remained deadly silent and also rigid in fear she sighed. "I was thinking perhaps we could go to the mall together next week and get Patrice something for her birthday" she said as she stepped out of her skirt, since he hadn't taken the hint she would have to try again a little later.

"What?" Andy asked dumbly, not currently understanding a single word she was saying other than to note that none of them were 'house' or 'moving.'

"Patrice's birthday. It's next week remember?"

"Oh right. Yeah, yeah. Whatever you think is best" Andy replied, his shoulders slumped as he went back into the bathroom. Sharon looked after him and shook her head, desperate for him to say something first rather than forcing her into doing it or for him to just accept that their plans hadn't changed since the last time they discussed it, anything other than him seemingly waiting for her permission to move in with them when he already had it. Inside the bathroom Andy put a hand either side of the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror, not really focusing on the face looking back at him.

Sharon tried again, trying to prompt him. "So it was exciting news today."

Andy's eyes widened again as he shot back into the bedroom, this time finding Sharon dressed in one of his dress shirts which she had stolen several months earlier to sleep in and sitting in front of her vanity as she slowly removed her makeup. "Oh yeah?" Andy asked, again not wanting to assume.

Sharon paused, waiting as long as she could for Andy to say something, anything about his house but instead he just stared at her expectantly in silence. She sighed again, trying her very best to resist a roll of her eyes. "Yes Buzz appears to be making some real progress with his Father's murder" she said with another sigh and quickly running out of things to say.

"Yeah, yeah. Exciting news. Real exciting" Andy replied as he went back into the bathroom. Sharon stared after him again. It was no longer about Andy moving in with her and Rusty at the condo, it was about him seizing the initiative in their relationship and seeing an end to his nervousness once and for all as they became equal partners. Inside the bathroom Andy sighed at himself before he scraped up all the toothpaste he could from the edge of the sink that had come off his brush when he dropped it so abruptly earlier and started brushing his teeth, tugging on his earlobe for comfort as he pondered how best to bring the subject up since it was clear that Sharon wasn't going to do it any time soon. He was horrified that she hadn't said anything about it so far which made him start to think that she had taken to deliberately ignoring the elephant in the room because it was something she simply no longer wanted. His house had sold a lot quicker than she had expected, hell it had sold a lot quicker than he had expected too given the hole in the kitchen wall and the occasional rat that liked to pay him a visit but it was done now and he wasn't about to stop it. His worry grew once again, thinking that he was going to have to rent somewhere closer to Sharon and to work for a few months until she was ready, even though he was likely to spend every night at the condo regardless if the last few months had been anything to go by. He had always been worried about spooking her, pushing her into something before she was ready which was one of the reasons why it had taken them so long to sleep together and yet somehow he'd managed to do it without even realising. He sighed as he rinsed his mouth his ear turning redder by the second as he tugged on it almost violently.

"Are you okay in there?" Sharon called from the bedroom, getting worried about him.

"I'm fine" he called back before he sighed again, Sharon clearly hearing it through the open door.

Sharon knew exactly what he was doing without looking, he was tugging on his earlobe in an attempt to calm himself down and ease his stress. She knew the moment he stepped foot back into the bedroom that his ear would be glowing so red it would be easy to spot from space. It had gone on long enough. She was going to leave him a few more minutes and if he still hadn't said anything then she would have to do it. If only work had been quieter they could have found time to discuss it in her office but in reality it was a conversation that they needed to have face to face and alone so that they could celebrate afterwards and she had plans to do an awful lot of celebrating with him before they went to sleep.

Andy filled the sink with water and washed his face, using it as a way to calm himself down more than anything since tugging his ear was only making it sore and hot rather than making him feel even slighter better. He looked at himself again. "Okay. Okay" he said with a renewed sense of determination before he dried his face and walked back into the bedroom, psyching himself up like he did the night he finally confronted Sharon about her erratic behaviour following her job offer from the NFL as he got himself ready to face the music one way or another.

When Andy stepped back into the bedroom he found Sharon sitting up in bed on top of the covers, her long legs exposed and enticing as the end of his shirt riding up and sitting just above her hips, giving him a glimpse of her underwear at the sides. She didn't look up at him, too focused on reading her book or at least that's how it looked to Andy, in reality she was just staring at the page as she waited for him, waited for him to speak about this message earlier in the day, waited for him to say anything. Out of the corner of her eye she could just make out his hand on his ear, trying not to shake her head at him. As he entered the room he could smell her moisturiser in the air which she'd already applied to her hands and arms in bed like she did every evening and made him realise that perhaps he had been in the bathroom longer than he thought he had. He looked at her from the doorway as he continued to tug on his ear, getting the impression that she didn't want to talk to him at all. Opting to give her a little space he sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his watch, putting it next to his phone on the nightstand, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Quickly realising that Andy wasn't going to say anything to her without a significant push in the right direction she decided to take matters into her own hands even though she really didn't want to. "So," she said before she paused as she turned the page in her book, "you've sold your house then?" Her eyes remained on her book as she spoke.

Andy turned around to face her and smiled. "Yes I have" he replied as he lay down across the bed, his hand landing on her knee and very slowly moved it upwards across her thigh.

"Congratulations" she said, quickly deciding that since the conversation had now started, if he wasn't going to just assume that their plans hadn't changed in the space of just two short and uneventful weeks then she was going to torture him a little more now that the ball was rolling.

"Thank you."

Andy leant forward and pressed his lips to her bare knee a couple of times, slowly making his way upwards. "And where exactly will you be living from now on?" she asked, hardly acknowledging he was even in the same room as her let alone sensually running his lips up her leg and towards her apex. "Some place in Silver Lake right? Are you going to rent before you buy?" She couldn't help but smile a little, her face shielded from view by her book.

Andy smiled. "Oh I have a pretty good idea about where I'll end up. You see there's this girl I know" he said as he started to crawl up her body, pausing to press his lips to her body after every couple of inches and making her move her book to her left hand and out of the way when he reached her torso as she continued to act like she was busy reading and not really paying all that much attention to him. "I think she likes me too and I was kind of hoping to bunk with her until we can one day maybe find somewhere bigger and more permanent to buy together and call home." Having climbed up the full length of her body he then loomed above her, eventually lowering himself down a little lower to kiss her neck repeatedly, sucking on his pulse point for a moment. Despite enjoying the feeling of his lips on her skin Sharon still didn't put her book down, keeping one eye on it which was growing increasingly difficult to do as she continued to try to make a point to him about his nervousness.

"That's rather presumptuous of you if you don't mind my saying."

"Really?" he grinned. "She has been known to take in all sorts of waifs and strays in need of Emergency Care."

"Well since we're talking Emergency Care here, I still have Cynthia's number on speed dial. Maybe she can find you somewhere to live." With that Andy sat back on his heels, a look of deep concern on his face as he genuinely started to believe that Sharon had changed her mind about moving in together and was trying to break it to him gently. Sharon smiled at him as she dropped her book to the floor, briefly putting her head in her hands as she let out a little exasperated sigh. It was a constant surprise to her that Andy was a much more vulnerable and insecure person than she had ever realised when they first started dating such was the complete disaster his marriage was, leaving him damaged in the same way that her marriage to Jack had left her damaged, and without a real relationship since then (casual sex with women less than half his age when he was bored and horny not really classed as real relationships, especially not in comparison to what he now had with Sharon). Andy's nervousness with her was probably never going to vanish in a hurry, maybe not until he finally put a ring on her finger and they exchanged vows so until then it was up to her to constantly reassure him. "Oh Andy don't look so panic stricken. Come here" she said as she opened up her arms and waited for him to fall into them.

Andy looked at her suspiciously, not really sure what was happening. "Why?"

"So I can give you a kiss you big moron" she told him rather bluntly as she took a leaf out of his book once again. He smiled at her nervously before he slowly went back to her and creeped up her body. Sharon instantly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him towards her and kissed him deeply, their tongues colliding as she almost felt his relief through his lips. When they finally broke apart, Andy's shoulders relaxed for the first time all evening, Sharon gently stroked his cheek. "Of course you can still move in here you idiot!" she told him, her tone letting him know that she was annoyed that she needed to tell him before she ever so gently smacked him around the back of his head. Andy sat up a little again, getting ready for what he thought was going to be a long and serious discussion between them. Sharon however had other ideas, the decision made weeks earlier with nothing left to discuss other than when they would be moving his furniture into storage. "I love you, we're looking for a house to buy together one day, I'm hardly going to make my beautiful boy homeless now am I?" she said with a slight shake of her head and continuing to show her disbelief at his constant nervousness in their relationship. "Especially when I've already asked him to move in with me. Now come here, now" she all but ordered with sparkling eyes as she slid down the bed until she was lying flat on her back, opening her arms up again as she waited for him to cuddle up to her.

Andy didn't immediately respond, eventually putting his hands on his hips as he tried not to smile at her. "Do you ever tire of bossing me around Raydor?" he asked with a rather unimpressed frown, jokingly using a tone that she had not heard since she had removed evidence from the crime scene for her FID investigation at the expense of the concurrent one happening at Major Crimes.

"Do you ever tire of being ridiculously nervous with me?" she shot back.

Andy paused before answering. "I asked you first" he replied, using the logic of a child.

Sharon smiled and gave him a seductive wink, secure in the knowledge that she didn't need to say anything to him if she didn't want to, her wink having him exactly where she wanted him without the need for words. "No, not so far, but I'm planning on doing it for _many_ years to come so only time will tell. Now come on, come and talk to me."

"I thought you were tired."

She smiled at him. "Andy I'm never too tired to talk to you. Now come here." Andy did as he was asked and virtually collapsed into her arms, their legs tangling together as he rested his head on her shoulder in a role reversal to how they usually lay in bed but in that moment she wanted to hold him as much as he wanted to be held, the relief that his life was starting to take shape of what he'd been dreaming for so long overwhelming him. Sharon kissed the top of his head as her hand lifted the back of his t-shirt up and she started to caress the skin she found there up and down.

They lay in silence for a good while, both of them tired but it was more than that. Andy was more than a touch relieved that he did have somewhere to live now that his house had been sold and Sharon wondering how she was ever going to make him stop panicking about their relationship. Eventually Andy spoke. "So it's really okay with you? You still want me to move in here with you both?" he asked, still seeking clarity.

"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. You didn't look exactly thrilled in Electronics when I brought the subject up after Jason text me about the sale going through" he explained, not expecting her to stand up and wrap her arms around him given what they were watching on the monitors at the time but assuming if the move was still going to happen she would have done something more than give him a half smile.

Sharon laughed. "But that's exactly the point my darling boy, we were at work, sitting in Electronics, listening to a suspect and surrounded by our colleagues as we made the break that ultimately solved our case." She kissed his forehead, never able to get over just how utterly stupid and anxious he could be with her. "It was just really unfortunate timing. I wanted to find five minutes to speak to you about it ever since but it was just one thing after another because of Mark's Mom and then DDA Rosen arriving until we were heading home and I decided that I wanted to torture you a little bit…for fun and to try and stop you being so ridiculously nervous with me all the time" she said with a shrug.

"Well as long as you've had fun." She smiled at him as he looked up at her and frowned, that frown quickly turning to a smile as the weight of the world continued to lift from his shoulders. "Still you could have said something to me to put me out of my misery a little sooner rather than keeping me hanging."

Sharon shook her head. "But why did I need to? We'd already discussed it, you were moving in here the moment you sold your house. Why would that plan change in just over a week?" Andy just shrugged at her. She sighed and kissed his head again. "What did you want me to do exactly while we were still at work? Grab your backside and throw you down on the desk and ride you like Seabiscuit? Knocking over the monitors and the 'No Beverages' sign in the process? In front of Buzz? In front of Lieutenant Provenza's duck lamps?"

"Hey he's had those lamps for decades so I'm pretty sure they've seen _far_ worse in their time" he joked before he shuddered, picturing things in his mind that he rather wished he hadn't especially since most of them seem to involve Provenza completely naked with the exception of his bucket hat but thankfully (or horrifyingly depending on how you looked at it) it was never on his head.

Sharon laughed before she frowned at him, joking aside she hoped he knew something like that was _never_ going to happen inside PAB but more than that she felt his nervousness had reached a point where it needed to be addressed and seriously at that. "Andy" she said with a sigh.

"Hey a guy can dream can't he?" he grinned

"I smiled at you didn't I?" she reminded him, in her mind smiling a lot larger, longer and more warmly than it was to him as he played it back in his mind as the early evening wore on.

"I know but you had me a little...I don't know worried I guess all day about whether you might have changed your mind about doing this with me." He sat up a little, resting on his elbow beside her as he kept his eyes locked on hers, his incredible vulnerability clear for her to see, a vulnerability that was reserved only for her as he allowed those confident, tough guy walls that he had built around himself and maintained because of work to crumble in her presence. He sighed before he spoke, running the thought through his mind before vocalising it. "Look Sharon I need to say this so just let me get through it before you respond, okay?" Sharon nodded at him as she couldn't help but tense up a little. Andy thought for a second longer before he started, wanting to make sure he said everything he needed to, everything he'd been holding back since that very first date and desperately wanting to express himself properly. "Sharon, I love you more than anything in this world and I hope you know that already but I know what the deal is here between us, I knew it coming into this relationship" he stated, his eyes never leaving hers as they almost burned a hole right through to her soul, his intense vulnerability not only startling but also deeply attractive. "I know you don't need a man in your life and you never have done. I know you were perfectly happy before this happened between us, you know living with Rusty, him in one corner and you in the other and getting along just fine without someone like me in your life. I get that. I understand fully that you don't need me in your life, that you will never ever need me in your life, that I'm only here because you want me to be here rather than you actually need me to be here, I've always know that." He gave her a little shrug while a smile tugged at his lips, it was not a complaint, from his point of view it was a privilege and one he was extremely grateful to be honoured with when Sharon could have had any man she wanted in his opinion. "I have always understand fully what I've got myself into here with you and I am more grateful for the fact that you've chosen me to share your life with than you will ever ever know but I also know I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure that you made the right decision in taking a chance on me and not just opening your heart but opening up your home for me too."

Sharon waited a moment to make sure that he had finished having his say before she responded in kind. She sighed as she sat up to bring herself level with him, kissing him deeply on the lips as she cupped his face. Suddenly everything was clear, his constant nervousness and never really feeling secure in their relationship because he felt like he was on borrowed time as she didn't need him or so he thought anyway. Essentially it was the same conversation as they had on the bathroom floor as Christmas Day came to a close the previous winter only this time the subject of marriage wasn't there to mask the true issue. Sharon had always been fiercely independent both professionally and personally and Andy knew that better than most, she'd even told him herself that she'd been looking out for her own best interests especially at work for a very long time and she didn't need him for that. However things had changed since then, since the weeks that led up to them finally going out on that first date. She had entered into a relationship with him because she wanted him in her life rather than her needing him but as time had gone on, the longer that they were together and the more she fell in love with him she had come to realise that she did need him in her life and she simply could no longer live without him. It hadn't hit her like a bolt of lightning or anything dramatic, it had slowly crept up on her like how she had fallen in love with him over the course of their friendship, little by little until she realised she had feelings for him already as she dressed for their first date. What she hadn't realised was that Andy was unaware of that fact and it was something she needed to correct and quickly too.

"Andy" she said simply before she kissed him again. "You're right" she admitted with a small shrug as she stroked his cheek with her fingertips. "You are one hundred percent right. I have never needed someone, not even when I was newly married to Jack and I have spent an awful lot of my life alone as a result. And yes I didn't need you or anyone else for that matter before Nicole's wedding either but after that I grew to realise that I wanted you in my life and guess what? I still want you in my life, more than anything in this world and that is never going to change. Not ever." She kissed him again, letting it linger as if she was sealing that declaration like it was a vow in church in the slim hope that some of his often all-consuming nervousness would finally begin to evaporate for good because it was high time he realised how much she did actually need him. She smiled at him, those big brown eyes continuing to look right into the heart of her. "You know I never imagined falling in love again, not at this age, not even when I was twenty years younger but I've reached the stage in my life where not only do I want you in my life and my bed Andy Flynn but I also _need_ you here too and that is an utterly terrifying thing to admit out loud after being alone for so so long especially at my ripe old age. I don't just want you, I need you and I can't live without you. I'm not going to lie and deny that the idea of living together still scares the hell out of me because it does." She laughed a little as she shrugged. "I'm petrified even. I'm worried I won't be able to do this again after spending so much of my life alone. I'm worried about ruining what we already have together by taking that next step."

"Sharon…"

"No Andy you've had your say now let me say this please."

"Okay." He nodded as he took her hand in his, squeezing it tightly as he laced their fingers together. "Go on."

"I really am terrified about all of this," she admitted, "but I have dragged my feet in this relationship for long enough and you've been far more patient than I frankly deserve." She kissed him again, this time her lips just lightly ghosting over his, a kiss that promised so much more and a lifetime spent together. "I love you Andy Flynn more than anything, I want you in my life, I need you in my life and I want to live with you, to spend the rest of our lives together even though I'm absolutely terrified about it." They laughed, both of them feeling the exact same way moving forward as she cupped his face and stared intently into his eyes, ensuring he understood and fully took on board what she was trying to say to him. "So finish packing up your house, put your furniture in storage and move in with me here, make this our home until we find somewhere that we both like that we can buy together." She kissed him again. "Okay?"

"Okay" he nodded, their lips joining more in confirmation than celebration. "Are you sure?" he asked, a slight grimace to his face as he said it, still fearing the answer despite everything she had just said to him. It was music to his ears to hear Sharon say those words to him, to know that someone like her, as independent as she was, that she did need him, it was all he needed to know to finally relax and stop fretting over their future together but a little extra clarity never hurt anyone.

She smiled at him. "Yes" she confirmed before she kissed him again. "I'm sure" she told him before their lips came together a second time. "And if I do suddenly change my mind I can always dump you into Emergency Care at a later date" she added, shrugging very casually.

Andy laughed. "Fine. It's a deal."

"Everything is always a deal with you" Sharon replied with a roll of her eyes. Again they laughed, both of them finally completely relaxed about life, about their lives together. "I have to warn you though, we don't have enough space for you to have your own room at the moment" she joked, running her hand through his hair.

He nodded and laughed. "That's okay. I don't mind bunking in with someone else for the time being" he said as Sharon lay back down, pulling him with her until they were lying on their sides and face to face, their arms wrapped around each other.

"Good. I'm glad to hear you say that. I was thinking you could maybe sleep on top," she said before she paused as she smiled at him, "of the bunk beds I'm going to put in Rusty's room." She laughed at herself, a hand coming up to cover her face as he frowned at her.

"Do you enjoy torturing me?"

"You know I do. I really really do." She kissed him on the lips before her hand started to stroke his cheek again. "So when are you moving in here, officially?" she asked.

"Well in an ideal world they want me out of there as soon as possible according to Jason so the new owners can gut the place before moving in because apparently it's a 'hovel'," he said with a disgruntled roll of his eyes as Sharon laughed, her thinking that it wasn't too far from the truth when you took the hole in the wall of his kitchen and the melted rat on the back of his fridge into consideration, "which means it's a very good job I've already started packing everything up I guess."

"How much do you have left to do do you think?"

"Not much." Andy hadn't spent a single night at his house since Sharon had stayed there with him for one last hurrah without Rusty down the hall but he had already done most of his packing before then which she had discovered much to her surprise that evening. "Since I've spent most of my time here I've basically been living out of a suitcase for weeks anyway."

"So it could be finished on Friday night say?" she asked

"I guess so, then it's just a matter of moving my furniture and the stuff I don't need into storage and bringing everything else here."

"Perfect" she said with a smile before kissing him.

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning, my love," she replied as she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, "I think you've already moved in." They smiled at each other for a moment as that thought sunk in, the condo was now Andy's home, he had moved in, they were finally living together twenty five years after they had first laid eyes on each other in a darkened hallway of Parker Centre, three years after they became very close friends and just over a year after their first date. They came together, their lips meeting in a sweet kiss. "The rest of what you want to bring here can follow on Saturday. What do you think?"

Andy grinned at her. "I think that sounds wonderful," he replied before pausing and adding, "roomie" with a wink before they kissed again. "Are you going to come and help me?" he asked her with another smile, unable to contain it now that everything was out in the open and settled.

"Help you with what?"

"Packing up the rest of my house?"

"Do you want me to?" she asked, suddenly sounding a little unsure of herself.

"Yeah sure. Why not?"

"I don't know" she replied with a shrug. "I don't know what you might have hidden that you don't want me to see" she said, sounding more nervous than she was actually accusing him of having anything to hide. Andy just laughed in response, his whole face lighting up as a result. "What?" Sharon asked him, surprised by his reaction. "I don't. You may have…I don't know 'man things' you don't want me to see."

Andy laughed again, highly amused by the idea that he had some deep dark secrets to hide from her in the darker recesses of his house. In reality the only thing that he did have to hide from Sharon Raydor was the very impulsively purchased engagement ring that he had opted to buy after less than a month of them dating because he knew even before they went out on that first date that he wanted to marry her and he knew the moment he saw that emerald cut diamond sparkling at him that it belonged on her finger. He had absolutely no idea that she had already fleetingly caught sight of it the morning after they first slept together when they went back to his house so he could get a change of clothes and given everything that had happened in the previous fourteen hours he was far too distracted and in a bit of a rush to register that he had flung open that particular drawer in her presence. If Sharon was honest it was the one thing she was worried about seeing again if she helped him finish packing up his house, the reason that prompted her question if he wanted her help or not in the first place. As much as she was slowly coming around to the idea that maybe she did want to marry him one day she was not even close to being ready for the question to be asked and she didn't want to possibly push him into a hasty proposal simply because she'd seen the ring, moving in together already a big enough step for the time being even though marriage was definitely on the cards in their future. But moving the ring was one of the first things Andy had done when he returned to his house for some clean clothes for work one morning after Sharon had asked him to move into the condo with her as soon as he sold his house, using the safety deposit box he had at the bank to hide it since he knew it was the one place that Sharon didn't have access to (and would never search while hunting for her birthday or Christmas present from him).

"Man things?" Andy repeated as he laughed again.

"Yeah I don't know, things a bachelor of a certain number of years might have hidden in a dark corner of his bedroom to get him through long, lonely nights" she suggested, trying her hardest not to say the word 'porn' but while hinting heavily that it was what she meant.

He laughed again. "What man things do you think I'm hiding from you?" he asked. Sharon didn't answer him, she just shrugged instead, her face screwing up slightly and painting a very clear picture to him. "Do you think I have an extensive porn stash hidden away or something?" he asked. Again she didn't answer, just staring at him and telling him all he needed to know. "Oh my God! You do! You think I have some sort of porn dungeon!"

"Well you were a bachelor for an awful long time before we started dating Andrew" she replied as she defended herself, knowing that he hadn't slept with anyone for a few years before they started dating but that didn't mean that he'd lived like a monk in that time. "I don't know what you got up to most nights when you were alone and horny."

Andy laughed again. "You virtually ransacked my house looking for your Christmas present last year. Where am I supposed to hide my 'man stuff' where you wouldn't have found it in your search of every single nook and cranny?" he reasoned, secure in the knowledge that he had nothing to hide from her at all.

"I don't know" she shrugged again. "I'm just saying perhaps you would rather that I didn't help you in case I…stumbled across something you'd rather I not see" she told him, again hinting about things of a more personal nature as well as the ring box that he had no idea she had caught a glimpse of.

"Sharon babe, honestly I have nothing to hide from you" he stated with more than a touch of finality about it. "There are no deep dark secrets lurking in the bottom of my closet or a vast porn collection hidden in my kitchen."

"In the kitchen?" Sharon cried with disgust. "Andy! How grim!"

Andy laughed and nodded. "Okay or anywhere else for that matter" he told her as his hand started to move up and down her back. "Other than what happened on that horrendous evening in Barstow which I'd still rather never discuss with you I have absolutely no secrets from you whatsoever and there is no reason to stop you from helping me if you want to so that we can have that one final hurrah we talked about" he said with a seductive waggle of his eyebrows before he kissed her on the lips.

"Oh yes?" Sharon laughed.

He grinned as he kissed her again. "Yes" he confirmed before he kissed her a third time. "If memory serves we still have to say goodbye to the kitchen and the living room and maybe even the garage."

Andy moved in to kiss her again but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Andy we are not having sex in your garage so think again."

"I didn't mean amongst the junk and the rat traps" he clarified as if that made it any better or more appealing in Sharon's eyes, Andy's garage hardly the Beverly Wilshire.

"Oh this just gets better and better."

"I can fit my car in there you know" he said with a wink. "So that's technically still in the garage even if we're only fooling around in the car" he grinned.

Sharon laughed. "Oh yes because the last time we had sex in your car it was such a roaring success wasn't it?" she reminded him, that little misadventure as they watched the sun set earlier in the summer neither particularly planned, ideal or wise (not that sex in a car was ever ideal or wise but that doesn't stop it from happening) given their age and location but as awkward as it was and at times as painful as it actually was not least when Sharon nearly put her foot clean through the window, it was still an awful lot of fun.

"Hey I seem to remember that apart from nearly breaking your hip and putting your foot through the window..."

"And not to mention how hard I hit my head on the roof" she reminded him again, for a split second thinking she was mere moments from passing out with a severe concussion she hit her head so hard as she climbed off Andy's lap in order to remove his pants more easily.

"Right. Well aside from that I thought we had a pretty good time" he grinned. She laughed and nodded because she had to admit that despite it being messy and uncomfortable and painful and that was for people a third of their age, it was an exceptionally good. "But this time we don't need to hide in the backseat when the garage door is closed and as long as you don't scream at me again…"

"I didn't scream at you last time!" she protested even though she actually made her throat sore she shouted at him so loudly when he took too long removing her jeans (not that she was _ever_ going to admit that to Andy, admitting that he was right once would surely open the flood gates and that was never going to happen).

"Yes you did! You scared the shit out of me."

"Then you need to learn how to remove my pants a lot quicker in a confined space" she told him and accidentally hinting that she was very open to a repeat performance at some point in the very near future if he could up his speed and precision in certain areas.

"And there's only one way that'll happen."

"Oh yeah? How?" she asked but already knowing the answer.

"Practice" he confirmed before she laughed and then their lips met. "So anyway as long as you don't scream at me again for the time it takes to remove your pants or I don't know, taking them off before we get in the car, I think things will work out just fine." She laughed at him and nodded, really not opposed to the idea in the slightest. "So are you going to come and help on Friday night?"

"Okay. It's a date." She kissed him as if to confirm it but when she pulled away he could quite easily see that she still looked a little doubtful about what he may or may not have hidden in his house, her mind still focused on that ring box.

"You believe me right? That I've got nothing to hide from you?"

She smiled. "I do. I do believe you."

"Good" he nodded before he kissed her. "So we can stay at the house Friday maybe and pack up the rest? Move everything on Saturday?" he suggested.

"That sounds like a plan to me."

"Although I'm not sure when you're going to find time to hide all of your," he paused as he sighed dramatically, "ladies things" he said with a shake of his head and clearly joking with her, like his direct competition remained hidden and dormant in one of the drawers in the bureau across the other side of the room. Sharon laughed at him, not one hundred percent sure if he was joking or not since she had said the exact same thing to him and he had responded by mocking her. "What's so funny?"

"And you thought I was being ridiculous. What do you think I have hidden away?"

"I don't know. The same things you think I have stashed away probably" he said with sparkling eyes as he teased her.

"Andy you have spent anything up to seven nights a week here over the last six months alone, sleeping in this very room, in this very bed. What and where do you think I'm hiding things from you?" she asked.

"Well that shoe box in the closet for starters" he said as he thumbed in that direction.

"Ah but you've already been through that from top to bottom and I now have nothing left to hide from you. So I really can come and help?" she asked him once again even though the matter had already been settled.

"Yes of course you can. You can come and help Friday night as we finish boxing everything up" he said before their lips came together again. "Then we can have that one final hurrah or two" he said kissing her again. "Or three." Kiss. "Or four" he added, kissing her a final time.

Sharon laughed against his lips until they came apart. "But I thought we had the last hurrah there last week, that's what you said."

"I know but I'm pretty sure I've still got one more good celebration in me" he said before he kissed her. "Or four" he added, kissing her again.

Sharon laughed against his lips again. "I'm very glad to hear it." She kissed him again, letting it linger for a moment longer than their previous comings together. When they broke apart she was chewing on her bottom lip, avoiding his eye and making it abundantly clear to Andy that she had something important she wanted to say. If it had been anyone else Andy would have simply asked what was on their mind and prompted a response but he knew Sharon better than that and as he had become accustomed to doing, he waited for her to be ready to say whatever it was that was on her mind rather than pushing her into anything before she was ready. Finally she locked eyes with him. "Can I ask you something without you freaking out about it?"

He smiled, thrilled that she had let him know her so well he could anticipate most things by that stage in their relationship. "I don't know. It depends. What do you want to ask me?"

"Are you sure you're really ready for this?" she asked as her hand ran down his chest above his t-shirt before it slipped under, just wanting to feel his skin under her fingers. "To move in with me?" she clarified.

"Shar..."

"No Andy let me finish please" she said as she cut him off, her other hand moving to stroke his cheek as she looked into his eyes. "You've spent just two nights here following a meeting throughout our entire relationship. Two nights. Two nights since December. That's it" she reminded him in case he hadn't noticed that he was still keeping that part of himself as far away from her as he was able, the only exception being a week earlier when she had turned up unexpected at his house and waited for him to return home. "Are you sure you're ready for that next step with me?"

He smiled before he kissed her. "Yes" he said simply before he kissed her again. "I am. For sure" he promised as he took her hand from his cheek and clutched it between his, holding it tightly against his chest before pushing his lips to it, the look in his eye letting her know that he meant it even if she didn't quite believe him.

"But you've only..."

"I know but I've done that for you rather than for me or because I've been hiding anything from you" he told her. "Sharon you sleep so little as it is. I get in so late from across town I hate waking you up when I climb into bed." He shrugged. "That's it." Whether she would believe him or not it was the truth. He didn't like to discuss his alcoholism with her because he felt that she had dealt with enough of that crap in her life with Jack and he didn't want to do the same thing. So he had tried for as long as possible to keep Sharon and his addiction apart, his two lives never quite coming together but he knew he couldn't do that forever even before Sharon brought it up when they decided to move in together and he was trying, opening up to her a little more following his last meeting about his fears in regard to falling off the wagon. He had decided that when they finally moved in together properly he was going to sit her down one evening and tell her everything even about his brief issues with Vicodin too, that was a promise he'd made to himself, to do it for her but until then, until that had happened he had simply stayed away when he went to a meeting for one simple reason, he didn't want to wake her and that was it. There was no grand conspiracy or any deep dark secret he was hiding from her. His meeting was across town and by the time he got to Sharon's building she was usually fast asleep and he didn't want to rob her of that.

"Well that's going to be unavoidable from now on and anyway I sleep much better with my own personal furnace in bed with me and pressed against my back" she told him with a kiss, simply unable to sleep when he wasn't there anymore.

"That makes two of us. It's impossible to sleep when I'm not being beaten around the head and neck." They laughed and as far as Andy was concerned that was that, he would try his hardest not to wake her when he came home from his meetings but that was their life from that point on and they would make it work as best they could or die trying. He kissed her a couple of times before he moved a lock of hair behind her ear and away from her face, a smile of wonder on his face. "How did I get so lucky huh?" he asked before he kissed her again. "How did I end up being invited to move in with the most incredible woman in the world and her son? To be part of a family again? How did that happen to me?"

"I have no idea but I'm sure selling your soul to the devil may have been involved somewhere along the line" she joked.

Andy laughed, thinking that himself. "Thank you."

"I feel like the lucky one in this relationship" she told him.

"Well I didn't want to say anything but yeah, you really are" he joked. Rather inevitable she gave him a quick smack around the back of his head in retaliation as he laughed at her. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! You know I'm kidding." He paused as he sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too" she replied and then kissed him. When they broke apart the smile on her face was infectious, Andy uncertain if he'd ever seen her look happier, not even when she and Rusty signed the adoption papers. "We've moved in together" she declared, sounding delighted but at the same time like she was struggling to believe it had actually happened.

"We have" Andy laughed, in a little bit of disbelief himself. "Are you still nervous about it?"

"Absolutely terrified" she replied with a laugh. "But that's nothing compared to how happy and excited I am. Have you told Lieutenant Provenza yet?"

"What? That I'm moving in?"

"Yes."

"No not yet" he revealed much to her surprise. "While things were still a little up in the air I didn't want to..."

Sharon laughed as she repressed the desire to roll her eyes at him and his continued high levels of nervousness once again. "Things were never up in the air Andy. The only place that they were up in the air was in your little twisted mind. You were always moving in here the moment your house sold. That was always the plan."

"It felt pretty up in the air to me" he said bluntly, panicking most of the evening about it.

"I know." She smiled at him. "I'm sorry I tortured you a little this evening."

"A little?"

"Okay a lot. You were always going to move in here and that never changed. I wanted you to realise that on your own and stop this nervousness once and for all."

"I know" he nodded, realising earlier that she hadn't just been torturing him but had been trying to drum out of him his nervous attitude towards her, some of which had finally gone now that she'd confessed she'd reached the point where she needed him in her life and didn't want to live without him a moment longer but some of it was always going to remain.

Sharon sighed. "Will you ever stop being nervous with me boy?"

"Sure, when I get a couple of rings on this finger" he told her as his eyes sparkled at her in a way that made heart pound in her chest, kissing the ring finger on her left hand should she be unclear about what he meant. "I'm pretty sure that'll clear my nerves right up."

She smiled as she ran her hand through his hair. It was a very good answer but once again it was one she didn't want to discuss yet in case it pushed him into asking the question before both of them were ready. "So why haven't you told your boyfriend yet?" she asked instead, smiling when she referred to Provenza as his 'boyfriend' once more.

He sighed, not rising to the bait when the word 'boyfriend' was brandished in the direction of his partner yet again, knowing just how funny Sharon found his irritated reaction. "I'm avoiding the inevitable 'I told you so!' and smug smile for as long as humanly possible."

"Why would he say that?"

"How many times did he ask at Mike's party alone why I didn't just move into the condo with you right away since our house hunting hadn't exactly been going very well?" he asked, with Provenza saying it twice to his knowledge. At the time of the party it was just seven short days before Sharon asked him to do just that but Provenza being Provenza he knew full well that he would claim he was responsible for it and take all the credit while gloating and that was something he didn't want to listen to especially when he currently felt so unbelievably happy. "You must have noticed. He was practically screaming it."

Sharon smiled and nodded. "I did. I did notice. I also noticed the death stares you were giving him when he said it."

"Well I didn't need him putting any more pressure on your shoulders when you were still a little..."

"If you say it was up in the air or compare me to an easily spooked horse one more time Andrew Flynn!" Sharon warned him, long since tired of Andy saying he didn't want to 'spook her' like she was a horse that kept bolting every time someone sneezed a little too violently in her vicinity.

Andy laughed. "Anyway I can do without his smug face like this was his suggestion and we're only doing it because he told us to, especially when I'm currently happier than I've ever been in my life" he told her and then confirming it with a kiss.

"Well that makes two of us even if you do keep acting like I'm Black Beauty."

He laughed again. "Okay. I'll stop" he promised even though the worry would always be there until the day he finally got her to marry him.

"You're not going to spook me or scare me away. Of that I can guarantee you."

"I know" he replied with a kiss although he was forever going to worry about it, not having Sharon in his life for longer than thirty seconds at a time was not something he could comprehend anymore and he didn't want to, fully prepared to do absolutely anything to spend the rest of his life with her.

"Well are you just never going to tell him?" Sharon asked, returning to the question at hand.

"That is my plan yes" Andy replied not sure himself if he was joking or not. Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "No I'll tell him soon but if we want any sort of help from him on moving day it's best just to spring it on him so he has no time to make other plans."

"Or I could just tell Patrice" Sharon suggested with a shrug, knowing that if you wanted a man to do anything he didn't want to do it was always best to go through their wife. "If she knows she'll insist on helping and then he won't have any choice in the matter."

Andy laughed, always surprised by just how sneaky Sharon Raydor could be when she put her mind to something. "See now that's why you're a Captain and I'm still just a Lieutenant." They both laughed. "So, has the rule book gone out of the window now that we're moving in together?" he asked.

"Party but maybe we now need new rules, new rules for living together" she suggested.

"Like what?"

"Well to begin with there are our renewed vows" she joked as they both laughed. "Like for example work still stays out of the bedroom as much as possible and we definitely stay out of PAB, or at least out of the Murder Room as much as we can" she stated with them both seeing it as essential if they were going to have a proper relationship and continue to work together. It was a rule they had had in place from their very first date. As much as it helped having someone at home who really understood the job they did (both the hours and the toll it could take on a person when dealing with the worst that humanity had to throw at them) and as much as they both loved that they could discuss ideas with each other off the clock, neither felt that it was particular healthy to keep bringing work home with them on an almost daily basis especially with the nature of their jobs so they tried to avoid it as much as possible (likewise they tried to keep their home lives away from work as much as possible too) but sometimes it was impossible (especially in keeping home away from work when at the end of the day they may talk about dinner plans like they did a few weeks earlier when they decided to move in together for example). There was no denying that Sharon genuinely enjoyed being able to bounce ideas off Andy late at night when they suddenly occurred to her as her mind emptied and she started to drift off to sleep but on the whole they did try to keep those kind of thoughts out of the bedroom as much as possible, especially since on one particular occasion Sharon just couldn't keep her head out of the Murder Room and off their case despite Andy's best attempts to distract her most of the evening, his exasperated cry of 'Are we really discussing this now?!' as he lifted his head from between her thighs, slightly out of breath and with his hair sticking up even more than usual.

However on this occasion, although Sharon did want to continue to keep work away from their home life it wasn't that big of an issue and she was saying it for one reason and one reason only: to try and stop Andy from gloating about what had happened at work the night before. He had been saying for months on end that he would never wax his chest (not that Sharon particularly wanted him to, actually liking how hairy he was, finding it incredibly attractive after being married to a man who frequently shaved his chest) in case one day he had to go undercover with a prostitute for example, saying it over and over again just to annoy Sharon, claiming he didn't want the guys to see him with a waxed chest on the surveillance footage and realise that Sharon had done it because he was whipped. Just as often as he brought it up Sharon told him that it was _never_ going to happen and there was no way she would _ever_ be sending a member of her division undercover with a prostitute (mainly since Vice dealt with those sort of cases), and if there was an overlap with Vice because of a murder for example the last person she would send was him (the reason for it was part jealously at the thought of another woman with her hands all over him even if it was for work which he had immediately seized upon and often teased her about and part because she suspected that a pretty face and a big pair of boobs would cause him to mess the whole operation up and maybe even leave him locked naked and helpless on a balcony for the second time in his life). Ever since it had happened the night before and Sharon had been forced to send someone undercover as a john with an escort she (as promised) sent Mike, trusting him more than the others to get the job done, she had been waiting for Andy to say something to her, knowing it was on the very tip of his tongue every time he smiled at her over the previous twenty four hours, still shocked that he hadn't said anything to her when they returned from PAB immediately afterwards.

"Only the Murder Room now?" he asked with a smile, never ever even being tempted to push the boundaries of their professional relationship at work but that didn't stop him from joking about it as much as possible since Sharon knew he wasn't being serious. "Does that mean the chances of you taking advantage of me in your office with the blinds closed have increased tenfold?"

Sharon laughed. "No it hasn't, so get whatever dirty little thoughts you have inside that mind of yours about my desk banished right now because it's never happening" she told him not that she needed to, she knew he would never even consider breaking those sort of rules at work…especially since she also had a desk at the condo and when Rusty was out for the evening they had already proven that they both had quite vivid imaginations.

Andy laughed and nodded. "Okay, okay." He paused for a moment before he asked "What about on the desk in Electronics?" Sharon response was quick, smacking him around the back of his head with the palm of her hand as she laughed. "Okay, okay, we stay out of the Murder Room during working hours as much as possible, that's still a deal I can live with Captain" he told her, it never being an issue and never expecting it to be one either between them as long as they worked together.

"Good."

"So it's just the same as before then?"

"Yes but now you also need to keep on my very good side at all times so that I don't throw you out on your ear" she told him with sparkling eyes and a grin, not meaning it at all which she proved as she kissed him but that didn't stop her from teasing him and throwing the odd threat his way. "You know force you into sleeping on Lieutenant Provenza's couch for a couple of months."

"A couple of months?"

"And that's only if I'm in a _very_ forgiving mood and I've had a lot of wine when we finally make up" she told him.

They both laughed. "Okay so what do I need to do to make sure that doesn't happen?" he asked.

"You don't like the idea?"

"Well as much as I enjoy sleeping on a couch that smells like someone died on it and let's be honest probably has, it is Provenza after all," he joked and making her laugh, "I much prefer falling asleep with my arms wrapped around someone who could punch me in the balls at any moment." She laughed again, her fingers briefly tracing underneath his eye, the eye that she had so violently elbowed that first night they slept together. "So what do I need to do?"

"Well first of all you need to continue to cater to my every whim."

"Right." He paused for a moment as he smiled at her. "You're talking orgasms right?"

Sharon laughed loudly as she gave him another gently slap around the back of his head. "No I wasn't talking about orgasms actually" she insisted and perhaps protesting a tad too much. Andy just smiled at her, waiting for her to admit that he was partially right if not fully. "Well not exclusively no but it's definitely on the list" she admitted before she kissed him. "Quite high up on the list in fact" she added, kissing him again to silence his laughter.

"How did I guess?" he said smugly, giving her the same look she'd previous spent years wanting to smack off his face whenever it was aimed in her direction.

Sharon shook her head at him. "You think you're so irresistible don't you?"

"Oh I know I am, to you anyway" he replied, kissing her.

Sharon couldn't help but smile back at him and nodded. "You've got that right boy" she confirmed, kissing him back, unlikely to ever be able to keep her hands off him even if she wanted to.

"Okay so we've got putting my shoes away properly, not leaving wet towels anywhere except the towel rack or the laundry basket, a constant stream of multiple screaming orgasms," he listed as she laughed at him, burying her face into his chest for a moment, "and what else?" he asked, looking to sweeten the deal.

"Well you need to continue doing all of my sowing and ironing for starters" she told him. There were many things about Andrew Flynn that had come to surprise her the better she had got to know him, it starting when they were still just friends and he offered to stitch up a hole in a jacket for her. If someone had told her twenty years ago that the same man who used to snarl at her every time he saw her and slept with anyone who would let him would turn out to be the sweetest, funniest, most caring guy who liked to sow in the bathtub and actually enjoyed ironing her clothes for her when he was bored, she would have told them they were crazy.

"Just like Cinderella" Andy replied as if he was really put upon and didn't do these things because he simply enjoyed doing them and always had done since he stopped drinking as a completely harmless way to occupy his time.

"Oh yes, you two have so much in common it was like you were separated at birth" Sharon joked.

"What else?"

"I'm not sure yet" Sharon replied. "I'll need to think about it and add to the list as we move forward from here" she told him, more than content to let them figure things out as they went along, thinking that plan had got them to where they were so there was no need to change it.

"But orgasms are definitely top of the list though right?" he asked. Sharon laughed before she kissed him. "Okay I think I can live with that as long as I don't get lock jaw anytime soon" he joked as he flexed his jaw for a moment like he was already in danger of dislocating it. Once again Sharon laughed at him and playfully smacked him around the back of his head.

"Don't act like I don't reciprocate on a one for one basis on the orgasm front."

"It's hardly one for one babe."

Sharon laughed. "Is it my fault that women are capable of multiple orgasms and men aren't? Blame God for that, not me. I'm sure it was added at the last moment as a little incentive to make up for the agonising pain of childbirth" Sharon suggested.

Andy nodded. "Fair point. Well as long as that's it, I think I can live with this arrangement as long as I get to live with you."

"Not so fast buddy. There's no reason to say that Rusty won't have any conditions to add to the list though" she informed him as a little reminder that there were three people living under their roof.

"And I think I know what those will be" he said with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "No physical contact outside of the bedroom. Pyjamas must be worn at all times. No using the bathtub without explicit written permission" he rattled off, expecting Rusty to insist on all of those things before he added his rubber stamp to him moving in properly with them.

"And no violating his Mother" Sharon suggested.

"Well I'm definitely not signing that deal" Andy cried, pulling her a little closer against his chest as he said it.

Sharon laughed. "I didn't think you would."

"It's a good job that shower is sound proof and that the traction decal really really works in there" he declared with a laugh, them quickly discovering when they first started sleeping together that it was the only place they could allow themselves to be that little bit noisier than they usually were when they had sex at the condo if Rusty was at home and him not being able hear them, the traction decal on the bottom of the shower so far preventing both of them from breaking a hip and then having to fight their embarrassment to explain to their friends and families precisely what they were doing to both injury themselves while naked in the bathroom at the same time.

"I've never been happier about anything in my life" she cried just as enthusiastically as Andy did moments earlier. They both laughed before they kissed. "It is without doubt the single greatest purchase of my life."

"See this is why we need one last final final hurrah at my soon to be old house on Friday night so that noise isn't an issue" he suggested.

"Or you could just try to be a lot quieter you know."

"I'm not loud" Andy protested, fooling no one, not even himself.

"Oh please Andy! Aeroplanes coming into land make less noise than you do" she told him bluntly since she knew better than anyone else just how noisy he could be as he finally fell over the edge when he wasn't trying to keep a lid on it for the sake of Rusty.

"What? I am not. I'm no louder than you are anyway."

Sharon looked at him absolutely baffled, not really sure if he had no idea how loud he could actually be or if he was just joking and acting deliberately dumb. "If I didn't know you any better I'd say you'd been drinking because you're talking complete and utter nonsense. You can be so so loud at times when we're alone." As Sharon spoke Andy tried desperately hard to hide his smile but it was no use, his face erupting as he silently shook with laughter as if to the point that he could be quiet if he wanted to. "See you do know it!" She swatted the back of his head with the palm of her hand again as he laughed loudly. "So until that day way, way in the future when my baby finally leaves home and I've let go of his leg and stopped crying long enough for him to leave," she said as he laughed, "you'll just have to try to be a lot quieter."

"I'm sorry but that's never going to happen with you sweetheart" he told her simply as if he had no control over it at all. She laughed at him. "You make me emit noises I never knew I was capable of making before." She laughed at him again along with the rather unorthodox compliment he had just offered her before she kissed him hard, that familiar growl building up in the back of his throat as a result once again and making her laugh even more as they broke apart.

"Oddly enough I have noticed" she told him.

"Yeah right" he nodded, acknowledging that if anyone knew that it was Sharon. They both laughed before he kissed her back, his tongue sliding past her lips and making her hum into his mouth as he pulled her closer to him. "Does the kid have earplugs?" he questioned when they came apart, still joking with her but trying his hardest to look as serious as possible.

"No and I'm not asking him to get some either" Sharon replied as she prodded his chest with her finger. "You'll just have to wait until he stays the night with Gus to let rip with your vocal chords and bear noises" she teased as she scraped her nails down his chest and making him growl once again.

"Bear noises? What bear noises?" he protested once again despite the growl that had just escaped his lips.

"The growls you make like a bear when I do that thing you like." She smiled at him as one hand continued to rake up and down his chest while the other played with his ear. "It was one of the things that Sandra and I were discussing on Chri..."

"STOP!" Andy practically screamed before he quickly lowered his voice, very mindful that Rusty was asleep not too far from where they lay. "Stop right there!" he demanded as he sat up a little, still utterly horrified that towards the end of the evening on Christmas Day Sharon and Sandra had seemed to bond over a bottle of wine and talking about him, in particular the personal and private details that they both knew about him. Sharon laughed hysterically at him, surprised she managed to say as much as she had about his ex-wife before Andy put a stop to it. She kissed his hand, unable to get at his lips without sitting up. "Unless you want to ensure it _never_ happens again we need to stop talking about sex and Sandra in the same sentence right now." He shuddered at the thought of his ex-wife before snuggling back down into his pillow and pulling Sharon flush against him again, his hand landing on the small of her back. "Anyway forget the kid, I'm the one that needs earplugs around here for when Gus stays over" he pointed out. Once more Sharon laughed at him while Andy rolled his eyes, for once being completely serious. "Dear God I thought they were sacrificing a goat in there last week" he complained as Sharon laughed again.

It happened very rarely but for once Andy was not exaggerating to prove a point or to simply amuse Sharon. He had no issue with Gus staying the night and sharing Rusty's bed, far from it but he was certainly surprised the first time that Gus did stay over simply because Rusty was so awkward and embarrassed about it all that he never actually expected it to finally happen. Since that first night Gus had actually stayed over several times and on one night in particular a week earlier it was clear that Rusty and Gus hadn't heard Sharon and Andy come home from work very late in the evening. Rusty's bedroom door was shut but the very distinct jacket that belonged to Gus was draped over the back of the couch so it immediately alerted them both to his presence long before they heard any noise to suggest that they were not only still awake but also too preoccupied with each other to notice if they discharged their weapons in the living room much less snuck into the bathroom and showered. Andy was already in bed and half asleep waiting for Sharon to join him after what had been a very long and tiring day when he began to hear the strangest noises emanating from Rusty's bedroom, noises that left no room for misinterpretation about what was going on in there and left Andy slightly traumatised while Sharon tried her hardest to pretend she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary as she climbed into bed and quickly went to sleep.

"What? I did" Andy said animatedly. "Don't tell me you didn't think the same thing. While you were in the shower it was all I could do to not jump up and down on the bed and groan as loudly as possible to get a little of my own back on the pair of them." Sharon laughed again, a hand covering her mouth to stifle it as much as possible so that she didn't wake the young man in question. "Start making farm yard noises or something." Once again Sharon laughed, able to ignore the noises she heard that night and quickly went to sleep through sheer exhaustion but knew that Andy had struggled even though they hadn't spoken about it since. "Do you think he has any idea how loud they can be when they're…you know…going at it?"

"'Going at it'?" Sharon asked as she continued to laugh.

"Sure. It's the only way to explain the noise."

Again Sharon laughed, shaking her head until she was able to answer. "No, I'm sure Rusty doesn't have the faintest idea that we could hear them and you are not going to tell him either are you?" she asked but with it sounding more like a demand than a request with Sharon determined that Rusty never find out. It had taken the young man long enough to ask permission for Gus to stay the night (and then he was far too embarrassed to do it himself and Gus ended up taking the lead and asked while Rusty hid in his bedroom) and she was not going to spoil that now just because he hadn't heard them come home one evening and they'd been…excessively noisy in bed. Andy laughed, a laugh full of mischief and Sharon instantly knew she was going to have a battle on her hands to keep him quiet on the subject. "I mean it Andy! Don't you dare say anything to him about it" she warned.

"Why not?" Andy asked, sounding very put out by the notion that he needed to stay silent on a subject that Rusty seemingly had no qualms about being vocal about in return.

"Because he'll probably never come out of his bedroom ever again that's why not and that's only if he doesn't die from embarrassment first" she pointed out as they both laughed at the very thought of it. "We'll have to post him food under his door just to get him to eat. Only things that are completely flat. He'll be living on lettuce leaves and pancakes."

"And that would be a bad thing?" he asked before the inevitable attack on the back of his knees started. "After the kid told me off for kissing you in the kitchen the other day, I'm not allowed to say anything about orgasms that were so loud Mrs Rose probably heard them?" Andy asked, unable to resist pointing out the double standard as he saw it.

"Ah yes but you weren't just kissing me in the kitchen were you Andrew?" she replied with the same wide grin that he currently had, using his full name when she was trying to prove a point to him and more often than not proving him wrong. "You had your tongue down my throat and your hands on my rear end if memory serves" she reminded him. On that particular evening Rusty had already gone to bed and Sharon and Andy were just headed that way themselves when Andy winked at her very innocently as he loaded the dishwasher. That wink was enough to light a flame within her (and that was without the way he loaded the dishwasher in the way she liked being a huge turn on as well) and before less than a couple of seconds had passed by she had closed the gap to him and crashed her lips against his in a searing embrace. Andy didn't need to be told twice and he responded immediately, his tongue being invited into her mouth as he grabbed her denim clad backside with both hands. Andy was mere seconds from slipping his hands lower and picking her up to carry her to bed when they were alerted to Rusty's presence by a high pitched noise coming from the back of his throat that sounded like a ghost having a rectal exam as his went as white as a sheet. They immediate broke apart, Sharon apologising profusely to Rusty as Andy laughed and she tried her hardest to hide the fact that the way she had grabbed Andy had caused his trousers to tent in the front just enough to be noticeable. From that point on to avoid a repeat performance Rusty had decided that even if he heard a murder taking place in the living room he would no longer leave his bedroom at night once he'd closed the door, always taking a glass of water with him instead. Sharon had made herself a similar vow, instantly declaring that she was never going to pounce on Andy in the kitchen ever again since it was the second time they had been caught (the first time by Gus several weeks earlier, only thankfully Rusty had received less of an eyeful than poor Gus did) recently although it was a vow that wasn't likely to last long, especially if he winked at her like that again.

"Oh and like you didn't?" Andy asked since on the night in question Sharon also had her hands full as she grabbed Andy's backside but then she often did when they were alone.

Sharon thought for a moment before she nodded. "Fair point" she agreed before they both laughed. "And which is why he will probably insist upon a no physical contact outside of the bedroom rule." In all honesty it was always in good humour whenever the subject was more than a little awkwardly raised in front of them. Although Rusty really didn't want to see them being too overly affectionate with each other in front of him (and to be fair neither did they want to do it in front of him either), he had absolutely no problems with PDA between them in his presence. He would joke about feeling ill or rolling his eyes at them but he also saw just how much his Mom loved her often ridiculous boyfriend and to see her look at him in such a way, to see the adoration in her eyes that was always mirrored in Andy's and to witness them kiss and cuddle in front of him made him happy more than it bothered him. Still it wasn't to be encouraged, especially in the kitchen where there was food.

"Yeah well if he asks for that I want my own rule for him. Don't do anything under this roof that sounds like you're re-enacting Caligula" he joked, shuddering for effect as he continued to maintain that hearing Rusty and Gus having sex (although with the noise they were both making he wasn't entirely sure that's what was really happening and still maintain that they had been sacrificing a goat like they were in some sort of _Wicker Man_ cult) was giving him nightmares.

Sharon laughed. "And what about when Rusty is out noisy boy?" she asked with another grin as she stroked his cheek, thinking that if he insisted that Rusty be a lot quieter in the bedroom then he would have to follow the same rules and she _would_ enforce them if for no other reason than to prove a point.

Andy thought for a moment. "Yeah okay. Rule request withdrawn at the preliminary stage."

Sharon laughed at how quickly he caved in, it not being a surprise in the slightest. "But anyway you're still not saying anything to him about it. I'll buy you a pair of earplugs and that's an end to the matter if it's such a problem for you" she told him, desperate that Rusty never find out what they'd heard by accident, even going as far as to lie to him about what time they'd actually arrived home the following morning when Rusty was surprised and a little anxious to see them as he made breakfast for Gus.

"So I have to concentrate on being quiet all the time at the expense of everything else..."

Sharon smiled at him as her hand slid from his back and down to grab his backside, the action cutting his words off even before she spoke. "But being quiet doesn't appear to have affected your performance in the slightest if you ask me my beautiful boy" she told him, playing to his ego to ensure he didn't say anything to Rusty even though she was actually telling the truth.

"Thank you" he replied smugly. They both laughed before she kissed him. "But anyway back to the point I was trying to make. I have to make sure that I keep the noise down at all times to avoid traumatising him but he can have an orgasm that sounds like a pig is being hacked to death with a chainsaw and I have to say silent about it too?"

"Andy if it's all the same with you I'd really rather not discuss my son's orgasms in any more detail thank you very much" she told him with a slight grimace as he laughed at her. "I know it goes on and that's fine and I'm happy for him because they clearly love each other but I really don't want to discuss it in such detail."

"But you're okay listening to it while you're trying to go to sleep?"

"But I didn't listen to it. I sleep with you every night. If I can drown out the sound of you snoring like a buzz saw going through sheet metal then I can block out that too and it's not like Gus stays over a lot" she reasoned.

"Thank God" Andy cried, at the time giving serious consideration to sleeping in his car but suspected he would probably still hear them in the parking garage. "It wouldn't be long until we had Mrs Rose around here, complaining about us turning the place into a part time abattoir." Again Sharon laughed at him, Andy's unique ability to over exaggerate in any situation always amusing her. "And how long did it go on for? Jesus!" Andy shouted, almost getting his phone from the nightstand to time them at one point as Sharon slept soundly beside him but he couldn't for the noise echoing around every square inch of the apartment. "It felt like hours and hours! I didn't know whether to pull my ears off or applaud them and give them both a bottle of Gatorade afterwards."

Sharon laughed once more. "Jealous?" she asked, her eyes sparkling at him.

"Yes! I am! Very jealous in fact" he confirmed since he'd not been able to last that long for the last twenty years at least and he wasn't about to start taking a pill to change that either, that being a slippery slope he had no intention of descending. "I need to start paying more attention to Sting when he next talks about tantric sex on the radio."

"Well they are a third of your age my darling boy" she reminded him a little bluntly, it being a simple observation rather than a gentle dig at him.

"Thanks."

Sharon laughed, knowing he was going to pretend to be offended before she even opened her mouth to remind him of his age. "But you still do very very well if you ask me" she told him before their lips met in a searing kiss, a kiss which told him all he needed to know about what she thought of his stamina and performance.

Andy smiled against her lips before he mumbled "You're damn right I do" and pulled her even closer to his chest. Sharon laughed as they broke apart, her hand returning to move up and down his back again. "So anyway back to my original point, I have to say silent in bed but Rusty doesn't?"

"Yes, it's called being an adult" she told him flatly. Andy smiled at her, a smile which she knew all too well and which screamed nothing but mischief. "I mean it Andy. Don't say anything to him about it. He'd never be able to look either of us in the eye ever again."

"Him? What about me?" Andy asked as his voice suddenly went very high. "I couldn't look him or Gus in the eye the next morning. It was all I could do to stop myself stuffing cheese in my ears and running from the place to eat breakfast in my car after listening to that for a couple of hours the night before" he joked.

Sharon shrugged. "This is all just part of being a family again" she told him as her hand moved to run through his hair.

"Putting up with weird sex noises from our kids?"

Sharon laughed for a moment until it hit her, the phrase 'our kids' striking home. It was not the first time that Andy had spoken about Rusty like he was his son too, indeed on a couple of occasions he had directly called him 'my kid' to the likes of his realtor as he made it clear that he would not be forcing him to live in a house that was riddled from top to bottom with black mould and every time he said it he made Sharon's heart swell in size, loving him all the more because of it. She kissed him before she answered. "Yes. Sometimes. Is it something you can deal with to be a part of this family?"

"I would gladly walk to the ends of the earth for a chance to be part of this family with you" he told her sincerely and then confirming it with the most tender brush of her lips with his, letting her know just how much he meant it, fully prepared to sacrifice everything even his own life just to spend an extra ten seconds with Sharon if he needed to one day. "Weird sex noises are nothing when you want something that badly" he added, stroking her cheek with his hand before kissing her again.

Sharon laughed, overwhelmed by the meaning of his words while at the same time amused by his choice of phrase to express himself. "I'm very glad to hear that" she sighed.

"It's like being back in college again" Andy said rather casually as if it was the sort of thing he heard on a daily basis while he was attending school. Sharon immediately grimaced at him and sensed another horrendous but highly amusing story from his youth on the horizon. "What?" Andy asked in response to the face she was pulling, like he had just told her he had a penchant for smearing himself in sheep blood and howling naked in a field when there was a full moon. "Don't act all innocent with me Raydor. I know you had a roommate during your time at college _and_ what you got up to with that Ryan Marshall asshole" he added, not forgetting the name of the young man who (in his opinion anyway) had stolen Sharon's virginity, irrationally annoyed and jealous at everyone who had ever laid a hand on the love of his life before him.

Sharon laughed hysterically once again as her hand flew up to cover her mouth in a state of shock, always surprised about the way Andy seemed to remember everything she had ever told him from that first afternoon they went on one of their non-dates together to Nicole's wedding (that particular trait of his one of the catalysts when she told him she loved him for the very first time). "You've remembered his name?"

"Of the first guy you ever slept with? Of course I have!" Andy replied, sounding almost outraged as if it was utterly ridiculous of her to assume that he wouldn't remember the names of the other men she had invited into her bed in her life. "I've put a flag on his name at work so if he does anything even remotely illegal I'll pounce on him like a hawk on a titmouse and cuff him before he even knows I'm there" he said and only really joking about it but his tone of voice made it sounds anything but humorous. Sharon laughed hysterically at him. "What?"

"But I haven't seen him in over forty years" Sharon cried, not entirely sure she'd be able to pick the man in question out of a line-up anymore even if he hadn't aged in the slightest in the intervening years.

"And you're not going to see him in the next forty either" he insisted.

Sharon laughed again as she stroked his cheek. "Oh my jealous boy" she cried before she kissed him long and hard on the lips. For now she found Andy's outrageous 'jealousy' highly amusing since she knew most if it was in jest and for example he had never had any reaction to Jack other than to be protective over her in his presence and to point out what an idiot he thought he was for ever letting Sharon slip through his fingers, choosing his addictions and other women over her. When their lips finally broke apart she sighed and couldn't help but smile at the huge grin on his face, getting her confirmation that he was in fact only teasing her. "And anyway how is this like college?" she asked.

"You never had to try to go to sleep while your roommate…you know…bumped uglies in the next bed?" he asked.

Sharon laughed again, not just at his choice in phrase but also it seemed what he and his college roommate had to put up with whenever the other had a 'date' over. "What? No!" she cried with more than a little horror before she laughed again. "What happened to the old tie on the door handle trick to get some time alone?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? We didn't have a neck tie between us and any money went on..."

"Booze and condoms?" she asked with a smug smile, knowing him far too well to suspect anything else under the circumstances.

"Maybe" he shrugged casually, the twinkle in his eye letting Sharon know that she was one hundred percent right in her assumption. Once more Sharon laughed as she shook her head at him. "You seriously didn't have to deal with this problem at college?" Andy asked.

"No!"

"Well what did you and your roommate do when one of you wanted to..."

"Bump uglies?"

"Exactly."

"By the way that's an expression I never want to hear come from your mouth ever again just so you know" she told him as they both laughed. "Well to begin with my roommate wasn't exactly what you'd call into boys" she started to explain, stopping short when Andy's face suddenly erupted into the biggest of filthy smiles as his mind immediately leapt to the conclusion that she was a lesbian. "Not like that" she told him and quickly bursting his bubble. "There were no naked pillow fights or heated make out sessions between us you big pervert."

"There were in my mind" he told her with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Sharon laughed again. "Why am I not surprised?" She paused for a moment as she sought the correct phrase to use. "Mindy was the sort of person that...well let's just say I'd be very surprised to learn if she's ever had sex in her life because she certainly wasn't interested in getting any at college." Mindy was a lovely girl and a marvellous roommate because she was clean and quiet and wasn't any trouble at all but she was essentially a younger version of Sharon's Grandmother in a pink cardigan. She wasn't interested in boys or sex and indeed at one point actually screamed out loud in the library when she happened to glance at an open biology text book next to her and saw a detailed diagram of male genitalia staring back at her. It took twenty minutes and a trip to the nurse before she finally calmed down and then she frequently claimed she was having flashbacks, often waking Sharon up in the middle of the night screaming after a nightmare that involved being chased down a corridor by a giant penis with teeth (in other words the plot to _Alien_ ).

"Ah. I see" Andy nodded. "One of those girls" he added with a smile.

"I know what you're thinking and I'm sorry to inform you that even with your particular charm and skill set you wouldn't have been able to have convinced her to sleep with you" she told him.

"I wasn't thinking that at all" he lied, his nostrils flaring like crazy.

"Yes you were" she laughed as she gave his backside a quick slap. "Just out of some sense of morbid curiosity have you ever not been able to charm someone into bed?" He smiled at her in response, looking more than a little shy about the direction the conversation had taken. Sharon sighed and stroked his cheek for a moment, knowing why he had suddenly fallen silent. Andy had always had issues talking about his rather colourful past with women with her, not that she was particularly interested but he would often clam up in the middle of a story as a past date suddenly emerged into it. There was a simply reason behind it, on the whole he was embarrassed by most of his past behaviour, none of which painted him in a particularly good light and he was so desperate to keep Sharon's unwavering trust in him and not do anything to make her doubt him for more than a second that he tried his hardest to avoid discussing anyone in his past other than Sandra (and even then he wasn't so keen on talking about her). "Come on, you can tell me. I'm not a jealous cat like you are" she teased.

"I'm not jealous" he protested and just making her laugh. "I just don't like to think about other guys with their hands on my girl that's all" he explained as his hand moved to pull her even closer to him, so close now that they were virtually nose to nose. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No" she replied with a laugh before she kissed him. "Not at all" she added kissing him once again. "So? Has there ever been one that got away? One that had some sort of super power to resist the great Andy Flynn charm?" she asked since she had no defence against Andy's charm at all. If he decided that he was going to charm her into bed for example she was utterly powerless to resist it and to be honest didn't particularly want to either.

"Only you for a while but persistence paid off in the end and I wore you down" he said with a wink.

Sharon laughed as she nodded, her hand slipping back under his t-shirt again as her fingers stroked his back. "That's exactly what happened, you wore me down" she joked before she kissed him. "I thought it would be much easier to just give in and let you have your wicked way with me than fight it any longer."

"If anyone has had their wicked way with the other in this relationship it's definitely you" he replied in reference to the way she had been known to simply pounce on him when she was in the mood and could no longer wait for him to finish what he was doing and come to bed. Sharon laughed again. "So what did you do with your roommate when you had company over? Lock her in the closet?"

"No." She paused for a moment before continuing, biting on her bottom lip since she knew what his reaction was going to be, Andy knowing better than anyone else that she wasn't exactly a prude like many thought at work but he still liked to tease her about it. "I waited until she was at church" she confessed to him finally, it being the only time that she could guarantee Mindy would be out for a set period of time with no chance of her coming home early and walking in on things that would only cause her to seek more therapy and when Sharon didn't have a class. Andy laughed loudly, that not being the response he was expecting. "What?"

"You waited until she was at church?" he asked utterly shocked.

"I may not have been quite as committed to Catholicism as my Grandmother would have liked when I was at college as I was before and after I went or right now for example" she explained with faith becoming more and more important to her as she grew older and she began to rely on her relationship with the church more, particularly after she got married.

"Oh really? You strayed from the flock the moment boys put in an appearance huh?"

"Maybe. If anything it was more like a temporary hiatus in my commitment and then I met Jack and I needed the church to help me cope with the devil" she explained a tad ruthfully. "Well what did you used to do when you had female company?"

Andy shrugged. "I went back to the girl's room" he said simply. Sharon laughed at him, in her mind thinking that he probably slept with half the campus during his time at college, an opinion she had held long before she'd actually seen photographs of him as a teenager and saw just how handsome he was back then too. "Well I wasn't going to bring them back to our room. Two guys sharing a small small room. The smell in there alone would have been enough to kill the mood."

"Yes I do seem to remember Ricky's bedroom smelling like something had died in there from time to time when he was a teenager" she laughed, sometimes having to cover her nose and mouth before she dared brave entering his bedroom between the ages of thirteen and when he eventually went off to college, crusty socks and tissues scattered across the floor like land mines she needed to avoid on the way to picking up his laundry or opening up a window. She was actually rather relieved that she had never had the same problems with Rusty when he came into her life, both boys so different in every way imaginable but both offering her unique challenges as a Mother. "But your roommate wasn't as fussy?"

"No and neither were the girls he brought home with him either" he said with a roll of his eyes as Sharon laughed. "It never bothered me" he shrugged casually in reference to all the occasions when he would simply put a pillow over his head and roll over to face the wall as his roommate made noises that resulted in the pigeon who frequently perched on their window ledge when it sought shelter from the wind to peck frantically at the glass, trying to get at the potential mate it thought was on the other side of the partition. "I just used to go to sleep." Sharon looked at him aghast for a moment, completely horrified that Andy's presence was not enough to stop his roommate bringing girls home. "Remember I grew up sleeping in the same bedroom as four of my brothers" he pointed out, seeing and hearing much worse as an innocent adolescent than he ever really did during his time at college. "Over the years I'd...heard a lot of stuff."

"Oh God!" Sharon cried with horror, turning away from him and rolling onto her back as she covered her face with her hands. Andy laughed at her reaction, his hand going back to her hip and dragging her back onto her side to face him. "You know every time I think I've finally heard every weird and random and sometimes highly upsetting and traumatising side to your childhood you go and surprise me."

"Well it is my main goal in life" he grinned, delighted that Sharon's life had been anything but dull and uneventful since the moment she opened her heart and invited him in.

"To traumatise me with tales of your youth?"

"No, to keep you constantly surprised."

"Well that you have most certainly achieved my darling boy" she said as she wrapped her arm back around him and captured his lips. "That you have most certainly achieved" she repeated and then kissed him again before morbid curiosity quickly took over her and compelled her ask the burning question even though she knew she was going to be disgusted by the answer. "What did your brothers use to get up to exactly anyway?"

"Well at the time I was too young to realise what was really going on but in hindsight...let's just say there were some socks that I could never wear again and leave it at that" he replied, trying his hardest to be as delicate as possible and without coming across as too crude.

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried with horror once again as he laughed, having yet more revolting flashbacks to Ricky as a teenager. "Why are boys so disgusting? It boggles the mind that this species has lasted as long as it has with what women have to put up with."

"Like wet towels and shoes abandoned in the middle of the floor?"

"Exactly" she replied as they both laughed. "In all fairness Andy I will admit that you are very well house trained" she told him as she fingertips traced the edge of his face, running from his ear and down to his lips. Sharon was under no illusions, Andy had been a bachelor for a very long time before they started dating and once the honeymoon period was behind them she had expected to see a less idealised version of the man she loved, things settling down and with her rose tinted glasses not quite smoothing out all of his rough edges anymore she expected to see a different side to him. However much to her constant surprise it hadn't really materialised (wet towel and shoe placement aside) and given how long he had been alone and potentially how stuck in his ways he could have been, his bad habits were very much kept to a minimum.

"House trained? What am I? A puppy?" he huffed as if he was offended.

Sharon laughed again, her hand lightly slapping his cheek. "It seems like that sometimes yes. I'm not sure who I should thank for your extremely good behaviour, Sandra or your Mother" she queried, more than aware that she had snagged herself Andy Flynn at his most settled and well behaved unlike the version that Sandra had married and then subsequently divorced.

"I think probably my Grandfather."

"The Italian one?"

"That's the one. He told me all about women and how to charm them and how to treat them" he told her before he pressed his lips firmly to her forehead.

"And how's that going?" she asked him with a grin.

"I'm not the person to ask."

Sharon laughed and nodded, her hand cupping his cheek before it went through his hair. "Then I say it's going very very well" she told him before she kissed him. "Oh how I love you" she said with a contented sigh before she kissed him again.

"I should certainly hope so since I'm moving in" he replied. They both laughed for a moment before he kissed her back, unable to leave her lips alone for more than a couple of seconds at a time. He sighed a second later, a thought weighing heavily in the back of his mind and as much as he didn't want to he felt compelled to ask the question. "So have you told Rusty about my house?"

"No not yet" she lied convincingly enough to fool Andy without too much effort on her part. "If I'm perfectly honest I wanted to torture you a little first before I filled him in on the recent developments" she told him, lying again but feeling that it would sound better to tell him that she had just been torturing him rather than admitting that she had been trying her hardest to make him finally stop being so nervous with her. He frowned at her, taking her at her word and a little irritated that she had kept him dangling for as long as she had earlier in the evening. "What? It's good to keep you on your toes from time to time."

"But you think he'll be okay with it? There's no way he might have changed his mind?" Andy asked, still concerned that Rusty's reaction could scupper their plans entirely to extent that he no longer cared that Sharon had kept him dangling.

Sharon smiled at him as she stroked his cheek. "No Andy, he won't have changed his mind. He'll be fine with it I promise you. It was his suggestion after all in the beginning remember and he was fine when we told him I'd asked you to move in when your house sold a couple of weeks ago" she reminded him before she kissed him. "Please don't worry about Rusty, it'll be okay." Aside from addressing Andy's constant nervousness Sharon was lying to him about Rusty knowing about the sale of his house for another reason. She felt that it was vitally important that the two of them discuss the sale themselves rather than her being constantly in the middle and acting as the go between. If Andy and Rusty were ever really going to treat each other like real family than it had to start immediately and best way to make that happen was to encourage Andy to have that particular conversation with Rusty himself and tell him that he had sold his house and was moving in with them. There was no denying that Andy and Rusty's relationship was a hell of a lot better than it was when they first started dating, they had come on leaps and bounds in fact but there was always room for improvement in her eyes, wanting them to treat each other as family if one day she was out of the equation and they were left on their own.

"Okay" Andy nodded, not entirely convinced but there was no doubt that Sharon knew the kid a lot better than he did and if she thought Rusty would be okay with it than who was he to argue? He paused for a moment as a smile started to tug at his lips. "On the subject of the kid and just out of curiosity so that I know what horrors await me at the breakfast table in the morning, have you made up with him yet?" he asked.

Sharon frowned at him confused. "What do you mean? Why do I need to make up with him? When have we fallen out?" she asked utterly perplexed.

Andy continued to smile at her before he admitted the truth, something he'd been keeping to himself all day and the previous evening when they returned from work. He shrugged. "I was maybe listening by the bedroom door last night as you were talking to him about what he'd recorded on his phone" he explained, having been about to walk into the living room to grab himself a glass of water to take his blood pressure pill when he heard Sharon chastise Rusty over his continued filming of the screens in the RACER room after Buzz had told him to stop.

Sharon's mouth dropped open, not having the faintest idea that Andy had heard them as she sat at her desk in the living room and then found him in the bathroom when she had walked away from her son. "You were listening by the door?" she asked.

"You bet I was" he replied with a grin like she was so utterly foolish to have expected him to not have listened to them as she scolded him. "I heard the whole thing and then I ran away as quickly as humanly possible when I heard you coming before I hid in the bathroom and made sure I behaved myself for the rest of the evening so that I didn't upset you and make you speak to me like that and I ended up sleeping on the couch." He had not overheard them on purpose, not consciously eavesdropping but when he heard her tone as his hand landed on the door handle, a tone he had _never_ heard her use when talking to Rusty before and she usually only reserved for suspects and Chief Taylor on occasions when he was standing in the way or her doing her job, he had quickly determined that she was not in the best of moods and it was probably for the best to just keep his mouth closed for the rest of the evening and not push his luck.

Sharon laughed at him. "You didn't say anything to me about it."

"Of course I didn't. You scared me" he cried, only partly exaggerating for effect. "You scared the living crap out of me, why would I then deliberately poke the bear? I didn't want to lose a finger."

Sharon laughed at him again before she stopped more than a touch abruptly, her face suddenly very serious as she seemed to look passed him for a moment, her mind clearly elsewhere and not on the man in her arms. "I really worry sometimes that Rusty thinks of all this as just a story or worse as just a game to pass the time when Gus isn't around to occupy his mind when it's Buzz's life we're talking about" she said, her tone screaming nothing but worry and concern.

"I know. He just gets really focused and overly enthusiastic about it" Andy replied and trying his hardest to give Rusty a break about it all. Sharon hummed in response, not really seeing that as a justification of his actions. "Has Buzz really found the guy?" he asked, still trying to stay out of the investigation as much as possible unless Buzz specifically asked for his help, knowing how he wanted to do it himself.

"I think so, well through the partials he's found a potential 'witness' at least, let's put it like that" Sharon clarified. She shrugged. "I don't know. Lieutenant Provenza is sorting it out for him and has arranged to bring his potential witness over tomorrow to be interviewed."

"Huh! Well way to go Reserve Officer Watson!" Andy cried with pride.

"I know" Sharon replied as her tone started to warm up a little again, a smile making its way back to her face again. "I'm so proud of him already. In another life I'm sure Buzz would have made a very good detective."

Andy hummed in response before he opted to poke the bear and ask the burning question. "So are you going to let Rusty watch?" he asked, getting a confused hum in return. "Watch while Buzz and Provenza interview this guy?"

"I don't know. Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know. Probably not" she said quickly, seemingly changing her mind about it while she was speaking.

Andy looked at her with surprise, thinking that it didn't matter how mad she had been with him the night before that there was no way she was going to deny him what could possibly (and hopefully) be the end of his story. "You're not going to let him?"

"The last time we allowed him to have special access he abused it."

"I know but..."

"But nothing. Actions have consequences Andy and it's high time that Rusty understood that fact" she stated.

"Okay" he replied simply since he felt it wasn't his place at all to tell his Captain who was or who wasn't allowed to watch an interview with a suspect regardless of whether it was her son and his future step-son who wanted to do the watching. Andy thought for a moment and knew full well that Rusty would be doing nothing but buzzing around the Murder Room like a fly in the morning as he waited for their potential 'witness' to arrive which meant he'd have to say something to him in order to get him to calm down and not allow him to annoy Sharon any more than he had already if he stood any chance at all of being allowed to watch Buzz conduct the interview. "Whatever you say. You're the boss."

"You'd better believe it" she told him with a poke of his chest with her finger. They both laughed before she kissed him on the lips, reminding him that she wasn't the boss right at that moment in time.

"Too bad Mark didn't seem to realise that fact earlier, he might have helped us a bit more or at all if he had" he joked, all of them flabbergasted not only by the torrent of abuse that fell from the boy's lips but also how hostile and suspicious he was towards them all. "That kid is a complete and utter monster."

"He's not exactly had an easy life Andy" she reminded him.

"Easy life or not you wouldn't expect a kid of that age to call immigration on Julio after less than five hours in his care."

Sharon laughed despite her shock at what she was hearing about the boy, missing that part of the conversation earlier in the day as she walked out of her office. "He didn't?"

"He did" Andy nodded. "Last night. Julio told us this morning what an ordeal it had been last night to try and get him to sleep. It took him an hour to get rid of Immigration once they'd showed up" he explained as they both laughed. "I told him that it's hard to sleep your first night in a new place but Julio doesn't think that has anything to do with it, the kid is just feral and nocturnal."

Sharon smiled as her hand began to move up and down his back again. "Did you find it hard to sleep your first night here?" she asked, a slight lilt to her voice.

"Well which night?" he asked. "Technically my first night here was in Rusty's bed after my accident and I was in so much pain if I did something as simple as breathing that I hardly slept at all so that doesn't really qualify."

Sharon frowned at him. "Which for some reason I'm only just hearing about now" she told him as she pinched his backside as a punishment. "Why didn't you tell me at the time you couldn't sleep because you were in that much pain?"

Andy shrugged. "I didn't want you to worry about me even more than you were already, you'd already done enough of that when you had to call the Paramedics again and what was the point in neither of us getting any sleep that night?" he reasoned before he kissed her, at the time already being mad enough with himself as it was for making her worry about him by doing something stupid without making it any worse. "But oddly enough I didn't sleep much my first real night with you either" he said with another shit eating grin before he kissed her once more, devouring her lips.

Sharon sighed, her mind instantly going to the way she had woken him up several times in the night as she literally beat him black and blue in her sleep. "I know, I know because I beat you all night."

Andy laughed. "No, not at all" he insisted, not wanting her to feel bad about it despite the black eye she gave him and the way his life flashed before his eyes when she kicked him in the balls. "It was because I was far too busy smiling like a fool and watching you sleep in my arms all night. It was without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest nights of my entire life" he told her before their lips met again.

"Mine too" she admitted, kissing him back. "I've told you before it was the most perfect and most romantic night of my entire life" she added and then kissed him once more before her mind couldn't help but go back to Mark. "Still that poor poor boy."

"Poor boy my ass. If looks could kill we'd all be dead this evening" he joked, at once feeling sorry for him but also wanting to give him a clip around his ear. They both laughed, neither envying Julio that evening as he went home and continued to deal with him without being able to kill him. "The way he was looking at us, my God it was like how Sandra used to look at me on a good day before the divorce was finalised. She doesn't look at me much better now." Sharon laughed, noting for once that Andy was understating how much his ex-wife disliked him still. "But I must say this, you're a hell of lot better and more understanding with Julio taking on Mark than the Chief was with that Ruben kid. By a long long way" he said, it not escaping the notice of everyone who had once been a part of Priority Homicide just how different Sharon had reacted compared to their much loved Chief Johnson to not only Julio wanting to foster but also being notified about members of her division dating with Amy dating an SIS officer and Provenza marrying the relative of someone they'd arrested for murder being greeted with a smile and well wishes rather than discomfort.

"I wish I could take the credit but it's not like I have much choice in the matter if I'm honest, I have inflicted a foster child on the department myself you know" she reminded him.

Andy laughed at her choice in words. "Inflicted?"

"Well that's how it seemed in those first few weeks when you were collecting money from everyone to buy his Mom a bus ticket and finally get rid of him" she told him with a pointed look, having lost count of the amount of times that she had overheard Andy calling him 'a little psycho' in the weeks between Sharon taking him in and his Mother standing him up at the bus station, their attitudes changing towards him immediately afterwards.

"That wasn't to get rid of him" Andy protested and clearly lying through his teeth.

"Oh yeah?" Sharon replied as she tried her hardest to suppress a laugh, still finding it highly amusing that Andy was so unbelievably bad at lying to her. "Then what was it if it wasn't for that?"

Andy shrugged. "Trying to reunite a kid with his Mom" he said which was in part true since they had seen being able to reunite them as the happy ending their department seldom saw given that they dealt primarily with homicides and the worst of humanity, finally seeing the back of Rusty was always secondary to that, more like an added bonus.

"Yeah okay" she replied with a very neutral voice, making her disbelief abundantly clear to him which inevitably made them both laugh. "I believe you, thousands wouldn't" she added and not for the first time.

"Do you ever get tired of saying that to me?"

"Not yet no" she grinned and then kissed him, letting him know that he was going to hear it many many more times before death would finally part them. "It was very hard to work out during that first month who you were all more desperate to see the back of, me or Rusty" she said as she went back to an earlier thought.

"I didn't want to see the back of either of you."

Sharon smiled at him. "You must be able to lie better than that by now Andy."

"I'm not lying to you," he insisted which to be fair she was inclined to believe since Andy was by far the quickest out of the division to warm up to her the day she took over Major Crimes even though he did then proceed to yell at her at the morgue later in the day and blame her for everything except the assassination of JFK and the kidnap of the Lindbergh baby, "but regardless Past Andy was a moron."

Sharon laughed. "As big a moron as Womanising Andy?"

"They're about on par with each other" he declared like he had given the subject some serious thought over the last few months. "Thankfully Present Andy is in love with you and isn't such a massive idiot."

"Well..." Sharon replied, really stretching out the word and dropping a not so subtle hint that regardless of how much he had changed and for want of a better phrase had certainly 'grown up' considerably over the last few years, he was still a gigantic idiot. Andy's mouth dropped open with offense as she laughed at him, falling quiet when she kissed the shocked expression from his lips.

"Is Julio going to tell the kid about his Mom tonight when he gets him home?" Andy asked when they eventually broke apart, not party to the conversation between Sharon and Julio when he took Mark home for the evening.

"No. I know Julio has his concerns and his focus is somewhat split on the matter but I'm ashamed to say we may need his help first before we destroy his life further" she told him, not saying anything that he hadn't already assumed from past experiences but it was clear that the choice they were being forced into making was distressing to Sharon as it was distressing to them all.

"Are you going to call Dr Joe to speak to him?"

"I think so. It'll be for the best" she said with another tinge of sadness about it all. "If anyone can break it to Mark in the easiest way possible it's him."

"I don't envy him."

"I don't envy any of us. This case is going to get a lot worse before it gets better" she replied with a rather depressed sigh, already on edge and not looking forward to their investigation even before DDA Rosen highlighted the obvious connection to Neo Nazis.

"Well that's a touch bleak" he pointed out, Sharon usually the more optimistic of the two of them by quite a considerable margin.

"I used up all my optimism when I started dating you" she joked but sounding as serious as she could, inevitably getting a very put out expression in return. Sharon laughed, moving her hand from his back to cup his face. "I'm only kidding" she assured him as she laughed a little before she kissed him deeply on the lips as if to prove her point. When they broke apart she sighed, looking past him again as her mind was clearly elsewhere and getting distracted by what awaited them all at work the next morning. "I don't exactly relish having to spend so much time in the company of Nazis over the coming days."

"Well that makes two of us." There was nothing else really to say on the subject and neither did either of them want to spend any time in bed talking about Nazis of all things, not when they were supposed to be relaxing and celebrating the start of their new adventure together and that was without taking the already long standing agreement between the two of them that they would _try_ as much as they could to avoid discussing work matters at home into consideration. Silence descended between them for a moment with Andy allowing it to settle as a smile slowly started to form on his face, about to say something that he knew would probably end with his knees being attacked at the very least and at the very worst with him sleeping on the couch. "So I noticed that you picked Mike to go undercover and not me last night" he said as casually as he possibly could, unable to suppress the huge smug smile on his face.

Sharon immediately rolled her eyes and sat up, pushing Andy away from her with a huff as she suddenly became very animated, the moment she'd been dreading for nearly twenty four hours was suddenly upon her and Andy's smug smile even worse that she expected. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew you were waiting to bring it up!" she cried, her hands gesturing wildly and causing him to flinch and recoil should she inadvertently hit him or more likely attempt to slap the smile from his face. "I've been waiting for it! It's taken you a whole day! A whole day to say something!" she shouted, knowing from the look on his face since the moment she got Mike to make an appointment with CampusGirl101 that he was desperate to say something to her about it.

Andy laughed hysterically, waiting until the appropriate moment when he would be able to sit back, relax and fully enjoy Sharon's reaction since it was clear to him that she had been expecting it at any moment, deliberately not looking at him when she informed Mike that he was going to have plans for the evening and then not going with the rest of the division to the hotel because she knew not slapping him was going to prove to be difficult. "Well I was too busy trying to keep the vomit down while we watched it happening to say anything to you sooner" he told her which was partly true, being able to watch a lot more of Mike being stripped than Provenza did. "Besides after I heard you yelling at Rusty I was far too frightened to bring it up and point out that you were oh so wrong and I was oh so right so like I said I hid in the bathroom instead."

Sharon rolled her eyes at him, specifically at the first of what was sure to be a long line of reminders that he had been right and she had been wrong for the very first time in their relationship (or at least the first time that she was forced to admit to). "This is precisely why I didn't go with you to the hotel last night because I knew you wouldn't be able to resist saying something to me" she cried, refusing to look at him because she knew what smug smile was going to be occupying his features as he lay next to her.

"And it was the right decision too. It was something that none of us wanted to watch" Andy replied with a revolted shudder, only suggesting to Provenza that they kept the whole thing going a little longer once their suspect started to slowly undress Mike in order to torture him a little. Mike's desperate looks towards the camera as he silently pleaded for help and an end to his misery made all the more sweeter to Andy as the minutes ticked by, levelling the score slightly in Andy's opinion considering how often Mike tortured him by constantly bringing up _Badge of Justice_ on what felt like was an hourly basis. "Don't bother watching Buzz's video, I'm telling you."

Sharon laughed at him, knowing how uncomfortable they all were about the operation but doing it regardless. "But for the record let me say that I was right and Mike did a really good job whereas you'd probably have been locked naked on the balcony before we had anything even remotely criminal to hold her on" Sharon said as she lay back down but settling on her back to again avoid looking at him and his smug smile, her eyes locked on the ceiling and refusing to even so much as glance in his direction.

Andy looked at her more than little annoyed, objecting to the insinuation that a pretty face and a big pair of perky breasts could allow the owner to so easily wrap him around their little finger, a fact that was perfectly true and had been proven given that he was once far too busy flirting with a young woman that smiled at him sweetly as she robbed a jewellery store in front of his very eyes to notice what was happening. "Do you really think I'm that easily manipulated by women?"

"Yes I do. I know for a fact that you are" she stated as she continued to stare at the ceiling, refusing to look at him. As far as Sharon was concerned Andy being easily manipulated by women was an indisputable fact, not only because of what had happened with the flight attendants and at the jewellery store to name just a couple of incidents but also because she had done it to him herself dozens of times in the last couple of months alone. "Anyway if you'd gone in there she would probably have ended up giving you a heart attack, a young beautiful girl like that."

Andy cocked his head and smiled at her adoringly as he edged closer, finally resting his head on her shoulder as his hand landed across her waist. He kissed her neck a couple of times and she could practically feel his smile against her skin without even looking at him. "She was nothing compared to you" he cooed sincerely in her ear before he proceeded to kiss his way along her exposed shoulder and up her neck, desperate for her to face him again so that not only could they resume their previously very comfortable position in each other's arms but also so that he could taunt her about being oh so wrong face to face.

Sharon laughed as she put the palm of her hand on his face and pushed him away from her. "Oh shut up" she cried as she continued to laugh before finally rolling back onto her side to face him, her hand landing back on his hip as a pit stop on its journey under his t-shirt and up his back again, her nails raking across his skin. Andy did likewise, pulling her closer to him again and kissing her forehead.

"I mean it. You're so beautiful from head to toe" he told her sincerely with the love clearly eradiating from his voice, confirming his adoration with a long, slow kiss on the lips, their tongues coming together as her hand moved slowly south and firmly grabbed his backside. "Especially your legs" he told her with a wink and not for the first time either when they finally broke apart. Sharon laughed at him and shook her head. "You should have seen the look on Mike's face as she started to undress him" he said, unable to not laugh at the memory and quickly making her join in with him. "He looked utterly terrified, staring into the cameras and silently begging for help like a snake was starting to coil around him."

"Then why didn't you go straight in there and save him sooner rather than prolonging his agony? Getting an eyeful were you?" she asked with a little glare as she pinched the back of his knee. "Remember I know when you're lying to me."

Andy laughed. "No. No I didn't want to get an eyeful. I tried to get Provenza to keep it going just a little bit longer so that I could torture Mike a bit, the way he tortures me every time he brings up _Badge of Justice_." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Sharon gave him a quick and sharp smack around the back of his head. "Ow!" Andy cried as he rubbed the spot that had just been struck. "What was that for? I wasn't looking at her I swear."

"And I believe you."

"And yet you still hit me?"

Sharon shrugged. "It's my new tactic. Every time I hear you mention _Badge of Justice_ I'm going to smack you. See if negative reinforcement works because let's face it nothing else has. If a smack around the head doesn't work I'm going to get you one of those dog collars that produce an electric shock at the touch of a button. That'll put an end to it."

"It wouldn't fit around my neck."

"Who said anything about putting it around your neck?" she grinned, her eyes flashing at him before she glanced towards his crotch in case he had somehow missed what she was referring to.

Andy stared at her in silence for a moment with a frown, looking anything but happy at Sharon's new tactic since he could very easily end up black and blue some days. His silence didn't last long as he suddenly started to laugh again. "I could hear him running to the door like Usain Bolt when we knocked on it" he told her as she joined in laughing with him again, really enjoying the way that Mike was squirming about the whole affair. "I swear Mike had an extra three layers of clothing on to delay her stripping him. She unbuttoned his shirt and he had about six t-shirts layered underneath. He looked huge."

Sharon laughed with him. "Maybe he wanted a delaying tactic as she undressed him or just maybe he was covering his chest from the cameras from where Cathy had waxed him" she said, poking him in the chest with her finger and just opting to get the whole thing over and done with, Andy was going to taunt her about it, possibly for the rest of their lives but she felt she might as well get the worst out of the way while she was in such a good mood.

Andy smiled at her smugly, enjoying the moment and the very rare feeling of being right in a relationship with a woman especially since every time he was right with Sandra he was still in the wrong. "Admit that I was right, I said this could happen. I said that one of us may need to go undercover with a prostitute one day and I was right." Sharon closed her eyes tight and sighed, unable to look at that self-satisfied expression a second longer if she was going to stop herself from punching him. "Well? Come on, let me hear it" he said, it sounding every inch a demand and desperately wanting her to admit that she had been wrong out loud.

"No" Sharon replied simply, her eyes still closed tight.

"No?"

"You heard me."

"But I was right."

"And I really don't care" Sharon told her as she finally looked at him again.

"But I'm right and you're wrong so infrequently. Can't you let me have this?" he pleaded.

"I can let you have eviction papers if you like. You can go and stay on Lieutenant Provenza's couch" she replied, sounding extremely grumpy and the very essence of Darth Raydor in her prime. She was only joking with him and Andy knew that but it didn't hurt his quest for what he desperately wanted to hear if he acted like he was upset by her 'threat.'

"No it's fine" he said with a sigh and clearly sulking about it.

"Oh my God. You're such a big baby." Andy's smile suddenly beamed as he knew she was about to cave in and tell him what he wanted to hear, quickly pondering if he had time to grab his cell phone and record it, possibly using it as a ring tone. "Fine!" Sharon cried as she sat up, feeling like she stood more chance of forcing the words out in a seated position and looking away from his smug face. "I admit it. You were right and I was wrong. Are you happy now?"

"Can I get it in writing?" Andy asked, not prepared to let her forget about this for a very _long_ time. Sharon rolled her eyes as she glanced back at him, giving him a look that suggested if he didn't want to find her fingernails digging into and potentially breaking off in his scrotum pretty soon and not in a pleasurable way he should probably drop the subject and quickly. Undeterred by the death stare coming his way Andy continued. "Maybe a tattoo even?" Sharon sighed before she lay back down, grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt in both hands as she pulled him towards her, their lips crashing together as she tried her hardest to distract him, knowing that kissing him to within an inch of his life tended to make him lose his train of thought after having done it to that effect many times in the past eight months. "I know what you're doing and I'm not going to fall for it" he said against the assault of her lips, his words muffled. They pulled apart and he just grinned at her, not prepared to allow anything to make him forget this particular topic of conversation. "There's no distracting me from this one Raydor."

"Okay fine but answer me this, would you ever like to have sex again?" she asked him, her eyes sparkling as she sent yet another empty threat in his direction as a means to get him to drop the subject.

He smiled at her shyly as his hand began to trail up and down her leg. "Yes, as a matter of fact I would" he replied, knowing that Sharon was only joking with him, her not being able to leave him alone any more than he could keep his hands off her, their relationship built from a foundation made from a very strong friendship first and with the intense physical attraction between them coming as an added bonus.

"Then I'd drop the subject if I were you."

"Yes ma'am" Andy replied, giving her a half-hearted salute as they both laughed. She settled back down next to him again, face to face, arms around each other with Sharon's hand ever so slowly moving up and down his body, getting lower and lower with every pass. "Is this how it's going to work between us now that we're living together?" he asked finally, a frown on his face. Sharon hummed with confusion. "I do anything to annoy you and I immediately get put on a sex ban?"

Sharon laughed and nodded. "There's a very good chance of that yes" she lied as their lips came together in another searing kiss, the small fire burning away between them from the moment they climbed into bed suddenly increasing into something much bigger. "Do you have a problem with it?" she asked as she kissed him again, not expecting an answer.

"Nope. None at all" he said simply with a grin, happier than he'd ever been in his life.

"Good" Sharon replied before their lips met again. She slowly moved her hand from his back as they pulled apart and stroked his cheek. "I think I'm going to like living with you" she said very matter-of-factly, the fear and nervousness still being there in the back of her mind but they were feelings that were always going to be shouted down by how happy she felt now that it was finally happening.

"Me too."


	34. Chapter 34

_As usual I'd like to start by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter and special thanks to Lei09998, Teri Madan, eelise187, jujuone23, MaxiP99, seaford71, welshcwtch, HeiBeSo, Cris, Mbtstella, maidenpride and the two guests for leaving reviews. I appreciate each and every single one of them. Thank you also to those that got in touch on Twitter where I can be found at DHPLover. If there's anything specific you'd like to read in upcoming chapters, let me know and I'll try to add it in._

 _Just a couple more notes to some guest reviewers since I can't reply to your review via a personal message: Lei09998: have no fear it will get plenty angsty to go with the fluff when I finally reach the shooting and then the heart attack, much of it is already written in fact and has been for well over twelve months. MaxiP99: I thought that last chapter was pretty funny in places (I guess I'm just easily amused) but given where the story is headed during this stage of season five it's not going to be anything other than mildly amusing for a while I'm afraid._

 _This chapter takes place near the beginning of_ _ **Dead Zone 5x10**_ _and leading up to the breakfast that Rusty cooks Sharon and Andy at the condo._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty Four**

Sharon stood in front of the full length mirror which sat in the corner of her and now 'their' bedroom, clad in a black skirt and blue blouse and looking at herself from top to bottom. She'd always strived to look her best at work even when she was still just in uniform and on patrol not only because she always took great pride in her appearance and looking good but also as an LAPD officer and now with a high rank at that, she recognised that there were very high standards that she needed to maintain and to set an example to the public (not that it was at all unusual within the department or indeed her division to dress smartly. Provenza may loosen his tie and roll up his sleeves in the Murder Room throughout the day but the moment he came into contact with anyone outside of the division his jacket was pulled on and he smartened up immediately). She moved to tuck her blouse into her skirt a little more at her sides, slowly smoothing down the front with the palm of her hand before she once again admired her handiwork in the mirror, turning around and looking over her shoulder to make sure that everything was acceptable from that angle too. Although there was a professional wall between them at PAB not unlike the Great Wall of China she knew that Andy stole fleeting glances of her legs and her backside if the opportunity presented itself throughout the day. It was not something she wanted to encourage and yet she still wanted to ensure she looked good from every vantage point just in case.

Satisfied with her overall appearance for what was sure to be a very busy, long and more importantly incredibly stressful day at work (and that was before they knew for certain if Nazis really were about to become part of the equation) she walked over to her vanity and picked up a pair of earrings, a plain but delicate and extremely elegant pair of beautiful diamond studs that Andy had bought her for her birthday. With both her earrings in hand she moved back to the mirror and slowly started to slip them through her lobes, her nails once again making the task a lot more difficult than it should have been. When they were in place and her hair was returned to her shoulders, effectively covering them, she looked at herself again but before she could move to grab her jacket and shoes to finish getting ready for work Andy was suddenly behind her, his arms quickly circling her waist to pull her back flush against his chest as his lips began to slowly and tantalisingly caress the side of her neck from top to bottom. She moaned loudly as she felt the heat from his body enveloping her as his mouth continued its exploration of the sensitive skin below her ear, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly to allow him much better access and encouraging him to keep going, almost feeling him smile against her as a result. After a moment longer her eyes slipped shut and one hand went into his hair, raking her nails against his scalp while the other clutched his around her waist, his shirt sleeves rolled up a little that morning and affording her the chance to feel his skin beneath her fingers. "Andy" she moaned a little breathlessly until he suddenly stopped what he was doing, his head snapping up and away as he frowned at her.

"Wait, let me just check" he said as he moved his lips close to the shell of her ear and let his words rumble straight through her. "You were just moaning my name rather than checking it was me right?" he asked and making her laugh. "You don't have a secret lover hiding from me in your closet do you?"

"According to you and Rusty I don't have any room for a lover in my closet" she told him while deliberately avoiding answering the question just to tease him for the fun of it.

"That's still not ruling it out, just suggesting that he may be hiding under the bed instead" he said as he pointed towards it and the small gap between the underside of the bedframe and the floor.

"Then I feel really sorry for him this morning and we probably owe him a sincere apology" she joked given that their morning had started by picking up where they left off the night before as they continued their celebrations. They had decided after they had fallen into bed the previous evening that Andy had already moved in following the sale of his house the day before and thus had woken up early to made love before their alarm had gone off and therefore ensuring that Rusty would still be fast asleep and not hear them should it get a little noisier than usual as they celebrated. Andy laughed and nodded in agreement before he moved his lips back to her neck again. Once more her eyes slipped closed as she moaned, quickly becoming all consumed by the sensations that his lips were creating and running straight through her, suddenly feeling very thankful that they had a little extra time that morning to indulge in the feel of each other before being forced to head to work. "What happened to the Nervous Andy I brought home last night?" she asked, Andy growing more and more anxious and nervous as the evening wore on as he waited for her to mention the sale of his house, Sharon deliberately leaving him dangling for as long as possible to try to alleviate his nerves about their relationship once and for all before they spoke about it.

"He's dead" Andy replied, his words slightly muffled against her neck. "I killed him when he made me look like an idiot one too many times."

Sharon laughed as she continued to enjoy the feel of his lips softly caressing her skin. After a moment longer her eyes shot open as reason took over and she remembered the time and that despite having another hour or so before they even needed to consider leaving the condo for work that morning they were still supposed to be getting ready for a busy day rather than indulging in anything else far more pleasurable. She gently tapped his hands wrapped around her abdomen, an early indication that their fun was about to come to an abrupt end as his Captain made an early appearance. "As good as your lips feel we don't have time for this right now" she said, her voice taking on a little breathless quality that contradicted her words.

Andy stopped and took a quick glance at his watch, his sleeves still rolled up slightly on his crisp white shirt, moving his wrist in front of her face so that she could note the time too. "Oh I think we do. We have plenty of time" he insisted even though he knew very well that they didn't, not really, not for what he had in mind anyway as he slowly moved his lips back to her neck. "Our moving in together honeymoon period has only just begun" he declared against her neck and making her laugh. "How glad I am I bumped into you last night" he growled.

"And again this morning" she replied as her arms went back to hugging his around her waist again and they both laughed. After their usual lengthy conversation after they climbed into bed the night before, starting off by talking about when he was moving in and then quickly covering everything else that just so happened to cross through their minds, it was decided that it was perfectly acceptable to 'christen' what was now 'their' bedroom a few days before the move actually became official, unable to keep their hands off each other ever since.

"How about another one for the road?" he suggested.

Sharon laughed. "I certainly admire your optimism my beautiful boy but unless you've got a little blue pill hidden somewhere on your person we really don't have time to wait until you're ready for action again" she reminded him since despite all the will in the world he was not even remotely close to being a teenager or even in his thirties anymore and there was little to no chance of him being able to raise a flag much less anything else so soon that morning without additional pharmacological help.

The response was immediate. Despite it being the truth and he knew it, Andy still elected to act like he had taken offence. He stopped kissing her neck and pulled away as he frowned at her. "I take great offence at that Raydor" he protested with a little pout.

"Really?" she asked as she tried to hide her amusement while she turned her head to look at him from over her shoulder, his hands settling on her hips and making sure she didn't run away from him just yet. "Am I even slightly wrong?" she asked. She smiled at him as she waited for an answer, pushing her lips firmly to his when none was forthcoming.

When they broke apart Andy reluctantly nodded in agreement at her correct assessment of the situation before a grin started to spread across his face, a grin that only increased when Sharon began to tap her neck with her index finger, the area his lips had previously occupied and tilted her head to encourage him to continue his previous exploration. Andy didn't need to be told twice as he immediately pulled her flush against his chest again and continued his journey across her skin. They didn't have a lot of time that morning but they still had more than enough especially as Sharon had quickly abandoned her plans for a lazy breakfast so they were both determined to take full advantage of the extra time for as long as possible. Sharon closed her eyes and let out another little moan, spurring him on even more. "Damn it, why aren't I twenty one anymore?" Andy complained against the skin of her neck, still always giving a rather good account of himself in his opinion (and Sharon's too for that matter) regardless of age but he did still curse the fact that age prevented him from doing what he wanted and when he wanted at times.

Sharon laughed as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Like you'd even look at me twice if you were still twenty one."

Andy's lips left her neck and dropped to her lips after he dragged her chin towards him so that he could access them. "Oh believe me I would have looked at you more than twice" he told her. "I never would have taken my eyes off your beautiful face…or your legs" he said with his usual playful waggle of his eyebrows and making her laugh. "I would have followed you to the ends of the earth just to get five minutes alone with the most beautiful woman in this entire world."

"That sounds exhausting. How would you have found the stamina for anything else after that?" she joked.

"Believe me I would have been fine" he insisted before his lips started to travel along her jaw and to her ear, still taking full advantage of the limited time they had that morning.

Sharon laughed. "Oh I believe you."

"Good."

"I'm just rather relieved that I have the more mature version of Andy Flynn in my life right now because I'm not entirely sure I could have kept up with the younger model" she told him, instantly thinking of her friend from college, Samantha, who had gone off the rails somewhat since her husband left her and her children rather abruptly. As part of a rebound and to ease the pain she had then recently taken up with her incredibly handsome and obscenely fit twenty-two year old contractor called Marco (who despite looking like he had been chiselled out of marble had the personality of six month old hummus that had been left out in the sun), constantly having a case of cystitis and a smug smile on her face ever since as a result. Marco had arrived to lay a new kitchen floor but had ended up reminding her that she had a pelvic floor. From that moment on Sharon had been forced to listen over the phone to endless tales of their sexual exploits anywhere and everywhere that they could get five minutes alone together (a particularly loud screaming orgasm in the occult section of the San Diego public library meaning they had been banned from the premises for life, not that it mattered a great deal to Marco who had never read a book in his life and only dragged the woman twice mistaken as his Mother in there because he thought it was an upmarket hotel) but she was far from jealous about it, more than satisfied with her and Andy's sex life, feeling more fulfilled than she had done during those first few years with Jack as a result.

"Oh I'm sure you would" Andy insisted, not at all joking since he struggled at times to keep up with her if he was feeling a little tired but never one to turn down sex. Sharon laughed quietly at him as his lips continued on their merry way along her jaw and down the expanse of her neck again. "I have an idea" he said finally, his voice still somewhat muffled as he spoke against her skin.

Sharon smiled, her free hand moving from his on her waist and reaching behind to grab his backside as she so often did when there was no one there to see her, giving it a hard squeeze. "Oh I'm sure you have lots of ideas" she agreed with another chuckle, very much interested in hearing all about them even though they didn't have the time to act upon any of them that morning.

"I think we should play hooky from work today" he said extremely casually as if he was only suggesting they have a cup of coffee instead of tea over breakfast while he met her eye. In reality he no more wanted to take the day off work given the job they had to do that day in finding the monster that killed Mark's Mother than he expected Sharon to agree to his idea, but that didn't stop him from suggesting it most mornings as they got dressed on the off chance that he could convince her to do it one day in the future as they edged ever closer to retirement, to call in sick and spend the morning in bed and catching up on some sleep amongst others things.

"No way" Sharon laughed, her standard response of late whenever Andy had posed that particular idea while she longed for the day when it would be a serious request that she could say or more likely scream 'YES!' to at the top of her lungs before dragging him back to bed only to stop and remembering to call in sick first.

"Oh yes way" Andy insisted since he wasn't prepared to give up on the idea just yet, moving his lips back to her neck as he once again only half-heartedly tried to change her mind.

Again Sharon laughed, knowing full well that if anyone would be able to convince her to take the day off work in order to spend the morning doing nothing but fooling around it was definitely Andy Flynn and that very talented mouth of his but knowing him like she did she was also fully aware that once again he wasn't being serious about it. "I don't think so Lieutenant" she replied, giving extra emphasis to his rank and offering a gentle little reminder that she was still his Commanding Officer and work came first despite the fact that were at home and he currently had his lips and hands all over her.

"Oooh! Calling me 'Lieutenant' in the bedroom. Sexy!" he joked.

Sharon laughed at him again, getting a cheap little thrill whenever Andy suddenly called her 'Captain' while they were in bed, it now being the only time he ever really addressed her as such unless they had a visit from Chief Pope (with Andy addressing her as 'Captain' now seeming strange and almost jarring to those closest to them at work by that point in their ever growing relationship). "Or I'm just reminding you that not only do I outrank you Lieutenant but I'm also your Commanding Officer and we are most definitely _not_ playing hooky from work today."

"Oh come on. You know you want to, you know you want me too" he said more than a little smugly as his lips returned to her neck and secure in the knowledge that without looking at the time, while Sharon still had her hand firmly pressed to his backside that there still wasn't much of a rush to eat breakfast and get on the road to work.

Keeping one hand firmly pressed against his backside the other went into his hair again, raking her nails across his scalp. "Oh God yes I do" she moaned. Andy laughed against her neck as he didn't stop his gentle caress for even a beat. "But I also want to go into work and find and arrest the animal that killed a witness" she added as she battled to focus on the horrible day that lay before them when she'd much rather stay at home with Andy and forget all about it. "Killing a witness is something that I take very seriously."

"Oddly enough I had noticed" he said as he dragged himself up to look her in the eye when she turned to face him before they both laughed. "And then you move them in and adopt them."

"I've moved you in too and you're not a witness or in need to be adopted."

"I know but I have other skills" he replied with a shit eating grin before his lips moved to just below her ear and began to suck on her pulse point, getting an immediate shaky breath from her lips as she exhaled as a reward.

"Oh I know you do" Sharon moaned, unable to stop herself from responding. "Lots of skills indeed."

"So let's stay at home and you can take advantage of them."

Sharon smiled as he continued to kiss her neck, her heart swelling with so much love and adoration as Andy once again called the condo his 'home,' at once thinking she couldn't possibly love him anymore in that moment while at the same time wanting to do nothing else but throw him down on the bed and devour him if only time and age would permit it that morning. "As turned on as I am right now by you calling this place your 'home' the answer is still no and we still have to go into work" she told him again but whilst still making no attempt whatsoever so escape his clutches.

"And yet you're still not stopping me."

Sharon shrugged. "Well we still have an hour before we have to leave," she said and easily making him laugh, "and anyway just think about this, the sooner we make progress on our case and solve this thing the sooner we can come home and pick up where we left off this morning."

Andy's lips finally left her neck as he let out an exasperated sigh. "Well how am I supposed to concentrate on work now?" he cried as if he had no hope of being able to focus on anything other than the thought or her legs wrapped around him for more than thirty seconds at a time that day as a result. Sharon laughed as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. They looked at each other in the mirror for a moment, the events of work the night before and what awaited them weighing heavily on them both. Sharon sighed as she put her palm on his cheek. "I know" he said and (not that he needed to) letting her know that he felt the exact same way. He quickly kissed her one more time on her shoulder. "I don't want to deal with these people today either."

"I really don't want to but I think I'm going to have to go and see Judge Richwood with DDA Rosen today," Sharon said with a sigh as she really leaned into him for emotional as well as physical support, "and try and get him some more time before the start of the trial while we investigate."

"Well a murdered witness, Rosen has good cause to delay proceedings for a few days at least" he said.

"I know but Dwight Darnell is representing himself which means I'll have to deal with him today too" she told him with yet another sigh, unable to think of anything she wanted to do less than spend any length of time in the company of a child murderer and not just any child murderer either, a child murderer who also just so happened to be a Nazi. "Frankly I just don't have the stomach for it."

He kissed her neck again, a gentle reminder that he was there for her throughout regardless of what their working day had to throw at them. "We've dealt with worse" he offered. She caught his eye in the mirror and gave him an incredibly sceptical look even though she knew full well he was talking about Phillip Stroh but he didn't want to even mention his name in her presence, the ever present threat already looming large over her life since the moment she took Rusty into her home without being reminded of it. "Okay maybe not but that just makes it all the more satisfying when he's finally locked away for good." Sharon hummed in response, clearly distracted. "What's on your mind?"

Sharon sighed again. "I never like seeing these people as monsters, making them alien to me" she explained, unable to just slap the tag of 'dirt bag' on people and dismissing them out of hand like Andy so often did. "If I treat them as such I can't get inside their heads and figure out how they tick and if I can't do that I might as well give up now and retire."

"But there are some heads you'd much rather stay out of?"

"And Dwight Darnell is definitely one of those heads." She sighed again as Andy very slowly began to sway them on the spot, trying to distract her from what was to come while they were still at home, her hand going back into his hair to keep him close.

"I know." He kissed her hairline a couple of times, another reminder that he was there for her to vent to or to be a small distraction for a minute or so during the day at work if that was what she needed from him in order to do her job effectively. "You know some couples in this world don't have these sort of problems to discuss with each other in the morning" he joked. Although there was an agreement in place between them that they would _try_ to keep work away from their home lives as much as possible it was pretty much impossible to do since they not only worked together but their jobs played such a huge role in their lives and had come to define the types of people they had become. In truth they both liked that they could exchange ideas at the end or start of a day, being able to tell someone what was on their mind because they understood the job rather than keeping it to themselves or being met with a blank stare instead. On top of that was also the idea of family, working side by side with a family member (although obvious it wasn't even approaching legal between them yet but from that first date when they realised their relationship would work as long as they took it slowly and were very careful they already looked at each other as their family) was something so wonderful, not realising before they started to date just how good it could and would be. They adored the extra time that they got to spend together even though they were completely professional at work ninety nine percent of the time and it brought them even closer together as a couple, their understanding of each other and the non-verbal signals they were able to share benefiting them not only personally but also professionally.

Sharon laughed, thinking of her parents and how it was the sort of thing that would never get spoken about between them, her Father always leaving work at the door when he came home. "Oh really? And what do those couples talk about exactly?" she asked.

"Interest rates" Andy suggested and making her laugh. "The price hike of avocados at the farmer's market" he added and making her laugh again.

"That sounds like pure hell."

"It does indeed" he agreed, kissing her neck ever so softly again. "We'll need to find something else to talk about other than work before we retire."

"I don't think that'll be a problem boy" she stated with her voice filled with confidence given that away from work they always found something to talk about even if it was complete and utter nonsense especially late at night when they settled in bed in each other's arms and relaxed. Even when work was out of the equation she still didn't see that they'd struggle to find something to talk about because they were friends long before they were lovers after all. "I'm pretty sure there's still plenty of tales from your youth that you've never told me that'll keep me entertained until I'm deaf and can no longer hear you and you've lost your mind and can no longer remember them."

"Oh you have no idea" he replied with lots of tales still left in the locker for the appropriate moment. Sharon laughed as he kissed her neck again, letting it linger. "Are you one hundred percent sure we can't play hooky today?" he asked again.

"One hundred and one percent sure" she stated as she turned in his arms before kissing him on the lips, quickly noting when she finally laid eyes on him properly (and not via the mirror with her body in the way) that he wasn't yet fully dressed, missing his tie and with his black suspenders still dangling rather tantalisingly by his sides, his hair still flat and a little damp from his shower. "And if you want to eat before we go to work for what is sure to be a very long and very trying day, you need to finish getting dressed."

"Yes ma'am" Andy nodded but without moving an inch.

"And yet you're still just standing here" she pointed out before she put her arms around his neck and thus ensuring that he couldn't go anywhere even if he wanted to. "Standing there with your suspenders dangling by your sides and taunting me."

Andy laughed. "You're all about my suspenders aren't you?"

"Who isn't?" she asked as if there were hordes of women waiting outside of their door most mornings just to get a glimpse of them lurking beneath his jacket. They both laughed before she kissed him. "What can I say? You do wear them very very well" she stated even though the sight of them dangling by his sides had her feeling flushed in ways that she wouldn't have dreamed of before she suddenly started to look at him more romantically following the 'misunderstanding' with Nicole during the holidays two years earlier. She kissed him again, it lingering longer than their previous joinings. "Not that I'm complaining in the least you understand but if every morning is going to be like this one now that you've moved in," she said before pausing to kiss him again, "we're going to have to get up two hours earlier from now on."

Andy shrugged. "As long as we don't get out of bed until it is absolutely necessary then I don't have any problems with that."

Sharon laughed. "I didn't think you would" she chuckled before she kissed him again. "Come on," she told him as she playfully slapped his cheeks with the palms of her hands, "time to get moving."

"But what harm would five more minutes really do?"

Sharon laughed, having heard him say that many times in the last eight months as they got themselves ready for work in the morning. "And what did you have in mind that only lasts five minutes and doesn't involve a little blue pill and messing my hair up?"

"Well according to Provenza it actually takes more like twenty minutes than five before it kicks in and you're good to go" he explained, without really thinking why he was bringing the subject of Provenza's crotch into the conversation when he was half-heartedly trying to get his girlfriend back in bed.

Sharon frowned at him, resisting the urge to shudder with horror that she was being forced into thinking about her second in command's trouser arrangements. "If it's all the same with you I really don't want to know about Lieutenant Provenza's nether regions thank you very much."

Andy laughed and nodded. "Oh believe me I didn't want to know about them either but over six years later and I can still see it barely hiding behind that cow pillow every time I close my eyes" he told her without a single hint of exaggeration. As funny as it was at the time (and it was very very funny), especially the reaction from their Chief and the rest of the division to what had happened and the mess he had made of the crime scene, leaving his big stumpy fingerprints everywhere, some of the things that Andy saw when he burst into the apartment before the rest of the division arrived following Provenza's call had left him wanting to poke his mind's eye out, not least the 'tenting' he saw before Provenza finally sat down and covered it up with his hands. "It's like it's tattooed on the inside of my eyelids" he added with a shudder that seemed to go from his hair right down to the tips of his toes.

Sharon laughed at him before she asked "Then what did you have in mind exactly?" as her curiosity got the better of her. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than Andy quickly took one of hands in his as he slid his arm around her waist, immediately letting her know exactly what was coming. "Really?" Sharon asked as she laughed. "Have you never heard the old expression along the lines of 'Sing before breakfast and cry before night'? I think that's what my Grandmother used to tell me, when she wasn't telling me that boys only wanted one thing and sex wasn't something I was ever really going to enjoy." He smiled at her smugly, that devilish glint in his eye as she laughed at him. "Go on, say it. I know you want to. Go right ahead. Say it."

"No nothing" he said casually while he continued to grin.

"Go on say it. It's not healthy to keep it in."

"Well she never met me" he growled a little arrogantly because he knew it was what she wanted and expected to hear. She laughed at him instantly, shaking her head as he blew a raspberry on her neck. "And as far as singing before breakfast goes I think I'll take the risk." He kissed her as she laughed against his lips. "Because," he declared before he started to slow dance on the spot with her, swaying from side to side as he sang quietly in her ear, " _I've got you under my skin. I've got you deep in the heart of me. So deep in my heart that you're really a part of me. I've got you under my skin. I'd tried so not to give in."_ Sharon laughed at him as he made it sound like he had really tried very hard to resist falling in love with her but in the end had zero choice in the matter, dragging out the word 'tried' as much as he could. " _I said to myself: this affair never will go so well. But why should I try to resist when, baby I know so well, I've got you under my skin."_ He paused for a moment, allowing her the chance to kiss him on the lips before he continued. " _I'd sacrifice anything come what might for the sake of having you near in spite of a warning voice that comes in the night and repeats, repeats in my ear: don't you know, little fool, you never can win? Use your mentality, wake up to reality"_ he declared loudly and making her laugh again. " _But each time that I do just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin 'cause I've got you under my skin."_ As his song came to an end their dancing stopped and their lips came together in a very languid kiss.

"Thank you" she told him before she kissed him again, loving it more than anything when he sang to her precisely because he only ever did it when they were completely alone and he always had the ability to make it sound as if those lyrics had been written specifically for her in that moment.

"That song isn't a little too Buffalo Bill from _Silence of the Lambs_ to you?" he joked but still firmly of the opinion that Cole Porter wrote the lyrics while sitting in his darkened basement and wearing his neighbour's skin like a pair of pyjamas.

Sharon laughed and nodded, thinking that he definitely had a point as disturbing at that thought actually was. "Well now that you mention it" she chuckled. After a moment she sighed with utter contentment as her hand slowly started to stroke his cheek. "I love you Andy Flynn."

"Good because I utterly adore you." Their lips came together once more, it lingering as Andy jokingly tried to manoeuvre them back towards the bed again, still knowing that they didn't have the time and he was only trying to make her laugh, which she knew full well was his real intent, laughing against his lips as she tried to remain rooted to the spot.

Sharon laughed again as they broke apart. "Go and finish getting ready for work while I repair my lipstick again" she told him, her tone sounding more like his Commanding Officer in that moment than his lover.

"Yes ma'am." He winked at her before he marched back into the bathroom to take care of his hair. He wasn't gone long, suddenly darting back into the bedroom and kissing her hard on the lips, leaving her almost breathless as a result. When they broke apart she looked at him almost stunned as he shrugged at her. "Since it's already ruined" he said with another shrug while his thumb trailed across her swollen but smudged lips. With that he turned and went back into the bathroom but not before she managed to smack his backside as if she was reprimanding him while she laughed.

Left alone finally Sharon sat down at her vanity and looked at herself in the mirror, her mouth and her lipstick in a far better state than she expected considering what she had been doing with her lips since she had applied it. After a moment she smiled and turned to look in the direction of the bathroom, quickly realising that true to form Andy was being more than a tad liberal with his cologne again as she smell started to waft towards her in an almost visible plume, with him sometimes using so much that it made her eyes water, not that she minded in the slightest if she was honest. To her Andy always smelt so good no matter what and it actually amused her that he seemed to bath in his cologne when he simply didn't need to, not that she was ever going to say anything to him about it. She rolled her eyes and smiled again as the smell seemed to get stronger by the second, almost able to taste it as she battled to stop herself from coughing. She was going to spend the rest of the day with that scent stuck up her nose which to be fair wasn't a bad thing, far from it, if anything it would disguise the smell of Provenza's cologne that smelled like some sort of hospital disinfectant, using it even more liberally that Andy did. She smiled again as she stared at the bathroom door. It was something that she was now going to have to live with for the rest of her life or so she desperately hoped with Andy now officially moved in (with the exception of the rest of his belongings and despite the fact that it would take several weeks for the sale to be finalised but what was the point in them waiting until then to move him in since he already had somewhere to go?) and she never wanted to spend another night apart ever again.

A moment later there was a quiet knock on their bedroom door that could only be coming from Rusty. Sharon quickly swivelled on her chair to face it and expected him to walk in at any second but instead he quietly knocked again as if he feared they were still fast asleep. "Mom? Are you in there? Are you home?" Rusty asked very quietly on the other side of the door, keeping his voice as low as possible since he had no idea what time they had come home (but knowing they were there because of Andy's gun and badge sitting by the door as they so often were when he spent the night) and if they might both still be asleep if they hadn't long since arrived home and gone to bed.

"I am indeed" she replied fairly loudly to let him know that there was no need for him to be so quiet. She stood and moved closer to the door as she waited for him to come in and speak to her but much to her surprise the door remained shut. "Come in."

"Is Andy in there with you?" Rusty asked just as the man in question walked back into the bedroom, the young man still seeking confirmation even though he knew full well he must be since his belongings where in the living room, his desperate desire to not see his Mom's boyfriend in a state of undress the reason why he was more reluctant of late to walk in after the first invitation.

Sharon smiled at Andy and received a wink in return before she answered. "Yes he is."

Rusty paused before he asked his next question, allowing the time for any inappropriate behaviour to come to an abrupt end. "So is it okay if I come in there? That's okay? I can come in?" he asked.

Andy moved to stand in front of the mirror as he started to do up the electric blue tie (picked specifically to match Sharon's blouse) that was hanging loosely around his neck. "No!" he cried extremely loudly to make sure Rusty heard him. "I'm naked! I'm very very naked right now!" he claimed at high volume before he laughed to himself and Sharon pinched the back of his knee in retaliation.

"Oh God!" Rusty cried, still hidden on the other side of the door as his disgust was made abundantly clear to both of them even though he knew Andy was probably only joking with him. "As if I wasn't already in therapy."

"Andy!" Sharon exclaimed as she pinched the back of his knee again. "No he's not Rusty. He's fully dressed so just ignore him. You're fine to come in." She gave Andy a quick slap across his arm as he continued to laugh and straightened his tie, finding the whole thing hysterical.

"Really? It's perfectly safe?" Rusty asked again, still not prepared to risk it. It was bad enough that he saw Andy's legs without pyjamas as often as he did, he really didn't want to see any more of him.

"Yes it is" she told him as she smiled at Andy. "I promise you it's safe to come on in."

Rusty slowly and cautiously opened the door. As he entered his eyes were locked on the floor at his foot just in case before he very slowly looked up, squinting at them until he was relieved to see that both of them were dressed if not quite yet completely ready for work. "Not even close to being funny Lieutenant" he told Andy with a glare, far from amused.

Andy shrugged at him. "Well it's almost true. I'm practically naked without my suspenders" he said before he pulled them up onto his shoulders with a snap.

Sharon laughed at him as she rested her elbow on his shoulder, unable to leave him alone as she turned her attention to Rusty. "What's up?" she asked, in truth a little concerned about the tone he had used so far in their short conversation.

"Nothing I just wasn't sure that you were both here and made it home last night because I wanted to cook breakfast for everyone this morning so I just needed to check you were here first" he explained a little awkwardly and more than a touch suspiciously.

It was not unusual for Rusty to cook for Sharon, especially breakfast. It was something that he had started to do for her very early on in their relationship when his Mom stood him up at the bus station but Sharon had made it clear to him that she was going to be there for him through thick and thin for as long as he wanted in his Mother's absence. As soon as he was out of Emergency Care and began to spend a lot more time in the condo alone while Sharon was at work he began to realise what long and exhausting hours she worked in her new job and cooking her breakfast was just a small gesture on his part in an attempt to take care of her like she was taking care of him. On that particular morning however he did have ulterior motives than just feeding two people who wouldn't have the time or inclination to cook for themselves before heading off to work again. If they asked him why he wanted to prepare them an unusually elaborate breakfast he would claim that a little celebration was in order since Andy was now officially moving in properly and he assumed that would take place within the next couple of days if time and work permitted. However the truth was he was hoping to worm his way back into Sharon's good books and thus ensure that he was allowed to watch the interview between Buzz and Gene Hecht later that day. It had taken him well over twenty four hours to work out why exactly Sharon had been so angry with him because he had kept filming the screens when Buzz had explicitly told him to stop. Although he didn't necessarily agree that he had overstepped the mark all that much he did acknowledge that he was granted access to the case that no one else in his position would have. He was in a very privileged position and he had gone and ruined it so not only did he need to quickly make amends with Sharon but he also needed to do it in such a way that she would give him permission to watch the interview because there was no way he was going to get into Electronics without Sharon's consent, neither Andy, Lieutenant Provenza or Buzz inclined to go against their Captain's wishes if she announced he wasn't allowed to watch.

Sharon and Andy glanced at each other, the timing of it letting them know that something was going on and it wasn't hard for either of them to work out what it was given what was going to take place in one of their Interview Rooms later in the day. "Thank you Rusty that would be wonderful. You don't mind?" she asked, hiding her suspicions as best she could.

"No of course not. You've got time right? You're not in a hurry this morning?" he asked as he took his cell phone out of his pocket to look at the time before turning it around to show them both before they answered.

"No, we've got plenty of time" Sharon nodded.

"Okay, great. Well I'll get started on breakfast then." Rusty started to leave the room before he stopped and turned back around to face them. "Oh wait, did you guys get anywhere last night at work? With Mark's Mom I mean?" he asked, given the circumstances unable to do anything else but sympathise and emphasise with the boy given their similarities.

"Not very far no and I'm afraid to say he's not exactly very vocal either" Sharon explained as she glanced at Andy. "He couldn't have looked at us with any more suspicion if he tried."

"No kidding" Andy laughed. "He looked like Provenza when he's presented with a soy hotdog at a barbecue." He moved to push his lips to Sharon's cheek, doing it as a cover so that he could whisper in her ear without Rusty noticing what he was doing. "I think he wants something" he whispered before he kissed her cheek again and walked back into the bathroom.

"Have you told him about his Mom yet?" Rusty asked.

"No not yet. If we can we're going to hold off notifying him about her death until we have her murderer in custody" Sharon explained, knowing that Rusty was going to take issue with it since it had always been a bone of contention between them given his long held opinion that the police did nothing but lie to everyone even though he now understood how they worked a lot better than he did when he first entered their lives.

"Isn't that a little..."

"Remember we're under no obligation to notify him at all," Sharon reminded him before he had chance to say anymore, "but we do need to see if he can help us out a little first before we completely obliterate his world."

"So what will happen to him then? Is he going to stay with Detective Sanchez?" Rusty asked, his motives in asking clear with him experiencing a _lot_ of horrendous foster care before he fled and ended up on the street before finally moving in with Sharon.

"For the foreseeable future yes or at least until DCFS can locate his Grandparents or maybe even his Father and make more permanent arrangements with them."

"This feels a little like a case of déjà vu" Rusty said with a smile.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "It does indeed."

Sharon knew exactly how Julio was feeling and had thought about it quite a lot in a rare quiet moment several times during the day, primarily when she heard everyone questioning Julio about how his first night had been with Mark even though she had only caught the tail end of the discussion as well as when Mark put in a sudden and very dramatic appearance in the Murder Room, running away from Julio's neighbour like he was in a Road Runner cartoon. Despite Mark and Rusty clearly being very different the problems that they presented to their respective foster parents in trying to break through those walls of the child were very similar. Sharon knew what it felt like to receive a combative attitude when all she did was offer an olive branch and kindness but whereas Rusty would yell at her and tell her how lousy she was at her job before scurrying off into his bedroom like the world's largest cockroach and slamming the door, Mark had a torrent of racist abuse fall from his young lips before calling immigration as soon as he was able to steal Julio's phone without his noticing. Although Andy had praised her (and not for the first time) for her approach to Julio fostering (especially in comparison to how Brenda reacted when he had taken Ruben into Emergency Care for a few weeks) she was mainly so amenable to the disruption that Mark's presence caused and would continue to cause within her division for weeks and maybe even months to come because she knew just how much Julio desperately wanted to become a Father. Andy was the first person to tell her what Julio had been considering as they discussed moving in together over dinner but he had also come to her in her office one morning to discuss his plans in more detail and seeking her approval before he submitted his paperwork to DCFS. Julio spoke so passionately about it all to her, genuinely seeing it as his last chance to be a Father and have a family of his own especially since his attempts at dating had been so unsuccessful (some of which she secretly assumed had been a little self-sabotage on Julio's behalf with her seeing for herself how he seemed to still grieve the loss of Maria, the true and only love of his life, on an almost daily basis, still keeping his wedding ring firmly in place). Julio had been nervous, worried by his Captain's response given that Provenza seemed so set against the idea from the very beginning when he was only purely speculating about his chances of being approved at the time but as soon as she smiled at him and reached across her desk to take his hand in hers he knew he had her unwavering support, telling him that when the time came she would try her hardest to accommodate his change in circumstances as much as she was able.

"Erm...I don't know if it'll help but you know I could talk to Mark sometime if you want me to, speaking from experience maybe" he said with a shrug.

"That would be wonderful Rusty. I'll tell Detective Sanchez and we'll certainly think about it when the time is right and he's started to settle down a little more."

"Okay. Not a problem." Rusty paused for a moment, looking at his feet for a moment with his request to ask if he could watch Buzz's interview later on the very tip of his tongue but very quickly opted to wait until she was eating her breakfast before he made his case to be able to watch. "Well I'll go and start breakfast." He moved to leave before stopping abruptly and moving back to Sharon again, lowering his voice and casting a cautionary glance towards the bathroom where Andy was still getting ready for work. "Does Andy actually bathe in his cologne or is it more of a shower thing?" he asked as he wafted his hand in front of his nose. He had smelt Andy that morning even before he had laid eyes on him, as usual the odour from his liberal use of his cologne making his eyes sting as it seeped under the closed door while he stood on the other side and gently rapped his knuckles against it, but on that morning he had more important matters to discuss and attend to rather than mocking his would be Step-Father over how he was likely to burst into flames every morning if he stood too close to an open flame.

Sharon laughed, looking over her shoulder to ensure Andy wasn't behind her even though she was fairly confident she would have smelt him instantly if he was. "I have no idea and I'm not going to ask him either."

"Yeah well open up a window before you pass out" Rusty told her and quietly making her laugh to herself so that Andy wouldn't hear. "And he wonders why I'm so eager to get into the shower before him in the morning." Sharon laughed again as Rusty left the room to go and start breakfast for the three of them.

A few moments later Andy came out of the bathroom, his hair now standing to attention as he always wore it and looked around the room, surprised to see that Rusty had gone back into the kitchen already. He walked to the door and peered out of it before turning back to face Sharon, one hand buried into the pocket of his pants while the other rubbed the back of his neck in a sure fire signal to her that he was feeling a little nervous about something. "Did you ask him about me moving in here?" he asked almost shyly, still not feeling like the move wouldn't be completely scuppered at the very last moment unless he got Rusty's final stamp of approval and quickly at that.

"Ask him?" Sharon asked, suppressing the exasperated tone in her voice. Andy just shrugged in response and it quickly made Sharon smile. As much as she desperately wanted him to stop feeling that way she did find his constant nervousness with her utterly adorable even though from her point of view he had absolutely nothing to be nervous about in the slightest where their relationship and future together was concerned. "No I didn't _ask_ my son if you could move in with us" she told him, stressing the word 'ask' as much as possible and indicating once again that although she would like his blessing and his consent, it really wasn't Rusty's choice to make.

"May I ask why not?"

Sharon grinned at him for a moment. He knew why. He'd been told enough times that she was not going to allow Rusty to stop them from moving in together any more than she knew Rusty would want to stop them. She slowly walked towards him and ran her arms around his neck, her fingers stroking his hair at the base of his head before they laced together while her eyes sparkled at him and she kissed his lips, intent on teasing him for her own amusement if he was going to continue to be nervous with her. "Because until this very morning and everything you did for me before we got up," she said with a grin as she thought about what they'd been doing until they were forced to drag themselves out of bed, kissing him again, "I wasn't one hundred percent sure I was going to let you stay."

"Oh I see" Andy laughed before he joined their lips together again, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her flush against his chest once more. "Make me homeless and then call this whole thing off huh? Has that been your evil plan all along?"

"Since the moment I first had to reprimand you in my office for using excessive force with a suspect" she joked as her eyes sparkled again, a prelude to their lips coming together. "The moment I first got to wrap both of my hands around your very large, thick and highly impressive package." They both laughed before they kissed, it lingering a little longer this time. "Fortunately for you you're very very good at," she paused as she coughed, certainly not backward in coming forward during the heat of the moment when she told him exactly what she wanted him to do in bed but on occasion a little embarrassed to discuss it after the fact even when she was paying him a compliment, "certain things and that tipped the balance in your favour so you can stay."

Andy laughed. "I knew my particular skill set had to come in handy at some point."

"Oh trust me, I definitely have a home for your particular skill set" she confirmed before she kissed him again. "And should we make it _home_ tonight I am definitely requesting a repeat performance since we have no time for an encore this morning." She kissed him once again, currently very much enjoying that they were at the beginning of another honeymoon period now that the move was not only official but imminent.

"Well that I think I can definitely do" he confirmed. "You desperately want me to cater to your every orgasm whim and I'm all for that" he declared, crossing his heart and holding his hand in the air as if he was swearing an oath in court to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Sharon laughed at him before she kissed him, thinking he was teasing her because she had jokingly requested a steady stream of orgasms the night before as a condition of him moving him in with her, but it was a condition that he fully intended to stick to as much as possible. "But what about the kid?" Andy asked as he nodded in the direction of the door. Sharon smiled at him, deliberately misinterpreting his question. "I mean what about asking him if it's still okay with him if I move in here."

Sharon laughed and released him. "Andy he's already said he's fine with it, several times in fact. Do you really think he's had a change of heart in a couple of weeks?" Andy shrugged at her a little nervously, thinking that everything was going so wonderfully in his life at that moment in time he couldn't help but fear that the axe was about to drop on him at any second and spoil everything (with the worst thing that could possibly happen being the buyer pulling out of the sale at the last moment or so he thought, little did he know what true horrors awaited him over the coming weeks). "If you're that concerned about it then ask him yourself. Go right ahead" she said as she gestured towards the door. In reality she had already told Rusty about the sale in her office the evening before but she had asked him to keep quiet about it, firstly because she was intending to torture Andy about it as much as possible in an attempt to quell his nervousness once and for all but also because she felt it was important that they had that conversation themselves, that Andy told her son that he had sold his house and he was moving in with them.

Andy moved to the door and opened it slightly, never taking his eyes off Sharon as he called out the door. "Hey Rusty" he shouted as Sharon just smiled at him.

"What?" came the quiet response from the kitchen.

"Can I speak to you for a moment please?"

"Sure." Andy stepped away from the door, a hand rubbing the back of his neck again as he paced around the floor at the bottom of the bed while Rusty's footsteps approached and he eventually walked back into the room. "What's up?"

Sharon stood behind Andy and out of his view, quickly pointing at the serious expression on her face, gesturing that Rusty should do the exact thing as they teased Andy a little bit more given that he was needlessly insisting on asking Rusty's permission before he would accept that he really was moving in with them. Rusty understood what Sharon wanted from him almost immediately and frowned at Andy, his expression becoming even sterner as Andy started to speak. "Erm...so I have some news to tell you about. Exciting news…or at least I think it is, I think it's exciting news," he said before he quickly turned to meet Sharon's eyes in search of a little moral support, getting a loving smile in return as she continued to find his nervousness adorable as much as it was frustrating, "I erm...I sold my house yesterday and since we've been unable to find somewhere suitable for me and your Mom to buy together for us all I was wondering if it would still be okay if I moved in here with you guys? Would that still be okay?"

Again Sharon quickly gestured at her serious expression to make sure Rusty was going to continue playing along before he answered. "Well that all depends" Rusty replied as he folded his arms in front of himself like an act of defiance against this new man moving into his territory and trying to take over. "Where will you be sleeping?"

Andy smiled, knowing that Rusty wasn't being serious and therefore already in possession of the answer he so desperately craved but opted to play along anyway. "Your Mom said I can bunk in here with her...until you move out and I eventually get your room of course" he joked and easily making Sharon laugh.

Rusty ignored Andy's last comment, opting to look straight passed him and at Sharon. "And you're really okay with this?" he asked her. "With having to share your bedroom, your bed even with this guy?" he questioned, pointing a finger at Andy with a look of utter disgust.

Andy turned to smile at Sharon as she answered. "I'm not going to lie and say it won't be a chore," she sighed as she put her arm around Andy's shoulders, "especially since he's so freakishly hot and shares many characteristics with a bear but I'll give it a go if it's okay with you."

"I'm not so sure." Rusty gave Andy his best glare for a moment, looking him up and down as Darth Raydor's apprentice Darth Beck put in a brief appearance. "Is he house trained?"

"Hey I always put the toilet seat down" Andy reminded them both.

"Can he stack the dishwasher correctly?" Rusty asked with both Sharon and Andy laughing. "We all know just how important that kind of thing is to you Mom."

"Do you think she'd still be keeping me around if I couldn't? I know she thinks I'm utterly fabulous in every single way imaginable especially my ass but not stacking the dishwasher correctly cancels all that out" Andy joked, once again making Sharon laugh as she nodded in agreement.

Rusty instantly recoiled in horror. It was bad enough in his opinion that he caught his Mom with her hands all over Andy's ass as often as he did (every single day in his opinion) without discussing the subject so openly too. "Oh God!" he cried. "Why did I ask?" he shuddered again before turning back to the matter at hand. "What about shedding in the bathtub?"

"I promise to make sure the plug hole is clean and clear when I get out of the bath, cross my heart. Anything else?" Andy asked, already knowing what Rusty was going to ask next even before he had discussed it with Sharon the night before in bed, expecting a request to cover his legs in all communal areas at all times and for his Mom to try her hardest to finally leave his ass alone especially in the kitchen.

"The pyjama situation needs to change immediately" Rusty stated as anticipated. Andy turned to smile at Sharon again, a quick 'I told you so' glinting in his eyes. "I'm not saying you have to sleep in them or anything but when you step out of this door I want to see you in them. I am done with having to look at your legs over breakfast." Sharon and Andy both laughed in response, with Andy nodding, it not being the worst request in the world to pull on a pair of pyjama bottoms when he left the bedroom on a lazy morning without work.

"I think I can cope with that" Andy nodded.

"Good" Rusty replied as if it was now set in stone and he wasn't going to have to look at his legs ever again regardless of how ridiculously hot he felt.

"Anything else?" Andy asked, wanting Rusty's full list of demands as soon as possible.

Rusty shrugged. "Cooking and cleaning and not to mention all of my ironing" he rattled off and thus ensuring that not only did he get out of doing a lot of his household chores but also that Sharon got a little something extra out of the deal too, aside from having the love of her life move in with them obviously.

"Hey I already do all of your ironing anyway for both of you for that matter" Andy said as he looked between the two of them, not minding it in the slightest since he found it relaxing at the end of the long day. "Sometimes I feel a little like Cinderella around here" he grumbled yet again and only joking.

"I know that but I'd still like the whole agreement in writing," Rusty told him, sounding more like a lawyer than a journalist once again, "maybe do it in front of a couple of witnesses just to make it all above board and legal."

"Me too" Sharon nodded enthusiastically.

Andy turned to look at Sharon, a smug smile on his face. "What about that other thing you requested?" he asked and clearly referencing the constant stream of orgasms she had asked him for the previous night. "Do you want that in writing too?"

"Oh definitely" she replied, her smile matching his.

"What other thing?" Rusty asked with a confused frown. Sharon and Andy both smiled as they were suddenly completely lost for words since they blatantly weren't going to tell him the truth unless they wanted him to immediately jump out of the window. A few more moments of silence passed by before Rusty quickly caught wind and knew exactly what they were smiling about, desperately wishing that he didn't. "Oh God!" he cried, much preferring to be hacked apart and eaten by an angry clown than to hear about his Mom's sex life. "Forget it. I don't want to know."

"It's just some general household chores," Sharon replied as quickly as her brain would allow her since if Andy replied she knew Rusty would be able to tell from his face that he was lying and that was before he probably said something highly inappropriate by mistake while a little flustered, "and a demand that he caters to my every whim like ensuring my wine glass is always topped up while I'm having a lazy soak in the bathtub that's all. It's nothing to cause any nightmares" she insisted.

Rusty grimaced. "For you maybe" he said, not really believing her but not wanting to delve any deeper into that particular topic of conversation.

Sharon laughed softly, also wanting to drop the subject before it had chance to become anymore awkward. "I can get Gavin to write up the contracts over the weekend so we can get it all finalised" she joked, winking at Rusty so that Andy couldn't see.

"Do you want me to sign it in blood too?" Andy grumbled.

"If you like" she shrugged casually.

"Yeah well I'd like that I was right and you were most definitely very very wrong in writing too but I'm not getting that either" Andy said as he continued to grumble, fully prepared to keep reminding her that he was right about one of them having to go undercover with a prostitute and she was wrong for the rest of his life and even then he'd come back to haunt her about it, rattling chains and whispering 'I was right' every time she went into the bathroom. Sharon laughed in response as Rusty looked between them a little puzzled.

"Do I want to know what this is about?" Rusty asked with another slight grimace.

"Probably not. It's a work thing" Sharon told him.

"Anything else either of you want to add to this long list of requirements before I'm allowed to move in here?" Andy asked, wanting it all out of the way that morning so that they didn't suddenly drop anything else on him in twelve months' time, not that he was going to be held to any of it except those conditions that involved pyjamas and orgasms maybe.

"Nope, you have all of mine" Sharon said, her nails raking up and down his back above his shirt.

"Will you promise to stop trying to be funny all the time?" Rusty asked, making it sound more like a demand since there were times when Andy's sense of humour drove the young man to despair.

"I don't try kid, it just happens. I have no control over it."

"Then try and make it stop or we don't have a deal" Rusty stated emphatically.

Andy laughed. "I'll do my very best but just out of curiosity do I get to make any requests…"

"Oh Andy my darling," Sharon cried as she put her hands on his cheeks and cradled his face, cutting him off mid-sentence in the process, "these aren't requests, they're demands" she corrected. Andy's mouth instantly dropped open in a mock state of shock which made Rusty laugh while Sharon kissed his shocked lips.

"Fine, then do I get any _demands_ of my own?" he asked, adding extra emphasis to the word.

Sharon and Rusty looked at each other before they answered in unison. "No."

"Hold on, you may want to think about it first before you answer" Andy said as he tried to hide his surprise at their speedy and unanimous response to his question.

"We don't need time to think about it" Rusty shrugged with an infectious smile and enjoying the occasions when he got to gang up against Andy with his Mother if for no other reason than the really annoyed expression on Andy's face.

In comparison Sharon was more than prepared to give Andy something in return for so easily agreeing to their list of demands. "In exchange for letting you move in and making you follow our list of demands to the letter I promise to adore you every single second for the rest of life" she told him, her arm moving back around his shoulder again.

Andy smiled and nodded. "I can live with that" he said before he gave her a very chaste kiss on the lips. "Anything else?" he asked and turning his attention back to Rusty.

"Will you promise never to pass out in front of me ever again?" Rusty queried, his arms still folded in front of him and his foot tapping on the floor as he waited patiently for his answer. That panicky feeling in the pit of his stomach when he found Andy unconscious and bleeding on the floor had never really left him since and coming to the forefront when either Sharon or Andy were even feeling the slightest bit unwell, it being the moment he realised that Andy had gone from his Mom's annoying boyfriend who he had to put up with to being someone he genuinely cared about and loved.

"Or me" Sharon was quick to add, having seen him collapse in front of her on at least seven different occasions in the twenty five nearly twenty six years that she'd known him and that was more than enough for her liking.

"That I can guarantee" Andy insisted, crossing his heart with his finger. "That is never ever going to happen again."

"Good because that tile in the bathroom is still not fixed properly and the only time I want to be covered in your blood again is when I'm helping Mom clean up the crime scene after she's inevitably murdered you because you're so annoying" Rusty stated far too casually for Andy's liking as Sharon laughed loudly.

"I'll be honest it alarms me slightly how completely nonchalantly you say that" Andy replied as he looked between the two of them, Rusty seemingly more than willing to help Sharon dispose of his body and clean up the evidence if he ever stepped out of line.

"Have you met you?" Rusty asked, thinking that was the only thing he needed to say in response much to Sharon's amusement.

"So what do you say Rusty?" Sharon smiled at Andy again as she moved to put her elbow on his shoulder and ran her hand through the back of his hair a few times. "Do we let him move in here with us or do we make him live in his car?"

"I guess we should probably let him move in here since he's sold his house and we did already promise him that he could," Rusty sighed dramatically as he made out that it was without doubt the worst thing that had ever happened to him in his life but with his smile telling a different story, "but for the record I'm making a rule right now about absolutely _no_ inappropriate physical contact in the communal areas, especially in the kitchen."

Sharon laughed as Andy smiled at her. "I told you so" he said to her with a shrug before he held his hands in the air as if to show them off and prove that he was keeping them to himself. "I will try to keep my hands off you kid at all times, I promise" he joked.

Rusty simply rolled his eyes, still not really getting Andy's sense of humour at times no matter how hard he tried. "You promised you were going to stop trying to be funny."

Andy shrugged. "I lied" he said simply and instantly making Sharon laugh, finding Andy one of the funniest people, if not the funniest person she had ever met in her life even if Rusty didn't feel the same way.

"Okay" Rusty nodded as he put out his hand in front of him for Andy to take. "Welcome to the family Lieutenant. I'm very glad you're here and not just because you're so very bad at chess" he said, Andy laughing at him in response.

"Thanks kid. Me too. Me too" Andy said as he shook Rusty's hand and Sharon beamed with pride at two of her boys getting along so well. "Is there some sort of initiation process that I have to go through before this is all made official? What did Sharon make you do when you officially joined the family?"

"My homework before I watched TV and to promise never to eat anywhere near the couch" Rusty stated, still making it sound like he had been subjected to torture in those first few tetchy months that he lived with Sharon as they both adjusted to the other being in their personal space when they were used to being alone.

"Done!" Andy cried as a deal was reached.

"Not so fast there boy" Sharon said as she poked Andy in the chest with her finger. "Aside from all of the cleaning and the ironing and playing chess and the other little thing that we've already discussed, I foresee you doing an awful lot of cooking in this place" she told him with sparkling eyes.

"It's a deal," Andy replied quickly, "if for no other reason than to make sure you two don't starve to death. It's a miracle you've both survived this long" he replied in anything but a joke, it an established fact that both of them were more likely to bring food home than cook anything other than breakfast and Christmas cookies. "And anyway I told you last night, right now I'd willingly walk across hot coals to move in here with you two."

"That's tomorrow evening's challenge," Rusty stated as seriously as he could, "first you have to take the leap of death through a ring of fire off the balcony." Andy laughed in response as he nodded his head, fully prepared to do that and a hell of a lot more if he had to in order to spend the rest of his life sharing a home with Sharon Raydor. "Okay well I'll get breakfast ready" Rusty smiled, the deal done and without need for further discussion before he left the room on his way back to the kitchen.

"He definitely wants something" Andy said again once he was relatively sure that Rusty had gone and wouldn't be able hear him as he turned to smile at Sharon, immediately running his hands back around her waist, settling in the small of her back as drew her towards his chest.

"Gee, ya think?"

"No need to guess what."

Sharon shrugged in response, still thinking that maybe Rusty wanted to make it up to her and apologise following their little argument regarding his video footage rather than angling to get her to agree to let him watch Buzz's interview later in the day. "We'll see" she replied simply, more than content to wait and see what happened rather than speculating about it anymore especially since she was still on the fence about letting him watch.

Andy captured her lips in a very sweet kiss before he smiled at her, unable to contain just how insanely happy he currently felt. "He said yes" he stated, the surprise in his voice clear now that he was finally able to fully relax following Rusty's stamp of approval.

"Yes he did" Sharon nodded, their lips coming together again. "Did you honestly expect a different outcome?" she asked, never once having thought that Rusty may have changed his mind despite asking him in her office the night before if it was still okay with him, that being just out of curtesy since it affected him too rather than concern at his answer.

"To be perfectly honest yes I did" Andy admitted.

Sharon laughed as she copied his position and snaked her arms around his waist, shaking her head at him in disbelief as she did it. "Andy, as I've already told you, he suggested you move in here weeks ago rather than us buying somewhere else. I just had to wait until I caught up with him before I could finally ask you myself."

"So it's official" he grinned before he kissed her again. "I am finally moving in with you."

Sharon smiled and laughed, almost giggling with excitement like a schoolgirl, a noise Andy had never even thought she was capable of making ten years ago when just catching sight of her stalking the halls of Parker Centre struck fear into even the bravest of officers, sending their balls shooting back up into their bodies before she had chance to remove them herself, let alone being the cause of her happiness. But he was, he was the reason she was happier than she had ever been. Moving in together was the source of her joy and it made it all the sweeter for him to know that. She kissed him, gripping him tightly by his suspenders as she did so. "Yes you are indeed" she said in a sultry whisper very close to his ear, a whisper that shot straight through him before she kissed him once again.

"I'm now officially your live in lover" he declared with a shit eating grin, liking the sound of it much more than just being labelled as her boyfriend (although the word did make him feel like a teenager again).

Sharon laughed. "I wouldn't phrase it that way in front of Rusty if I were you" she suggested as she continued to laugh. "But it's not completely official yet. I still have to submit all of the relevant paperwork with Chief Taylor first before it becomes completely official" she added, as always playing everything in her life completely by the rule book even when it came to the simple curtesy notification to her Commanding Officer that she would now be living with another officer from her division.

Andy laughed at her, at the back of his mind thinking that Sharon was probably as excited about the prospect of additional paperwork and following the rules as she was by the fact that were moving in together. "Has there ever been a rule you didn't follow?" he asked with a frown that was in conflict with the bright smile on his face.

"Yes" Sharon stated confidently.

"When? Name one time" Andy said, his disbelief evident.

"When I fell in love with a subordinate and started dating within my division" she told him simply before capturing his lips once more. "I didn't technically break any rules but let's just say that it's frowned upon by the top brass."

"Then they're just not doing it right" Andy joked as he shook his head. Sharon laughed as she nodded in full agreement, falling in love with a member of her division being a very wise decision indeed as far as she was concerned. "Well if you were ever going to bend a rule slightly that was a good one to focus on" he said before he stole another quick kiss. "And I'm so very glad that you picked me to bend it with."

"Well I knew you were already a pro at bending the rules to bordering on breaking point and anyway I thought you'd approve of my choice" she cooed as she cupped his face, kissing him again. "But then even after I've submitted all of the relevant paperwork to the right people it's not really official until I actually get the rest of your stuff moved in here and that's not going to happen until the weekend at the earliest" she reminded him and thinking very practically for a moment. That thought quickly faded though as another huge smile took over her features, brushing her lips against his again. "I can't wait."

"Me either" Andy replied as they continued to grin at each other like fools. "Do you think Nicole will believe me this time?"

Sharon laughed. Despite Nicole seeing for herself that they were now very much together, madly in love with each other and more importantly than that they both knew how the other felt, on the whole she had been slightly dubious about it throughout, believing them while still being cautious about it all, not that it was much of a surprise given the way that Andy had lied to her for well over a year about the state of his relationship with Sharon. "Probably not but we could do with every available extra hand to put your furniture into storage and bringing everything else up here so if she helps I think that should be pretty convincing" she told him, expecting Nicole to instantly volunteer to help out such were her levels of excitement that they were now together and her Father was so settled and happy. In truth there was no real rush to empty Andy's house but neither saw the point in dragging their feet over it, Andy was moving into the condo so best get it done as quickly as possible and in one go rather than making it a long, drawn out affair that turned it into a chore rather than an event they wanted to celebrate.

"Yeah" Andy agreed with a smile before his mind drifted to what a large job lay before him, he may have already packed up the majority of his house but it was still going to take some time and effort to move it all into storage without a lot of help along the way because by his own admission he was no spring chicken anymore despite being physically very fit for work. "I should ask the guys at work to lend us a hand too. Between us it shouldn't take too long to load up the van and take it to the storage place" he shrugged, knowing that they would all volunteer to help given how happy they were that they had managed to make a real go of their relationship together despite the obstacles that had been in their way thus far, not least juggling working together so closely while having a personal relationship.

"We could maybe have a little party here afterwards" Sharon suggested.

Andy instantly laughed, burying his nose in her hair at the crook of her neck for a moment as he composed himself as much as possible before speaking. "I should have known!" he cried. "Sharon Raydor and her famous sense of occasion strikes once again" he laughed loudly, not surprised in the least that she wanted to have a party to celebrate, firmly of the opinion that finding a good parking spot was worthy of a large celebration with friends and family in Sharon's eyes. "Have you invited me to move in just so that you could have a party?"

Sharon frowned at him decidedly unimpressed despite the fact that he was partly right but what was so wrong with celebrating a massive life changing event like moving in with the love of her life she thought to herself. "I'm only talking wine and pizza, let's no go overboard here" she said as she attempted to downplay the plans she actually had in mind, accepting that they may have to now partake in a much smaller celebration than she wanted just so that Andy wasn't proved right twice in less than a week, him already gloating about Mike's date with a prostitute without adding to the list and making his smug smile even broader until she was forced to resist smacking it from his face. Andy did nothing but laugh in reply, not believing a word. "It would be nice to celebrate with everyone when the heavy lifting is done even if it is just for an hour or two" Sharon said, getting a nod of agreement in return, Andy more than open to giving Sharon exactly what she wanted as well as liking the idea of celebrating his move with their friends. "Celebrate our new life together under the same roof."

"You've not got any regrets?"

Sharon moved her hands, running them around his neck as her fingers started to gently run through the short hair she found there. "Not right now but let's give it a couple of months first and see how much you get on my nerves" she told him with a little glare of warning that only served to make him laugh. His laughter brought on her own, staring intently into his eyes as the mood turned more towards the serious. "My only regret is not doing this with you sooner" she told him, her voice quickly displaying the emotion that she felt, her regret at her penchant for foot dragging clear for him to hear. She kissed him, holding him even tighter as their lips danced together, no longer giving a damn about the condition of her lipstick as she melted into him. "I promise you my beautiful boy, I will never drag my feet with you again" she stated and it was abundantly clear to him that she meant it too. Although neither would change anything had happened between them over the previous fourteen months for all the money in the world, it was always at the back of their minds that they had missed out on so much through a combination of Andy's constant nervousness about ruining what they had and scaring her off and Sharon with her need to do everything in their relationship at a very deliberate pace. In reality it probably wouldn't have made that much difference, possibly consummating their physical relationship a lot earlier than they had done meaning far few cold showers would have been needed between the pair of them but they would still only just be moving in together, no nervousness or foot dragging controlling how long it took for Andy's house to sell and prompt the move. Still, Sharon couldn't help but regret her part in all that they had missed out on, desperately hoping that one of them wouldn't be forced to live with that regret when the other had shuffled off that mortal coil.

"I'm very glad to hear it babe and I promise to always move my shoes and to stop leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor."

"Let's shoot for attainable goals shall we?" she replied, having already had to move one wet towel from the bathroom floor that morning and she knew full well that it hadn't belonged to Rusty despite Andy's claim to the contrary, his nostrils flaring giving the game away long before the smirk on his face did.

Andy laughed and nodded. "I'll try my best" he promised. "If I find a spare five minutes today I'll tell everyone and see if they can help us out moving stuff" he said, already thinking about finding the time to arrange a U-Haul hire for the weekend.

"Even your boyfriend?" Sharon asked with a grin, still surprised by Andy's response when she asked him the night before if he had told Provenza that he had sold his house and were about to move in together, expecting him to already know it was happening as soon as she did despite his nervousness.

"He's not my boyfriend" Andy replied with exasperation despite knowing that the more he rolled his eyes at her when she said it, the more she would continue to do it.

"And yet Patrice and I disagree" she laughed, finding the situation all the funnier precisely because of the annoyed look on Andy's face every time she referred to his partner in crime as his 'boyfriend.' "Have you told him?" she asked since he had been busy tapping away on his cell phone as he sat propped up in bed when she went to start the shower earlier in the morning, assuming that he had been sending him a text about his news.

"Is it really important that he knows?" Andy replied after a moment of silence.

Sharon shook her head in disbelief. "Do you really think you can keep selling your house and moving in here a secret from him?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure" Andy shrugged and sounding like he really believed it. "Hey he may claim that he's the brains of the division but what does he actually do other than shout 'It's always the husband, it's always the husband, it's always the husband' once a day? The guy can't even use a computer" he reminded her, firmly of the opinion that he could be living at the condo for well over five years without Provenza finding out if he decided to keep it quiet.

Sharon laughed, still baffled by his attitude. "I don't understand you. Why don't you want to tell him about it? Is this because of how you tormented him when he moved in with Patrice? Are you expecting a little revenge to be heading your way?" she asked, knowing that they could fight like cat and dog on a good day even without extra ammunition to hand.

"Oh you know me so well" Andy laughed, desperate to change the subject. Sharon looked at him with suspicion for a moment since she knew he clearly wasn't telling her the truth but she didn't want to push him on it just yet. There was a reason that he was putting off telling his best friend about their exciting news but it was clear that he was only going to offer up the truth on his own terms and when he was ready so under the circumstances she had no other option but to wait until he was ready.

Still eager to drop the subject Andy released his hold on Sharon's waist after another quick peck on her lips and picked up his suit coat on the hanger that was dangling on the handle to the closet, dropping it on the end of the bed as Sharon watched him with a smile, amused by the way he was avoided the subject as well as enjoying how at home he looked. With his jacket laid out and ready to pull on when they were about to leave for work Andy turned to the closet and opened the door to return the hanger, struggling instantly to close it again due to the volume of clothing that was already in there and that was with half of his wardrobe still at his house and looking for a new home. As he pushed Sharon's impressive wardrobe in and tried to shut the door it briefly crossed his mind that stopping an elephant from giving birth after she had already started to crown would be a lot easier than shutting Sharon's closet. Eventually he managed to slide the door closed before he turned to face Sharon with his arms folded across his chest and panting for breath like he had just run a half marathon in record time. "I know we were planning a last _naked_ hurrah at the old place on Friday," he said and instantly making her laugh because of the extra emphasis he added to the word 'naked,' "but maybe we should change our plans slightly."

"Oh? To what?" she asked, a hint of concern in her voice that he was suddenly having cold feet about the whole thing.

"Well while I finish packing up my house I think you have a job to do yourself right here in this very room" he said and sounding every inch like her Father when he would walk into her bedroom as a teenager and find the place ransacked following fourteen outfit changes before going to the movies with friends just because James Anderson might be there and 'Oh my gosh he's so dreamy.'

Sharon smiled at him, still a little confused by what he was actually saying to her. "Like what exactly?" she asked, wondering if he was pointing out that 'their' bedroom was a little too overtly feminine for his liking now that it really was their bedroom.

"Like you need to make some room in this closet for my clothes to fit as well" he stated, struggling to pry the sliding door open again before the contents seemed to spring forward like a jack in the box, looking for room to breathe such was the extent that it was bursting at the seams. Andy just stared at it for a moment, always doing battle with it when he tried to liberate a suit from its clutches when in comparison Sharon had no such issues, being able to charm and handle it regardless of how full it was even before his wardrobe started to appear it in too, like she was a snake charmer and an appropriate whistle would send the Armani jacket she wanted floating towards her.

Sharon walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she rested her chin on his shoulder. The moment her hands snaked around his middle she felt him sucking in his stomach again even though she had spent much on the previous evening and indeed that very morning with her hands and lips roaming his naked body. She quickly pinched his love handles a couple of times to stop him from being so ridiculous before she held him even tighter. Andy grunted in response before relaxing and letting his stomach go, eliciting a little chuckle from her before she gently pressed her lips to his neck and then returned her gaze back to the overflowing closet again. "Do you really need to hang them up?" she asked finally and then instantly buried her face into the back of his shoulder as she laughed, knowing what his reaction was going to be long before he'd even processed the question.

"What? The suits I wear for work? Yeah funnily enough I think I do" he replied more than a little grumpily. Sharon laughed again, kissing his neck a couple of times. "I mean to begin with you can get rid of the hat museum up here" he suggested as he pointed towards the shelf packed with elaborate and incredibly large wedding hats which, by her own admission, she was never ever going to wear again because each wedding she attended required a new hat in her opinion.

Sharon quickly released her hold of him and moved to stand in front of the closet, her arms outstretched to block him from getting anywhere near her treasured collection. "I am _not_ getting rid of my wedding hats. Never! Never ever!" she stated categorically as if Andy had just suggested they encourage Rusty to move out by the end of the week.

Andy laughed, an image of him trying to pry one out of her hands as she kicked at him and frantically tried to bite him on the hand playing through his mind. "Why not? You don't wear any of them. According to you and your particular brand of logic you have to buy a brand new hat for each new wedding you attend anyway so it's not like they're going to get a second outing any time soon" he reasoned. "They're just taking up space and gathering dust."

"That's not all they're doing actually," she said as she folded her arms defiantly in front of herself, "they're reminding me of some very special days."

"Don't you have photos for that?"

"I find a hat museum works much better" she told him flatly. Andy had no words when he was confronted with Sharon Raydor at her most irrational, a side of her that only he and her children got to see so instead he just frowned at her, trying out his own 'Darth Raydor' glare as he waited for her to crumble of her own accord. "Fine then what exactly do you suggest that I do with them all? Huh?" she asked as she turned to look at her collection, each one holding a special place in her heart and conjuring up a wonderful memory of a beautiful and romantic day as well as a little regret she didn't have time to go and purchase a new one for Provenza and Patrice's wedding.

Andy shrugged. "Give them to a homeless shelter."

Sharon turned to face him, looking at him like he had snakes coming out of his ears. "Oh yes of course," she cried, "because the homeless of Los Angeles need a wedding hat to wear above everything else."

Andy quickly reached into the closet behind her and before she had chance to stop him grabbed a light blue hat which was festooned with dozens of delicate lace petals but was actually about twice the size of a sombrero. "They could do with this one" he said as he grasped it in both hands and held it between them like a shield in case she attacked. "Look at the size of it! How did you even wear this anyway without snapping your neck in two?"

Sharon glared at him. "Be very careful boy or I might just snap your neck in two."

He laughed at her, Sharon's death glare not capable of inflicting fear into his very soul on that particular occasion such was his good mood and the general feeling that he was right and she was wrong. "It's so big you could use it as a three man tent" he claimed with much exaggeration, placing it on his head before he began to stagger around on the spot for a moment as if the size and weight of it was knocking him off his balance.

Sharon just stared at him in silence, far from amused. Unable to take his laughter a moment longer she snatched the hat from his head and deposited back on the shelf again to join its friends. "You know I'm starting to change my mind about this whole thing" she said as she turned back around to face him.

"What whole thing?"

"You moving in here."

He laughed in response before asking "Because of the hats?"

"Partly."

Andy immediately put his hands on his hips in a classic double teapot move, a pout very much present on his face. "You're choosing your hat collection over me? Over this?" he asked as he began to gesture the full length of his body, slowing himself off like he was the grand prize on a gameshow.

Sharon turned her face away from him for a moment, on the verge of laughing but not wanting him to see it. "Oddly enough they don't have the same kind of attitude as you do," she replied once she had regained her composure, "or the same smug smile that needs to be wiped off your face from time to time."

He grinned, already thinking about one thing in particular that he could do that her hats couldn't. "Ah that's very true but can they do this?" Before Sharon even had chance to think about what was coming next he swept her up into his arms and began to push his lips to the long expanse of her neck, them virtually falling into the closet against the wall of clothing as a result. Sharon let out a surprised squeak as she was suddenly swept up, her eyes quickly closing as she wrapped her arms around his neck and a little moan built up in the back of her throat. "Can they?" he asked finally against her neck.

Sharon hummed, her hands making their way into his hair and scratching his scalp. "You do make a very good point I suppose" she all but moaned.

Andy laughed as he pulled away and brought her to rest on her feet again. "So I can stay?"

"Oh if you insist" she laughed, silenced only when he pressed his lips to hers.

When they eventually broke apart he took her hand and helped her back out of the closet, his arm quickly going around her waist as they stared at the complete lack of space before them. "It's not just the hats either or the purses or your extensive Armani collection. Look at all these shoes" he complained as he pointed to the vast array of heels that lined the bottom of the closet on multiple racks to make room for yet more, a collection that even Barbie would be envious of.

"My shoes?" Sharon replied with a tone that suggested Andy had just insulted one of her children. "What about them?"

"You have so many."

Sharon immediately scoffed, almost choking on the words in her throat. "I have so many?" she laughed eventually. "Andy you have far more pairs of shoes than I do" she pointed out.

"You're kidding me right?" Andy laughed with exaggeration. "Unless I'm seeing double it's like the shoe department at Macy's down here." He took a step closer and crouched down before them. "Look at them, just look at them" he cried as he pointed at them. "I mean do you really need ten...twelve...fourteen...sixteen...twenty? Twenty? Do you really need twenty different pairs of _red_ shoes?" he asked with bewilderment as he stood up straight once again.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well to begin with they're not all red" Sharon insisted, her tone making it sound like that was by far the stupidest thing Andy had ever said to her and he had said an awful lot of stupid things in her presence over the years.

Andy rolled his eyes before he grabbed three different red shoes and held them in front of her. "This and this and this aren't red?" he asked as he waved them in front of her face.

Without looking at the shoes once she stared at him like he had gone insane and he was missing something really quite obvious. "No you moron" she cried as she wrestled the shoes off him, a word she wasn't sure she had ever used prior to dating the moron in question.

"Then what are they?"

Sharon sighed with exasperation before she put them back in their proper home and started to move her finger along the line of them as she spoke like she was Queen Elizabeth on her official birthday and was inspecting a regiment of soldiers during Trooping the Colour. "That's cherry, rose, jam, merlot, crimson, ruby, scarlet, wine, brick, red apple, red mahogany, garnet, blood, sangria, berry, currant, blush, candy, lipstick and that pair are red" she explained before folding her arms and giving him a smile of smug satisfaction.

Andy rolled his eyes. "Oh how foolish of me. How will I ever go to dinner with the DuPonts at the Yacht Club ever again! I'm so embarrassed!" he cried, his hands coming up to his cheeks like he was recreating _The Scream_.

Sharon laughed. "So you should be" she told him, giving his tie a quick yank.

"Do you really need all of these shoes? Really? Truly? You need them all?" he asked.

Sharon moved to stand directly in front of him, her face pure Darth Raydor to the extent where it actually made him swallow a little nervously and took a step backwards, feeling like he did ten years ago when he was met with her wrath because of something he had done in the heat of the moment with a suspect that involved his fists. No one could deliver a death glare like Sharon Raydor, she had perfected it, it was a work of art but over the years as they got closer it started to have less of an effect on him but there were times when she really put her mind to it that she could still strike fear into him for a moment or two. "Do you really need to keep breathing?" she asked with menace.

"From time to time just because my Doctor told me it was good for me" he replied, Darth Raydor quickly vanishing as she laughed at him, her hand resting on his chest. "I've got an idea. Let's ask the kid. Rusty! Rusty get in here!" he shouted as he gave her a smug smile, banking on Rusty agreeing with him on the subject.

Moments later Rusty's footsteps could be heard coming towards them before he swung the door open and entered with a frown. "You know it's really hard to cook breakfast when you keep being called into your Mom's bedroom to deal with her annoying boyfriend" he grumbled.

Andy laughed. "This is more important than breakfast right now, trust me." He quickly waved Rusty over to them before he continued. "In your opinion does your Mom really need twenty pairs of red shoes?"

"I've told you, they're not all red" she stated once again. "I only have one pair of red shoes."

"Okay fine. Does your Mom really need twenty pairs of different _shades_ of red shoes?" he clarified, emphasising the word 'shades' to Sharon before turning to Rusty, his eyes almost pleading to get him to agree with him.

Seconds later Sharon joined in with him, both of them looking at Rusty pleadingly like two divorcing dog owners calling their pet in court as they both desperately wanted his support on this matter. Rusty paused before he answered. "Yes she does" he said simply.

The reactions could not have been more different. Andy's face and shoulders dropped as he groaned before he buried his head in his hands. Sharon in comparison laughed, raising her arms into the air as she celebrated her victory like her divorce from Tom Cruise had just been finalised before proceeding to dance in Andy's face, gloating about her win as much as he had gloated the night before when she had reluctantly admitted that she had been wrong and he had been right about the whole 'undercover with a prostitute' affair. "Yes! Thank you Rusty!" Sharon cried as she continued to dance in front of Andy's face triumphantly.

"Oh come on kid!"

"I'm sorry Andy but I know better than to stand between Sharon Raydor and a pair of shoes" Rusty shrugged. "Her eyes turn even greener than usual and she instantly becomes just like Cruella DeVille except suddenly she's in the mood for a Rusty skin coat rather than a Dalmatian one."

Andy laughed and nodded. "Well you've got that right."

Sharon immediately stopped dancing and frowned at the pair of them. "Okay both of you, this stops right now" she practically ordered, pointing at Andy as she spoke to Rusty. "If he moves in here..."

"If?" Andy asked, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"Nothing has been made official at work yet so you'd better watch yourself in case I decide to change my mind" she jokingly warned him, pulling on the very end of his tie once again to reinforce her point.

"I'd take that threat very seriously if I were you Andy" Rusty offered.

"Oh I am believe me. Never stand in the way of Sharon Raydor and paperwork" Andy replied before he laughed, Rusty quickly joining him as they bonded over the main thing they had in common, how much they loved Sharon and as a result how much they loved to tease her when opportunity presented itself. As such no matter what happened in the future, the fact that both men loved Sharon more than anything or anyone, it would bond them together for life.

Sharon glared at them again, far from amused despite how overjoyed she felt when two of her boys bonded in such a way, even if it was when they were teasing her. "If Andy moves in here and at the moment because of this very conversation it's becoming a very big if indeed, they'll be no boys club, they'll be no ganging up on me by the pair of you. Am I making myself clear?" she asked, her eyes going back and forth between the two of them.

Andy laughed as Rusty just smiled at him, for the first time seeing Andy as an ally. "Like we would" Andy told her, pulling the face that always put her in mind of a puppy, a face that always seemed to get him out of trouble.

"I mean it" she warned again.

Rusty grinned. "Actually this might work out great" he said, for once seeing Andy's presence in his life as a way to settle the tie when he and Sharon disagreed over something. "In the past when we had a vote on something for some strange reason Mom's vote always counted twice."

"That's because I pay for the mortgage" Sharon reminded him.

"Yeah well now the tie can be broken by Andy so things might not go your way all the time from this point on" Rusty stated, suddenly feeling very pleased with himself as he expected Andy to agree with him about most things.

"Sorry kid, I know which side my bread is buttered on" Andy replied and quickly bursting his bubble as he put his arm around Sharon's waist. "And I hate to inform you but I'm _always_ going to be on your Mom's side, about everything" he confirmed, getting a quick smile from Sharon in return before she grinned at Rusty, celebrating her second victory in a matter of minutes.

"You're kidding!" Rusty shouted, bitterly disappointed in what he was hearing. "Are you a man or a mouse Lieutenant?" he asked, thinking that mentioning something about this whole conversation to the other men in the division, in particular Lieutenant Provenza, might get him to change his tune.

"I'm whatever your Mom tells me to be" Andy shrugged casually, more than happy with that arrangement. Sharon laughed at him as she shook her head, knowing that he was only teasing Rusty and he wasn't anywhere near as 'under the thumb' as he liked to claim he was.

"And what would Lieutenant Provenza say about that?" Rusty queried.

"After five failed marriages I know he'd agree with me" Andy insisted.

Sharon laughed before she took hold of his tie again and gave it two quick tugs, ensuring that she got his full and undivided attention. "That's if you ever tell him you're moving in here with us to begin with."

"You haven't told Lieutenant Provenza?" Rusty asked, not hiding his surprise for an instant.

"Not yet" Andy shrugged.

"Why?"

"Jealous boyfriend issues" Sharon replied, answering for him before she and Rusty both laughed and it was Andy's turn to look completely unimpressed.

"I just haven't found the time yet that's why" Andy lied once again, having had plenty of opportunities to tell Provenza his news since Sharon had asked him to move in with her as soon as his house sold but had instead elected to keep it to himself. "And anyway he can't say anything to me about being whipped. You haven't seen him at home with Patrice lately. She's got him whipped into such shape that I hardly recognise him anymore. She says 'Jump' and he says 'I don't run, I don't climb, I don't jump' and then he does it anyway" Andy added and quickly making Sharon laugh and nod in agreement, seeing for herself just how much Patrice had got her second in command wrapped around her little finger, a sight that was actually lovely to see.

Rusty folded his arms across his chest, refusing to let the matter go since he was desperate for someone to be on his side when it came to the battle over a hamburger for dinner rather than something far healthier or what they were going to watch on TV. "Andy are you really going to let Mom neuter you like that? Really?" he asked, dragging out 'really' to the point where it sounded like it was spelt with at least one hundred 'l's.

Andy simply shrugged and smiled. "She's already done it. Years ago in fact. Before you ever met either of us." Despite what she was being accused of Sharon couldn't help but laugh as she hid her face against Andy's shoulder. "She keeps them in a jar on her desk as a warning to any man who dares to step foot into her office and take her on unarmed" he added, giving her a quick wink as Rusty laughed at him and once again proved that despite how many times he told Andy that he wasn't funny, he was always laughing at him.

"And you'll be next young man," Sharon said as she pointed a finger at him, "I'm warning you now." Regardless of the words she used the smile on her face made it easy for both Andy and Rusty to laugh at her. "And you'll both be sleeping in your cars for the foreseeable future if I hear another word from either of you about my hardly substantial shoe collection. And at any rate I don't have half as many pairs of shoes as you do boy" she pointed out as she gave Andy a quick, sharp poke in his ribs. "We'll need to buy Mrs Rose's place and knock through the wall to accommodate your extensive wardrobe come the weekend."

"What?" Andy cried in complete denial.

"Don't pull that innocent face with me Andy. I know you too well. We've been together for well over a year now and I don't think I've seen you in the same pair of shoes twice" she told him in anything but a lie. "Back me up here Rusty."

"Mom does kind of have a point Andy."

Andy's mouth dropped open. "That is blatantly not true!" he protested.

"Oh but it is and that's before we move onto your vast collection of neck ties and suspenders which surely belong in one of those World Record books because no one can have more than you" Rusty claimed which was greeted with another frown from Andy but more laughter from Sharon. "I mean do you really need that many pairs of suspenders? You can only wear one pair at a time you know. You really don't need that many."

"Oh yes he does" Sharon stated emphatically and getting an instant smile out of Andy. "Believe me he does" she added, never taking her eyes off him as he winked at her.

Rusty rolled his eyes, grateful that he had a fairly strong gag reflex for moments just like this. "Oh God! Why did I ask?" he grumbled.

Andy laughed as he dragged his eyes away from Sharon and onto the young man he already saw as his Step-Son. "Your Mom just likes to drag me around by them at work that's all. You know to make sure I'm behaving myself" he lied, Sharon often dragging him to bed by them when she was feeling rather impatient to have his hands on her body and simply couldn't wait any longer.

"Of course she does" Rusty replied dryly before he shuddered with horror, unable to help himself. "Anyway whatever I don't want to think about it" he added, them both laughing at him in response. "This is precisely why you need to hurry up and finally find somewhere bigger for us to move into because there's no way all of your stuff is going to fit in that closet." No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Rusty knew that something was wrong and that was before he saw Sharon and Andy glance at one another as if they were waiting for the other to speak. "What? What am I missing here? Have you already found somewhere already?"

Again Andy looked to Sharon and expected her to answer, if anything a little surprised that she hadn't told Rusty he had temporarily given up looking at houses because he was more than content to stay at the condo for the time being. "Don't look at me, you're in complete charge of our housing arrangements or at least that's what you've kept telling me" Sharon told him, her hands in the air as if to prove her point. Aside from Andy being in charge of looking for a house she also wanted him to be the one to tell Rusty because again, like with telling him that he had effectively already moved in, she felt it was important that that they started to have those sort of conversations without her in the middle as the go between. With Andy now moved in they were a family and she was keen that he and Rusty saw each other as such independently from her, they were now a family in their own right without her being the person to connect them. She knew it wasn't going to be easy to get them to see each other in that way and it was going to take an awful lot of time and effort, just like getting Daniel to have any real meaningful contact with Andy or getting Emily and Ricky to have a proper relationship with Jack but she was determined to make it happen or die trying.

"What's going on?" Rusty asked, suddenly feeling a little alarmed.

"Nothing. It's just we," Andy said before he glanced at Sharon again, "or rather I don't see it as quite as urgent as it once was, you know for us to find somewhere bigger to buy."

"What?"

"He's stopped looking at houses Rusty" Sharon stated clearly and feeling the need to be the translator in this conversation if they were ever going to have time to eat breakfast and get to work on time.

"Oh" Rusty replied, trying his hardest not to sound utterly thrilled by the news since he'd never wanted to move out of the condo in the first place, having no issues with Andy moving in with them but just not wanting to leave the only place he had ever really called home. "But why? I thought you wanted to move."

"Well I did initially when that was all that was really on the table" he said as he sent another glance in Sharon's direction. When he first brought up the subject it was clear that Sharon was in no rush to take that step with him, initially looking horrified by the mere suggestion until she slowly came around to it which obviously ruled out an immediate move into the condo, so buying a house was the only real pro-active option for them at the time but Sharon asking him to move into the condo had changed all of that. "Things have changed and I'm going to move in here with you two instead." Rusty couldn't help but frown at him despite his joy at not being forced to move considering that both his Mom and Andy had spent so much of their free time following the disaster at the house of horrors looking at alternatives that he had hardly seen them for days at a time. Seeing that Rusty was still a little confused by the abrupt change in plans he took a step towards him. "Look kid the way I see it is this, if the perfect house were to fall into our laps, somewhere so affordable and perfect that we'd be utter fools to let it slip through our fingers then we can take a look at it and have a think about buying it but right now, what's the rush? I'm already moving once this week, I'm in no hurry to do it again any time soon."

Rusty's smile beamed at Andy, overjoyed at getting the dream scenario, not having to move while his Mom got to be happy and live with the man she quite clearly adored more than anything. "Oh I see. You've got what you want by moving in with Mom so that's it, you don't need to buy a house anymore" he teased with a smile.

Andy nodded, Rusty being pretty much on the nose in his assessment while there was still a little mistake that needed correcting in his eyes. "Sort of but I like to think of it more along the lines of I'm getting what I want because I'm moving in with _both_ of you," he said and really meaning it, knowing that Sharon and Rusty came as a pair and being more than happy with that arrangement, "but yeah, basically that's it. Is that a problem for you?"

"No, no. Not at all" Rusty replied quickly before Andy had chance to change his mind again based on his reaction. "I told you in the beginning, I didn't want to move out of here anyway and I'm fully prepared to give up half of my closet to make sure that we stay here if that's what you want" he told him as they laughed, prepared to offer up a kidney he was that desperate to stay at the condo. "But what about the rest of your stuff? What are you going to do with all of your furniture and stuff?"

"Before or after it spends the night at Lieutenant Provenza's house to get my own back on him a little?" Sharon quickly cut in before Andy could reply.

"Well your Mom and I have discussed it and the plan is still to put it all into storage on Saturday" he explained.

"Okay" Rusty replied. He opened his mouth to seek further clarity but no sound came out as he just looked at Andy puzzled. There was no doubt in Rusty's mind and he and Andy were like chalk and cheese and he would never fully understand how his mind worked and vice versa in truth. But despite that he was still completely baffled as to why Andy would want to hold onto everything when they were no longer looking for a house to put it in. His mind soon went back to helping Lieutenant Provenza put all of his furniture into storage as a backup plan in case his relationship with Patrice didn't work out, wondering if Andy was doing the same thing and if Sharon knew about it. Under the circumstances he couldn't help but feel concerned that Andy might already be preparing for their relationship to come to a dramatic end before he'd even really moved in properly. "But why? If we're not going to move than what do you want to keep it for?"

Once again Sharon just smiled back at Andy without opening her mouth to say a word on the matter, taking a few steps back to lean up the bathroom door and allow him to talk to Rusty about it himself in relative privacy, always trying to encourage them to bond without either of them ever really noticing what she was doing. Andy shrugged at Rusty, that little vulnerable streak coming to the surface once again. "Well I was thinking that one day, and let me clear and say once again that there is absolutely no pressure from me at all, but if one day when you're ready to get a place on your own I was thinking that maybe you might like stuff like my dining table and my couch and stuff like plates and kitchen crap rather than wasting money buying it new" he offered.

Rusty looked at him stunned for a moment. "What?" he asked with just the cost of renting a storage unit until he was ready to move out on his own being a stunning act of generosity in his eyes, the type of which he was completely unaccustomed to before Andy came into his life as something other than Sharon's Lieutenant and friend.

"Look your Mom and me will have the money from the sale of my house so we're not tied up financially which means I don't need to sell it to cover the bills so I can either donate it all to Goodwill or hold onto it in case you want it one day" Andy explained, his bout of shyness as sudden as it was shocking to Rusty who had never really seen this side to him before, Andy always so confident and sure of himself in his opinion.

"Really?" Rusty asked, looking to his Mom for confirmation.

"Yes, really if you want it of course and only if I don't have too much of a hideous taste in furnishings" Andy joked before he took a step closer to Rusty and very aware of the fact that he needed him to know that there was no pressure from him to move out just because he had moved into the condo. Since the moment that Rusty had all but accosted him in the hallway outside of the Murder Room to ask if he was in the way of him and Sharon moving in together he had made it his mission in life to make Rusty feel as comfortable as possible with his presence in his life. Yes life would be simpler and a lot more freeing if Rusty didn't live with them but he had grown to love Rusty long before he started dating Sharon, seeing himself in the way he had been mistreated as a child. He genuinely saw Rusty as a second chance to be a good parent again whether Rusty saw him that way or not. In truth Rusty was old enough to stand on his own two feet without his Mom but with everything that had happened to him although he was older than his age in some ways he was also a lot younger in other ways and he did still need Sharon desperately. Andy understood that and he definitely wasn't going to come between them or ever suggest that Rusty needed to move out and he needed Rusty to know that. "But may I add one small thing regardless, you're going to need to stay here with us at least until you're thirty maybe even thirty five or your Mom just isn't going to cope" he said in anything but a joke and making Rusty laugh.

"I heard that" Sharon called, reminding them both that she was still in the room even if she wasn't taking an active part in their conversation.

"You hear everything" Andy shot back while subtly winking at Rusty.

"Oh. Okay. Well thanks Andy" Rusty replied before he paused, still seeking that final bit of clarity before he could finally completely relax. "So we're really not moving anymore?"

"No. Not for the foreseeable future at any rate" Andy shrugged. "I'm already moving once on Saturday. I'm in no rush to do it again any time soon especially when you're both so happy here."

"Great." Andy was quick to put his hand out for the young man to shake which he immediately did, taking what was on offer before Sharon encouraged them to hug again like she had done on Christmas Eve with the whole thing becoming very awkward very quickly back then and that was before she took a photo of them. "That's great and thank you I guess."

Sharon quickly moved towards them before they had chance to release the other's hand, standing between them to run her own hands around their shoulders. "Oh how I love my boys, even more so when they'll getting along so well." Sharon pulled them both towards her, whether they wanted a group hug or not was irrelevant at that point because she gave them very little choice in the matter. They both responded by putting an arm around Sharon too, Andy kissing her on the side of her head for good measure. "And by the way Rusty you're not moving out until you're at least fifty, if not even longer" she told him and eliciting laughter that suggested Rusty didn't entirely believe her.

"She's not kidding" Andy told him in case he hadn't realised it himself.

"I know" Rusty nodded as Sharon loosened her hold on her son so that he could pull back slightly while still maintaining contact with her newest 'roommate.' "How exactly did Emily and Ricky manage to escape your clutches before they reached the age of thirty five?" he asked and still wondering if there wasn't another Raydor sibling locked in her storage space who had been unable to get away.

"Fifty" Sharon replied instantly. "You're not leaving here until you're fifty."

Andy laughed, already foreseeing a vast quantity of sedatives and white wine were going to be needed to control Sharon when Rusty did eventually move out and (he assumed) in with Gus. "They basically chewed their feet off to free themselves from all the bear traps your Mom sets around the place when it looks like one of her babies is about to fly the coop and leave her" he told him with a wink and making Rusty laugh.

Without warning Sharon quickly pinched the back of Andy's knees a couple of times. "I'll chew your feet off in a moment" she told him.

"I think I arrested a guy for that once" Andy mused to the amusement of the two of them.

"So it's definitely this Saturday? The move?" Rusty asked.

"Yes. Why? Is that a problem?" Sharon queried with a slight frown.

"No, no not at all but Gus wanted to come and help so I'll call him and fingers crossed he can still get the day off work."

"Okay. Great" Sharon smiled, the final piece of the puzzle slotting into place and barring a natural disaster the matter would be done and dusted by the end of the weekend although it was going to take several weeks for sale to finally be completed, but there was no need to wait until then to move Andy in.

"Thanks kid."

"Okay well I'm going to _try_ and finally get us our breakfast ready this time as long as you don't need me to settle any other arguments? Perhaps officiate while you wrestle over who has which drawer in the bureau for example?" Rusty asked with a fake scowl as they both laughed at him.

"I think we're fine now kid."

"But Rusty seriously you don't need to go to so much trouble just for us" Sharon insisted. "A bowl of cereal will be more than okay, for all of us."

"No, it's fine. It'll be nice to all sit down together as a family especially since we have now officially expanded by one" Rusty smiled, once again trying to prove to them both just how okay he really was with Andy moving in.

"Okay. Thank you" Sharon told him, moving away from Andy to give Rusty a quick hug.

"No problem. Breakfast will be ready in fifteen" Rusty said, knowing himself that was highly optimistic since he couldn't rule out yet more interruptions from the occupants of that bedroom, quickly realising that both of them were in very good moods and that would only result in more teasing arguments that needed his input to settle. He nodded at them and walked out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed a little behind him.

With Rusty gone Andy quickly moved to put his arms around Sharon's waist from behind and began to assault her neck with his lips. "Thanks kid but I've already eaten this morning" he growled a little louder than he intended.

Before Sharon had chance to even really register what Andy had said or more specifically what that meant in the context of what they'd been doing in bed that morning before ever so reluctantly pulling away from each other, getting out of bed and jumping in the shower, Rusty burst through the door again, not really hearing what was said other than the word 'kid' so was under the assumption that Andy had been talking to him. "What? Did you say something?" Rusty asked as Andy's head snapped up and away from Sharon's neck.

Sharon wriggled from Andy's grasp as quickly as she could, giving him a playful slap around the back of his head while shooting him daggers before she whispered "You stop it." As Andy laughed at her she turned back towards the curious looking Rusty. "Okay. Thank you Rusty. We won't be much longer." Rusty nodded, looking at them more than a little confused as he walked away, once again pulling the door closed behind him. Alone again Andy slipped his arms back around Sharon's waist and picked up where he left off moments earlier. "I'm warning you now boy, if you don't start to behave yourself I'll never let you do that again" she warned him with a quick slap to his hand as it remained splayed across her stomach.

Andy laughed as his head snapped up, turning her head to face him. "Excuse me? Let me do it? I thought after last night I was signing a contract to make it a condition of me living here" he reminded her since a steady stream of orgasms had already been established as one of her demands before he was allowed to move in with her.

"Oh shut up!" she laughed as she turned in his arms and then kissed him. "Well then in that case I rescind my invitation for you to move in here. Best call your realtor and call the whole thing off" she told him as she slowly wrapped her arms around his waist, her hands slipping beneath his suspenders in the small of his back.

"Too late. You're definitely stuck with me now and until the end of time" he told her and then confirmed it with a kiss. "Especially since we've told the kid now" he added, their lips coming together again. "Even after I shuffle off this mortal coil I'll still be here, haunting the crap out of you." Sharon laughed and nodded, more than happy with that arrangement. "You're both stuck with me."

"To be perfectly honest my beautiful boy there's no one else I'd rather be stuck with."

"Not even Robert Redford?" he queried.

"Well that all depends on if he was wearing his uniform from _The Way We Wer_ e or not."

Andy laughed. "Oh I see. Do I have to start coming to bed in my uniform from now on?"

"Oh definitely" Sharon confirmed as her eyes sparkled at him. "Santa suit, uniform, I want it all and then some" she informed him before their lips came together once more.

Andy laughed and nodded. "I'll try my very best" he confirmed, once again crashing his lips against hers. "But what do I get in return? If I wear my Santa suit or my uniform or whatever else you request to give you your cheap, dirty little thrill before you run your hands all over me what will you be wearing?"

"I thought you liked me in as little as possible."

"Oh I do" he grinned. "Trust me I do. More than anything" he added before he kissed her again, it lingering a little longer this time as their lips danced together and ensuring that her lipstick would need to be attended to once again.

When they eventually broke apart Sharon shook her head and laughed at the lipstick smudged on Andy's lips, rubbing it off with her thumb as best she could before she grabbed his chin. "Stop ruining my lipstick" she all but ordered before she kissed him a final time. With her mind back on getting ready for work she moved to the vanity, bending over to look at herself in the mirror and inspected the damage done to her makeup. She didn't need to turn around or look at Andy's reflection in the mirror to know that he was staring at her backside with a huge grin on his face. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"You know very well what. Stop looking at my posterior" she told him.

"I'm not, I'm looking at your legs…and your ass" he told her, that shit eating grin plastered to his face once again as he laughed to himself. "Hey, I'm only human. If you bend over like that in front of me what else do you expect me to do other than stare?"

"To break the habit of a lifetime and at least try to behave yourself." She stood up straight to turn to face him, her hands on her hips. "We'll both be on our way to work in just under an hour, so shouldn't you be starting to pull down that profession shutter? You know like a process?"

"Nope. I can slam that baby down in less than a second" he told her as he closed the gap to her and ran his hands back around her waist again. "It's one of my many talents. I'm always ready to go at the drop of a hat" he added, waggling his eyebrows at her in case she had somehow managed to miss his double meaning.

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "Oddly enough I know you are boy. Now since you're always ready to go at the drop of a hat why don't you go out into the living room to annoy Rusty instead and let me finish getting ready?" She kissed his cheek and then returned to the vanity, bending over in front of it again rather than sitting down.

Andy sat down on the end of the bed, never taking his eyes off Sharon's legs and backside as she continued to bend over and look into the mirror. "I'd rather stay here. It has a much better view." Sharon laughed and shook her head at him as she sat down to sort out her lipstick once again. A comfortable silence fell on the room for a moment before Andy smiled and then frantically began to shout "RUSTY! RUSTY! RUSSSSTTTYYYY!" at the top of his lungs and causing Sharon to swivel on her chair to face him, looking equal parts shocked and concerned at his sudden outburst.

Rusty's speedy footsteps were immediately heard coming towards them before he burst through the door. "What?! What's wrong?! What happened?!" he cried, gulping in the air between words, out of breath from his burst of speed and a general sense of panic.

Andy smiled at him and titled his head to the side. "Thanks for making breakfast kid" he said as he tried not to laugh. Sharon on the other hand made no such attempt and crumbled over in laughter as Rusty looked at Andy with another glare, a mixture of utterly confused and incredibly pissed off about not only the interruption but at the heart attack he had been given by his 'Step-Father' who was not only incredibly annoying but also not in the slightest bit funny. Rusty didn't say anything as he left with a huff, closing the door behind him as Andy finally started to laugh.

"If you want him to put laxatives in your coffee you're going the right way about it" Sharon warned him, having no sympathy for him when Rusty did eventually get his revenge.

"What do you expect? I'm bored. We're up too early for work and you won't play with me" Andy said with a pout like a child.

Sharon laughed at him, resisting the temptation to join him and alleviate his boredom until their breakfast was ready regardless of how much she wanted to. "Funnily enough you're the one that woke me up earlier than you needed to" she reminded him.

"Yeah well I couldn't wait any longer" he told her with a wink. "And you let out one of those little sighs in your sleep that I simply can't resist."

"What little sighs?"

"The Andy Flynn Kryptonite type of sighs" he explained and making her laugh. "Along the lines of this." He sighed softly, making it sound more like a moan as he flopped back on the bed and gave her a seductive smile. "You do that as you roll over and drape yourself across me. How am I _not_ supposed to wake you up when you do something that?"

Sharon laughed. "Here's an idea, try" she told him as she tried her hardest not to succumb to his charms and therefore mess her hair and her lipstick up once again.

"I did. I failed."

Sharon laughed again. "I noticed." Happy with her appearance she got up from the vanity and moved to the closet to retrieve her jacket, pulling it from the hanger and dropping it to the bed next to Andy's, ready to slip on before they left for work. Instead of closing the closet again she stared at it, a frown on her face. It was definitely a problem and a bigger one than she was willing to admit out loud to Andy or Rusty. A drastic cull was required if that closet was ever going to accommodate the rest of Andy's wardrobe and even then it was going to be a struggle. She loved her shoes and her clothes and even the wedding hats that Andy made such fun of but she loved him more so he was always going to win. She closed the door and turned to face Andy who was still lying on the bed and watching her every move. "Andy I promise you I will clean out my closet at some point this weekend so we can make room for everything of yours."

Andy sat up a little more on his elbows and shrugged his shoulders. "There's no rush."

"Oh but I think there is" she insisted, seeing the confused look she got in return as a prompt to elaborate further. "Andy I've already had one man keep the majority of his clothes in a bag by the door to make a quick and clean getaway whenever the mood took him and I'm not so keen on doing it a second time thank you very much." She knew it wasn't going to happen again, well not that soon anyway but those scars from her past were always there, always visible and making her just as cautious and anxious as Andy could be with her. "The sooner I get you unpacked and settled in the better."

"Sharon" he said simply as he stood, quickly closing the gap to her before running his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. He kissed the top of her head a couple of times as he held her for a moment in silence, clinging to each other. A smile tugged at his lips as he saw the symmetry in the situation, the previous evening Sharon doing her best to ease his insecurities when he was feeling at his most vulnerable and now it was his chance to return the favour. "Like I've told you before, many times in fact, that guy was and still is a complete and utter asshole." She laughed before she looked up to kiss him gently on the lips. "And I'm not going anywhere, ever, regardless of whether I can put my clothes straight into the closet after everyone leaves on Saturday or if they have to live in a couple of bags for a few weeks until we find the time to do this properly, I'm not going anywhere."

She looked up at him to meet his eye. "I know" she nodded before she kissed him again. "I know that. But just to make certain, I'd rather put them in their proper home as soon as possible."

"Okay. Well that we can do" he told her as he pressed his lips to the side of her head a couple of times. "Even though I know you're more than likely to steal half my wardrobe for your little drawer over there anyway." Sharon laughed, unable to deny it especially since she already had a t-shirt of his in mind to steal and lounge around the condo in on lazy Sunday afternoons when Rusty was busy with Gus. "But seriously Sharon I do hope you know that after spending close to seven years of my life trying to get to this point in our relationship, to get to the stage where I actually get to share my life and live with the most beautiful and amazing woman in the world, I'm not about to walk out now, or ever, even if you do steal my clothes and my food and beat me to within an inch of my life in bed."

Sharon laughed before she looked up and cocked a suspicious eyebrow at him. "Seven years?" she asked. "Really?" she added, thinking that seven years ago he was more likely to throw a party with his partner in crime at her untimely death rather than trying to find a way to spend the rest of his life with her.

"Oh yeah" he replied and making her laugh again, knowing that he was exaggerating by a couple of years but while still appreciating his intent all the same. "The second I saw that beanbag hit that asshole straight between the eyes I was in…well maybe not love exactly but certainly in lust," he said as she laughed again, "and I began to formulate my evil plan."

"You had a plan way back then?"

"Sure I did," he lied, "why else would I pick up that beanbag and bring it back to the Murder Room with me? I mean once I was able to see properly again you understand. After all I was aroused to the point of blindness as soon as I saw you standing there, legs apart and holding that gun as casual as anything" he confessed, at the time thinking that not only had he really misjudged her as a police officer but the intense physical attraction he'd had towards her before he realised she worked in Internal Affairs and she started to investigate him that first time instantly returning with a vengeance even though it was going to take a few more years for him to actually like her as a friend as well. "Thank God I wasn't driving that day" he added as she continued to laugh. "But as soon as I could see again I began to put my evil seduction plan of Darth Raydor into action."

Sharon laughed again. "Was part of your evil seduction plan screaming at me on my first day as your Captain and blaming me for every problem in the LAPD?" she asked.

Andy nodded enthusiastically. "Oh absolutely" he confirmed as she laughed again. "It was then that I decided to take a leaf out of your book and adopt the whole 'Treat them mean, keep them keen' kind of attitude that you've used so effectively on me since the first moment you laid eyes on me all those years ago and decided you wanted me as your sex slave."

Sharon laughed again. "Excuse me? My sex slave?"

"Yes" he nodded with real authority. "Have you or have you not demanded that a steady stream of orgasms be written into the contract of me moving in here?" he asked as she laughed again. "Well?" he asked as he used one hand to cup his ear while the other continued to hold her to his chest. "Come on Raydor I'm listening. I'm all ears."

"I didn't say these orgasms wouldn't be reciprocated on a one for one basis" she said as they both laughed. She sighed as she looked into his eyes. "Oh Andy, I do love you so so much" she said as she stroked his cheek. "Thank you for filling my life with love and laughter" she said sincerely, never having laughed as much in her whole life as she had done in the fourteen months that they'd been together.

"And orgasms" he added with another wink. Once Sharon had stopped laughing at him he smiled at her. "I should be the one saying thank you. Thank you for letting me" he told her with a kiss to the lips, forever being reminded about what a fortunate position he found himself in. "See, sometimes having very long term plans works to your advantage."

"They most certainly do" she confirmed, giving his backside a quick squeeze. "But while we're still discussing the finer details of moving in together, I have a question for you."

"Yes I will definitely be bringing my Santa suit with me" he told her with a wink. "Have no fears about that."

Sharon laughed. "That's not what I meant although I'm very glad to hear it. A couple of weeks ago when I asked you to move in with me the moment you sold your house you mentioned something about knowing a cleaner who liked to scrub the floor in nothing but an apron and a smile" she said as her hand started to play with tie.

Andy laughed. "I knew you'd remember that you big pervert" he said with a huff like he was complaining as she laughed at him. "Seriously Raydor are you ever not thinking about sex?"

"In my defence have you seen you?" she asked with a laugh, it being the same line that he had used on her many times before. "Since you've bribed your way into mine and Rusty's home with the promise of doing all the cooking and the ironing and the cleaning and…other things, I was just wondering when you were going to do all of this cleaning since you'll be completely naked and I don't want my son to be unduly traumatised by some of the visuals as you use some elbow grease to clean the oven."

"Traumatised? Hey Raydor are you calling me fat again?"

Sharon laughed. "No" she said as her hands grabbed his backside again. "I'm not. I'm saying that no son wants to see his Mom's boyfriend in nothing but an apron and a smile as he cleans the apartment from top to bottom."

"Ah so like it's a jealousy thing? He won't be able to stop comparing Gus to this magnificent specimen currently in your arms and therefore ruining their whole relationship?"

Sharon laughed. "Something like that my beautiful boy. Something like that."

"Well I guess I'll have to do all of my cleaning when he's out of the house" he shrugged.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, if for no other reason than because you're not going to be able to keep your hands off me in my apron and Rusty _definitely_ won't want to see that up close and personal." Sharon again couldn't help but laugh despite the tantalising prospect. "In fact we'll probably need to hire a cleaner because I doubt I'll have time to pull my rubber gloves on before you're pawing me and throwing me down on the floor to do me."

"You have some confidence my boy."

"Oh I wonder why?"

Andy moved in to kiss her, the look in his eye letting her know that it was going to be anything but a chaste coming together of their lips so she stopped him quickly, putting her finger on his lips. "Nope. No. You will not ruin my lipstick again this morning. Or my hair." Andy laughed and nodded, slowly backing away from her with his arms in the air like he was under arrest. Sharon smiled at him and then returned to the vanity, sitting down and pulling her watch onto her wrist.

"Hey Rusty!" Andy bellowed again as he sat back down on the end of the bed, making Sharon jump with surprise as he laughed to himself and waited for Rusty to come back in, expecting another furious outburst from him after he'd dramatically burst through the door.

Sharon's shock soon subsided, quickly relaxing and laughing hysterically even though she knew she was about to be in trouble too for not being able to 'control' her boyfriend while Rusty was hard at work. "Do you want him to poison you?" she asked as Rusty's exasperated groan could be heard from the kitchen.

"You wouldn't stop him?"

"It depends on how annoying you'd been on that particular day."

Before Andy had chance to respond Rusty came bursting back into the room, swinging the door open with such force that it hit the wall with a bang and he immediately reminded Andy of watching Sharon on the monitors when she burst into the interview room to speak to Bo McLaren, the wall and the door taking the brunt of her anger that day. Rusty looked at him with pure irritation, made only worse by the smile on Andy's face and knowing full well that the more he allowed Andy to irritate him (and so easily at that) the more he was going to do it. After a few deep breaths Rusty finally spoke. "What?! What now?!" he screamed, not caring that people in the parking garage could probably hear him bellowing.

Andy shrugged very casually, trying his hardest not to laugh. "Nothing. It doesn't matter."

Rusty sighed dramatically as his eyes quickly fell on Sharon still seated at her vanity and almost chewing her bottom lip off to suppress her laughter, his pleading eyes only making her want to laugh even more. "Mom! A little help please! Can't you do something with him please?" he all but begged.

"No we're moving into work mode so she has to try keep her hands off me now" Andy said quickly with a wink towards the young man before Sharon had chance to open her mouth.

If that wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back, the utterly horrified look on Rusty's face would have done the job as she descended into giggles. The desperation that radiated from Rusty was comical and only made Andy tease him even more. "Mom! Seriously!" he cried again as he pointed towards her boyfriend, a reaction that couldn't have been more desperate had he come home and found Sharon serving Phillip Stroh a slice of coffee cake.

Despite her best efforts Sharon continued to laugh. "I'm trying my best Rusty but I never have been able to control him, not even in the slightest" she told him, her eyes fixed on Andy as he grinned back at her.

"Sending me to Sensitivity Training seemed to work pretty well" Andy pointed out.

"Did it? Did it really?" Sharon asked, her disbelief evident.

"Yes" Andy nodded. "Well I thought so anyway."

"Then why have I sent you to Sensitivity Training more than once? Answer me that."

"Because you're mean Raydor! Mean!" Andy cried.

Once again Sharon couldn't help but laugh, something she knew would only irritate Rusty further since it was only encouraging Andy to continue annoying him. "And here was I under the impression you could actually learn from your mistakes" she mused.

"I can. My towel is in the hamper and you haven't fallen over my shoes for days" he pointed out, making it sound like he had successfully given up a twenty year heroin addiction in less than half an hour rather than simply starting to clean up after himself following several narrowly avoided broken bones and a lot of nagging on Sharon's part.

Rusty rolled his eyes, not willing to waste another second of his life listening to his Mom and her utterly ridiculous boyfriend verbally sparing in that playful way with each other. "Look whatever" he sighed. "Can you just please control him for like five minutes. Get a taser and shoot him if you have to" Rusty instructed as he walked out the door, not closing it behind him on that occasion.

Andy waited a full five seconds after Rusty's departure before he shouted "Oh Rusty!" and descended into laughter once again.

"Do you want him to murder you?" Sharon asked, beginning to feel like they were touching upon justifiable homicide territory.

"What?!" Rusty shouted as he stood in the doorway, thinking that if he didn't actually step into the room he could escape a little quicker than the last time, perhaps sneak into the bathroom and ransack the medicine cabinet for some sort of laxative to put in his coffee.

Andy smiled sweetly at him, tilting his head to the side as he did it and making Sharon laugh at him again much to Rusty's further annoyance. "Thanks for cooking breakfast kid. I really appreciate it."

"Then let me do it! Stop calling me every five seconds!"

"But I miss your face" Andy told him as he stomped away again, this time shutting the door behind him and determined not to step foot back in that room again for the rest of the day even if Andy caught on fire.

"As I've already told you, if he poisons you don't come crying to me" Sharon told him as she turned back to face the mirror above her vanity again.

"It's my job to annoy him" Andy shrugged.

"Then I suggest you quickly find yourself some other form of employment or may I say entertainment before you accidentally fall off the balcony."

"He wouldn't do that."

"Wouldn't he?" Sharon questioned, casting a glance over her shoulder at him. Andy thought for a moment and laughed to himself again. Sharon shook her head, unable to resist smiling at him. "You're just like a child sometimes, do you know that?"

"Are we talking stamina wise here or…?"

Sharon laughed perhaps a little harder than she should have done. "You wish boy" she told him and getting an immediate upset gasp in return as Andy pretended to be as offended as possible. "You know I'm only kidding" she laughed as Andy got up with a huff and marched off towards the bathroom. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to lock myself in the bathroom for the next hour and have a good cry" Andy sighed and making himself sound like a teenage girl who had just been stood up by her prom date at the very last moment.

"Okay have fun" Sharon laughed as Andy winked at her and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. With her watch on she stood and moved to the full length mirror in the corner of the room again, checking herself one more time before she picked up her shoes and slid them on, steadying herself with a hand on the wall as she pulled them on her feet while her mind drifted elsewhere. She looked around the room, a frown quickly forming on her face as she easily got lost in in her thoughts, distracted enough to not hear the toilet flush, the faucet run or even Andy emerging from the bathroom again.

Andy waited by the bathroom door for a moment as he watched her just staring into space and realising that she had no idea she was no longer alone. "What's on your mind pretty lady?" he asked finally as he took a couple of steps closer to her.

"I'm feeling a little guilty."

"Guilty?" he asked, more than a little puzzled. "Have you invited someone else to move in with you too? Have I got in first?"

Sharon laughed, her face lighting up again in comparison to how she look just seconds earlier. "Well in a way I suppose" she shrugged, confusing him further. "Andy are you sure you don't want to bring any of your furniture here with you?" she asked. "It'll be just as easy to move stuff from here into your storage unit and bring yours here as it would be to move all of yours into storage on Saturday. What do you think?"

Andy shrugged, looking very nonplussed. "I think we're fine as we are."

They hadn't really discussed it in great detail but when they were still looking for a house they had decided to use pieces of furniture from both the condo and the house to fill a space bigger than either were used to in recent years. However when Sharon invited him to move into the condo as soon as his house sold and suddenly house hunting was no longer in the top one hundred of his list of priorities, Andy had stated in passing that he would move everything he owned into storage until they decided what to do with it (obviously now electing to keep hold of most of it for Rusty in case he needed it one day) without any serious discussion about Andy bringing anything more than his clothes and a few photos with him when he moved. Although she hadn't brought it up before that point it had never really sat well with her, wanting him to put his stamp on the place other than the contents of their closet and the location of the spoons (a deal that was reached on the evening when they discussed the move over dinner and she told him she did want to move in with him, Andy insisting that the spoons would be kept in the drawer he picked since he was convinced Sharon and Rusty moved them in the condo just to annoy and confuse him. Similarly Sharon had stated that as long as they lived together there would never be a television in the bedroom, feeling that they would spend their time watching movies rather than talking in bed which she utterly adored and was her favourite way to end her day).

"You really don't want to bring anything? Nothing at all?"

"Well I've got some photos of the kids obviously and that sort of thing but other than that foul ball I managed to grab at the Dodgers from under the nose of Provenza..."

"And those two extremely heartbroken children" she reminded him, not forgetting the moment she witnessed her boyfriend and his best friend, two Lieutenants from the LAPD fight over a foul ball live on TV as two small children jumped out of the way and watched on in horror. At first she thought she was seeing things but no, there was her boyfriend scrambling to get that ball while his friend essentially climbed all over his back to steal it. Within seconds her phone started to ring. The first to get through was Patrice who only listened to baseball on the TV usually to predict her husband's mood for the rest of the day and simple shouted 'Have you seen what those two morons have just done?' before she'd even said 'Hello.' No sooner had she hung up from Patrice than Ricky phoned, laughing hysterically and hardly able to get a coherent sentence out.

"Oh I'm sure they've probably forgotten all about it already unlike Provenza who is still pissed that I got to it first" he smiled smugly.

"Where are we going to keep it?" she asked, not really wanting a baseball on display in the living room (preferring a dozen stuffed pieces of roadkill if she was honest) but rather having that than making it look like Andy didn't live there at all.

Andy shrugged. "Where I always have, in a drawer until Provenza comes over and then it goes right next to the TV. But other than that, no, no, I don't want to bring anything other than clothes and essentials." Sharon sighed and pulled a face like she'd just eaten a bad clam. Andy laughed to himself as he closed the gap between them and ran his arms around his waist. "What? What's going on? Talk to me."

Sharon sighed again as she struggled for the words. "Not bringing any of your furniture here makes me…" she sighed again as her words trailed off, Andy waiting patiently for her to find what she wanted to say rather than interrupting. "I just feel like that's completely unfair of me and once again it's like it's my way or the highway in this relationship when we're supposed to be equal partners in it."

Andy laughed, thinking she sounded ridiculous. "But this isn't 'your way,' it's a decision I've made. And anyway this place has always looked ten times better than how my house has ever looked so..."

"But Andy that's not the point. It won't look like you live here. At all" she pointed out. "In all fairness it doesn't look like Rusty lives here either. This whole place is exactly how it looked before either of you came into my life except for the contents of the closets and a few photographs here and there."

"That's not entirely true."

"Oh yeah? Then name one thing that screams 'Andy Flynn lives here' in this apartment."

Andy shrugged as if the answer was really quite obvious. "The tiles on the bathroom floor" he said very matter-of-factly. Sharon rolled her eyes at him as he laughed at her. "I smash one with my head and replace it with one that's upside down" he reminded her not that he needed to as he laughed again. "You can even still see the blood on the grouting. If that doesn't scream that I live here than I don't know what does."

"Andy will you please be serious for just five minutes?"

Andy laughed and kissed her cheek. "Oh Sharon babe, really it's not that big of a deal."

"But to me it is" she told him, her tone of voice letting him know that she was being deadly serious with him. "I feel like I'm...I don't know, like I'm stealing your identity or something and forcing you to live how I want and where I want rather than how _we_ want, as a couple, as equal partners in this relationship."

"Okay first of all sweetheart you're not forcing me into anything. At all…sexual harassment seminars at work aside obviously" he said quickly with her very serious face suddenly falling apart as she couldn't avoid chuckling at him. "I'm the one that has done nothing but push for this move for some time now and I'm the one who is no longer really that bothered about looking at houses anymore because all I want to do is live with you and the kid." He shrugged. "I don't care where. You both want to stay here? That's fine, we can stay here" he said as he shrugged again. "It really is no big deal as long as I get to live with you both."

Sharon smiled as her hand cupped his face, her thumb stroking his freshly shaven cheek. "You don't have to keep including Rusty when you say that to me you know. I appreciate the thought but you really don't have to" she told him, thinking he was only telling her what she wanted to hear when he included Rusty rather than really meaning it.

"Oh but I do" he replied immediately with great sincerity. "You're a package deal, the two of you. I've known that all along and I want both of you because you're _both_ my family now," he said as he brought her hands to his lips and kissed them both, "whether the kid likes it or not."

Sharon laughed as she continued to cup his face with both hands and sighed with utter contentment. "Andy sometimes I swear you're so perfect for me it's like I built you in a factory" she said with a small chuckle before she kissed him. There was no doubt that they were complete opposites in every way imaginable and no one ever thought it would work between them except those closest to them who could see how they felt about each other but it was their differences and the way that they challenged each other that made them perfect together.

Andy laughed. "Well if you ever try again with an Andy Flynn Model 2.0 can you try and make a model that doesn't suffer so much with pain in the knees and constant backache please?" he joked as she laughed. "Sharon seriously you've not pushed me into anything and you're not stealing my identity either or whatever else crazy ass thing that'll pop into your head next when you can't sleep." He pushed his lips tenderly to hers, careful not to ruin her lipstick again. "This place has been my home long before you asked me to move in and I like that everywhere I look it reminds me of you. After my surgery and I was finally allowed on my own for more than five minutes at a time, being here, it was like you were with me even when you weren't. At the end of the day I just want you and the kid and to live with you both. Nothing else really matters to me." As the silence descended she nodded in response but still didn't look entirely convinced. "Okay let me ask this if it'll make you feel any better, what would you like me to bring with me?"

"How about that chair in your bedroom?" Sharon replied immediately and giving a clear indication it was what she had been thinking about from the very beginning when she brought it up.

"The armchair?"

"Yes."

Andy frowned at her. "But you hate that chair."

"No I don't" Sharon lied and suddenly sounding very defensive.

"Yes you do."

"I don't."

"Yes you do too, you've told me" Andy laughed.

"I find that very hard to believe. What did I say to give you the impression that I hated it?" she asked, knowing that she probably hadn't successfully hidden her loathing of it but was sure she'd never openly told him how much she disliked it.

"It was something along the lines of 'Oh my gosh Andy I really hate that revolting chair. It smells like someone died in it'" he said as he did his best impression of her that he could muster. "Something along those lines."

"I never said anything of the kind!" Sharon protested as she gave his knee a quick pinch in retaliation, then suddenly she frowned as the memories slowly came flooding back to her. "Oh wait now I remember" she said as he laughed. "Well you've clearly misunderstood what I was trying to say to you about it" she claimed as he continued to laugh at her. "Don't laugh at me, this is just another one of your famous 'misunderstandings.'"

"I don't think so babe" he laughed. "What's going on here really?" he asked after a moment, pausing to allow her to answer but no response was forthcoming. "You'd really rather have that ratty old chair in our bedroom than this one?" he queried as he pointed to the armchair that sat next to the bureau. "The ratty old chair that you were once extremely pissed at me about because I put one of your Armani jackets on it rather than that one right there?" he asked, pointing at it again.

"I wasn't mad because you'd put my jacket on that chair at all" she lied with a sigh and getting a disbelieving smirk from him in return. "If you must know I was mad because it was creased after being balled up and thrown across the room without any thought whatsoever by a man who was far more focused at the time on getting me into bed rather than hanging it up properly." Andy frowned at her, not believing a word. "Oh okay I confess," she said as she pushed her forehead against his chest to hide her face, "I was and I do hate it because it's old and it smells horrendous and I'm not entirely sure that there aren't a family of mice living in it," she added as she pulled away to look him in the eye again, "but it clearly means a lot to you and I don't want it forgotten in a storage space somewhere when you love it and you could so easily have it here instead."

"It doesn't mean..."

"Let's not go down this road please boy. Now I know for a fact it has no attachment because of a woman because you're that sensitive about the subject of other women in your rather colourful past that you would have set fire to it the moment I first stayed the night and saw it so it has to have something to do with Dan and Nicole" she reasoned.

"Shar..."

"I'm not asking you to tell me unless you want to tell me but Andy it clearly has sentimental meaning for you so if you want to bring it here then please do it." Andy's past was delicate for a number of reasons. His childhood was horrendous in comparison to hers but as an adult he had suffered too, most of it his own fault. As sensitive as he was about some of his past behaviour with members of the opposite sex Sharon also opted to tread carefully when it came to his children. It absolutely killed him that he didn't have anything approaching a good relationship with Daniel and it broke her heart to see him suffer, as such she didn't push him to talk about things that were potentially upsetting and if he kept that chair because of his children she wanted to make sure he still had it while not forcing him to talk about it.

Andy smiled at her, looking a lot more cheerful than she expected given the topic up for discussion. "Sharon I appreciate the thought, really I do but honestly it's fine. It's fine" he insisted before he dropped a kiss to her lips. "Yes I am going to keep that smelly old chair until the day I die probably but I don't need it here with me anymore. For a long time it held memories of a time that I desperately tried to cling on to because I had nothing else in my life. But my life is different now. I have a relationship with Nicole that I never dared dream of ten years ago and I also have you now" he said, kissing her again. "I don't need that chair here to remind me of things I no longer have and I miss because I have them now."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"Okay."

Andy laughed as he could easily sense her relief. "You're relieved aren't you?"

"Oh you have no idea how relieved I am!" she admitted before they both laughed and began to hug each other tightly. "I would gladly have welcomed it into our home with open arms if that's what you wanted but it is utterly revolting and it does smell."

Andy laughed, that fact indisputable. "Yeah, Nicole used to wait for me to sit in it with her before she proceeded to throw up everywhere. I think Sandra got her to do it on purpose because she hated it too" he said and making Sharon laugh. It was old and it smelled but it was the chair he had sat up nights with Nicole and Daniel in, it was the chair he would sleep in when he got home late from work and didn't want to wake up Sandra, the chair that he was forced to sleep in more often as their marriage fell apart and the only thing he wanted from the house when they divorced (mainly so that Sandra didn't set fire to it). "But it's that old I could never give it a really good clean for fear it would just fall apart." He dropped his lips to hers again. "I appreciate the thought though" he said, kissing her again. "And for letting me smudge your lipstick again" he grinned, making her laugh and kissing her again. "Thank you."

"Are you one hundred percent sure you don't want to bring it here?" she asked for a final time, more than prepared to put up with it for the sake of the man she loved even though she loathed the sight (and smell) of it.

"Yes" he replied with another kiss. "I am" he confirmed, kissing her again. "And at any rate this chair is much more comfortable to fool around on" he growled with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Sharon laughed and playfully slapped his chest. "I should have known. It always has to come back to sex with you doesn't it?" she joked.

"Hey you're the one that's demanded an unlimited supply of screaming orgasms written into the contract before I'm even allowed to move in here with you."

She laughed again. "Wow! Screaming orgasms now? Well that'll certainly please Rusty when he's trying to go to sleep. I think I'm going to adjust my opinion slightly."

"What opinion?"

"About how often you actually think about sex" she replied, having teased him about it on a couple of occasions when he was clearly in the mood but she was distracted at the time and doing something as innocuous as paying her bills but he reacted like it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. "It's more like every two seconds and then that's only if I'm not in the room."

"But to quote a very beautiful lady from earlier this morning, 'have you seen you?'"

Sharon laughed. "Oh shut up" she said before she kissed him. "Now this is your last chance. Are you sure there's nothing here you want to swop with something from your house?"

"Nope."

"Really? You're sure?" she asked again. "Because they'll be no loud complaints in front of Lieutenant Provenza about it afterwards for weeks on end. No making out that you're whipped and I wouldn't let you bring anything."

"Oh that's not a problem because he already thinks I'm whipped" he shrugged. "And anyway I don't really care what he thinks because he's just as whipped as I am, more so these days" he stated and making her laugh. "Nope, I don't want to bring anything to our home except my clothes, the essentials and some photos of Dan and Nicole." He gently and carefully pressed his lips to hers again, letting it linger in a languid kiss as Sharon's hands ran up his chest and tightly gripped his suspenders, ensuring he wasn't going anywhere in a hurry. "I only need you and the kid to make this place my home."

"Okay. But I want it on paper that I asked you."

"You want everything on paper. Not that it's such a bad idea."

"Oh yeah. What did you have in mind?"

"What's the name of that Streisand movie you like?" he asked.

"Like?" Sharon scoffed. "I don't like Barbra Streisand movies Andy, I _love_ them."

"Of course. I'd forgotten. Well what's the name of that Streisand movie you love?"

"You're going to have to narrow it down slightly boy. You're not exactly giving me a lot to go on here" she told him with it being the same as if she asked him the name of that Cary Grant movie he loved when in fact he loved them all (with the exception of possibly _Sylvia Scarlett_ but only because he could never understand why anyone in the world would be that excited by lace…well by any lace that wasn't wrapped around his girlfriend's body that he then got the pleasure of removing himself).

"The one with Jeff Bridges in it."

"Ah! _The Mirror Has Two Faces_ " she told him.

"Right okay well I'm going to be like Jeff Bridges in that movie from now on."

Sharon looked at him puzzled, not seeing the connection unless Andy was suddenly going to become obsessed with prime numbers and the laws of probability. "Are you going to grow your hair because seriously I've never seen locks like those in my life? I just want to run my hands through them" she said as she slowly ran her hands through his hair, loving how thick it was even if it wasn't anywhere near as thick and long as the man in question.

"Okay. I see. It's like that is it?"

"Oh yeah" she nodded, her nails scraping against his scalp to the extent that he struggled to keep his eyes open and stop himself from growling.

"Okay but that's not what I meant. After they got married they had like a formal agreement between them right? I want that kind of agreement."

"What agreement?"

"If you want any sort of sex I'm going to need at least twenty four hours' notice before you expect me to put out" he stated, trying to sound as serious as possible. Sharon instantly burst out laughing, snorting loudly before she kissed him firmly on the lips and moved to the closet to retrieve her purse. "What are you laughing about? I'm being serious here" Andy insisted as she walked away from him.

"Of course you are boy" Sharon laughed. "And how and when do I go about submitting my paperwork exactly?"

"Paperwork?"

"If you need a full twenty four hours' notice before I can lay a hand on you then surely there must be some paperwork to fill out and file first right? Otherwise how will I have proof that I've made my request?"

Andy laughed. "I should have known you'd be turned on by the idea of having to do paperwork."

"This is your requirement, I'm just following the rules as best I can" she stated with a smile. "Who do I have to give my paperwork to?"

"Oh I would love to say Chief Taylor just to see his face" he replied and making them both descend into laughter at just the thought of it, Taylor already uncomfortable enough having to be told that they were dating without going into any more detail or Andy's 'sex requests.' "Well to make it all official and legally binding it needs to be submitted to me in triplicate, written in black ink, making sure all of your writing stays within the little boxes so..."

Sharon laughed, another snort coming out despite her best efforts to suppress it given how much Andy liked to tease her over it. "Oh you're going to print me out a form to fill in from now on are you?" she asked as she continued to laugh loudly.

"Yes I am" he confirmed as he folded his arms in front of his chest defiantly, trying his hardest to channel Chief Pope when he battled in vain to make Chief Johnson take his 'absolutely no overtime' orders seriously.

"A form to request that you have sex with me?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I see" she nodded. "So if I fill it all in correctly and in a timely manner then what happens?"

"Well I'll need the day to check it over of course, do a background check on you at work, possibly contact the FBI to make sure that you're the sort of person I want to be getting up to that sort of thing with and if that comes back all clear and I've had time to mentally prepare myself for the challenge ahead I will, albeit rather reluctantly have sex with you" he said as seriously as he could despite the onslaught of laughter than was coming his way in response. "This is no laughing matter Raydor. This is very very serious."

"Oh I know it is" she confirmed before she slowly sauntered towards him, swaying her hips from side to side and immediately taking his tie into her hand, slowly running it through her fingers. "And what if instead of filling out your paperwork in triplicate I was to do this?" She smiled at him as she slowly closed her eyes, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth as she let out a long, soft moan that shot right through him and went straight to his groin.

Andy's shoulders immediately slumped, already defeated despite the whole thing being just a joke anyway. "That's cheating."

"No it's not. It's using all of the tools at my disposal to my advantage." She smiled at him very pleased with herself as she tugged on his tie and he simply frowned back. "Well? What will you do then?"

"Oh to hell with paperwork" he cried before quickly sweeping her up in his arms and giving her no time to protest, bending her backwards and kissing her forcefully on the lips like they were characters in a black and white classic from the 1940s.

A squeal of surprise once again rattled around her throat but it was soon replaced by a low hum against his lips as his left hand went into her hair and thus ensuring that not only would she be touching up her lipstick again shortly but taming her hair again too. When they broke apart more than a little breathlessly and Sharon was standing more securely on her feet again, she smiled at him and patted his shoulders with an air of finality about it if they were ever going to get out of that room and go to work. "Okay that's enough now. We're running out of time and I have to fix my hair and my lipstick yet again" she said with a little glare although she wasn't really complaining, it had been the most perfect and relaxing morning, briefly lifting the clouds given what awaited them when they arrived at work with Nazis looming ominously on the horizon.

"Well whose fault is that?" he asked as he moved in to kiss her again but only to be stopped with a hand on his chest.

"Yours. Now stop distracting me and delaying me and get out of here please" she said as she pointed towards the bedroom door.

"You're throwing me out?"

"Out of our bedroom yes" she said, pausing as a smile erupted on her face, a smile that matched Andy's at the words 'our bedroom.' "Yes I am."

"Our bedroom. I really like the sound of that."

"Me too but I need to finish getting ready for work and you are nothing but a hindrance Andy Flynn" she told him.

Not ready for their very lazy and highly enjoyable morning to end just yet Andy wrapped his arms back around her waist. "You like that I'm a hindrance" he grinned before he kissed her.

"Oh I do" she confirmed and then kissed him back. "I really really do" she added before their lips met in what she fully intended to be the last time that morning, moaning a little into his mouth as they pulled apart. "But not on a morning when Rusty is cooking us both breakfast. Now get out of here Lieutenant and text Julio to see if Mark is awake and if he has anything else to say about his Mom or his mysterious Uncle Henry or in a dream world Dwight Darnell and the Z Brotherhood."

"Anything else to say?" Andy laughed since Mark had hardly been what you'd call vocal.

"Or anything at all."

"I think it's more likely that he's called immigration on Julio again" Andy said as he retrieved his cell phone from his nightstand, unplugging it and quickly putting the charger in the drawer beneath it.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "You're right but we can live in hope. Now scoot and stop tormenting Rusty" she told him but knowing that making that sort of request was like asking Buzz to stop referring to his Reserve Officer training every chance he got.

Andy smiled, it screaming nothing but mischief. "Yes ma'am." He winked at her and walked out of the bedroom door on his way to the kitchen. Finally left alone Sharon sat back down at her vanity to once again tame her hair and check the condition her lipstick was in but before she'd even had chance to look at herself properly in the mirror Andy was back in the room and pushing his lips to hers in a searing kiss, almost stealing her breath. When he pulled away she looked at him completely stunned as he winked. "Since you're already having to do your lipstick again anyway" he shrugged.

Sharon laughed. "Will you please get out of here!"

"Yes ma'am" he replied before kissing her on her forehead, grabbing his suit coat from the bed and finally leaving the room for good. Sharon laughed to herself, unable to stop smiling not least because of how much her life had changed for so much the better in such a short period of time. How could a man who had driven her so utterly insane for so long and who fought with her like cat and dog now be the one person she loved more than any other in the world? Without even realising what was happening to her and despite her resistance in the beginning and continued foot dragging Andy had somehow managed to carve a home in her heart and taken up permanent residence there to the extent that she didn't think she could live without him anymore.

In the kitchen Rusty looked up from his breakfast preparations as he heard footsteps coming towards him. "Breakfast is almost ready Lieutenant" he told Andy as his focus quickly returned back to the task at hand.

"Thanks kid."

"Is Mom coming?"

"She'll be out in a minute." Andy paused as he draped his jacket on one of the stools in front of the kitchen counter as he leant up against it and watched Rusty hard at work. "Are you sure you're still okay with all this? Me moving in here with you both?" he asked, not really expecting a different answer without Sharon there and indeed he had no idea what he would do if Rusty had in fact changed his mind but felt the need to ask again anyway.

"I thought you already had, like months ago in fact" Rusty stated, with it feeling to him like Andy had moved in long before they'd even discussed it once he stayed over that often. "Yes Lieutenant" he smiled. "You make my Mom very very happy so I'm very glad to have you here. We both are." Andy smiled and nodded back, that the final confirmation that he needed before he could truly relax about it all. "Take a seat. I've already poured you some coffee."

"Do I have any sort of assigned seating now that I'm a permanent resident around here?"

"Wherever you like as long as it's not in Mom's seat" he said as he pointed to the head of the table, that seat well established as Sharon's as the head of the household. Andy laughed and nodded. "No one sits in Mom's chair and lives to tell the tale."

"That's not entirely true" Andy said as he put his jacket on the back of the chair to the left of Sharon's seat. "She's let me sit in it before" he told him and making it sound like he had previously been afforded an audience with the Queen.

"How did you manage that?"

"I got thrown from a moving car" Andy shrugged.

Rusty laughed. "Well I don't suggest you do that again."

"I wasn't intending to" Andy confirmed as he sat down, taking his phone out of his jacket pocket behind him before he started to type out a message to Julio as his Captain had requested a few minutes earlier.

"Mom! Breakfast is nearly ready" Rusty shouted as he had everything prepared.

"I'm just coming" Sharon called back from her bedroom.

"A phrase that used to strike fear into the heart of me every time I heard your Mom say it" Andy joked quietly and making Rusty laugh. As Sharon's footsteps could be heard leaving their bedroom Andy's phone vibrated and lit up with a reply from Julio. He opened it up and began to read it aloud so that Sharon could hear him. "Okay. Sanchez says that Mark is up," he called as his right hand began to tap on the table, "but he won't talk about his Uncle, and we can't find Henry Colson's residence in LA."


	35. Chapter 35

_As usual I want to start by thanking all those that read the last chapter and roslinadama-sinequanon, Lei09998, xbleeple, maidenpride, welshcwtch, GayleLynn, jujuone23, seaford71, Cris, MKSC, MaxiP99, Secret writer65 and the guest for leaving reviews. I very much appreciate all of your extraordinarily kind words and also all those that got in touch via Twitter. If you want to find me on Twitter I'm DHPLover._

 _Since we're heading into the darker episodes of season five and so many people keep asking when the axe is going to fall let me confirm that_ _ **Chapter 37**_ _is the first chapter that will deal with Taylor's death and the court room shooting,_ _ **Chapter 39**_ _is the first one of many to deal with Andy's heart attack and_ _ **Chapter 48**_ _is about Heart Failure 5x14._

 _This chapter takes place during the afternoon following the last chapter at the end of_ _ **Dead Zone 5x10**_ _and is fairly self-explanatory. The section about the dog comes direct from a photo that Duppy Demetrius posted on Twitter a couple of years ago and I've kept in mind ever since. As is the case with most chapters from season five and season six about 80% of the dialogue was written in the immediate aftermath to the episode airing. Anything that makes you think of Laura Roslin is entirely intentional. It started off small but as usual it got a little out of hand. I really need an editor to cut this down to make it a more readable size and with far fewer typos._

 _ **Note:**_ _Although Andy never mentioned toothache in the lead up to his heart attack I have included it because it's important to me. Ten years ago my Mom had a pain in her jaw while we were on holiday, it was the only symptom she had. At the time she joked and wondered if it was a bit like Frasier when Niles had "referred pain" prior to needing a heart bypass. She went to see her Doctor just to put her mind at rest when we returned back to England, she was admitted to hospital that day and had stents fitted in her heart the next morning. In essence Frasier saved my Mom's life. I'd never heard of referred pain in connection to heart problems before then so it just seems like a good idea to include it now._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty Five**

Dr Joe and Sharon slowly walked side by side towards her office, neither in a particular rush given what awaited them once they reached their respective destinations. "I'm familiar with the destruction Dwight Darnell leaves behind him" Joe told her with the experience ringing out loud and clear in his voice, speaking to people like Dwight without a shadow of a doubt the part of his job that he liked the least. "I ruled out his insanity defence, and I assessed his competency to stand trial and to defend himself in court" he informed her as they came to a stop outside of her office door where Rusty was seated inside and patiently waited to speak to his Mother. With their attentions currently drawn to another young man who had come to their attention from DCFS, they watched Mark in the Conference Room, his back to them as he drew a picture and coloured with Julio.

"Mmm-hmm" Sharon hummed in response.

Rusty quickly waved at Joe from his seat in Sharon's office, getting a quick wave in return before his attention turned back to work and the two other young men that had brought him there that day. "He's called me as a witness, if you can believe it" Joe said of Dwight, still in a state of shock about it all.

"When it comes to Dwight, I've lost my capacity for surprise, Doctor." Sharon looked toward Mark as he continued to draw quite happily in the Conference Room with no idea that his whole world was about to come crashing down around him, Joe quickly following her eye line to focus on him too. "With this boy, his Mother was pretty much the only constant in his life, and he loves her enormously" Sharon told him, her heart aching for the young man.

"But if he's to trust Julio in the long term, the grieving process needs to begin now. I'll be as gentle as possible" Joe assured her.

"Thank you" Sharon replied as she patted him on the arm. Joe nodded and turned to head into the Conference Room as Julio looked up and saw Sharon watching as Joe approached. Sharon waited for Joe to enter the Conference Room before she turned her attention back to Rusty as he took to his feet.

Rusty turned to look at Mark in the Conference Room as Sharon moved to stand next to him, both of them with their eyes fixed on the boy. Rusty sighed. "He's about to get what could end up being the worst news of his life. And he's only eight" he said, at the time thinking it was painful enough that his Mother had abandoned him twice in a couple of years but couldn't comprehend how devastated Mark was going to feel when he was told the news of his Mom's death.

Sharon turned towards her son. "We won't let him be swallowed up by it" she assured him.

"He's going to need a lot of professional help."

They watched as Joe sat down next to Julio to face Mark. "And love. He's going to need a lot of love." Sharon and Rusty smiled at each other, the unconditional love that he received from her despite all of the resistance he heaved her way when she first took him into her home being what finally gave him a sense of stability for the first time in his short life.

Sharon turned back to the group on the other side of the glass, receiving a small nod from Julio before she nodded back and pulled the blinds closed, giving them as much privacy as she could. She knew it was going to take some time to break the news to Mark as gently as possible and as much as she wanted to be there to speak to Julio when they were done to check on them both and offer any assistance she could while at the same time wanting to finish her paperwork quickly so that she could go home with Andy sooner rather than later and relax with her arms wrapped tightly around him given what horrors could so easily have happened to him that day with the levels of violence they encountered, she also felt the need to hide in the relative safety of the Break Room for half an hour. The truth was she currently felt more than a little fragile for a variety of reasons, not least because the love of her life could so easily have been killed in an instant earlier and also because that glass that separated her office and the Conference Room was hardly soundproof, firmly of the opinion that she would be completely unable to focus on her mountain of paperwork while listening to the boy cry in the next room about the sudden loss of his Mother not matter how gentle Dr Joe was when he broke the news and as such she was fully prepared to wait elsewhere until Julio and Dr Joe were done before she continued with the task at hand.

Rusty turned and looked around the sparsely populated Murder Room specifically to look for his 'Step-Father.' The only people to return from the scene of the explosion so far aside from Chief Taylor were Sharon and Julio and therefore Rusty was yet to lay eyes on the man he was now living with since they had rolled out earlier. In truth when Sharon had told him about what had happened (accepting that there was little chance they could keep it from him even if her division didn't smell they'd spent several hours inside a burning building), that not only had the division been fired upon repeatedly yet again, but they could also have been completely obliterated in a ball of fire he was utterly shocked and horrified to say the least. It was something that he hoped he would never get used to, so many of the people he cared about the most being that close to death on a regular basis.

"Where's Andy?" he asked after a moment.

As alarmed as he was by what had happened to the division as a whole that afternoon his immediate concern was all about Sharon. It was hard for him to forget how upset she had been just over two weeks earlier when Andy had been repeatedly fired upon in very similar circumstances at the hotel. It was a shock to see a woman who had always presented such a calm and controlled exterior, a woman with such strong walls built around herself and who was fazed by so little in life (or so it seemed), completely fall apart in such a way, not that he could blame her at all, he was upset about it himself when he had finally learned what had happened, even hugging Andy a little awkwardly as a result. On the surface of it all Sharon looked fine this time but then she also looked fine when he had dropped by PAB with Gus to talk about the partials a few weeks earlier so that wasn't exactly an accurate barometer in determining how she felt. Rusty's overriding fear was that she was holding it all in once again until it could suddenly and expectantly erupt out of her later. However little did he know that it wasn't the first time while he had been a part of Sharon's life that something that happened at work had driven her to tears but she had become adept at keeping it in and buried inside of herself until she climbed into bed when Rusty (or in the past Emily and Ricky) wouldn't see or hear her fall apart (the case in point being when she discovered the full extent of the letters he had been receiving from Wade Weller and then keeping them from her, holding it in while at work and then even managing to suppress it when Andy had come over with something to eat until she finally went to bed and her tears fell freely, sobbing herself to sleep). Under the circumstances her reaction to the hotel was perfectly justified but he was always going to worry about her from that point on, wanting to take care of her like she had taken care of him over the years.

"He's still at the scene with everyone else" Sharon replied with little emotion in her voice as she looked at her watch, turning it around on her wrist to see the face. "He should be back soon" she noted, expecting them all imminently since Chief Taylor had already returned and there was little else for them to do until SID reported back to them, the weapons nowhere to be found and zero clues as to their whereabouts.

Rusty nodded. "Is he okay?" he asked a little carefully, wanting to check on Sharon's well-being without her noticing what he was doing if that was possible, although he knew better than most that pulling the wool over Sharon's eyes was not an easy task, getting Provenza to admit he was wrong was easier in fact.

"Sure. He's fine" Sharon replied brightly with a smile, squeezing his hand reassuringly for a moment and under the assumption that Rusty was asking purely out of concern for Andy's well-being rather than being more than a little worried about the pair of them but for vastly different reasons. "He's a little smoke damaged here and there maybe just like the rest of them but otherwise he's fine" she added with a little chuckle. She smiled at him again, a smile that despite her best efforts wasn't entirely convincing, never quite making it to her eyes but it was still a hell of a lot better than how she looked at Andy and Patrice two weeks earlier when she lied and assured them she was fine.

"Okay" he nodded once again, never letting go of her hand as he looked at her with concern and simply unable to hold it in any longer. "Are you okay?"

"Rusty" she replied simply as she continued to smile at him, more of a warmth appearing in her eyes this time. She knew why he was asking her in light of what had happened and how she had reacted to something similar during the same month but the last thing she wanted him to do was worry about her. "Yes. I'm fine" she assured him.

The truth was that while she was utterly terrified, feeling like her heart had actually stopped as she sat in the relative safety of the command unit and watched the monitors as Andy and the rest of her division had been shot at before seemingly being engulfed in flames, she had so far felt a hell of a lot better about it than she had at the hotel. If she was being honest with herself she wasn't entirely sure why she felt that way because if anything what had happened had been actually been worse than the last time. Perhaps it was watching it all play out on the monitors in front of her rather than just simply listening to it, having some sense of what was really happening even though for a couple of seconds it seemed like the love of her life had been obliterated in a ball of fire. She had waited just as long to discover if he was okay, indeed that they were all okay but she just felt different this time. Perhaps that prior incident had made her a little tougher in very similar circumstances which made it easier to handle. Whatever the reason it didn't really matter because she certainly felt an awful lot better, an ache very much present in the pit of her stomach to match the lump in her throat but she didn't feel like it was going to consume her this time.

"Okay" Rusty replied as if he was taking her at her word before asking "Are you sure?"

Sharon ran her arms around her son and brought him to her in a hug, squeezing him tightly as her chin rested on his shoulder and he responded in kind. "I am positive. Rusty please don't worry about me. I'm fine, I promise" she told him once again.

"Okay" Rusty again replied as they pulled apart but while he still looked at her with a little concern, not as good at hiding it like Sharon was. He looked at her in silence for a moment before he felt compelled to bring it up once again. "It's just...he could have been shot or blown up this afternoon and the last time that you know something like this happened you were a little..."

Sharon smiled warmly at him as she cut him off. "I know but Rusty I swear I am fine." She squeezed his hand again. "Yes I'm more than a little relieved that he's okay, that _everyone_ is okay for that matter and I won't lie that watching those screens and waiting for the smoke to clear and to see them all again and in one piece was one of the longest ten seconds of my entire life but you don't need to worry about me Rusty. I am fine this time." She squeezed his hand again as she continued to smile at him as brightly as she could. "I promise you. I am fine."

Rusty nodded, accepting her answer for the time being. "Good. Are you guys coming home tonight?" he asked as he changed the subject, simply wondering if he would be eating with them that evening or preparing something just for himself if they were stuck at work.

"I hope so and I hope it's soon too but as you can see this case is far from over. In fact I'm afraid that it's only just beginning." She sighed, quickly realising that she was going to have to attend DDA Rosen's trial with Chief Taylor the following week since she had already taken an active role in investigating people from the Z Brotherhood even though she really didn't want to. The few minutes that she'd spent in the company of Dwight Darnell earlier that day were already more than enough for one lifetime, feeling a horrified chill run down her spine as he was led away. "I'll call you if I think we're going to be home after you've gone to bed."

"Okay that's not a problem but I guess if you're so busy that means no moving Andy in any time soon right?" he asked, thinking that he might have Saturday to himself after all if they were simply too busy to leave the office through the weekend.

"Not necessarily" Sharon confirmed. She smiled and knew that Rusty was only interested in the timing of the move primarily because Gus wanted to help Andy rather than because he wanted a delay or anything. "He actually has most of his stuff already packed up and ready to go. Now it's just a matter of moving it into storage and moving him in. So all being well we are _still_ going to stay over there on Friday night to finish up and we _will_ move him in on Saturday?" she stated emphatically, not allowing anything to derail the timetable she and Andy had set out unless a disaster happened. "If that's still okay with you?"

Rusty smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine with me. It was just with work the way it is and everything that it may not happen on schedule and I wanted to let Gus know one way or another because he wanted to help." Sharon nodded back, letting him know that she fully understood and wasn't reading anything too negative into it. "Cool, so I'll tell him it's definitely Saturday then."

"Can he get the time off work?" she asked, referring to Gus and a little surprised that he would be able to get a Saturday away from the restaurant let alone that he really wanted to help Andy move considering that no one really liked helping people move.

"He's already booked the day off" Rusty replied, Gus that insistent that he was going to help and knowing that his boss Aiden liked and encouraged him so much that he would agree to a day off on a Saturday at short notice if he asked nicely enough, something that hadn't escaped Rusty's notice, suspicious of the extra attention Aiden gave his boyfriend. "If you guys were too busy to move then we would have found something else to do instead so it wasn't a wasted day."

"Well you don't have to if you would rather..."

"No, no, it's fine. We're helping. We want to help" he replied instantly, using helping Andy to move as a way to show her once again just how okay he was about the whole thing, desperate to make up for the time when he was less than enthusiastic at the thought of having Andy Flynn in his life more permanently.

"Thank you Rusty" Sharon replied before she hugged him.

"It's no problem. Anything for my Mom and her super annoying boyfriend" Rusty replied very nonchalantly, making Sharon laugh as they pulled apart. "Okay. Well I'll see you later then unless you call" he said as he turned to leave.

"Here, I'll walk out with you" Sharon said as she gestured towards the Conference Room and what they both knew was taking place on the other side of the glass. "This is going to take a while and I could use some tea and a break before I make a start on my mountain of paperwork." Rusty nodded at her, understanding her need to vacate her office while Julio and Dr Joe spoke to Mark. Sharon closed her office door before they walked side by side in silence out of the Murder Room. Throughout their short journey Rusty kept casting sneaky glances at her, never really sure if she was okay or if she was now simply better at hiding it from him.

Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Sharon to the left and towards the Break Room and Rusty to the right and the elevators, he stopped suddenly and put his hand on her arm. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked once again.

She smiled at him again only this time he could see that it was more genuine than before. "I am fine Rusty. I promise. It was very frightening and I am going to spend an awful lot of time with my arms wrapped around him later once we get home out of sheer relief that he's okay but I assure you that I'm fine."

"Okay" he nodded again before he smiled. "I'll see you later." She smiled at him and quickly squeezed his hand before she turned and headed off to the Break Room. Rusty waited for a moment for her to vanish around the corner and then nodded to himself, feeling a lot better about Sharon and how she was coping but after seeing her so upset two weeks earlier, it had upset him more than he had initially realised. Although he had taken Sharon at her word he still felt the need to text Andy during his elevator ride down and make him aware of his concerns so that he could keep a close eye on her while they remained at work. He made his way to the elevators and pressed the call button before taking his cell phone from his pocket. Before he even had the time to unlock the screen on his cell the elevator arrived and the door opened to reveal Andy, Provenza, Mike, Amy and Buzz all standing inside. He could smell them instantly, the smell of smoke, the one and only smell that was capable of overpowering the cologne that both of the older Lieutenants used extremely liberally every morning. Rusty looked at them a little stunned, surprised to see them to the extent where he actually jumped a little as a result, not expecting to see them back for hours given the way that Sharon spoke in her office. "You're back! Are you guys all okay?" he asked as they filed out of the elevator one by one.

Provenza stretched his arms out wide to show off that he was still intact. "Better than the other guys, that's for sure" he said as Amy and Mike headed off towards the Murder Room, giving Rusty little smiles as they brushed past him and he looked them over himself for any sign of injury.

Andy looked at Rusty a little puzzled, thinking that he was supposed to be sitting with Mark and keeping him out of trouble until Julio had managed to escape the clutches of FID since he was the only one to actually shoot a suspect earlier, rather than allowing the boy to run wild around PAB. He immediately wondered if Mark had run away from him as his mind went back to the evening when Rusty had done the very same thing to him, running away from him at the bus station all those years earlier when his Mom had unforgivably stood him up. "Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be babysitting Mark still?" Andy asked, trying his hardest not to make it sound like he was accusing him of abandoning the boy.

"Not right now no, I've thankfully been relieved of duty" Rusty informed him.

"Hey at least you now know how I felt when I had to babysit you all those times when you were in Emergency Care" Buzz pointed out with a sly smile.

Rusty smiled back, more than prepared for the war of words that was about to come his way. "I do and I want it noted for the record that I whine a lot less about having to do it than you did back then" Rusty replied. Andy and Provenza both laughed at the exchange as Rusty looked at Buzz smugly and Buzz responded by crossing his arms defiantly across his chest.

"But Mark's a lot less trouble than you were" Buzz shot back. Once again Andy and Provenza laughed as Buzz returned Rusty's incredibly smug smile and headed off to the Murder Room with his camera as Rusty just stared after him decidedly unimpressed.

"Where is little Adolf anyway?" Provenza asked. "Marching into Poland?"

"No he's in the Conference Room with Detective Sanchez, Lieutenant" Rusty replied, trying his hardest not to show him that he thought his remark was funny, something he continued to try and do with Andy when he took to teasing him but to no avail.

"Julio's back already?" Andy asked, not hiding his surprise for an instant. Rusty nodded in response. "I thought that FID were going to have him tied up for hours" he added with FID getting no less thorough in Sharon's absence, she had trained them well. With that Provenza and Andy moved to walk into the Murder Room to start on their mountain of paperwork.

Before they had chance to move further than a few steps away Rusty put his arm in the air as if he was waiting for a teacher to call on him in class so that he could get a hall pass to use the bathroom. "Andy can I speak to you for a moment please." Andy stopped and turned to face him as Rusty cast a pleading glance towards Provenza in a clear indicator that he wanted the two of them to be left alone for a moment. Provenza nodded and smiled. He couldn't help but be pleased to witness the way they were now getting along compared to the awkwardness he saw when Andy first started dating Sharon, Rusty as hostile towards him during those first few weeks as he was to all of them when he first became a permanent fixture in their lives. Smiling at them again Provenza set off towards the Murder Room to give them some time alone. Once alone Rusty looked at his feet a little awkwardly for a moment as Andy patiently waited for him to speak, never wanting to push him into something before he was ready. It wasn't just Rusty's concern over Sharon that had caused him to ask for a quiet word, it was also because he needed to thank him for his advice earlier than day and the sooner the better in his eyes. "Erm…I just wanted to say thank you" he said as he looked up to meet Andy's eye finally, his advice working perfectly when it came to getting Sharon to allow him to watch Buzz's interview, knowing he would never have been allowed into Electronics without his advice on the subject.

Andy smiled and nodded as he folded his arms in front of himself. "Sharon let you watch the interview" he said when he realised that his words of wisdom about how to play Sharon to his advantage had worked for the young man, at the time still busy trying his hardest to get Henry Colson to talk to him and Amy while Provenza and Buzz spoke to Gene Hecht.

"She did and I owe it all to you so thank you" he replied, his gratitude coming through loud and clear in his voice. "Thank you for your advice. It really did the trick."

Andy patted him on the arm. "You're welcome kid. Looking sad, it works every time."

Rusty laughed at him. "It sounds like you've used this tactic on her before" he said all too knowingly and assuming that it was a tactic he had employed (although probably without much success) long before they started working together let alone dating.

"Between you and me I have. It works a lot better on her now than it used to when she was still working in FID" he told him without any surprise. Sharon had dealt with a lot of officers trying to talk their way out of trouble with charm or a sad face while she worked in Internal Affairs, none of which had ever worked on her with the exception of Andy Flynn. Twenty years earlier when his life came crashing down around him and he started to get sober, he would still frequently end up in her office for using excessive force and much to her surprise she did have some sympathy for him because she could see that he was trying to change his life for the better for the sake of his children in complete contrast to her husband who just left without so much as saying 'Goodbye' to his kids and had no intention of ever changing. Although he was still as vile, smug and obtuse to her as he had been long before he ever resolved to get sober she could see the remorse in his overall demeanour and it made her want to help him as much as she was able despite his attitude rather than damaging his career. It was the only reason why she kept a box of toothpicks on the desk in her office back then, for one of Andy's frequent visits and knowing that having one permanently in his mouth helped him avoid drinking (an explanation she was not going to offer Jack when he was playing cards with Rusty and asked why she kept a box in the condo when she never used one, them being a leftover from the time when Andy always had one in his mouth while in her office). "Back then it had no effect at all but now she's...well I've either got a lot better at pulling a sad face or..."

"Or she just loves you" Rusty shrugged, finding it the more likely answer.

Andy smiled. "I was going to say she's not quite as frightening as she used to be back then but yeah, that too" he joked and making Rusty laugh. "Don't tell her I said that because she's still pretty frightening now." Rusty laughed and nodded, Andy's secret safe since he had more than helped him that day. "So Provenza tells me that Buzz did really well today."

At the mention of Buzz's interview technique Rusty's face lit up, thinking he would make a wonderful Detective if he ever decided to become something more than a Reserve Officer one day. "Oh man he did more than well. Buzz was like so awesome. It was incredible" Rusty replied enthusiastically.

Andy smiled and nodded, having already heard a lot about in from Provenza as they drove back to PAB but with him taking all the credit for the way that he had 'educated' Buzz over the years in the art of interrogation rather than giving him even the smallest amount of credit. "Were you just heading out?" he asked with a thumb towards the elevator behind him.

"Yeah I was just going home" Rusty nodded but it was abundantly clear to Andy that he had something else he wanted to say, remaining silent so as not to derail him while Rusty pondered if he should voice his concerns about Sharon to him or not. "Erm...Mom is in the Break Room making herself some tea if you wanted a minute alone with her before getting back to work" Rusty said and being very deliberate with his words to ensure that Andy understood what he was trying to say to him without the need to elaborate further.

Andy instantly read his face and understood what he was trying to say to him. "Does she seem okay?" he asked since the time that he had spent with her following the explosion had been extremely limited with both of them having jobs to do. "Because you know after last time…"

Rusty nodded in confirmation but the concern was still there and written all over his face and making it easy for Andy to see. "I think she's fine" he answered but sounding less than confident about it. "I asked her and she said all the right things and she seems okay but maybe you could...you know…" he shrugged, not finding the words to express how he felt but saying enough so that Andy understood.

Andy nodded. "No problem. I can take it from here but I'm sure she'll be fine" he said without a single hint of worry in his voice which made Rusty's shoulders visible relax.

Andy was fairly confident that he wasn't missing anything this time unlike the shooting at the hotel when he simply took her at her word that she really was okay despite how quiet she was on the drive home. As such it came as quite a shock to him when she suddenly broke down the moment they had stepped into the apartment. This time however he had prepared for it and sprang into action almost as soon as the smoke cleared and had thankfully been able to grab a very quick moment together in the immediate aftermath (thanks to Provenza) and had managed to hug her in the commanding unit, her seeing and feeling for herself that he was okay. On the surface of it she seemed fine despite the way she trembled in his arms as he held her, ending their embrace after a minute or two so that they could go outside to join the rest of the division to survey the damage and get on with the job at hand. Despite that earlier impression he was still going to make sure than he pampered her to within an inch of her life when they eventually got home and hold her all night if need be just to make certain.

Rusty nodded. "Okay, great" he said before he paused and then continued rather surprisingly with "You know Andy I'm very glad she has you...that _we_ both have you and I don't think I say that to you nearly enough." Andy smiled in response and went to reply despite being a little taken aback by Rusty's unexpected sentiment but Rusty cut in again before he had chance. "Are you okay? I mean you know after everything that happened today?" he asked.

Andy smiled at him. When he had first started dating Sharon he simply couldn't imagine that Rusty would spit on him if he was on fire much less be concerned about him because of an incident at work, it being another testament of how far they'd come as a little family. "Yeah I'm good kid or at least I will be when my ears stop ringing" he replied as his put his finger in his ear and waggled it in an attempt to make him hear normally again, all of them currently a little deaf and with a high pitched whistle in their ears as a result of the explosion.

Before Andy knew what was happening Rusty was hugging him, the side of his face pressed against his chest while his hands never quite came into contact on his back, just hovering there and showing that he was clearly a little uncomfortable about what he was doing even though he had initiated it. Andy looked stunned much like he did the last time that Rusty had suddenly hugged him without warning as he sat on the floor by the condo door with Sharon against his chest after the incident at the hotel. He finally responded and hugged him back but that only made Rusty pull away as he looked a little awkwardly at his feet. "Wow you really smell" Rusty said, shocked by how strong the smell still was that clung to Andy's clothes.

Andy smiled. "It was a pretty big bang."

"Right well I'd better be going" Rusty said and looking incredibly uncomfortable, clearly not wanting a big deal to be made out of the display of affection he had just shown a man he was highly suspicious of just twelve months ago and who he was now living with. He pressed the button to call the elevator with it arriving almost immediately. He stepped in, his finger primed on the button to take him downstairs as Andy turned to face him again, suddenly very eager to get away. "Oh by the way I called Gus this morning and he managed to book Saturday off work so he can come and help you move" he announced before pausing and looking at his feet again. "So I'll see you in the morning I guess" he said and not really expecting to see them again that day because of work.

"Have a good night kid." After the doors closed and he heard the familiar whoosh as the elevator started to descend he laughed to himself and shook his head with a little bit of disbelief. Without even realising it was happening he was getting along with Rusty better than he ever dreamed during that first month of dating in particular, it sneaking up on him like how falling in love with Sharon had snuck up on him, it one day hitting him like a tonne of bricks.

He set off in the direction of the Break Room with real purpose, hoping to find Sharon alone in there so that he could check she was okay without an audience being present, specifically thinking he would be able to give her more than a quick hug if that was the case. When he entered the Break Room he found her with her back to the room as she poured milk into her tea, quietly humming _Woman in Love_ to herself and giving him the impression that she was going to be okay after all. He leant up against the doorframe and crossed his arms as he watched her for a moment.

"Hey pretty lady" he said with a lot of warmth to his voice after a few seconds of just watching her in silence.

Sharon jumped with surprise at the very familiar voice behind her, having no idea that he was back from the scene of the explosion let alone in the same room. She spun around on the spot and gave him a beaming smile. "You're back!" she cried.

"I am" he replied as he took another step inside the Break Room. "Dr Joe here yet?"

"Yes. He and Julio are talking to Mark in the Conference Room" she told him which made him quickly realise why she was in the Break Room rather than her office, avoiding it until they were done so that she wouldn't hear the boy sobbing for his Mother, already feeling fragile enough without that too.

Andy shook his head with sympathy, no matter how big a monster Mark was (and Andy did suspect that he had '666' tattooed in the largest font imaginable on the back of his head) he was still only eight years old and like everyone who had come into contact with him since his Mother left him alone in that car, his heart broke for him. "Jeez, poor kid."

"I know" Sharon agreed with an incredibly sad sigh. "That boy is going to need an awful lot of hugs."

"Speaking of which." Andy immediately opened his arms out wide and gestured for Sharon to close the gap between them and hug him, smiling at her in that way that always made her heart flutter as he did it. Sharon nodded and smiled back before she placed her tea on the counter and walked into his arms, going into his embrace without a second thought as to the 'rules' they had agreed between the two of them at work when they first started dating. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly just like she had done in the command unit a few hours earlier. Her eyes slipped closed as she buried her face into the crook of his neck and held him as tightly as he held her.

They were silent for a minute or so as they just clung to each other before she finally spoke into his neck. "How are your ears?" she asked.

"Pardon?"

"How are your..."

"Pardon?" Andy asked again as he cut her off. Sharon laughed as she swotted him around the back of his head before Andy grinned and moved her hair away from her neck to allow him to blow a raspberry on the skin he found there. "They're still ringing like everyone else's but it'll stop" he assured her since he didn't want her to worry about him any more than she was already.

They fell silent again as they continued to hold each other, almost squeezing the breath out of each other. Sharon's relief that he was okay was palpable but even so he was still more than a little surprised that she continued to have her arms wrapped around him despite what had happened and that they were alone. After over a year of being together things were working between them at work even better than either of them had dared to dream. It would be a lie to say that it hadn't been a challenge, keeping their personal relationship away from work and vice versa, that balance between the two sides of themselves which took so long to perfect was now working beautifully and by that stage in their relationship Andy knew what he could and couldn't get away with at PAB. If the situation and time permitted they could discuss personal matters at work like starting the discussion about moving in together for example. If he felt that she needed it on a long and very draining day he could give her a hug and she did likewise. They left and arrived hand in hand if they drove in together and even a kiss on the lips was also no longer off limits during a private moment in her office even though Sharon was always very conscious of what Chief Taylor thought of them and their behaviour at work. After months of being so unbelievably careful around each other at work, towing the line and not overstepping the boundaries of their own creation (all incidents to do with blood clots aside) they were now reaping the benefits, handling themselves in a way that Amy had admitted to Andy on more than one occasion that she admired, not thinking that she was capable of the same kind of control and as a result it was one of the many reasons why she didn't want to transfer back to SIS to work alongside Cooper again.

Even though a hug between the two of them during a personal moment was not the slightest bit unusual, the length and the way Sharon clung to him made it different to all other embraces and surprised him despite him a little the fact that he knew his brush with death earlier that day was the cause of it. "You're letting me hug you. At work. For a very very long time" he said, his voice muffled slightly as his lips remained pushed against the side of her head.

Sharon took a very long and deep breath before she exhaled "I know" but without moving a muscle. All of the hard work that they had done from the moment he asked her to dinner at Serve meant that she felt perfectly comfortable wrapping her arms around him in the Break Room at the end of a stressful day for as long as she wanted.

"No comment about it bordering on being unprofessional at work?" he asked.

"Not today. Not after everything" she said as she continued to cling to him. "Today a long hug is fully justified and completely warranted given the circumstances."

"And you don't currently have your hand on my ass which makes a change and keeps it all PG rated should Chief Taylor walk in" he joked and eliciting a gentle laugh from her before she took another very long and deep breath, making her inhale the smoke that clung to his clothes and probably his hair too for that matter, immediately drawing her mind back to the explosion and the minutes that followed.

 _A panic truly set in when Sharon jumped out of her skin as she watched that truck explode on the monitors, the fire and the smoke seemingly engulfing the camera and everyone outside as far as she knew from her relative safe position away from it all in the command unit. Her heart felt like it was almost beating out of her chest as she looked on in horror. That familiar bitter taste in her mouth returning like it had when Elliot Chase had his last stand as she held her breath without even realising she was doing it. Less than a minute earlier Andy had been sitting right beside her as she spoke to the older Mr Colson over the phone. She could still smell his cologne, the way he had liberally applied it that morning meaning that it lingered in the air for several minutes after he left a room. A minute ago both he and Chief Taylor had been sitting right there next to her and now they could be dead. As Andy left while she was still trying to talk the Colsons down he had placed his hands on her shoulders as he moved behind her. She could still feel him, still feel the warmth of his hands as his thumbs grazed the back of her neck. He could be dead and they hadn't even had chance to say a proper goodbye to each other. A thousand and one thoughts started to pass through her mind in a matter of seconds, all of them the stuff of nightmares as each one played out on her face. It was different to the hotel two weeks earlier, she had Buzz and Amy standing right there next to her at the time, both of them experiencing similar emotions while they had only heard it taking place above them. Not only was it all playing out before her very eyes but with no one currently watching her and he reaction she felt safe to express her emotions a little more. It allowed her fear to appear on her face and her eyes to well up slightly unlike the last time where she had to hold it all in for as long as possible, her hardened exterior kept in place to maintain her professionalism as much as she could. It wasn't just that Andy, the love of her life was outside either although that was certainly a huge part of it (making her feel a little guilty for neglecting everyone else a little as a result), they were all outside, all of her division, every single one of them including Chief Taylor and countless other officers she had known for years, decades in some cases. Yes it was different with Andy of course it was and it was always going to be but there was no denying that she loved them all and_ she _had sent them out to face those two maniacs armed with guns and explosives,_ she'd _done that, it was her decision, she had put them in harm's way. What ever happened to them she was always going to blame herself over the outcome, how could she not?_

 _Her distress didn't end there. On top of the fear and the horror at seeing those closest to her vanish in flames, their prime suspects had just blown themselves up and yet they still didn't have all of the information they needed on the gang, the Z Brotherhood monsters. Just how dangerous were they? And where were all the guns? What other horrors lay in their future before it was all over because it was clear that it was far from being over. Whether they liked it or not they were going to be dealing with the likes of the Z Brotherhood and it's gang members for an awful long time, a thought that made her stomach churn even before two members had blown themselves up to avoid capture._

 _As the smoke finally began to clear (in reality only a matter of seconds later but to Sharon it felt like hours) and she slowly started to catch sight of everyone not only alive but also still intact and seemingly unharmed, a huge sigh of relief escaped from her lips, breathing for the first time (or so it felt) since the Colsons had first burst through those doors in their truck and opened fire. "Oh my God. Oh my God" were the only words she could find in response to the carnage she had just witnessed. Seconds later Sharon's relief at seeing everyone in one piece suddenly changed to surprise and even laughing a little to herself as she heard something rather unusual over the radio for the very first time._

 _Amy was the first one to speak up, initially expecting it to be Andy before everyone else chimed in but she quickly realised he would probably need a gentle nudge in the right direction first such was the professional and personal line that had been drawn between their Captain and her boyfriend during working hours. "_ _Banana!" Amy said loudly and clearly into her radio so there was no chance to mishear what she said._

 _The response from Sharon was immediate as she smiled and laughed to herself. Two weeks earlier as she sat on the floor of the condo between Andy's legs and he held her tightly to his chest, doing everything he could think of to comfort her when her fear and distress at almost losing him several floors above her head started to consume her, Andy had suggested in a playful way that it would be a good idea if they started to use some sort of code word over the radio in similar circumstances to let her and anyone else in their division who happened to be listening that they were all okay. At the time she instantly dismissed it out of hand because she didn't think it was professional to essentially have her boyfriend use a code word just for her over the radio. Despite Andy arguing to the contrary and insisting that it would be perfectly professional if the entire squad used it and even suggesting that they all use 'Banana' as their signal that they were okay and unharmed (the same word that he and Provenza had used much to Sharon and Patrice's confusion to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory during their disastrous double date before Christmas) she hadn't given it much thought since as she assumed that he had forgotten all about it as she quickly recovered and tried her best to move on. Evidently she was wrong, not only had he not forgotten but he'd also put his plan into action and got everyone else to join him._

" _Banana!" Julio cried almost immediately after Amy. As he slowly peered over the dumpster towards his colleagues he was just as relieved as Sharon was to hear the first one confirm they were okay since he was sitting up a little higher and well out of the huge blast radius and was therefore just as equally concerned as she was about their condition as he sat back up after the explosion. He couldn't help but laugh as he said it which soon spread amongst the others as they also began reporting in, the code word working on two fronts, confirming that they were okay but also bringing a smile to their faces._

 _Mike was next, laughing as he confirmed "Banana!"_

" _Banana" Buzz repeated as he gave a nod to Andy._

 _Provenza laughed before he joined in and declared he was also okay, patting Andy on the shoulder and offering his support since he figured that their ever professional and single minded Captain may still take exception to his decision to ask them for their help in this matter. "Banana" he said simply as he pulled his bucket hat out of his pocket and put it onto his head, more than a little relieved that he hadn't done it earlier because the force from the blast would surely have sent it flying a couple of blocks away at least._

 _With everyone else reporting in there was only Andy left. "Banana" he said loudly as he put his mouth as close as possible to his radio to ensure she heard him clearly._

 _It was only when Sharon heard that final voice, when she heard Andy's confirmation that he was okay that her shoulders truly began to relax and she started to laugh to herself a little more loudly, more out of sheer relief that anything else. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she was that surprised by something that had happened at work and in a good way too. She had no idea how he had got everyone to agree to it but she was incredibly grateful that he had. "Copy that. Banana" she replied, returning the favour and letting him know that she was okay after watching it, a heart attack a real possibility._

 _Almost immediately one of the SID officers sitting in front of the monitors turned around and looked at her with an utterly baffled expression on his face. "Ma'am? Banana?" he asked._

" _Just confirmation that everyone is okay" Sharon replied as she laughed gently and sat back in her seat out of a sense of relief while the SID officer looked at her as if she and her whole division were on the fast track to crazy._

 _Back outside as the truck continued to burn in front of them, smoke billowing into the sky and everyone counted their lucky stars that not a single officer had even been injured despite the onslaught of gun fire and explosives, Taylor looked at Andy and Provenza just as equally baffled as the SID officer had looked at Sharon. With everyone still taking a moment to catch their breaths Andy quickly tapped Provenza on the shoulder and pointed in the direction of the command unit behind them, signalling his intent that he was going to go and see Sharon before anyone else so that she could see for herself that he was okay (something that their division was more than accustomed to seeing in the past when Fritz would quite frequently join them when they rolled out even before he was the FBI's LAPD liaison while Brenda was still in charge, all of them remembering for example the night he had sprinted to her when she had stared down the barrel of a gun belonging to an ICE agent before Fritz himself had taken him down from a much safer distance). Provenza understood what was going on almost immediately and nodded, none of them having an issue in giving the two of them a second when something like that had just happened while the rest took a deep breath themselves and embraced each other out of relief._

 _As Andy set off towards the command unit Taylor continued to look between them like they had just belched up a live alligator each and then proceeded to do a song and dance number together while dressed in tutus._ " _What is..." he started to say with a rather dazed looking expression on his face before Provenza unceremoniously cut him off mid-sentence._

" _Flynn has just gone to get the Captain" Provenza told him as he waved his hand dismissively in the air, having no time to speak to Taylor let alone answer his questions._

" _But..." Taylor started once again only to be cut off._

 _Provenza eyed Mike was frustration before he spoke and got an equally frustrated look in return. Not a single member of Major Crimes had any issues with two of their colleagues being in a relationship, in fact they were thrilled for them both especially when they got to see just how happy they made each other away from work and as such they also didn't mind giving them a moment alone when something life threatening like a truck exploding in front of them had just happened since they were so highly professional the rest of the time. If anything they all admired them and how they managed to continue working together without incident, none of them thinking they would be able to react that calmly if their loved one was in the line of fire._

" _Look whether you like it or not Chief they are living together now or at least they soon will be and when Flynn gets shot at or nearly blown up or whatever and the Captain witnesses it, we like to give them five seconds alone while we all catch a breath and give a sigh of relief that we're all still here, okay?" Provenza stated and determined to not allow Taylor to disrupt how their division was running. He looked back to Mike and rolled his eyes, none of them having a problem in the slightest that Andy had gone to reassure their Captain that he was okay but realising that Taylor may take issue with it just because he was a constant pain in the ass, according to Provenza anyway._

" _Lieutenant I don't have issue with that," Taylor replied much to Provenza's surprise, "what I was going to ask was 'Banana'?" Provenza and Mike laughed to themselves before they could even think about trying to explain without making their division sound like it was populated with lunatics._

 _Meanwhile Andy swung open the door to the command vehicle and stepped inside, his eyes locking onto Sharon's immediately as she took to her feet the moment she saw him, a little gasp escaping from her lips as her breath hitched and her hand covered her mouth despite her best efforts to contain her emotions since they weren't alone. He smiled at her, the same smile that could make her heart skip a beat and brighten even the darkest of days in an instant, the same smile that made her realise she had fallen in love with her friend all those months earlier. Andy didn't take his eyes off her for even a second as he spoke to the two SID officers still in attendance while Sharon continued to drink him in._ " _Guys can you just give us a second please?" Andy asked._

" _Sure thing Lieutenant" came the instant reply before they quickly filed out the door, closing it behind them._

 _The moment the door closed Andy walked over to Sharon and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against his chest as one hand cradled her head and the other rested on her back. Much to his surprise Sharon responded in kind immediately much like she did when she kissed him in the secluded corridor of the hotel before asking him to move in with her. She clung to him, her hands fisting and tightly gripping his LAPD jacket above his vest. They stayed like that for about a minute or so in silence until Sharon finally pulled away, her hand tracing his cheek and his jaw before she gave it a gentle slap and took a step back, feeling that enough was enough already, she had seen he was okay but they still had a lot of work to do before they could go home and hold each other again properly._

" _Banana? Really?" Sharon asked, her eyes sparkling as her hand ran down his arm._

 _Andy laughed. "I couldn't think of anything better to use and anyway, I thought it might make you smile, make everyone smile." Sharon laughed and nodded, it had certainly made her smile and helped to calm her heart that was in danger of coming to a complete stop, of that there was no doubt. Andy placed a very chaste kiss to her cheek before he gestured towards the door. "Come on Captain" he said as he led her outside so that she could inspect the damage in person._

Sharon took another deep breath, breathing Andy in along with the overpowering smell of smoke that clung to him. "Yeah I know. I smell like that Korean barbecue place" Andy joked, desperate to jump into the shower as soon as he got home to wash the reminder of what could have happened off his skin. Sharon laughed and nodded in agreement. "This is the second time today you've let me hug you during work hours. Do I need to hand over two of my emergency hug coupons as payment?"

Sharon laughed again as her hand started to rub up and down his back as she prepared to finally let him go. "No. These are exceptional circumstances. I'll let you have these two for free" she told him with Andy often insisting that he had worked out how many hugs he could get away with at work in any twelve month period and as such used his 'coupons' accordingly when he felt that she needed to briefly feel his arms around her before she could continue with work.

"Oh how generous of you babe" Andy replied dryly as she laughed, them pulling apart just enough so that they could look each other in the eye.

"You really smell like smoke."

"That's what Rusty said."

"Rusty?" Sharon asked with surprise, assuming that they would have not have crossed paths given that Rusty left a good five minutes before Andy put in an appearance.

Andy shrugged very casually. "He may have told me where you to find you after he hugged me" he confessed, wanting to be honest but knowing the fact that Rusty had spontaneously embraced him once again would distract her from the notion that he had deliberately sent Andy in there to check up on her.

Sharon smiled. "He hugged you?"

"He did. It's almost as if work has been pretty dangerous of late and he's worried about me."

"Imagine" Sharon replied before they both laughed and she went to retrieve her tea from the counter.

"I told you 'Banana' would work" Andy stated rather smugly.

Sharon laughed as she sat down at one of the tables against the left hand wall with her cup of tea, turning sideways on her seat so that her back was pressed against the wall and her elbows on the table and the back of the chair respectively and therefore allowing her to face the open room and the door. "And what exactly did you say to everyone to get them to agree to such a rather bizarre request without having you committed?" she asked, in reality a little mortified at the thought that he had told everyone about how she had broken down the last time he came under direct fire.

"Well first I used an awful lot of charm," Andy explained as he crossed towards the kitchen and started to pour himself a cup of coffee, "and when that didn't work I told them it was a favour for their much loved Captain who worried about us _all_ in very dangerous situations and as expected they were only too happy to oblige." With his coffee in hand he sat down opposite her. "They'd do anything for their Captain" he told her with a wink before he sipped on his coffee.

 _On the Monday following the incident at the hotel and Sharon's mini breakdown once they had returned to the condo, Andy had planned to speak to everyone in the division as soon as he could before they were rolled out again (and potentially found themselves in a similar situation) about using a code word over the radio to let everyone who was listening know (specifically Sharon) that they were all unharmed. He knew she wouldn't be particularly pleased when she ever found out, in fact when he initially suggested it she dismissed the whole thing out of hand because it wouldn't be 'professional' but Andy simply didn't care. Even the biggest optimist in the world would realise that their jobs were only getting more dangerous seemingly by the day so the chances of a repeat performance were not only highly likely but extremely probable. As such Andy saw no other option but to ensure that Sharon found out he was okay as quickly as possible whether she liked it or not and he would do everything in his power to never allow her to feel that way again. However even the best laid plans seldom run smoothly and he was forced to wait until the early afternoon (before he and Mike went to speak to Jared on Nicole's behalf about Chris) when Sharon finally left the Murder Room to go to a budget meeting with Chief Taylor and Chief Pope to be able to get them alone and make his request._

 _As Sharon left her office on her way to Chief Pope's 'lair' where she would be lectured once again about 'overtime' costs by two men paid more combined than her whole division (and who expected her to perform miracles and cheap miracles at that), her hand gently danced across Andy's shoulders, the very tips of her fingers lightly brushing his ear before it returned to clutching the file under her arm. It was her way of saying 'goodbye' to him at work when she was in the mood without making a big deal about it or overstepping the mark. Andy looked up at her and winked without saying a word as he always did, his familiar response to feeling her hand on him in that situation as she left. Andy watched her go, enjoying the view and the rare chance to get a sneaky look at her legs and backside in a skirt while at PAB when he needed a break from the monotony of his paperwork but also so he could ensure that she had left before tackling the matter at hand. He waited patiently for a moment or two to ensure she wasn't about to return suddenly because she had forgotten something before he spoke, clearing his throat a little first. "Hey guys. Can I ask a favour?" he asked with his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. Immediately everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at him expectantly._

" _It depends" Provenza replied on behalf of the group with a frown._

" _On what?" Andy asked._

" _On what it is" Provenza explained bluntly as he dropped his pen and leant back in his seat, his fingers linked behind his head as he slowly rocked back and forth and listened intently._

" _Well firstly it's not for me, it's for Sharon" Andy told them and needing them to know that above anything else before he explained further. He got up from his seat and once again glanced down the corridor to make sure that Sharon wasn't on her way back already but opted to lower his voice anyway, wanting this conversation to take place between him and the core members of the division and not anyone else who just happened to be listening because he knew she wasn't going to be best pleased despite his good intentions so the less people involved the better. He moved closer to them before continuing, hovering by the edge of Julio's desk, shuffling on the spot. "Look don't say anything to her about this okay but she got a little," he paused as he sought the appropriate phrase to use that wasn't 'a complete meltdown,' "freaked out and upset the other day when we got finally home after the hotel and you know she'd had to listen to that lunatic shoot at us over the radio."_

" _You mean shoot at you" Provenza corrected as he pointed at him. He like everyone else in the division knew that their Captain would have been worried about them all because it was just the sort of person she was, she loved them all and moreover she had been the one to send them up to that floor to confront that lunatic head on but there was no denying that Andy would have been her main focus but that was only to be expected and they accepted that without a second thought._

 _Despite her completely cool and calm exterior as they returned to PAB Provenza was not overly surprised to hear that Sharon had been somewhat distressed by what had happened when Andy finally got her home and it was a situation that he could quite easily relate to. Although Patrice had been pissed to say the least when she arrived at PAB on the day in question, not least because her 'moronic husband' had simply sent her a text message that read 'I've been shot' and then didn't bother to reply to her response or even answer his phone when she called him a dozen times to see if he was okay, once that initial blood boiling rage had subsided a little and she accepted that her husband was_ never _going to retire and it would truly kill him if she made him do it, the shock started to kick in. It wasn't anywhere near as sudden as what had happened with Sharon but then she had a better idea of what had actually happened but Provenza knew all was not well with his wife when she suddenly fell silent over dinner. He could have died. That thought had hit her like a frying pan to the face as the entrees arrived. He had been shot in the chest and if it wasn't for his vest she would have lost him, a widow for the second time in her life. She had already lost one husband and she wasn't sure she could do it again, not so soon, not when they had only just begun to share a life together. It didn't matter how much Patrice hated it, Louie was a police officer above everything else, before being her husband even and making him retire would be like killing a part of him. It was something she had tried not to think about when they got together, accepting that Louie was more on the investigative side of law enforcement rather than on the front line and therefore any danger he found himself in was extremely limited, but it was still there, it was still a possibility. One stray piece of shrapnel to his vest had suddenly made the reality of losing him in the line of duty never clearer to her. As a single tear managed to get away from her and streak down her cheek before she could stop it, a ragged breath escaping her lips as their server asked if everything was okay with their meals, Provenza called an end to the evening right there and then. He asked for their food to be wrapped up (he was going to have to pay for it anyway) and took them home, eating their reheated 'to go' order in bed a few hours later after he had spent some time holding his wife in his arms until some of that fear and distress started to fade into the background a little, never really leaving Patrice again but certainly becoming more manageable while across town his beloved Captain was feeling the exact same way._

 _As Provenza lay in bed that night, his wife with her head on his chest as he held her and tried his best to ignore the pain in his ribs, he thought about Sharon and wondered how she was coping in her first big test since Andy had rolled out to the airport with the rest of the division and returned hours later via an ambulance after a trip to the hospital. He had laughed at the pair of them on multiple occasions about the rules they had in place for their relationship, rules that dictated their behaviour at work with them both assuming that the biggest problem they would face at work would be on the days that they disagreed with each other. Maybe he was a bigger pessimist than the pair of them combined or maybe he was just a realist but he always thought the biggest obstacle they would face as they continued to work together while being in a relationship would come when Andy's life was put on the line so to hear that Sharon had been distressed by what had happened didn't come as a surprise to him in the least. With that in mind and although he was going to grumble to begin with to torture his friend because it was best entertainment he had without a glass of wine being in his hand, he was determined to do everything in his power to never allow his Captain to feel the same way that his wife did as he held her in bed while she cried and he tried to make it all better._

" _No I mean shoot at us_ all _…but yeah mainly at me" he admitted because that was the main problem after all. Andy started to rub the back of his neck with the palm of his hand, a clear signal to them all that he had more than a few nerves about the conversation. "I suggested that maybe in situations like that in the future we could maybe use some sort of code word over the radio to let everyone else know that we're all okay." He paused as he waited for them to digest what he had just said and to register exactly what he was asking. "So what do you think?"_

" _You know I wouldn't mind something like that myself" Buzz said as he stood like he felt he needed to in order to pledge his support like it was the end of_ Spartacus _or_ The Life of Brian _and expecting Provenza to follow suit by standing up and proclaiming 'I'm Brian and so is my wife.' "It was not a lot fun the other day standing downstairs and listening to it over the radio and not knowing what was going on and if you were all okay" he continued. In truth Buzz had felt his blood run cold as the first shots rang out across the courtyard that day. He hadn't really given anything else much thought until he heard Lieutenant Flynn's voice over the radio as he shouted at Elliot Chase to give himself up and he was sure he immediately heard his Captain's breath hitch for a moment beside him. Her exterior stayed the same but it was just a small indicator of the torment she was keeping within, Buzz glancing at Amy to see if she had heard the same thing and if there was anything they should do to comfort her._

" _It wasn't such a picnic for us in the middle of it either Buzz" Provenza told him._

" _Or my back" Julio interjected, flexing his back a little as he winced in pain before giving Amy a sly little wink due to the look of concern she was giving him, letting her know he was only teasing. "Do you have any idea how heavy you are Sir? I'm the one that needed an ambulance after dragging you down the corridor and out of danger."_

 _Everyone laughed much to Provenza's displeasure, unable to stop themselves even if they wanted to. "I was wearing a vest" he reminded them and making it sound like that actually accounted for at least two thirds of his total body weight. "Everyone knows a vest can add over six pounds."_

" _Then how many were you wearing exactly?" Andy asked a little unwisely since he was asking him for a favour, Provenza's irritation only compounded by the laughter that rattled around the Murder Room as a result._

 _Provenza glared at Andy as his rocking stopped and he sat forward again, ordinarily that sort of remark meaning he was no longer in the mood to be generous but since this request was for Sharon as well as for any one of them merely listening to a dangerous situation unfold over the radio in the future, he would do it. "What sort of code word?" he asked grumpily and keen to move the conversation on from his weight._

" _I don't know but we all need to use the same thing just to let everyone know and I do mean everyone that we're all okay if something like that ever happens again" Andy replied with a shrug and one eye on the corridor once again._

" _Don't you mean_ when _something like that happens again?" Provenza corrected._

" _Exactly." Andy again paused to allow them to think it over before pushing them. "What do you think? Please? For Sharon? If it wasn't for her I wouldn't normally ask."_

" _Sounds fine to me" Mike was quick to tell him. It wasn't something he had actually given a lot of thought to over the last twelve months aside from when Andy was in hospital, about how it might feel to date or maybe even be married to someone in the same line of work as him and how that would feel when things took a turn towards the dangerous. Over the years he had become very deliberate about what he did and didn't say to Cathy about work so that she didn't worry unnecessarily about him on a day to day basis, not saying a word to her about what had happened at the hotel and instead claiming he'd spent all day doing paperwork after a sexual harassment seminar instead because he knew it would upset her and make her worry every time he put his badge on and left the house if he did. As such, like Provenza, he would therefore do whatever was needed so that his Captain could relax a little quicker in similar circumstances._

" _And me" Julio confirmed, raising his hand into the air._

 _Amy nodded. "I'm in."_

" _Yeah okay" Provenza said finally, sitting back in the seat again and returning his hands to the back of his head as his rocking resumed. "What did you have in mind exactly?"_

" _I don't know," Andy replied, pausing as he thought for a moment before shrugging and suggesting "'Banana' maybe?" The immediate reaction was laughter, the majority of them still not sure what the connection between Flynn and Provenza and that particular fruit was all about other than it made them argue for some reason if it popped up in conversation._

" _Ye Gods! What is it with you and 'Banana'?" Provenza cried._

" _It's something we can all remember and will stand out over the radio" Andy said in defence of himself, not wanting to admit that it was something that was also make Sharon smile at the same time._

" _Yeah well oddly enough I remember 'I'm fine' just as well and that also stands out on the radio" Provenza told him._

" _While we're on the subject what is this 'Banana' thing between you two anyway?" Amy couldn't help but ask. She had missed the 'argument' on their first day back at work after the holidays and had only heard about it from a rather amused Julio and Mike who took great delight in informing her that their Captain had been forced to drag the pair of them into an Interview Room by their ties to try and make them sort out their problems because it was starting to effect work. "You've still never really explained it to us."_

 _Before Provenza had chance to respond Andy pointed a finger at him and declared "It was his idea" and laying the blame for the whole fiasco firmly at his feet._

 _Provenza immediately sat forward again as he went on the offensive, thinking that there was plenty of blame to go around and not all of it was his. "Only the use of a code word to avert danger!" he barked back, thinking that his plan was fool proof right up until it came into contact with Andrew Flynn and that was when it inevitably all started to fall apart. "You're the one that insisted on bringing fruit into the situation!"_

" _I didn't hear you coming up with any alternatives at the time" Andy reminded him._

 _Provenza shrugged. "I came up with the code word idea, it was your job to decide what it was actually going to be."_

" _Oh and what a wonderful, fool proof plan that turned out to be" Andy cried._

" _It would have been fine if you'd stuck to it but oh no, you had to run your mouth off" Provenza shouted back and determined to heap all of them blame onto his partner in crime._

 _Mike laughed and held his hands up to stop them before it went any further. "Before this descends into hair pulling to go with the name calling why did you need a code word anyway?" he asked, that fact never having been established to him._

" _Do you remember the double date Sharon and I went on before Christmas with Patrice and this moron?" Andy asked, determined that his side of the story be heard first._

" _How could we forget?" Mike laughed with everyone else quickly following. At the time of the now infamous and first double date that took place all of them had thought that it had the potential to be an unmitigated disaster and they weren't disappointed. All of them quite clearly remembered the aftermath of it without ever really discovering what had actually happened other than they'd had an argument which effectively destroyed the evening and that their Captain had been forced into settling it at work the Monday after Christmas with both men clearly spending a fair amount of time in the dog house over the holidays as a result._

" _Yeah well the genius over here thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of code word arranged between us so that we could subtly say it when we wanted the subject of conversation changed for fear of ending up in the dog house with Sharon and Patrice," Andy explained, "you know if some of the unfortunate scrapes and 'misunderstandings' we've got involved with in the past that may or may not involve members of the opposite sex came up in discussion that they didn't know about and we'd rather it remained that way."_

" _And it was working too right up until you opened your big mouth!" Provenza reminded him._

" _Me?!" Andy shouted with shock and loud enough it was a surprise that Sharon didn't hear him three floors down and was at that very moment sprinting in their direction to see what was wrong with him._

" _Yes! I'm so glad you finally agree with me" Provenza smiled smugly._

" _How was it in any way my fault?!" Andy asked._

" _You told Patrice about that dead woman we found in my garage!" he pointed out with the whole evening quickly going downhill from there as a result. "And then to top it off you told her that I was the one that wanting to leave calling it in until after we'd been to see the Dodgers."_

" _And? What part of that was a lie? Remember I'm the one that wanted to call it in!" Andy shot back as they continued to have the same argument they'd had at least ten times a year ever since, mainly because of the money it ended up costing them as they 'thanked' everyone for their help sorting the mess out._

" _As you kept reminding the Chief as you shifted all the blame onto my shoulders" Provenza exclaimed, feeling at the time that Andy did everything just shy of literally throwing him under a bus but that was before he realised that he was calling in a bomb threat as he tried to fall on his sword and resign. "Why would you think telling Patrice that story was a good idea? How am I possibly supposed to come out of a conversation about that incident smelling of roses? Huh? Tell me that?"_

" _Oh big deal!" Andy scoffed and firmly of the opinion that it was the kind of story he would gladly put on his resume in comparison to what Provenza let slip to Sharon about his rather colourful past with women, something he had been extremely touchy about ever since when his past was raised in front of her. "I tell a decade old funny story and you go right ahead and remind Sharon about how untrustworthy and unfaithful I've been in the past and then to prove your point, you tell her about a looney tune who glued my testicle to my leg because I accidentally slept with her sister a couple of times!" Andy shouted louder than he intended and thus ensuring that_ everyone _in the Murder Room heard him too. As anticipated they immediately laughed at him, not just about the rather creative revenge that had been sent his way but also that he seemed to be under the impression that a person could have sex with someone more than once and still refer to it as an 'accident.'_

 _Unlike the men in the room Amy didn't laugh but rather grimaced with more than a tinge of horror instead and suddenly started to fully understand why both of them had been in so much trouble with the respective loves of the lives over the holidays if this was what had actually happened on their double date. "I think this falls under TMI Lieutenant" she said with a small shudder because despite having all the respect in the world for her friend and colleague she wasn't too keen on hearing about his scrotum and superglue. "TMI."_

 _Mike laughed and shook his head. As much as he enjoyed hearing yet more embarrassing stories about '_ The Many Adventures of Flynn and Provenza _' (the R rated version of Winnie the Pooh that involved women half their age rather than blustery days and a morbidly obese bear despite the_ many _similarities Provenza shared with Eeyore) which he would usually tell Cathy all about when she was feeling under the weather and in need of some entertainment, he was also intrigued to find out how the evening in question had got so out of hand so quickly despite the lengths they went to in order to prevent it. "So what happened? How do you go from having a code word to stop yourselves from getting into trouble and then both ending up in trouble anyway?"_

" _Because he's a moron, that's how" Provenza answered quickly._

 _Andy sighed, electing not to take the bait because he needed to get them to agree to his plan before Sharon came back from her budget meeting and having the same old argument with Provenza that he'd had at least twenty or thirty times in the last eight months was getting him nowhere._ " _Well as you can see things quickly went a little off course and we ended up having an argument resulting in both of us spending some quality time in the dog house anyway." They all laughed once again with the exception of Andy and Provenza although Andy had a little smirk on his face as his mind wondered for a split second. In truth he loved the memory of that night given that Sharon had only pretended to be angry with him as they drove back to his house (although it truth she was genuinely a little annoyed that he had managed to help ruin a perfectly lovely evening due to his inability to engage his brain before he spoke) as she gave him the silent treatment from the moment they climbed into the car, warning him that being very quiet was in his best interests until her façade finally crumbled in the kitchen and they eventually ended up making love on the counter. "But this time a code word really will help" he insisted as his mind came back to the matter at hand and away from Sharon's tantalising lack of underwear that evening. He sighed as he put his hands together in front of him as if he was fully prepared to get on his knees and beg them in order to get them to agree, doing whatever it took in order to make Sharon feel even the tiniest bit better in a stressful situation. "Look I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, if it wasn't for Sharon." He shrugged. "I can't do it alone because she's still always thinking about Taylor and worried about that professional line between us at work getting muddied so it has to be all of us if it's going to work."_

" _Of course Lieutenant" Amy nodded._

" _No problem" added Julio, more than willing to help._

" _Although I sincerely hope we never have cause to use it" Mike quipped even though they all knew that was unlikely but it was better to prepare for the worse while hoping for the best and if that meant randomly calling out the name of a fruit over the radio to confirm they were okay then so be it._

 _Andy signed with relief. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it."_

 _With that there was nothing else that needed to be said on the subject so as Andy sat back down at his desk, once again checking to make sure that Sharon wasn't and hadn't been standing around the corner and overheard everything they'd been discussing, everyone else returned to work. A few moments of silence passed by before Mike suddenly dropped his pen and turned in his chair to face Andy with a baffled frown. "Why 'Banana'?" he asked, the reason that he chose that particular word rather than any other before their double date never being made clear to them._

" _I don't know" Andy replied and genuinely unsure why that word had popped into his head first before they had changed it to 'indubitably' and then ended up yelling both at each other as their argument ended. "It was the first word that came to mind when I was looking at Provenza."_

" _And that's not at all troubling" Provenza replied to much laughter. "I've had nightmares that have made more sense than this."_

"Did you tell them why we needed a code word?" Sharon asked him rather nervously. She knew that Andy would never have told them exactly what had happened the moment they walked into the condo two weeks earlier (except maybe Provenza and then she was fairly certain that he wouldn't have gone into detail about it) but she was still nervous about how much he would have been forced to share with them in order to get them to agree to it. In truth she knew that they would all understand her rather dramatic and emotional response to coming so very close to losing the love of her life in the line of duty but she didn't want them concerned for her mental well-being in similar situations when they should be looking out for themselves and each other. "Did you..."

Andy quickly held his hand up to stop her from going any further. "I told them that it was an awful long time between hearing that first shot being fired and then for you, Amy and Buzz to hear _all four_ of us speak over the radio" he told her which was in no way a lie with Buzz telling them all that it felt like an eternity as they waited for the gunfire to stop. Andy smiled at her and reached across the table with his free hand, his fingers lightly brushing hers but stopping short of actually taking her hand in his. "That you were worried about us all and not surprisingly both Amy and Buzz agreed."

Sharon nodded and immediately accepted what he was telling her since she had heard for herself the huge sighs of relief from both Amy and Buzz at the time of the shooting when they knew everyone was going to be okay. "But why 'Banana'?" she asked, chucking to herself as she sipped on her tea.

Andy shrugged. "I thought it would make you smile" he said simply. Sharon smiled at him and nodded, getting a little wink from him in return as she continued to sip on her tea.

They sat in the silence for a moment, slowly sipping on their tea and coffee respectively as they just watched each other intently, little smiles on their faces. It was no different to how they usually behaved away from work in similar circumstances (except their fingers were only lightly touching across the table rather than holding hands, Sharon always having one eye on how they appeared to the outside world in that building), often just sitting and staring at each other, their eyes raking over every single inch of the others face between looking adoringly into each other's eyes. It was a look that often made Rusty feel slightly uncomfortable when he walked in on them doing it across the table, not because they were up to anything R rated below the table or anything but because the way that they looked at each other seemed so intimate, so loving, so personal that he couldn't help but feel like he was intruding.

Sharon smiled brightly at him as her fingers continued to feather against his on the table. She was okay, she was going to be okay but more importantly he was going to be okay too. After yet another very close call and brush with death Andy was going to be just fine once his ears stopped ringing and his suit was dry cleaned to get rid of the smell. Even so she felt fortunate to still have him with her, how could she not? She could quite easily have lost her entire division in an instant earlier and the fact that she didn't was something she would never stop being thankful for until the day she died. If she didn't need a minute or too away from her office to give Mark and Julio their privacy next door before continuing with her paperwork, she would want a moment to just stare at Andy, into those gorgeous eyes that saw right into the heart of her and made even the worst of moments seem better just from the way they sparkled at her, looking at them with gratitude that he had once again come back to her completely unharmed.

"Is everyone back?" she asked after a few more moments of silence.

"Yeah. I'm surprised FID let Sanchez go so quickly" he repeated like he had said earlier to Rusty and Provenza. "They're slipping without Darth Raydor stalking the halls and pulling their strings" he said with a wink before laughing into his coffee cup.

Sharon glared at him while a smile tugged at her lips. "I'll pull your strings in a moment if you're not careful" she warned him without meaning for it to sound like a euphemism.

"Sharon!" Andy laughed. "You're making me blush. We're still at work" he joked.

Sharon couldn't help but laugh with him. "You know what I mean."

"Are you ready to go back in?" he asked as he prepared to take to his feet.

Sharon sighed, a layer of emotion clearly hidden beneath her hardened exterior. "No not yet" she said as she still strived to put it off until Julio and Dr Joe were done taking to Mark if that was at all possible. "I just need a minute first."

"Okay" Andy nodded as he frowned a little, his fear that she may be more upset than he had originally thought coming back to him and settling in the pit of his stomach. "Are you okay?" he asked after a brief pause. "Rusty said..."

Sharon sighed again which helped to stop him mid-sentence. "Andy I'm fine" she assured him. "Like I told Rusty earlier when he asked me the very same question and multiple times at that may I add, I am fine." She took his hand firmly in hers for the first time, them settling in the middle of the table as she squeezed it. "I promise you."

"You sure?"

"Yes" she replied with a smile, keeping hold of his hand firmly in hers. "Andy seriously you have no idea just how much I love that I have someone in my life again who worries about me and I appreciate it, I do, but I mean it when I say, I am fine" she insisted before she sighed again when she began to realise that she needed to say a little more and be completely honest with him before he would really believe that she wasn't about to fall apart again the moment they got home. "Was it utterly terrifying as I watched that smoke and fire look like it was consuming all of you?" she asked rhetorically as her eyes closed for a split second, the image returning the moment her vision darkened. "Yes it was but as I told you the other week, this is something that I need to deal with if we're going to continue to work together and have a relationship and I _desperately_ want to continue working together Andy because I love spending my days here with you and our nights at home so I will deal with it myself, in time" she assured him, seeing it as her problem and something she needed to deal with alone if it was ever going to go away and as much as he wanted to help her there was nothing aside from trying to stay safe that he could do to achieve that other than retire and that was most definitely not going to happen and she'd already told him as such. She shrugged again. "It's not going to happen overnight as much as I want it to but I'm fine."

"Are you going to go and see Father Stan?" Andy asked instantly, thinking that if he couldn't help her deal with this issue then perhaps talking to Father Stan could or at least make her relax more about it since it was something that was out of her control when she was so used to being in charge of all she surveyed, often hearing her remind herself that 'God's will be done' when she began to worry about something she had no control over.

Sharon smiled and stifled a chuckle as she released his hand. Once again she loved that she had someone who worried about her even though she wished that he didn't, not about this anyway but aside from that considering she knew just how much Andy disliked the clergy (specifically if your name was Father Jack or if you were a Nun he encountered in his youth) it always surprised her when he encouraged her to go and see Father Stan to ask him for help. "Yes" she nodded, having already spoken to him at length in confession a week earlier following the incident at the hotel. "I will go and see Father Stan tomorrow if I get the time."

"Good." He took her hand in his again before he leant forward and very gently pressed his lips to the back of it, keeping hold of it as he sat up straight again, taking the chance that it wasn't too unprofessional since they were still in the Break Room and most definitely on a break. "Will you let me take you out to dinner after we get out of here tonight? Try and take your mind off everything?"

"Oh Andy I would absolutely love that but I am physically and mentally exhausted" she told him as she squeezed his hand back and showing him that she had no intention of pulling it away from him anytime soon. "All I want to do is go home, eat a highly unhealthy takeout meal in front of the television and crawl into bed."

Andy nodded. "Okay. No problem."

Sharon frowned at him for a moment as she studied his face, unsure if he realised that she fully intended on doing all of those things with him rather than completely alone. "Andy you do realise I mean with you right?" she asked. "I'm doing all of those things with you. As we discussed this morning I thought we had some seriously plans for tonight" she reminded him with some extended celebrations still on the docket for when they finally fell into bed.

"Oh we do have plans. Big naked plans in fact" he stated perhaps a little too loudly for the Break Room but it still made her laugh nonetheless.

"Good and unless I'm mistaken we also agreed last night that you'd already moved in with us so I no longer assume you're coming home with me Andy, I _know_ you are coming home with me. To our home" she stated emphatically in case he had somehow forgotten.

Andy smiled as he squeezed her hand again. "Thank you for the confirmation sweetheart but no I hadn't forgotten that. It's something I'm never going to forget for the rest of my life." He paused for a moment as he thought about the timing of the impending move of his clothes out of his recently sold house, the timing with work by no means perfect. "But you know if we're going to be too busy around here we can hold off until..."

"Oh no boy!" Sharon cried before he had chance to say anymore on the subject. As far as Sharon was concerned she wasn't going to allow anything or anyone to derail the rest of the move over the weekend. Like Andy she saw absolutely no reason to wait until the sale was finalised since he already had somewhere to move to and she wanted it done as soon as possible, now that the decision had been made she just wanted to live with him. "Unless God forbid the Mayor himself is shot by these psychopaths before Saturday then the rest of this move is _definitely_ going to happen this weekend." He smiled at her in response as his thumb began to stroke the back of her hand. "We are finishing packing up what remains of your house on Friday night, we are having one or two or however many you can manage in the time available fabulous final hurrahs there," she stated very matter-of-factly before they both laughed, "and then on Saturday morning we are putting your furniture into storage and the condo will officially be your one and only home. Okay?"

Andy nodded. "Yes ma'am" he said with a wink.

"Have you had chance to ask anyone for their help on Saturday yet?" she asked.

"No not yet" Andy replied. "Oddly enough it's been a little hard to find the time to go to the bathroom let alone do that today." Sharon laughed and nodded. "I'll ask them when we go back in" he promised.

"Okay" she nodded, taking him at his word even though he still seemed rather reluctant to tell people all about their news for reasons she had yet to get to the bottom of, a fact that continued to baffle her especially since Andy had pushed so hard for them to live together for so many months. Sharon again sipped on her tea in silence as Andy's thumb continued to rub back and forth across the back of her hand in a very tender but perfectly innocent way in the centre of the table. After a few more moments of silence she slowly started to glare at him, giving him the very definition of the stink eye, it being a battle for him not to laugh in response. "'Our Boss is a woman'?" she snarled at him with a raised eyebrow, not forgetting about that little ineffective interview tactic he had used on Henry Colson earlier that day even if she knew he hadn't meant a single word of it.

Andy laughed and shrugged. If he was honest he had been waiting for this conversation from the moment he walked back into Electronics after Amy and Julio took over and they switched tactics to try to get Henry to say anything other than 'phone call.' He knew that Sharon understood it was just a ploy to get Henry to cooperate but likewise he also knew she would call him out over it too for her own amusement and just to watch him squirm a little. "I thought it would work and it was either that or singing _Springtime for Hitler_ with him but since I only ever sing for you I went with the first option" he told her with a wink.

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment while she smirked. "Really?"

"Hey believe me I have absolutely no problem whatsoever working for a woman especially when…"

Before he had a chance to finish what he was saying Sharon pulled her hand from his and pointed a finger at him menacingly, giving him a death glare for good measure. "You better not be bringing up my legs in the workplace" she warned him purely in jest.

Andy quickly pointed around them. "We're in the break room" he reminded her.

"Even so."

"Then I won't say it" he replied with a smile that let her know that he was currently thinking about her legs and probably a whole lot more too as he glanced at them from the corner of his eye at the side of the table.

"And you can stop looking at them as well" she told him as she swung them back under the table and well out of his line of sight. Andy nodded and continued to smile, now unable to stop thinking about them being wrapped around his waist, the expression on his face glazing over slightly as a result. "And you can stop thinking about them too" she told him, reading the look of his face perfectly. They both laughed for a moment before a comfortable silence once again fell between them. Eventually Sharon sighed as her mind drifted to work and what lay ahead of them over the coming weeks and maybe even months. "Chief Taylor came to see me earlier" she said finally, Taylor coming straight to her office the moment he returned to PAB after walking the scene of the explosion with DDA Rosen. "He's going to the trial next week. I think I need to go with him although I desperately don't want to" she told him. Andy gave her a quizzical look in response. That morning as they got dressed for work they had briefly discussed how neither of them particularly wanted to go into work that day and deal with Nazis so it didn't come as a huge surprise that she was reluctant to go but he still saw attending a trial as something completely different to investigating and a hell of a lot easier even though he hated court with a passion. "You weren't there today, in that courtroom" she told him with an almost haunted expression on her face when it quickly became clear he didn't fully understand her reluctance. She sighed again. "Andy, I like you have dealt with some of the worst that humanity has to throw at us since I first put on my badge and swore an oath to uphold the law but I have _never_ come face to face with such evil as I did today" she stated as she shook her head, still upset and highly disturbed by it all. Andy reached across the table and took her hand again, squeezing it tightly in his. "Amongst his many victims Dwight Darnell killed two small children and yet I got the impression today he felt like he'd done nothing more than euthanize a couple of rats and I…" she said before she stopped, unable to finish the sentence as she shook her head.

"I'll come with you" Andy said simply. Sharon hummed in response before he shrugged, not sure why he would volunteer to go when he didn't need to especially since he had been the first one to become so open to the deal making process when she first took charge of the division precisely because he loathed attending court so much. "Sadly one way or another I think we're going to be involved with this case and its various off shoots for a very long time to come so I'll go with you. The more ears we have in there the better."

Sharon smiled, knowing that he would go solely for her, his mere presence at her side even while she was concentrating on the case a source of comfort to her in a dark moment when she was confronted with humanity at its very worse. "Thank you."

"Not a problem" he said with a wink before he added "It's my job Captain." He winked at her again as she laughed and squeezed his hand.

They sat in silence again for a moment as Andy slowly smiled, laughing to himself. Sharon looked at him a touch quizzically. "What's so funny?" she asked as she continued to sip on her tea.

"Nothing. I was just thinking" he replied slightly playfully.

"Well there's a first time for everything I suppose" Sharon shrugged rather casually and immediately eliciting a frown from Andy as she laughed. She squeezed his hand almost as an apology before she asked "What about?"

"About you blatantly stealing all of our evidence and then yelling at me about it in the middle of the Murder Room when I objected" he told her rather smugly and deliberately misremembering the events of that morning seven years earlier when two officers and a suspect were gunned down in the street, him being very much the one to yell at her along with Provenza while she could hardly get a word out in response before she had to chase Chief Johnson into Chief Pope's office to try and stop her from effectively 'telling' on her.

"What?" Sharon laughed, remembering the encounter vividly but rather baffled as to why Andy was thinking about it as they took five minutes to themselves in the Break Room.

"We were investigating the murder of two LAPD patrolmen and you were..."

"Just doing my job?" Sharon interjected as she finished his sentence for him.

"I was going to say 'being a pain in the ass for a change' but I guess that's also true" he replied with another smug smile and feeling fairly safe and secure in the knowledge that the backs of his knees weren't about to come under attack due to the table between them. With limited options available Sharon just glared at him instead, far from amused. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding" he told her to avoid spending the evening in the dog house and the night on the couch once they got home.

"And yet as Rusty keeps telling you you're just not funny are you?" she asked rhetorically before she laughed at him and letting him know that she wasn't taking his teasing over incidents that happened a lifetime ago very seriously. "What about it anyway?"

"I was just thinking that it wasn't too long ago that you were yelling at me and stealing our evidence and now you're worried about me getting blown up" he shrugged, thankful for how his life had changed in a relatively short period of time more than Sharon would ever really know.

"I've no idea why" she told him with another little glare before they both laughed and she squeezed his hand back. "And anyway you and your boyfriend yelled at me not the other way around and it was _our_ evidence."

"Yes ma'am" he nodded and knowing better than to argue with her.

Sharon laughed. "What a difference six...seven years make" she mused, never having dreamed at the time that she would end up living with the very man who used to drive her utterly insane and that was if he was in a good mood.

Andy winked at her. "I should have asked you on a date then."

"I was a married woman" she replied instantly and reminding him of one of the reasons why they didn't start dating before they did, ignoring the fact that they also loathed the sight of each other at the time too.

"I still should have asked you out" he shrugged.

"I'm sure your Chief would have loved that."

"Not to mention Provenza" he correctly pointed out as they laughed. "I still should have asked you out" he said again even though it was the last thing he thought of at the time when he was face to face with 'Nurse Ratchet,' planning her murder being top of the list.

"I was a married woman" she repeated again.

"So you keep saying. I've never let that stop me before."

"I've noticed" she laughed. She paused for a moment as they just smiled at each other before she asked "What's made you think of that anyway?"

"I was just thinking about you on the drive back here."

"And your mind went to a moment when you yelled at me?"

"Well anything else and I may have driven my car into a tree" he admitted and making them both laugh. "I just like to think about you" he told her rather casually with a wink. "I always have done, I always will do. It's what I do. When we're apart I think about you. When we're together I think about you. I just like to think about you" he added with a shrug.

Sharon sighed, a sigh of utter contentment and happiness rather than frustration. Had they been anywhere else but inside that building when Andy had said something like that to her, something that made her heart flutter and her cheeks start to flush a little, she would have immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him and pushed her lips against his, kissing him until she made it abundantly clear just how much she loved him too but since they were at work she just smiled at him instead, continuing to squeeze his hand. It wasn't that she had never kissed him inside of PAB and it was true that she had walked in on Brenda and Fritz mid clinch on a number of occasions in her office but she never liked to start something that she couldn't finish so showing him just how much she loved him would have to wait until she got to drag him into 'their' bedroom by his tie later that evening. "You're a very smooth talker Andrew Flynn" she told him with another sigh, their eyes locked as she continued to smile at him.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked after a moment, the smile still etched on her face and only getting bigger while her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"I'll tell you when we get home" she replied with sparkling eyes before she sipped on her tea, not willing to say any more about it or her plans for the evening when they eventually managed to leave and go home. Again they sat in silence for a moment, just smiling at each other until Sharon finally said "I have a new rule" without elaborating further.

"Too late" Andy stated. "I've already moved in so all rules are final."

"I can't make an amendment?"

"Nope."

"Your clothes haven't moved in."

"Fine, then you can only make rules about my clothes." Sharon smiled in response and he knew instantly what she was thinking about. He quickly pointed a finger at her with his free hand while the other continued to lightly hold hers on the table. "Don't you get any ideas about my shirt Raydor" he warned her.

On the whole Sharon loved Andy's choice in wardrobe, it being one of the first things that attracted her to him aside from his smile, the way he dressed for work and in particular his suspenders, finding them incredibly hard to resist. There is of course an exception to every rule and with Andy's wardrobe that exception came in the form of an old grey and white patterned shirt. Aside from Sharon claiming the pattern sent her cross eyed the moment she saw it, she was also under the impression that every time he wore it trouble seemed to find him, a point that was reinforced when he elected to wear it to Provenza's bachelor party and ended the evening with it covered in his own blood and a touch of Rusty's vomit. Andy was fully aware of how much Sharon hated it and suspected that the first chance she got after he moved into the condo that it might suddenly and rather mysteriously vanish, never to be seen again.

"I wouldn't dream of it" Sharon said innocently but fooling no one, not even herself. "As it so happens this rule is about your clothes, sort of."

"Okay. Let me have it."

"I would be very grateful if you would start to keep your gun and your badge and your handcuffs in the bedroom with mine rather than by the front door" she said, phrasing it much more like a request than a demand and therefore making it different to the never ending supply of orgasms she had jokingly demanded from him the night before. In truth she had always liked that Andy had found a home to keep items like his gun and badge in as he started to spend the night but it had never seemed like a permanent solution to her. With no small children being a part of her life when she sold her house and moved into the condo she saw no need to buy a safe to keep her gun locked up in (although that was likely to change in the future now that Andy had moved in and Nicole and Dean's two boys were going to be more frequent visitors to the condo) and as such she always kept her gun in the drawer of her nightstand and within easy reach in an emergency (as Jack once discovered when he essentially broke in one night with a bag full of groceries). Andy keeping his gun and his badge in the bedroom with hers was not only safer in her eyes but it would also be another step in him treating the place as his home too rather than her condo where he was a more permanent visitor.

Andy smiled. "I can do that" he nodded with him initially keeping everything by the door to ensure that he didn't forget anything when he left, usually always stripping those sort of things from his waist when he arrived if only for dinner but since then and after he started to spend the night and almost every night too at that, it was a habit he had yet to get out of.

"Thank you."

"So," he said after another moment of silence, "you let Rusty watch Buzz interview his suspect."

"Witness" she corrected him once again.

Andy laughed, highly amused by Sharon's insistence on the rulebook in this regard and always referring to Buzz's suspect as a 'witness' in order to make using the partial prints to find him legitimate. "Right, his witness. You let him watch Buzz's interview with his potential 'witness.'"

"I did" Sharon nodded before she smiled at him, knowing that the way Rusty stood by the murder board and looked at her like his dog had just been run over was all down to Andy, it not taking long for her to realise that Andy had been slipping Rusty information and a little advice in order for him to play her like a fiddle and get exactly what he wanted. "I assume that was all you?"

"What was all me?" he asked rather innocently despite the fact that his nostrils were already beginning to flare and letting her know immediately that not only did he know exactly what she was talking about but was also preparing to lie to her about it too.

"The look on Rusty's face?" Andy didn't answer, unable to say anything without it being abundantly clear he was lying. Instead he just looked at her as innocently as he could with a smile on his face, a smile she knew all too well. "Don't give me that look because it's fooling no one. I assume you told him to stand there looking at me with such a sad expression plastered on his face in order to guilt me into letting him watch."

Andy shrugged before he finally admitted "Maybe." Sharon laughed and shook her head, knowing it had all come from Andy the moment she crumbled and allowed Rusty to follow her into Electronics. "Well it works for me when I'm in the dog house."

"I should have known. That look was pure you" Sharon said with a shake of her head, thinking that the look Rusty gave her was so reminiscent of Andy it was hard to believe in that moment that they weren't actually related. "It was only a matter of time before you started to rub off on him and not in a good way either. I'm not sure if I should be pleased that you're bonding or terrified that he's becoming just like you." Andy smirked at her, that same smirk she had once loathed and wanted to slap off his face on multiple occasions. "He better not pick up that look from you too or else there will be serious trouble." Andy laughed in response with Sharon quickly following. "And when may I ask have you been in the dog house with me exactly to use that sad face?"

Andy shrugged. "About once a week from roughly 1992 to 2012, give or take a few years."

Sharon laughed. "I've got bad news for you, that look didn't work on me while I was working in Internal Affairs and neither did the famous Andy Flynn charm" she told him. When they first met at work some twenty five years earlier he would frequently try to flirt with her in order to get out of trouble for using excessive force with a suspect. However none of it worked because at the time she had just separated from Jack for what would ultimately be the last time and she was in no mood to be charmed by any man (except Ricky and Gavin), least of all a smug womaniser who reminded her of her husband in every way imaginable, her mood eventually softening towards him a little a few years later as he sought to get sober.

"I noticed" he said regretfully before they both laughed, in complete contrast his charm working on her to great effect since she invited herself to Nicole's wedding with him. "In fact the first time I ever saw you smile, and I'm talking at all and not just at me, was after I'd been shot."

"That is absolutely not true" Sharon insisted. By her own admission she had hardly anything to smile about twenty plus years ago. Her husband had gone for what would ultimately be the final time and had taken their children's college tuitions with him. She was alone, heartbroken and broke (still not wanting to touch the trust that her parents had set up for her long ago unless she absolutely had to with it becoming increasingly likely that was going to be the case if Emily and Ricky were going to go to college at all) while battling to maintain that everything was fine for the sake of her young children. Under the circumstances it was perfectly understandable that she didn't smile a lot at the time but she felt for sure she wouldn't have smiled at a man she saw as a nuisance just because he had been shot.

"It is, it was the first time I ever saw you smile" Andy insisted, remembering the incident vividly. "Admittedly it was because you walked in on me hitting on my nurse and she turned me down flat while calling me 'Grandpa' in the process but still it did make you smile."

Sharon laughed as the memories quickly came flooding back to her, the really pissed off expression on Andy's face at the time being enough to make her laugh hysterically without his over the top reaction when he realised Darth Raydor had been standing in the doorway and had overheard his humiliation. "Oh yes now I remember."

"See" he nodded as they laughed.

"So if it didn't work back then when exactly have you used it to get out of the dog house with me?" she asked, their relationship getting to that stage without yet having the massive, full bloodied argument that would warrant him pulling a sad face to get out of trouble. They had experienced a fair few disagreements over the previous fourteen months and one really angry exchange when Andy reacted as her boyfriend rather than her Lieutenant in an Interview Room with a suspect when he perceived she was in imminent danger but both of them were more than aware that they were still waiting for that first real test to come along before they could attempt to pass it.

"How about after those not so friendly drinks at Provenza's house before Christmas?" he reminded her, feeling like he was never ever going to get out of the dog house as he drove them back to his house in complete silence.

Sharon laughed and accepted that she had perhaps tortured him a little too long on that occasion but it wasn't as if he didn't deserve it and more at the time. "Ah yes but in reality you were never really in the dog house so that doesn't count."

"That's not how it felt to me."

"Well your behaviour over the course of that evening warranted more than a little torture just to make sure you never did it again boy, don't you think?" she grinned.

"Excuse me? A little torture?" Andy cried as he almost choked on his words. "You flat out refused to speak to me for over an hour! You call that a little torture? I was beside myself all the way home. I thought I'd ruined everything between us."

Sharon smiled at him. She'd heard him say that before but she wasn't entirely sure that she believed him, thinking he had to know that she was only torturing him at the time. "Did you really?" she asked, the hand that was resting lightly in his on the table coming to life as she started to gently caress his fingers with her own.

"Yes. You weren't speaking to me and with everything that big mouth told you about a time in my life we don't discuss," he said before Sharon rolled her eyes at him, forever thinking Andy's fear that she was likely to break up with him if she discovered what the true extent of his colourful past with women was really like was utterly ridiculous, "I was utterly terrified that you were never going to look at me the same way ever again."

Sharon leant forward slightly as she looked at him adoringly. "You really are a big dope at times" she told him as her fingers continued to stroke his own. "Do you know that?"

"Only at times?"

"I'm being generous because you nearly got yourself blown up today and I'm very very grateful that you didn't and you're still here with me."

"I always knew this job had to come with hidden benefits" he told her with a wink.

Sharon laughed. "And just so you know you would have been in the dog house a lot longer on that particular night but your sad little face and your big brown eyes had me incapable of keeping my hands off you for a second longer" she admitted not that it was a surprise to him.

"I noticed" he confirmed before they laughed.

"And it wasn't like I didn't make it up to you later" she stated. "I think I more than made amends in your kitchen for torturing you on the way home" she added as she battled to not allow her cheeks to flush at the memory of it, still at work and with a lot to do before she could relax.

Andy smiled and nodded. "You did indeed. Never has being let out of the dog house been so much fun" he confirmed, them both laughing again.

"But while we're on the subject of you schooling Rusty don't you dare get passing any of your other ways to manipulate me on to him either" she warned him and letting him know that she did not want to be messed with in this regard. "He has his own ways of playing me like a fiddle without you helping him do it too."

"Why would I share my secrets with the kid? It makes it all the more likely that you'll find out about them and then there goes all my fun and," he paused as he waggled his eyebrows at her, "frolics." They both laughed before Andy stopped abruptly and started to flex his jaw, wincing as he did it from the pain.

"What's the matter?" Sharon asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice.

"Toothache" he said as he sucked on the inside of his mouth for a moment. "I don't know. I think that blast has rattled my teeth around my head" he joked, having an almost sickly pain in his lower jaw, a pain that had somehow snuck up on him over the last couple of hours since the explosion and was now a dull throb.

"Do you think you should see a dentist?"

"No it'll go away." Sharon frowned at him and his rather flippant attitude towards the whole thing, clearly feeling more concerned about him being in pain than he was. "I'm fine. Seriously" he said before he quickly changed the subject back to what they were discussing before they got side tracked to try and distract her. "Hey Provenza and Rusty tell me that Buzz did really well today."

Sharon continued to frown at him until her face softened. "Oh he really did. I am so proud of him" she said as her face beamed, both her and Provenza slightly taken aback by just how well he had handled himself in the interview precisely because it was so personal.

"But did he actually get anywhere with him?"

"He got a name for an alibi. A Jennie Edwards. Now all he has to do is track down the right Jennifer Edwards and see if she backs up his statement or hopefully, have a different story to tell."

"Oh is that all?" he joked before they both laughed, the progress Buzz had made being great but there was still a huge mountain for him to climb before he stood a chance of solving it and putting someone behind bars. "The best thing going for him is his determination to finally see this through to the end so I'm sure between him and Rusty and the wide world of social media and all that crap they'll be able to track her down."

"Fingers crossed."

"Speaking of the kid, he still seems okay with the idea of me moving in with you both."

"I told you he would be" Sharon stated for about the tenth time since he had told Rusty that morning before breakfast that he had sold his house and he was moving in with them. It was clear that it was all to do with Andy's constant nervousness but regardless she would never understand why he thought Rusty was likely to change his mind about it especially since Rusty was an incredibly stubborn person (much like Andy) and hardly ever changed his mind about anything and if he did it was very slowly.

"Yeah I know but..."

"Yeah I know but nothing" Sharon said as she cut him off. "He suggested it first, he said it was fine when I told him I'd finally asked you to move in, why would he be anything other than okay when you actually moved in?" Andy shrugged, once again showing how he was still nervous about their relationship moving forward, causing Sharon to sigh softly as she tempered her frustration. "Oh Andy my darling it's a very good job for you that I find your constant nervousness around me and our relationship utterly and completely adorable or I'd be on the verge of murdering you by now."

"Well that's comforting" he replied, swallowing hard before they laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just...do you ever think that something is just too good to be true?" he asked and for the first time letting her know why he was so nervous with her at times.

"Yes frequently but this isn't one of those instances. Yes my life is better than it has ever been but that doesn't mean it's all going to crumble down around our ears next week" she said very casually and clearly tempting fate.

"I know" Andy nodded, his rather sad looking face contradicting his words.

"Then can you try telling your face that please" she all but begged and making him laugh before he smiled brightly at her. "That's better" she added as she squeezed his hand. "I do wish you'd stop being so nervous about us."

"Me too but I can't help it" he said with a shrug, by no means feeling that way deliberately with him wanting nothing more than to fully relax about life but just couldn't no matter how hard he tried. "I'm just used to bad things happening in my life with alarming frequency. Since I was this big," he said before he gestured with his hand to indicate the height of a toddler, "and I was running around in my brother's shorts and using them as trousers with a piece of string as a belt to hold them up, bad things have happened to me."

Sharon took his hand more firmly in hers and squeezed it again. The longer that they were together the more she got to know all about some of the horrors from his childhood, some of the worst aspects still kept to himself for the time being but regardless she could easily understand why he felt that way. Even when he grew up and started a family of his own his life still fell apart and bad things continued to litter his existence. Neither of them knew what the future held but Sharon was determined to do everything in her power to ensure that it was only good things in his life from that moment on, that she was going to treat him better than anyone ever had in his life for as long as she was able because it wasn't just a matter of her loving him with all her heart, it was because he deserved better. "I know but I hope that's all changed now" she told him rather hopefully.

"That changed the moment you offered to come to Nicole's wedding with me" he grinned.

"Then it's a very good job I love weddings."

"You don't need to tell me that! I know! Oh God I know!" he cried. She laughed at him for a moment. Once again had they been anywhere else she would have kissed him but since they were still at work she instead pushed her lips to her fingers before she pressed them to his cheek. In response Andy winked, adjusting her hand in his, their fingers linked. "I also know it is long since time that I stopped being so nervous about us and waiting for the worst to happen as far as we are concerned so I'm going to try. I promise" he told her in a rare moment when he was being completely serious with her, making that vow and intending to stand by it or die trying.

"Good because I love to see that smile on your face more than anything else in this world."

Andy couldn't help but smirk since that had not always been the case, something that they both acknowledged several times in the past. "That's not what you used to say about ten years ago" he reminded her gleefully. "Back then you wanted to literally smack it off my face if I recall correctly."

"Ah but that was your smirk and not your smile" she corrected.

"And what does my smirk do now?"

"It does things that I'm not prepared to discuss while we are still at work" she told him with sparkling eyes before she sipped on her tea, not prepared to go into any more detail in that building especially since they currently couldn't do anything about it.

Andy laughed and nodded before a comfortable silence fell on the room again. It was now becoming clear to him that Sharon didn't want to return to her office until Julio and Dr Joe were finished with Mark and he could fully understand that but he was determined not to leave without her as he continued to be a little worried about her current emotional state. After a moment his eyes landed on the notice board on the wall opposite them, scanning the notices until he smiled, picking out the one for a lost dog, a Pitbull mix called Snowflake who was in desperate need of her medication before her sudden and very mysterious disappearance. "Has anyone ever looked for that dog?" he asked as he continued to stare curiously at the flyer. Sharon hummed with confusion, not with the faintest idea what he was talking about. "That missing dog" he said as he pointed to the flyer that was pinned to the centre of the board across the room. "I think that was put up the day we moved into this building."

Sharon laughed with surprise. "You're kidding me?" she said.

Although she had started to spend a lot of time on that floor for a variety of reasons from the moment the LAPD moved out of Parker Centre before finally taking over Major Crimes, on the whole she stayed out of the Break Room during that period as she did on other floors away from the Professional Standards Bureau. It was no surprise to her that she was hated and in some cases loathed because of the job she used to do, expecting it to a certain extent when she transferred to PSB but took the transfer not to be popular with her fellow officers but to have more regular hours and a less dangerous job since she was for all intents and purposes essentially a single parent at that point. She was all Emily and Ricky had and she'd be damned before she allowed Jack to raise them on his own if he'd even show up in the first place to do it if she died in the line of duty, electing to be disliked at work instead. Over the years she was more than accustomed to hearing snide and very often vile remarks aimed in her direction as she walked through various departments or just passing someone in the hall which she accepted as part of the job, she didn't like it but tried her best to not take it personally. However some of the very worst remarks aimed in her direction came in places like the Break Room or the bathroom in various departments, many (mostly male it had to be said) officers feeling freer to tell her exactly what they thought of her and the job she did when they were away from their desks and eating lunch, often overstepping the mark. As such she avoided them as much as possible until one day she was offered a new job by Taylor and Pope and therefore had no idea how long that particular flyer had been there.

"Nope. I think it was here before we were in fact, before Provenza's bobble head, before the Chief's candy drawer even" he joked, treating it like an ancient Egyptian relic.

"Well after all that time regardless of whether anyone looked for it or not I'm pretty sure it's no longer with us because of old age" Sharon told him should he be about to take it on as an out of hours project like how he had looked for Paloma to get Gus to cooperate.

"But I wonder if anyone ever found it?" he repeated before Sharon laughed at him. "What?" he asked. "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking" she said as she grinned at him while she squeezed his fingers between hers, nodding finally in the direction of the notice board. "That may be a fabulous second career for you and Lieutenant Provenza after retirement from the LAPD as a way to keep you both out of trouble and out from under mine and Patrice's feet all day long."

Andy laughed. "Oh I see, it's like that is it? My name isn't even on any of the paperwork yet and you're already trying to find ways to get rid of me."

"What can I say? I always have been a planner" she laughed, in reality planning on spending her retirement with the man sitting opposite her rather than wanting him to find a hobby that would keep him out of her hair. "I can just see it now 'Flynn and Provenza: Los Angeles Pet Detectives'" she laughed again. "That way you can still claim that you work for the LAPD" she pointed out, laughing again while he just smiled at her. "It has a nice ring to it don't you think? I can see your faces adorning benches at bus stops all over the city."

"You think you're so funny don't you?"

"I'm just trying to find something to keep you both occupied during your golden years" she mused and in truth expecting them both to be bored senseless after less than ten minutes into their retirements if indeed they ever did actually retire, that by no means a certainty especially in Lieutenant Provenza's case.

"I thought I had you to keep me occupied during my golden years" he suggested and making her laugh and nod. "And do you really think I want to keep hanging around with that guy when I'm no longer being paid a regular wage to do it?"

Sharon laughed again. "Oh yes of course because it's not like you've been the best man at his last three weddings or anything is it? Oh no, you _never_ see each other outside of work at all, you're practically strangers."

"Do you have to be right all the time?" he grumbled. "You can't just let me have one? One other than having to send one of us undercover with a prostitute of course" he said before he smiled at her smugly and letting her know it was going to be many months before he stopped teasing her over that little fact.

"If I let you have one then the floodgates might open and before I know it you're thinking you're right all the time and that's absolutely not going to happen" she told him and rather quickly bursting his bubble.

Andy nodded. "Yeah okay" he relented, making her laugh. "It would never work anyway."

"What wouldn't?"

"Me and Provenza opening a Pet Detective agency or whatever when we retire."

"Why not?" Sharon asked, assuming it was for a reason other than Provenza not at all liking dogs, something that she was more keenly aware of than Andy since Patrice had told her all about an incident that involved her sister Grace, her three beloved and yet rather aggressive and amorous Chihuahuas and their frankly alarming attraction to her second in command. It was the sort of story she would love to share with Andy but she knew if she did he wouldn't be able to stop himself from mentioning it to Provenza and that would only piss him off even more.

"Well firstly he's never going to retire from here, ever, and even if he did what use would he be to me? He doesn't run, he doesn't jump, he doesn't climb" Andy rightly pointed out. "I'll be the one running after dogs and climbing trees after cats, probably giving myself a heart attack twice a month from the effort and the strain and he'll be sitting in a chair watching me, barking orders and drinking a beer between breaks from his crossword puzzle."

"Ah yes but just think of all of the extra stamina you'll have as a result" she replied, her eyes sparkling at him once again to ensure that he got her meaning without the need for her to elaborate further.

Andy looked around for a moment to ensure that there was no one in listening range before he tiptoed right up to the line. He leant across the table slightly to be able to whisper to her. "Do you ever not think about sex?" he joked and making her laugh instantly since it was a question she had asked him many times herself in jest, in fact it was a conversation they had had as recently as that morning. "I'm more than just a piece of man meat here to satisfy your extensive animalistic needs you know" he pouted as if he would be celibate if it wasn't for Sharon pawing at him in bed every moment of every day. "And for the record my eyes are up here," he said as he pointed at his face and making her laugh again, "and not on my backside." Sharon continued to laugh for a moment as she shook her head at him. "Anyway I thought you wanted me all to yourself when we eventually retire" he reminded her. "Have you changed your mind?"

"Not really although you're bound it irritate me a little before too long" she joked as she smiled at him although it was clear that it was still a genuine concern of hers, worried that they were going to irritate the crap out of each other now that they were officially living together and working side by side, being together almost twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

Andy let go of his coffee cup so that he could wrap both of his hands around hers on top of the table. "You're not still worried about that are you?" he asked since she had confessed that it was one of the reasons why she was a little reluctant to move in with him when he first asked her weeks earlier.

Sharon looked away from him for a moment as she answered, a little uncomfortable about the conversation as a whole rather than of their location as they had it. "No. Yes. No" she replied quickly. "I don't honestly know anymore" she sighed, still looking away from him.

"Sharon..."

"I'm not going to let it bother me" she told him as she cut him off and turned back to face him. "You've moved in, the rest of your stuff is following on Saturday and that's all there is to it." She smiled at him, letting him know that she meant it just as she hoped that he meant it when he said he was going to try being less nervous with her. "I'm not going to let any irrational fear or any person or anything ruin this for us. I'm just not going to let it."

"Good. That makes two of us."

"I could be your glamorous assistant" she told him as she sipped on the last of her tea.

"For what?"

"For your Pet Detective agency. I could be your glamorous assistant, showing off my legs as I sit on the edge of your desk and…"

"Well how am I supposed to concentrate on work with that image?" he cried.

Sharon laughed. "I'm pretty sure sharing an office with Lieutenant Provenza may dampen your 'enthusiasm' somewhat" she pointed out although in her mind it would simply be rude to not have at least one rather impulsive tryst on his desk when they were alone should this second career happen sometime down the road, especially since it absolutely was not going to happen while they both still worked for the real LAPD.

"I have to share an office with him too?" he grumbled. "There's a reason that my desk is clear across the other side of the room from his you know."

"I thought that was so whoever occupied my office could keep an eye on your before you got yourself into any more trouble" she suggested when in truth he originally took that desk, the one closest to his commanding officer's office because it was the only one free when he was 'loaned' to Priority Homicide from Robbery Homicide, his intent solely on causing trouble and seeing the back of 'Miss Atlanta.'

"Well that too" he admitted.

"When I'm not sitting on the edge of your desk and driving you to distraction," she teased, "I'll be spending all of my spare time trying to find you both new and interesting cases..."

"Interesting?" he asked and interrupting her mid-sentence.

"Yes. I may have some serious contacts at the LA zoo, you don't know" she told him and easily making him laugh. "I might be able to score you some work looking for a missing lion or tiger for example."

"Or bear?"

"Oh my" Sharon replied quickly as they laughed. "You never know."

"Well that would be an easy case to crack, even for someone with a lot less experience than I have. I'd just listen out for all the screams across the city and get Rusty to look on all the social media crap for lion sightings" he shrugged.

"True, but on all regular cases just when you think all hope is lost and you'll never find poor Mrs Broad's missing Shih Tzu Muffles alive, I'll step in at the very last minute and solve it for you" she told him with a smug smile, even in this fantasy future she had cooked up in her mind she still saw herself as smarter than both of them put together, not that it was untrue.

"Oh I don't doubt that for a moment. Will you be expecting commission for this job?"

"Of course I will. I won't be working for free. I'm expecting at least thirty percent."

"Thirty percent?" he scoffed.

"Keep up the attitude and I'll be asking for forty."

Andy laughed at her and nodded. "Well as wonderful as that all sounds if it's all the same with you I'd much rather have plenty of very lazy mornings in bed with you, long walks on the beach and leisurely lunches than create a part time job for myself when we retire."

Sharon smiled, Andy's idea of their lives after retirement seeming like heaven on earth in her mind. "I'd like that too" she told him, getting a wink in return. "But only until you start to annoy me and then we'll need to find you a paper route or something" she joked.

Andy laughed before he said "I love you Captain" and opting to use her rank to make it more acceptable and professional since they were still at work.

"I love you too Lieutenant."

They smiled at each other in silence for a moment as they held hands across the table. A few seconds later the sound of multiple footsteps and coughing could be heard heading in their direction with Amy, Mike and Buzz walking into the Break Room soon after. Andy instantly went to pull his hand away but Sharon held onto it, under the circumstances seeing no issue with holding his hand across a table in the Break Room in front of people that they both considered to be friends and not just their colleagues. Upon seeing their Captain clutching the hand of her Lieutenant not one of them so much as battered an eyelid at them but rather continued to cough and blink like they'd been sprayed in the face with pepper spray.

"Captain," Amy said as she continued to cough like she had a hairball stuck in the back of her throat, "Lieutenant, whatever you do stay well clear of the Murder Room for the next five minutes" she told them.

"Why? What's wrong?" Sharon asked.

Andy immediately tensed up, Sharon feeling it as she continued to clutch his hand in hers. "If Jack is in there please break it to us very gently" Andy practically begged, seeing it as the only reason they would be told to avoid going in there, once again assuming that the worst was going to happen to them sooner rather than later because they were both currently so happy with life.

"No. It's nothing like that Lieutenant" Buzz replied quickly before pausing to cough a couple of times. "Lieutenant Provenza is currently in there alone because he suddenly realised that he smelled a little on the smoky side."

"Oh dear" Sharon laughed and knowing exactly what the problem was.

"He's practically bathing in that revolting cologne of his as we speak so he can cover the smell before he goes home to Patrice so that she doesn't find out what happened today" Mike revealed, himself thinking he was going to change clothes in the car before he went home, for once thankful that he didn't have hair for the smell to cling to and thus alerting Cathy to his most recent brush with death.

"No kidding. It smells like the place should be tented for termites. It was burning my eyes" Buzz added, still shocked that one person had ever agreed to marry him let alone five and meanwhile he was still single and starting to get a little desperate.

"He'd better hope nobody strikes a match in there or he'll immediately go up in flames" Mike told them as he removed his glasses and wiped his eyes, them stinging so much from the smell that they had started to weep.

"I could almost taste it. We had to get out of there Captain" Amy said as if they needed to justify their appearance in the Break Room en masse to their commanding officer when no such explanation was required and they all knew it. In truth Provenza's extremely powerful and revolting cologne was only one of the reasons they had vacated the Murder Room. Even from their desks and some distance away from the Conference Room they could still hear poor Mark sobbing loudly over the loss of his Mother as Julio and Dr Joe tried their best to comfort and reassure him that despite what had happened the world had not ended and he was not and never would be alone. Every sob they heard made it all the clearer why their Captain was not currently sitting behind her desk and starting on her paperwork, her proximity to the Conference Room making it even more difficult to ignore what was happening on the other side of the glass.

"Now you know how he's been married _so_ many times" Andy laughed, having been trapped in a car with Provenza more often than he wanted first thing in the morning when his vile cologne was most potent and he was usually forced to crack open the window for some much needed light relief. "The smell is so strong and completely overpowering that they spend most of their relationship unconscious and then suddenly they wake up with a ring on their finger and Provenza asleep next to them." Everyone laughed at him which resulted in yet more coughing like the smell was stuck and tickling their throats, something Andy could quite easily relate to. "You do know where he buys it from right?"

"He actually buys it?" Buzz asked shocked. "I assumed it was swamp water."

"Well it may well be but he buys it from a gas station three blocks from his house" Andy revealed.

"What?" Mike laughed.

"That can't be true" Sharon insisted.

"Oh it is. The next time we go by there I'll show you. It's the only place that sells it."

"I can't begin to imagine why" Amy shuddered, stopping just short of retching.

"It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't use so much of it" Andy said which inevitably resulted in Sharon snort laughing into what remained of her tea, drawing the attention of everyone in the room as they smiled at her with amusement. "What?" Andy asked. Unable to speak Sharon continued to laugh at him. "What are you laughing at Raydor?"

After battling for a moment Sharon finally composed herself. "Nothing, nothing at all," she insisted as she tried to tread carefully but since she had been presented with the perfect opportunity to tell him about how liberally he used his cologne, she was going to take full advantage of it, "it's just maybe he who does not practically bathe in four bottles of cologne on a daily basis should perhaps be the one to throw the first stone that's all."

Amy, Mike and Buzz did their best to laugh as subtly as possible while Andy looked very put out by what he was hearing. "Don't laugh at that!" he told them with real attitude before he turned his attention back to Sharon. "Are you saying I smell?"

"Yes and delightfully so at that if not a little overpowering first thing in the morning when the windows are closed" she confessed as gently as possible. Again everyone laughed with the exception of Andy who looked at her agog. "Andy surely this can't come as a surprise to you. Have you never noticed how desperate Rusty is to get in the bathroom before you in the morning?"

Andy shrugged a little sadly. "I thought it was because he wanted to make sure he had enough hot water before he spends the following four hours working on his hair."

"Well that too" Sharon nodded but once again getting a very annoyed frown in return. "Oh Andy my darling you always smell delightful, gorgeous even but if we happen to drive into work together my eyes are often watering by the time we pull into the parking garage" she rather reluctantly admitted now that the cat was well and truly out of the bag while everyone else continued to laugh and Buzz began to pour the three of them a cup of coffee each.

"You said that was the wind" Andy grumbled.

"And it was…partly." Andy frowned again, making it all the worse when Sharon couldn't stop herself from laughing at him. "Oh Andy I'm only joking with you" she lied, catching Amy's eye immediately afterwards and sharing a look that made the young detective smile.

"Are you? Or is this a perfectly timed thing to bring to my attention?" Andy asked.

"Speaking of which" Sharon replied as she changed the subject and pointed towards Amy, Mike and Buzz who were still laughing at the pair of them. Andy frowned, a little uncertain until Sharon gave him a warm but encouraging smile.

"Oh yeah." Andy cleared his throat and once again it was clear to Sharon that he was maybe still a little nervous about everything and specifically everyone knowing about his move into the condo. "Guys while we have you here I've got a favour to ask you." He glanced at Sharon, expecting her to pick up where he'd just left off but instead she just gestured for him to continue like she had done with Rusty that morning. "You may have heard me mention it yesterday in Electronics but in case you didn't I've sold my house."

"Holy crap! Oh that's great" Mike exclaimed joyfully, knowing full well what that meant and that he was therefore about to move into the condo with Sharon and Rusty.

"Congratulations Lieutenant" Amy and Buzz almost said at once.

"Yeah thanks, so obviously that means I'm moving into the condo with Sharon and the kid" Andy continued in case it was unclear to them.

Mike quickly frowned at Sharon, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Are you still one hundred percent sure about this Captain?" he asked, only joking but liking to torment Andy all the same.

"If you've changed your mind no one will think any the less of you and now is the time to tell us" Buzz added as he grinned. Andy looked at her with a quick 'I told you so' expression since he knew they were going to try to talk her out of it even if they were only joking.

Sharon laughed. "Thank you for all your concern and I certainly appreciate it but I've made my decision and although it even comes as a surprise to myself let alone to all of you, I have to admit that I am rather fond of him so I think I'm going to keep him" she confirmed, giving his hand another little squeeze.

"But only as long as I cut down on the cologne right?"

"And put your shoes away and stop leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor and that other thing we discussed" Sharon added, hoping that he cheeks weren't colouring with the thought.

Andy winked at her. "Yeah okay. I'll add it to the list" he told her.

"Well then in that case I think congratulations are definitely in order. I'm so happy for you both although Andy I still have no idea how you've managed to pull this off" Mike smiled.

Everyone laughed as Andy nodded. "That makes two of us" he confirmed.

"Congratulations Captain, Lieutenant" Buzz said.

"Thanks Buzz."

"This is so exciting" Amy added joyously. "So when are you moving?"

Andy glanced at Sharon to see if she was going to answer but once again she remained silent with a smile on her face. "Well since I already have somewhere to move to," he said as he gestured to Sharon and making them laugh, "technically I've moved in already but we've decided to finish emptying my house over the weekend."

"Do you need help?" Mike asked and true to form being the first person they knew would volunteer his services to help.

"If you can spare the time we'd love it. The plan is we're going to stay there Friday night and finish packing up and then Saturday I'm going to rent a van to take everything we don't need to my storage space and bring everything else to the condo" Andy explained. "I mean if you can we'd appreciate your help loading and unloading the van."

Mike put his hand over his heart. "Captain, Andy, it would be my pleasure."

"Thank you Mike" Andy nodded.

Buzz held his hand in the air. "Count me in too."

"And me, and Chuck too of course" Amy added.

"Thank you" Sharon said as she smiled warmly. "We were planning on having a little party at the condo afterwards once we've brought everything upstairs. Nothing much but a couple of pizzas and some beer to say thank you for your help and to celebrate..."

"That you've lost your mind" Andy cut in much to the amusement of the other three while Sharon just frowned at him. "Hey I'm sure everyone is thinking it."

"To be fair Captain that was exactly what I was thinking" Mike agreed.

"I told you" Andy said proudly.

"All joking aside, Captain, Andy, we'll all be thrilled to lend a hand and celebrate with you both and Cathy is just going to be ecstatic!" They laughed at the understatement with Cathy more excited than anyone when Provenza and Patrice got married, them all assuming she would be equally excited by this. He took a step towards the table where they were seated and put his hand out for Andy to shake. "Congratulations buddy."

Andy stood and took his hand, shaking it. "Thanks Mike." Sharon quickly took to her feet too and opened up her arms to hug him, Mike casting a quick glance at Andy. "If you think you're getting out of here without being hugged I've got bad news for you."

Everyone laughed once again as Sharon frowned at Andy. "It's not too late to make you homeless you know" she warned him.

"Believe me I am painfully aware of that" Andy confirmed.

"Congratulations Captain" Mike said again as he hugged her.

"Thank you Mike." As soon as they broke apart Amy was quick to replace him, hugging her Captain while Buzz shook Andy's hand and patted him on the shoulder before they switched places, Amy hugging Andy as Buzz wrapped his arms around Sharon. "Thank you, all of you" Sharon said as she sat back down again.

"Just let us know what time you need us and we'll be there" Amy told them.

"Thanks guys. It means a lot, to both of us" Andy nodded with thanks.

"And how's Rusty with this development?" Buzz asked very seriously as he folded his arms across his chest. It was clear to everyone in the room from not only his question but also the way that he asked it that if he was told anything even slightly negative that he would soon be sitting down and having a conversation with the young man about it much like he had done when Rusty came to him and first spoke about the potential move and the house they wanted to buy. In truth he had also had a few quiet words with Rusty when it became clear that he was initially a little reluctant when Sharon and Andy first started dating, emphasising that Andy was very different guy to Gary in particular and he should be happy for Sharon.

Sharon smiled at Andy as he breathed a sigh of relief as if for effect. "He's absolutely fine with it, really" she insisted and still very happy that was the case.

"Even more so now that I'm not forcing him to move out of the condo" Andy added.

Buzz smiled at him and nodded. He was pleased that Rusty seemed to be happy with the arrangements given that he'd told him just how much he didn't want to move out of the condo and knowing what that place and the stability it brought meant to him. "That's wonderful" Buzz nodded.

"It is indeed" Sharon said as she smiled at Andy, getting a wink in return.

"Okay well I'm going to brave the Murder Room again. Surely the worst must have cleared by now" Mike said, not only hoping that the smell had subsided but that Mark may have calmed down a little too.

"But just to be on the safe side I'm doing my paperwork in Electronics" Buzz stated.

"We'll be joining you shortly" Sharon confirmed, getting a nod from each of them since they all knew why she was currently avoiding her office. One by one they all picked up a cup of coffee that Buzz had poured them and left the Break Room at a very slow pace, eager to allow the air to clear a little more before they walked into the Murder Room. When they were alone again Andy sat back down, smiling at Sharon as she grinned back. "See I told you they'd all want to help" she said rather smugly.

"Just once would it kill you to be wrong?"

"I was once" she admitted.

"When?"

"When I wrote you off as someone that wasn't worth my time and effort" she told him.

"I assume you mean outside of work because when you had your badge on I was definitely worth your time and your effort" he reminded her before they both laughed.

"Yes, outside of work" she nodded.

"And what about when you were ogling me at work?" he teased.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "I have _never_ ogled you at work" she insisted and not for the first time as he frowned at her. "Before we started dating" she amended and getting a smug smile from him as she began to crumble. "Before we went to the ballet together. The first time." Andy laughed, not least because he was right. "Oh shut up" she told him as she laughed with him and finished off her tea. "What about Nicole?"

"What about her?"

"Have you called her and told her you've moved in with me yet?" Instead of answering Andy sipped on what remained of his coffee, deliberately avoiding the question. "Have you asked for her help on Saturday because you know she's going to want to lend a hand if she's not too busy with the boys? In fact she's going to be beyond thrilled by the whole thing." Sharon fell silent for a moment as she awaited an answer but when it became clear than no answer was ever going to be forthcoming without another prod from her she frowned at him. "Well? Have you?"

Andy again sipped on what was now an empty cup as he delayed answering. He was overly hesitant for one reason, he knew he was going to be in a little bit of trouble with Sharon over his continued reluctance to tell people that they were finally moving in together but without ever really giving her a straight forward answer as to why he felt that way. The truth was that Andy currently felt happier than he had ever felt in his entire life. He knew that fact was obvious to the world around him and that his family and friends would also be so happy for him as they made that commitment to each other although they may joke about Sharon being held against her will or Andy knowing where the bodies were buried and therefore managing to blackmail her into it. He even knew that Provenza was going to be happy for him too, thrilled even but he also knew that he was going to drive them both insane the moment he found out because he was going to claim that it was all his suggestion at Mike's party and it was the only reason they were moving in together which made it reason enough to make him delay telling him. But despite all of that the real reason that he was still so reluctant to tell people about it was because he had lingering worries that the moment the world found out about it, someone was going to come along and try to burst his bubble, ruin how happy he currently felt and that's what he wanted to avoid. He was so happy and he saw that same emotion mirrored in Sharon's face when she looked at him and he didn't want that to end. He wanted it to be just the three of them, just him, Sharon and Rusty to know for as long as possible, in their little honeymoon period bubble before the rest of the world got involved and the reality of moving in with someone and the stress and the strain and the inevitable bumps in the road started to appear.

Aside from that there was another reason why he hadn't immediately told Nicole of his good news. He had hardly spoken to her over the last couple of weeks such was his fear of her reaction when she finally discovered that not only had Jared fallen off the wagon again but that Andy hadn't told her about it, fearing her wrath because he'd kept it secret despite none of it being his responsibility or even his business to be fair.

"No not yet" he answered finally.

Sharon frowned at him, frustrated that she couldn't get the truth behind his reluctance from him. "May I ask why not?" she queried, trying her hardest not to sound too annoyed by it all in the full knowledge that it wouldn't help matters if she did but still she couldn't help but think that he was being utterly ridiculous. In complete contrast to Andy she had spoken to Emily and Ricky the morning after she had first asked Andy to move in the moment his house sold and then confirmed it was imminent that morning via text while Andy was still in the shower, all three of her children beyond happy for the both of them (in fact Emily screamed so loud and so long that she almost passed out).

Andy shrugged very casually. "I just haven't found the time" he lied since he had plenty of chances to tell her, not least when he went to see her so that she could give him Jared's cell number and address before he went to see him with Mike and discuss what he thought had happened to Chris. Sharon frowned at him rather than disputing his claim, not believing a word he was saying and still at a loss as to why he wouldn't tell her the truth. "What? I haven't. If we haven't been working all the hours that God gives recently we've both been asleep. When was I supposed to tell her exactly?"

Sharon paused before she answered, taking a deep breath so that her irritation with his rather irrational behaviour didn't seep into her voice. "Andy you would have found time if you'd really wanted to" she stated, letting that linger in the air before she continued in her quest to get to the truth. "What's going on here? Really? You don't think she's going to have a problem with it do you?"

"No of course not" Andy replied as he took her hand again across the table, linking their fingers together like they were before they broke apart to hug Amy, Mike and Buzz in thanks. "She's going to be thrilled by it really, more than thrilled even. In fact there's an exceedingly good chance she'll scream so loud when I tell her that she will actually make a pigeon explode" he said without a hint of exaggeration and making them both laugh.

"Then if it's not that what is it?" she asked, genuinely a little concerned by him at that point.

Andy shrugged as he looked at her a little nervously, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck and letting her know that some element of truth may be about to come her way. He sighed. "I don't know. I just liked that it was just the three of us in the know" he said with a little smile. "No one else to rain on our parade or try and burst our little honeymoon period bubble that we've got going on here" he said as he laughed nervously and kept his eyes locked on their joined hands in the centre of the table, their lives containing a lot of smiles and sex since the moment she asked him to move in, that only increasing since his house actually sold.

Sharon smiled, slowly understanding where his reluctance was coming from. She moved a hand to his chin, lifting his face so that she could look him in the eye. "And who do you think is going to rain on our parade exactly?" she asked, currently unable to think of anyone who wouldn't be happy for them.

"Well for starters there are a couple of vindictive and bitter ex-spouses out there who would love nothing better than to quickly stick the boot in when and where they can just for the chance to ruin things between us if for only a minute" he rightly pointed out, under the assumption that the very moment Jack heard he was moving in he would suddenly put in another appearance just to cause trouble (the reason why his mind had immediately jumped to that theory when Amy told them to avoid the Murder Room for a few minutes).

Sharon nodded and rested her head on her free hand as she gazed at him, squeezing his hand more firmly in hers as a way to reassure him. "Yes that is very true. I am expecting Jack to poke his head up from whatever rock he's currently hiding behind to try his best to warn you away from me for your own good when he does finally catch wind of what's happening but trust me after last time with what happened with your blood clot, Emily and Ricky won't be sharing anything about me or you with him ever again so you've got nothing whatsoever to worry about on that front."

It had briefly crossed Sharon's mind when she phoned Emily to tell her that she had asked Andy to move in with her to casually ask her to not tell her Father of this development. It wasn't that Emily and Jack spoke a lot and when she did tell him about Andy's blood clot she only did it out of a genuine concern for her Mom and her boyfriend, worried to death about them both and how she was going to cope if she lost him, never having seen her Mother that happy in her life. It was just an unfortunate coincidence that Jack just so happened to call Emily on the same day as Andy was told he had a blood clot and even though they didn't speak often Jack could still tell instantly from the tone in her voice that she was a little upset and worried about something. It only took a couple of quick prods for her to tell him what was bothering her and despite begging him to not say anything to either Sharon or Andy especially since Andy wanted it kept quiet, she instantly knew she'd made a mistake but hoped that for once her Father would pleasantly surprise her and keep his mouth shut. In hindsight she accepted that she should have known better than to trust him, further damaging their already highly fragile relationship which hadn't really healed since.

"Okay but just for the record he can try and save me from you all he likes because it won't change a God damn thing" Andy stated emphatically. "I don't need saving from you…except perhaps in the middle of the night when you're attacking me in your sleep" he joked, giving her a weak smile.

Sharon laughed. "Good" she nodded, smiling at him until she got a genuine smile from him in return. "And you don't need to worry about Sandra either. I'm sure she's far too worried about upsetting Nicole to have any opinion on the subject at all" she added, from her own experience knowing that it was better to be seen as Switzerland in the eyes of her children when it came to their Father, not wanting to cloud their judgement or upset them just because she would rather stab Jack in the scrotum with a steak knife.

Andy laughed. "You just wait until Christmas." He agreed that for the sake of Nicole (and to a lesser extent Daniel who disliked his Father just as much as his Mom did) that his ex-wife would never arrive at a family gathering with the intention of verbally attacking and ripping him to shreds but the sight of him and the memories and the anger that summoned in her sometimes made her forget all about that, doing and saying things she wouldn't normally want to think about in Nicole's presence in case it appeared on her face.

"Oh I think we can both handle a couple of hours in the company of Sandra and Jack on Christmas Day," Sharon said and oozing confidence on the matter, "especially when we have each other and _all_ of our children around us, each one of them on our side."

"All of them? Yeah okay" Andy scoffed, thinking that he could have a heart attack and it still wouldn't make Daniel want to come and spend any time with him. In truth more than a little progress had been made over the course of the holidays that previous Christmas with Daniel not only sending his Dad a Christmas card but also calling him late in the evening for a quick chat. Even so despite his very best efforts Andy hadn't seen or heard from him since, making it almost a year since he'd last seen his son in person (and then he'd only seen him for five minutes when he suddenly turned up at the hospital the day before he was released after his surgery) given that he had flat out refused to go to Nicole's house for dinner on Christmas Day because he knew Andy would be there (the main reason why Sandra showed up so upset, a little drunk and ready to tear Andy a new one, her son causing himself even more pain because he didn't want to see his Dad and being unable to do anything but blame Andy for that).

Sharon squeezed his hand again. "Hey I'm trying to be optimistic here, one of us needs to be in this relationship and we both know it's not going to be you." They both laughed before he nodded in agreement. "For the record Andy I also love this little honeymoon bubble that we're currently living in with only the three of us in the know but the honeymoon period isn't going to come to an end just because everyone else knows what's going on and it's long since time we told the people we love our good news so that they can celebrate with us." She smiled again as a warm blush started to creep up her neck and to her cheeks, him grinning back at her as a result. "I am so unbelievably happy right now Andy, happier than I've ever been in my life even and that's in no small part down to you my beautiful boy" she told him in case he was at all unclear on the subject. "I'm happy, truly happy for the first time in a very long time and I feel the need to celebrate, desperately. I want to stand on the roof of the building and scream it so loud that the whole world can hear me, even Jack and Sandra. Michael too" she added, them both laughing at the thought.

"Well you can tell him but I doubt he'll understand or even remember who you are" Andy stated quite rightly since his ex-wife's husband was a little on the stupid and forgetful side to say the least.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "And the look on Chief Taylor's face when we tell him is going to be priceless." They both laughed at the thought, looking forward to telling Taylor just to see the awkward expression on his face. She paused before she continued, desperate to get him to realise that the world was not about to fall down around their ears just because everyone was told of their plans. "Letting everyone know is going to be just as good as keeping it between just the three of us, trust me" she told him as she squeezed his hand. "And even if it wasn't I'd still want everyone in this world to know that you, my best friend, my insanely gorgeous and sweet boyfriend, my partner in this life and the next, the man I utterly adore with every single fibre of my being is moving in with me, making my home our home, now and forever." She paused again, trying not to get emotional at work when she already felt emotional enough given what had happened that day and what was currently taking place in her Conference Room. "Throughout this relationship you've patiently waited for me to stop dragging my feet and I've finally done it. Now it's your turn. Okay?"

Andy nodded and smiled, determined to do his best for her. "Okay."

"Good but regardless of all that Nicole is going to be so happy for you, for the both of us and she's definitely going to want to come and help you move on Saturday." Andy nodded back at her, knowing she was right. "So come on. Do it now."

"Now?"

"Yes, what's wrong with now?"

"We're at work."

Sharon laughed at their role reversal with Andy suddenly being the one out of the two of them obsessed with the rules. "We're on a break and I've already told you that while Julio and Dr Joe are still talking to Mark right next door to my office I don't mind stalling on our paperwork for a little while longer." Even though it was going to mean she wouldn't leave work until well after dark, she was determined not to go back into her office until Julio was ready to take Mark home so with time to kill there was no time like the present in her eyes.

"Okay but I'm warning you now, there's going to be screaming." Sharon laughed knowing that he was probably right since Emily had also screamed a few weeks ago when she was first told the news. "And don't go blaming me if birds suddenly start flying into the windows out there because I've warned you." Sharon laughed again as Andy pulled his cell phone from his pocket and put it on the table. He opened it and pressed Nicole's name from his list of 'Favourites' before he put it on speakerphone and moved it to the centre of the table so that they could both speak to her. It rang a couple of times before it was answered, Andy quick to speak first before Nicole inevitably jumped to the wrong conclusion as she so often did when he called her. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey Dad. I've just seen that explosion on the news. That wasn't you guys was it?" she asked quickly, worry clearly audible in her voice.

Andy glanced at Sharon and winked, covering his nose with his hand even though Nicole wouldn't be able to see that he was lying. "No that wasn't us" he told her, selling his lie to her perfectly while Sharon stifled a laugh. She could completely understand why he was lying to his daughter about work, not wanting her to worry about him and his job even more than she already did, that getting so much worse like it had for Sharon following his accident and subsequent blood clot. It was actually the same thing that had happened a couple of weeks earlier after the shooting at the hotel. Sharon had deliberately not told Rusty what had happened at work when he and Gus stopped by PAB unannounced to talk about looking for a potential 'witness' rather than a suspect connected to the partials from Buzz's case. Without giving it much thought she opted to keep it to herself because she knew it would only upset Rusty and cause him to worry about them at work even more than he already did. In the end though she was forced to tell him what had happened when he came home unexpectedly and found both of them sitting on the floor from where she had momentarily collapsed into a flood of tears as a result but on the whole if they could hide the horrors of their jobs from their families so that they wouldn't worry then they would do it. "You got a minute to talk sweetheart?"

"Sure Dad. What's on your mind?" Nicole asked before they heard a distinct slurping noise over the phone, letting them know that she was also currently on a coffee break.

"Nothing really I just wanted to tell you something...and before you say anything, no Sharon and I have not broken up," he sighed and getting in first before she leaped to the wrong conclusion and assumed the worst once again, "in fact she's sitting right here next to me as I speak." He rolled his eyes and gestured for Sharon to speak and confirm that he was telling the truth.

Sharon smiled at him before she leant in closer to the phone to ensure that Nicole heard her clearly. "Hi Nicole."

"Hey Sharon" Nicole cried with great joy but that soon subsided as she paused, starting to get a little worried about what they were calling to tell her especially since they were doing it together. "Okay how worried should I be right now?" she asked.

Sharon laughed. "Not at all Nicole. Not at all, I promise you."

"Why does your mind always jump to the worst possible conclusion whenever I call you and tell you I have news?" Andy asked, a little annoyed by the insinuation given the strides he had taken to change and make amends to her and her brother but trying and ultimately failing to hide it from her.

"Oh gee I don't know Dad. Maybe it was the fact that I grew up with my Mother who never had a good word to say about you most of the time and when I did get to speak to you over the phone it was usually so that you could tell me that you were still at work or something and our weekend plans to go to Disneyland or wherever were cancelled" Nicole stated very matter-of-factly, not saying it get at her Father but more by way of an explanation as to why she always assumed the worst from him when he called. Andy sighed and looked down a little sadly as Sharon took his hand again. "But rightly so that is firmly in the past and I am now a lot more interested in focusing on our future" she added as the smile slowly started to come back to Andy's face, his daughter telling him for not the first time that the past was the past and she had forgiven him for everything that had happened, only interested in moving forward even though the past did sometimes cloud her initial reaction to him before she saw sense. "So go on Dad, what's your big news?"

"Well I sold my house yesterday" Andy explained, pausing as he waited for an overly excited response to echo around the Break Room and potentially shattered the windows.

Instead Nicole was much more reserved, uncharacteristically so. "Oh" she said simply as she tried to hold in the high levels of excitement she was currently feeling but with Sharon and Andy able to almost hear her beaming smile over the phone. "Oh right, you sold your house. Okay. Great. That's great. So that means what exactly?" she asked. Nicole knew very well what that meant or rather what she hoped that meant for them as a couple but until she had confirmation she knew better than to jump to conclusions, she had already done that once in the longstanding 'will they, won't they' saga which was the relationship between her Father and the love of his life.

"It means that until we can find somewhere new that we like so that we can buy it together, which I must admit I'm no longer in that much of a rush to do anymore," Andy was quick to clarify before he smiled at Sharon, "I'll be moving in with Sharon and Rusty at the condo." As soon as the words left his mouth he braced himself and cringed, expecting Nicole to scream so loud that it would cause his ears to ring even more than they were from the explosion.

"Oh my God Dad!" Nicole screamed like he had just told her he was buying her five year self a real live unicorn on the same day they were moving into Cinderella's castle at Disneyland and her diet would solely consist of candy from that moment on, dentists be damned. No longer capable of forming coherent words due to her excitement Nicole started to squeal. It was a noise that neither Sharon or Andy had ever heard come out of a human being before, like a dolphin on helium having a screaming orgasm. It was so loud that they both flinched and recoiled away from the phone, Sharon putting her fingers into her ears to block the sound while Andy immediately took her off speakerphone but they could still hear her through the earpiece, her screaming not even stopping so that she could draw breath. Andy waited a moment for her to calm down before he pressed the speaker button again but she was still squealing, if anything getting louder and making them both wonder how long it would take for one of her colleagues to come and check on her.

"Nicole! Nicole! Honey!" Andy cried loud enough so that she might be able to hear him over the cry coming from her lips. "You're going to pass out if you don't take a breath soon!"

Finally the squealing stopped but her excitement showed no signs of abating. "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" she repeated. "This is really happening? This is real? You're really moving in together?"

Sharon laughed as they smiled at each other before Andy gleefully admitted "Yes it is, we are" and winked at her again.

"Sharon he's really moving in with you? This is real?" Nicole asked. It wasn't that she didn't trust her Father but where Sharon was concerned and the history they had it paid for her to be a little cautious. "This is not another one of his classic 'misunderstandings' where he's just lying through his back teeth to me and hoping that no one, least of all you, finds out about it is it?"

Sharon laughed while Andy sighed, thinking there was very little chance that he would _ever_ live that particular incident down. "Well it's not like I've got a whole lot of choice in the matter now that he's sold his house" Sharon teased, smiling at Andy while Nicole laughed. "Yes. This is real. Your Dad has sold his house and he is moving in with me at the condo, officially" she stated emphatically. "Surprised?"

"Oh Sharon you have no idea really" Nicole replied, the joy in her voice ringing loud and clear into the air. Although in truth she didn't see her Dad all that often (mainly because of his job and erratic hours) and nowhere near as often as either would like, they usually spoke on the phone every other day so she had been there every step of the way during their complicated 'Will they? Won't they? They bloody well have with bells on!' relationship so far. Whereas moving in together after fourteen months wouldn't come as a surprise for a lot of other couples (not forgetting that Patrice moved in with Provenza roughly seven months after they first met) it was a massive surprise for a couple like Sharon and Andy with Nicole knowing that her Dad and his girlfriend had been taking their whole relationship so very slowly for a variety of reasons. Case in point, although she hadn't said a word about it (other than to Dean as she asked for his opinion) at the time, she had been unable to ignore that they slept in separate rooms while he recovered from his accident and then before and after his surgery (despite the fact he needed constant monitoring at the time), easily piecing together that Andy was occupying Rusty's bedroom rather than sharing a bed with Sharon when logically it made sense for them to do that if for no other reason than to ensure he was okay and still breathing because they hadn't yet consummated their physical relationship. Still she understood completely why they were taking it so slowly, after all she had worked with Dean long before they started dating and as difficult as that was to balance their professional and private lives when they first got together she felt that it was easy in comparison to what her Dad and Sharon battled with at work, Nicole only becoming Dean's boss _after_ they got married and realising that they may have been forced into taking things a little slower had they started dating after her promotion. "This really is the best news I've heard in a long old time. I'm so happy for you both. So when? When is this happening?"

"Well we were thinking on Saturday" Andy told her, Sharon smiling at him again since he still sounded a little shy and nervous about the whole thing.

"So soon?" Nicole asked, delighted by the change in speed their relationship was currently moving at given when had happened leading up to that point, thinking some corpses moved faster than they did as a couple. "That's fabulous!"

"There's not much point in us waiting" Andy replied, feeling the need to explain himself given Nicole's reaction. "I already know where I'm moving to so that's not an issue."

"Besides he wants to move in before I change my mind" Sharon cut in, grinning at him while Nicole laughed at his expense.

"That's no joke, it's the truth" Andy confirmed. "But aside from that nearly everything I own is already packed up and ready to go and I know Escrow will take a few weeks to sort out but why not just move now rather than waiting?" he added, still feeling the need to justify how quickly he was moving into the condo despite there being no need, so far everyone in agreement that there was no point in him waiting now that he had a buyer even if the sale did fall through before it could be completed.

"Oh I wholeheartedly agree" Sharon confirmed, despite her own nerves about the whole move she was thrilled that it was finally happening. Since she could have lost Andy twice in the last couple of weeks alone she just wanted the rest of their lives to finally get started and moving him into the condo officially was the first step in achieving that.

"Me too. Why wait at all?" Nicole agreed. "If you ask me you've both done far too much of that in this relationship so far since you know, the whole 'We're dating but we don't know it' saga began after I married Dean."

"Yeah thanks for that Nicole" Andy replied a little shyly as he rolled his eyes, making both Sharon and Nicole laugh at his awkwardness. "But you're right" he continued as he looked up to meet Sharon's eye. "We've wasted more than enough time, I don't want to waste any more" he said plainly as he winked at Sharon, a slight blush making it into her cheeks again.

"Do you need me to come and help you pack up the rest of your house?" Nicole asked, eager to help in any way she could in order to facilitate his move as quickly as possible.

"Well that's another reason why I'm calling sweetheart. I have most of it already packed up in boxes and what I'm not taking to Sharon's condo..."

"To _our_ condo" she corrected. Sharon reached across the table and took his hand a lot more securely in her own, squeezing it. Although he had referred to it as 'their home' and 'their bedroom' that morning on a couple of occasions it was clear to her that Andy was always going to think of the condo as Sharon and Rusty's apartment and he was just going to live there. With Andy and Rusty now getting along better than they had ever done and no longer in need of the same levels of encouragement to bond, her new goal was to get Andy to start thinking about the condo as his home at all times rather her home that he just so happened to share especially since he'd made it abundantly clear of late that he was no longer looking for a house for them to buy together. He wanted to live with Sharon and he had achieved that, for now they would make the condo work for the three of them and if the perfect house fell into their laps they would consider it but it was no longer as urgent as it once was. As such she was determined to get Andy to see it as his home as soon as possible.

"Right" Andy nodded. "What I'm not taking to _our condo_ like my furniture I'm going to put into storage until we either buy somewhere bigger, decide what to do with it or Rusty has it when he eventually gets a place of his own. We were thinking of doing it this Saturday if..."

"Oh my God Dad I am so there!" Nicole cried, not giving him the time to finish his sentence before declaring her intention to come and help.

"Really? You don't mind helping out?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I don't mind! Jeez you're my Dad and you're moving in with the love of your life" Nicole gushed, making Andy and Sharon smile at each other. "Of course I want to come and help you."

"Thanks sweetheart. I've got the guys from work to give us a hand as well and I think between us and the truck we should be able to get everything done in a couple of hours."

"Then we were thinking about having a little party afterwards" Sharon confirmed, ignoring the way Andy was grinning at her and her famous 'sense of occasion' once again. "Nothing special but a few drinks and a quick bite to eat to thank everyone for their help and to celebrate a little."

"That sounds wonderful. I'll get Dean to help as well" Nicole stated and giving her husband very little choice in the matter, he was helping whether he liked it or not and death was the only excuse she would accept from him if he was unable to assist and even then she would only begrudgingly accept it, possibly dragging him there anyway like she was re-enacting a scene from _Weekend at Bernie's_. "Mom can have the boys for the day while we're helping" she added before she couldn't help but laugh to herself. "Oh man Mom is going to be so pleased for you but so incredibly pissed about it at the same time" she laughed with Sharon quickly joining her. As an adult Nicole had actively chosen to be highly amused by the rather complicated relationship her parents now had. There was no doubt that they would always love each other, by no means the loves of each other's lives but they were their first loves and they had children together along with a lot of wonderful memories to go with the bad ones, as such they would always have that bond between them much like Sharon had with Jack. But regardless of that Sandra still hated Andy with a passion, hated him for how he had allowed their marriage to completely fall apart because of his drinking and the effect that it had on both of their children (especially Daniel). Yet at the same time she was also thrilled to see Andy happy and settled down with someone for the sake of Nicole and Daniel, a healthy and happy Father giving them one less thing to worry about and thus ensuring that when their paths crossed over the holidays or special occasions, Sandra would smile pleasantly at him while at the same time wanting to remove his scrotum and feed it to him.

"But one question that needs to be asked," Nicole said since she was unable to ignore the thought lingering in the back of her mind, "Dad why haven't you told me about this sooner if you've clearly been planning this for a while and you're now literally only a matter of hours from moving in?" she asked, their relationship improving over the last couple of years to the extent where they spoke on the phone a couple of times a week at least and yet he hadn't even hinted that they were thinking about moving in together. "You didn't even tell me that you'd put your house up for sale and were even considering moving in together."

"I know that sweetheart but I was just..."

Before Andy could go any further Sharon picked up his phone from the middle of the table and brought it to her mouth so that Nicole would only be able to hear her speaking and effectively silencing him. "Nicole he's going to tell you some utter nonsense about not wanting to disappoint you if we didn't end up buying somewhere nearby to your house because that's where we've been looking if we're honest but really it's because he's been worried that someone was going to try and talk me out of moving in with him and because he's also so unbelievably happy right now, he didn't want anyone to burst his bubble" Sharon stated while her eyes remained locked on Andy's. With the truth laid out for Nicole (now that Sharon finally had the truth herself) she put Andy's phone back in the centre of the table and smiled at him smugly. Andy stared back at her, looking incredibly unimpressed despite it being the truth before he finally smiled at her, glad that he had finally been honest with her even though it made him look a little foolish.

"Really? Oh Dad you are so adorable!" Nicole cried despite knowing how much he loathed having that word thrown in his direction, under the impression is was a code word for 'old.'

Andy rolled his eyes and frowned as Sharon laughed. "Oh jeez!"

"And now he's pulling a face like he's eaten bad seafood" Sharon announced.

"Oh his little pouty face!" Nicole cried, knowing exactly what he currently looked like.

"That's the one" Sharon laughed, finding it all the funnier as Andy started to look more pissed off by the second as they continued to laugh at his expense.

"Okay that's enough" Andy huffed. "You know I don't think I've ever told you before how much I love it when you gang up on me like this."

"You mean like how you and Rusty tried to gang up on me this morning" she asked with a smug smile, both men taking great delight in teasing her as they got ready for work over the size of her wardrobe and excessive shoe collection.

"But this is different" Andy insisted.

"Oh be quiet" Sharon told him. "You love it."

"Yes I do. I really really do" Andy grinned as he winked at Sharon, having his once estranged daughter teaming up with his girlfriend to tease him as close to heaven as he could get on Earth in his opinion. "I'm sorry Nicole but there were many reasons why I didn't tell you sooner, most of them stupid but it's happening now and it's happening this weekend and at the end of the day we're moving in together and that's all that matters."

"I think you mean it's 'already happened' boy" Sharon corrected him. "Technically you moved in last night after we finally got chance to talk about your house being sold. It's just everything else you need to bring with you which is following on Saturday."

"Right. Well anyway it's _happened_ and I'd be very thankful for your help moving my stuff."

"Oh trust me Dad, I have honestly been waiting for this moment for a very very long time" she told him, never ever dreaming that he would end up so happy and settled especially when she would frequently catch sight of him at the Mall (and then immediately hid behind the nearest pillar so she wouldn't have to speak to him) when she was a teenager, usually finding him in the company of a woman closer to her age than his and thinking he would never find someone to love who loved him in return. "I always hoped that one day you'd find the love of your life because I knew it blatantly wasn't Mom" she stated before they all laughed. "Dad I couldn't be happier for you, for both of you and I will do anything you want in order to help. Will you give me a call when you know what time you want us?"

"Of course."

"I can't wait to tell the boys" Nicole laughed, clapping her hands together with joy as she said it. "They're going to be so excited. No more questions about why Grandpa Andy and Granny Sharon don't live together when Mom and Michael and Dean's parents do."

Sharon and Andy both laughed, dodging that question themselves the last time they took Robin and Justin to Santa Monica pier for the afternoon, both boys baffled that they didn't actually live together when all of their other Grandparents did. "What did you tell them?" Andy asked.

"That you snore too loudly" Nicole replied, the first thing that sprung to mind when the boys first posed that particular question after having spent time at both the condo and the house that day.

Sharon laughed, her eyes sparkling at Andy since she was probably going to get him in a little bit of trouble with his daughter but simply couldn't resist the temptation. "I think you may be a little surprised when you tell the boys" she said, suppressing a laugh.

"Why?"

"Andy has already told them" Sharon blurted out, getting a frown from Andy in return.

"What? When was this?"

"A couple of months ago," Sharon replied for him, getting yet another frown in response, "after we decided to move in together and we started looking for a house."

"Really?" Nicole asked with amazement. "But they can't keep secrets."

"Oddly enough I know that but I told them anyway" Andy told her. The last time that Andy had asked his Step-Grandsons to keep a secret (before he told them he was selling his house and moving in with Granny Sharon) it was after he had forgotten they were in the back seat of his car and proceeded to curse at a driver who had cut him up, turning the air blue as he vented his rage. It wasn't so much that the boys told Nicole and Dean what had happened and what they had heard him say but more that they started to repeat the words he'd used that evening. The moment Nicole heard that sort of foul language fall from the lips of those two formally angelic boys she knew who they had heard it from and this was despite both the boys promising they wouldn't say a word when Andy bribed them with ice cream to keep quiet.

"But why did you tell them and not me?" Nicole asked.

Andy sighed, not really one hundred percent sure of the reason himself if he was being totally honest. "I've already told you, I didn't want to get your hopes up if we didn't find anywhere in your neighbourhood and I was also a little worried that Sharon would change her mind" he said before Sharon squeezed his hand.

"Which was never going to happen boy" Sharon told him once again.

"Or that someone would try to talk her out of it" he added.

"Who would try and talk her out of it exactly?" Nicole asked.

Andy sighed. "I don't know but it's just something that kept coming back to me when I couldn't sleep I guess. I know, I know, you don't need to tell me, I already know I'm a moron." There was no denying that Andy Flynn was a lot more insecure than anyone really realised and despite his continued attempts to banish those dark thoughts and worries from his mind they always put up a serious fight and more often than not they won, shouting down the better angels in his head. The fact of the matter was he always seemed to end up on his own, whether that was through design by attending college and then the academy clear across the other side of the country from his family to avoid a 'conflict of interests' because of his Dad's frequent brushes with the law or because he drank too much and drove his wife and children away, he was always alone. Between his divorce and Nicole's wedding Andy often had female company to keep his feet warm at night but he was under no illusions, it was just sex and if anything it left him feeling lonelier than ever. Now he had Sharon and he felt more loved than he had ever done before in his entire life but with everything that had happened to him he still expected it to be snatched away from him and although it seemed irrational to Sharon and Nicole and he couldn't fully explain it himself, he couldn't shake the feeling no matter how hard he tried.

"Oh Dad you are so adorable" she cried with Andy once again rolling his eyes as Sharon laughed. "So why did you tell them and not me?"

"I was excited and I needed to tell someone, someone who would be pleased for me but wouldn't think Sharon was completely insane."

"I would have been pleased for you Dad regardless," Nicole told him sincerely, "no matter if you moved to a block away from us or a hundred miles away. As long as you are happy, all three of you then that's all that matters to me, that's all it takes for me to be happy for you and I really am so so happy for you, for both of you."

"Well you don't need to worry about that, I am exceptionally happy right now" he told her as he winked at Sharon, not that he really needed to say it, it being clear to everyone who knew him that he was happier than he had ever been in his life. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."

"Oh well you've told me now," Nicole said as she put an end to the matter, not wanting him to feel bad about it despite her slight annoyance about it all, "and I get to help so it really doesn't matter in the great scheme of things." Sharon smiled at him with a blatant 'I told you so' look as she squeezed his hand. "I still can't believe those boys kept a secret though" she added with sheer disbelief. "They never keep secrets. Ever. They stole a box of cookies from the top of the fridge once and they were confessing with guilt while they were still chewing" she told them, laughing at the memory along with Sharon and Andy. "But they managed to keep this secret? I'm shocked."

Andy shrugged at Sharon. "See, I told you. It's the Guy Code" he said, informing her when he confessed that he'd told the boys that they wouldn't say anything because he had explained all about the 'guy code' to them and how guys keep secrets for other guys.

"The Guy Code?" Nicole asked and sounding decidedly unimpressed.

"Oh trust me Nicole you don't want to know" Sharon insisted.

"Have you been teaching those boys more curse words?" Nicole asked but was only met with silence on the other end of the phone. "Dad? Have you?"

"No! And I didn't teach them any curse words in the first place" he said as if he'd just been accused of murdering a hooker, protesting his innocence once again. "I just happened to forget they were in the car when a few choice words slipped out at another driver that's all."

"Then what's this Guy Code?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"I just told them that guys keep other guy's secrets that's all...and then I bribed them with copious amounts of ice cream" he confessed, smiling and feeling very pleased with himself as Sharon laughed.

"Oh Dad!" Nicole cried, her eye roll almost audible over the phone.

"What?" Andy laughed. "I thought Dean would be pleased I was sharing this kind of manly wisdom with them."

"Oh yes Dean will be thrilled" Nicole said dryly.

"Exactly" Andy crowed.

"But only because he's a moron too" Nicole shot back.

Sharon laughed, Nicole so much like Andy in every way except appearance. "Like Father, like daughter" she said as she continued to laugh.

"Look never mind that, can you come and help me out on Saturday or not?" Andy asked.

"Of course, I'd love to. Just let me know what time you want me."

"Thanks sweetheart. Well I'll let you go."

"Okay but don't think we're not going to revisit this 'Guy Code' and ice cream business in the very near future because we are" Nicole warned him with humour in her tone.

"Yeah okay. Bye Nicole."

"Bye Dad. Bye Sharon."

"Bye Nicole." Andy had barely had chance to end the call before Sharon smiled at him rather smugly and said "I told you" with a definite lilt to her voice.

"What that Nicole would want to help?"

"No that you were going to get into trouble when she found out what you'd been saying to those boys" she told him, her eyes sparkling and barely containing her amusement.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he replied, more than used to Sharon proving him wrong about most things except for undercover operations with prostitutes. "What about Gavin and Andrea? Have you told them yet?"

"No."

"See you're just as bad."

"Hardly."

"Then why haven't you told them?" he asked, unsure of the reason other than nerves as to why she wouldn't have told her closet friends that he was moving with her.

"Because they really will try to talk me out of it," she told him bluntly, "so they can wait until after you've officially left your house for the final time." In truth Sharon was still more than a little annoyed that Gavin and Andrea had waited for Andy outside his AA meeting one evening when they first started dating and essentially threatened the safety of his testicles if he ever broke her heart. Sharon had been looking out for her own best interests for decades and she didn't need them to protect her, least of all protect her from Andy Flynn of all people. Although she'd not actually spoken to them about it since Andy had reluctantly confessed what had happened because she didn't want them to not trust him any more than they did already, she still held a grudge and knowing that they were likely to threaten Andy again at best and try to talk her out of the move at worst, she was determined to not say a word until after Andy had moved in officially. "Emily and Ricky and Rusty know and that's all that matters" she said reassuringly. "Now there's only one person left to tell" she stated with a grin, allowing that thought to fester in his mind before continuing. "Do you want me to go and fetch your boyfriend so that you can tell him now or are you going to do it?"

"He is not my boyfriend" Andy said for the hundredth time despite knowing that the more he said it the more Sharon would continue to insist that he was.

"Then why are you so afraid to tell him that we're moving in together?"

"I'm not afraid. Like I told you last night I just know he's going to be all smug and shout 'I told you so!' while he does his version of dancing in my face before he tries to talk you out of it and then refuse to help me move anyway" he explained.

Sharon laughed. "He's not going to try to talk me out of it. He's going to be happy for both of us" she insisted but knowing full well that Andy wasn't really scared of that as far as his best friend was concerned but rather using it as a blanket response.

"Okay but the other two are still true" he reiterated, putting off Provenza's gloating for as long as possible because there was no way he wasn't going to assume Andy was moving into the condo because he suggested it.

"Agreed but I can do something about the last one" she replied with a grin and referring to the indisputable fact that Provenza would refuse to help because he 'doesn't lift and doesn't carry.' Sharon continued to smile at him before she took her cell phone from her pocket and began to type out a message.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm texting Patrice" she told him as she continued to type out her message until she put her phone down on the table with a flourish and looked very pleased with herself. "Done! His assistance on Saturday is now guaranteed and all you need to do now is tell him before Patrice does." Before Andy had chance to respond or protest, knowing that Provenza was going to go crazy when he found out that his Captain had the power to effect his home life since she started dating Andy, the man in question walked in as if on cue. "And speak of the devil." They could almost smell him before they saw him with the vast amount of cologne he was now wearing forming a cloud around him that they could virtually see like he was related to Pig-Pen from _Peanuts_. Andy instantly started to cough just to make a point as Sharon laughed at him, seeing no difference in the amount of cologne that both men wore with the exception that Andy's cologne smelled a whole let letter than Provenza's and in combination with his own unique smell he was just intoxicating to her (and occasionally highly distracting to her on days when her focus wasn't really on the paperwork stacked on her desk with no active case to solve and she just happened to walk past his desk and take a deep breath or if he would innocently brush passed her in the Break Room when they were getting a cup of coffee, her mind far from on the job for a fleeting moment).

Provenza stopped dead in his tracks as the words 'And speak of the devil' registered in his mind, immediately suspicious not only because of what Sharon had just said but also due to the way she was smiling at him. "Captain."

Before she could respond her phone started to vibrate on the table. She picked it up and smiled at the message before putting it back down again, the smile still very much present on her face. "Good afternoon Lieutenant." Provenza nodded at her as he continued to look highly suspicious of the pair of them. Shaking it off quickly he moved to the kitchen area and started to pour himself a cup of coffee. With his back to them Sharon poked Andy on the arm and pointed towards Provenza, getting a shake of his head in response. "Go on. Tell him."

"Tell me what?" Provenza asked as he turned to face them, sipping on his coffee.

Andy rolled his eyes at Sharon as he prepared for the inevitable dancing that was about to take place in front of him because Provenza was under the completely false assumption it was all his idea, after he'd tried to talk Sharon out of the move of course. "Yeah I...we have some news" he started before he paused, taking a deep breath. "I've sold my house and I'm going to...or rather I have," he said before he paused again and smiled at Sharon, "moved into the condo." No sooner were the words out of Andy's mouth then Provenza started to smile, a smug smile that gave a clear indication he felt the move was solely down to him and his not so subtle suggestion at Mike's party. "And before you say it this _wasn't_ your idea. We'd already talked about it before you suggested it the other day so it has nothing to do with you at all."

Provenza shrugged, not believing a word. "Whatever makes you feel better Flynn." With his coffee still in hand he took a step closer to Sharon and gave her a look of deep concern, a look he normally reserved for the relatives of victims who had just been broken the utterly devastating news about their loved one. "Captain, are you really sure about this? I mean I'm sure Gavin could help and find some loophole somewhere so that he could pull out of the sale if it's gone through already and you've changed your mind."

"See!" Andy shouted. "What did I tell you?"

Sharon laughed. "I appreciate the thought and your concern Lieutenant, really I do but I won't be changing my mind especially since technically he's already moved in with me."

"Oh well in that case congratulations Captain and I sure hope you know what you've let yourself in for."

Sharon laughed again. "Thank you Lieutenant, so do I," she replied as she looked at Andy and smiled, getting a wink in return, "so do I."

"So when did this move take place?"

"Well personally last night but I still need to put my furniture into storage and bring the rest of my stuff to the condo so we were thinking that maybe if you're not busy on Saturday you and Patrice can..."

"Oh what a shame!" Provenza shouted, cutting Andy off before he had chance to even start asking for his help. "You know I'd really love to but I'm already booked up on Saturday." Andy gave Sharon another quick 'I told you so' look as she laughed. "You see we're spending the day with, erm, with, erm Patrice's sister" he lied not at all convincingly. "It's been booked for weeks. I can't get out of it."

"But Patrice's sister hates you. Like a lot" Andy said rather bluntly.

"Yes I know but I must at least try to build bridges with her family even if Grace would just rather set fire to them and me too for that matter. But what can I do? It's been booked for weeks and I can't very well go and..." His phone ringing in his pocket prohibited any more talking as he took his cell out and smiled when he saw 'Patrice' written across his screen, answering it and bringing it to his ear. "Patrice my angel we were just talking about you" he said, his smile only increasing in size as Sharon covered her mouth with her hand so that he didn't see her laughing.

"We? We who?" Patrice asked.

"I'm in the Break Room with the Captain and Flynn" he told her and making it clear he was as far away from danger as it was possible to be at that moment in time. "Just grabbing ourselves a quick cup of coffee before we're back to the old grindstone again. Nothing but paperwork for us again today, work, work, work" he went on in a clear indication that he was lying when on another day both him and Andy could so easily have left the scene in body bags earlier rather than in the car but not wanting her to know that.

"Oh good, so they've told you already?" Patrice asked.

Provenza finally looked up at Sharon and Andy, a scowl on his face as he quickly noted that they were both unsuccessfully trying not to laugh at him. "Told me what?" Provenza asked.

"That Andy has moved into the condo with Sharon."

Provenza's scowl increased in ferocity as his shoulders slumped, fearing the worst. "What? Well how do you know about that?" he asked, his eyes going back and forth between the couple chucking at the table across the room.

"Sharon sent me a text message a couple of minutes ago telling me all about it and asking if we could help move the last of his stuff into storage this Saturday" Patrice informed him, getting ready to hear the list of reasons why he didn't want to help him move, like Dean, none of which would be acceptable in her eyes.

"Oh really? She did, did she?" Provenza snarled, his eye starting to twitch as he glared at the pair of them.

"Yes. I told them we'd be thrilled to help them."

Still battling not to laugh at him Sharon and Andy looked at each other rather than in his direction before he turned away from them and lowered his voice as much as he could but they could still hear him. "But you know I don't lift" he complained grumpily as if that was a legitimate excuse to get him out of it.

"Louie!" came the instant response.

Provenza sighed. "Fine! Fine! I'll help, I'll help."

"Thank you Louie" Patrice said sweetly. "Tell them I said congratulations and play nice with your little friend."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll see you later. I don't think I'll be late tonight."

"Okay honey. I love you. Bye."

"I love you too. Bye sweetheart." Provenza hung up his phone, pressing the button to cancel the call almost aggressively before he stuffed it back into his pocket and turned around to glare at them as they continued to laugh. "I knew this would happen! I knew it!" he said as he gestured at Andy. "I told you but would you believe me? Oh no! You never listen to me."

"Told me what exactly?" Andy asked. "That your sister-in-law would cancel your plans for this weekend so suddenly after they'd been arranged for so long?" Andy smiled at him smugly as Sharon tried but ultimately failed not to laugh at him again, snorting loudly.

"No! That the moment I allowed my wife to become friends with your girlfriend that my life would no longer be my own anymore and I'd never get away with anything ever again, not even at work" he complained. "Ye Gods! I told you this would happen!" he moaned, loving his Captain even before she started dating his best friend but being manipulated by his wife because of his friend's girlfriend was a step too far.

Andy nodded at Sharon and smiled. "He's right. He did" he confirmed.

Sharon finally composed herself and looked towards Provenza, giving him a playful Darth Raydor glare. "Do you have some objection to me telling your wife who happens to also be one of our very good friends about our exciting news and asking for some assistance Lieutenant?"

"Of course not Captain, not at all" he replied instantly. He sighed before speaking through gritted teeth. "And we'd both be happy to come and help on Saturday."

In reality he was beyond thrilled for Andy, over the moon that from the lowest point imaginable in his life some twenty years earlier when they first became friends he was now as happy as he had ever seen him and with how much Sharon clearly loved him in return his fear that Andy would end up with a broken heart and relapse (his biggest concern in the beginning before he finally asked her on that first date) was now gone. Five years ago he would never have dreamed that both he and Andy would be settled down with the loves of their lives let alone ten. So with that in mind the reason that he didn't want to help him move was simple: he would much rather spend the day in the company of all of his ex-wives as they repeatedly poked at his testicles with a red hot poker and listed everything he had ever done to piss them off (some of which was having an affair with one while still married to another) than help someone move, even if that someone was Sharon and Andy. Heavy lifting and any sort of strenuous activity that didn't involve his beautiful naked wife was something that he avoided at all costs. So it wasn't because he was mean, it was simply because he was lazy and grumpy and he just didn't want to.

Sharon laughed. "Thank you Lieutenant. We really appreciate it and to show you just how much we're more than willing to repay your kindness with pizza and wine or beer back at the condo afterwards."

"Oh well in that case you're more than welcome," Provenza smiled, easily bribed with wine and pizza, "and Flynn you'll definitely be driving us both home afterwards so that I can drink." With that Provenza started to move towards the door again before he stopped and turned back to face them. "Oh and Captain Julio and Dr Joe are going to take Mark out to grab a bite to eat shortly if you wanted to speak to him before he leaves" he said, like the rest of the division understanding why she was currently avoiding her office.

"Oh yes, thank you Lieutenant." Provenza nodded, his understanding clear before he set off back towards the Murder Room again. When he was gone Sharon turned back towards Andy and smiled.

"Do you have any idea how long I'm going to have to listen to him complain about your little stunt?" Andy sighed and already fed up about it. "I'm talking every hour on the hour for the next four years."

Sharon laughed and shrugged. "In that case I may have to text Patrice again to see if her influence may improve his attitude towards you a little."

"Oh he'll just love that" he laughed. He stood and carried both of their cups to the sink, washing and drying them quickly as Sharon watched from the table before walking back over to her. "You ready to go back in?"

"I think so" she replied, taking to her feet and straightening her skirt after putting her cell phone back into her pocket. "The sooner we start the sooner we can get out of here and," she paused as she grabbed hold of his tie and ran it through her fingers, for so long a substitute for a kiss between them, "celebrate." Her eyes sparkled at him again as his mouth dropped open and she practically sauntered out of the Break Room. He stood rooted to the spot for a moment, his mouth still agape and his mind elsewhere. "Are you coming Lieutenant?" came the call from around the corner, waking him from his daze before he followed her, eager to finish his paperwork so that he could take her home, to their home and pick up where they left off that morning.


	36. Chapter 36

_As always I'd like to begin by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter and for welshcwtch, eelise187, froggy62, sundishine2, seaford71, jujuone23, Cris, HeiBeSo, xbleeple, Elaine Huang, Battgirl2, Maddie0894, Mbtstella, Susan Austin, GayleLynn and the two guests for leaving me a review as well as everyone who got in touch with me on Twitter. If you want to find me on there I'm DHPLover._

 _I apologise in advance because this chapter is long, my longest ever at over 56,000 words because I wanted to include so many characters and conversations and therefore it's probably riddled with typos but I've tried my best to find and fix all I could. This started off as a small chapter and then I don't know what happened. I think it's worth it in the end though, just to get to Provenza's speech and a few nice conversations here and there along the way. For the record Provenza's speech was written long before the event we don't talk about happened and one line in particular sounds positively tragic as a result but I've kept it in as he didn't know what was going to happen twelve months later any more than I did when I wrote it._

 _Although I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to Russell Taylor in this chapter I am saying goodbye to another character. Hopefully I've managed to give her the fitting 'yampy' send-off that she deserves (and if you don't know what 'yampy' means please google it)._

 _This will be my last chapter until June at the earliest as I'm off on holiday in a couple of weeks where I plan to turn 29 for about the eighth time on a rollercoaster in Orlando. The good news is the dialogue is written for Chapters 37-43 so I'll have a lot of updates over the summer._

 _This chapter takes place on the Saturday between_ _ **Dead Zone 5x10**_ _and_ _ **White Lies Part One 5x11**_ _with the events of White Lies Part One starting the following Friday (based upon them talking about the trial starting on the Monday and Dwight's reference to 'waiting all week' to get Dr Joe on the stand)._

 _I can't remember who suggested I do it after a conversation on Twitter but if you're reading this, thanks for making me add my Mom's sausage story :)_

 _Finally, before this chapter I have previously mentioned what Sharon was doing during Andy's bomb threat in To Protect & To Serve during Chapter 11 but if you want a more in depth look at it PLEASE read Closing the Deal by xbleeple. I'm claiming it was written purely for me but if you haven't read it (and the rest of her stories) stop reading this rubbish immediately and go and read that instead._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty Six**

Andy's front door was wedged open with a doorstop, a John Wayne doorstop to be precise if John Wayne had recently suffered a quite severe stroke and had subsequently taken to wearing bowties as he rode his horse across the prairie while calling everyone he encountered on his journey 'pilgrim.' Sharon hated that doorstop with a passion, almost as much as she hated the ratty old armchair he was so attached to that he'd kept in his bedroom ever since he got his own place after his divorce, with the doorstop frankly offering more nightmare possibilities than the chair (with Andy feeling the exact same way about one particular Christmas angel of Sharon's that her Mother had bought her, him being convinced during the holidays that it's freaky eyes were following him when he got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom). Sharon would never say anything to Andy about it but she was hoping that John Wayne would end up in the U-Haul truck for a life spent in storage rather than in Rusty's trunk to go back to the condo at the end of the day where its droopy and disturbing eyes would follow her around their bedroom until it one day 'accidentally' fell off the balcony in mysterious circumstances while Andy was at an AA meeting. It was currently the only thing that Andy owned that wasn't already packed away in boxes and ready to move with his living room filled from floor to ceiling with all of his worldly possessions. In the corner furthest away from the front door where the television once sat there was a pile of boxes and bags that contained the rest of Andy's clothes and personal items like photographs and odds and ends that were going to move with him into the condo. What remained and had managed to escape going on a trip to Goodwill to find a new home with someone else filled the rest of the room as it waited to be loaded onto the truck.

In truth Sharon and Andy had managed to make quite a significant dent in the items going into long term storage by beginning to slowly load the truck that morning, starting off by dragging his mattress in first (Andy keeping his bed on the off chance that they did still end up buying a house one day and needing it for the third bedroom for when Emily and Ricky came to stay since it was only eight months old anyway and he had hardly slept in it since he bought it, spending most of his nights at the condo instead). Most of the heavier items had been left until they had reinforcements to help but they'd both wanted to make a head start while they waited to be joined by everyone else.

Clad in a pair of jeans and Andy's old Giants t-shirt that his sister had given her during their trip to New York at the start of the summer (the sight of which instantly made Andy's face erupt into the largest of smiles imaginable when she eventually joined him in the kitchen for breakfast that morning), Sharon slowly walked back into the house, completely out of breath from a morning spent lifting and carrying before she sat down on one of the dining chairs with a thud. Picking up a bottle of water from the pack on the table, she opened it and took a long slow swig, leaving her even more out of breath. As her breathing began to calm down Andy walked in, equally out of puff as she had just been and dressed just as casually in a pair of jeans, an LAPD t-shirt and his Dodgers cap. He winked at her as he stepped inside, wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm before he stooped to pick up the next box to load into the truck.

"Nope" Sharon told him simply with a shake of her head before she waved him towards her. "Come here and take a break please while we wait for everyone to arrive and help" she all but demanded of him as she held the opened bottle of water out for him to take from her. He nodded before he dropped the box back to the ground and crossed the short distance to her, gladly taking the water. As he slowly began to drink from the bottle, throwing his head back slightly, the sweat running down the side of his face and his neck as his arms glistened in the light, Sharon stared at him with her tongue almost lolling out, blatantly ogling him, and watching him intently with a dirty grin on her face.

It had started the night before, that feeling in the pit of her stomach as she packed an overnight bag for the final time before she and Andy drove to his house. They were moving in together, _finally_ , and that thought had a whole gang of butterflies doing summersaults in her stomach from the excitement as well as the anticipation of what was to come. Finally, that word came with a certain amount of relief that they had managed to reach that stage in their relationship after so much time but it also came with a fair amount of regret too as far as Sharon was concerned as she freely admitted that her constant foot dragging with him had caused the long delay in the first place. But Sharon was determined and as far as she was concerned that was all behind them now, they were making that commitment to each other by moving in together and her foot dragging days were long gone with only good times ahead. That wasn't to say that a little nervousness didn't go side by side with the excitement they were feeling. They were both nervous, both more than aware of what a big step they were making and the stresses and complications that lay ahead of them. In truth Andy had virtually lived at the condo for the last few months anyway so they'd had some experience of living together but it was about to be different. It was official, they were about to share everything including the mingling of their finances, something that she openly admitted she had some significant reservations about because of Jack and the years it had taken her to unravel her life from his. But aside from the financial side of it Andy had nowhere else to go now if either of them needed any space or he began to get on her nerves or vice versa, this was it, their life together was starting in earnest and although they both expected and hoped for a little honeymoon period where they looked at each other through rose tinted glasses and didn't immediately notice the little things that the other did that would later drive them mad, they also knew a lot of hard work was to come over the coming months and maybe even years with the added pressures and stresses that moving in with someone created, especially after living alone for so long. But all of that was for later, right now they were both happy and excited and they couldn't wait to get their life together started.

Andy smiled at her as he caught his breath and wiped his face on his forearm again. "But I thought you liked to watch me work while I was all hot and sweaty" he practically growled as he winked at her again. He sipped on the water as she grinned at him, making him flex his bicep in response while he sucked his stomach in and giving her a free ticket to the gun show.

Sharon laughed. "Oh I do" she confirmed as she grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled him closer to her. "Believe me I do" she added, poking his stomach to stop him from sucking it in before taking a fistful of his shirt and pulling him down to enable her to kiss him slowly on the lips. "But I also don't want you to pass out before we're done so let's take a break" she insisted, not wanting Andy to spend the first week in his new home lying flat on his back on the living room floor because he had managed to pull a muscle in his back or rupture a disc, especially when she had plans for him, most of which admittedly required him to lie flat on his back but they were more of the naked variety and she needed him to be fully fit for them since by her own admission she'd already ridden a man a third of his age into the hospital in the past.

"Okay" he nodded in response, feeling the need for a quick break himself before he kissed her again, letting it linger for a moment longer. "I'd better sit down anyway before you start to stuff twenty dollars down my pants." Sharon laughed at him as he moved to sit in the armchair from his bedroom one last time. He rested his head back after a moment as his hands moved back and forth along the sides and he closed his eyes, his mind drifting for a few seconds back to the last time he sat in it with Nicole and Daniel, both of them suffering with chicken pox and not settling to sleep anywhere except in the warmth of their Father's embrace on his lap, snuggling into his freakishly hot body, Sandra waiting until they were better before she finally lost her last bit of patience she had with him and his drinking and threw him out for good. Sharon sat and watched him with a smile, his hands moving up and down the armrests, his mind clearly elsewhere. She got up after a moment and joined him, perching on the armrest and running her arm around his shoulders before she kissed the top of his head a couple of times, aware that his mind was currently stuck in a time that was less than happy.

A short while later Rusty and Gus walked into the house, both of them looking just as hot, sweaty and breathless as Sharon and Andy were regardless of the age difference. "Take a break boys until our reinforcements arrive" Sharon told them as she pointed towards the pack of bottled water on the table. Neither of them needed to be told twice, grabbing a bottle each before flopping down next to each other on the couch.

Silence descended for a moment, all four of them eager to take a short break while it was on offer until Andy looked at his watch a little impatiently with a sigh. When it came down to it Andy was very keen to get the whole move done and dusted as soon as possible because living with Sharon was something that he had wanted for so long, as far back as before Christmas when she sat on his kitchen counter following drinks with Provenza and Patrice, feeling impulsive and suggesting it then only to immediately backpedal when he saw that Sharon was not even remotely close to being ready for that next step with him yet especially since they'd only just told each other how they felt the week before and consummated their relationship (the tinge of disappointment that he felt at the time, not that he expected a different answer from her if he was honest, soon evaporating when she revealed she had spent the entire evening with her panties on her bedroom floor rather than on her body). It was a familiar pattern that they had fallen into as a couple from the night of their first date, Andy racing ahead because of his desperate desire to spend the rest of his life with the woman he was already in love with even before they started dating and Sharon trying to apply the brakes to ensure they didn't ruin what they already had by rushing things before they were ready because she too was already in love with him. With that in mind there was another reason why Andy was so eager to get the move completed as quickly as possible, moving into the condo just a few days after accepting the offer on his house, because deep down he would always worry about the incredibly unlikely possibility that Sharon might change her mind or be talked out of it at the last minute, worried about it no matter how many times he told himself that he was being utterly ridiculous because at the end of the day she loved him and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him as much as he did with her. Sensing his slightly anxious state that had been present on and off in bursts since the moment they opened their eyes that morning, the tension in his shoulders being a dead giveaway, Sharon let her nails drag up and down his back through his t-shirt while she kept pushing her lips to the top of his head, the best nonverbal reassurance she could currently offer him with Rusty and Gus in attendance.

After a few more moments of silence Rusty began to sniff the air, pulling a face of utter disgust when the rather unpleasant odour continued to fill his nostrils. "What's that smell?" he asked, quickly sniffing his shirt with alarm to ensure that it wasn't coming from him. It was only the second time that Rusty had ever been to Andy's house, the first time coming the previous summer when Andy hosted a little party in his back yard just six weeks after they started dating so that Emily and Ricky could get to know him a little better now that he was officially Sharon's boyfriend and likewise so that Nicole could meet them too, so as such the place was very alien to Rusty even though everything about it screamed the man who was essentially now his Step-Father.

"What's what smell?" Andy asked, deep in denial about it since he knew full well what that smell was and what had caused it as it continued to permeate the air regardless of the amount of times he scrubbed the place from top to bottom.

"Yeah. I smell it too" Gus confirmed, bringing one of the couch cushions to his nose in an attempt to locate the source.

"It's nothing" Andy grumbled dismissively.

Sharon laughed, unable to help herself as she pushed her lips to the top of his head again as a form of advanced apology for what she was about to say to him. "I'm sorry Andy but even with the door open I can still smell it too" she confessed. In truth she had been able to smell it every time she stepped foot inside Andy's house from the moment she came home with him the morning after they first slept together so that he could get himself a change of clothes before they went to work, the source of the odour an expired carton of milk that had exploded while he was convalescing at the condo following his accident and subsequent surgery. It only really bothered her when she first walked into the place, always breathing through her mouth when she arrived but she soon got used to it after a few minutes or so or when they started to cook in the kitchen for example while Andy had been completely nose blind to it after his seventh night of putting up with it before he could find the time and the energy to really tackle the problem with gusto.

"Crap. Really?" Andy asked. Sharon nodded with a little grimace on her face to indicate just how bad it could smell when the door wasn't open. In her honest opinion the whole house really needed to be bulldozed and she was still shocked that Andy had managed to sell the place as quickly as he had especially since he'd had most of it boxed up long before anyone had even been to view it. Andy sighed and pulled Sharon into his lap, a little squeal escaping from her lips from the surprise as she landed with her legs over the armrest and Rusty and Gus laughed at them. Andy wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, drawing her flush against his chest as he pressed his lips to her shoulder, like Sharon, completely unable to leave each other alone that morning. "Yeah well it sucks to be the new buyers because as far as I'm concerned the deal is done and it's their pile of crap now."

If Andy was being completely honest it had crossed his mind that until the sale was one hundred percent complete he might need to periodically pop back from time to time and replace the air fresheners that Jason had insisted he secrete all around the house in case the new owners tried to pull out of the deal if the still incredibly strong odour made them sick when they stopped by to measure up the place. However once he had moved into the condo Sharon wasn't going to make him move out again if the sale was to fall through at the last minute (no matter how much he irrationally worried about it in the middle of the night when he couldn't get to sleep) and yet he still found himself feeling stressed about the whole endeavour, wanting to see an end to his former home as his new life with Sharon began, secretly feeling a little more stressed than he was letting on all the previous night as they finally finished up packing and just wanting it to be done already.

"What is it?" Rusty asked, thinking it was reminiscent of being trapped in the elevator at PAB with Lieutenant Provenza first thing in the morning, with his cologne smelling like elephant dung on a hot summer day in his opinion and being wrong on so many levels.

Andy sighed as he pressed his cheek against Sharon's shoulder and turned to look at Rusty. "Remember when I stayed with you guys after my accident?"

"It is pretty hard to forget Lieutenant" Rusty laughed, ignoring the trauma of finding him on the bathroom floor unconscious and bleeding heavily he had actually found spending time with Andy during his shifts of 'Flynn Sitting' highly amusing at times. "Just the sight of you trying to pull your socks on with a pair of salad tongs every morning alone was enough to ensure I never forgot without everything else too." It still amused Rusty the way that Andy would use those tongs (since bending down was high on the list of things he wasn't allowed to do under any circumstances) to pick up Sharon's Ugg boots for her as she arrived home from work like a very well trained puppy and that was forgetting how funny it was when he would often forget that he'd left them hanging from the back pocket of his pants before sitting on them, Rusty hearing Andy use words he hadn't heard since his time living on the streets.

"Yeah well I left out a carton of milk in the sun the day I moved in and by the time I came home again it…well it had exploded" Andy explained.

"And..." Sharon said with a chuckle, prompting him to continue.

Andy rolled his eyes at her as she continued to laugh. "And the smell maybe attracted a rat through the giant whole in the kitchen wall behind my fridge" he added, still embarrassed that Sharon had seen and smelled his house in such a state especially at a time when he was constantly out to impress her as much as possible.

"And..." Sharon prompted again.

Andy sighed. "And it then died behind the fridge." They all laughed at him while he hid his face against Sharon's shoulder, her kissing the top of his head in return. The whole sorry rat saga had come the weekend after they first told each other how they felt, saying 'I love you' for the first time and then shortly afterwards sleeping together for the first time too. At the time Andy didn't want anything to make her think that she had made a mistake in taking such a huge chance in entering into a relationship with him (not that he felt any differently eight months later) and long before he discovered the rat he desperately tried to drop her at work first before he went home to get a change of clothes so she wouldn't discover his secret shame, becoming even more horrified a few days later when he moved the fridge and found the rat too with Sharon in attendance.

"And it's smelled this bad ever since?" Rusty asked. Sharon tried her hardest not to pull a disgusted face as she nodded at him, it not being anywhere near as bad as it was when she first discovered it but she could still smell it, especially in the kitchen and it was one of the many reasons why they always opted to spend time in the condo rather than at the house, the proximity of the condo to work being at the top of the list. "Suddenly your eagerness to move in with us makes a lot more sense Lieutenant."

Andy and Sharon both laughed at his false assumption, fully aware that it was only a joke while Gus made a quiet grunt of displeasure at him, always annoyed when he heard Rusty refer to the man who was essentially now his Step-Father as 'Lieutenant' rather than 'Andy' with him saying it twice in little over a minute. Despite what Gus thought Rusty didn't do it on purpose, it just came rolling from his lips without any real thought going into it like the transition he had made from 'Sharon' to 'Mom,' it happening gradually over time without him thinking too hard about it. Hearing him and knowing why he was irritated with him Rusty elected to completely ignore Gus, not turning to face him and in no mood for an argument on the subject with his boyfriend on a day that was supposed to be all about his Mom and her boyfriend. Deep down there was already more than a little tension between Rusty and Gus at that moment anyway because of Rusty's Mom and the baby, Rusty still dodging her calls ninety percent of the time and with no intention of ever seeing his baby sister in person when she did arrive into the world when in comparison that was all that Gus wanted in life, the chance to be reunited with his sister if only for an hour.

"Sure" Andy nodded at him, his arms tightening around Sharon even more before he kissed her shoulder again. "It has nothing to do with your Mom at all" he said rather dismissively and making them all laugh. "It's all about leaving this smell and my crazy neighbour behind me" he added, them laughing again.

Sharon removed his cap and ran her hand through his hair before taking a hold of it and tugging it back to make him look up at her, finding himself completely at her mercy and not objecting to that fact in the slightest. "Oh really? Is that right?" she asked him. He winked at her with a grin on his face, making her laugh before she kissed him and practically hearing Rusty roll his eyes. "How did Jason manage to disguise it to actually sell the place?" she asked him as she returned his cap to his head.

Andy shrugged. "He lit a bunch of candles I guess, I don't know."

"Well then thank God you weren't here to assist him when he showed the house or it could have burnt to the ground and you'd be trying to sell a vacant lot instead" Sharon joked much to her own amusement, instantly making Rusty laugh with her while Andy looked at the pair of them far from amused.

Gus frowned, a little confused at what he deemed to be a 'family joke' that he was not party to. "Why what did you burn down?" he asked with a little surprise.

"He set his menu on fire during their first date" Rusty replied instantly. Sharon smiled down at Andy as he rolled his eyes with her mind quickly drifting to another incident that involved Andy Flynn and a candle which Rusty thankfully knew nothing about, a teenage Andy actually managing to set his pants on fire when he knocked over a candle the first time he ever had sex, burning his ankles slightly as he opted to finish what he started rather than putting out the fire first.

"What?" Gus laughed, quickly being joined by Rusty and Sharon while Andy continued to look incredibly put out by the whole conversation. "You did? How is that even possible?"

"Those things can be highly flammable" Andy cried defensively and not for the first time.

"Sure, if you're a moron" Rusty cut in quickly.

"A very big moron" Sharon confirmed, laughing before she kissed him on the lips again.

"Is this it now? Living with you two I get to be bullied every day of my life? Is that how it's going to work between us from now on?" Andy asked, making it sound like he was actually upset about the whole situation when being part of a family again was something that he'd wanted for so long, especially that family in particular, he would more than gladly be the butt of everyone's joke until the day he died in order to keep it.

"Oh I should say that's highly likely Andy" Gus confirmed, knowing Rusty and now Sharon and Andy well enough to see that was the dynamic that had settled upon them when they were all together.

"It's not too late to pull out you know" Sharon told him, leaning back a little so that she could more easily see his face. "We can put everything back where it was and you can stay here instead if you'd prefer it boy, if you think that we constantly mistreat you."

"Not on your life Raydor" he told her before pushing his lips to hers. "Not on your life."

Seconds later Nicole burst through the open door with Dean following a little more sedately in her wake, both dressed for a morning of hard work and heavy lifting with one looking far more excited about the day than the other and it wasn't hard to work out which and the reason why. "We're here! Happy moving day Dad!" Nicole cried as she bounced excitedly up and down on the spot, clapping her hands together like a trained seal. Dean looked at her with a very large roll of his eyes since she'd been driving him crazy from the very moment Andy told her he was moving in with Sharon, thinking he was going to have to sedate her the previous evening as her excitement threatened to bubble out of control and his wife causing more issues that their children.

"'Happy moving day?' Is that a thing?" Andy asked as he tightened his hold on the woman in his lap and ensured Sharon remained sitting where she was for a moment.

"It is if I say it is grumpy" Nicole shot back.

"As you can probably tell some of us are more excited than others. They may have also had four or five cups of coffee this morning too" Dean explained, firmly of the opinion that their two boys were more controllable after four bags of sugar than his wife currently was but he could understand it, knowing how much Nicole wanted to see her Dad happy, healthy and settled for what was really the first time in her life.

"Oh you be quiet" Nicole virtually ordered him with an elbow to his stomach. "Now give me a hug Dad." In response Sharon was quick to climb off his lap before holding her hands out for him to take so that she could help pull him to his feet. As soon as he was standing Nicole was in his arms, hugging him tightly as he kissed the side of her head. "I'm so happy for you" she gushed as Sharon smiled at them. Nicole soon released him before moving on to Sharon and hugging her even tighter, almost squeezing the air from her lungs. "Oh Sharon! Thank you so much for this. Thank you for taking him in. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Taking me in?" Andy grumbled. "What am I? An abandoned kitten down a storm drain?" he asked as he shook Dean's hand. "I can take care of myself you know."

"Not from my experience" Nicole shot back, having worried about her Father and how he was coping on his own for a long time as a long line of young blonde women flittered in and out of his life at an alarming speed since she was five years old and her parents filed for divorce. With an all too knowing look in Andy's direction Nicole pulled away from Sharon but kept hold of her hand for a moment longer, more excited by the prospect of Sharon becoming her Step-Mother than Agnes was when Gru married Lucy at the end of _Despicable Me 2._

"And for the record Lieutenant a kitten wouldn't shed anywhere near as much as you do in the bathtub" Rusty pointed out much to the amusement of everyone except Andy.

"I mean it Sharon from the bottom of my heart thank you" Nicole said as she turned back to face her, squeezing her hand tightly. "Now I no longer have to worry about him falling in the shower and breaking a hip or dying alone in the kitchen and his body going undiscovered for weeks while a rat chews on his face" she said rather grimly but eliciting more laughter.

"Well this just keeps getting better and better. Despite what your Mother may claim I'm not that old and decrepit you know. There's still plenty of candy left in this piñata" Andy replied with an unfortunately timed thrust of his hips.

Rusty shuddered, still spending a lot of time and effort focusing on trying to believe that Andy was a eunuch and his physical relationship with Sharon had gone no further than hand holding and the occasional hug. "Let's add that to the list of things I never want to hear you say ever again" he said with another shudder that went from the very ends of his hair to the tips of his toes.

"There's really no need to thank me Nicole" Sharon insisted. "I never have been able to turn away a handsome face." Nicole laughed as Andy winked at Sharon, once more running his arm back around her waist. The excitement that they were both feeling about the move and taking that next step with each other meant that they were currently struggling to keep their hands off each other and indeed they hadn't, spending most of the previous evening once the packing was done and also that morning before Rusty and Gus arrived to help taking full advantage of having the house to themselves for the final time.

Nicole turned to her Father, looking at him sternly as she pointed a finger at him. "Now I'm warning you now, if you screw this up Dad I will kill you" she told him in anything but a joke but that didn't stop everyone from laughing at her. "And you should know that is not in any way an empty threat by any stretch of the imagination. Understand?" Andy nodded, all too keenly aware of how much he had to lose if he did do anything stupid this time around, not that he had any intention of doing anything that would risk losing Sharon, he was an idiot but he wasn't completely out of his mind. Nicole smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I'm only joking although I will kill you" she said once again with complete seriousness before her face erupted into the largest smile Andy thought he'd ever seen on his daughter's face, her eyes sparkling more than they did when she saw he'd turned up to walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. "I'm so happy for you both."

With Nicole finally stepping away from Sharon for more than a second Dean moved to give her a quick hug as Rusty stood to get Nicole's attention. "Hey Nicole" he said before he was quickly tugged towards her and into a hug of his own. "You remember Gus right?" he asked when they broke apart, gesturing towards his boyfriend and a hell of a lot more confident when it came to introductions than he was the first time Nicole and Gus had met each other on Christmas Day but they had only been on one solitary date at that point so it was only to be expected.

"I do indeed" Nicole replied with a smile as Gus took to his feet. "I never forget a handsome face."

Dean immediately scoffed. "Really?" he asked.

Nicole turned very slowly to glare at her husband, for a moment making Andy think of his ex-wife, the two having the same exact death glare to the extent where it actually made him swallow dramatically and take a step backwards, showing some sympathy for his son-in-law if he had to contend with that expression when he was in the dog house. "So I couldn't remember your name the first two months we worked together!" she cried as she threw her arms into the air, making it sound like it happened to everyone. "Big deal! I married you didn't I?" she reminded him despite not remembering his name for the first few months they worked together at least, having no idea then that he would turn out to be one of her best friends as she helped him through the loss of his wife before falling in love with each other. Nicole turned to Gus with her arms open. "It's lovely to see you again Gus" she said as they hugged each other.

"You too" he replied as they pulled apart.

Nicole turned around to face away from Gus and to catch Sharon's eye, fanning her face with her hand as her mouth dropped open and she mouthed the words 'Oh my God! He's so handsome!' as she subtly pointed at Gus. Sharon laughed at her while Rusty just scowled, not at all impressed when she did the exact same thing on Christmas Day the first time that Nicole met him. Like on Christmas Day Nicole put her hand up to high five Rusty so that she could congratulate him on snagging himself such a stud muffin but he didn't respond with the exception of folding his arms, Sharon indulging her instead. With the greetings done and dusted Nicole looked around at the piles of Andy's packed belongings, assessing the job that lay before them. "I see you've already started. Are we it or are we getting more help?" she asked them.

"No we've got the guys from work coming over to help us out too" Andy told her with a smile and quickly reassuring them both that with the volume of people coming to help that it wasn't as tall an order as it currently appeared to be. "They shouldn't be long."

"Lieutenant Mike and Buzz are just getting out of the car" Rusty announced as he pointed through the open front door.

"Oh yay! The gang's all here!" Nicole replied, clapping her hands again.

"I thought it was five cups of coffee but it could very well have been five bottles of wine" Dean announced to explain his wife's high levels of excitement, making everyone laugh before he got another inevitable elbow in the stomach which caused him to grunt. Despite the fact that everyone probably thought she was crazy, Nicole was just so happy for her Dad and she didn't care who knew it, hardly sleeping a wink the previous evening like she was five years old and it was her birthday the next day.

"Where are the boys today? I thought you were going to bring them" Sharon asked.

"We were and as much as they desperately wanted to come and help they would only have been a hindrance and under foot all day so they're with Mom and Michael" Nicole explained before she paused a little nervously. In asking her Mom to look after Robin and Justin for the day she had been forced into telling her the reason why, doing it before the boys did it for her. It was usually the sort of thing that she kept to herself when it came to her parents and their rather difficult relationship despite her Mom being genuinely pleased to see her ex-husband settled after all that time for the sake of their children. "Erm...I told her what was happening today before the boys could blab and did it for you and to be fair she is genuinely very pleased for you both" she announced, saying it for Andy's benefit rather than Sharon's.

"Really?" Andy asked, finding it incredibly unlikely despite how much Sandra wanted to see him settled for the sake of Nicole and Daniel.

"Yes. You know how much she wants to see you happy despite everything. She even gave me a card to give to you. I left it in the car for now, I thought it would probably be safer for you both." She paused before she asked "I assume you have something at work that can check it for anthrax or explosives maybe before you open it right?" with everyone laughing in reply even though it was a legitimate concern of hers if she was being brutally honest.

"Please thank her for us will you" Sharon requested.

"Of course," Nicole nodded, "I will but please don't open it until the sniffer dogs have given it the once over first, just to be on the safe side."

"What kind of card exactly?" Andy asked suspiciously as everyone else laughed at Nicole.

She shrugged. "A congratulations on your new home one I guess, why?"

"I wouldn't put it passed her to have bought a sympathy card for Sharon" Andy grumbled.

"She wouldn't do that" Sharon stated, her hand gravitating to his backside as it so often did and giving it a playful slap before she squeezed it as if she was telling him off. There was no denying that Andy and Sandra had a very different relationship to what she had with Jack, for example they had divorced decades ago, Sandra filing almost as soon as she threw Andy out, ripping his wedding ring from his finger and heaving it at his head whereas Sharon had stayed married to Jack for so long for many reasons, not least of which was the tiny slither of hope she kept in the back of her mind in the beginning that one day he might finally get his act together, realise what an idiot he had been, resolve to change and reconcile with her. However the way that their relationships were similar came in the form of how they both wanted to see their ex-husbands happy and stable for the sake of their shared children. Both Sharon and Sandra would always hate their former husbands for the way that they hurt their children in the past (and when it came to Sharon and Jack, she would never trust him again for the way he announced that Andy had a blood clot when he wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible, not only doing it in spite of her boyfriend but also making Emily incredibly distressed for trusting him again for the first time in a long time and then being so badly let down by him when she had opened up to him because of her fear for her Mom and her boyfriend) but they also wanted to see them happy because it was important to their children.

"Wouldn't she?" Andy replied, thinking it was exactly the sort of things that Sandra would do to have a sly little dig at him regardless of being not so secretly pleased for him.

Sharon couldn't help but laugh at him and shake her head as Buzz walked in followed closely behind by Mike and Cathy, all three dressed for a day of heavy lifting and hard work. "Happy moving day!" Cathy shouted as she walked inside, clapping her hands together and seeming just as excited by the whole thing as Nicole was, given that she'd known Andy for well over fifteen years and liking Sharon the moment she first met her despite the stories she'd heard from Mike in the days when Chief Johnson was still in charge.

Nicole immediately grinned and took a quick swipe at Andy's stomach. "See! I told you!" she gloated triumphantly since Cathy had used the exact same greeting that she had and therefore had proved her point. "You know nothing."

"So people keep telling me" Andy sighed. Sharon laughed as she squeezed him, kissing him on the cheek while she was at it. Before anymore welcomes could be exchanged between the gathered group and their newest guests Julio walked through the door with Mark by his side. In complete contrast to the last few encounters that they had with the boy where he looked constantly suspicious of them all and probably wouldn't have spat on any of them if they were on fire, he now looked stony faced, almost timid even and a completely different boy to the one they knew before he was informed of his Mom's death.

"Hey guys, sorry if we're a bit late" Julio said as he waved to the group. Without saying a word Mark immediately gravitated over to Rusty like he was caught in a tractor beam, he being the only other person aside from Julio that he really knew all that well and had felt comfortable with him as they watched cartoons in the Conference Room a few days earlier. Julio watched him, concern written all over his face as he moved towards his Captain and feeling the need to explain what he deemed to be his unacceptable tardiness. "I had a little trouble getting him here Captain" he said in hushed tones to Sharon and Andy. "He didn't want to stay with my Mom and then he didn't want to get into the car in case I left him anywhere" he explained with a sigh, the boy needing so much more reassurance since he was told that his Mom had died, crying when Julio said he was going out that morning because he didn't want to be apart from him and then crying again when Julio tried to get him into the car so that he could go with him. It had taken fifteen minutes as they sat on the curb next to the car for Julio to explain what was going to happen that day, where they were going and who was going to be there and why before Mark calmed down, deciding that he wanted to come and help and then albeit reluctantly climbed into the car with him.

"Well that's perfectly understandable" Andy offered him, all of them more than willing to help Mark in any way they could given the circumstances. They all turned to look at the young man as he sat on the couch between Rusty and Gus, the pair of them talking to him but getting very little in return.

"How is he aside from that?" Sharon asked.

"Okay I guess" Julio shrugged, not entirely sure what was going on inside Mark's head but Dr Joe didn't seem too overly concerned about him and how he was handling the news of his Mom's death which offered him some comfort that he may be able to help him with enough time. "He's changed a lot since we told him about his Mom" he said as he turned to look at Mark again just as Amy and Cooper walked in through the open front door and started to say hello, getting a little distracted wave from Sharon and Andy while their main focus was currently on Julio. "He hasn't called Immigration on me in the last forty eight hours so I guess that's progress" he said and as expected getting laughter in return. "But I don't know. I think it's good for him to be kept busy right now and around a lot of people. I hope you don't mind that I brought him with me."

"Of course not. We appreciate the help" Andy told him.

"And I do too if I'm honest" Julio replied, completely out of his depth with Mark and he knew it.

Sharon put her free hand on Julio's shoulder, sliding it down until she took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "We'll all take care of him today," she insisted, "make sure he has enough distractions."

"Thank you Captain" Julio nodded, looking and sounding incredibly grateful.

"Hey Andy, the Lieutenant is here" Gus announced, pointing towards the open door and the last couple to arrive.

"Finally!" Andy cried as he ducked down slightly to peer through the window to see them, catching sight of both Patrice and Provenza climbing out of his car, a surprise to say the least since Provenza had basically demanded that Andy pay for a cab and then drive them both home again so that he could drink heavily all day, a reward for turning up to help when he really didn't want to because it seemed far too much like hard work.

Patrice bounded into the house full of the joys of spring while Provenza dragged his feet behind her, mirroring the entrance from Nicole and Dean just minutes earlier. "Hello, hello, hello lovely people. Happy moving day!" she called loudly, Nicole once again looking at her Father with another smug 'I told you so!' look. Patrice quickly made her way around the crowded room, kissing everyone hello as her husband slowly dragged himself inside, taking his bucket hat from his head and squeezing it between his hands with annoyance once inside.

Before anything else could happen, even a muttered 'Hello' Provenza immediately spotted and registered the very old Giants t-shirt that Sharon was wearing, sensing Andy's influence in her team preference since he knew she was a die-hard Packers fan when in reality she was wearing it because she loved that shirt because it was Andy's and he once loved it so much rather than because of the team name written across it. "The Giants?" he said with exasperation as he pointed towards it. "Really?" Sharon shrugged in response, not bothering to offer him any kind of explanation. "Ye Gods!"

"Hey Provenza I thought you were getting a cab here and I was driving you back home so that you could drink all day" Andy said, not at all complaining that he wouldn't have to drop them home at the end of their little party when he had unpacking to do but wanting to know why his plans had changed, sensing that it was all down to his wife.

"I was but..." Provenza started to say before being cut off.

Patrice wrapped her arms around Andy to hug him as she spoke. "But of course we weren't going to make you drive us home when you have plenty of unpacking and I'm guessing lots of private celebrating to do after we all leave" she said before she released Andy and turned to face her husband. "Were we Louie?"

Provenza smiled at them in response, looking even faker than a pair of breasts on a unicorn. "Absolutely not" he said as he continued to smile almost manically. Sharon and Andy turned to smile at each other, both of them knowing that Sharon's text to Patrice a couple of days earlier as they relaxed in the Break Room was the sole reason that he was there, again both of them knowing that was irritating him more than being asked to help Andy move in the first place. "Even though I'd rather be anywhere else but here right now" he grumbled.

"I thought you had no problem with me stealing your boyfriend away from you Lieutenant" Sharon stated and instantly making everyone laugh including Andy, all them always amused when their heard their Captain refer to Provenza as Andy's boyfriend and vice versa.

Laughing harder than all of them, Cooper finally managed to compose himself enough to ask "Boyfriend? Have I missed out on some juicy gossip recently?"

"If you know what's good for you Cooper, please don't encourage her, I beg of you" came the desperate plea from Provenza, making Sharon laugh and briefly resting her head on Andy's shoulder, their arms still wrapped around each other. "And to answer your question I don't have a problem with this move in the slightest" he confirmed, not wanting anyone to have the wrong idea about his current bout of grumpiness. "What I object to Captain is being forced into helping people move house on a Saturday when I could be doing literally anything else."

"Will you quit complaining, anyone would think I'd asked you for a kidney" Andy said.

"I would have preferred that to this, because this is an imposition" Provenza grumbled again.

"Oh ignore him Andy," Patrice said with a sigh, "he's been in a vile mood all morning."

"Oh I wonder why?" Provenza continued to grumble, still annoyed that firstly he'd been asked to help Andy move and secondly that he'd essentially been manipulated into it by Sharon texting Patrice.

"How is that different to every other day?" Mike asked and getting a ripple of laughter.

Stepping further into the middle of the room Provenza cleared his throat before speaking and addressing the group as a whole. "While everyone is here I want it noted for the record that I didn't ask for any assistance from any of you when Patrice moved in with me" he pointed out.

Rusty instantly took to his feet and waved. "Except for me. I helped" he reminded him.

"Well you volunteered" Provenza corrected him.

"Actually I think you'll find that you volunteered me, there's a difference Lieutenant" Rusty instantly shot back, thinking that despite being paid to do it and handsomely so at that (all of Major Crimes in agreement that it was a minor miracle that Rusty had managed to get the money out of him for his help despite being promised it in advance, expecting that Rusty would need to pry it from his cold dead hands) the Lieutenant had made it clear that he had no real choice in the matter, he was doing it and that was that.

Provenza looked back at him with a glare. "To begin with Mr Beck I was forced to pay you and your little friend an obscene amount of money to get you to cooperate with me so that Patrice wouldn't find out what I was doing and secondly I only volunteered you because I had a hidden agenda" he pointed out, making it clear that in his opinion (and a blatant lie it has to be said) it was more about wanting to ask Rusty a question about his Mother and her 'date' rather than really needing his help in moving the furniture Patrice didn't like into his storage unit. Upon hearing about Provenza's 'hidden agenda' Sharon and Andy looked at each other, both of them a little baffled by it all.

Seeing the confusion on their faces Rusty turned to his Mom and her boyfriend and told them simply "He wanted to know what had happened on your first date since you were both acting a little weird and had been deliberately tight lipped about it all." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a glare came at him from Provenza.

"Then why didn't you just ask me if you wanted to know so badly?" Andy asked Provenza as he laughed.

"I wasn't that interested" Provenza shrugged.

"That's not how it seemed to me Lieutenant" Rusty replied quickly.

"Well just so you know Provenza, it went really really well" Andy informed him with a grin as his finger moved back and forth between him and Sharon who still had her arm around him, them all laughing at him.

"Oddly enough I had noticed" Provenza confirmed. "Regardless, when Cooper moved in with Sykes they didn't ask for help and neither did Sanchez when he moved back in with his Mother and on the whole when Patrice moved in with me we did it alone and we certainly didn't steal everyone's only free Saturday in close to a month to do it."

Patrice folded her arms across her chest as she focused on her husband, firmly on Andy's side when it came to this subject and not just because she desperately wanted to help him move in with Sharon. "No it was a Sunday and my sister and her family helped me put my furniture into storage before they helped bring everything else to the house and if I hear you complain one more time today about helping your friend and your Partner may I add, move in with the love of his life so help me God Louie, you'll be living in the garage until next Christmas." Provenza muttered under his breath in response as he slumped down into Andy's armchair with more than a little air of resignation about him. "And people wonder why I drink" Patrice quipped to no one in particular and was immediately greeted with a ripple of laughter. With her husband and his latest tantrum temporarily dealt with she turned her attention to the job ahead of them, her eyes scanning the pile of boxes and furniture. "You guys must be utterly exhausted packing all of this so quickly."

In truth there wasn't a great deal left for them to do the previous evening (cleaning out the place for food that had long since been forgotten due to the amount of time Andy had been spending at the condo rather than his house over recent months and long before he had even asked her to move in with him being the biggest job) and their decision to spend the night there was more about spending that one final night completely alone to do what they wanted where they wanted which consisted primarily of lots of noisy sex before the three of them truly became a family. Andy still had a lot of clothes there that needed packing and a few more personal items like photo albums that he was going to take with him but that was really it. So they ordered in from their favourite local Chinese restaurant (a place that was by no means local to the condo and they probably wouldn't use ever again) and ate as they packed what remained. When that was done Sharon insisted on cleaning the kitchen and the bathroom once again because she didn't want the new owners to 'think badly' of them if they left the bathroom floor in any state other than clean enough to eat their dinner from (similarly always ensuring that her bedroom was spotless even if she rolled out suddenly in the middle of the night because she didn't want any potential burglars to think she was untidy and lived like a slob). In their desire to make everything as easy as possible for their volunteers the next day they even went as far as to demolish the bed frame in advance and therefore forcing them to sleep on the mattress on the floor that night like they were still in college. Neither really minded sleeping that close to the ground since they were both tired from a long week at work and that was without the effort it took to finish packing. Added to that they had also partaken in several final naked and extremely noisy final 'hurrahs' to say goodbye to the place. Andy had been joking for several weeks that a fitting goodbye to his former home was having an orgasm in every single room including the garage and the cupboard in the hall and despite not being able to quite do it himself (he wasn't twenty anymore after all although he still gave a very good account of himself and in fact shouted his orgasm on the couch so loudly it was a minor miracle that the family three doors down didn't come over to complain about the noise because it was making their dog howl in the back yard) he was damn sure they weren't going to leave the place without Sharon having at least one in every room, his jaw aching a little that morning as a result.

"Actually I've had most of it done for weeks" Andy told her.

"Weeks?" Provenza repeated, looking around the room and blinking dramatically. "How have you managed to sell the place with it looking like this?" he asked rather bluntly since completely stripped back was not the place's best look by any stretch of the imagination.

"You've seen his furniture. It looks better empty" Nicole replied, grinning at her Father as she did it, relishing the teasing that was heading his way that morning.

"I decided my best option was to go for the blank canvas look" Andy stated.

"Plus he was very eager to move in with the Captain and he didn't want to wait any longer than he had to when he finally did sell this place in case the delay caused her to change her mind about the whole thing" Provenza said quite correctly, getting a ripple of laughter from everyone in reply except Andy who just sighed at him. "What? Am I wrong here?"

"No that's pretty much on the money Lieutenant" Rusty answered quickly, that being his assessment of the situation too.

"See, even Rusty agrees with me and if anyone would know it's him." Provenza sat forward a little and looked around the room, the emptiness of the living room not doing the place any favours at all which made it all the more surprising that he had managed to sell it so quickly in that condition. "Still, selling this place so quickly is..."

"Miraculous?" Sharon answered, shocked about it herself.

"Hey!" Andy protested and making Sharon laugh in reply, her quickly burying her face into his shoulder for a moment, kissing it as if she was apologising.

"I was going to say impressive but it's pretty damn miraculous too Captain" Provenza agreed. "What did you do? Offer to sell your soul to the devil too?"

"No. My realtor got his partner involved" Andy explained. "That 'Gary Doesn't Lie' guy the Chief used."

"Yeah well if you ask me, to sell this place so quickly while looking and smelling like it does, something tells me that Gary does lie, a lot" Provenza nodded. "What did he tell them? There's a pile of buried treasure in the back yard?"

"You'll be buried in the back yard in a moment" Andy shot back grumpily.

"And what the hell is that smell?" Provenza asked, smelling it like everyone else who had walked in there that morning but only he (and Rusty) had the relationship with Andy to be able to ask so bluntly. "It's like something died in here."

"It did, although technically it was in the kitchen, remember?" Sharon said, nudging him in the right direction since she knew Andy wouldn't appreciate her telling a room full of their friends and colleagues that he had such vermin issues in the past.

"Like I could forget" he grumbled again, complaining many times to Andy in the months since about the state his shoes were in when he left, not only with the remnants of the milk explosion on them but also soaking wet after Andy had tried to clean them for him by simply spraying them with his garden hose while they were still on his feet. "I still haven't been able to wear those shoes since. So all of this crap is going into storage?" he asked with a little dismay as he looked around at what remained boxed up.

"Yes but not quite yet" Sharon answered before Andy had chance to, a smile slowly creeping onto Rusty's face to match Sharon's as he guessed what was coming while Provenza looked back at her with a frown. "It's all going to go on a short vacation to your house first" she told him gleefully as Andy laughed and tightened the grip of his arm around her waist, his thumb slipping into her belt loop so that she wouldn't be able to run away from him. "You know to make up for the night your furniture stayed at our condo, completely uninvited may I add."

"What?" Mike laughed, the rest of the division unaware of the unusual route that at least half of Provenza's furniture had taken from his house to his storage space despite Sharon's less than subtle 'How does something from one person's house mysteriously end up at someone else's apartment' in front of Mike, Amy and Buzz in Electronics the following day, Provenza not immediately realising that's what Rusty had done with it overnight much to his horror.

"The storage space that the Lieutenant rented wasn't big enough to hold all of his stuff so I had to bring it back home with me overnight" Rusty explained as Provenza continued to glare at him unimpressed.

"Which meant I had the pleasure of your duck lamps as well as everything else that had been culled from your house for an evening" Sharon smiled, not knowing that those hideous lamps were going to end up in Electronics otherwise they may have taken a quick flight off her balcony that evening.

"You had those duck lamps over night and didn't set fire to them?" Buzz asked as his mouth fell open, the amazement ringing out loud and clear in his voice since he'd fantasied on more than one occasion about running them over with his Prius.

"They're impervious to fire" Andy replied, remembering vividly lying on his couch that night and getting a phone call from his girlfriend of all of five days, both of them quickly getting into the routine of calling each other to say goodnight before they went to bed but on that particular night Sharon called a little earlier because she wanted to tell him the reason why she was having an early night due to the fact that she couldn't currently sit on her couch.

"And good taste" Patrice added as everyone laughed, those duck lamps being the first things to get a pink Post-It Note stuck on them as she started to redecorate what was now their home.

"Okay, so what goes where Sir?" Julio asked as they prepared to get started.

Andy pointed to the pile of boxes and bags in the corner of the room. "That pile needs to go to the condo so let's split them between the cars. The rest needs to go into the truck to go into storage."

"How long for? How long until you move again?" Cooper inquired, asking solely so that he knew when he and Amy may be asked to help them move again in the future rather than being uncharacteristically nosy. "Amy told me you were looking to buy a place together. Something about black..."

Andy groaning loudly as if he was in real pain cut Cooper off mid-sentence, Amy and Sharon putting their heads in their hands as everyone expected yet another rant from Andy about that house. "Oh please don't say anything about black mould," Amy begged Cooper, having already warned him not to mention _Badge of Justice_ in front of Andy on their drive over but had rather regretfully forgotten all about the black mould situation, "or I may be forced to kill you and then Lieutenant Flynn and I assume the Captain will be more than willing to help me do it."

"You assume correctly Detective" Sharon confirmed, her hand primed to sneak down from its position hovering just above his backside to pinch the back of Andy's knees if he so much as thought about complaining again about how their dream house had turned out to be anything but.

"And I'll be helping with the clean-up" Provenza proclaimed.

Andy turned to Provenza with surprise. "Oh so now you want to help."

"Covering up your murder sure," Provenza shrugged, "helping you move? Not so much."

Cooper laughed, understanding that he had just essentially jammed his foot in his mouth without realising it. "Okay, I get it. I'll just add black mould to _Badge of Justice_ on the list of things Amy told me I'm not supposed to talk about around here." Once again Amy and Sharon put their heads in their hands while everyone else laughed, Cooper now not only ramming his foot into his mouth but swallowing it past his kneecap too.

"And yet you've done it anyway" Amy said to him with a look that made it abundantly clear that he needed to keep his mouth closed as much as possible for the rest of the day or he might find her fingernails embedded in his nether regions when they got home and not in a pleasurable way.

"But you are still looking to buy somewhere else though right Sir?" Julio asked and trying to draw the conversation back away from Mike's part time job and black mould for the sake of his Captain's stress levels and blood pressure or before she murdered her boyfriend before he'd even had chance to move in.

Andy looked at Sharon and smiled, not really wanting to admit to them that he no longer cared about finding a house because he was moving into the condo and was therefore currently as content and as happy as he'd ever been in his entire adult life. "Erm...maybe" he shrugged. "There's no rush and..."

Before he could finish Sharon slapped her hand across his mouth to stop him in his prime. "What he's trying to say to you Julio is he has everything he ever wanted right now, we are finally moving in together so he's no longer hounding his realtor twenty four hours a day and looking for houses because he's happy at the condo." She turned her head to look at Andy with a smile as she removed her hand, him catching it before it could return to her side and pressing his lips to her palm. "Right?"

"That's about the gist of it yes" he nodded, everyone laughing at him and how easily and quickly he crumbled and admitted the truth. "I'm not saying that if the perfect place fell into our laps we wouldn't take a look at it and consider it but for now," he said before pausing, turning his head to look at the woman with her arm around him and kissed the side of her head a couple of times, "I am incredibly happy where we are and if this is the last move I ever make in my life that'll be fine by me."

"And it's fine by me too. I don't want to have to help him move yet again" Provenza grumbled once again, helping him move from his couch to his first post-divorce apartment and then into the house being twice too many in his opinion.

Julio moved to the pile of boxes and bags in the corner that was going to the condo, looking at it with surprise, Andy almost taking as little to the condo as Mark had arrived with at PAB although in truth a lot of Andy's stuff was already at the condo. "Is this everything Sir? Is this all you're taking with you?" he smiled.

"Yeah, that's everything" Andy nodded, his confirmation immediately greeted by a ripple of laughter from all the men in the room, all of them thinking the exact same thing and that he was so whipped and under Sharon's thumb that he wasn't allowed to take anything else with him rather than having already turned down the chance on multiple occasions to take some of his furniture and exchange it for some of hers. "What?" he asked, surprised as they all continued to laugh and exchange all too knowing looks.

"Nothing, nothing at all," Julio shrugged as he smiled, suitable relaxed enough in a social situation to make fun of a man who was also his friend in front of his Captain, "just are you whipped much Lieutenant?" he asked. Again all the men laughed at him, every one of them thinking the same thing but not brave enough to ask the question.

"I'm not whipped" Andy protested as Sharon laughed, hiding her face into his shoulder as she squeezed him and thinking that by her own admission he was a little bit whipped by her but only playfully so, it really a consequence of her being his Commanding Officer and him doing everything that she told him to do while at work throughout their current relationship and all the years that came before it.

"And yet this tiny pile of your possessions suggests otherwise" Julio replied.

"Hey Sanchez is it wise to point out how whipped Flynn is in front of your Captain?" Cooper asked despite enjoying the show taking place before him and laughing just as loudly as the rest of them.

"I'm not their Captain today," Sharon insisted, her arm still wrapped around the love of her life and anything but the Commanding Officer in that room regardless of how they all still addressed her as 'Captain,' "I'm just the fool moving in with their friend."

"Gee thanks" Andy grumbled, making Sharon laugh before she kissed his cheek.

"So _all_ of this stuff is going into storage? Really?" Provenza asked, already in the knowledge before he arrived that anything he said that day wouldn't be held against him by his Captain but it was nice to have confirmation anyway. Andy nodded. "Are you balls going there too?" he questioned and getting a laugh from everyone even Sharon as Andy just glared at him and tried not to take the bait. "Will you get to visit them from time to time?"

"Are you done?" Andy asked, far from amused by the whole conversation.

Provenza laughed. "Oh believe me I'm only just getting started."

"Does moving into the condo mean that you're a kept man now Sir?" Julio asked, giving his Captain a little wink to ensure she knew he was only joking.

"He wishes" Sharon laughed.

"All joking aside, what dirt do you have on the Captain that enabled you to blackmail her into this move Andy?" Mike asked and not wanting to miss out on the good natured ribbing that was on offer, once more everyone laughing at Andy's expense. "There has to be a body buried somewhere."

"One?" Provenza scoffed. "More like five."

"Gentlemen, if he told you then I'd have to kill him and then you" Sharon confirmed to yet more laughter, winking at Andy.

With Andy tortured enough for five minutes Mike moved to the top of the kitchen table, moving the pack of bottled water to the floor and out of the way before he prepared to lift it. "Come on Julio, grab the other end of this table and let's get started" he said before Julio moved to help.

"No, nope" Cathy cried before Julio could take more than a couple of steps towards Mike to help, her hands moving to point at everyone in attendance to ensure they didn't move more than an inch. "Nobody moves anything from this house until we've had this conversation with Sharon first" she insisted, moving to her and taking her hand that had just moved from Andy's waist as she waved Patrice over to join her. Not needing to be told twice Patrice joined them and took Sharon's other hand, turning her slightly to face away from Andy so that his presence wouldn't impact on her answer to the questions they were about to ask. "Okay, Sharon, are you really sure about this? Letting Andy Flynn of all people move in with you?" Cathy asked as Sharon began to laugh and Andy's mouth dropped open with horror. "Are you sure?" she asked again and clearly joking just to torment Andy a little but with her back to him it was hard for him to tell.

Everyone laughed, not just at the question being asked but the utterly horrified expression on Andy's face. "What the hell? What are you trying to do to me?" he cried, his voice going as high as anyone but Sharon and Rusty had ever heard it.

Cathy quickly turned to Andy, giving him a stern look that reminded him of the Nuns who had terrorised him for so many years in his youth, forcing him to take an unconscious step back and away from her. "You be quiet" she warned him, pointing a finger in his direction. "We all know what you get out of this deal Andrew Flynn so we have to make sure that Sharon isn't getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop here."

"Ye Gods" Provenza shuddered. "If you're going to be talking about Flynn's fuzzy lollipop then I'm going to sit in the car and take a nap until it's over" he said as he went to stand.

"Louie so help me God if you move so much as another inch you'll be sleeping in the car permanently" Patrice warned him, everyone laughing again as Andy along with Provenza looked incredibly annoyed by the whole situation, Provenza quickly sitting back down again with a thud and a mumble under his breath. "Now Sharon, on behalf of the 'Partners of Detectives from Major Crimes Union' we feel compelled to speak up before you take this next giant step with him" Patrice explained as she thumbed in Andy's direction.

"Are you forgetting that you could also be having this same conversation with me since you know Sharon is also a Detective from Major Crimes?" Andy pointed out.

Patrice turned towards him while not releasing Sharon's hand. "But as Cathy has already said, we all know exactly what you get out of this whole arrangement so it's only right we take care of Sharon before things move beyond the point of no return." Patrice turned back to face Sharon again, giving her another wink to make it abundantly clear to her that they were only teasing Andy, something she already knew without the extra hint. "If it makes you feel any better we had the same conversation with Amy when we found out she was moving in with Chuck."

"What?!" Cooper cried. "When was this?"

"Oh it doesn't really matter now" Amy said dismissively as she suppressed a smile.

"I think it does if they were trying to talk you out of moving in with me" Cooper quite rightly stated, extremely alarmed by what he was hearing for the very first time.

"Calm down" Amy told him with a shake of her head as Cooper seemed to instantly break out into a cold sweat. "They weren't trying to talk me out of it and anyway you're not a member of our division so they were more like..."

"Making sure she knew what she was doing and letting herself in for and it turned out that she did and you moved in anyway so quit complaining" Patrice told him. Cooper looked at them with a pout, far from him impressed as Patrice and Cathy turned back to face Sharon again who couldn't stop herself from laughing, not least because of the really annoyed expression that what still on Andy's face about the whole conversation. "Now Sharon..."

Eager to put Andy out of his misery before he fainted again or worse, Sharon cut her off in her prime. "Ladies I really appreciate your concern for me in this matter but I am more than fine with this whole arrangement even though I greatly look forward to our annual meetings where we get to loudly trash the men in our lives."

"Hey!" Andy protested again, really not liking the turn the conversation had taken despite the little smile and wink Sharon sent in his direction from over her shoulder.

"Actually they're more like monthly meetings with these two" Patrice informed her.

"And there's wine" Cathy confirmed.

Patrice nodded. "Lots and lots and lots of wine."

"Trust us, we need it" Cathy said with a look to the heavens.

"Hey!" Mike cried, suddenly unhappy about what was being said as Andy, Provenza and Cooper were now that it was also aimed in his direction.

Cathy sighed and turned her head to look at her husband. "Michael" she said simply, just the use of his name enough to shut him up and prevent any further protests, a little trick she had picked up from his Mother.

"Shutting up" Mike said simply, not prepared to spend some time in the dog house just to prove that he wasn't as whipped as the other men in healthy relationships in the room.

During the exchange Julio had crossed the room to stand behind the couch where Mark sat silently between Gus and Rusty. He lowered his head to speak to the boy while making sure his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. "See this Mark is why you should never ever get married" he told him before he pointed to the couple sitting either side of him. "These two have got the right idea."

"They could get married if they wanted to" Amy reminded him.

Julio shrugged. "Then they're screwed too" he said sympathetically to yet more laughter, all of this despite the fact that he still wore his wedding ring so many years after Maria's death and with zero intention of ever removing it.

"Anyway, back to our point and I'm pretty sure even Nicole will back us up here, are you really sure about this?" Cathy asked again, Nicole laughing as she stepped towards her Father to put an arm around him due to the fact that he looked like he was about to pass out if the conversation didn't end quickly. "I mean we hear stories about this guy," she went on before thumbing towards Andy again, "that would make your hair curl."

"Are you two trying to give me a heart attack?" Andy cried despite Sharon laughing at them and quite clearly not taking any of it seriously.

"Oh you be quiet" Patrice told him before she turned her attention back to Sharon. "We're being serious here Sharon" she insisted despite the smile on her face. "The stories we have heard about that man and some of the things he's got up to in the past would make even a sailor blush."

"And they're all complete nonsense I assure you" Andy insisted.

Cathy and Patrice smiled at each other before they turned to face him again. "Oh yeah? How can you be so sure?" Cathy asked him.

"Because they can only have come from these two," he replied, pointing at Mike and Provenza, "so it'll be nothing but lies."

Patrice released Sharon's hand and folded her arms across her chest as she took a step towards Andy, looking at him quite intimidatingly and causing him to swallow. "Oh really?" she asked with her smile telling Nicole that she knew something about Andy that he was completely unaware of.

"Really" Andy nodded.

"Then what about Barstow?" Patrice asked.

The name hung in the air for a moment, not everyone aware of what was essentially Andy Flynn Kryptonite and the incident that had happened many years ago in almost a former life in Barstow California, an incident Andy was utterly desperate that Sharon never find out about. Andy's shoulders dropped. "What do you...?" he started to say before his face turned a deep shade of red and he marched over to Provenza, slapping him across the shoulder. "Did you tell Patrice about what happened while we were in Barstow?!"

"What happened in Barstow?" Rusty asked.

"Oh trust us Rusty, you don't want to know" Cathy told him.

Almost immediately all of the colour drained from Andy's face as he processed what he was hearing and what that actually meant. "What?! Cathy knows too?! Oh my God!" he cried, absolutely mortified beyond belief. He quickly buried his head into his hands and waited for the ground to open up and swallow him, sweating more than he had been as he sat down to take a break from the heavy lifting before everyone else arrived.

"If you're about to faint again can you please land on something soft this time" Provenza said unsympathetically. "I don't want to go to the hospital today" he added as Sharon once more laughed at Andy while giving him a kind smile that let him know that she really didn't care about any of it and he had no reason to worry. "Can we move this along a little?"

"I agree and ladies, let me stop you right here." Sharon smiled at Patrice and Cathy, despite only joking and enjoying torturing Andy she appreciated the thought all the same. "Yes I am sure" she said as she made sure she met Andy's still horrified eye. "I promise. I know exactly what I'm doing and I simply couldn't be happier about it."

"Wonderful" Cathy cried as she clapped her hands together before she hugged her and then returned to Mike's side, resting a hand on his shoulder as she leant into him.

"That's all we needed to know" Patrice confirmed as she hugged her, squeezing her tight. "We are so so happy for you, for you both."

"Thank you" Sharon said before she turned to whisper subtly in Patrice's ear. "Is Barstow something I should worry about?" she asked since the more Andy freaked out about her finding out about it the more she became concerned that he was not overreacting and there was indeed a humungous skeleton in his closet.

Patrice laughed. "Not at all" she insisted, not bothering to lower her voice. "I promise." They pulled apart as Sharon nodded and Patrice turned to look at Andy. "You've got a really good guy here, a really good guy. He's not too bad on the eye either" she said as she winked at him and he laughed in reply.

"Hey!" Provenza protested at his wife's compliment towards another man even if that other man was his best friend.

Andy walked over to Sharon and ran his arm back around her as she did likewise. "Don't I know it" Sharon said as she looked up at him smiling, both of them being more affectionate towards each in the five minutes since everyone had arrived than anyone (except obviously Rusty, Provenza and Patrice) had ever seen them before (for obvious reasons given that most of the time they were in their company they were at work and they very much kept everything purely professional as much as humanly possible) and making the likes of Amy and Mike in particular smile at them, so happy for them and both enjoying this very much relaxed side to them as a couple.

"But it's always good to keep him on his toes" Patrice said as she pinched Andy's chin and winked at him again. Despite them standing with their arms wrapped around each other Patrice moved to hug Sharon again, whispering in her ear but knowing that Andy was the only other person who could really hear what she was about to say. "Are you feeling okay after what happened the other day?" she asked quietly, clearly referencing the moment that Sharon had to sit and helplessly watch the monitors as her whole division including the love of her life no less were suddenly engulfed in flames following two members of the Z Brotherhood blowing themselves up to avoid capture. Despite being told repeatedly by Sharon that she was okay when she came to pick her husband up for dinner after the shooting at the hotel Patrice knew that she wasn't, she knew that because she wasn't okay about it and they were very much in the same boat in that regard and as such Patrice saw it as her job to check on Sharon on those occasions to ensure she was okay, speaking to Sharon when she knew Captain Raydor had already been taken care of separately.

"I'm fine" Sharon insisted, Andy kissing the side of her head as confirmation that he was listening to the conversation and had been taking care of her in that regard.

Patrice pulled away but still kept her voice low, unsure if Cathy knew what had happened and how close she had come to losing Mike that afternoon too. "Are you sure? Because I don't mind admitting that I certainly wasn't when my husband came home smelling of smoke and at least three and a half bottles of cologne." The three of them laughed for a moment at the thought. Provenza hadn't said a word to her about what had happened that day but after smelling him and seeing the news on the television it wasn't hard for her to work out and she had eventually forced him into telling her the truth when they climbed into bed that night. Provenza had likewise also been extremely tight lipped about Andy's request for a code word to alleviate Sharon's fears and his hints about how upset she had been about the shooting at the hotel but again it was easy for her to work it out herself. If she felt that upset by it all then surely Sharon did too, even more so after watching it unfold before her very eyes and being able to do nothing about it until the smoke had cleared. Little did they know that Cathy was also aware of what had happened that afternoon and was obviously just as upset about it although she opted to keep it to herself and despite Mike changing clothes before he left PAB she could still smell the smoke and had worked out what had happened that day without too much effort.

"Yes I'm sure" Sharon nodded, the whole incident not keeping her awake at night like the shooting at the hotel had, that first incident hardening her somehow.

"Good" Patrice smiled.

"Okay that's enough, let's get moving or we'll be here all day" Provenza grumbled as he took to his feet and pointed at Rusty and Gus. "You two take this chair outside" he started to say as he pointed at the armchair he had just vacated before whispering to them and patting them on their shoulders. They both looked at each other before rolling their eyes at him and then reluctantly picked up the chair between them and started to carry it outside.

"Come on Mark, grab a chair" Julio said as he picked up a chair that went with the dining table and waited by the door for the boy to do likewise and follow him. With that everyone looked around and started to pick up something they could easily carry to take out to the truck with the exception of Provenza who just pulled his bucket hat onto his head.

"Are you really not keeping any of your furniture?" Nicole asked her Father, recognising the armchair that was already outside from her youth, mainly because of the various stains on it that she had put there herself as a child. She had no issue at all with Andy not taking it with him and instead saw it as evidence of how much her Dad had changed since then and how her relationship with him had vastly improved in recent years. He had clung to that chair for so many years because it held a very small and rather unusual connection to his children and she was glad he didn't need it any longer because he had started to get his family back instead.

"No. We don't need it and besides there's no room for it at the condo" Andy shrugged.

"And the Captain has much better taste in furnishings than he does" Provenza couldn't help but snidely add to the conversation.

Andy scoffed. "What? This coming from the owner of those God awful duck lamps?"

"Those lamps are classics whereas you don't know a window treatment from your ass" Provenza shot back with venom, more likely to allow someone to verbally abuse his sons or his grandchildren than those treasured duck lamps.

"'Window treatment'?" Andy laughed. "Are you forgetting that you once ate an entire bowl of pot pourri thinking it was trail mix?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, less yacking, more packing" Rusty told them as he and Gus walked back inside on their second trip while everyone else was still talking in the living room.

With a grumpy reprimand ringing in their ears everyone picked up the box or the item of furniture that lay in front of them and carried them one by one outside to the truck. As he approached the curb with a box of odds and ends from the kitchen Andy was surprised but at the same time not to see that his armchair had been placed on the sidewalk next to the truck and that Provenza had once again taken up residence in it. He had his bucket hat on his head and his crossword puzzle in his hand, focused more on that than what was going on around him. Andy's mouth dropped open.

"You've got to be kidding me" Andy cried as he came to a stop next to the rest of the group who were likewise staring at Provenza agog even though not one of them really expected anything different from him if they were honest.

Provenza shrugged. "Someone needs to make sure the truck is loaded properly, why not me? Okay Julio and Cooper, you load the truck and everyone else will bring stuff out to you" he ordered them and making it sound like they had little choice in the matter.

Andy shook his head at Provenza as he passed his box to Julio while everyone else started to make a pile by the curb before they headed back inside to get the next item. As Cooper and Julio went back and forth, up and down the ramp as they started to load the truck with box after box and pieces of furniture, Mark waited on the ramp, getting in there way but not wanting to move too far away from Julio. With a job for the boy in mind Andy gestured to him to follow him. "Hey Mark, come with me" Andy called to him. Mark immediately looked to Julio for reassurance, getting a little nod and smile of encouragement in return before he jumped down and started to follow Andy inside the house. After checking over his shoulder to make sure that the boy was following him Andy led him straight into the kitchen. "I have a very important job for you young man. Come here." Mark slowly took a step towards him, his face once again looking nothing but suspicious until Andy picked him up and put him on the counter. "Now you see Sharon's freezer is full and I don't want to waste good food so I need someone to eat as much of this ice cream for me as they can" he said as he produced two cartons of strawberry ice cream from the sink, ice cream that he only kept in the house for Sharon to eat, by now well versed in her sweet tooth that often hit her suddenly post orgasm (usually having nothing close to the sugar addiction that Andy's former Chief did but a couple of large mouthfuls of something sweet once her legs could hold her upright again was a common occurrence and Andy always catered to it). "Do you think you can help me out with that?"

Mark's face suddenly erupted into a smile as he looked at what was on offer to him. "Sure I can" he replied as if the smile on his face wasn't already confirmation enough.

"All the spoons are packed but I have this" Andy said as he handed him a ladle from the sink he had plucked from one of the boxes at the last moment in anticipation of Mark's expected arrival. "Time to get creative kid" Andy encouraged with a pat to his shoulder, not sure how he was going to get the ladle in the carton much less into his mouth but knowing that where there was a will there was a way. Mark laughed as he started to tuck in, eventually easily fitting the ladle into the carton but ended up with a massive mouthful for him to eat very slowly. "Take it into the living room and keep an eye on everyone for me" he instructed as he pulled him down from the counter before they walked back into the living room.

"What for?" Mark asked when he'd managed to swallow his extremely large mouthful and just narrowly avoided the worst brain freeze of all time.

"To make sure they don't steal any of my stuff" Andy joked and making Mark laugh before he tried to fit the ladle into his mouth again. "Especially Sharon. If you see her trying to flush a grey and white shirt down the toilet try and stop her and call me immediately" Andy whispered and with how much she disliked that shirt he was expecting it to mysterious vanish during the move, never to be seen again.

Mark laughed again as he nodded "Okay."

"And you know make sure everyone lifts with their legs" Andy added as Mark sat down on the floor in the corner of the room, both cartons of ice cream on the floor in front of him as he battled to eat as much as possible.

Outside by the truck Sharon handed another heavy box to Julio to load inside as Provenza continued to sit, not at all watching proceedings but while maintaining the premise that he was helping by 'supervising,' his eyes locked on his crossword. "Captain, are you going to the start of Rosen's trial on Monday?" he asked before she had chance to walk back inside.

"Nope! No!" Patrice cried before Sharon could answer as she arrived with the last of the chairs from the table that was a former resident of Andy's kitchen. "No work talk today."

Sharon laughed before she quickly said "Yes I am Lieutenant," by no means thinking of herself as their Captain that day but answering the question regardless since the prospect of attending Dwight Darnell's trial the following week was very much hanging over her like a black cloud, always lurking to put a damper on her exceptionally good mood.

"Sharon! Don't make me tell you again" Patrice cried and sounding every bit like Sharon's Grandmother who would frequently yell something similar at her as a teenager when she caught her even glancing at a member of the opposite sex.

Sharon laughed again as she headed back inside and leaving Patrice to once again tell her husband off for not helping them in her wake. Once inside Sharon hovered by the door, leaning up against it as she watched Andy bend over in front of her to pick up a box. He knew without looking that Sharon was there and staring at his backside. "Stop looking at my ass Raydor" he said as he stood up with his box and turned around to face her, giving her a quick wink.

"I wasn't" she lied with the smile on her face telling a different story.

"Yeah right" Andy laughed as he walked over to her and pressed his lips to hers. "You were ogling."

"As a matter of fact I wasn't. I was thinking that you need to lift with your legs more." She looked at Mark still sitting in the corner eating his ice cream before she moved her lips to Andy's ear. "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself and pull a muscle. I have very big plans for you later. Big naked celebratory plans" she whispered to him before pulling back slightly with a large grin on her face. For a split second Andy looked almost blind with arousal before he came back to his senses, walked over to the couch and dropped his box before picking up a couch cushion instead, thus ensuring he wasn't going to hurt himself and be unable to indulge in the plans Sharon had for him when they were done. Sharon instantly laughed at him.

Seconds later Nicole walked in and picked up another box, giving her Father that same glare she had given Dean earlier and had clearly inherited from her Mother when she saw him standing there and holding nothing but a couch cushion. "Dad you had better be carrying more than one couch cushion at a time" she warned him before she headed back outside again, not waiting for an answer.

"I guess I'll just have to be careful then" Andy shrugged. He dropped the cushion and picked up the box again, kissing Sharon on the lips as he headed back outside with her following a few paces behind him with the lamps from his bedroom. Once outside and with Amy close enough to hear him on her journey back inside he grinned. "Stop looking at my ass Raydor" he said loud enough to ensure that Amy heard him. She immediately laughed as Sharon stopped dead in her tracks and rolled her eyes at him. "This is no laughing matter Sykes. Outside of work she hardly looks at my face" he insisted as he finished his journey to the truck and handed Cooper his box, laughing happily to himself.

"You know Captain it really is not too late to change your mind" Amy joked.

With the head start that the four of them had made that morning before reinforcements arrived and with everyone's help it didn't take long for the house to start to empty and the truck to fill up quickly despite everyone slowing down and taking longer breaks the more time ticked on. With no one waiting to hand him the next box Julio walked down the ramp from the truck and picked up one that had been left by Provenza's feet. He smiled at it as he stood up, casting a quick glance towards the house to ensure that no one was paying attention to what he was about to do. "Hey Lieutenant" Julio said quietly as he smiled and showed him the top of the box, getting a smile in return when he saw the word 'Suspenders' written across it in magic marker with that box obviously going to the condo.

"You know I think that one can go in my car Julio. In fact I'll even give you a hand" Provenza said as he stood up finally and then moved at speed to his car with Julio following, fumbling for his keys before Patrice caught them.

At this sudden movement Amy looked up from her position on the curb as she took a break with Cooper and they swigged on a bottle of water. "You're not actually helping now?" she asked Provenza, sounding every bit as stunned as she actually felt.

"Well this box is awfully heavy Sykes" Provenza told her rather suspiciously as he and Julio hid behind his car for a moment before they looked up and saw Mike walking out of the house with some water of his own. "Hey Mike, care to give us a hand?"

Mike bounded over to them, a quizzical look on his face and clearly intrigued by what had forced Provenza out of his seat. "What?" he asked before Julio showed him the label on the box in his hands and smiled at him. "Oh. Are you...?"

"Oh I should say so. Keep watch" Provenza told him before Mike turned to make sure that Andy or more worryingly Patrice and Cathy didn't catch them and they ended up in trouble. With Mike keeping watch Julio started to shake the shit out of the box, rolling it over and over in his hands as they all heard the suspenders inside tumble around as if they were in a washing machine. "Here let me" Provenza said as he took the box from Julio and shook it a little himself before he dropped it on the floor. "Oops! Butter fingers. Can you get this for us Mike?"

"With pleasure." Mike glanced over his shoulder to check that the coast was clear before he stooped to pick it up but not before he also shook it violently and rolled it several times.

"Open it up" Provenza instructed so that they could see how much damage they'd managed to inflict on them so far.

Mike carefully opened the box before all three of them peered inside and smiled at the sight of what was at least fifty pairs of Andy's suspenders starting to knot into one giant colourful ball. "Enough?" Mike asked as he looked up at Provenza. "Surely anymore is too cruel."

"Too cruel?" Provenza scoffed, making it sound like the words made a bitter taste in his mouth. "He's making us help him move house. On a Saturday. A Saturday! A free Saturday when I could be sitting in my chair doing nothing but drinking wine and napping with my wife by my side" he reminded them. "Not only that but Flynn is moving in with the one and only Darth Raydor of all people!" he cried loudly and making Julio and Mike laugh as they immediately had flashbacks to about five years earlier when none of them really liked the woman that they now loved dearly, a warm affection that had arrived for all of them long before she started to date their friend but had subsequently only grown as a result since then. "Yes admittedly I now like her a hell of a lot more than I actually like Flynn and I'll undoubtedly be a witness against him in the event of them one day splitting up and getting a divorce but I'm not doing this for me right now, no, I'm doing this for the Louie Provenza of twenty years ago who was sent to Sensitivity Training by Darth Raydor. Twice. In less than a month. Twice!" he cried as he held two fingers in the air to reinforce his point and still really quite pissed about it. "I still don't know what George and I did wrong to this day. I'm doing it for the Louie Provenza of seven years ago who had to put up with Captain Raydor standing behind him with her clipboard every time he turned around, making her little notes and I'm doing this for the Louie Provenza of two and three years ago who had to put up with Flynn mooning over her every single time he spoke to him because he was too afraid to ask her out on a real date. I'm doing it for them even though I will feel more than a little bad for the Captain and the amount of complaining she'll have to listen to from him on the subject as a result. Okay?" he asked, feeling like he'd explained his actions well enough and despite being incredibly happy for his best friend who had fallen in love with a woman he had rather surprisingly come to adore himself (something he wouldn't normally express out loud but with a toast in mind about the two of them for later that day and maybe even a best man's speech one day too it was something he had started to give a lot of thought to), he was doing it for himself at a time when none of them felt that way.

"Okay" Mike nodded.

Provenza turned to Julio, seeking similar confirmation. "Okay?"

"Okay" Julio agreed with a shrug, not really that bothered by an explanation and more than happy just to screw with Andy for his own amusement.

"Exactly so give it here." Provenza took the box again and immediately dropped it, giving it a quick kick to make it roll a few yards away from him and into the road as Andy's suspenders could quite clearly be heard rattling around and tying into an even bigger knot. "That should do for now" he said as he quickly unlocked his car and opened the trunk. "Put it in my car before we're caught." Julio picked up the box and stuffed it in the trunk just as Patrice and Cathy walked out of the house, carrying a rolled up rug between them. Provenza and Mike both immediately froze when they saw them, fake smiles on their faces which only served to prove that they were definitely up to no good and weren't very good at hiding it from their respective spouses.

"What are you two doing?" Patrice asked, looking at them suspiciously.

"Nothing my angel, just loading another box of Flynn's crap into the car to take to the condo" Provenza replied as he slammed the trunk closed so that she wouldn't see what was in there and more importantly what damage had clearly been done to the outside of the box when it was dropped on the floor.

"So you're actually helping now?" Patrice said as she and Cathy handed the rug over to Cooper to load into the truck.

"I've been helping all along" Provenza protested as Patrice picked up another box that was waiting to be loaded into one of the cars to go to the condo and put it in the armchair to prevent him from sitting back down again. "How would Julio and Cooper know where to put everything in the truck if I wasn't directing them?" Before anyone had chance to reply Andy and Sharon walked out of the house with the last of the boxes in their arms, dropping them by the chair, Sharon's hand immediately moving to rub his back for him as he stood up again with a slight grimace. "Flynn's furniture may be next to tragic but it still needs to be loaded correctly" Provenza stated. Andy just frowned at him again rather than letting him know he was irritated as Rusty and Gus laughed at them before they started to load up the cars with stuff going to the condo.

With everyone now outside and before the conversation could descend into bickering once again Julio looked around and noticed that Mark was missing and indeed had been gone for some time while he had been otherwise distracted. "Is Mark inside?" he asked as his eyes continued to dart about the yard as he searched for him.

"He's sitting in the living room," Andy answered quickly before Julio started to panic and called in a Critical Missing, "helping me out by eating what's left of a carton of ice cream so it doesn't end up in the trash." Julio looked sternly at him for a moment and the rather unhealthy option since he'd been very strict with Mark and his diet so far but it quickly turned into an appreciative smile with Mark quite clearly happy and out from under everyone's feet.

Provenza looked at Andy more than a little baffled, knowing that he didn't eat ice cream and hadn't for many years like anything else with any fat or flavour, something that was near the top of his list of the reasons as to why his best friend annoyed the shit out of him. "What are you doing with ice cream?" he asked and making it sound more like Andy had just confessed to keeping several severed heads in his freezer.

"I kept it around for Sharon" Andy shrugged casually, not elaborating any further as to the precise reason why for obvious reasons as the woman in question blushed at the thought, biting on her bottom lip as she briefly stepped behind Andy and pressed her face against his shoulder.

"Thank you Sir" Julio nodded at him as he steered the conversation back to where it was before they got side tracked. "I appreciate it."

"Hey he's doing me a favour" Andy insisted.

"And he's eating it with a ladle" Sharon confirmed with much amusement as she moved next to Andy and ran her arm around his waist again.

Andy shrugged. "What do you want from me? I packed all the spoons." He smiled and winked at Sharon before pressing his lips to hers and he walked back towards his empty house for what he intended to be the final time.

"Is this everything?" Nicole asked with the truck now fully loaded with the exception of the armchair and the rest of Andy's belongings that were scattered on the lawn and waiting to be put into the cars.

"Yes. This is it" Sharon confirmed.

Provenza picked up the box that Patrice had put in the armchair and handed it to Julio before he sat back down again. "Good because I am exhausted" he said, reaching for his crossword puzzle again. On the whole everyone just opted to ignore him as they split what was left and loaded it into the cars until everything was done and everyone once again took a break by sitting on whatever they could find that was comfortable with a bottle of water.

As everyone relaxed for a moment and took a breath before the next stage of the move could take place, Sharon looked towards the house and saw Andy standing in the living room through the window, just gazing around the empty room. "We can't thank you all enough for your help," Sharon told them all as she dragged her eyes away from Andy again, "but can we just have five more minutes guys?"

Provenza looked over his shoulder towards the house and saw that Andy clearly needed a minute before he was ready to leave. "Take your time Captain. I have a seat" he said with a nod, the understanding clear in his voice.

"You do realise Lieutenant that you're going to have to get up eventually so we can put that chair into the truck right?" Buzz asked him.

Provenza shrugged. "You've got an issue with carrying me?"

"Yes. And so will my back" Mike reminded him.

"You're supposed to lift with your legs" Provenza shot back.

"And you're supposed to be helping" Patrice growled.

"I don't lift" came the inevitable reply.

"We'd noticed" Julio grumbled.

Nicole got to her feet and quickly crossed to Sharon, smiling at her warmly. "Take your time Sharon" she told her with none of them minding an extended break to give them a moment alone before driving to the storage unit that Andy had rented.

"Absolutely. We'll wait" Patrice confirmed as she got up from the lawn and then sat on her husband's lap, him grunting more than was wise as a result. "It's a big day. Go and savour it with your handsome man" she told her as she reached over to pat her on the arm.

"Hey you'd better not be talking about Flynn again" Provenza grumbled as he tried to extract his crossword from under his wife's backside without ripping the paper.

Sitting on the curb next to the chair occupied by both Mr and Mrs Provenza, Julio, Cooper, Amy, Mike and Cathy sat in a row, enjoying the cool breeze that hit them as Julio rather subtly nudged Cooper with his shoulder before he gestured in Mike's direction. Cooper nodded at him before he cleared his throat and smiled mischievously. "So Tao, I hear you had some fun undercover the other night. Is that true?" he asked very loudly in what was quite clearly a prearranged set up in order to torture Mike in front of Cathy given that he would quite rightly be desperate to ensure she didn't find out that he had been locked in a hotel room with an extremely young prostitute let alone that she had been slowly stripping him while everyone watched from the next room. Immediately Provenza and Julio laughed as Amy and Mike gave him death glares, the exchange catching Sharon's attention before she could walk into the house and making her stop dead in her tracks to listen.

"What's this?" Cathy asked, the surprise in her tone evident since she had no idea what had happened just a few short days earlier.

"Nothing" Mike insisted, hoping to God that he wasn't looking too nervous.

Not willing to let it go Cathy narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that something was clearly going on that he didn't want her to know about and determined to get to the bottom of it. "You went undercover last week?" she asked again.

"In almost more ways than one" Provenza joked loudly with all the men laughing with the exception of Mike and Buzz who just shook their heads with dismay.

Cathy started to stare intently at Mike in order to make him crumble and confess all to her, a tactic that had always worked to great effect over the course of their marriage thus far (most recently when all of their boys had come home from college to celebrate her birthday and Mike and Kevin had managed to set fire to Cathy's magnolia in the back yard when a bottle rocket they had constructed went awry). "Are you going to tell me what's going on or do I have to guess?" she asked. Mike was silent for a moment until he rather randomly made a noise in the back of his throat like an otter faking an orgasm as he battled to come up with a believable answer that wasn't the truth.

Sharon laughed at Mike's torture as he continued to struggle to come up with a suitable response before she walked into Andy's house for the final time, Mark running the other way with his two empty cartons of ice cream and the ladle licked clean. Sharon ran her hand through his hair with a smile as he ran past her and straight to Julio. When she finally stepped inside she found Andy standing in the middle of the room and staring into space as if he was in a world of his own. She glanced down at the floor by her feet and noticed that the doorstop was missing with no idea where it was, silently praying John Wayne was in the U-Haul rather than one of the cars. She walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist, putting her chin on his shoulder. "Are you okay my boy?" she asked him, pushing her lips to his neck and the small scar that was the only evidence of his surgery to remove his blood clot the previous Thanksgiving.

"Okay? I'm better than okay" he replied as he turned his head to capture her lips. "Trust me I am absolutely ecstatic," he confirmed before he kissed her again, truly sounding like he was on top of the world, "I get to spend the rest of my life living with you." He faced forward again as he put his hands on top of hers on his waist and squeezed them, their fingers linking.

"Are you going to miss this place?" she asked, her lips once again pressing against his neck.

"No."

"No?"

"Nope."

"Not at all?" Sharon asked with surprise, thinking that he'd spent enough years living in that house that he must have at least a few fond memories here and there that he was going to be sad to say a goodbye to as he started the next and what he hoped would be the greatest chapter of his life.

"Not really" Andy shrugged. "It's not like I have many good memories here except for the last couple of years with you. The kids were never here, there are no height marks on the doorframes or tree houses out back or anything. In fact Daniel has never even been here."

"That's not entirely true. He was here on Christmas Day when he dropped off your card" she reminded him, Andy not seeing his son at all over the holidays the previous year much to his disappointment and missing his Christmas card being dropped off because he was staying with Sharon and Rusty at the condo.

"Yeah okay but we both know he only did that because he knew I wasn't here."

"Maybe but fingers crossed this Christmas will be a little different" Sharon said optimistically to which Andy immediately scoffed. "Nicole, Dean and the boys are coming to our place for dinner" she reminded him with that all arranged the previous winter following the fabulous time they had at Nicole and Dean's house on Christmas Day. "Sandra and Michael will be over in the evening too so you never know. He might surprise you."

"Yeah okay" Andy sighed, extremely doubtful that he'd see him at all let alone actually sit down with him over dinner.

Sharon squeezed him even tighter as a result, her lips in almost constant contact with his neck. It broke her heart that Andy had such a poor relationship with his son, living off the small scraps he was begrudgingly offered by him despite his best efforts to make amends for his past behaviour and to be fair the efforts of Nicole and Sandra ever since her wedding to reunite them. Regardless she had made a decision and she was determined to try and do her best for him when the holidays came around again. The problem was though she had only ever laid eyes on Daniel in person twice before. The first time being the first trip to see _The Nutcracker_ with Andy followed by the very speedy visit while he recovered from his surgery in hospital. On both occasions Daniel hardly spoke, only staying at the hospital for about five minutes and leaving the very moment that Sharon arrived, that desperate to leave it was a shock he didn't leap from the window. She knew how much it meant to Andy to be able to spend some time with him like she knew what it meant to Jack when she sometimes had to force Emily and Ricky to spend time with him (for example, despite really not wanting to do it for a variety of reasons, getting Emily to stay with Jack in his apartment over the holidays two years earlier, their recent divorce making her feel even sorrier for him despite her better judgement). Sharon hoped that she might be able to get Daniel to come over to the condo for at least an hour on Christmas Day if for no other reason than as a gift to Andy but how she was going to achieve that she didn't yet know but Nicole and Sandra would have to be involved at some point and despite it still being four months away she realised they'd need to start work on Daniel sooner rather than later but for now that was a thought for another day and more of a long term plan.

"My only good memories here involve you" he said as he turned in her arms before he captured her lips. "Right back to the very first time you came here for dinner" he added, kissing her again as his hands settled in the small of her back. "Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do. It was a wonderful evening" she smiled before kissing him again. "Feel like taking one last stroll around the place for old time's sake before we head off home?" She smiled at him brightly as she stressed the word 'home' as her hands ran up and down his chest. "They'll wait for us" she confirmed as she nodded towards their friends and family waiting outside and all taking a breather and a few minutes to relax.

"Sure" Andy nodded. Sharon dropped her hands down to her side before she held one out for him to take which he quickly did as they walked hand in hand into the kitchen. They took a moment to look around, it obviously looking a lot bigger with the table and chairs missing and the counters completely clear. "We've had some really good times in here."

Sharon turned to him with Darth Raydor putting in a brief appearance. "I hope you don't mean that rat" she said, the smell of it being even stronger in the kitchen than it was in the living room where Rusty had noticed it earlier.

Andy laughed. "No not exactly although you've got to admit it was pretty damn funny."

"Not from where I was standing."

"Do you mean on top of the table?" he laughed as Darth Raydor continued to frown at him, all those months later still finding the way Sharon climbed onto the table the moment he mentioned the word 'rat' with such speed utterly hilarious. "It could have been worse babe, the thing could have hit you in the face when Provenza finally managed to pry it free from the back of the fridge."

"So I should be grateful? Is that what you're telling me?"

"Yes. Absolutely. He could have done it deliberately" he laughed. "Four years earlier and it definitely would have been deliberate. He would have aimed for you" he said in anything but a joke as he laughed again. Eventually she joined in with him, kissing him on the lips as she ran her hands around his waist. "I still can't believe the Queen of the Rat Squad is actually scared of rats."

Sharon pointed at him. "That is still not funny" she told him as she swotted him around the back of his head before she stepped out of his grasp, her arms crossed in front of her. "And don't you get telling anyone about it either" she warned him. "The last thing I need is for a couple of dead rats to make their way into the Murder Room by accident the next time Julio and Buzz go dumpster diving."

"They wouldn't."

"Wouldn't they?"

Andy laughed and nodded, conceding that she was probably right. "Yeah okay. Why don't you like rats anyway? Huh? Because I mean to me, you, my utterly gorgeous girlfriend," he said as he slowly walked towards her and ran his hands back around her waist again, "if I can still call you that now that we're finally moving in together."

"Well what else would you call me?"

"Given our age and that we now live together I was thinking..."

Sharon cut him off with a kiss before he had chance to go any further, knowing exactly what he was thinking with the words 'sex' and 'slave' likely to fall from his lips shortly unless she stopped him. "Let's just leave it as 'your partner' before you talk your way into a lengthy sex ban."

Andy laughed. "Okay, that works for me. But like I was saying, to me you, my utterly gorgeous _partner_ , the love of my life, Captain Sharon Raydor of Major Crimes, Darth Raydor herself, former Queen of the Rat Squad and Demon from FID is absolutely fearless."

She smiled at him. "If only" she replied a little ruthfully, wishing she was as fearless as Andy and Rusty thought she was. She paused for a moment as she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and decided that she was finally going to tell him a small part of the story to explain her fear, sighing before she started. "Something happened while I was on patrol very early on in my career and I'd really rather not discuss it any more for fear of the nightmares coming back, unless of course you'd like me to start hitting you in my sleep again as I fight off an attack from those tiny hairy tailed monsters" she said with a shudder, the memory of being trapped in such a small space coming back to her and seeming just as vivid as it did the day after it happened, lying flat on her back in what was barely a basement beneath a house while rats ran all over her face, unable to climb back out again after her partner had made her squeeze in as they looked for a missing child.

Andy laughed. "Okay. Change of subject?"

"Please." She moved out of his grasp and started to run her fingers along the edge of the counter. Andy watched her for a moment before he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting on her shoulder like she had done minutes earlier in the living room.

He kissed her shoulder. "We've had some nice dinners in here" he said before he kissed her shoulder again, using enough force that she could feel it through her thin t-shirt. "Both before and after we started dating."

"We have indeed" she replied as one hand moved to cup his cheek and the other held his arms around her waist.

"And," he said as he released her, turning her quickly on the spot to face him and then backed her into the corner of the counter before lifting her with ease but still causing her to squeal a little as he placed her on top of it, "a very enjoyable evening right here."

She laughed as he moved to kiss her, her arms and legs easily wrapping around him like they did on the night in question. "We most certainly did but before you get any ideas into that pretty little head of yours we have a whole lot of people outside waiting for us so there's absolutely no time for a repeat performance."

Andy laughed. "The thought never crossed my mind!" he lied. "I mean seriously Raydor, get your head out of the gutter!" They both laughed before they kissed a couple of times. "On a completely unrelated note when is Rusty next staying over with Gus?"

Sharon laughed at him again as she shook her head. "Never again if he works out what plans you have for the kitchen counter in his absence. He'd never leave home again" she told him before they both laughed.

"The first time you came here as just 'my friend Sharon' to have dinner you sat right here after we'd eaten and watched as I did the washing up" he said as his hand tapped the counter. "Your legs swinging back and forth as you finished off your wine."

"I offered to help you didn't I?" she reminded him, Andy inviting her over for dinner to say thank you for coming to Nicole's wedding with him, the first friendly dinner of many and the meal that ultimately lead to them falling in love with each other.

"I know you did but I preferred you sitting right here mainly because I could spend the whole time looking at your legs and drooling without you noticing what I was doing" he confessed with a wink.

Sharon laughed, not believing him since it was something she would surely have noticed at the time. "No you didn't."

"Oh yes I did. Since we have this whole complete honest thing going on between us..."

"With the exception of what happened in Barstow?"

"Right and also I assume why a certain population of the country knows you as 'Burning Fire O'Dwyer' but I don't too?" he offered, both of them in favour of complete honesty with the exception of one embarrassing secret they'd rather the other didn't find out about.

"Oh absolutely, you assume correctly" she confirmed.

"Yeah so since we have this whole complete honesty thing going on between us and zero secrets except those two and with this the first day of our brand new adventure together I should be completely honest and say that I had a little crush on you from the moment you dragged me to the dance floor by my tie at Nicole's wedding" he confessed, realising that he was in trouble before he'd even dropped her home again after the wedding reception given that he was fairly certain he had a crush on her, a feeling he hadn't experienced in decades despite the vast number of women he'd been with in that time.

Sharon smiled at him. "Really? You did?"

"Oh I really really did" he nodded, seeing no reason why he should keep that kind of thing to himself any longer since they were only mere hours from actually living together. "Then two weeks later I invited you over for dinner to say thank you for coming with me and basically serving as my bodyguard against everyone who hated me and wanted to stab me," he went on as she laughed, "and you showed up in that stunning pale blue dress that made your legs look like they went on forever." He groaned at the thought as his hands travelled up her denim clad legs as she laughed, it taking him several years to finally discover that he was right and her legs did indeed go on for miles. "I knew right there and then that I was in big big trouble."

"Oh yes? Big trouble because you were checking out your Commanding Officer's legs outside of work?" she asked.

"No, big trouble with Provenza because I knew the moment I told him I had a crush on Darth Raydor he was going to go ballistic" he confessed as they laughed. "And I was right. He did."

Sharon laughed again and nodded. "And now he's sitting in your favourite chair on your lawn by a moving van and supervising everything so that you can live with me."

"Yeah well I think the moment I walked into your office with the intention of asking you to the ballet with me that first time instead of going with him he knew there was no way to stop the inevitable" he shrugged before pressing his lips to hers. "Whether you had the potential to feel the same way about me or not was irrelevant at that point because there was just no stopping me" he added, kissing her again.

Sharon smiled as she stroked his face with her fingertips before her eyes narrowed as she set about testing him considering that he remembered what she was wearing the night she first came over for dinner. "What colour dress was I wearing the day we went to Nicole's wedding?" she asked, knowing that he would remember because it was the sort of thing that he had proven time and time again that he kept locked in the back of his mind about her.

"At work or at the wedding?" he asked, grinning since he knew the answer to both.

"The wedding."

"Purple" came the instant reply.

Sharon nodded. "And at work?"

"Black and with a jacket that was like a beige colour."

Sharon smiled. "Okay. I was just checking." She kissed him again before she released an utterly contented sigh. She would never fathom just how he managed to remember these small things about her, very often feeling like he knew her better than she knew herself and considering he couldn't remember his Social Security or cell phone number half the time, the fact that he remembered everything about her when she couldn't even remember most of it herself made it all the more special.

"It matched my shirt and tie, the purple one at the wedding" he clarified. "Reason number two hundred and fifty as to why Nicole and Sandra thought we were dating."

"What was reason number one? The fact that you lied to them both and told them that we were?" she asked, unable to resist giving him the stink eye because regardless of them still ending up together he had lied about her after all.

"Excuse me, I never lied" Andy protested and not for the first time.

"Oh really? Shall we ask Nicole? She's right outside. I'm sure she has a different angle on it" she said before she laughed as Andy's face dropped.

"No it's okay" he grumbled, knowing that Nicole would only confirm what Sharon already knew to be true. "I doubt she'll remember anyway." Sharon laughed at him as she shook her head before he helped her down from the counter, taking her hand again as they went to walk back into the living room before she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, noticing that his fridge had gone. "What's the matter?"

"What happened to the fridge?" she asked, having previously been told by him that a friend from AA was going to come and take it in a week or so for scrap and therefore surprised to see that it was suddenly gone when it had been there that morning.

Andy shrugged. "It's in the moving truck" he confessed a little shyly. "It was the first thing I did with Rusty and Gus while you were cleaning the bathroom for the five hundredth time in the last twelve hours."

Sharon rolled her eyes at him. "It was three times and if you weren't so easily distracted by the sight of me in the shower you might be able to get your aim a little better" she told him with a glare. "But anyway, you're keeping your fridge now?"

"Sure why not?" he replied, surprised to then see her mouth drop open. "What? I know we won't need it but Rusty might want it one day."

"Andy, it's broken! The back of it gets so hot it actually melted a rat to it."

"And?"

"And?" Sharon laughed. "What do you mean 'and'? And why would Rusty possibly want something in his future kitchen that is not only broken, impossible to stand near in the summer without getting heat stroke because of the temperature that radiates off it and not only smells like barbecued rodent but also still has singed fur stuck on the back of it?" she pointed out. It already barely worked as it was and Sharon thought it was hardly likely the thing would improve with zero usage until Rusty was ready to stand on his own two feet, Andy's insistence on keeping everything bordering on hoarding in her opinion.

Andy shrugged. "To keep food in." Sharon simply rolled her eyes at him and walked into the living room without him with an exasperated groan. "What? No good?" Andy asked as he finally followed her. "So I don't keep it for him? Is that what you're telling me?"

Sharon smiled and turned in the middle of the living room to put her hands on his shoulders. "Andy my darling boy, if you want to keep that broken refrigerator for Rusty, then please by all means keep it for Rusty but when the time comes where you have to explain to him what that smell is and why it burns when you touch it, please be sure to let me be there to listen to his reaction." With the matter settled as far as she was concerned and with Andy being proven once again to be a colossal idiot she took his hand as they again looked around the empty living room. "It seems an obvious thing to say but it looks so much bigger now that it's cleared out."

"And Mrs Williams has managed to chase me around every square inch of it over the last ten years" Andy admitted, his elderly neighbour having been obsessed with him from the very moment he first moved in.

Sharon laughed at him. "She's in her eighties."

"And she's still remarkably spry, not to mention flexible" he said as she smirked at him. "She does semi naked yoga on her lawn like a lot" he said with a shudder, the image imprinted on his retinas and his reaction making Sharon laugh.

"And you've never wanted to join her for a little downward facing dog?"

"Oddly enough no" Andy replied with another shudder.

"And yet you can't take your eyes off me when I do yoga in the living room."

"Well that's different" he grinned. She laughed before she kissed him, his attention quickly moving to the window as he peered outside. "I still haven't heard any screaming yet so she must be visiting her sister for longer than I thought. With any luck I can make a clean getaway and she'll never know."

"You haven't told her you're moving?"

"No." Sharon looked at him amazed, her mouth almost hanging open as a result. "What? Why would I tell her? What better way to ensure that she tries to move into our building as a result?"

Sharon smiled at his use of 'our building' before her mind quickly went back to the matter at hand and the poor little old lady who was in love with him. "But she's in love with you" she reminded him not that she needed to, he had found her on his doorstep in next to nothing enough times to be fully aware how big a crush she had on him.

"Exactly. I'm a one woman man" he insisted and making Sharon laugh again. "And so what if she's in love with me?"

"And so it's only polite to tell the nice and overly affectionate little old lady next door who wants you in the worst possible way that you're moving in with your girlfriend."

"Do you want her to stab you?" Sharon laughed and shook her head at him, unlike Andy not thinking that Mrs Williams could be dangerous when angry despite the frequent filthy looks she received from her when their paths crossed as she arrived at Andy's house. "This is no laughing matter. I'm not kidding here babe. She's very territorial. I offered to change a lightbulb for the lady across the street once after she broke her ankle, there was a sheep head on her porch a week later." Sharon laughed again, assuming he was joking and it was another classic Andy Flynn exaggeration when in fact it was one hundred percent true. "I am not exaggerating here. If she finds out that I'm moving in with you she will kill you. That's why I've not had a sign put in my yard and I'm not having my mail forwarded to the condo, it'll leave too big of a trail and before I know it I'm planning your funeral and Provenza is trying to get her to take a deal" he said as Sharon laughed again. "I'm not kidding, this house is dead to me now."

"I feel kind of sorry for her."

"Because you snagged me instead?" he grinned.

"No because she's quite clearly delusional." Andy's mouth dropped open as he looked at her with great offense, making Sharon laugh before she kissed him. "How often have you had her in here by the way? Is this what you did on long lonely nights while you were a bachelor and there was no sport on the TV?"

"Hardly but it wasn't from the lack of trying on her part."

"So come on, how often?"

"A hell of a lot more than I want to remember" he said with another shudder. "I have a lot of bad memories in this room as a result."

Sharon laughed. "We also have some good ones in here too. I'm going to miss your couch, that's for certain" she said with a grin, enjoying the freedom to fool around on it as recently as the night before after they'd finished the last of the packing.

"We can always swing by the storage place to pay it a visit from time to time" he said with a wink as she laughed. "I've always preferred your couch if I'm honest and unlike the kitchen counter I can still get you to fool around on it." Sharon laughed at him before she kissed him again. "Even though I don't quite see the difference."

"The difference is Rusty has probably fooled around on that couch with Gus too so its fair game as far as I'm concerned" she replied, getting a grimace from him in return. "What?" she laughed. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, not at all but I'm just a little concerned in case they've been slaughtering more farm animals on there" he joked, firmly of the opinion that when he was kept awake a few weeks earlier due to the noise coming from Rusty's room that they weren't actually having sex in there but rather murdering a goat. Sharon laughed as Andy moved to have one last stroll around his bedroom until he noticed Sharon wasn't moving.

"Time for a little confession?" she asked as she chomped on her lip as he turned to face her.

"It depends. Am I going to like it?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm not sure but you definitely won't like Lieutenant Provenza as much afterwards."

Andy frowned, incredibly confused. "If this is your way of telling me you've been fooling around with him on that couch too, just be aware that you're likely to make me pass out again."

Sharon laughed. "No and anyway I thought he was more likely to kiss you a second time than he was me" she said and once again referencing Provenza's last but one wedding night when Andy's best man's speech forced the groom into sharing his bed with him, forgetting where he was when he woke up and kissing Andy on the back of his neck as he squeezed him and much to his continued horror called him a 'sex pot.' Andy rolled his eyes at her as she laughed. "Okay do you remember a little incident here before your accident?" she asked and being deliberately vague to begin with. Andy frowned as he tried to think of anything obvious she was about to confess to, his mind immediately going to how they were fooling around on the couch one night when it looked as if they were _finally_ going to move their relationship forward or at least edge towards third base until he got a phone call to roll out and then subsequently fell from a moving car the next day, effectively slamming on the brakes again. "Around late September time I guess it was I came over here because we had a date night planned but you'd forgotten all about it and instead you had invited Lieutenant Provenza over?" she explained, hoping he would remember the night in question. "So we spent the entire evening watching baseball with you two cuddled up together on the couch?"

"We weren't cuddled up together on the couch" Andy replied instantly.

"That's not what it looked like to me. I was worried I was cramping your style just by being here" she joked and laughing loudly to herself while Andy looked at her very unimpressed.

"Whatever, carry on. No, wait. We were watching the Dodgers play the Padres. 8-4 I think. Now I remember" he said, the memories coming flooding back to him.

"You didn't remember before?"

"Not entirely" he shrugged.

"Then how do you know you weren't cuddled up with Lieutenant Provenza on the couch?" she asked as she laughed.

"Because that has _never_ happened" he insisted.

"Aside from the time you shared a bed with him on his wedding night?" she reminded him yet again as she laughed.

"That was different. To begin with he was the one cuddling me" he clarified, making her laugh again and despite not having seen them with her own eyes it was an image that would amuse her well into old age. "Was that when I fell asleep and I woke up to discover that you'd gone but not before you'd put my hand on his ass?"

"That's the one" she nodded as she laughed.

"Yeah. It's pretty hard to forget no matter how many times I've washed this hand" he said as he held the hand in question in the air before wiping it on his jeans for what had to be the thousandth time since it happened.

Sharon laughed before she began to bite on her lip again, knowing she was about to tell him something that was going to make him groan. "Do you recall that I never took my coat off the entire time I was here?"

Andy thought for a moment. At the time he was too distracted by the baseball and admitted the next day as he made it up to her that not only had he forgotten about their date but had then neglected her when she arrived. "Huh!" he said. "Well now that you come to mention it, you didn't. You said you were cold. I thought you were coming down with something. I offered to make you some soup to make you feel better."

"That's right only I wasn't cold and I wasn't ill."

"Okay."

She sighed as she smiled. "By that point in our relationship I was starting to get a little bit…desperate shall we say" she freely admitted, them only briefly moving to second base a handful of times up until that point and then she'd had to practically force her breasts into his hands. "To be perfectly honest I wanted you desperately and since you weren't picking up on my subtle hints..."

"Okay sweetheart you need to stop referring to your utterly dreadful sex eyes as subtle hints because no one would have realised that's what you were doing" Andy declared, not seeing the time it took for them to finally sleep together as solely his fault although his nervousness about pushing her into something before she was ready and thus losing what they had was a very prominent factor but so were her God awful sex eyes. "No one!"

Sharon frowned. "Maybe if you weren't such a nervous nelly all the time you might have picked up on them or I don't know, tore your eyes away from the Dodgers and your boyfriend for five minutes to look at me properly and realise what was going on?"

"Fair point." He sighed a little regretfully. "I've not always been the most attentive boyfriend when it conflicted with the Dodgers I agree, but I promise I'm working on it."

Sharon laughed with a little bit of guilt before she kissed him a couple of times to show him that she really didn't mind all that much. Despite what Andy thought he was actually a very attentive boyfriend even when the Dodgers were playing with the exception of that evening but she knew regardless of how much he loved them she normally came out on top in a head to head battle (the true extent of Andy's love of baseball becoming all the clearer to her during their ill-fated Christmas drinks at Provenza's house when the incident with the Skybox tickets was revealed to her along with Andy's 'bomb threat' which prompted Sharon to tell him when they got home that on the day in question she had just climbed out of the shower at the time of his hoax following a gym session and had therefore had to spend the entire time the alert was taking place outside in nothing but a towel and with hundreds of officers she had previously investigated ogling her, a story he initially refused to believe because her legs were sure to get his attention but he was up to high levels of mischief at the time). "Andy I know you are," she said before she kissed him again, "but God help me if they ever make it to the World Series again in your lifetime, Patrice and I will be baseball widows" she joked before laughing, not wanting him to think that she was complaining in any way because she wasn't. "Anyway my plan for that afternoon, my dear Andrew, was sex and I was not leaving this place until we'd done it several times at least or rather that's what I hoped and had planned for our afternoon and possibly the entire weekend" she confessed rather casually.

Andy looked at her gormlessly for a moment as he processed what he'd just heard and blinked at her with exaggeration, quickly realising that the baseball and more importantly Provenza had robbed him of a weekend of wall to wall sex several months before they finally got to that stage in their relationship. "What?" he asked finally.

Sharon laughed and shrugged, getting the immediate reaction that she thought she would and one of the reasons why she hadn't told him about her abortive attempt to sleep with him sooner. "I simply couldn't wait any longer for you to make a move on your own without exploding from too much built up sexual frustration so I made the decision that it was the day we were finally going to sleep together for the very first time whether you liked it or not" she grinned.

Andy groaned as he ran his arms around her waist. "Oh God! Please tell me you weren't naked under that coat and that's the reason you never took it off?" he practically drooled.

Sharon laughed. "No not quite. I had poured myself into _the_ tightest dress imaginable. One that left very little to the imagination and one that was guaranteed to make you finally take my hint and put out" she explained of the purple lace Louis Vuitton dress she had bought just for the occasion, so tight that she struggled to breathe and faced a constant battle to keep both her breasts in it at the same time, pushing one in often resulting in the other immediately popping out.

"You're kidding me?"

"Oh if only I was. I came here specifically for sex and lots of it and ended up even more frustrated than ever while I watched you two cuddle on the couch and you hardly looked at me" she told him with a little glare.

"I don't believe this. That was like three months before we did finally sleep together" he said, sounding utterly horrified that he had missed something so blatantly obvious and incredibly tantalising.

"Oh I know! Believe me I know."

"Well if that was your plan when you came over here then why didn't you just tell me that's what was going on so I could get rid of Provenza?" he asked, in a battle between Provenza and baseball and seeing Sharon naked for the first time, he would have stabbed his partner in the eye with a pen to make the latter happen. "I mean one flash of what you had going on under your trench coat and I would have thrown him out of here so fast he would have had whiplash."

Sharon laughed. "I didn't tell you my dear boy because in case you haven't noticed I am a very very private person and if you'd have thrown the Lieutenant out at my behest as soon as I'd arrived and obviously concealing something under my coat then he would have known for sure what was going on and that was _never_ going to happen" she pointed out, mortified as it was that Provenza had most likely figured out what had happened very quickly after Andy strolled into the Murder Room with a black eye which she was forced to admit she had caused in her sleep meaning that they'd finally slept together the night before. "Likewise if I'd taken my coat off it would have sent very clear signals and ensured he never looked me in the eye ever again."

They both laughed, Andy loathed to admit that Provenza was a good enough Detective to work that one out on his own. "Still a hint would have been nice rather than another three months of pent up sexual frustration" he groaned as they laughed again.

"You're talking to me about pent up sexual frustration? Andy I was bordering on exploding into a million pieces I was that frustrated and then you still didn't take my hint and instead you went and got yourself thrown from a moving car and that all had to be put aside for a while as I fretted about killing you while I nursed my boy back to health again."

Andy kissed her, long and slow on the lips as he still felt bad for ever making her worry about him following his accident even though the whole incident had brought them closer together as a result and making them both realise just how strongly they felt for each other while at the same time derailing the progress they were making for some time. "Still a hint would have been nice" he groaned again.

"I had been hinting" she insisted yet again, thinking she had been dropping hints so loud they could probably be heard on the east coast. "You just didn't get any of them." They both laughed, glad that whole saga was now behind them. "In my desperation I started to think I only had two options left to me. I could either oil myself up, squeeze into a mini skirt and throw myself at you or just scream 'Please have sex with me Andy!' at the top of my lungs" she said, both of them laughing again.

"I like to think I'd have noticed both of those" Andy said confidently, thankfully now able to read certain looks, touches and tones from Sharon when she was in the mood and subtly putting a move on him when Rusty was still in the vicinity but on his way to bed.

"Me too. But I guess it really doesn't matter anymore. We got there in the end and that's what's important" she smiled, kissing him long and slow on the lips.

"I whole heartedly agree."

"And now I get to spend the rest of my life with you" she smiled before she kissed him again.

"And make up for all the sex we missed out on" he growled, kissing her on the lips to stop her from laughing at him. "If we're going from that point that's like three months' worth of sex to make up on" he insisted and being very serious about it despite the laughter than was coming back at him. "This is no joking matter Raydor, we're going to need to take some time off work just to break even. We need to send the kid on vacation or something because I'm talking twenty four hours a day for three months at least, nothing but sex."

Sharon couldn't help but laugh at him. "As much as I admire your optimism you'd be dead in under a week" she told him.

"Meh!" he shrugged. "I'm willing to risk it" he added and making them both laugh. "Have I seen that dress since?"

Sharon smiled as she chomped on her lip again, knowing it was the sort of thing that drove him wild. "No you haven't" she shrugged. "Maybe I'll save it for our little end of summer getaway after I've finally caught Chief Taylor in a good enough mood to ask him for the time off."

"Yeah I still don't see that happening in a hurry," Andy replied and thinking that catching Taylor in a good mood was like catching lightening in a bottle, "and since I now _really_ want to see that dress I say we just pick a day and ask him regardless of his mood."

Sharon nodded in agreement. "I'll see if I can find a quiet moment in court this week."

"Great but just keep in mind that I really want to see his face when you ask" he joked, the awkward look on Taylor's face every time they'd been forced into updating him on their relationship status thus far as Sharon's immediate supervisor never failing to amuse them. Sharon laughed and nodded. "Almost as much as I want to see you in that dress" he winked before he kissed her.

They broke apart when they heard the dulcet tones of Provenza shouting "Will you two hurry it along! It's hot out here and they're trying to take my seat away!" from his position in the armchair still sitting on the curb.

"Oh leave them alone Louie!" Patrice chastised him, no one but her husband having any issues in waiting while they took one last stroll around the place. "Take your time!"

"We won't be long" Sharon called out to them before she took Andy's hand and started to lead him towards the bedroom. "Come on, let's say goodbye and then get out of here." They continued into the bedroom, holding hands as they stood by the door and looked around the empty room. After a moment Sharon moved away from him and looked at the wall where the bed had once been. "Huh!"

"What?"

"Nothing I just half expected to see notches on the wall from all of your many conquests over the years" she joked. In response Andy just sighed at her, looking more than a little embarrassed as she laughed, still not happy with the love of his life being aware of his many 'lady friends' in the past as he substituted meaningless sex for alcohol as his addiction of choice that saw him through life without his family. "Oh I'm only kidding" she told him as she walked back to him and kissed him on the lips. "Okay this is the last time I'm going to ask you this," she said as she changed the subject, "are you sure you don't want to bring your chair home with you?"

Andy laughed having already anticipated that Sharon was going to raise the subject with him once again following the good natured ribbing that had taken place in the living room from his male colleagues before they got to work loading the truck. "Positive" he nodded, not about to change his mind.

"I know you think you're more likely to get lucky on the one currently in the bedroom but since it really means that much to you I would much rather..."

He kissed her to silence her, the topic already having been discussed enough in his opinion. "I have the memories of it and I have Nicole back in my life again so I don't need anything else" he insisted once again. "I just need you and the kid and the life we're going to share in our apartment, that's it."

"You say that but even Julio thinks it's..."

"I don't care what Julio thinks about it."

"But I do. You'll just be surrounded by my stuff and my taste and..."

"And that's just the way I want it" he told her once again before their lips came together, not at all concerned that their home didn't really have his stamp on it. "Besides if one day I happen to have another mishap with a candle in the bedroom when I'm trying to put a move on you, I'd rather set fire to yours and replace it with mine anyway so there's that" he shrugged as she laughed and he led her into the bathroom.

"I'm going to miss this bathtub" Sharon said as her mind drifted to how often she had sat in it with him and relaxed at the end of a tough day at work back when they used to split their time a lot more evenly between the condo and his house. Andy grinned at her, his mind thinking of other instances where they had enjoyed that bathtub. She shook her head at him and laughed. "Not in a dirty way" she maintained even though they were good memories too and making him laugh at her. "I'll miss being able to just relax in it with you, you know and just being able to unwind after a long day without any distractions. It's hard to do that at the condo without risking the chance of traumatising Rusty."

Andy laughed. "By now he's more than used to me sitting on the edge of the tub and talking to you in the bath. He'll never know the difference when I sneak in with you."

"Well where's the fun in that?" she joked.

"One of my favourite ever memories was in this very bathroom."

"Oh yes? Do I really want to know about this?"

"Sure because it was with you actually. On Valentine's Day last year." With that Sharon rolled her eyes at him and went to walk back into the bedroom and wanting to forget all about that evening before he caught her by the wrist and pulled her back to him. "Where do you think you're going? I'm being serious here. I treasure that memory." He moved to stand behind her, putting his arms around her waist as he put his chin on her shoulder, ensuring so wasn't going anywhere. "Our first Valentine's Day together."

"First and only so far and trust me when February comes around again I am definitely going to try and make up for it so clear your diary in preparation" she told him emphatically, still beyond mortified that she had ruined the whole evening by essentially painting his bathroom in vomit.

"I'll talk to my boss, make sure I get some time off" he said and making her laugh again. "But seriously I loved that night. Yes I know you didn't because aside from having the ridiculous notion in your head that you'd managed to ruin everything..."

"Which I had."

"Which you hadn't but aside from that I know obviously you were too violently ill to focus on anything other than praying for a quick and painless death," he acknowledged before she nodded and laughed, that being exactly what she was doing at the time, "but I loved that night. I really did. I got to take care of my girl for once and more importantly than that she actually let me do it albeit after quite a lot of persuasion." Sharon laughed again, it often crossing her mind about the length of time she refused to allow him to turn around and look at her that evening, in truth making her feel so much better when she reluctantly allowed him to help and comfort her. "It was very important to me you know because not only did it allow me to return the favour in a teeny tiny way after she so patiently nursed me back to health following my surgery and put up with my constant vile mood swings as a result but also the very act of her allowing me to do it let me know just how much she loved me and trusted me." She turned her head to face him, Andy never having said this to her before. "Because you see my beautiful and utterly fabulous girlfriend has spent an awful long time on her own and looking after herself and never putting her trust or her faith in anyone other than her three amazing children because she'd been so badly let down by men in the past. Naturally after being treated so appallingly for so many years at the hands of her evil ex-husband," he said, stressing the word 'evil' and making her laugh, "she had a lot of walls built up around her heart in order to protect herself and her children and to ensure that she never got hurt like that ever again. Allowing herself to be that level of vulnerable in front of me, allowing me to take care of her like that and being the one person she could always rely on, to always be there for her no matter what, to love her unconditionally for the rest of my life, well, it was one of the greatest nights of my life and it made me love her all the more because of it."

She turned in his arms and sighed, the backs of her fingers stroking his cheek. "Oh how I love you my beautiful boy" she cooed before she kissed him. "Oh how I love you."

"I love you too" he replied before he kissed her back and then suddenly grinned. "But of course it was also pretty memorable because when I was eventually allowed to turn around and look at her she had her head trapped right down there between the toilet bowl and the wall and that was pretty damn funny to see." He laughed to himself as she made a dart towards his knees, pinching them. "Ow!"

"Well you deserve it" she told him as she gave him the stink eye, kissing him anyway. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"To finally start my life again? Yes I am" he confirmed with a kiss. "More than ready."

"Then let's go." They got as far as the bedroom door before Sharon stopped dead in her tracks once again. "But before we do let me just ask you one more time, are you sure there's nothing from here that you want to bring with you?" she asked yet again, the lack of furniture or anything like that coming with Andy to the condo really bothering her, even more than she was revealing to him.

"There's only one thing in this life I really need."

"What's that?"

"You." He kissed her quickly on the lips before he suddenly stooped down and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift with little to no effort.

"Andy!" Sharon cried as she dangled upside down and he carried her into the living room. "If you throw your back out you'll be taking care of yourself" she half-heartedly warned him.

"Yeah okay, whatever" Andy replied, not believing a word. "You can't help but Mother me Raydor. It's built into your DNA."

"Not anymore. The next time you're ill I'll be moving in with Gavin until you're better" she stated and making Andy laugh as he carried her outside.

When they stepped outside they found everyone still relaxing on the lawn or on the ramp into the truck with the exception of Provenza who was still sitting in Andy's armchair with Patrice in his lap. Buzz had also moved, taking a picture of Mark and Julio in front of the van with Julio's phone, a photo that was destined to end up on Julio's desk. The moment the sight of their Captain being carried out of the house upside down caught everyone's attention, Buzz turned around and picked up his video camera from by his feet, switching it on and filming them walking down the path as everyone laughed at the rather unexpected sight. Even though Buzz knew it was likely to annoy Provenza in particular he wanted to film the celebrations that day as they took place in the knowledge that there would be at least one toast in their honour when they arrived at the condo because everyone was just so pleased for them. It was also a chance for him to capture for the both of them a very much more demonstrative side to Sharon in particular, a side of her that Buzz had only seen fleetingly before on a couple of occasions, at Provenza and Patrice's wedding and when Andy was in hospital (always affectionate towards Rusty of course but it was different with Andy and therefore a more unusual occurrence because of work). Just spending five minutes in their company before they got to work loading the truck revealed that this was the most relaxed Buzz had ever seen his Captain. They had come a long way since Buzz and the rest of the division first discovered they were dating, something which was hard to believe in those early days as they became so ridiculously careful around each other at work to the point where he wasn't too sure they were together at all. That was until Sharon took Andy's hand at Mariana's funeral, a move that even surprised Andy at the time since he still saw it as work related service and wasn't expecting such a show of affection towards him, being emboldened by it enough to put his arm around her as they walked back to the car after the service was over. At the time it made Buzz smile and he was now overjoyed just twelve months later to be helping them move in together, something he never expected to happen if he was being honest. Unlike the others in the division he was never particularly bothered by 'Darth Raydor' while Chief Johnson was still in charge (how annoyed he was to be stuck babysitting the rather feral Rusty in those early days aside) and in fact he'd always rather liked her as a person. She was kind and thoughtful and they shared a very similar moral compass and despite it still seeming incredibly weird that she had ended up with Andy Flynn of all people, he wanted to do his best for them by capturing their day like he had done for Provenza on his wedding day (unsure if his Captain would ever marry again given her strong religious beliefs so opting to take the opportunity when it was on offer) and that meant documenting all he could.

"Finally" Provenza grumbled as he saw Andy carrying Sharon towards them, taking to his feet and giving Patrice very little choice but to join him unless she wanted to fall flat on her face on the floor. "It's about time. How long does it take to say goodbye to a house?"

Patrice took a quick swipe at his arm and rolled her eyes. "Oh you be quiet. You've got no romance about you."

"Romance?" Provenza scoffed like it was a dirty word. "Look I can barely stomach Flynn happy let alone all loved up. Flynn happy _and_ loved up is just downright nauseating."

With Provenza finally standing, Cooper subtly edged towards the armchair until he could put his hand on it. "This is our chance. Mike, Julio help me out please. Go, go!" Instantly all three of them dived towards the chair and picked it up between them before carrying it into the truck.

"Hey! I'm not done with that yet!" Provenza protested as he saw his seat vanish.

"Oh yes you are" Mike replied.

"Hold on guys!" Andy called as they climbed back out of the truck, Sharon still slung over his shoulder and unable to wriggle from his grasp without hurting herself. "I've got something else to load onto the van!"

Sharon immediately smacked Andy's backside with both hands. "Andrew Flynn if you even think about trying to put me in the back of that truck you'll be spending the next week sleeping on Nicole's couch" she warned him as they edged closer to the curb.

"Oh I don't think so Sharon" Nicole replied and bursting her bubble. "All I've heard about since Wednesday is this ridiculous 'guy code' nonsense" she told her, both of her Step-Sons talking nonstop about it since Nicole told them she knew Grandpa Andy was moving in with Granny Sharon meaning they no longer had to keep that whole conversation a secret from her. "Those boys are staying very far away from Dad until they stop thinking he's cool and repeating everything he says like it's gospel. He can stay in his storage space."

Andy bent forward and dropped Sharon gently to her feet, kissing her on the lips when she was steady. "As if I would do that to you" he grinned. She gave him her best Darth Raydor glare for a moment, only succeeding in making him laugh at her. "I've got bad news for you babe, Darth Raydor doesn't work on me outside of the office. It was a nice try though." He kissed her again before she made a dart for his knees, everyone laughing at them. Dancing away from her before she could make another attempt, Andy walked to the front door to close and lock it, pausing for a moment to look inside a final time with no intention of going back inside ever again even though the sale was still a long way from being completed.

"Is that everything?" Cooper asked Sharon with one hand on the handle to close the back of the truck.

"That's everything" she confirmed, Cooper nodding before he and Julio put the ramp inside and closed the door.

With the house locked up Andy put his keys into his pocket and turned just in time to see a car slowly driving up the street in their direction, recognising it immediately. It was the car that belonged to the niece of his neighbour Mrs Williams, the one person in the world he desperately wanted to avoid as he attempted to leave with a clean getaway. "Oh crap!" Andy shouted at volume.

"What's the matter?" Sharon asked, sounding concerned in case he'd hurt himself carrying her outside until he pointed towards the car that was edging ever closer to them.

"Ye Gods!" Provenza cried when he realised what was happening, his backside having been assaulted by Mrs Williams on more than one occasion. "I'm warning you now, if she even comes close to pinching my ass I am going to arrest her for assaulting a police officer. Don't think I won't!"

"I don't suppose anyone has a vest in their car?" Andy asked as he walked towards the gathered group, feeling safer surrounded by a lot of people.

"She's not going to stab you" Sharon laughed.

"I meant for you" Andy clarified. The car came to a halt as it was parked in front of the garage, Mrs Williams seeming to climb out almost before it came to a complete stop, anything but frail as her mouth hung open in horror as she quickly realised what was going on. "Anyway Provenza I wouldn't be worrying about your ass right now" Andy said as he turned to face him and Julio, pointing at them and then to Sharon as he gave them a direct order. "Whatever happens, protect Sharon at all costs. I mean it. Protect her like your lives depend on it."

"What?" Julio asked confused.

"What are we missing?" Amy asked, looking just as baffled as the rest of them.

"His neighbour has a little crush on him" Sharon explained.

"A little crush?" Andy cried. "I've found her naked in my house twice in the last six months alone! I haven't been able to eat shrimp since."

"He's just a little worried because he's neglected to tell her that he's sold his house and is moving in with me today that's all" Sharon went on, unlike Andy not really thinking that Mrs Williams would be upset for any reason other than Andy hadn't told her what was happening.

Mrs Williams slowly but surely walked towards them, her usual black cape draped over her shoulders and flapping in the breeze like a miniature Batman and given how small she actually was it was a minor miracle that it didn't make her take off. "Why is she wearing a cape?" Patrice asked.

"To be fair they do go with everything" Cathy joked.

"Look the woman is in love with Flynn, so she's quite clearly crazy" Provenza told them. "A cape is nothing."

"So what does that make me exactly?" Sharon asked with a smile since Mrs Williams was crazy for just having a crush on Andy and she was only an hour or so away from moving in with him officially.

"The craziest of the lot" Provenza replied, making her laugh.

"Is it just me or does she look like the teapot from _Beauty and the Beast_?" Amy asked.

"It's not just you" Sharon confirmed.

"Okay look alive people. She may look old and frail but she's strong and lightning fast" Andy told them as he waited to do battle. Those who hadn't met her before immediately started to laugh, Andy's description not matching the tiny and rather odd looking creature slowly edging towards them. "I'm not kidding. The last time I had to fight her off she kneed me in the balls and I spent two days with a scrotum the size of a boxing glove."

"TMI Lieutenant! TMI!" Amy cried with a shudder.

"Are you really sure about this move Captain?" Julio asked given what was happening and taking his opportunity since so many other people had jokingly asked her that question over the course of the morning and indeed over the last few days.

"Yes she is" Patrice answered for her.

"Buzz please tell me you're filming this" Provenza said, not taking his eyes off Mrs Williams as she finally approached Andy.

"Yes Sir" Buzz confirmed.

"Gus, whatever happens, don't let her pinch your butt" Rusty told him and getting an utterly baffled expression in return.

Andy set off towards Mrs Williams to cut her off and determined to keep as much distance between her and Sharon as humanly possible. He held his hands up defensively as he slowly approached her. "Mrs Williams I can explain" he said a little nervously.

"What's going on?" Mrs Williams cried furiously.

"Well I was going to tell you but..."

"Are you moving house?"

Andy turned to look at Sharon before facing Mrs Williams again, realising Sharon was right and he should have warned her he was thinking of moving months ago. "Yes. Yes I am. I've sold my house and I'm moving in with Sharon."

"Without telling me?!" Mrs Williams cried loud enough to ensure she was heard all the way in Santa Monica. She moved to walk by him to get at her love rival and possibly claw her eyes out but Andy moved to block her path, forcing her to just point at Sharon instead. "This is all down to you isn't it?" she screamed at Sharon as loud as she could. "You've been planning this all along haven't you? We were perfectly happy before you started to put in an appearance!"

As Andy continued to try and stop Mrs Williams from charging at Sharon and potentially dragging her up and down the street by her hair while screaming obscenities, everyone tried not to laugh at the rather unexpected sight before them as Sharon put her head in her hands, looking absolutely mortified. "You know Captain," Provenza started to say as he battled not to laugh, "if you do change your mind at least he's got someone else to move in with."

"Thank you Lieutenant" was all she could manage in reply.

"You know this is the last thing I expected to see when we drove here this morning" Patrice laughed, having heard about Andy's neighbour and her fondness for groping the backsides of younger men (not that Andy or Provenza were young but they were certainly younger than she was) but had never actually seen her before.

"You're not the only one. How am I in the middle of a love triangle at my age?" Sharon joked and making them all laugh. "That poor woman."

"Yeah, she's clearly delusional" Provenza muttered, getting a smirk from Sharon.

"Ah, my Father ladies and gentleman, catnip to geriatrics across the city" Nicole declared rather proudly.

"Well there's no accounting for taste." Provenza shrugged.

"What's the matter Sir? Jealous?" Julio asked with a smile.

"You...you...harlot!" Mrs Williams screamed at Sharon before she turned and marched back to the car and leading Andy to believe that the worst was over. He was wrong. He was so so wrong. Retrieving a carton of eggs from a grocery bag Mrs Williams marched back towards Sharon before Andy managed to stop her again, slowly edging her backwards and towards her own property. Undeterred by the distance from her target Mrs Williams took out an egg from the box and heaved it towards Sharon, annoyed and upset that her man was being snatched away from her she suddenly had the throwing ability of a woman who should be winning gold medals in the Olympics for the shot put regardless of her age. Sadly (or excellently depending on how you saw the situation) her aim was not very good and the egg landed on Provenza's head, smashing immediately as it started to drip down his bucket hat and onto his shirt. Before anyone had chance to react and laugh another egg came flying Sharon's way with her now standing directly behind her second in command and using him like a human shield, it landing on his shoes and then another one seconds later on his head. Andy sprang into action soon after and managed to wrestle the box off her while everyone laughed at Provenza with Sharon and Patrice doubled over in hysterics as Buzz continued to film it all but not knowing who to focus on. At the sound of her laughter Provenza turned to Sharon to give her a death glare, egg still running down his face.

"Sir, you have a little something…" Julio started to say as he pointed towards the yolk dripping off his nose as if he had somehow managed to not notice it.

"Yes thank you Julio! Funnily enough I had noticed." Provenza yanked his bucket hat off his head and started to wipe the egg off his face with it. "And thank you for doing absolutely nothing to try and protect me from this vicious assault by the way."

"Hey I took three bullets for you and I'd gladly do it again but I draw the line at eggs" Julio said with a shrug as Mark looked up at him in awe.

As he continued to wipe his face Provenza finally noticed that Buzz was still filming him and gave him a filthy look. "Hey you told me to keep filming" Buzz told him, zooming in on the egg as it continued to drip onto his shirt.

"Is it always like this?" Gus asked, often thinking in the past that he had the more unorthodox family out of the two of them but was quickly revaluating it given what was going on.

"Pretty much" Rusty nodded. "Ever since Mom started dating."

At that moment no one really knew which way to look next, either at Provenza as he still dripped with egg and looked on the verge of exploding with rage or at Andy who was trying to stop Mrs Williams from throwing anything else without hurting her. Finally, after getting over the initial shock at what was happening, the driver of the car, her niece climbed out and hurried over to try and assist. "Aunt Nora please if you could…" she started to say before stopping midsentence as Mrs Williams slapped Andy across the face.

"How could you?!" she screamed at him, the sound of her palm coming into contact with his cheek still rattling around.

Andy held his cheek, it throbbing quite a lot considering the size of his assailant. "Ow! How could I what? Move in with the love of my life? I'm sorry Mrs Williams but I don't need to explain myself to you and we've still got a lot of work to do today so I have to go." With that Andy wasn't prepared to indulge her any longer and turned to walk back to the gathered group and leave but suddenly he came to a rather abrupt stop after Mrs Williams dropped to her knees (not that big of a distance given her very slight build but it was still a surprise because of her age) and grabbed hold of his leg. "What the hell?" Andy cried as he looked down to see Mrs Williams lying flat on the ground with her arms wrapped around his leg.

"Please don't go. Don't leave me!" she screamed.

As everyone continued to laugh at what was happening Andy tried to pull his foot away and out of her grasp but to no avail. "Mrs Williams you've got to…" he started to say as he pulled on his leg.

"No!" Mrs Williams screamed. As Andy made one more attempt to pull his leg free he pulled a little too hard and only succeeded in losing his balance and falling to the floor with a thud. Stunned, he lay flat on his back as Mrs Williams tried to crawl up his body to cling to him, looking like a zombie from _The Walking Dead_ who was about to eat his face.

"Should we stop this?" Mike asked no one in particular.

"Give it another couple of minutes first" Provenza replied, currently enjoying himself more than he had done in a long time, despite still dripping with egg.

"Lieutenant" Sharon said simply as she looked at him and urged him to help, not being able to do it herself because she knew it would only make matters worse if she did.

"Fine! Julio and Mike go and help him please or we're going to be here all day" Provenza said like he was giving an order on a roll out.

They nodded before they sprinted the short distance over to Andy and his not so secret admirer, putting a hand underneath her arms and picking her up, Mrs Williams proving to be even lighter than she looked from a distance. Once she was on her feet again her niece took over, putting her arm around her shoulders and led her back to the house so that she could try to get her to calm down. As they moved Mrs Williams turned her head to see Andy still lying on the ground. "Call me! I love you!" she called after him.

"Yeah, let's just get you inside, maybe take half a Valium" her niece said before they finally vanished inside.

The ruckus over, Rusty turned to Sharon. "Mom are you okay?"

"I'm fine Rusty" she nodded, any discomfort she currently felt coming from laughing too hard at what they had all just witnessed even though it was mixed with more than a little embarrassment.

"What about me?" Andy cried from his position lying on the lawn since he was the one who had been physically assaulted and wrestled to the ground.

"And me?" Provenza griped.

Andy climbed up off the ground, brushing himself down before he walked to the group with the slightest limp, most of them still laughing about it as Buzz continued to film. "By the way thanks so much for your help guys."

"You told us to protect the Captain, that's what we were doing" Provenza replied.

"And anyway she's eighty and two foot tall if that" Cooper laughed.

"But as strong as an ox" Andy reiterated.

"I noticed" Provenza grumbled as he waved his hat in Andy's face, it still dripping with raw egg. "Don't worry Flynn I'll be sending you my dry cleaning bill on Monday."

"Oh calm down, that thing could do with a good clean. It practically stands up on its own" Andy said with a roll of his eyes before he turned to Sharon. "Are you okay?"

"The Captain?!" he scoffed. "She's fine! The human shield here took the brunt of it" Provenza complained.

Sharon laughed. "I'm fine. I said you should have warned her."

"If I'd have warned her you wouldn't have seen me for the last month" Andy said in his defence. "Robbie Oderno would be searching for me instead. I'd be locked in her basement, naked and helpless and forced to dance for her for food."

"Now there's an image I didn't need" Provenza shuddered and echoing the thoughts of the majority in attendance. "Can we get out of here please before she comes back with a cleaver" he begged.

"Absolutely" Andy nodded, desperate to get away. Sharon moved towards him, wrapping her arm back around his waist. "Does everyone know where we're going?" Everyone nodded and a string of confirmations headed his way as they got out their car keys. "Then let's go." They all moved to their respective cars as Sharon and Andy jumped into the U-Haul, buckling up right away. Andy put the key in the ignition before he turned to Sharon. "You know I'm starting to think he actually goes to bed in that hat" he joked as she laughed and his smile widened, still too stunned by what had just happened to laugh at it just yet. "You ready?"

She smiled back at him. "Oh absolutely my beautiful boy."

The convoy was led by Andy and drove straight to the storage facility that he had rented which was only a matter of a few blocks away from his house, not making the same mistake that Provenza did and actually renting one about three times bigger than he actually needed to store all of his belongings in. Since it was the last thing into the truck, Andy's armchair was also the first thing unloaded and as a result Provenza followed Julio closely as he carried it.

"Okay Julio put that chair right here" Provenza pointed to a spot by the open door to the unit. Julio rolled his eyes as he put it down, knowing what was about to happen but opted for Provenza to be in trouble with his wife over it rather than him being in trouble with Provenza for ignoring his 'demand.' Provenza sat down immediately, taking his crossword puzzle back out again as Julio headed back towards the truck.

No one was surprised to see Provenza sitting down and not doing anything to help when they approached the unit with the next round of boxes to be stored except Patrice who nearly dropped the lamp she was holding, the quiet word she had in his ear about being more helpful while Sharon and Andy took one last stroll around the house seemingly having little to no effect. "Louie if you think you're going to spend the next half an hour sitting on your ass while the rest of us work you can think again" she told him and this time she wasn't joking with him.

"But I'm not just sitting on my ass, I'm working too" he insisted and actually sounding quite offended. "I'm making sure everything goes in the right place."

"It's a storage unit. As long as it's all fits in there what does it matter?" Andy asked as he and Mike heaved his couch inside.

"It matters because, let's all be honest here, at some point over the coming years probably even months in truth, you are going to do something to screw this up and that'll end with you spending some quality time in the dog house" Provenza stated as if it was a foregone conclusion and it was only a matter of when it happened rather than if it happened.

"And?" Rusty asked.

"And he's not staying with us so we might as well make this place comfortable for him to sleep here when the Captain inevitably throws his ass out." Sharon laughed when she heard the tail end of the conversation, giving Andy a quick kiss on the lips to remind him that it was never going to happen and Provenza could joke all he wanted about it.

It only took around another forty minutes for them to completely empty the truck and load the storage unit despite not having any real help from Provenza once again and with Rusty and Gus leaving a little earlier than everyone else to go and get the food (thinking going to collect the pizzas on their way back to the condo would be a lot quicker than ordering when they got home), taking Mark with them to keep him from being underfoot while more of the heavier lifting took place and just to give him people closer to his own age to talk to away from Julio for an hour or so, thinking both Julio and Mark looked like they could do with an hour away from each other. Both boys had experienced difficult lives themselves and in Rusty's case that had been improved dramatically the moment he was taken in by a member of the LAPD, in other words he was the perfect person to talk to the boy.

In truth Provenza actually helped a lot by sitting where he did and barking out orders to the rest of them, getting them to put larger items like Andy's dining table and chairs in last of all so that they were easily accessible for the holidays because it seemed unlikely to him that their combined number of children and indeed grandchildren would all fit around the table in the condo, thinking that Sharon and Andy had enough on their minds at that moment in time to think about those things and so opted to do it himself on their behalf in an attempt to be helpful. Andy continued to grumble about it and his complete lack of work that involved anything other than the cryptic clue on four down of his crossword puzzle but Sharon appreciated the thought he put into it, knowing that they would both appreciate it even more when the holidays did eventually come around and they didn't have to pry his table out from the back of the unit.

With Provenza getting an earful from Patrice on the way back to the car for not having lifted anything aside from this newspaper all morning, Sharon and Andy returned the U-Haul truck and picked up his car before they all headed back across town on the long drive to what was now their condo, an expression that never failed to bring a smile to both of their faces. They were the last to arrive and park up after the detour to pick up the car but everyone waited for them downstairs, all of them grabbing a box or a bag each containing Andy's belongings (Provenza having a bag of shoes thrust into his hands before he had time to protest and sneak upstairs without one) and enabling them to only have to make one journey.

Sharon and Andy naturally went up in the elevator first to open the door to the condo, with Nicole, Dean and Buzz going with them, Buzz carrying his camera as well as another large box of Andy's shoes while the rest waited for the next elevator to arrive. As Sharon and Andy stepped out on the eleventh floor with the rest following close behind, Sharon brought her finger to her lips to shush them, not offering any other explanation before tiptoeing past Mrs Rose's door, neither wanting to risk waking the beast that lurked within because they were making any noise. They were immediately greeted with confused looks, hoping to get an explanation once they were inside as to why they needed to be so quiet, all three of them thinking that they'd lost their minds but doing as requested anyway.

Just as they reached their door and Andy got his keys out of his pocket, Mrs Rose opened her door with a dramatic flourish, it slamming against the wall and making far more noise than her neighbours had been just walking by. Sharon and Andy both instantly groaned as a result, Sharon coming to rest her forehead on Andy's shoulder with frustration. Taking a step into the hallway Mrs Rose glared at Buzz, the poor unfortunate soul who just happened to be standing closest to her. He looked back at her rather nervously with no idea what was going on but looking every inch the terrified Boy Scout at the mercy of a very angry lion.

"Could you people be any louder if you tried?" Mrs Rose hissed, her tone causing Buzz to take a step further away from her before she attempted to swallow him whole.

Andy grinned at Sharon mischievously as she sighed, knowing what he was thinking and rightly assuming she wasn't going to be able to stop him from doing it. "Andy please don't. I beg you, please?" she practically pleaded quietly but to sadly no avail.

"Oh but I have to sweetheart" Andy replied with a grin. He quickly kissed her on the lips before he took a step towards his new neighbour, having already dealt with one crazy lady that day so he was more than willing and prepared to take on another one to get his ten year in his new home off to a good start. "Sorry Mrs Rose we'll try to keep the noise down."

"I find that hard to believe if you're having some sort of party" Mrs Rose replied with venom as she angrily pointed towards Buzz, Nicole and Dean as if having one extra person in your house would constitute a rave in her opinion.

"Oh we're not having a party Mrs Rose. It's more of an LAPD sponsored orgy" Andy told her with another grin, a strange noise coming from her throat almost immediately as a result that sounded very much like a hamster having a seizure. Nicole, Dean and Buzz looked stunned and frankly baffled as their eyes went back and forth between the two of them. On the other end of the scale Sharon snort laughed despite her best efforts to suppress it as much as possible, making Andy smile and only encouraged him more. "You're more than welcome to join us if you like. You don't need to do or bring anything special, just put your keys in the bowl on the table and get ready for some red hot loving. I'm pretty tired right now to be honest so I'll just watch to start with but Reserve Officer Watson here is sure to meet your approval" Andy added as he pointed at Buzz who could only smile at her rather nervously before she huffed and slammed the door behind her. No sooner had Mrs Rose vanished back inside, presumably to take a fistful of Valium and to lie down in a darkened room for an hour as she recovered after having to deal with 'the perverts next door' once again, (Mrs Rose already under the impression that Sharon was nothing but a perverted sex addict when she came home one day and found a blow up doll leaning up the wall outside her door, the very same doll that Andy spent the majority of Provenza's bachelor party handcuffed to) Andy started to laugh. "Well that went well."

"What was all that about?" Nicole asked, still looking stunned.

"Just my friendly welcome to the building. Being yelled at by crazies is the new fruit basket" Andy shrugged casually, taking it all in his stride and not prepared to let anything ruin his exceedingly good mood.

"What is this? Crazy neighbour day?" Buzz asked.

"Oh Buzz you have no idea" Andy told him before he opened the door and then one by one they all filed inside, following Sharon's lead and quickly piling the bags and boxes behind her desk for the time being with Buzz's camera sitting on her desk until he needed it. "Welcome guys. Make yourselves at home" Andy said, patting Buzz on the back.

Sharon smiled and took his hand, pulling him to face her. "That's funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you" she said since Andy had walked into the apartment as his home for the very first time. They smiled at each other for a moment before she lifted herself up onto her tiptoes and pushed her lips to his a couple of times. Almost immediately everyone else walked into the condo behind them as Andy ran his hand around Sharon's waist, still unable to leave each other alone for any real length of time such was their joy that the move had finally happened and they were now starting their lives together. "Come on in guys. Just put everything behind my desk for now" she instructed with a point in the right direction before they all started to pile the bags and boxes with the rest. The only exception was Julio who still clutched his box, it looking a little battered with the word 'Suspenders' written on the top but hidden from view as he looked down the hall and wondered which room belonged to his Captain and now her Lieutenant.

"Where do you want us to put this stuff Captain?" Julio asked.

"Behind the desk is fine for now" Sharon said once again. Julio didn't move a muscle and instead just smiled at her and she quickly realised that he was offering to help them out by putting all that they'd brought upstairs where they really wanted it to help them out and save them a job later in the day when the party was over. At the heart of it Julio had another motive for wanting to help them both too (aside from having another chance to knot Andy's suspenders a little more as he put the box in their bedroom), he felt like he owed his Captain because of how accepting she had been of his decision to foster as well as Mark's behavioural problems, (the rest of her division taking their cues from her and treating him in much the same way like what had happened when he took Ruben in and essentially lied to them all about looking for his Mother, the division taking their cues from Chief Johnson on that occasion and all of them quickly losing patience with him over it and his apparent inaction), not picking him up when he'd had a brief but much needed catnap in Electronics over the last week or complaining that the Murder Room was not a day care because Mark was at PAB so often. Added to that Andy had taken care of him as they loaded the truck and then Rusty and Gus had taken him with them when they went to get the food. They were all chipping in as much as they could to help him and Mark and he wanted to return the favour as best he could in the only way he could. Sharon smiled back at him and nodded. "Thank you Julio. You can put it on the floor in the corner of the bedroom for now. It's the first door on the right" she said before she pointed him in the right direction to make sure. "Thank you."

"It's really no problem ma'am" Julio confirmed, more than willing to move everything himself if need be. He walked into the bedroom with Provenza following close behind thanks to a little subtle gesture as he pointed at the box and what lurked within. For a split second they were alone in the bedroom but they knew that didn't have long with Amy, Buzz and Mike copying Julio and about to walk in with some of Andy's other boxes at any minute. "Hey Lieutenant" Julio said as he dropped the box to the ground and opened it, pulling out the big knotted ball of suspenders and making it clear that he had continued to flip the box on the way up in the elevator to make sure that there wasn't a single pair loose, making them look like the Christmas lights in _National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation_ that would probably end up taking hours to unpick. Provenza laughed before Julio dropped them back into the box and moved it into the corner, quickly standing up straight as their colleagues came in and dropped their boxes next to it before heading back into the living with Julio to get the last them.

Alone for a moment Provenza scanned the room with a very large smile on his face. He would never have thought five years ago that he would be so happily standing in Captain Raydor's bedroom as he helped his best friend move in with her. How time changed most things never failed to amaze him. Everywhere he looked he could see signs of Andy Flynn in that room, him already clearly treating the place as his home and apparently had done for a very long time, his reading glasses on the nightstand, his bathrobe just peeking out from around the bathroom door, one of his ties on the handle to the closet. Just as he was about to leave he noticed a framed piece of yellow legal paper on one of the nightstands. He recognised the paper and the handwriting almost immediately even from that distance so he knew what it probably was, thinking of no other reason why that sort of thing would be framed and treasured in such a way if it wasn't Andy's letter from the hospital. He was more than aware that Sharon was much more used to letters of a vastly different variety from her ex-husband in particular as he left her and their children once again, him hearing her mention to Patrice over dinner a few months earlier that she had not read them beyond the third time it had happened, twice too many she now admitted to herself. However this letter was treasured so it had to be the letter he encouraged Andy to write the night before his surgery. Although he hadn't explicitly confirmed as much to him, Andy had hinted that he'd finally given it to her the day he strolled into the Murder Room with a black eye and a poorly told lie about him walking into a door in the middle of the night. When the truth came out and Sharon was forced to confess that she'd caused the damage with her elbow in her sleep it wasn't hard for Provenza to work out that it meant they'd probably spent the night together for the very first time and naturally assumed the letter had played a large part in it and nudging them in the right direction since they seemed to be struggling to find their way there on their own, Andy confirming Provenza's suspicions only by dropping a nickel in his jar with a smile as he paid for some printing. Provenza had never told Andy but he had read that letter on his way to the car the night that Andy wrote it, lying to him about it because he was awkward enough about it and telling him he knew roughly what it said since Andy had already told him that he loved her before he made him write it down. In truth he read it because he needed to know for himself just how much his best friend loved their Captain (being too nervous to even use the word with Provenza) and how likely it was that she felt the same way about him, needing to know so that he could take care of her as best he could when Andy finally had his surgery. Aware of their privacy (his Captain's in particular) he moved to block it from view as people kept coming in and out to drop off Andy's things, not expecting any of them to nose around in there but opting to do it all the same just in case.

Whilst Sharon was busy getting glasses from the cupboards and putting them on the bar of the kitchen counter, Andy retrieved the beer and white wine from the fridge until he caught sight of the line of people walking in and out of their bedroom. With Patrice and Cathy not too far away as she showed her the view from the balcony (it being the first time that Cathy had ever been there) he lowered his voice and took a step towards Sharon. "Hey did you move that stupid letter from next to the bed since you know everyone we work with is going in and out of their right now?" he asked, uncomfortable at the idea of anyone else reading it other than Sharon and Rusty (and he wasn't too keen on him reading it either even though he'd written a section specifically for him in the event of his death).

Sharon laughed. "Firstly, it's not a stupid letter. It's a constant reminder about how lucky I am to have you in my life," she said softly as she stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers, "for a couple of reasons." She pressed her lips to his in the most tender of kisses before adding "And secondly no one is rooting around in there, they're dropping off boxes and then coming straight back out here."

"So in other words no you haven't?" he frowned.

Sharon nodded. "No I haven't" she confirmed.

Andy quickly hurried off into the bedroom as Sharon laughed and shook her head at him with a little bit of dismay. Once inside he rather surprisingly found Provenza standing in there alone, his hands in his pockets and blocking the nightstand from view but looking highly suspicious nonetheless. They stared at each other for a moment like they had just bumped into each other in a gay bar and both wondering what the other was doing there. "What are you doing?" Andy asked.

"I'm supervising" Provenza replied for at least the tenth time that day.

A second later Julio and Amy walked in behind them, freezing when they found the two of them just staring at each other in silence. "Do you two need to be left alone for a moment?" Amy joked, feeling like they'd interrupted a personal moment like two lovers saying a final farewell at a train station.

"No" Andy and Provenza replied in unison, Julio and Amy laughing at them as a result, thinking that they definitely looked like they were up to no good.

"That's the last of them Lieutenant" Julio stated as he put the final garment bag filled with Andy's suits over the arm of the chair in the corner of the room.

"Thanks Julio" Andy nodded with a smile. They all walked out of the bedroom one by one before Andy closed the door behind him. Much to his surprise Provenza was standing in the hall as if he was waiting for him, getting a rather surprising pat on the shoulder and a gentle nod of his head before they headed back towards the living room. It was the first time he had offered him any sort of congratulations at all about the move, Provenza previously only expressing anything even remotely positive about it in the form of looking around the house of horrors with him before trying his best to scare off the other potential buyers rather than anything more explicit and keeping his thoughts to himself, pleased though he was about it.

In the kitchen Sharon had been busy handing out bottles of beer to those that wanted one until she saw Andy heading her way again, grabbing a glass of cranberry and soda she had made just for him, Andy gasping for a drink as they drove home from the heat and the hard work. She walked over to him and put it in his hand. "For my boy" she said with a smile.

He growled at the sight of it, a noise that immediately brought a blush to her cheeks, her normally hearing that noise under very different circumstances. "Thank you" he replied, kissing her before drinking several large gulps, feeling parched. "Do you want me to open the wine?"

"Please" she nodded. He kissed her again before he walked into the kitchen to do as promised, sipping his drink as he moved.

The front door opened a moment later as Rusty, Gus and Mark walked in, holding a couple of large pizzas each, the boxes in Mark's arms almost bigger than he was. Sharon smiled at them before Rusty handed off his pizzas to Gus as he stepped towards her, Sharon quickly becoming aware that he obviously wanted to speak to her about something. "Hey Mom" he smiled. He looked at her for a moment with a puzzled expression suddenly appearing on his face, seeming almost hesitant for a second and giving Sharon immediate cause for concern. "Erm...," he started to say before pausing and appearing very reluctant to spit the words out, "why does Mrs Rose think that we're having some sort of giant orgy in here today?" he asked, worried by the answer that was about to come his way. Sharon rolled her eyes with a smile and looked towards Andy who was getting out plates and napkins since the food had arrived. Rusty followed her eye-line and quickly understood, nodding. "Ah. Okay. Say no more. Really, say no more" he begged as he shuddered and Sharon laughed. "We've got the pizzas" he said quickly as he changed the subject, pointing towards Gus and Mark as they carried the boxes and laid them out on the table in front of the hungry hordes.

Sharon ran her hand down his arm with thanks. "Thank you Rusty and thank you for taking Mark with you and keeping him company. Julio really appreciates it."

"Yeah it was really no problem. We let him pick his own pizza so he's pretty happy right now." As if he had been listening Mark picked up his large cheese pizza from the table and carried it over to the television, sitting on the floor in front of it with the box between his legs and started to tuck in as if he had never seen food before. Sharon smiled at him before she turned and went to make sure that everyone else had what they needed and were getting something to eat and drink before Rusty stopped her. "Erm Mom, do you think there's any way I could get my car looked at on Monday morning?" he asked.

"Sure but why? What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know exactly" Rusty shrugged. "The check engine light was on like the entire time we were driving home with the pizza. And it just doesn't sound right you know?"

"Okay. Well we can get it looked at, that's no problem."

Andy joined them having heard the end of the conversation. "Or I could just take a look at it for you" he told him, wanting to make himself more useful in Rusty's eyes now that he had moved in. He handed Sharon a glass of white wine before he ran his arm around her waist.

"You?" Rusty said as he looked at Sharon nervously, immediately thinking of the pig's ear Andy had made when he replaced the bathroom floor tile after he smashed it with his head when he fainted, wondering if he would make as bad a job of fixing his car.

"Yes me. Why the tone of surprise?" he asked a little offended. "I'm not completely without man skills you know" he told him. As Rusty frowned at him more than a little dubious about his claim, Sharon tried her hardest to suppress a smile as her mind went to the long list of Andy's many other 'man skills' that she had become very well acquainted with over the last year, hoping that she wasn't blushing too much as her cheeks started to warm up. Provenza approached them from behind as he listened with interest. "I know my way around a car engine thank you very much."

"Mainly from stealing and selling car parts when he was a teenager" Provenza rightly pointed out and making Rusty laugh.

"No it's not wise ass" Andy replied with a roll of his eyes. He was lying, that was exactly how he first became acquainted with various car engines, already stealing hubcaps to sell when he was only ten years old so it wasn't a shock when he started liberating other parts too. "I haven't always had the most reliable of cars so I've had plenty of opportunities to learn how to fix them myself."

"Yeah with spit and pantyhose mainly" Provenza said and not joking in the slightest.

Rusty laughed as he looked at the unimpressed expression on Andy's face. "What?"

"Trust me that's Flynn's answer to every car problem in this world, just spit on it, wrap it in pantyhose and hope for the best" Provenza shrugged, having more experience than he wanted with Andy Flynn and his crappy cars especially when he tried to fix them himself rather than taking them to a professional or just letting them die naturally.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation with my family here" Andy protested, not happy at Provenza sticking his nose into what he deemed to be a personal conversation with his new family. Sharon couldn't help but smile up at him again because he was right, they were a family now in every way imaginable, six years ago never dreaming that she would have an extra son and a man who worshiped the ground she walked on and feeling the exact same way about him in that late stage of her life.

"What I can't listen?" Provenza grumbled. "Rusty if you're having car trouble, I'll take a look at it for you. If it was built later than the nineteen sixties Flynn won't know the hood from the gear shift."

"Excuse me?" Andy scoffed, almost swallowing his tongue.

"You heard me, are you going deaf too?" Provenza shot back.

"No I'm just thinking about your complete inability to operate that tricked out Explorer that we drove when we took Buzz out on his first ride along" Andy replied, both he and Buzz of the opinion that a dead dog would have operated that car with more success than Provenza did.

"That was not my fault. Who on earth could possible operate that giant hunk of crap?" Provenza complained, saying the same thing when he couldn't operate anything even remotely electronic or complicated like his cell phone or the control for the electronic murder board at PAB before Andy found their old one from Parker Centre.

"Well there's me for starters and not to mention Buzz and every other patrol officer in the LAPD. It's a wonder you figured out how to buckle your seatbelt without three weeks of instruction and someone to help" Andy fired back as Sharon and Rusty just stared at each other as they laughed a little, always amused when the two of them bickered like an old married couple.

"Regardless with the heaps of crap you've driven over the years my point is that I stand more of a chance of fixing it for the kid than you do" Provenza clarified.

"I've driven hunks of crap? Me?" Andy cried, not believing his ears. "What about your car with the steering wheel lock? Huh? What was that if it wasn't a hunk of crap? Huh? Tell me that" he said, still annoyed that he got into trouble along with Provenza even though it wasn't his crappy car to begin with and none of it was his fault.

"It wasn't the car that was unfit for purpose it was that damn steering wheel lock as well you know" Provenza corrected him and ignoring the point that if he had a car with a decent door lock and alarm then he wouldn't have needed the steering wheel lock in the first place.

"Whatever" Andy mumbled.

"On second thoughts forget it, I don't really need a car to get around Los Angeles anyway" Rusty said with a smile before either gentleman could argue their way into a heart attack.

Before either Andy or Provenza could protest Sharon removed her free hand from around Andy's waist and dropped it to Rusty's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Rusty, we can take it to a garage on Monday" she told him.

"But what about me? I can do it" Andy insisted.

"I'm sure you can my darling but we've only just moved in together so the last thing I want is for you to blow yourself up or run yourself over or burn the building down fixing Rusty's car" she told him with a little playful slap to his chin before she walked away towards the rest of the group who were all getting themselves something to eat. Rusty laughed at the two of them as they just stared at each other before he joined the rest.

With everyone getting something to eat and drink and sitting down where they could, the conversation free flowing as they relaxed and enjoyed the time off together, Sharon walked into the kitchen with her slice and glass of wine to eat it as she leant against the counter, not wanting to use a chair that a guest could use. Nicole spotted her on her own almost immediately and decided to take the opportunity to speak to her without her Dad being present, quickly making her way over to her. "I have to say it again while I have the chance, thank you so much for this Sharon" Nicole said as she took Sharon's hand in hers and squeezed it, never thinking she would ever be able to fully express just how happy she was for them both. "Now I don't have to worry about putting him in a home when he's a little older" she joked.

Sharon laughed. "You wouldn't take him in?"

"Not without murdering him, no" she replied, them both laughing as they looked at Andy at the top of the table as he got himself something to eat before Provenza and Julio snaffled all of the vegetarian options just to screw with him. "So that means I'm even more grateful" she declared. Without warning she pulled Sharon into a hug, almost knocking her wine out of her hand as she revealed once again just how grateful she was for the way that her Dad had changed over the last few years and giving Sharon all of the credit for that turnaround.

"It's my pleasure Nicole, honestly" Sharon told her sincerely as they pulled apart. "But while I have you here, can you clear up a little fact about your Dad for me please?" she said a little quietly since the curiosity was eating away at her but she didn't want Andy to know. Before she could say anymore Andy came to a stop on the other side of the counter with his pizza in his mouth mid bite, looking at them suspiciously after hearing Sharon's question. They both turned to face him. "What do you want?" Sharon asked him.

Andy shrugged. "I heard you talking about me."

"Exactly. We were talking about you and not to you. Off you go" Nicole instructed as she waved him away from them as Sharon's laughed. Looking a little warily at them Andy rather reluctantly walked away towards the balcony door where he could watch them from a safe distance and hopefully lip read what was being said about him. "I'll warn you now, living with him doesn't make him any less annoying if that's what you wanted to know."

Sharon laughed, she and in particular Rusty already more than aware of that fact. "No it's not about that. It's about his middle name." She looked around the room to make sure that Andy was still well out of earshot before continuing. "To say I don't believe what he's trying to sell me is a huge understatement but I have no record of it written down anywhere."

"Did he tell you it was 'Bonzo Tiger' too?" Nicole asked as she couldn't help but laugh.

"What? No" Sharon laughed, quickly beginning to think that Andy had told a different story to everyone he knew about his middle name with no one really knowing the truth other than perhaps his siblings.

"Then what has he told you?"

Sharon laughed again before she spoke, still finding the whole thing utterly absurd and yet she was still inclined to believe him. "That your Grandmother insisted on calling him Andrew Benito Flynn because she had a thing for Mussolini" she told her, them both immediately laughing hysterically. "I know, I know! It's beyond ridiculous."

"Benito? Really? That's a new one. I think he told Daniel something else, 'Winkle Norman' maybe but to me he always said it was 'Bonzo Tiger' which obviously I never believed for a second" Nicole revealed and to a certain extent confirming Sharon's suspicions that Andy continued to be the master of the tall tale just to get a laugh from the people he loved. "Do you want me to call Mom and see if she knows the truth?" Nicole offered.

"Oh no, no, no" Sharon said, dismissing the idea immediately and not wanting anyone to think for even a second that she didn't know him as well as his ex-wife did as well as getting a fair amount of amusement and satisfaction in finding out for herself. "I'll find out on my own in the end one way or another."

"Benito?" Nicole said again as they laughed. "Really?" she shook her head, this by far and away one of the more ridiculous stories that her Dad had ever told, like Sharon never really knowing if they were true or not. Nicole turned to look at Andy, Sharon quickly following her eye line to see him standing by the table and talking to Mike and Cathy, Andy laughing as he spoke to them, smiling and looking happier than Nicole had ever seen him in her life. "Look at him. Look at that smile." She took Sharon's hand again, squeezing it as her eyes lingered on her Father. "I don't think I've ever seen him look this happy in my entire life" she said before she hugged her again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you" she repeated, making Sharon laugh as she hugged her back.

Andy looked away from the Taos for a moment and spotted what was still going on in the kitchen, quickly decided that he needed to go and rescue Sharon before Nicole managed to squeeze her to death. He excused himself and made his way over to the two women in his life, putting a hand on their backs. "Okay. That's enough" he said as they pulled apart. "Let's break this up now before you scare her off altogether." Sharon laughed at him as she ran her arm around his waist.

Nicole looked at Andy square in the eyes before she grabbed his chin. "Don't screw this up" she told him once again before she kissed his cheek and then left them to it, moving to the table to get something to eat.

As Nicole picked up a slice of pizza she along with Amy looked quizzically at Patrice on the other side of the table as she took two slices, placing one on top of the other before taking a bite from both of them at the same time. Patrice saw them looking at her like she was a sandwich short of a picnic and turned to speak to them once she had finished chewing. "The body doesn't know. It only counts the calories of one" Patrice told them as she pointed to her pizza stack. "Or that's what I tell myself anyway" she shrugged as they laughed at her.

With a couple of slices of pizza on her plate Nicole looked up and spotted Rusty standing on his own for a moment at the top of the table and slowly moved towards him as she chewed. "Well Rusty," she said as she dropped her plate to the table before putting her arm around his shoulders and getting a little smile from him in return, "it may not be completely legal just yet but it looks like you're the baby brother I always wanted."

Rusty laughed and nodded, this not the first time he'd been told something similar, hearing it from both Emily and Ricky as the adoption edged closer and they both welcomed him into their family. "Is there some sort of initiation process I have to go through before I can consider myself a little bit Flynn?" he asked.

"I'd tell you Rusty but I'm afraid if I did you might tell Sharon what she has to do and then she'd be scared off and before you know it Dad is living in my basement and I'm plotting his death" she joked and making him laugh again. "I have to say, I am extremely happy to have you as part of my family Rusty, if for no other reason than it's nice to have a little brother who doesn't loathe my Father with every fibre of their being." She laughed at a statement that was anything but a joke in order to make light of it but Rusty knew full well that there was distress behind her good humour, Nicole and Daniel arguing a lot over recent years as she tried in vain to get him to give Andy another chance since he was such a changed person but he wouldn't budge, as stubborn as his Father. "So, you're comfortable with this whole arrangement?" she asked, nodding towards Sharon and Andy as they stood alone in the kitchen where she had left them, their arms around each other and despite the guests in attendance only interested in each other. "Living with a couple and not just any old couple either, a fairly new and incredibly loved up couple?"

Rusty laughed. "To be honest it's not been so bad really just as long as Mom manages to keep her hands to herself in the communal areas."

"Oh I know what that's like, believe me!" Nicole cried with a horrified shudder. "I was about five or six years younger than you are now when my Mom first started dating again after Dad and the divorce. Then six months later she brought home Michael for the very first time." She sighed as Rusty smiled, Nicole's Dad and Step-Dad like chalk and cheese in comparison to each other. "Now compared to Dad and Sharon and all the years of 'Will they? Won't they? We think they are but they say they aren't' they had a _very_ short courtship and he moved in with us after less than five months."

"Wow! Just five months? Really?" Rusty asked with surprise.

Nicole nodded. "I know it seemed too fast at the time to me and Daniel too and well to everyone else who knew her for that matter especially since her marriage to Dad had ended so badly and so spectacularly! And then she was single for a very long time just like Sharon so I did worry about her as I'm sure you've worried about Sharon when suddenly they were dating and they actually knew it." They both laughed again, the saga of the relationship between their parents still highly amusing to them both.

Rusty didn't answer but instead just looked at his Mom as she laughed with her boyfriend, their arms still around each other as they looked at each other adoringly, the way Gus would look at him sometimes and caused those little butterflies to appear out of nowhere in the pit of his stomach as if he was suddenly feeling alive for the very first time in his life. It was true that he had been worried at times when they first got together for many reasons, most of which were nothing to do with Andy personally, he actually rather liked him, his extreme reluctance was all to do with previous boyfriends of his other Mom but it had been clear to him for some time just how much they loved each other so it didn't worry him for long even though it didn't stop him from being a little suspicious of Andy for a long time despite liking him as he saw him as a threat in his life but soon accepting that he was who Sharon wanted to spend the rest of her life with and that was more than fine with him.

"And that's ignoring that Michael is without doubt the single stupidest man I have ever met in my entire life" Nicole stating without any fear of contradiction, them both laughing once again. "Growing up with that man as our Step-Father was...well let's just say it was certainly interesting. By comparison Dad is sheer perfection."

"Sure, some of the time when he's not falling down or thinking that he's funny" Rusty pointed out.

"I'm very sorry to have to tell you this Rusty but he's _never_ going to stop thinking he's funny. Never. That's just something you're going to have to get used to" Nicole told him with quite a lot of sympathy.

"He's not so bad. I've known worse" Rusty said rather quietly. They smiled at each other for a moment, Nicole not wanting to make him talk about the horrors in his past any more than Rusty wanted to tell her about them.

"Well if you ever need any tips on how to handle him I think I've got reacquainted enough with the nuances of Andrew Flynn over the last few years to be able to help you out."

Rusty laughed. "Thanks but I pretty much know how to manipulate him in every situation by now." They laughed again but Nicole's choice of word 'reacquainted' stuck in Rusty's mind as it became clear that perhaps they'd had an even worse relationship than he thought they had before her wedding. "You know I think he's a lot different now compared to when you..."

"Didn't want anything to do with him?" Nicole asked and finishing the sentence for him. "Yes. I know that. I've known that for quite a few years now but seriously Rusty you have absolutely no idea how much he has changed from the man I knew as a kid or even the man I knew five years ago before I got married to Dean for that matter." She smiled as she looked at her Dad across the room again. "I look at him now and it's like he's a completely different and utterly fabulous person to the one I knew back then. But he's even changed since my wedding too. I know your Mom likes to deny it every chance she gets and she's more than a little embarrassed about the whole thing but she has had such a wonderful effect on him, even before they were dating and she's given me my Dad back" Nicole said as she started to sound a little emotional. "If it wasn't for her offering to come to my wedding with him and supporting him so that he could stand to be around my family then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be helping him move house today. If he'd missed my wedding I'm not sure I would have spoken to him again so not only did Sharon help to make mine and Dean's special day even better for me by making him come but she also gave me my Dad back and that is something I will never ever stop being grateful for." Rusty nodded, understanding how she felt. They both looked at Sharon and Andy again, still on the own and talking to each other, their arms around each other, their faces a few inches apart, smiling. They kiss a couple of times and Nicole and Rusty can't help but smile at them (despite Rusty preferring the no physical contact in the kitchen rule to be enforced at all times). "They look so happy together. Look at Dad. Look at the way he gazes at her." Rusty felt compelled to smile because Nicole was right but he saw it a lot, they were always looking at each other like that, often in silence and he did admit that it was sweet and it was how he first knew they loved each other long before his accident and before the letter. However it still always made him feel like he was intruding and like they'd be a lot happier as a couple if he moved out and left them to it but they always told him that he was being ridiculous if he ever voiced those feelings to them, both of them usually stopping when they saw him to focus on the three of them as a family, neither wanting him to go anywhere until he was ready to take that step. "The only time Dean looks at me like that these days is when I'm holding a rack of ribs in my hands" she joked before they laughed.

"I've always thought they looked at each other like they were an Armani suit and a freshly roasted turkey."

"See we both knew they were dating before that night at the ballet" Nicole said gleefully as they laughed again. "They were just sadly a little slow to work it out for themselves. Well let that be a lesson to them, their kids know them better than they know themselves and they should listen to us a lot more than they do" she insisted. "So tell me Rusty, in the immediate aftermath to the ballet, how often did they not date? Dad wouldn't talk about her at all after the holidays until suddenly six months later he told me completely out of the blue that they were finally dating for real."

"It was at least twice a week in the beginning but as it got closer to becoming official I swear he was here more than I was" Rusty said in anything but an exaggeration.

"Without wishing to traumatise you Rusty, I do hope you have some powerful earplugs to hand tonight" she said as she nodded towards Sharon and Andy and grinned. Rusty screwed his face up almost immediately as if he was about to be sick, Nicole laughing hysterically. "Sorry" she laughed.

Nicole knew what it was like to be Rusty in that situation, her Mother and her then idiotic boyfriend were extremely loved up every moment of the day and night when Michael first moved in with them and even on one occasion walked in on her Mom giving him a blowjob in the middle of the kitchen as he somehow managed to split his focus between being blown and using the pasta machine at the same time. It was a horrifying incident all around with Sandra's shock at suddenly finding her daughter looking at her with such horror as she screamed loud enough to shatter glass while she was still on her knees in front of her boyfriend almost causing her to bite his penis off completely. Nicole wanted to blame herself for coming home early from her friend's house without calling first but there was plenty of blame to go around in the circumstances. The whole situation was not helped later in the day when Michael thought it was a good idea to talk about the birds and the bees with her as they ate dinner (the very pasta he had been making at the time), to let her know that what she had stumbled upon was perfectly natural and suggesting that his urologist had told him that a 'regular ejaculation' was good for his plumbing and overall health. Daniel looked baffled as he tried to eat and had no idea what was going on and why his 'Step-Dad's' semen was being so openly discussed over dinner as both Sandra and Nicole seemed to scream for a good hour after they'd finally got him to shut up about it. Not at all surprisingly it left Nicole feeling slightly traumatised with no fifteen year old girl ever wanting to think about their future Step-Father's undercarriage let alone see it in their Mom's mouth in the middle of the kitchen. As a result of the whole incident and the prominent placement of the pasta maker as it was taking place Nicole was suddenly put off any sort of pasta dishes or Italian food in general and stopped learning anymore about her Italian heritage, something that upset Andy a lot at the time and seeing it as a reaction to him and their extremely fragile relationship rather than discovering the truth at a period in his life when he didn't see her or Daniel a whole lot anyway and it was something she had yet to explain to him and correct.

"It's hard to work out how I could be more traumatised at this point anyway" Rusty told her. "I mean if Mom's hands aren't permanently on his ass then I'm hearing weird things over the phone" he said as he screwed his face up with disgust.

Nicole laughed. "Do I really want to hear this?"

"I didn't. I don't know, I phoned Mom a couple of weeks ago to tell her I was going to stay the night with Gus and she said 'Hold on Rusty, I have to go and poke Andy's sausage'" he explained before he shuddered again and Nicole laughed hysterically. "She claims she was cooking dinner but I don't know" he added as Nicole continued to laugh. "I mean he's like a vegetarian except for fish and his frankly alarming turkey obsession. Are turkey sausages even a thing? Please tell me they are."

Nicole laughed and nodded. "Yes they are and I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. But still, best have an early night anyway."

"Actually I've decided to stay with Gus for the weekend. Give them some space."

"I think that's a very wise decision and plus you get to have a little romantic weekend all of your own with Gus too" she grinned before she laughed, highly amused with how awkward Rusty was when it came to talking about his boyfriend with her. "I know I've said this to you before but it's worth saying once again, that boy is very very handsome Rusty." They looked out to the balcony where Gus was chatting happily with Amy and Cooper, Rusty smiling at him without even realising he was doing it. "Well done you" Nicole told him and sounding very impressed as she put her hand up for him to give her a high five once again, yet to get one from him. He tried to ignore her but Nicole's hand remained in the air until he obliged and they laughed. "So are you both driving there later or what?"

"I was going to but the check engine light kept coming on when we were driving back with the food so we'll probably get an Uber until I can get it looked at on Monday" he shrugged.

"Or Dean and I could just drive you both" Nicole suggested.

"No you don't have to do that..."

"I know I don't have to do that but I want to do that" Nicole insisted.

"But it's so far away and..."

"I don't mind" she said simply and continuing before he had chance to protest once again. "Look Rusty, our parents are living together now and something tells me that if my Dad gets his own way that's not where it'll end either, they'll probably and dare I say hopefully end up getting married one day too. And as I'm sure Dad has said to you himself as you've got closer, we're a family now whether you like it or not and part of being a family is driving your little Step-Brother to his insanely hot boyfriend's house for a dirty weekend" she told him with another grin before she laughed as Gus walked over to them. "Oh hey Gus. We were just talking about you."

He looked at them a little nervously. "Only good things I hope."

"Oh definitely" Nicole confirmed, winking at Rusty. "My little Step-Brother here was just telling me how he's escaping the loved up couple to spend a romantic weekend at your place and I was just offering to give you both a ride since we're basically related now."

"Oh great Nicole. Thanks" Gus smiled.

"See" Nicole said as she poked Rusty in the ribs and he nodded, realising that he was out voted on the matter. "It's really not a problem at all. Actually come to think of it Rusty you should be grateful that Mom and Michael didn't come and help them today. As soon as he got wind that there was something wrong with your car he'd have been in that parking garage quicker than a flash with his head buried underneath the hood" she said as they laughed at the thought. "Then five minutes later we would have smelled smoke and felt the explosion and before you know it the building is being evacuated and Mom isn't speaking to him again" she joked.

"Has he set fire to anything else since Christmas?" Gus asked, his first day spending time with Rusty and his extended family being a rather eventful one with Sandra attacking Andy every chance she got and Michael setting fire to the curtains in the bedroom that Justin and Robin shared as he tried to rewire a train to make it go a little quicker.

"I don't think so or rather he's not done it at my house anyway" Nicole shrugged. "I hang those curtains up every time they come over now in case he does it again, you know to save money and to remind him that things can be highly flammable."

Rusty laughed. "You leave him alone?" he asked with surprise.

"Not intentionally but he does have the habit of just slipping away with the boys when you're not looking" she grumbled. "How's work Gus?"

"Going really well thanks" he replied, that positive 'everything is wonderful' smile spread across his face as Rusty battled hard not to roll his eyes, not trusting this Aidan character as far as he could throw him and he hadn't even met him. "I've already had one promotion this year and with how well I'm doing Aidan, that's my boss, well he says it's only a matter of time before I can move up again. The guy owns like four restaurants."

"That's fabulous Gus. Right Rusty? You must be so proud of him, doing so well" Nicole said to him with a smile and a little nudge of her hips to almost force an answer.

"Yep. Very proud" Rusty nodded with a rather fake smile that was good enough to fool Gus but Nicole had seen that sort of thing before from her parents many times in the past as they both maintained everything was okay when it quite clearly wasn't. It was easy for her to see that there was something else that Rusty wasn't saying but knew better than to push it, especially with Gus standing right there next to them.

"How about yourself?" Gus asked her.

"Yeah things are really good" Nicole nodded. "I'm actually heading out of town for a five day accountancy conference in a couple of weeks." Despite their best intentions neither Rusty nor Gus could react like it was the most exciting thing they'd ever heard in their lives. "It's even more boring than it sounds believe me," Nicole laughed, "but it should make a change or it'll just be a chance to rack up some air miles and watch my co-workers from other branches drunkenly hit on one another" she joked.

"Oh that's great. Where?" Gus asked.

"Vancouver. I'm looking forward to it and so are Dean and the boys probably" she said with a smile and was greeted with laughter. "They get to spend a week not showering and living in their underwear while eating cereal three times a day from their belly buttons" she added in anything but a joke, not expected the three of them to get dressed while she was away if they didn't have to. "The last time I was sent on one of these things Dean and the kids were supposed to fly up and meet me once it was over and we were going to go on a little Thanksgiving getaway for a few days in the mountains." She sighed a little glumly. "But sadly I had to come back after less than forty eight hours because Dad was in the hospital so I fully intend to enjoy everything I missed out on last time" she said with another sigh, dropping everything immediately when her Mom phoned her to relay the news from Sharon that Andy had collapsed, flying home as soon as she could and arriving at the hospital a couple of hours after he had come around from the anaesthesia.

"Andy was in the hospital?" Gus asked with his surprise evident.

"Yeah for surgery to remove his blood clot" Nicole nodded.

Gus looked at them baffled for a moment, not recalling having been told this story the first time he met Nicole on Christmas Day but considering that the whole experience of spending the day with a family for the first time in a long time, even if it wasn't his family, was slightly overwhelming to say the least. "We weren't dating then" Rusty told him. He paused before he continued, knowing that he was about to step into upsetting territory as far as Gus was concerned. "Erm…do you remember when Andy testified at Mariana's trial? He had a huge bruise on the side of his head?"

"Sure. I remember" Gus nodded. "I thought a suspect had hit him or something."

"How close you are" Nicole said as her eyes drifted to her Father again.

"Yeah well he got that when the meds he was on to break down his blood clot made him dizzy and he passed out in the bathroom" Rusty said very nonchalantly and as if it hadn't been one of the most frightening moments of his entire life (especially considering that he learned to drive when he took his Mom to hospital while she was over dosing in the back and had not only been abandoned at a zoo but was only rescued when a serial killer just so happened to cross his path) when he opened the bathroom door and found Andy on the floor unconscious and bleeding heavily. "That's why that tile is weird in there. He smashed it with his head. They like had to operate on him the next day."

"I remember. You told me about it on Christmas Day. How did he get a blood clot in the first place? I don't remember" Gus said as he racked his brain, his eyes drifting towards Andy as he stood with his arm around Sharon in the kitchen, looking as fit as a fiddle.

"He was trying to act like an over the hill James Bond and got his ass thrown from a moving car by a suspect" Nicole explained with a tone of annoyance that her Dad had been so utterly stupid given his advancing years. Gus looked stunned, his eyes going wide. "You don't need to be polite Gus, we all know he's a complete idiot."

"I wasn't going to say a word" Gus lied.

"Dad certainly has excellent timing. Waiting until I was out of the country before he decided to collapse and being in desperate need of surgery."

"Talk about perfect timing I was the one on Flynn sitting duty the day he fainted" Rusty reminded her, his worst fear every time he was left alone with Andy coming true and a lot earlier than he hoped too.

Nicole hugged him a little tighter as she said "And I really must thank you for saving his life once again Rusty."

"To be honest I had no choice" he shrugged. "I would have felt bad letting him bleed to death on the floor." He looked over at Andy and glowered. "But of course there are times when I regret it too like when he's making fun of my hair or trying to be funny" he joked with Nicole laughing at him.

As everyone continued to eat and chat amongst themselves, enjoying a rare chance to see their friends and colleagues in a purely social setting, Andy and Sharon remained on their own in the kitchen talking to each other. After a moment Andy's attention was drawn to Provenza in the living room as he moved from seat to seat in the living room area, shuffling as he sat down each time. With his arm now draped around Sharon's shoulder, he pulled her a little closer to him as he moved his lips to her ear. "What the hell is he doing?" he asked as he nodded towards his partner in crime.

Sharon turned to look at him just as he moved seats once again. "I have no idea" she said with a shake of her head as Provenza moved once more, bouncing up and down on the spot for a moment.

"Hey Provenza!" Andy shouted, his cry loud enough to draw attention from almost everyone else in attendance.

"What?" Provenza replied just as loudly as he jumped up and down in his seat again, feeling the cushions as everyone fell silent so that they could listen to the exchange.

"Is there a game of musical chairs going on that we don't know about?" Andy asked. Instead of answering Provenza glared at him from over his shoulder before he returned to bouncing up and down again from his new position on the right hand side of the couch closest to them. "What are you doing?"

"I'm claiming my spot" came the distracted reply.

"You're what?" Andy asked baffled.

"I'm finding the perfect place for me to sit and watch a game when I come over" he said as he continued to bounce up and down on the cushion as he double checked that it met his approval in terms of comfort. "This is perfect. I can see the TV and I'm close enough to the kitchen that it'll be easy for you to pass me beer quickly."

"Yeah that's not happening, ever" Andy told him.

"You've got that right" Sharon cut in before Provenza could protest. "If you two think I'm going to let you turn this living room into some sort of boys club you've got another thing coming" she told them emphatically and ensuring there was no wriggle room in her tone.

Andy stared at her agog for a moment before he and Provenza exchanged defiant glances and everyone else tried not to laugh at them. "And I get no say in this at all?" Andy asked.

"Absolutely not" Sharon replied as she smiled at him smugly.

Andy quickly removed his arm from around her shoulders and pointed at her. "You're not the boss of me here you know Raydor, that's just at work" Andy reminded her. "Everything is supposed to be a discussion at home."

"You're right and it is and we've discussed it and it's just not going to happen" she told him simply as everyone but Andy laughed before she walked over to the table, getting herself another slice of pizza as she winked at Patrice and Amy and confirming to them that she was only messing with him for her own amusement.

As Provenza continued to laugh he made a noise like a whip cracking just in case Andy had somehow forgotten how whipped he thought he was. "Are you really going allow yourself to be bossed around in your own home like this?" Provenza asked him and revelling in his friend's torment while causing trouble.

Andy looked at Sharon before he shrugged and nodded, fully aware that she was only joking with him or at least that's what he hoped was happening, thinking it would be very unlike her to insist that the condo was now a Provenza free zone. "Without a doubt" he confirmed. Sharon winked at him as she walked back to the counter and put her plate on the end of it, Andy coming up next to her and putting his arm around her before kissing the side of her head to confirm that he knew exactly which side his bread was buttered on. "Thankfully I'm very used to taking orders off Sharon." She smiled at him before she kissed him, her smile quickly turning to a frown as he stole a bite of her pizza crust, Sharon pinching the back of his knees in retaliation. Considering he was always pointing out that she stole his food on a regular basis, Andy Flynn was a pizza crust fiend.

"In other words you're whipped so we'll have to watch the Dodgers at my place instead" Provenza said and translating his words for him.

Patrice smiled at her husband for a moment before she stated "Oh it is absolutely not happening at our house either."

Everyone laughed as Provenza snapped his head around so quickly to look at her that he almost pulled a muscle. "What?" he spat out.

"You heard me Louie. They'll be no boys club at our house either" Patrice insisted before she and Sharon exchanged a quick and triumphant high-five as they smiled at each other while their respective spouses looked at each other in absolute horror.

"Well where are we supposed to watch the Dodgers together?" Andy practically whined, sounding every inch like Ricky when he was grounded.

"You should have thought of that before you sold your house" Sharon told him with a smile as she slapped his cheeks and everyone laughed at them. It only took a couple of seconds of Andy's rather sad face looking back at her for her to crumble, quickly hugging him. "Oh calm down you big moron, I'm only kidding with you. You can have your boyfriend over here any time you like."

"And the same goes for our house too" Patrice confirmed. "Any time you want to play with your little friend you're more than welcome Andy." Once again everyone laughed at them especially the men in the room as Andy and Provenza looked a little put out for a moment although neither would change their lives for all the money in the world.

Provenza glanced towards the table and suddenly noticed that Buzz had been filming the whole exchange. "Do you have to film absolutely everything?" he griped.

"Yes" Buzz confirmed as Provenza frowned at him even more. "Oh come on Lieutenant. It's a momentous day for the Captain and Lieutenant Flynn" he reminded him. "How often do you get to move in with the love of your life?"

"In Provenza's experience, about six times and there's still time for plenty more" Andy said rather unwisely and immediately getting a quick slap across the arm from Sharon as a result before Patrice, Cathy and then Amy marched over to him and did the exact same thing to him. "Ow! What am I? A piñata?" he asked as he rubbed his arm.

Noticing that Sharon's glass was nearly empty Andy started to top it up for her. She smiled at him as he filled it to the brim. "Are you trying to get me drunk?" she asked quietly.

"Always" he confirmed. "You know how much I love Tipsy Sharon" he told her and making her laugh before she kissed him on the lips.

Provenza got up from the couch with his glass of wine in hand before taking up his place at his wife's side as she stood towards the top of the table closest to the kitchen. Since Buzz was already filming he thought he might as well get on with proceedings despite not really feeling all that comfortable delivering a toast on his own. He had spoken to Patrice a couple of times since Andy announced the sale of his house and even consulted Mike the day before at work and had decided that regardless of his reservations about making such a heartfelt speech he still needed to toast his friends on what was a very special day for them, one day hoping that he'd get the chance to do it again when he was hopefully acting as Andy's best man. However since that was by no means a certainty and no one knew what the future held and if they would indeed end up getting married one day at all he wanted to take the opportunity while he could since Andy had done such a wonderful job when he married Patrice but more than that, any best man's speech that he delivered in the future would all be about making Andy squirm as much as humanly possible and he wanted to say something about the both of them on that occasion, two people he loved dearly and who had managed to find each other despite everything.

"I guess it's time to get this show on the road" Provenza said before he cleared his throat to get everyone to look up at him. "Ladies and gentlemen if you would all be so kind as to give me your attention please." They all instantly fell silent as they turned to face him with smiles and a sense of anticipation of what was to come.

"Oh no" Andy cried as he put his head in his hands before everyone laughed at him, all of them noting just how ridiculously nervous he suddenly looked as a result now that Provenza had the floor. In truth neither Sharon or Andy had expected anyone (least of all Provenza who had barely lifted a finger all morning to help them because, as he frequently reminded them, aside from running, jumping and climbing he also didn't lift or carry unless it was a glass of wine or a hotdog) to make a toast in their honour that afternoon. Their little party at the condo was held to simply thank them all for their help and giving up a rare Saturday off work rather than as a celebration of the step they were taking in their relationship (even though Andy and Rusty had both joked about it and Sharon's famous sense of occasion meaning that a good haircut was cause for a catered party in her opinion) so despite Andy's nerves about what Provenza was about to say about them and him in particular as he maybe sought a little revenge for the stories he'd told in his last three speeches as best man, he and Sharon were both a little overwhelmed by the heartfelt gesture.

"I think this occasion calls for a toast if you'd all like to grab yourselves a drink" Provenza declared. Andy put his arm back around Sharon's waist before she kissed his cheek and Cooper started to move about the group and topped up everyone's wine for them. "In truth Flynn is much more at home making these kind of speeches than I am."

"Well being asked to be your best man three times had to come with some hidden benefits other than you spooning me in bed one night" Andy replied to much laughter, everyone now knowing all about that incident on his last but one wedding night much to Provenza's continued annoyance.

"Granted but I'm still going to give it my best shot so if you could all hold your applause until the end I would be very grateful" Provenza said with his arms held aloft as if he was going to receive at least five standing ovations by the time he was done with not a dry eye left in the house.

"He's extremely modest too" Andy cut in to yet more laughter.

"Hey there is to be no heckling during the toast please" Provenza told him.

"Why not?" Andy asked. "You heckled me during my last best man's speech."

"Correcting factual inaccuracies is not the same as heckling Flynn" Provenza replied with an air of finality about it. "Now before I start I'd like for you to all to bear in mind that I've chosen to hold back some more choice things about Flynn over here in case the Captain completely loses her mind one day and I'm asked to deliver a similar speech about these two sometime in the near future after some vows have been exchanged" he said with a warm smile towards his Captain. Sharon instantly hid her face in Andy's shoulder for a moment out of a little embarrassment although she wasn't really sure why she felt that way given that they were living together. Sensing her discomfort Andy laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Plus that sort of speech would be solely about tearing Flynn to shreds to embarrass him as much as possible in front of friends and family and given the reason we're all here today I wanted this one to be more about the both of them as a couple. With that in mind and before I really begin I have to ask just one question." He cleared his throat as he made sure he met Sharon's eye. "Are you really sure about this Captain?" he asked once again as they all laughed with the exception of the very unimpressed Andy, glaring at him instead. "It's okay to say you've changed your mind you know and remember that this guy has some pretty disgusting habits you're going to have to contend with for the rest of his life" he said as he pointed at Andy.

"As long as Andy doesn't make weird noises at night and stuff roadkill on the kitchen counter, he still has a long way to go to beat my roommate in the nightmare stakes" Gus cut in.

"True," Provenza nodded before pointing at Andy again, "but the fact that he has a tendency to abandon his shoes in the most awkward of places which will undoubtedly end up with the Captain breaking her hip one day is reason enough in my opinion for her to call this whole thing off right now." Sharon laughed immediately, the placement of Andy's shoes having already caused her some damage in the past with it being something he was working on along with the way he dumped wet towels on the bathroom floor.

"Will you cut it out!" Andy cried as everyone laughed. "Like I'm not worried enough that she could be talked out of it."

Sharon looked up at him, so much smaller in comparison while in her sneakers than she was while they were at work and she was usually in her heels. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again, that's never going to happen" she announced once again.

"But you also once told me that I was the last person you'd ever go out to dinner with but you changed your mind about that" Andy pointed out.

"Indeed which is an appropriate place for me to start." Provenza stepped forward a little to stand by the bar so that he could address the group as a whole rather than direct his toast solely at Sharon and Andy. "Now I'm not going to lie to you," he smiled, "this is one toast I _never_ expected to be making." Everyone laughed and nodded their agreement, most of them never expecting something like it to happen a couple of years earlier let alone when they had sat and watched Andy shouting at her time and time again when she still worked in FID. Andy turned to Sharon and smiled, winking before he kissed her on the lips. "I'm sure I'm not the only one here who still finds the whole idea of Sharon Raydor and Andrew Flynn dating let alone moving in together just downright weird."

"Really weird" Mike said.

"Really really weird" Buzz added.

"Yeah okay, we get it" Andy said with a roll of his eyes. Everyone laughed at him as he turned to Sharon and kissed her again. "Can't two people realise they totally misjudged each other for over two short decades?" he reasoned, the idea that you could misjudge someone for so long making them all laugh.

"That is very true and indeed they can but it is still beyond me how two people who hated each other for so long and with such a fierce and in some instances violent passion could end up falling in love with each other," Provenza said with a shrug, "but I'm pleased to admit that I've never been so happy about a surprise in my life if for no other reason than I no longer have to be Flynn's medical power of attorney." Everyone laughed before he added "As you all know he does have the tendency to fall down a lot" before they laughed again, Amy even mentioning after he returned to work following his surgery that perhaps they should start to wrap him in bubble wrap to protect him if for no other reason than their Captain's sake and sanity alone. "Now they say that the opposite to love is not hate but indifference and these two," he said as he pointed at the pair of them, "were certainly not indifferent towards each other in the past, it was pure unadulterated hatred so I guess in many ways this whole thing was actually inevitable. There is no denying and I freely admit that I really did do absolutely everything within my power to stop this from happening," he said as his finger moved back and forth between the two of them again, "short of locking Flynn in the trunk of my car before he had chance to ask the Captain to the ballet that first time and spraying him in the face with water like a cat every time he went anywhere near her or I heard the name 'Sharon' fall from his lips and ye Gods," he cried as he put his head in his hands, "the amount of times I heard him say it before they started dating you have no idea." Once more everyone laughed as Andy shook his head and hoped he wasn't turning red, Sharon squeezing him a little tighter for a couple of seconds. "I'm not kidding. On the day I happened to catch sight of divorce papers on the Captain's desk and obviously told Flynn about what I'd seen almost immediately afterwards, posing the theory to him that maybe her sudden decision to get a divorce after all that time had something to do with him, we were heading out to conduct a little surveillance on a pawn shop." He paused. "Now I know it was my own fault for telling him about what I'd seen and my theory as to why they were there in the first place, which turned out to be well off the mark by the way but never mind, after about twenty minutes I started to count. Forty seven times" he cried as they laughed. "Forty seven times Captain." Andy hid his face behind his hand as Sharon smiled at him. "That's how many times he said your name and that was without all the times he said it before I started counting and keeping track. I wanted to kill him, a feeling that didn't ease over the following twelve months until he finally did pluck up the courage and asked you out on a real date. I had no idea it was going to take him so long, if anything I honestly expected some movement to happen seven months earlier when Nicole showed up at work," Provenza said as Andy hid his face again from the embarrassment, "and it became clear to all in sundry that Flynn had been lying to her about everything."

"Wait, wait! Hold on, I didn't lie" Andy insisted.

"Oh yes you did Dad!" Nicole stated almost immediately. "You lied so much it was a shock your pants weren't on fire but in your defence it was pretty clear that you two were actually dating but the only people who knew about it were me, Rusty and the Lieutenant over here and not the two of you."

"That's what was going on!" Buzz cried, the awkwardness that came over the following few days after Nicole's visit suddenly making perfect sense to him.

"I told you" Mike gloated.

"You all knew?" Andy asked slightly horrified.

"Well not exactly no but we all knew something weird was going on after Nicole's visit but unusually for Lieutenant Provenza he was very tight lipped about the whole situation" Amy explained, them all asking each other if they knew why their Captain and Flynn were acting so strangely with each other all of a sudden when it was clear that they enjoyed such a close friendship over the twelve months that had come before it.

"Did you hear that Flynn?" Provenza asked as he brought his hands to his mouth to amplify the sound. "A man who can keep his friend's secret!" he gloated and still sore that he didn't get to propose to Patrice in the way that he wanted and had originally intended.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever" Andy said with a roll of his eyes as he sighed. "Look, did I take Sharon to Nicole's wedding? Yes of course I did. Did Sharon invite herself before I could ask her to come with me? Absolutely. Did I introduce her as 'my friend Sharon' to every one there? Every single time. Did Sharon drag me to the dancefloor by my tie and then run her hands all over me in front of everyone? Without a shadow of a doubt."

"Hey!" Sharon cried before he could go any further, pinching the back of his knee. "Don't get blaming your lies on me" she told him. "Yes I invited myself and yes I made you dance with me rather than allowing you to sulk in the corner but I certainly never ran my hands over you."

"That's not what it looked like to me" Nicole told her and bursting her bubble.

"A-ha!" Andy cried triumphantly as he held his hand in the air to get a high-five from her, Nicole quickly obliging and being unable to not laugh at Sharon's irritation that she had proved Andy right and her wrong for only the second time in their relationship. "Thank you Nicole."

"Well forgive me for being friendly to a colleague in a stressful situation but the rest of it," Sharon cried as she tried to explain the way she continuously moved her hand up and down Andy's back as they danced together while her other hand held him close, "the rest of the 'misunderstanding' was all down to you boy" she stated emphatically with a poke of her finger to his ribs.

"'Boy'?" Provenza asked with disbelief, the first time that he had ever heard Sharon call Andy that aside from when she comforted him as they awaited the ambulance after he collapsed in her office less than half an hour after being released from the hospital. "Ye Gods. When's the last time you had your eyes tested Captain?"

Sharon laughed as Andy glared at Provenza, knowing that he was going to pay for Sharon letting slip that she often called him varieties of 'her boy' at a later date but if he was honest he didn't mind all that much, he was at that moment too happy to care. "Okay, okay, fine" Andy said as he tried to turn the conversation back to embarrassing him about the lies he told his family about Sharon rather than embarrassing him about a term of endearment. "Did I _forget_ to correct Nicole and my ex when they assumed that Sharon and I were dating? Maybe. Was it an outright lie when I told them we were dating three years ago? Possibly. Did Nicole coming to see me at work let the cat out of the bag and let Sharon know I'd been lying for eighteen months? Sure. But did I…"

"I think it's best you be quiet now Andrew" Sharon told him with a little tap to his cheek.

"Okay" he replied, closing his mouth tightly and making everyone laugh.

"Well thank you for that insight into how your mind works Flynn. It was very enlightening" Provenza joked before he returned to giving his speech. "At the time of Nicole's visit and Flynn's lie being exposed I thought it might be the little nudge in the right direction that the pair of them so desperately needed to move forward in their ever burgeoning relationship but I was wrong. The Captain looked more uncomfortable and flustered than I think I have ever seen her in my life, quite a surprise since we all know that Sharon Raydor is virtually unflappable and not to mention that Flynn spent two days looking constantly scared to death" he said in what was perhaps one of the larger understatements of his life, his comment being greeted with more laughter.

"You know I knew something strange was going on when you rather awkwardly said goodbye to each other in Electronics" Buzz chimed in with a smile.

"What was so weird about that?" Andy asked.

"If the Captain said a five minute goodbye to everyone after she'd sent them out into the field she'd never do anything else" Buzz quite rightly pointed out, everyone but Andy nodding and laughing. "And anyway in my Reserve Off..."

"And that's quite enough of that thank you" Provenza said as he cut him off, worrying that he'd start to foam at the mouth if he had to endure yet another one of Buzz's Reserve Officer stories. Buzz pouted at him in response as Mike, Julio and Amy laughed.

"But anyway despite what everyone else thought about it and what I may or may not have said, we weren't dating back then" Andy stated once again and feeling the need to clarify a few things since his less than truthful past was being discussed for about the hundredth time.

"Several times a month" Rusty replied quickly with a very smug smile as Nicole laughed.

"We all completely understand Captain," Provenza told her as he put his hand over his heart, "I mean who would want to admit out loud that they were dating this guy?"

Everyone laughed at Andy's expense as he continued to just roll his eyes at a toast that was quickly turning into something more like a roast. "Gee thanks. I thought you were supposed to be making a toast" he grumbled loudly. "This is sounding more like a pre-planned character assassination."

"But regardless throughout all of it what I've come to learn aside from obviously never telling Flynn if you see something unusual in the Captain's office," he said as everyone laughed again, "is some things are clearly meant to happen and this relationship was most definitely one of those things. Now personally I never bought into this whole 'we're not dating we're just friends' story they were trying to sell to everyone."

"We weren't dating" Andy said yet again.

"So you said but all I'm saying is for two people who weren't dating each other the Captain spent an awful lot of her free time with your neck tie running through her hands and no that isn't a euphemism before you ask" he said with a slight horrified shudder much to everyone's amusement once again. "Ye Gods!" he cried with another shudder. "In the days that led up to Andy finally asking the love of his life out to dinner," Provenza said as he paused before Andy dropped his lips to Sharon's once again, "on a _real_ date may I add, he could hardly sit still. I got tired just looking at him but I knew then, I knew that if the Captain managed to avoid letting her nerves get in the way of her future happiness and she said yes to the moron that they'd be together forever and I knew that based on one evening spent right here on an occasion which was not too dissimilar to today." He looked around at all of his colleagues in the room and gestured towards them. "We gathered together as a division, drinking beer and eating pizza and celebrating very much like today. It was the Fourth of July last year and Nicole's boss had very kindly given us dugout seats for the Dodgers game except we hit a slight snag along the way when Reserve Officer Watson over here," he said as he thumbed towards Buzz in case they didn't know who he was talking about, Buzz frowning once again and irritated that he was still getting the blame when he didn't actually murder the guy himself, "discovered a murder victim on his first ever ride along with me and Flynn. Unable to go to the game because we had to go to the wedding at the centre of the murder instead before we arrested the Father of the bride after the first dance we gathered here as a division to watch the festivities on TV before going up onto the roof to watch the fireworks." He paused as he smiled at Sharon and Andy and gestured towards them, standing just like they were on the night in question. "Just looking at them then like how they are now, their arms around each other and standing away from the rest of the group as we watched the explosion of colour in the sky, well it was clear that they secretly saw each other as anything but friends." Everyone laughed again, no one more than Sharon and Andy as they recalled the events of that evening. "I knew instantly how strongly they both felt for each other even though they were still in a lot of denial about it."

On the night in question they made their way up to the roof in two groups, Provenza and Buzz lagging behind the rest as they got themselves a glass of wine each and discussed what score Buzz was going to get from him for his first night on patrol, before they watched the fireworks explode in the distance. Everyone stood in a line as they looked up to the heavens with the exception of Sharon and Andy. Without noticing what they were doing they stood a few paces behind everyone else, wearing matching Dodgers caps with their arms firmly wrapped around each other's waist as they gazed upwards towards the heavens. In truth the way they were standing didn't look too out of place amongst the rest of the group because Amy stood between Julio and Buzz and had an arm around each of them too, her two work husbands. After a few moments Provenza looked behind him to see if Rusty had finally joined them but he was still nowhere to be seen, too preoccupied with the progress he had just made with Alice's phone. What Provenza saw instead immediately brought a smile to his face. Rather than looking at the fireworks, Sharon and Andy only had eyes for each other as they chatted and laughed quietly with each other, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched but Provenza saw it all. It was in that moment that he finally started to relax about the whole affair, quickly realising that his Captain probably felt the same way about Andy as he did about her and if he could only find his courage to ask her out on a date and likewise if she found the courage to say 'yes' then a broken heart seemed very unlikely, his biggest concern when Andy started to drop her name into the conversation every five minutes.

"But of course let me say once again that things may have been different had Reserve Officer Watson not ruined our plans that night but I digress" Provenza said once again and still determined to blame Buzz despite none of it being his fault.

"It's not like I killed the guy" Buzz said once again.

Completely ignoring Buzz's protests Provenza continued. "To be truthful I teased Flynn a little about it that day, that he was too frightened to ask the Captain out of his own and he had to drag all of us with them which he then went ahead and finally did a week later so in many ways I like to think that I'm responsible for this, giving him the gently nudge he needed so, you're welcome" he said proudly and taking all the credit. "Now I was off work on the day of 'the date' because my beautiful Patrice was moving in with me," he said as he took her hand in his before he brought it to his lips, "but much to my surprise the following week Flynn was uncharacteristically tight lipped about what had happened on their date and how it had gone and just to confuse me further they went back to calling each other 'Captain' and 'Lieutenant' again for a few days. It took another three weeks for me to be filled in and then Flynn didn't tell me. It was Chief Taylor," he said before he paused for the inevitable laughter from those that knew Taylor was the biggest gossip in the LAPD, "who ten minutes after he had been informed by the Captain that she was now dating within her division, was practically writing and releasing a press release." Everyone laughed again with Sharon telling Andy on more than one occasion that she assumed it was Taylor who had told the world what was going on between them because they certainly hadn't during those incredibly nervous few weeks and likewise they also knew Rusty and Provenza wouldn't have been spreading it about either, both of them more than aware of how much Sharon treasured her privacy. "By the end of the day the whole LAPD knew they were dating." Everyone laughed once more with Provenza pausing before he continued, wanting to make sure he correctly expressed what he so desperately wanted to say. "They say that the best things in this life happen slowly but I've never known a relationship go this slowly" he said to another ripple of laughter. "Captain I know I've said this to you privately before now but it's about time I said it to you publicly too, so thank you." Provenza put his hand across his heart again as he spoke directly to her and meaning every single word more than anyone realised, an emotional hitch to his voice suddenly. "Thank you for making Flynn, this gigantic pain in my ass for the last twenty torturous years of my life the happiest I have ever seen him." Patrice squeezed his hand, feeling emotional herself by what he was so eloquently saying while Andy dropped his lips to Sharon's once again as if he was confirming what Provenza had just said about him.

Finally dragging her eyes away from Andy, Sharon smiled at Provenza, clearly more than a little emotional herself. "As I've told you before Lieutenant, the pleasure is all mine I assure you" she told him.

"And on a more personal note Captain I would also like to thank you for not only cutting my journey in half whenever I watch the game with Flynn," he said to yet more laughter given that it had already been up for discussion just minutes earlier, "but also ensuring by moving him in here that I never have to endure that hell hole of a house ever again or have my ass grabbed by his crazy neighbour."

"You're very welcome Lieutenant" Sharon laughed.

"It may have taken you longer than most to get to this stage in your lives but I'm still firmly of the opinion that the journey doesn't matter so much as long as you reach your final destination with plenty of time to spare" Provenza declared.

"Hear, hear!" Mike concurred as he raised his glass into the air.

"Sharon, Andy, I hope...no let me rephrase that." Provenza paused for a moment as he made sure he became very deliberate with his choice of words. "Sharon, Andy I _know_ this is just the start of something wonderful for the two of you and I couldn't be happier for you both" he said as his voice cracked slightly. "So without further ado if you'd all like to raise your glasses and join me in a toast to the most unlikely couple in this entire world." There was yet another ripple of laughter as they raised their glasses into the air and prepared to toast them. "To Sharon and Andy and let us not forget Rusty too in all of this," he said as Rusty looked to his feet for a moment a little awkwardly as Mike patted him on the back, "on the start of your new lives together as a family. To Sharon and Andy and the only family I know that sounds like its own law firm, the Raydor Flynn Becks! Cheers."

"The Raydor Flynn Becks" everyone toasted, raising their glasses even higher before taking a sip in their honour and then applauding Provenza on his toast. Not surprisingly Sharon was very emotional as her friends, colleagues and family toasted them both and their future together, hiding her face in Andy's chest for a moment before he raised her chin and kissed her on the lips, Sharon removing her glasses and wiping her eyes when they broke apart.

"Thank you Lieutenant" Sharon said once she had regained her composure.

"May I ask why Raydor comes first?" Andy questioned and obviously joking.

"Because Flynn she's the Captain and the boss of you in every way imaginable" Provenza said and pretty much being the only one brave enough to express verbally what they were all thinking.

"Yeah okay" Andy conceded, kissing Sharon just above her ear as everyone laughed at him. "But alphabetically..."

"But alphabetically Beck comes first" Rusty said with a smile.

Andy sighed. "I'm screwed either way aren't I?"

Sharon laughed. "I guess it just sucks to be you" she said with a shrug of her shoulders as she smiled up at him, Andy quickly dropping his lips to hers again.

"Well thank you Provenza" Andy said as he reached out to shake his hand. He stalled for a moment and cleared his throat, really not expecting such kind words to head their way that afternoon and as a result didn't have anything prepared himself in reply. "I really wasn't planning on saying anything but while I have the floor and we're making toasts I'll give it my best shot." He paused for a moment as he thought about what he wanted to say. "I need to say a quick thank you to all of you for being so amazing and giving up your Saturday like this to come and help us." He put his free hand across his heart as his other arm remained around Sharon. "I appreciate your help, or rather we both appreciate your help more than any of you will ever really know," he said before he turned his head to look at Sharon. He smiled as he shrugged. "It is no exaggeration to say this is without a shadow of a doubt the happiest I have ever been in my entire life so thank you all once again for helping to make it happen" he said as he looked back up at the room and the smiling faces in attendance. "Under the circumstances I think it's only fair as well for me to say thank you for the little extra rope you've all so graciously afforded us both at work too as we started to work everything out and still continue to work everything out between us. It's been difficult at times achieving that balance but it's no exaggeration to say that we might not have been able to have done it so quickly or so successfully if not for your support and patience so thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Well it's not like we had any choice in the matter" Provenza joked, the room filled with laughter again.

Andy looked at Sharon for a moment with a smile. "No one was more surprised than I was when I discovered the love of my life sitting just over my shoulder every day at work but I guess sometimes people don't always see what's been right in front of them all along" Andy said with a shrug, his thumb moving up and down her hip as his hand continued to hold her to his side. "With that in mind my only real regret over the last few years is not having the brains to turn around sooner" he said with a regretful shrug. "So with that in mind I feel the need to say another thank you, but to Sharon this time, for deciding to give me a chance when I probably didn't deserve one and given that, let's be honest here, she could do a hell of a lot better than me, I mean just look at her." Sharon shook her head at him as everyone laughed and Provenza nodded in agreement, himself thinking that Patrice could do so much better than him too. The whole notion was utterly ridiculous in Sharon's opinion, if anything feeling like he could do better than her, better than someone who was so guarded and had dragged her feet for so long but it was a conversation for them to have in private rather than in front of everyone they loved. "Needless to say that decision, to give me a chance and to settle when she could do so much better," he smiled as they laughed again, "has made me the happiest and the luckiest guy alive. So thank you all for your help today and over the last year or so at work, thank you all for celebrating this new adventure with us today and thank you," he said as he looked down at Sharon again, "for giving me a chance and loving me a lot more than I deserve." With tears now falling freely from her eyes Sharon was incapable of expressing how she felt about him with mere words (saving that for later in the day when she had him alone), instead she moved to wrap her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, hiding her face in the crook of his neck as he held her just as tightly, kissing the side of her head repeatedly, their eyes closed and blocking out the sounds and the people around them for a few moments as they applauded Andy's little speech.

"Never underestimate the power of wearing someone down" Provenza joked loudly after a moment and making everyone laugh, everyone smiling at them as Sharon continued to hug Andy.

Sharon finally pulled away and wiped her eyes on her hand again, laughing at Provenza as she put her arm back around Andy and he did likewise. "Thank you Lieutenant" she said and sounding very emotional.

"We also got you a little something to mark the occasion" Patrice announced as she moved to pick up her rather large purse from the coffee table and brought it over to them. "A little house warming gift even though technically it's already pretty warm around here to begin with" she joked and getting a ripple of laughter since she was right and they already had two of everything as it was since they weren't two kids starting out their lives together for the first time as they moved out and away from their parents.

"With that in mind, personally I thought what better to get three people starting their new lives together than a pair of beautiful antique duck lamps?" Provenza said with a smile.

"Oh my God!" Andy cried as he tried to work out if Patrice could fit them both in her bag and if it was possible to stuff them down the garbage disposal.

"Please be kidding Lieutenant!" Rusty begged.

"Of course I'm not but I was sadly out voted" Provenza grumbled.

"Thank God" Rusty replied with a huge sigh of relief.

Provenza turned to Rusty with a glare. "Let me say this once again, just because you're gay doesn't mean you know anything about interior design young man."

"Judging by those duck lamps I know a lot more than you Lieutenant" Rusty reasoned.

"Yes well even so Lieutenant those lamps have already spent one night here and I really don't think that they enjoyed it all that much" Sharon said.

"Yeah well don't get too excited. If this," Provenza said as he pointed back and forth between the pair of them again as they continued to stand with their arms around each other, "goes any further you'll be getting them as a wedding present one day whether you like it or not" he stated emphatically as Mike suddenly became very pleased he was already married and everyone else made a mental note to not make that sort of commitment with their significant other before Sharon and Andy did and ended up with those lamps instead.

"Let's hope that there isn't a small, isolated fire in Electronics between now and then" Andy muttered quietly, already planning on burning the building to the ground if need be to avoid ending up with them.

"If ever there was a reason not to get married that is it" Buzz stated and only saying what everyone else was thinking.

"You've got to find someone who'll put up with you and your stories first Reserve Officer Watson" Provenza shot back and stressing his name, being more protective over those duck lamps than some people were of their children.

"Louie honey let me take over before this descends into bickering and we'll be here all night when Sharon and Andy have a lot of unpacking to do when we leave. We weren't sure what to get you because it's not like you're a couple of kids starting out from scratch and then of course not only do you have everything but you also have two of everything" Patrice said as Sharon and Andy laughed. "So in the end we decided on this." She pulled a large silver gift box from her rather large purse, a big red bow on it before she handed it to Sharon. "A small memento of what we know is only the beginning for his beautiful family."

"Thank you but you didn't need to get us anything" Sharon insisted as grateful as she was for the very kind gesture and she hadn't even opened the box yet, seeing their help to make the whole move so much easier a big enough gesture.

"Oh yes we did" Patrice said emphatically, not prepared to allow the day to pass by without giving them something to mark the occasion, knowing Sharon like she did by that point she knew what a huge step it was for her in particular to move in together.

Sharon put the box on the counter and pulled the ribbon, slowly untying the bow before she lifted the lid and gasped at the sight she saw before her. Inside the box was a large silver picture frame that had small crystals worked into the edges in delicate swirls, each one catching the light and illuminating her face as a result as she gazed at it. In the centre of the frame was a picture of the three of them, Sharon, Andy and Rusty from the day that Sharon formally adopted him, taken at the party that they had in the condo afterwards to celebrate. All three of them were gathered together and smiling for the camera with their arms around each other, looking like a real family long before they were ever even thinking about becoming one. Sharon lifted it from the box as her fingers gently danced down the glass, Andy peering over her shoulder to look at it. "Oh my goodness" she said as she put her hand on her heart as she started to get a little emotional again, never having seen that particular photo before but recognising the occasion immediately.

"Is this from..." Andy started to say as he pointed at the picture while Rusty edged towards them to see what was in the box.

"The day the adoption became finalised" Provenza nodded. "Buzz took it that afternoon but then he took a lot of photos that day as we celebrated this family." He paused for a moment as he took a step closer towards Sharon. "If I'm perfectly honest with you Captain I knew Flynn was already in love with you at that point and it was just going to be a matter of time before he plucked up the courage to finally ask you out on a real date" he joked, her hand coming to rest on his arm as he spoke to her. "But you already looked like a family even back then. The three of you for the first time, even though you didn't know it then, you still looked like a family." Sharon smiled at him, her eyes filled with tears. "It was the start of this and it seemed like the fitting house warming gift." Although he was unlikely to take all the credit for it, deciding to get them a copy of that photo framed was entirely Provenza's idea. He had remembered that Buzz had taken the photo that day and got him to print them off a copy a few days earlier, Patrice finding them the perfect frame, the close family that Andy had wanted for so long now a reality and for Provenza it all began on that afternoon.

"Thank you" Sharon said as she put the frame back in the box and hugged Provenza, him looking beyond uncomfortable for a fraction of a second as he looked at Andy with a little bit of alarm, the content of his heartfelt toast letting them all know just how much he loved them both and how happy he was for them. "Thank you all so much."

As they pulled apart Provenza moved his hands to her cheeks, cupping her face before he very gently pushed his lips to her forehead, a gesture caught on Buzz's camera and one that was simply unfathomable to most in attendance just a few short years earlier. "It's been our honour and our privilege Captain but may I add just one final thought" Provenza said as he dropped his hands to hers and held them tightly. "You should know that if he becomes too much and you want to get rid of him, we will all be more than willing to help bury the body for you" he gleefully confirmed much to everyone's amusement.

"Thank you very much Lieutenant" Sharon laughed.

"Yeah, gee thanks Provenza" Andy grumbled before he smiled and he held out his hand for him to shake again. One handshake later and Sharon and Andy had their arms around each other again.

"We got you something else too except this is more for all three of you I guess" Julio told them as he pulled the 'Privacy' sign that they had used so frequently in the Murder Room from the chair he had hidden it on earlier. Sharon laughed as Julio handed it off to Mark and he ran over to present it to her, Sharon taking it from him with a smile and showing it to Andy.

"What happened to a good old fashioned tie on a door handle?" Provenza asked.

"Oh God!" Rusty cried with disgust as he quickly put two and two together and came up with the right answer. "Can we change the subject please?" he begged.

"Okay since we're making toasts I have something to add" Cathy announced as she quickly moved to the front door to get her bag and then went into the kitchen to empty it in front of them. Everyone watched in silence for a moment as she dug through it like it held as much as the one Mary Poppins flew around with, Andy glancing at Mike for any sort of sign or explanation as to what was about to happen.

"Look I tried to stop her but she gave me one of those looks and well...let's just say that I reconsidered rather quickly" Mike said.

Provenza laughed as he looked at Andy. "And he has the gall to call us whipped" he joked with a thumb towards Mike.

"Oh you hush" Patrice told him, everyone laughing at him as he was rendered silent and just scowled instead.

"Have you got anything to add?" Sharon asked Andy, pinching his backside to make sure that he knew she was talking to him and expecting an answer.

"Not until I've unpacked and it's a lot harder for you to throw me out" Andy replied as she laughed and her hand moved a little lower, resting on his backside as it so often did.

With everything sorted in her bag the way she wanted it, Cathy looked up and smiled. "Now I was going to do an old Japanese housewarming tradition like my Grandmother used to do when I was growing up. You know like give people rice for fertility, something you guys clearly don't need" she said much to everyone's amusement.

Andy turned to enable him to subtly whisper into Sharon's ear. "She's got that right and she knows nothing about my super sperm." Sharon looked up at him and shook her head, trying very hard and failing not to laugh at him.

"Then there's a coin for wellbeing and a broom to chase evil away" Cathy explained.

"It's a bit late for that. Flynn has already moved in" Provenza pointed out which inevitably resulted in Patrice giving him a quick elbow in his stomach while the rest laughed and he grunted.

"But as I said, I like this one much better." Delving into her bag Cathy put a bottle of red wine, a loaf of bread and a small pot of salt onto the counter in front of her. "Okay..."

Mike held his hands in the air before Cathy had chance to go any further. "Okay before she begins, don't blame me, blame _It's A Wonderful Life_ " he stated.

"Oh hush!" Cathy told him before she cleared her throat and prepared to make the same speech as the Baileys did whenever someone moved into one of their houses in Bailey Park, a film she had seen hundreds of times before just like Sharon (although when the Martinis did move into Bailey Park with their roughly seventeen children, one goat and one dog there was little to no chance they were all going to fit in that house Cathy thought, but at least if a few of the kids did have to share a bedroom with their parents it may have stopped them from having any more). "Okay so I know this technically isn't a new house for both of you but it is for Andy and a start of a new life together so I think this still works." She picked up the bread and said "Bread so that this house may never know hunger" before she handed it to Andy and then picked up the salt. "Salt so that life will always have flavour." She handed it to Sharon before picking up the bottle of wine. "And wine, that joy and prosperity reign forever" she declared, handing it to them too.

"And The Captain is going to need it too to put up with him twenty four seven at work and at home from now on" Provenza joked, getting a glare from Andy and another smack from Patrice as everyone else laughed.

"And that's it" Cathy said with a little shrug before they applauded her.

Sharon put the wine and the salt on the counter and then stepped closer to Cathy, hugging her with thanks. "Thank you so much" she said, always enjoying the company of Cathy Tao but hardly having the chance to spend much time with her over the twelve months plus that she and Andy had been together, something she desperately wanted to change over the coming weeks and months.

"Oh you're welcome. I'm just so pleased for you, for both of you" Cathy said as they broke apart and Andy moved to kiss her on the cheek and then shook Mike's hand.

The mini party continued for another hour or so, until all of the pizza had gone and the ones not driving themselves home had finished off the rest of the wine and the beer. Throughout the rest of the party Buzz moved amongst them with his camera to make Sharon and Andy a little video, all of them in attendance making a toast on camera and telling them how happy they were for them and wishing them all the best for their future together. It was something Buzz was determined to do for them because he had great hopes for that little family because of Rusty. He had seen for himself how Rusty had been somewhat reluctant to accept Andy in his life as his Mom's boyfriend (rolling his eyes at him more during those first few weeks of dating than Chief Pope did every time Chief Johnson started a sentence in his office with 'Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza') and then the proposed move but he had eventually gotten over it. Buzz, like his cousins, knew what it was like to grow up without a parent and yet Rusty had spent so long without one at all therefore it pleased him that now not only did he had Sharon but he also had back up in the form of Andy and although he still found the whole idea of them dating the most surprising thing ever (like everyone else in attendance, Taylor announcing he was about to have a sex change frankly being less surprising) he had seen the way that they smiled at each other at work in a quiet moment when they thought no one was looking and it made him so happy for the both of them.

As the party came to a close, one by one they all left, leaving Sharon and Andy to it because they still had a big job on their hands for the rest of the afternoon, finding a home for the rest of Andy's clothes and shoes and everything else he had brought with him. They said goodbye to everyone in turn as they left, so grateful that their help had made such a large job that much easier and quicker. As they said goodbye to Mike and Cathy and Rusty got everything he needed to take with him for his weekend with Gus, Nicole finished off the wine while she and Dean helped to tidy up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher so that Sharon and Andy didn't have that to do as well.

As Sharon closed the door behind Mike she turned to see Dean and Nicole heading their way, Dean's car keys in his hand and clearly preparing to leave. "Okay well we're going to go, leave you guys to it" Nicole said as she picked up her purse from the couch and moved towards the door, taking Dean's hand along the way.

"So soon?" Sharon asked with a little disappointment.

"Oh yes. I think it's high time we left you two alone" Nicole told her.

Sharon stepped towards her and hugged her tightly with thanks. "Well thank you Nicole. Thank you both so much for all your help today. We appreciate it so so much."

"You're kidding aren't you?" Nicole laughed as she dropped her purse to the ground and almost squeezed the breath out of the woman she had long since thought as her Step-Mother. "I'm the one that should be saying thank you. Thank you Sharon. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A million times thank you."

Sharon laughed. "For what?"

"For loving my Dad like you do" she said simply. They pulled apart a little as Rusty and Gus emerged from his bedroom, Rusty carrying his rucksack and ready to leave with Nicole and Dean. Andy watched from the door, listening but not wanting to intrude on their private moment. "I don't have many fond memories of childhood as far as my Dad is concerned because in my mind he was always so sad all the time. Then they got divorced and we didn't see him much at all but when we did he seemed even sadder." Nicole looked towards Andy as he remained by the door, smiling at them and giving her a wink. "But now, well I have never seen him this happy in my life and it's all because of you" Nicole said as she hugged her again. "So thank you Sharon. Thank you for loving my Dad, thank you for putting up with his crap and thank you for sharing your life with him."

They pulled apart with both of them more than a little emotional by the occasion. "There's really no need to thank me Nicole. I should be thanking him." They hugged again as Andy stepped over to them and put a hand on their backs. "Oh get in here" Sharon said as she pulled Andy into their hug, him kissing them both on the cheek.

"Rusty?" Nicole said as she waited for him to join them.

"I'm fine watching thanks" Rusty said with a smile, them laughing at him as a result. It was true that Rusty was happy now that Andy had finally moved in and that his extended family were so thrilled by it especially because he too was once alone and joining a family so he fully understood how Andy felt but a group hug was a step too far.

Dean stepped towards the trio and put his hands on Nicole's shoulders, thinking he may need to pry her off them and drag her home if he allowed it to go on much longer. "As you can tell, someone finished off all the wine while we were tidying up the kitchen" he said as he gestured like he was drinking from a bottle and suggesting that Nicole was as drunk as a skunk.

"Oh shut up you" Nicole told him and slapping his stomach. "I'm just so happy for my Dad. Is that such a crime?"

"You're just happy you're not going to have to find me a home to live in when I retire" Andy said as he continued to hold the two women in his life in his arms.

"That's true too" Nicole nodded. "That's Rusty's job now."

"What?" Rusty cried. "I have to live with him and find a retirement home to dump him in too? I didn't sign up for that" he insisted to the sound of much laughter before he took his phone from his pocket and took a photo of them.

The three of them finally pulled apart, Andy keeping his arm around Sharon as Nicole wiped her eyes. "I mean it Sharon thank you so much. Thank you for making him so happy" she said before she sighed and composed herself. She picked her purse up from the ground and pulled it onto her shoulder. "Are you ready to go Rusty? Gus?"

"Rusty?" Sharon said confused. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to spend the weekend with Gus. Give you guys some space to settle in and besides I can do without helping to unpack Andy's unmentionables" he said with them all laughing. In truth there were a few reasons why he wanted to give them some time alone, one of the more important amongst them being that Provenza had told him what he and Julio had done to Andy's suspenders and he knew that he'd be required to help unpick the damage if he didn't get out of there before he discovered what they'd done.

"You don't have to go" Sharon said, not wanting to ever drive him from his home.

"Oh I think I do and Nicole and Dean offered to drive us so we're out of here" Rusty said with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Are you sure Nicole? I can drive him or even take a look at his car now" Andy said.

"I think you have enough to be getting on with if you're ever going to unpack and get settled in and besides it's what families do, giving your new Step-Brother a ride to his extremely gorgeous boyfriend's place" she said and making both Rusty and Gus blush. Nicole quickly kissed both Sharon and Andy on the cheek. "Bye guys. Good luck finding room for all of his crap."

"Oh I've been taking crap off him for years so I'm used to it" Sharon joked.

Nicole laughed. "I meant..."

"I know" Sharon nodded.

The four of them made their way to the door before Dean opened it, Sharon and Andy following closely behind, their arms still around each other. "Do you really think Sharon is going to give up some of her closet space just because I've moved in?" Andy asked as he ignored the way she was pinching his backside in revenge even as the words were tumbling from his lips. "That's why I'm going to steal Rusty's closet while he's out tonight" he joked with everyone but Rusty laughing.

"Stay out of my room" Rusty said as seriously as he could, pointing his finger at him. "I already have Ricky and Emily's clothes in there" he complained, making it sound like a form of torture just like he did when he told Sharon that his foster parents turned the TV off at nine o'clock before she took him in. "I mean it. Steal even one hanger and you'll find laxatives in your coffee on Monday morning."

"I'll keep an eye on him Rusty" Sharon promised while already plotting to hide some of the shoes she was going to 'donate' to Goodwill in his bedroom until she could sneak them back in while Andy was at an AA meeting. "Have a nice weekend." A smattering of goodbyes took place between the three couples before they left and Andy closed the door, leaving them alone in their home for the first time. "And we're alone!" Sharon cried triumphantly and making Andy laugh, stealing the words right out of his mouth. They instantly wrapped their arms around each other, holding on tightly for a moment as they savoured the silence. Eventually Sharon pulled back, meeting his lips in a very tender kiss before she told him "Welcome home my beautiful boy."

Andy laughed as he pulled her to him again, them swaying slightly as they hugged, Andy resting his cheek on the top of her head. After a few more moments Sharon sighed against his chest. "What's the matter?" Andy asked as he pulled away to look her in the eye.

"Nothing" she shrugged with a smile. "I'm just thinking about how much work we've still got left to do" she told him, it not just a matter of unpacking and hanging up the rest of Andy's clothes and finding room for the shoe store he called a 'small collection,' she was going to have to have a serious clear out first in that closet just to accommodate him, something she'd been putting off for the last few days, picking which shoes of her own to say goodbye to very much like picking which one of her children to give up for adoption.

"And throwing out some of your shoes?" he said with a smile and reading her mind perfectly.

"Yes!" Sharon cried and not afraid to admit that despite loving Andy the most, her vast shoe collection came a very close second. He laughed at her and kissed the tip of her nose. "I hope Nicole hasn't finished off all the wine, I'm going to need it" she said with a sigh. "Well I guess there's no time like the present." She released Andy from her hold and took his hand instead, tugging him towards the bedroom so that they could start work on what was surely to be the biggest job of the day so far but he didn't move, rooted to the spot.

"Let me just make sure she stacked the dishwasher the way you like it, maybe open you a fresh bottle of wine first," he winked and making her laugh, "and I'll be right in."

Sharon nodded and kissed him on the lips before she sighed again and walked into their bedroom, preparing to say goodbye to part of her Armani collection. Andy smiled as he watched her go and then moved straight to the kitchen. It looked spotless, Nicole and Dean cleaning up everything they could for them. The only thing left on the counter was the corkscrew which Andy put away in the cutlery drawer at the third attempt, despite having been a regular visitor in that kitchen over the previous three years as their friendship started and then obviously developed, he still couldn't remember where the cutlery lived. He opened the dishwasher and peered inside, moving a glass and a plate here and there to make sure it was stacked the way Sharon liked it (the love of his life really quite anal when it came to that particular kitchen appliance and how it was organised) before he started it. Spotting half a bottle of red wine sitting by the fridge he grabbed a glass and filled it up to the top, knowing Sharon was going to need it if she was ever going to have a clear out of the closet (and then he still expected her to hold her selected items to her chest as she sobbed on the floor and rocked back and forth for a couple of hours). With the kitchen immaculate he took the wine and walked into their bedroom, smiling as he realised it really was 'their bedroom' now, he was home. Once inside he found Sharon standing in the middle of the room looking at the pile of boxes and bags and then towards the closet, sighing a couple of times like she was trying to put them away with her mind or maybe even via the use of the Force. Andy watched her for a moment, not entirely sure that she knew he was standing behind her. Hearing her sigh for a third time in less than a couple of minutes he put her wine on top of the bureau and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Have you changed your mind already?" he asked her given that her sighs didn't make it sound like she was particularly happy at that moment in time.

"Never" she stated emphatically as her hand moved to cup his cheek while she really leaned into his embrace. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About whether all of this can wait."

"What? Me moving in?" he asked more confused than concerned.

Sharon laughed as she removed his cap, tossing it onto the chair in the corner before her hands moved into his hair, her nails scratching his scalp and making him growl as he kissed her neck. "No. I think that's done and dusted now my boy. I meant unpacking" she clarified.

He kissed her neck again, Sharon almost able to feel him smiling as he started to take her not so subtle hint. "Oh yeah? What did you have in mind instead?" he asked as he continued to kiss her neck, knowing exactly what she had in mind, picking up on her hints a hell of a lot quicker than he did nine months earlier.

"Well since Rusty is out for the weekend..."

"Yeah."

"I think we should leave the cull on my wardrobe and your unpacking for today and take full advantage of having the place to ourselves my very noisy boy" she confirmed as one of his hands slipped under her t-shirt and started to slowly move up her stomach, heading for her breasts.

Andy growled in agreement with her plans as he continued to kiss her neck, forcing a soft moan to escape her lips. All of a sudden he stopped, his hand moving back to her waist again as he pulled away from her neck very abruptly. "Wait. Is this just a delaying tactic because you don't want to clear out your closet and throw anything away?" he asked a little suspiciously but still with good humour in his voice.

"Our closet" she corrected him.

"Right, our closet. Is that it?"

"Nope. This has nothing to do with my shoe collection and is solely about christening the condo as often as we can now that you officially live here and getting it in now before you tire yourself out so much that you can't even raise an eyebrow much less anything else" she said and making him laugh. "Since we're now officially living in sin," she continued and more than a little turned on by a notion that would cause her Grandmother to go ballistic and try to lock her up in a convent regardless of her advancing years, "I think it's only appropriate to start off by doing something very sinful indeed" she grinned before she turned her head to capture his lips. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all" he confirmed. "You have all the best ideas." She quickly turned in his arms, running her hands around his neck as she crashed her lips against his. Then it hit her. An all-consuming and almost crippling bout of nerves, the likes of which she hadn't experienced since the moment she first asked him to spend the night with her, her confidence being replaced with fear in the time it took her to lock the door. She felt her hands start to tremble and sought to cover it up by keeping them constantly on the move. Sadly that didn't work and it only took a moment for Andy to pull away, much to his surprise feeling Sharon's hands tremble as they started to run through his hair. "Are you trembling?" he asked her, not hiding his surprise.

Sharon chomped down on her bottom lip as she looked at him with more than a little embarrassment. "I hoped you wouldn't notice" she told him shyly, a ridiculous notion considering she was at that moment shaking like a leaf.

He reached behind him and took her hands in his, bringing them in front of his chest before he kissed them both as his thumbs stroked her fingers. "What's going on?" he asked.

"You're going to think I'm crazy" she said as she stalled for a moment.

"Now when have I ever thought that?" he joked, still thinking (like Provenza) that she was crazy just for going out on that first date with him let alone letting him move in with her. "What's going on?"

"I'm nervous" she finally admitted.

"Nervous?" Andy repeated.

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked completely baffled.

"I don't know" she shrugged with a nervous laugh. She continued to bite on her bottom lip like a compulsion, not really sure herself why she had been hit with a very sudden bout of nerves at the thought of having sex with Andy especially since she had initiated it and they'd spent the better part of that morning and the night before to be fair doing it in as many rooms as Andy could manage. She shrugged as she battled for an answer when she had none. "I think it's because I now have a boy living with me," she said before they laughed, "for the first time in a very long time" she said with another little nervous laugh. "And the whole thing has made me just a little bit...anxious I guess is the appropriate word."

"Okay" he nodded, them both laughing again, Andy at a loss as to what to do to make her feel better.

"It's just hit me what a big step we've made today" she admitted, thinking her heart was about to beat out of her chest for a variety of reasons. "It's been a very long time since I've lived with someone other than my children."

Andy smiled, stroking her cheek as he finally understood and actually felt the same away although not nearly as bad. "And it's been just as long since I've lived with anyone including my children" he told her, it being a massive step for both of them especially since they'd both spent so many years alone. Andy slowly lowered his head and edged towards her, kissing her so very gently on the lips and trying not to apply any undue pressure to her and making the situation worse. "Sharon I'm feeling just as anxious about all of this as you are but I also love you so I figure it's worth the risk" he said and more than prepared to risk it all to have the chance of spending the rest of his life with her. Sharon nodded at him with a little smile, extremely glad that he felt the same way although his nerves were by no means as all-consuming as hers currently were.

Despite fighting against it she felt herself getting emotional and battled to stop herself from crying. "You think that I can do better than you well I have news for you Andy, I _know_ you can do better than me and despite how nervous and downright terrified I am about moving in together I am so happy to have you in my life that I feel like my chest may explode." Andy smiled at her as he cupped her face and wiped a stray tear from her face with his thumbs before he ever so gently brushed her lips with his again. "But I'm still nervous" she laughed with a little shy and embarrassed shrug of her shoulders.

"Well what can I do to make some of your nerves go away?"

"You could go back to doing what you were doing" she said with a smile before they laughed. "I'm pretty sure that'll clear this bout of nerves right up and if not, it'll be an awful lot of fun while you try."

Andy laughed and nodded. "Yes ma'am" he said before he pulled her flush against his chest and practically devoured her lips. Suddenly he caught sight of his box of suspenders behind her, it clearly showing signs of being dropped from a fair height and several times at that. "What the hell?" he said before he pulled away and walked over to the box, opening the top. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he looked inside, pulling out his suspenders that were tangled in a giant ball. Sharon instantly laughed as she covered her mouth with her hand. "This is all Provenza" he grumbled, sounding outraged and jumping to the conclusion that it was what Provenza was doing when he found him standing alone in the bedroom when they arrived back at the condo. "Look at them. It's like a wrecking ball!"

"Oh dear" she laughed as she waited for Andy to come back to her and pick up where they left off but instead he just stood there looking at them, too preoccupied by the mess in his hands to remember what he was doing before he got distracted. "The way I see it is this, you can either spend the next hour untangling your suspenders or..."

"Hour? More like four."

"Okay" she laughed, conceding his point. "You can either spend the next four hours untangling your suspenders that help keep your pants up or you can come over here and let me get rid of my nerves by taking your pants off." Andy didn't need to think about it for long, dropping the ball back into the box and walking back over to her and into her arms. Sharon laughed as she moved her hands behind his neck again. "You're so predictable" she laughed.


	37. Chapter 37

_As always I'd like to start by thanking everyone who read the last chapter and special thanks to eelise187, 98, MkSC, MaxiP99, Rachel J, Adler, jujuone231, xbleeple, Baker St, seaford71, Elaine Huang, Cris, HeiBeSo and the two Guests for leaving such lovely reviews. I appreciate each and every single one of them. If you'd like to let me know what you think of this chapter I would be very grateful for that too or alternatively you can find me on Twitter at DHPLover._

 _Sorry for the delay in updating but first I went on holiday for my birthday and then I had a mountain of work to catch up on when I got back. I'll be honest, I never thought I'd get to this point in the story (although SO much of this was written straight after White Lies aired almost two years ago that I was always going to write it down even if no one ever read it but I've been waiting a long time to reach this point) so I need to say thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing and enabling me to keep going._

 _ **Warning:**_ _This chapter features one use of_ _ **M**_ _language and takes place during_ _ **White Lies Part Two 5x12**_ _near the beginning when Sharon finally sends everyone home from PAB for the night. I have thought long and hard about the timeline for these episodes and therefore the timeline within my story so I've decided (and you may disagree with me but this is just what I have chosen to do) that the courtroom shooting took place on the Friday morning based on Dwight's comment of him "waiting all week" to talk to Dr Joe on the stand. They didn't go home at all on the Friday night it seems (something which still bothers me since Sharon was suffering for so long before Andy could get her home and take care of her just a little) judging by the lack of wardrobe changes so this takes place on the Saturday night or very early on the Sunday morning. According to my timeline this means that they had been living together for eight days at that point._

 _As I've already said the majority of what happens in this chapter was formed and written down in note form after the episode aired two years ago. I doubt a lot of people will like what goes on and indeed some of things that Sharon does and says in the first quarter but it seemed right to me based on how she seemed to be suffering over what she'd been forced to do, what she later said to Father Stan in Confession and also as I battled to make Sharon's comment about Andy not understanding how she was feeling about killing Dwight make sense. I've also (rather meanly) given Sharon a couple of other things for her to feel guilty about and as a result this chapter is well out of my comfort zone. I have tried to make some of it light especially in the second half but on the whole it looks at some darker moments and I'll be honest part of it made me cry as I was writing it which was a brand new experience for me especially since I'm a tea drinker. The next chapter will be a LOT lighter before chapter 39 deals directly with Andy's heart attack and is again heavy although again I've tried to find some humour in it._

 _By accident this is a VERY long chapter, the second longest of them all at 54,000 words but I've now stopped worrying about the length of this story, it is what it is and no one is being forced to read it if it's too long. I've tried my best to eliminate all of the typos but I've also rushed to get it finished in time for_ _ **Melanie**_ _to take on holiday so if I've typed 'hat stand' instead of 'Provenza' at any point, send your complaints to her :)_

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty-Seven**

Andy rolled over in bed expecting his hand to land on a soft, warm body next to him so was taken by surprise when he discovered he was alone. He instantly opened his eyes as he sat up and strained to scan the room in the darkness, looking for Sharon. He was surprised in truth that he'd managed to fall asleep at all since he had so much playing on his mind as he climbed into bed just a few hours earlier, not just about Taylor's death and being so utterly helpless to stop it despite only being a few feet away and armed at the time, the guilt eating away at the heart of him since the moment he was declared dead. He was also extremely worried by how Sharon was reacting to it all. She was by no means like her old self to say the least and hadn't been since the moment it happened. In the end however, it didn't matter how many demons were doing battle in his mind, most of them seemingly set upon the idea of trying to keep him awake all night because he had also missed a night's sleep the day before and he wasn't as young as he used to be, nowhere near, so once the adrenaline that had kept him going without pause over the previous thirty six hours started to subside, passing out was pretty much inevitable once his head hit the pillow and he closed his eyes.

Still, it was not a surprise by any stretch of the imagination that he had woken and found that Sharon was gone. He knew she was suffering following the events of the courtroom, they all did in truth, but he knew there wasn't much he could do to comfort her until she was ready to talk to him about what was going on inside her head and when they were well clear of work. It was no exaggeration to say that Andy knew Sharon better than anyone at that point in their relationship which still continued to grow on an almost daily basis and therefore he knew full well that she wasn't going to speak to him, to let him know what was happening inside her head and almost eating away at her soul until she was ready with pushing her into the conversation before she was ready being probably the worst thing he could do. Chasing Sharon in a moment like that, when she was at her most fragile, only seemed to make her clam up more so he knew from experience that he had to be patient and not push her and wait until she was ready to come to him. He had no option but to wait and be there for her throughout but never more so than when she was ready to break down those walls and open up to him.

It had made Andy's heart ache just to look at her over the previous couple of days. She looked visibly broken, like she'd spent the last two days holding her breath and seemed to become physically and emotionally weaker in front of his eyes with every passing second as a result. When they had arrived home that evening it had mostly been to silence, only very briefly discussing the case on the drive from PAB, Sharon or rather Captain Raydor wanting to know a little more about what had happened and what he'd seen during his time in 'Nazi Land' (the very definition of the unhappiest place on Earth) that afternoon but she didn't say much after that, barely ten words in total before climbing into bed next to him.

When they first got home she had gone for a very long shower almost immediately before she then sat in the bath with several large glasses of wine to keep her company which was a blatant signal that all was not well in her mind (Andy happily topping her wine up for her without being called but knowing what she wanted, an extra glass and silence rather than forcing her into a conversation), not wanting anything to eat and then with the lateness of the hour going straight to bed. She had only done one other thing before she turned out the lamp on her nightstand, stuffing her clothes from the last two days into a trash bag and then depositing them in the bottom of the trash can in the kitchen, knowing that there were some small stray drops of blood on them that could have come from multiple sources and not wanting that outfit or the memories it brought to mind when she saw it anywhere near her ever again. Andy didn't know how long she had been aware of the blood on her jacket but he had spotted it almost immediately but opted to keep its presence to himself until they got home so as not to upset her even more than she already was while at work, her stripping before he had any chance to say anything. The whole conversation seemed a little pointless after she'd both showered _and_ bathed when they returned home but it was the extent to which she cleaned herself from head to toe when she got home as if she was desperately trying to wash something more serious away like Lady Macbeth which had Andy worried the most but he was determined to wait for her to be ready and come to him rather than pushing her into anything.

That night as they climbed into bed and Andy virtually collapsed the moment his head hit the pillow there was no long conversation between them before they went to sleep for the very first time since they started to sleep together. Aside from that first night, the first time they fell asleep in each other's arms when they were both too exhausted and overwhelmed to say much more than how happy they felt and how much they loved each other now that they'd finally said it out loud for the first time (plus Andy was still battling his nerves even after Sharon had invited him into her bed and thought that silence was much better than his mouth getting the better of him and their first night being ruined by their first fight) before going to sleep. The following night Andy once again stayed over but he went to bed fairly early because he could hardly keep his eyes open just two weeks after returning to work following his blood clot surgery, the whole experience of going from hardly being able to move off the couch or his hospital bed for two weeks to getting back to the gym and then returning to work really taking a toll on him physically. One power nap later and when Sharon finally came to bed (opting to brush her teeth in the shower to avoid waking him up) Andy was wide awake, rejuvenated and extremely talkative which led to the first of what would become many rounds of pillow talk where they discussed anything and everything, that hour or so before going to sleep being the best part of the day for both of them, just them in bed with her head on his shoulder or face to face with their arms around each other, looking directly into each other's eyes and putting the word to rights.

Sadly there were no rounds of pillow talk that night, the night after the shooting, where Andy usually laughed her into a deep and extremely peaceful sleep, the broken love of his life currently incapable of speech. Instead Andy just spooned up behind her, holding her close to his chest and making sure that she knew he was there for her and always would be when she was ready to talk about it, that he was the person she could lean on during the good times and the bad, no matter what. As he kissed her shoulder a couple of times he told her just how much he loved her before he said 'Goodnight' and squeezed her even tighter against his chest. It took a moment but he heard the unmistakeable hitch to her voice as she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying not to let her emotions show, only managing a quiet 'I love you too. Goodnight my darling boy' in response as she wrapped her arms around his to make sure he didn't let go of her as he drifted off to sleep but her ragged and emotional breaths let him know that all was not well in her world but still all he could do was wait until she was ready to talk to him.

It should have been a comfort to her to have Andy pressed against her, the weight of his arm slung over her side and pulling her towards the warmth of his chest as she heard and felt him breathing deeply behind her. Sadly it wasn't. It made her feel even worse as a true determination set within her to not allow herself to fall apart, not yet, not when they were still so far away from arresting those that planned the carnage in that courtroom. She needed to stay strong and focused and as completely unemotional for as long as humanly possible because there was still so much left unsolved. It was a tall order and it was going to be a battle but she wanted to hold herself together until the case was over just as much as she didn't want to completely fall apart in front of Andy. She knew of course that he was the one person who would always be there for her and to comfort her when she needed it (he'd done it multiple times in the past for example even before they were dating) so if she was ever going to truly fall apart in front of another person it would be him but as they continued to live in the midst of their little moving in together honeymoon period bubble, both of them so deliriously happy and just loving life before that Friday morning, she was determined not to ruin it for him with a mini emotional breakdown even though one was fully warranted under the circumstances.

Andy sat up a little straighter in bed and looked towards the bathroom to see if the light was on and shining under the door. It wasn't. Still that didn't mean that she wasn't in there and seeking refuge in the darkness away from him, afraid to wake him with her tossing and turning in bed, so he got up and rounded the bed anyway before quietly knocking on the bathroom door, not wanting to startle her if she was indeed in there and waited patiently for an answer. When there was still no response he carefully opened the door but found the bathroom empty. He closed the door behind him and headed for the bedroom door with real purpose…until he stubbed his toe yet again on the big pile of boxes and bags in the corner of the room than contained his belongings, all of it still piled in the corner where Julio and the rest of the division had stacked it a week earlier with none of it likely to be put away any time soon with work currently the way it was.

"Shit!" he cried with real irritation and pain as he hopped up and down on the spot for a moment, rubbing his foot and flexing his toe with a groan. After rather gingerly putting his foot on the floor once again he put a hand on the doorframe to steady himself and grimaced with real pain. They had been living together for eight days by that point and he'd managed to stub his toe on one of his boxes on at least thirty seven occasions, a minimum of four times a day. It was only a matter of time before he broke it, more by luck than judgement that he hadn't done it already. He looked at the pile of boxes through the darkness with a sigh and thought for a moment or two, wondering when they would ever find the time to put it away with their current case obviously taking priority above almost everything else in life for the foreseeable future. Then of course when work had finally calmed down again there was the inevitable battle to clear out the closet a little as well first before he could even think about unpacking anything, all of which seemed utterly insignificant in comparison to what had happened the day before and the revolting and needless loss of life in that courtroom.

He opened the door and immediately saw the light coming from the living room which at least solved one mystery for him although he knew full well that other much more serious problems lay ahead for him. Andy slowly limped his way into the living room and looked around, not seeing Sharon anywhere at first glance after expecting to find her curled up on the couch with a cup of tea in hand and watching television, assuming he'd have to keep quiet while she enjoyed God awful _Badge of Justice_ repeats. He looked towards the balcony but she wasn't there either. It was only then that he heard a noise coming from the kitchen, the sound of intense scrubbing. He slowly walked or rather hobbled towards it and was frankly stunned by the sight he saw in front of him, making him stop dead in his tracks. There she was at three o'clock in the morning, Sharon Raydor on her hands and knees, clad in one of his pale blue dress shirts that she'd claimed to sleep in well over six months earlier, a pair of his grey pyjama bottoms (which were newly stolen from him in the week since he'd moved in, only in that moment becoming aware that he no longer 'owned' them) and a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves as she scrubbed the shelves in the cabinet next to the oven, the contents of it spread on the floor all around her. She'd clearly gotten changed before starting work, going to bed in a peach satin nighty that made him groan with lust and practically drool the first time she showed it to him a few weeks earlier but obviously she had changed to make it easier to clean. A half empty bottle of red wine and a glass sat on the counter. It was a new bottle, one he'd bought for her himself only three days earlier so he knew that she'd had a fair amount to drink on top of hardly eating for two days since the shooting and that was without the couple of glasses she'd gulped down in the bathtub. Not that Andy blamed her in the slightest for drowning her feelings in a bottle of wine but still, it was highly unusual for her to drink so much in one evening. Aside from not liking drinking to excess (you only had to look at Jack and what his drinking did to her and their children to understand why), Sharon was also extremely hypersensitive when it came to drinking alcohol in front of Andy since they first started to spend time together outside of work at Nicole's wedding. If he wasn't worried about her before he went to bed he certainly was after that discovery, suddenly deeply concerned by how she was reacting to what had happened in that courtroom the day before. Whether she was ready or not was irrelevant by that point, he had to try and push her into speaking to him about it in the small hope that he may be able to offer some small comfort or distraction at least, getting her to do anything other than cleaning on her hands and knees in the middle of the night instead.

"Sharon?" he said quietly so as not to startle her, unsure if she even knew she was no longer alone given how loud her frantic scrubbing had become.

Sharon stopped cleaning for a split second and despite how quiet and gentle his voice had been he had still startled her, almost making her jump out of her skin as she instantly tensed up. She continued her frenzied cleaning almost immediately, not even attempting to get up or turn around to look at him. She sniffed a couple of times before she spoke, a clear indication that she'd been crying and trying to hide it.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked after a moment, her voice quiet and croaky, the emotion and distress she felt barely concealed despite her best efforts.

"No but I woke up in an empty bed," he said as he leant against the back of the couch, still half asleep, "which is something I hoped I'd never do again when we moved in together so I came a looking." He laughed, trying his hardest to keep the mood light when in reality it was anything but.

"Yes I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep."

"I can see that. What are you doing?" he asked despite the answer being abundantly clear but it was as good a place to start as any.

"I'm cleaning" came the response after a short pause.

"At three o'clock in the morning? You're cleaning at three o'clock in the morning?"

"I am indeed" she confirmed as her frantic scrubbing continued unabated.

He folded his arms across his chest and leant back against the couch a little more, getting comfortable and taking some of the weight off his injured foot. "Can I ask why?" he inquired gently, trying to tread as carefully as he could, walking across egg shells rather than landmines but he was more than aware that it could and probably would change and get worse at any moment.

"Because it's not going to do it itself."

"I get that but why are you cleaning the kitchen cupboards at three o'clock in the morning when you should be asleep or at least relaxing and trying to sleep?" he asked.

"Erm…I thought this was better and far more productive than lying next to you in bed tossing and turning and keeping you awake all night" she explained and tried her hardest to make it sound like she was doing it all for him, her frantic cleaning something of a favour. With the cupboard spotless she dropped her cleaning cloth and started to put everything back inside, stacking the plates and bowls one at a time. "I'm fine, really. Go back to bed, get some sleep."

Andy nodded. "I will but only if you come with me."

"I'm really not tired and I'd much rather do this right now." She took to her feet and started to wipe down the counter before scrubbing it furiously, cleaning it with the same intensity and ferocity she had used when she scrubbed herself clean in the shower and the bath a few hours earlier, once more looking like Lady Macbeth trying to desperately clean the blood from her hands that simply wasn't there to begin with.

"Then can I at least help you?" he asked, determined not to leave her alone while she cleaned even if she all but demanded it.

"Thank you but I really don't need your help" Sharon replied, the fake cheeriness that had been in her voice up until that point suddenly gone and what remained sounded almost harsh, like how she used to speak to him in the years before she started to spend more time around the division prior to taking over. "I need you to go back to bed Andy please" she practically begged him but he didn't move a muscle, his concern growing by the second, even more so because she had still yet to turn around and look at him. He could easily tell from her shaky voice that she'd probably been crying since the moment she climbed out of bed which explained why she'd been trying her hardest to avoid speaking to him all evening and even though he knew better than to push her before she was ready that didn't mean he was going to go back to sleep and leave her in such a state. He wasn't going anywhere.

Sensing his reluctance to move, Sharon cleared her throat, aiming for as neutral a tone as she could muster in an attempt to get him to leave her alone. "Really Andy I'm fine. Go back to bed. Please."

"Maybe later." He remained silent for a moment as he watched her continuing to scrub the hell out of the counter. "I thought this was my job now" he said finally with as much humour in his voice as he could muster. "That's what we agreed right when I moved in? I thought I was doing all the cleaning around here in nothing but an apron and a smile from now on in exchange for you letting me live with you?" He let out a small chuckle but Sharon remained silent, another sign that she really wasn't okay, usually unable to stop laughing at him.

"That's not exactly sanitary for the kitchen."

"Sure but neither was screwing each other senseless on my kitchen counter before Christmas but we didn't let that stop us either." He laughed again, hoping that she would join in but once again she remained silent with her back to him and scrubbing so hard it was a wonder that her arms weren't aching as a result.

"Go to bed Andy please. I'm fine."

"Sorry babe, no can do. I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Then keep your voice down please" she said with some bite to her tone. "I don't want to wake Rusty up too."

Andy nodded as he glanced down the hallway towards Rusty's room, looking to see if he had a light on and likewise not wanting to wake the kid if he'd managed to nod off despite his high levels of distress over Dr Joe. "Okay. No problem, I can do that." He stood rooted to the spot as he wondered what to do next. Mulling over the pros and cons in his mind he elected to be bold, to take charge of the situation for her sake since she obviously wasn't thinking clearly and not just because of the wine. As a result he stepped into the kitchen for the first time with the intention of wrapping his arms around her and at least attempt to stop her from scrubbing if nothing else. He didn't get far, the sound of his feet sticking to the newly cleaned and damp floor alerting her to his impending encroachment into her personal space and making her shoulders tense up almost immediately.

"Don't come in here, the floor is wet" she instructed him before he could get too close. He stopped dead in his tracks before taking a step back and leaning up against the bar instead, not taking his eyes off her for an instant. A few seconds later she ripped her rubber gloves off and hurled them into the sink along with the cloth before moving to the cutlery drawer and pulling it open with an almighty clatter, staring inside it. So much for trying not to wake Rusty he thought to himself. "Where do you want them?" she asked after a few moments.

"What? Where do I want what?" he replied, utterly baffled.

"The spoons" she cried as she grabbed them in one hand and waved them at him above her head. "Where do you want me to move them to?" In reply Andy just stared at the back of her head still completely bewildered and growing increasingly more alarmed by the second with Sharon _still_ refusing to turn around and let him see her face. Eventually she was forced to fill the silence given that he clearly didn't understand what it was she was offering him. "We had a deal remember?" she reminded him while still refusing to turn and meet his eye. "In the very beginning when we were discussing moving in together I agreed that you could keep the spoons wherever you wanted them. Well we've moved in together so where do you want them?"

Andy sighed. He recalled the conversation, of course he did, not a day went by in that condo since long before they'd even started dating where he didn't open two or three drawers first before finally locating where the cutlery was kept, often accusing both Sharon and Rusty of moving the spoons to a different drawer every day just to mess with him (of late Rusty often alarmed but also amused to find his Mom's boyfriend standing in the kitchen and stirring his coffee with a pen or a leftover chopstick and on one morning fairly recently, his index finger) but it was three o'clock in the morning and they were both distraught for want of a better word over what had happened the day before and spoon placement was the very last thing on his mind. "Sharon" he said with another sigh.

"What?"

"It's three o'clock in the morning. We're both exhausted. We didn't sleep at all last night. We've just endured without doubt the two crappiest days of my entire career if not my entire life. I don't want to play musical chairs with the God damn spoons right now!" he all but shouted as his frustration got the better of him for a moment.

"Well then what do you want?"

"I just want you to talk to me babe" he pleaded a little too loudly with an exasperated shrug of his shoulders. He let that plea hang in the air for a moment or two to see if it would illicit any kind of response. It didn't. He sighed as he rubbed his hand down his face and lowered his voice. "If there was one problem I hadn't anticipated us having in this relationship after we moved in together it was that we'd stop talking to each other."

"Well what do you want me to say exactly?" she asked, unable to stop taking out her bad mood on him.

"Right now, whatever it is that's going on in inside that head of yours to keep you awake and cleaning at this hour." It seemed like a ridiculous thing to say even to him because he knew what was going on inside her head or at least he thought he did. In truth he was well off the mark in some areas and right on the money with others but regardless he felt that it was important for her and her wellbeing to open up about it and tell him instead of keeping it all bottled up and manifesting itself in extreme cleaning at an ungodly hour. "I just want you to talk to me. That's all" he said with a slight shrug. "But right now I'd just settle for getting you to look at me."

"Fine! They're in the top drawer by the sink" she practically shouted as she dropped the spoons back into their usual home. "That's where they've always been kept. That's where they'll always be kept. No one is moving them in your sleep just to annoy you. Okay?" She quickly slammed the drawer shut before she grabbed her cleaning cloth and resumed her frantic scrubbing, waking Rusty be damned.

Andy sighed again as he rubbed his face, that particular tactic was getting him nowhere, if anything making the whole situation much worse. "Sharon, sweetheart. Please. I'm begging you. I can't help you if you don't talk to me about it."

It was actually the first chance that he had really had to try and speak to her personally since the shooting happened with work obviously taking precedence in that time and the fact that she had made it abundantly clear to him that she didn't want to talk about it when they got home. In the immediate aftermath to the events in the courtroom the day before they were far too busy calling it in and getting the victims the urgent medical attention they required in order to save lives to really think about anything else much less each other. With both of them completely unharmed (physically at least, emotionally was a whole different story altogether as Andy was quickly discovering) through some miracle, the Captain and the Lieutenant stayed at the forefront at the expense of the couple who lived together and who could so cruelly have been parted forever just moments earlier.

 _With Dwight and Dr Joe momentarily stabilised at the scene and then taken away by ambulance to receive further treatment and after a valiant but ultimately fruitless effort (and trying a hell of a lot longer than he probably would have done if it was anyone else), Dr Morales sadly declared Assistant Chief Russell Taylor dead, joining DDA Rose, Deputy Simms, Marco Calderon and the eight victims as part of the trial as Dwight Darnell's many victims. After so much violence and a frenzy of activity the room was suddenly silent and still. Sharon, Andy, Amy, Dr Morales and Judge Richwood all stood in a stunned state of silent disbelief, allowing anyone entering the room to hear a pin drop. The carnage was over and they had survived but the real work had only just begun._

 _That was when the relief kicked in for both Sharon and Andy. The overwhelming relief that they had both managed to somehow survive, not least Sharon since she was standing right next to Taylor when he was shot to death and then had taken Dwight down herself just seconds later while there was still another bullet in the clip of his gun. Never wanting to push the boundaries at work regardless of the extreme circumstances, Andy simply placed a hand on her shoulder to check that she was okay. She immediately turned and wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him as if her life depended on it as he took her lead and did the same thing, both of them holding the other until they almost became one. Sharon took a deep and very ragged breath as she felt his arms holding her, her mind whirling with so many thoughts she could hardly comprehend any of them. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes or so until the Captain slowly came back to the forefront once again as she awaited not only the rest of her division to arrive to begin the investigation but also her former colleagues at FID who would need to clear her before she could return to active duty again. Not that they were the only ones to show some emotion and embrace each other during those few moments between Taylor being declared dead and reinforcements arriving to take over the scene, Dr Morales covered from head to toe in the blood of those he'd tried but ultimately failed to save sought solace in the arms of Amy as she did likewise, relief and distress washing over them in equal measure as they hugged each other. Taylor wasn't a regular at the morgue by any stretch of the imagination but Morales knew him fairly well and it had hit him hard, not least how helpless he felt in those minutes that followed Sharon taking down Dwight, a trained Doctor in attendance (and he was only there in the first place because he wanted to see Dwight be sent down in person, his testimony and expertise in court hardly needed given the way he had executed his victims but after performing an autopsy on two small children along with the six adults, he wanted to see it through to its conclusion) and he couldn't save any of Dwight's victims except Joe and even that was still touch and go in his opinion._

 _After that between trying to move their case forward as quickly as possible given what had happened and Sharon constantly being missing in action because of the FID investigation and then her meeting with those from Behavioural Sciences there was very little time for him to check on her. However aside from not having the time to tend to her in the way he wanted to, he knew she wouldn't want that anyway, work was what was most important, not her. Unravelling the conspiracy and getting the monsters behind it on death row was what she wanted more than anything, everything else could wait until they were done and that included seeking the comfort of Andy's arms even though in truth it was one of the things she desperately needed the most to enable her to function properly at work. Not one of them expected to go home that first night even if they wanted to so no fuss was made when they went to search everything that belonged to the deceased Deputy Simms instead rather than going home and getting some sleep instead._

 _With Sharon not likely to be cleared until the following morning at the earliest after she had attended her mandatory Behavioural Sciences interview and therefore unable to go into the field with the rest of the division (not even to search the home of one of their victims) Andy took her into her office by her hand and urged her to go home and get a few hours of sleep while the case was at a standstill, practically begging her at one point but she wouldn't hear of it despite the fact that she would only be twiddling her thumbs as she awaited their return before going to her Behavioural Sciences appointment first thing in the morning. It had been a troublesome issue for them since they first started sharing a bed, what she would do if he was rolled out in the middle of the night when she usually wouldn't attend until much later, usually the following morning in the years before they started dating. At first she stayed awake and waited to be called herself by her second in command but she had been trying of late to stop that especially since Provenza always avoided calling her for as long as possible in the past anyway (telling her to go back to sleep when Jack answered the phone on one night in particular when he needed her to boss around another Lieutenant for him because he could handle the crime scene and the case until a more appropriate hour for example). Now that she was with Andy and he knew better than anyone when she needed the extra sleep more than usual, Provenza left her even longer if they could, Andy hoping that she was asleep while he was at work rather than reading or cleaning (the smell of bleach when he arrived back at the condo usually a dead giveaway as to what she had been getting up to in his absence aside from sleeping). With that in mind Andy knew he'd not be able to get her home that evening but he had to try if for no other reason than to get her to change her clothes without alerting her to the presence of blood spots that he had seen on her jacket but were thankfully well hidden enough and had gone unnoticed. Giving up on getting her home without him but hoping to get her to at least rest a little, Andy made her a cup of tea and found a blanket, encouraging her to rest for a few hours while they were out since there was nothing else for her to do at that hour without the remaining clearances for her to return to active duty and join them. When he left the Murder Room she was lying down on the sofa in her office with the lights off and the blinds closed but he knew she was probably up again and pacing around her office before they'd even climbed in the elevator._

Suddenly Sharon turned around on the spot and looked at him for the first time all evening, instantly meeting his eye. She looked utterly exhausted, physically and emotionally drained even, more tired that he had ever seen her before, just so tired but simply unable to sleep. On top of that her eyes were red and puffy, making it oh so obvious that she'd been crying uncontrollably as she cleaned before he had come out of the bedroom and disturbed her.

"What?! What do you want from me Andy? What?" she cried at him. "What do you want me to say?"

At that moment she wasn't so sure she knew what she wanted from him herself such was the state of her mind much less what Andy currently wanted from her, taking everything out on the one person aside from her children that she loved the most, something he could fully understand and willingly took from her because he knew she wasn't herself, perfectly happy to be her punching bag. Once upon a time he had taken his bad mood and depression out on her following his surgery and now here he was happily returning the favour. It was just what happened in a long term relationship and he understood that, taking it all on the chin without a second thought. From Sharon's point of view she thought if she could only be left alone she could keep it all together and make it to the morning to start all over again but not with Andy there, not with him asking questions and wanting to take care of her, wanting to hold her and to comfort her. She knew he only wanted to help her because he loved her but she had zero chance of being able to keep it all together if he did that and at that point she desperately wanted to keep it together no matter what with it all to do again in the morning. She was actually desperate to have his arms around her, to try and make it okay but she knew she would fall apart if he did and if she started to cry properly, if she really let go of her emotions and allowed herself to sob openly, she didn't think she'd ever be able to stop again.

"Babe..." he said with his voice filled with emotion as he took a step towards her.

"No!" she stated emphatically as she held her hand up to stop him. "Please Andy don't. I beg you, just don't."

"Okay sure, whatever you want." He sighed again. He thought that he understood where she was coming from, that she didn't want to completely fall apart in his arms but to him it was taking independence and not needing anyone to a whole new level. "But if you won't let me hug you I need you to start by telling me how you're feeling right now." He paused as he waited to see if she was going to reply but instead she just stared right through him, not having the words he needed. "What you're thinking? What's going on in your head? Why you can't sleep? Why you're cleaning the stove at stupid o'clock in the morning rather than being in bed with me? I just want you to talk to me babe. That's all." He shrugged again, not asking for the moon from her but it was clear that it was more than she currently had to offer him such was the state of her mind. He knew the answers to all of his questions or at least he thought he did for the most part. He had been worried about her mentally and emotionally from the moment it happened and if anything it had only grown ever since. His fears increased dramatically when Provenza had a quiet word in his ear, not helping matters at all but feeling the need to tell him what Sharon had said about Dwight when he informed her that he had died on the table but once again if there was one thing he had learned about the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with it was that you couldn't chase her to open up, that would only make her clam up more, the obvious exception to that rule being when she was discovered cleaning the kitchen in the wee small hours of the morning with tears streaking down her cheeks because that was something that he couldn't allow her to work out for herself.

Sharon covered her face with her hands and let out a long, loud sob, that only brought on more after she'd let the first one out, the dam very close to breaking into a million pieces. She was feeling so many things all at once that she could hardly begin to comprehend them much less explain them all to Andy so that he could understand, her mind out of control like a swirling tornado. Firstly she was feeling grief for all of those involved in that courtroom, not least for Chief Taylor and his family. Then there was the guilt that she wasn't able to stop it from happening in the first place since she was not only sitting in that courtroom but she was also armed which only made her all the more angry that she had allowed it to happen. Then there was the soul destroying guilt that she felt in the pit of her stomach because she was so unbelievably relieved and grateful that it was Taylor and not Andy who had died that day. On top of that there was guilt that she killed someone and she simply didn't care about it or him because he deserved it. As the day wore on her guilt in the face of Wildred Darnell as a Mother was also added to the mix given that she couldn't even feel the slightest bit sorry for her, for taking the life of her only son. And last but certainly not least the complete loss of who she was as a person and as a police officer and as a Catholic as a result of everything.

Sharon loved her job and the justice system as a whole, playing her small part in it gave her a purpose in her life as well as a sense of pride but she was _not_ judge, jury and executioner. The suspect, their lawyer and the DDA all played their part in the system when they made a deal except in the case of Dwight Darnell. In that instance she was forced into being the judge and the jury and end his life on the spot and it simply didn't sit well with her despite being given zero choice in the matter. Moreover it made her distraught that she had basically overridden the justice system and as if to add insult to injury she didn't feel even the smallest amount of guilt about what she had been forced to do either which only served to make her feel all the more guilty because of her complete lack of guilt. But getting Andy to understand that, getting him to understand how she felt about Dwight and her sense of distress for her lack of guilt in particular when she knew he would just shrug, call him a 'dirt bag' like usual and not think she should lose a second of sleep over him was a different thing entirely.

At the sound of Sharon's first sob Andy closed the gap between them as quickly as his feet could carry him but she instantly stopped him, smacking his hands away from her as he tried to touch her, finally turning her back on him. "No. Don't" she begged him as she held her hands into the air defensively. "Please Andy. Just don't. Don't touch me."

He understood immediately but that didn't mean he was going to stop trying to comfort her when it was so obvious that regardless of what she said she did need him, it was just going to take him slightly longer than usual. She wasn't being mean to him and he knew that but registered that she was barely clinging on, hanging on by a thread. She wanted to keep it all bottled up rather than letting it out and although he didn't like it he had to accept it and respect her wishes which he intended to do for as long as he could. In truth she had almost fallen apart in bed when he wrapped his arms around her and whispered reassuring words and declarations of love into her ear but she had managed to hold on, more by luck than judgement. She wanted him to hold her right there and then too but she also wanted to keep her emotions in check and she knew that simply wouldn't happen if he held her. She knew such actions would only end in tears. She wanted him to hold her desperately, to cling to him so he could help sooth it all away with his warm embrace and his whispered words of comfort but she also wanted to keep her composure and that was never going to happen if he so much as laid a single finger on her since she was feeling that fragile as they stood in the kitchen.

 _It had been a constant battle over the previous thirty six hours to keep her emotions under wraps. Sharon's interview with FID was only about four minutes old when one of her former colleagues noted a little reluctantly that she had a few spots of blood on her face, just below her hairline. Sharon excused herself immediately and went to the bathroom, falling apart the moment she was alone to the point where she could barely breathe the second she saw the blood on her face. Dwight's blood? Taylor's blood? It didn't really matter. She sobbed as she frantically scrubbed it from her face. Thankfully her former colleagues knew her and knew what she had been through and gladly gave her a moment, Sharon returning five minutes later as if nothing had happened, free from the blood and holding herself together as best she could in the circumstances. Her walls had crumbled slightly again when she came face to face with Wildred Darnell, in that moment unable to not feel sorry for a woman who was grieving the loss of her only child because of her actions but it didn't last long. Her distress was immediately replaced with suspicion when it was something that should have made her feel a lot more guilty than she did but she simply couldn't because of who Dwight was and what he had done and that only made her feel worse about the situation, unable to stop herself from wondering if Wildred had done something which lead them to that point. Later, finally at home and in private the tears started to fall freely despite the way she tried to stop them as she frantically cleaned but she still had some small element of control over them, muttering 'Stop it! Stop it!' to herself as she willed herself to pull it together._

Andy laying even a finger on her would make that final wall crumble and if she allowed that to happen she wasn't sure she would ever be able to stop crying ever again. It was the main reason why she didn't want to talk about it with him even though she knew full well that would bother him because in the past she had constantly kept Andy at arm's length on many occasions in their relationship, not telling him about her NFL job offer until it reached the point where he was compelled to ask her what was wrong and get her to talk to him as he worried himself to death about her and her health for example. She had promised him she would stop doing that, that they were a couple, partners in life and telling him what was on her mind and truly sharing her life with him at all times was far better than bottling it all up even though she found it difficult at times, not having been part of a relationship like that for a very long time. And yet despite her promises to him, her promises to always tell him what was going through her mind she was doing it again. There had been plenty of time from when they left PAB to tell him how she was feeling but instead she pushed him away, doing it once again and adding a little extra guilt to the mix.

Sharon took another deep and ragged breath as she moved her hands from her face and turned back around to look at him, tears running down her cheeks and breaking his heart into a million tiny pieces not just because she was falling apart in front of his eyes but he was currently unable to do anything about it. "Andy you wouldn't understand even if I told you" she told him with a sigh.

"Try me." He opened his arms wide and smiled at her. "Hey I'm not just a pretty face you know."

She didn't laugh, she didn't even smile, sighing instead. Her sense of guilt over not being able to stop it from happening and feeling relieved that it was Taylor who died instead of Andy was something he would easily understand and probably felt too, feelings that were perfectly natural and would work themselves out on their own eventually. Her guilt over her lack of guilt for killing Dwight however was something he just wouldn't understand but she acknowledged she had to tell him anyway if for no other reason than they had no secrets from each other or at least that was the aim, ripping off the Band-Aid and getting it over and done with as quickly as possible. "I'm feeling guilty okay? I'm feeling guilty" she told him with more than a hint of annoyance, sighing afterwards and yet not feeling any better for her confession.

Andy frowned at her in response. "Guilty? Why? What for?"

There were many things she felt guilty about, not least her relief that Taylor had died rather than the man standing in front of her but the one at the top of the list was clear and it was the one he wouldn't understand and she knew it. "For shooting Dwight" she replied simply with a shrug before she wiped her face as the tears continued to fall.

"You're feeling guilty for shooting Dwight? That dirt bag? Why would you…"

Sharon grabbed her cloth again as she cut him off, throwing her arms into the air out of sheer frustration, Andy reacting the way she knew he would. "See I told you, I knew you just wouldn't understand." She turned her attention to the stove and started to scrub it clean as she said "Forget it. Go back to bed."

"Hold on a second. Don't give up, explain it to me." Andy paused for a second as he waited for an explanation or at least for her to elaborate a little more so he could try to understand but she didn't reply, not even turning around to look at him again. He sighed, Andy feeling as equally frustrated with her as she was with him. "Look Sharon you had to shoot that asshole. You had to. He left you with no other choice" he told her categorically and not seeing any grey area to what had happened. "There was still one more bullet left in that clip. If you hadn't taken him down when you did he could have killed someone else. He could have shot you next or me or Sykes or Judge Richwood or any number of innocent people that just happened to be in that courtroom on Friday."

She stopped scrubbing and sighed, her hands either side of the stove as she hung her head. "I know that Andy but that's not the problem."

"Then what is?" He paused again as he waited for an answer but once more none was forthcoming. "Tell me" he begged before he paused again. "Seriously Sharon you shouldn't be losing even a minutes worth of sleep over that guy, he's just not worth it."

Sharon turned to face him, trying her hardest to smile. "Oh Andy my darling boy," she said as her hand moved to cover her heart so he knew she meant everything she was saying to him, "please believe me when I tell you that I love you so much, more than anyone else in this entire world but that's where we are so different."

"Okay" he replied before he shrugged. "So what? Explain it to me." He paused again but he still didn't get an answer. "He was on trial for murdering eight people, two of them kids under ten and that's without the four he killed yesterday. He said on Friday during his trial that it wasn't homicide because they weren't human. Despite all of that you feel sorry for him?" He shook his head, really not understanding how anyone could feel sorry for a guy like that under any circumstances. "Is this some sort of Catholic guilt at taking the life of some asshole? Thou shalt not kill bull shit?"

"No and that's the whole problem."

"You're a cop. It's a part of the job. We've all done it. Some of us more than once."

"I know and I understand that but I took a life on Friday Andy," she said as she finally took a step closer to him while she sought to explain, "a human life and if I could go back in time I would do the exact same thing all over again without even a moment of hesitation."

Andy shrugged, still not seeing the problem. "So?"

"So I took a life on Friday and I don't feel bad about it." She shrugged with frustration, on the point of screaming because of it. "At all. There's just no guilt there. Anywhere." She pulled at Andy's dress shirt that hung loosely on her small frame as if her guilt was hidden in the breast pocket. "None. I don't feel bad about it." She shrugged again, frankly alarmed by her complete lack of compassion towards Dwight and Wildred especially when she had only said to Andy the week before than despite her ever growing reluctance to have to spend any time in Dwight's company following his outburst in court as they discussed what had been found in Henry Colson's house with Judge Richwood ,she couldn't allow herself to see him as a monster because that wouldn't help her to understand him and people like him and she desperately needed to understand them if she was ever going to bring them down. It was just the way she did her job, getting into the mind of those sitting across the table from her in the Interview Room in order to understand them and ultimately convict them. The whole situation was made so much worse by seeing members of her division suffer after being forced into taking a life over the years, therapy a must for them in the weeks and even months that followed as they felt a lot of regret and trauma over what they had been forced into doing but she really didn't think she needed to speak to anyone because she didn't care about what she'd done, a fact that, if she had been thinking even slightly clearly, would have made her realise that she needed the help all the more because of it.

"Well there shouldn't be, you shouldn't feel guilty for killing that guy" Andy again told her, unable to understand what she was feeling and therefore missing the point completely.

"But I should, don't you see? I know you wouldn't but I should and I just can't," she turned back towards the stove again to resume her scrubbing, "I knew you wouldn't understand. I knew it. Just go back to bed and forget all about it. I'm fine. Go to sleep."

Andy stared at her with a frown, baffled and in truth more than a little offended and hurt by the implication that accompanied her words. "I wouldn't but you should?" he repeated with a scowl. "What are you trying to say? That I'm heartless? That I have no emotions?"

She turned to face him again, remorse clearly written all over her face since that wasn't what she was trying to say to him at all and she was beyond mortified that he would think she was. "No Andy. No of course not. That's not it at all. You're not listening to what I'm saying to you." She sighed again as she looked at her feet, thinking of the right words to use. Finally she met his eyes again. "You see everything as so black and white and I don't. I just don't. I've never seen these people, these murderers as just 'dirt bags' and monsters and just written them off as people regardless of what they've done in the past because if I do that then I can't understand them, I can't convict them" she explained. "I know you do and that's fine and that's how you've always approached work because that works for you and I fully understand that and likewise I know you're not interested in all the blah blah blah or whatever it was you said to Rusty about Slider."

Although he didn't remember the conversation she was referring to he knew roughly what she was talking about. He had never ever been interested in the past lives of the people he arrested because it simply didn't matter to him. A murderer was a murderer plain and simple and it didn't matter what had happened in their lives that had led them to that point because at the end of the day it was still a conscious choice to kill, they didn't have to but they chose to do it. Part of his thinking was because of his own upbringing and his frankly incredibly traumatic childhood. He had heard so many murderers over the years blaming rotten childhoods (some nowhere near as bad as his was by the way) as the reason why they did what they did but he never bought it. He was the youngest of a huge brood, a family with no money, crime rife amongst them all to make ends meet and added to that he was physically abused both at home and at school and yet he became a Detective in the most elite division in the country rather than a murderer so he just didn't buy a traumatic childhood as an excuse for doing terrible things as an adult. A crappy upbringing certainly didn't help people but it also didn't make them turn into killers either, that was their choice and they had to take responsibility for it because no one forced them into it. In truth when Andy casually told Rusty during Provenza's bachelor party that his Dad used to hit him when he'd been drinking as a way to let him know that they had a lot more in common than he first thought from the outset, their relationship not quite as solid as it was eight months later, it had occurred to the young man that Andy would make a very good subject for his next vlog story, a terrible childhood resulting in a complete different result to what had happened to Slider but he knew Andy would never go for it and he was never going to ask.

"I'm not calling you heartless and I'm not calling you cynical about it either I promise you Andy," she told him sincerely with her hand across her heart once again, "but I should feel bad about this because unlike you I refuse to see these people as monsters. I should feel bad about it. I took a man's life yesterday but there's not a single part of me that feels any sort of remorse for his soul whatsoever and if I can't feel bad about killing a man, even a man who deserved it then I just…" she paused as the emotion got the better of her, "I just don't know who I am anymore."

Andy was at a loss for words for a moment as he quickly began to realise that she was far worse off mentally and emotionally than he first feared. Yes he didn't really understand why she thought she should feel guilty about putting Dwight down but that didn't matter, if that was how she felt or rather worried because she didn't then it was something he needed to help her with regardless of what he felt about it but how he was going to do that he had no idea especially since he was even struggling to come to terms with the concept. "Sharon that guy got exactly…"

She held up her hands before she spoke as an attempt to stop him. "Look we're just going around and around here and it's not getting us anywhere. Can we please just drop it? I don't want to talk about it anymore okay?" Andy nodded and she could see he was about to reply but got in first again. "Andy I love you dearly but I really don't need you right now," she lied not at all convincingly, needing him more than ever in fact, "I need to be left alone so go back to bed please. I'm fine."

"Sharon I can't leave you like this."

"Yes you can and I'm not asking you to Andy, I'm telling you to. Go back to bed."

He smiled as he pointed a finger at her, deliberately choosing to take her words the wrong way in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Hey Raydor, I might be very good at taking direct orders from my girlfriend at work but don't try giving me an order in my own home because that is not going to fly" he joked.

Sharon sighed. "I wasn't giving you an order. I was..." She sighed again as she realised that he was only joking. "Oh Andy I'm really not in the mood for jokes. I just need five minutes to myself, alone, and I appreciate what you're trying to do here I really do but right now you're starting to irritate the _crap_ out of me."

She dropped her cleaning cloth into the sink and marched straight past Andy, giving him an extremely wide birth to make sure he didn't touch her, hardly holding onto her emotions as it was by that point and knowing she would completely fall apart if he touched her. Aside from that she knew that all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and try to make her feel better, to console her but the problem was, with not feeling any guilt or remorse whatsoever over what she had been forced to do in that courtroom she simply didn't think that she deserved it. She didn't deserve someone like Andy who loved her with all his heart, who loved her unconditionally to comfort her and make it all better. With a sigh she walked straight to the balcony and opened the door, stepping outside and closing it behind her.

Andy stared after her at a complete loss as to what to do for the best to help her but he was absolutely not going to leave her alone and in such a state no matter what she said (or more likely screamed) to him and how much she pleaded. He slowly walked towards the balcony door and opened it as quietly as he could before stepping out next to her as she looked at the lights on the horizon. There was a slight chill to the breeze and he saw her shudder but had no idea if the cause was the cold or what was going on inside her head. He wanted to touch her, hug her and never let go again but he could see she still didn't want him to do that just yet and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her even more.

He stood quietly next to her for a couple of minutes, the local wildlife and the odd blast of a horn from an irate driver in the distance filling the silence. He allowed a fairly large gap to form between them, not wanting to crowd her before he finally felt compelled to speak. "Did you just say 'crap'?" he asked. He couldn't help but laugh a little despite it being the last thing in the world he wanted to do, hoping she would too to at least attempt to break the tension that had settled between them. In recent years Sharon cursed so infrequently that when she did it was almost jarring to all those that knew her well. When the odd word did inevitably slip out (usually when she was beyond irritated and frustrated with a suspect or of late with Andy) more often than not Andy would react like all the other race goers at Ascot when Eliza Doolittle suddenly screamed 'Move your bloomin' arses!' in _My Fair Lady_ only he made more of a big deal about it.

Sharon sighed as she put her elbows on the railing of the balcony and put her head in her hands. "Don't joke with me Andy please, I'm really not in the mood" she pleaded.

"Clearly if you're bringing 'crap' into the discussion. Wait until I tell Provenza. He's not going to believe his ears. That goody goody reputation you have at work is going to go right out of the window." He waited with baited breath for some sort of reaction, a smile, a chuckle, a sigh, anything at all but he didn't get one. He was going about it all wrong and he knew it. He was chasing her and that was the worst thing he could do under the circumstances but he just couldn't help himself. It was like that mortifying moment in Electronics in front of everyone when he just couldn't stop his mouth from running off about the buoyancy levels of different implants, unable to shut himself up even though he knew he was quickly digging himself into an even bigger hole with the woman he loved and was going to end up in the dog house as a result if he wasn't careful.

He moved slowly to place a hand on her shoulder, the first step towards wrapping his arms around her and making it abundantly clear that she could just let go of everything she was bottling up. Sadly she instantly took a step further away from him before he could even lay so much as a finger on her. He understood why she'd done it but that didn't stop his fingers from almost itching to come into contact with her skin. His hand dangled in what was almost no man's land for a moment much like he had seen Sharon do with Rusty in those first few awkward and fractious months when he first came into her life, desperate to offer affection but not knowing if it would be welcomed.

"I mean if you still have a reputation to begin with since you know, you've let someone like me move in with you" he joked again, the smile on his face hiding the deep levels of concern he was actually feeling. "What would your old pals in Professional Standards think about it?"

"I really don't care what they'd think about anything" she replied as her eyes returned to the horizon, focusing on one spot in the distance.

He laughed awkwardly, unable to stop himself. "Can I have that written on paper please?" He laughed again before he closed his eyes and willed himself to shut the hell up while giving her the time and space to come to him when she was ready but he just couldn't. As with a lot of things that had come to pass in his life, things were going to get far worse before they could get better and they were going to get much worse unless he could find a way to shut himself up. "That's something else to tell Provenza." Sharon sighed loudly and he knew it was a sign that she wanted just a couple of minutes of silence but it was like he no longer had control of his brain or his mouth anymore. "Though I'm not sure that he'll believe me." He laughed again before he glanced to the heavens and tried to will himself into being quiet but he just couldn't. "I always knew I'd corrupt you in the end. It was inevitable" he added with another nervous laugh. "I'm not sure what your Grandmother would say about this sort of language. I know I'd undoubtedly get the blame for it. A divorced, alcoholic Catholic leading her little girl astray." He laughed again even as he cringed. "Although personally I think that just makes me sound like an awful lot of fun. But that's just me. Maybe I'm a little biased or I just like leading you astray. Not that I'm the only one. I think it's fair to say that you've corrupted me a little over the last couple of years too. I can't remember the last time I got into any trouble with Provenza. Well…except for his bachelor party of course but that wasn't my fault. Okay it wasn't _entirely_ my fault and a little trouble was only to be expected. At least it wasn't the night before his wedding" he laughed again and suddenly realised he no longer had any control over what was coming out of his mouth. "I don't think any of us would have looked good in the wedding photos. But then if I'm honest Provenza has never looked good in any of his wedding photos anyway. He always has a look of fear in his eyes, like a deer caught in a set of headlights. Actually, the fourth time he was more like…"

"For God's sake Andy!" Sharon suddenly shouted, her voice loud enough to wake the whole building. "Can you please just be quiet for five seconds?! You're driving me insane!" As quick as a flash she pushed past him, opened the balcony door and stepped inside before closing and locking it behind her, therefore locking Andy out on the balcony too. Without casting a glance behind her she walked straight back to the kitchen and resumed her cleaning.

Andy watched her through the glass for a couple of minutes, determined not to leave her alone no matter how many times she asked him to since he didn't think that was the answer to helping her successfully battle the demons waging war inside her head. He went to open the door before he realised that she'd locked it and he was locked outside. He looked to the heavens and sighed. "Shit!" he cried with exasperation but quiet enough to ensure she didn't hear him. Well at least he wasn't naked that time he thought to himself as he gently knocked on the glass. "Sharon? Sharon can you let me in please?"

She didn't turn to face him but he knew she'd heard him long before she replied. "If you promise to go back to bed and leave me alone, sure."

"I can't do that babe" he told her simply. He looked towards the bedrooms, with how loud Sharon had to raise her voice so that he could hear her there was no way Rusty wasn't going to come out and start to investigate what was going on soon, giving him a way back inside at least even though he'd rather the young man not see Sharon like that and end up giving him more cause for concern.

"Then I can't let you in. I'm sorry" she told him.

"Sharon? Come on Sharon please. We need to talk about this."

"No we really don't."

"Sharon? Please!" She continued to scrub and he realised that it was getting him nowhere, only pissing her off even more and since she was clearly so upset that wasn't going to help her or help him get back inside. His only option was to wait until she calmed down a little or hope that Rusty had heard the commotion and would be out soon. He leant back against the railing, his hands coming around to rub his arms, a chill to the breeze but it was very early in the morning and they were up fairly high. He looked down at his legs and wished he'd put his pyjama bottoms on when he came to find her like Rusty frequently begged him to do. He looked back up at Sharon, not wanting to take his eyes off her since it was the only option left open to him, monitoring her from a distance. She stopped scrubbing and poured herself another glass of wine, drinking it in one before going back to cleaning, not looking at him at all from his view as she moved.

Suddenly Rusty walked into the living room, rubbing his sleepy eyes as Andy moved back to the door, hoping to get his attention without knocking. Rusty looked at Sharon confused, all of his focus on her which meant he didn't immediately see Andy. He looked at her puzzled despite his sleep addled brain messing with his senses because although he wasn't sure entirely what was going on when raised voices woke him from his slumber, his Mom frantically scrubbing the kitchen in one of Andy's shirts was the last thing he expected to see when he walked into the living room, in fact Lieutenant Provenza sitting on the table and covered in marshmallow fluff would frankly have been less surprising.

"Mom? What's going on?" Rusty asked as he blinked against the brightness of the lights.

"I'm sorry Rusty" she said after initially jumping at the sound of his voice just like she had done with Andy. As she continued she didn't turn around to face him while she kept on cleaning, repeating how she had first welcomed Andy's appearance ten minutes earlier. "I can't sleep so I thought I'd do a little light housework." She instantly laughed but it was easy for him to tell that it was fake. "I guess I was scrubbing a little too loudly."

Rusty noticed immediately that she didn't turn to look at him (aside from how cleaning at that ungodly hour was not normal for her even when she'd had a rough couple of days and no sleep the night before) and that her voice was shaky. It wasn't hard for him to work out why either. He'd never seen her like that before and as he stood staring at the back of her head with wide eyed concern all he could think about was what Lieutenant Provenza had told him the day before about him needing to be a 'source of strength' for her after what she had done, something he realised she desperately needed when he spoke to her and barely recognised the hard woman in her office who was now his Mother.

"Oh okay" he said cautiously before he paused. "Where's Andy? I thought I heard you two arguing." No sooner had he asked the question then Andy tapped on the window to get his attention. Rusty turned and looked at him with surprise, almost jumping when he saw him, that also not what he was expecting to see when he walked out of his bedroom. "Andy? What are you doing out there?" Andy waved him towards him, Rusty obediently walking over to the balcony doors as Sharon continued to scrub, looking back at her completely baffled. "What's going on?"

"Can you open the door please? It's locked" Andy said as quietly as possible to ensure that Sharon didn't hear even though he knew she was aware of what was happening behind her back. Rusty just froze for a moment like he'd just seen Medusa and been turned into stone before he turned around to look at Sharon still frantically scrubbing away and quickly pieced together what had obviously happened, his Mom had locked her boyfriend out on the balcony in the middle of the night. He looked back at Andy on the other side of the glass with even more concern and saw his expression mirrored on his face. In the time that they had been dating he had never even heard a crossed word between them (becoming more aware over the last couple of months when she was perhaps giving him the silent treatment for a few hours but they certainly never argued, not like his other Mom and her various boyfriends used to, at least not to his knowledge anyway) but he had definitely been woken by loud and angry sounding voices and now Andy was locked outside and asking to be let back in. Six months earlier and maybe Rusty would have thought that she had caught him with another woman maybe, keenly aware of his reputation on the LAPD grapevine just from travelling up and down in the elevator but he knew it was over the shooting, it had to be.

Rusty unlocked and opened the door before Andy stepped inside and closed it door behind him. "Thanks kid" he said with a gentle pat on his back while his eyes focused on Sharon.

"What..." Rusty went to reply, wanting to know what the hell had gone on.

"Go back to bed. I got this" Andy assured him.

"But..."

"I can handle this" he told him with a smile.

"I don't need handling from either of you" Sharon cut in, her back still to both of them as she bordered on pulling a muscle from her frantic cleaning. "I need you both to go back to bed and just leave me alone please. If you want to help me, try doing it by going back to bed."

Rusty looked to Andy more than a little upset and utterly horrified, never having ever seen Sharon like that or having heard her speak to Andy in such a way either, a real harsh bite to her tone. "Rusty, I'll take care of her. I promise" Andy told him with one hand across his heart and the other on Rusty's arm. "Go and get some sleep." He patted him on the back before adding "Go on. I got this" and smiling as if to prove his point.

"Okay." Rusty nodded and started to walk back to his room before stopping on the edge of the hallway. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight" Sharon replied, the cheer in her voice fooling no one.

Rusty turned to look at Sharon before his eyes went back to Andy. In response Andy nodded at him and waved for him to go back to bed and try to get some rest, smiling at him warmly and giving him some reassurance that he was going to take care of everything…unless he got locked out on the balcony again although it was unlikely that he would fall for the same trick twice. Rusty nodded and headed back to his bedroom with Andy waiting until he heard his door close before he moved. He didn't say a word as he walked to the dining table and sat on the corner closest to the kitchen, perched on the edge and just watching her. He folded his arms and waited, choosing to give her the time, space and silence that she so clearly wanted but he was going nowhere without her. No matter what she said or pleaded even he was not prepared to leave her alone when she was quite clearly struggling more than he was and he had been battling demons of his own about everything that had happened as well without his concerns for her too.

Minutes passed by in complete silence as her anger and annoyance with him started to slowly dissipate but her other emotions remained. At least ten minutes later he ran his hands through his hair before rubbing his face and sighed. "Oh boy. I really want a drink" he admitted and for the first time since they'd started to get closer after Nicole's weddings he confessed that he was tempted by alcohol again.

Sharon stopped scrubbing immediately, this confession from Andy making her look like a deer caught in headlights as she turned to face him completely stunned. She had been so consumed with the battle going on inside her own head that she had selfishly neglected Andy and how he was coping with it all, especially since Andy and Taylor were once very good friends if not best friends prior to the Croelick incident driving a thick wedge between them. Andy had never admitted to wanting a drink to her before, not even after his surgery to remove his blood clot when he was feeling more than a little depressed about pretty much every aspect of his life, even his relationship with her because he saw himself as a burden and an anchor around her neck. It was something that Sharon had battled long and hard to get him to talk to her about, to make him open up more about his alcoholism but he had so far been reluctant to do so and claiming that both she and Rusty had 'dealt with enough of that crap' in their lives without him dumping it on them too and preferring to deal with it alone. That was until that very moment in the living room, it hitting her like a truck and snatching the breath from her for a moment. Rightly or wrongly because he always kept that part of him to himself and never seemed to have any issues or at least from what she had seen anyway, she hadn't thought it was going to be a problem and was therefore even more mortified that it had completely escaped her notice.

"What?" she almost squeaked out, suddenly as quiet as a church mouse.

"A drink" Andy repeated. "I really want a big bottle of scotch right about now. About that big" he said as he held his hands in the air to indicate the size of the bottle he wanted and it was a very big bottle indeed. "I can almost taste it." He shrugged casually at the shocked expression coming back at him. "You wanted me to talk more openly about these things with you, so there you go. I really want a drink right now" he said, shrugging again.

Sharon immediately dropped her cleaning cloth and dried her hands before she walked over to him as he remained perched on the corner of the table, staying put rather than moving to meet her and risking the chance of her recoiling away from him again. She stood in front of him but still kept her distance, still not sure that she could allow him to touch her without completely falling apart and sobbing for hours, something she wanted to do less than ever following Andy's revelation with her attention turning to him and trying to take care of him when it appeared he was clearly struggling as much as she was but also handling it a lot better than she had been. If she was honest she was a little relieved to suddenly have him to focus on and distract her away from her own struggles and demons.

"Then why didn't you go to an AA meeting tonight if you felt that way?" she asked him.

Andy shrugged casually. "You're why" he said simply. It wasn't a lie and he hadn't told her to get her to come to him and stop cleaning, lying and using it as a ploy to manipulate her due to her concern for him and the situation (although it was a delightful bonus in his eyes that it had that effect too), that being a line he would never cross even if it was to help her. He'd said it to her because it was the truth and they had no secrets from each other or at least that's what they aimed for between them. In reality it was late when they left work and he could probably have found a meeting somewhere in the city or gone for a chat and a coffee with his sponsor if he wanted to but Sharon needed him more and in that moment he needed her too, thinking that getting some rest with Sharon in his arms would help him a lot more than anything else.

"Andy" was the only word she could utter in response as she wiped more tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, tears that were now falling freely and she had no control over. She felt awful, truly awful. With all of the emotions and dark thoughts going on inside of her head since they arrived home, her demons keeping her awake and shouting down the better angels in her mind she had to her eternal shame regrettably not thought about Andy at all, not even once as he seemed to be coping just fine with what had happened. However right then, in that moment, regardless of how well Andy appeared to be doing on the surface on it, she realised that her assumption he was okay was completely unacceptable.

Andy slowly reached forward and took her hand in his, pulling her towards him before she had chance to stop him or move away. She finally stood directly in front of him for the first time, likewise it was the first time she had allowed him to touch her since he got up. He didn't push it, he didn't wrap his arms around her even though he so desperately wanted to because he knew she wasn't ready for it yet. Baby steps, that's what he needed and taking her hand was the first step towards trying to help her and ease her mind and despite not really coming to terms with how she felt he wanted her to know that he was there for her regardless and would always listen even if he didn't quite understand. Sharon relaxed at his touch almost instantly, Andy able to feel it in his hand on top of how she visibly changed in front of him but she had no idea that she had been that tense since the moment she got up and began cleaning. Her shoulders relaxed a little more as a shaky breath slipped from her lips despite her best efforts to contain it.

"Sharon I needed to be here with you tonight instead" he explained as he linked their fingers together to hold her hand even tighter should she attempt to wriggle away from him. "With the kid. I needed to be here for both of you."

She sighed with frustration once again but this time for very different reasons than she had in the moments since he woke up as she shook her head at him. It was going to be a battle to not let some of the anger she was feeling about his decision to come out in her voice as she spoke to him because there was simply no denying that she was suddenly very very angry with him at that point, _never_ wanting him to put her before his sobriety, no matter what was happening with her. "But not at the expense of your sobriety! Andy!" She moved to stroke his cheek with her free hand as she teared up even more, her eyes locked on his, upset that he was suffering more than it appeared on the surface and she had been so blind, so caught up with her own issues that she had failed to see it.

He smiled before he took her hand away from his cheek and kissed her palm a couple of times, allowing his lips to linger on her skin before he replied. "It's not at the expense of anything babe, I assure you of that. I promise you" he told her emphatically. He had thought long and hard about it as they left work a few hours earlier, taking the opportunity to drive to and from work together, and he thought that perhaps he needed to take care of himself a little first before he could take care of her but in the end he came to the conclusion that trying to get some sleep with Sharon in his arms was going to be far better for him than a coffee with his sponsor especially when he could give him a call while Sharon was in the shower. It didn't even need to be a quick chat either as it turned out, he had plenty of time since she went straight from the shower to sitting in the bathtub and for once he didn't join her by sitting on the edge to talk to her as she soaked and relaxed. He realised fairly quickly that she wanted some time alone and therefore restricted his time in the bathroom as he opted instead to become her own personal sommelier for the evening.

"But you promised me you were never ever going to do this again, putting me before your sobriety. You promised me that first night you stayed here with me" she reminded him and being clear that she meant the first time he had ever slept in her bed rather than after his accident and subsequent stay in 'Hotel Rusty Beck' down the hall where disgruntled notes about shedding in the bathtub were left on his pillow rather than a chocolate and a full turndown service.

 _At the time, some nine months earlier, he was supposed to be going to AA for not only a meeting (which was long overdue and badly needed too after dealing with the death of a child at work that week which always took a huge toll on him) but also for a little celebration as he got his twenty year chip. However those plans soon went out of the window because Sharon had experienced a rough couple of days too, the Kayla Weber case coming on top of how emotionally drained she had been just three weeks after his surgery as well as dealing with Rusty being upset over Bobby Monroe calling him as a witness for Slider during the penalty phase. Sharon like the rest of the division always suffered more when they dealt with the death of a child (that not being something that Sharon had encountered at all while she worked for Professional Standards) but she was firmly of the opinion that it was all her fault that it turned out the way it had because she had sent the Webers home the night before, feeling responsible for the murder as if she should have known what was going to happen if Jim worked out how and why his baby girl had died and therefore should have found a way to keep them at PAB to prevent it from happening._

 _Sharon had been overly distressed about it all day from the moment Provenza called her from the Weber's house to tell her what had happened (at that point in their relationship Andy still not having the experience or the bravery to know when he could wrap his arms around her to comfort her and when he couldn't while at work) and everyone clearly saw it with Provenza eventually insisting that Andy get up off his ass and take her home early while everyone else finished up their remaining paperwork. The whole thing only happening because of Provenza's encouragement since he knew at that delicate stage in their relationship Andy wouldn't do it himself without being prompted to since they hadn't slept together or even told each other how they really felt. At the time part of the delay was caused because they were still trying to figure out how to work together and date without one effecting the other and that was without Andy's constant state of nervousness about rushing her and losing what they already had by trying to be 'greedy' as he saw it._

 _With all of that in mind he felt that Sharon was more important than getting his chip on that particular night. He felt okay enough to delay his meeting by a day or so but regardless of how he felt he was of the opinion that she needed him more than he needed a meeting and he felt better being with her rather than in a church hall with a group of strangers so that was the decision he made (an extremely good one indeed as it turned out because it ended with them both saying 'I love you' for the first time as they drove back to the condo and then later on that evening sleeping together for the first time too, their relationship unexpectedly moving on leaps and bounds in the space of one simple and yet utterly fabulous evening). He had confessed all to her rather quickly after his sponsor called to check on him that evening when he hadn't turned up to get his chip and he'd been far too busy dealing with Sharon to remember to call him any earlier himself. So once he'd explained to Sharon that he was supposed to be getting his chip and the reason why he had opted not to go she had made him promise that he would never do it again. She made him promise that regardless of what was happening with her, if she was in hospital even, his sobriety always had to come first at her insistence._

However nine months later when they left work it was far too late for him to go to a meeting even though he could probably have used one in truth, and desperately too at that. Likewise he was too exhausted and worried to death about Sharon just like Provenza was to maybe leave work for an hour so even if he could have gone to a meeting he still wouldn't have, not wanting to leave her alone even though she wasn't ready to talk to him about it just yet.

"Yeah I know" he replied with yet another shrug of his shoulders. "But forget how you feel for a moment about all of this and look at it from my perspective. I thought spending time with you and Rusty at home tonight would be much more beneficial to me right now then going to a meeting and you know what, I was right about that. I feel much better here with you." Telling her something like that in the past, something so heartfelt and something that made her soul sing would have had her in his arms like a flash while their lips danced against each other's and she ground her hips against his. On this occasion however it resulted in Sharon immediately pulling her hand away from his before she walked straight back into the kitchen, picking up her wine glass and pouring it down the sink quickly followed by the rest of the bottle. As she dropped the now empty bottle into the trash he sighed, too late to react to stop her. The fact of the matter was she had never really liked drinking alcohol in front of him, not seeing it as fair to do so despite how he had constantly told her it was okay and ordered her a glass of wine at a restaurant anyway for example. "Sharon you don't need to stop drinking that on my account. It's okay. I'm really okay babe I promise." He smiled at her as if to prove his point even though it was far from a beaming and genuine smile. "I'm not going to rip it from your hand and drink it while you climb on my back and try to snatch it from me." He shrugged as he chucked a little but she looked at him less than convinced, not that she was worried he would drink, she was fairly sure that he wouldn't do that even more so after he'd openly admitted how he was feeling but unconvinced that he really felt okay because she didn't and if she didn't then there was no way he was okay. "Look I spoke to my sponsor while you were in the shower and he's dropping by work tomorrow so I'm going to grab a coffee with him over lunch in the Break Room if we have time so it's fine, I'm going to be just fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"That's easier said than done" she replied before she sighed, staring into his big brown eyes as her tears started to fall freely once again, unable to stop them no matter how much she desperately wanted to. "Andy I am so so sorry." She walked back to him, standing directly in front of him again but just out of reach unless he stretched. "I'm sorry I've been so wrapped up in...I just didn't think about you and how you're feeling about all of this and that is just completely unacceptable."

"Oh no it isn't." He very slowly and very tentatively took her hand again, once more trying to resist the temptation to wrap his arms around her until she was ready for it and therefore was the one to initiate it herself. "You've got more than enough on your plate at the moment without worrying about me as well."

"I wholeheartedly disagree" she told him, completely rubbishing the notion that she would ever not worry about him, like she had the ability to switch it on and off like a switch. "You my darling boy are exactly who I should be worrying about right now."

Then suddenly and without any warning she wrapped him in a bear hug as he remained sitting on the edge of the table, Andy immediately responding in kind as he pulled her flush against his chest and held her tightly. They both instantly got comfortable for what was sure to be a very prolonged embrace now that Sharon had finally relented and allowed him to not only hold her but comfort her too, both of them needing it more than they realised. They buried their faces into the neck of the other as they clung to each other as if their lives depended on it. The warmth that radiated from Andy along with the smell that was all him was an instant comfort to her while in comparison he started to worry even more about her as she suddenly seemed smaller in his arms somehow, like a piece of her was missing.

They held each other for an age as the dams that had been holding each of them together over the previous thirty six hours broke and the emotion that they were both trying to hold in came rushing to the surface. Sharon started to cry freely the moment she felt his arms run around her, letting it all out as the shoulder of his t-shirt started to get wet quite quickly as a result of her tears. By that point she wasn't trying to hide it from him any longer, she couldn't even if she really wanted to as she sobbed loudly and took one shaky breath after another while she practically shook in his arms. He held onto her even tighter as a result, his heart breaking even more than it had over the previous two days as he watched Taylor die right in front of him and then had to endure seeing Sharon suffer so much as a result.

As Sharon openly and loudly sobbed in Andy's embrace she couldn't help but think of how wonderful it was to be able to let her emotions go with a man and receive comfort from him in return because it had certainly never happened to her before in all of her other previous relationships. It wasn't that she couldn't cry in front of Jack and be comforted by him but rather that he was so utterly useless in those situations and had no ability to comfort her whatsoever, looking beyond uncomfortable if she even shed a single solitary tear in his presence, in that regard Jack having the emotional range of a dead cat. She had once seen a poster that read 'I hate it when people cry in front of me. Like should I pat their head? Should I grab their butt? I don't know.' That was Jack Raydor in a nutshell, he just didn't have a clue how to offer any support in that situation (neither did he when Emily would come to him crying with a scraped knee or a fight with a friend at school) and often fled the scene as quickly as possible to avoid it altogether. Andy on the other hand knew exactly what to do especially with Sharon (with the exception of the tears that fell when he awoke from the aesthesia after his surgery, too tired and disoriented to do much more than try to smile and take her hand), and it was nothing too complicated either, he just needed to hold her tightly and just be there for her when she needed him the most and indeed he had done that many times in the past even before they were dating. The night that Rusty had to move in with Provenza for his own safety Andy came over late when she found herself distraught and alone in the condo because he knew she would be struggling not just because Rusty wasn't there but because she could have so easily lost him earlier in the day. She had barely registered the sight of him with a bag of take out in his hand as she opened the door before she fell into a flood of tears and he wrapped his arms around her, moving her to the couch, never moving her from his embrace until many hours later when she had sufficiently calmed down. A similar thing had happened once Stroh had returned to freedom. They saw each other just as much as they did before his escape but their meals out and trips to the movies were switched to meals and movies at home because Sharon wanted to be as close as possible to Rusty at all times, the first couple of nights ending with her in tears as he allowed her to spill her guts to him and lay out all of her fears about the potential danger Rusty was in. Again he held her as tightly as he dared to his chest given that he was secretly already in love with her, occasionally pushing his lips to the top of her head and telling her that everything was going to be okay and she honestly believed him. With Andy's arms around her he made it seem like everything would turn out okay in the end, he just had that knack, not just making her feel safe and loved but also reassured in a way that she had never felt before. There was nothing that having Andy's arms around her couldn't fix and she practically melted into him, needing him in that moment more than ever despite resisting him for so long.

With Sharon sobbing openly, continuing to break in his arms Andy easily shed some tears himself, not afraid at all to cry in front of her either like a lot of men would. What was the point in hiding it? He was upset for a variety of reasons in truth, not just at seeing Sharon in so much pain and being unable to reach her and help her for so long but then there was also obviously Taylor's death too. They had grown apart over the years, Taylor's betrayal as Andy saw it over Bill Croelick the straw that broke the camel's back and the beginning of the end as far as their friendship was concerned. But none of that mattered, it had still hit him hard, feeling so helpless, being unable to stop it as he watched him die. It was something he was going to replay in his mind over and over again for the rest of his life.

Eventually, after about ten minutes or so Sharon started to settle down a little and began to sniff away her tears while she continued to cling to him for dear life with some very long and shaky breaths escaping her lips rather than the previously distraught sobs as she very slowly started to calm down. Andy's composure also began to return, helped by Sharon's calmness beginning to come back to her but his sighs continued to be laden with high levels of grief and emotion. They continued to hold each other for at least half an hour without either of them speaking, not utterly a single word and just savouring the comfort and the reassurance that they found in each other's arms.

As Andy began to fully regain his composure he kissed the side of her head a couple of times as his hands started to go up and down her back rather than just holding her tightly in his loving embrace, a sign that he was beginning to wake from his slumber. Finally he blew a raspberry on the side of her neck as he always did to try to bring a smile to her face. "You know Raydor," he said eventually to break quite possibly the longest silence that had ever settled between them without one of them being asleep, "this is the longest you've ever had your arms wrapped around me without grabbing my ass at least once."

She managed a very small and quiet chuckle into his neck before telling him "You're sitting down." Her hands briefly moved south as she proved her point that she couldn't grab his ass with the way he was sitting on the corner of the table like she usually did before she moved them up his back again. Needing to find a new home for her hands she opted to fist his t-shirt instead as she continued to cling to him and letting him know that she didn't want to move and probably wouldn't for a very long time.

"Ah! Well that explains it" he replied with a little laugh.

They fell silent again as they continued to hold each other for what seemed like an eternity. Each breath, each sigh was still laden with grief but also with a sense of relief as they clung to each other. It wasn't just that they were grieving, it was that they were so relieved that they still had each other to be able to hold them like they were unlike poor Lydia Taylor across town. The most frightening part of it all was that it was more by luck than judgement that they were both still alive to be able to comfort each other like they were to begin with and it was a thought that they were both all to keenly aware of. There was a very real chance that on another day one or maybe even both of them could have died in that courtroom, if they'd sat elsewhere, if they'd just done this or done that differently, if anyone of the dozens of innocent bystanders had run in the opposite direction even things might have turned out so differently and they both knew it. Andy had switched seats from his position next to Sharon and sat next to Amy when Taylor came in so he could talk to Sharon like he had on every other day that week. During the previous four days they had sat together the three of them with Andy always on the aisle so that he could leave quickly without causing a disruption if they were suddenly rolled out. But Taylor was late on Friday after a meeting with Chief Pope ran over and that made all the difference in the world to what happened that day. The seat on Sharon's right hand side had already been taken when they arrived so Andy moved and offered Taylor his seat. Andy had been sitting right there less than ten minutes earlier. It could have been him, it could so easily have been Andy who had tried to stop Dwight first only to be impeded by a member of the gallery running towards him and knocking him and his aim off balance just long enough for Dwight to turn around and return fire, killing him almost instantly. It could so easily have been Andy lying in the morgue right then as she clung to him rather than Chief Taylor and it was a thought that was haunting her along with the relief and then guilt that it wasn't. She didn't know it yet but Andy felt the exact same way, thinking that it could have been him and at first making him feel partly responsible for Taylor's death but that soon faded a little and dealing with it could wait for another day when he had more time. Right then Sharon was his focus because not only was she suffering but he had realised that he could have lost her in that courtroom too as she took Dwight down, that finally bullet in his gun having her name written all over it.

Sharon eventually got her composure back as much as she was going to be able to that night and slowly turned her head to capture his lips in a very tender but chaste kiss, moving her lips rhythmically against his as a way to say 'Thank you' for being there for her even when she had resisted his comfort, for never judging her no matter what she did and for loving her for the person that she was. Their kiss didn't stay chaste for long as it very quickly began to build, her tongue almost brutally forcing its way into his mouth before it circled his own, devouring his lips and swallowing his moans as all of their emotions came out in it as their lips continued to hungrily attack each other's and their hands simultaneously began to move south, his grabbing her ass and pulling her flush against him between his legs as hers started to pull his t-shirt up as high as she could, not getting it any further than his arms because she didn't want to force her mouth or her body away from his but that didn't stop her from raking her nails down his back and the exposed skin she had found instead. As it continued to build between them their kiss became almost desperate, all teeth and tongues and so intense it was overwhelming, almost making them dizzy as they tried to bury their emotions and the constant feeling of distress in each other. Suddenly Sharon came to her senses and realised that they were getting perilously close to losing what little control they had left and having grief ridden sex on the dining table when Rusty was probably still wide awake and could conceivably come out of his bedroom at any moment to check on her once again or to at least ensure Andy wasn't locked on the balcony again.

Sharon reluctantly managed to pry her lips away from his, it proving to be a hell of a lot harder than she thought it would be. "Rusty" she breathlessly panted as they both gulped in the air, letting him know the reason why she had so suddenly pulled away from him given that it was clear that she really didn't want to.

Andy laughed as he dropped another much more chaste kiss to her lips as he understood her meaning immediately and had no objections. "Well that's not exactly the sexiest word you've ever used in similar circumstances but whatever gets your engine going I guess" he joked, pushing his lips firmly against hers again.

"Andy."

"Yep." He nodded with a smile which made her realise that he fully understood what was going on and was actually glad that one of their brains had managed to kick into gear before they completely traumatised the kid and he never ate at that table again let alone looked either of them in the eye for the rest of the year. He moved his hands back to a much safer area of her body, clinging to her like she was still clinging to him, their chins coming to rest on the other's shoulder, not wanting even the tiniest bit of daylight coming between them.

"I'm not saying no or that we can't or I don't want to...we just need to move out of the living room if we're going to take it any further" she clarified to ensure he knew why she had so dramatically slammed on the breaks when things were progressing quite nicely.

"Yep. I know." Neither needed to say anymore, they both understood and were more than happy to stop before it went any further. They held each other tightly once again. As much as some very emotional and frantic grief ridden sex between them would have been hugely enjoyable and certainly a more than welcome distraction for a short while, neither of them wanted to move from where they were to continue what they'd started in the bedroom, more than happy just to stand there and hold each other for the rest of the night if need be, ever so grateful that they still could. Plus with Dr Joe out of action for the foreseeable future the last thing they needed was to traumatise Rusty further and for him to bother a man who needed to put all of his focus on his slow recovery rather than counselling a young man who had just caught his Mother and her boyfriend in flagrante delicto on the dining table.

Silence fell again for some time before Andy pressed his lips to her neck. "You had to shoot him Sharon. You had to, you had no choice" he told her as he sought to comfort her in any way he could because it was important to him that she knew that.

She sighed in response, that not really being the issue but she appreciated Andy's attempts to understand and comfort her all the same. "I know I did."

"He could have shot you or me or Amy or anyone else in that…"

She cut him off with a kiss to the lips, not wanting to discuss it anymore especially since he didn't really understand that she felt guilty precisely because she didn't feel guilty about what she'd done when Andy simply wouldn't in similar circumstances and she didn't want another argument with him about it because that was going to get them nowhere. They were on different pages and that was something she would have to accept and move on from because it certainly wasn't going to make her love him any less, it was just a fact of life, they were going to disagree about some things and that was that. "I know" she told him once again before she kissed him. There was an air of finality about not only the way she kissed him but in the tone she used to say it. She knew it all, saying it to herself multiple times since it had happened, that she had to do it and had no choice in the matter and yet she still felt guilt for not feeling bad about taking a life and that was never going to change regardless of anything Andy said to her even if he did understand it but she just didn't want to talk about it a moment longer. If she was ever going to feel better about it they needed to stop going around and around in circles on the subject and try to move on.

With the matter dealt with as far as Sharon was concerned at least they returned to hugging each other, their chins still resting on the other's shoulder with not even the smallest slither of daylight between them. "I am so so sorry about Chief Taylor. I am so sorry Andy" she said as her voice broke a little again, holding onto him even tighter and fully aware of the grief he was experiencing for his friend.

"Yeah, I know. Me too." He sighed. "I've known him my whole career. He was my friend…" he said before his voice cracked and bringing his words to an abrupt end, unable to continue without falling apart again.

At one time in his life Andy would have classed his then much respected Captain of Robbery Homicide Russell Taylor as one of his closest friends if not his best friend on top of being his leader at work and Andy would have followed him into the bowels of hell without hesitation if he'd asked. Andy did his bidding at work without question and without a second thought as almost his minion, trying to sabotage Chief Johnson as much as he could at his behest when Pope first brought her to Los Angeles but then overnight it all changed between them, their extremely close relationship coming to a very abrupt and fractious end. Taylor had unceremoniously tried to throw him to the wolves because of Bill Croelick without even a hint of loyalty towards him so that was it as far as Andy Flynn was concerned, their once great friendship was over for good. He transferred to Priority Homicide shortly afterwards, extremely lucky under the circumstances that Brenda wanted to take him on in the first place after everything he'd done in the weeks prior to sabotage her and undermine her as much as possible both at work and in the press but his relationship with Taylor was never the same again. A mutual dislike started to settle between them, neither missing a chance to make a sly dig at the other in front of the rest of the division and Andy remembered vividly Taylor's 'I would never describe you as elite' on the day before Priority Homicide became Major Crimes. It was something that never really changed when Commander Taylor started to report to Chief Johnson either, Andy continuing to not take Taylor's authority seriously and always pulling stunts like dumping safes from a suspect's house in his super cubicle for example just because he knew it would annoy the crap out of him.

Things were certainly a lot better between them when Commander Taylor became Assistant Chief Taylor and Andy was pretty much forced to take his rank a little more seriously (and not just because Rulebook Raydor was now his Commanding Officer and would never allow such blatant disrespect for rank to take place in her division) but they never found what they once had. Fifteen years earlier and Russell would have known Andy was dating Sharon from the outset rather than being told several weeks later and only as Sharon's immediate supervisor with the 'rules' coming into play because he would have known as Andy's friend. He would have told him what he was planning to do, that he was planning on asking her out like how he told Provenza, he would have sought his advice before taking the plunge too and then afterwards, now that they were very much an established couple they would have undoubtedly gone out to dinner as a foursome like how they now went out to dinner with Provenza and Patrice. They may have drifted further apart over the years but to Andy that only made it worse now that Taylor was gone, regretting that they hadn't patched things up before his death and despite all that had come to pass between them over the years, he was still grieving the loss of his friend as well as his colleague.

Regaining some of his composure Andy continued. "And I know we started to drift apart after I transferred but..."

"I know" she told him again as she cut him off with another kiss following his voice breaking a little, not wanting him to upset himself any more than he was already especially since she had raised the subject. Plus he didn't need to explain the situation to her, they'd discussed it in the past and she could fully understand what he was going through and what had come to pass.

He laughed into her neck. "You know an awful lot this evening if you don't mind my saying."

"I know" she replied, eliciting a laugh from both of them before they resumed holding each other in silence. At least another ten minutes went by with not a single word spoken as they clung to each other, not wanting to let go ever again but it still wasn't long enough of either of them, staying like that all night if they could. She kissed his neck again. "I'm sorry I locked you out on the balcony. It was completely inexcusable."

"That's okay." He kissed the side of her head as he cradled it, not wanting her to waste a second worrying about that on top of everything else. "Don't worry about it. It could have been a lot worse. At least I wasn't completely naked this time."

She chuckled into his neck a little. "If you had it might have evened the score slightly."

"Evened the score?"

"Yes." She kissed his neck again, not wanting to pull away from him to look him in the eye so made do with that instead. "I'm referring to when you admitted to calling in a bomb threat at Parker Centre to stop God knows what from happening in your division while I was in the shower after a session in the gym." He laughed before she swotted the back of his head, still slightly annoyed that he found her being stuck outside in a state of undress so incredibly funny on behalf of herself from over ten years earlier. "I spent half an hour wrapped in a towel with everyone leering at me" she reminded him.

"Are you sure that was the same day? I'm positive I would have noticed your legs in nothing but a towel out there." He kissed her shoulder again as his hand passed as low as it could go, brushing her legs as if he needed to remind her just how obsessed he was with them.

"That's highly doubtful. You and your partner in crime looked far too suspicious and up to no good to have any idea what else was going on outside" she told him and inadvertently sounding a little like Darth Raydor who was about to scold him.

"You don't know the half of it."

She laughed, only aware of the tip of the iceberg when it came to what happened that day. "Oh I don't doubt it and trust me Andy, the former Captain from Professional Standards really doesn't want to know the half of it either" she added, them both laughing about it.

"We were just minding our own business and waiting for the alert to be over, that's all" he lied not at all convincingly.

"The alert that you created."

"True but we weren't up to anything, honestly."

"Sure, of course you weren't." He couldn't help but laugh, thinking at the time that he and Provenza looked as cool and calm as could be when in reality they couldn't have looked any shiftier if they tried. "Watching you two pair of scoundrels standing around, looking beyond guilty and then watching the then Special Agent Howard drag a man in cuffs into his car to speak to Chief Johnson, it was like seeing a _Police Academy_ movie play out right in front of me."

"And yet you didn't come over to find out what we were doing?"

"I was in a towel! A towel Andy!" she practically shouted directly into his ear. He laughed and kissed her shoulder again by way of a very long overdue apology for his part in the whole escapade, Sharon having just enough skin exposed from where his shirt had slipped down for his lips to gently caress her. "I was too focused on stopping every single patrol officer standing out there with me from seeing my...my…from seeing my twinkle," she finally said with a lot more dignity that the sentence frankly warranted which inevitably made him laugh, "every time there was a strong gust of wind."

"Twinkle?" he asked as he continued to laugh.

"You're missing the point" she cried before they both laughed again.

"I wished I'd seen you."

"I'm sure" she replied with a roll of eyes not that he could see her as their chins still rested on the other's shoulder but somehow he knew, he always knew.

"I meant so that I could have given you my coat" he clarified. Sharon pulled back a little so that she could finally meet his eyes and look at him sceptically, not believing for a second that the man she knew all those years earlier, the man who seemed to make it his mission to make her working life a living hell as much as possible would offer her anything other than a smart comment and a smirk as he looked her up and down rather than his coat in an act of pure chivalry. "Hey I was and may still be an asshole but I don't go allowing fellow officers, even a pain in the ass from Professional Standards to get leered at because of a bomb threat that I called in." She smiled before she kissed him, believing every word. "It's very late in the day but I am sorry."

"Apology not accepted" she told him with a glare before her eyes softened, them both laughing again as she pulled back a little more, their arms still wrapped tightly around each other but leaning back enough so that she could at least see his face a little better now that her tears had dried up and they had something other than the demons in her mind to talk about. "And why were you naked exactly?" she asked as she smiled at him for what seemed like the first time in a long time. "When your lady friend locked you out on the balcony? You never have told me the full story."

Andy was completely lost for words for a moment as he struggled for an answer, his mouth slowly opening and closing repeatedly since he didn't want Sharon to think that he was a complete idiot while also still being uncomfortable discussing other women with the woman he planned to marry one day (as soon as he could talk her into it). "She said the night air was stimulating or relaxing or something, I don't know...it doesn't really matter why in hindsight but who would turn down sex on a balcony?" he said as if that was all the explanation he needed.

She smiled at him as her finger came up to stroke his chin before she playfully nibbled along his jaw and then moved her lips extremely close to his ear. "Well you know we do still have a balcony and for a lot longer than I expected now that we're no longer looking at houses," she said in a sultry whisper that was sure to get him exactly where she wanted him, "so the next time Rusty stays the night with Gus we could…"

"Oh no!" he laughed as he cut her off in her prime. Sharon pulled back to look him in the eye as she continued to smile at him, trying her hardest to tempt him into a little al fresco tryst on the balcony the next time they had the place to themselves and really not giving a damn that their neighbour Mrs Rose would probably complain to the condo board about them. "No way Raydor, not on your life! I no longer allow women to lure me naked and helpless onto balconies with the promise of sex."

She smiled at him again, the conversation quickly turning into the perfect distraction that she had so desperately needed which only served to make her feel all the more ridiculous for not allowing him to comfort her any sooner. "Are you telling me this has happened to you more than once?" she asked, her surprise evident in her tone.

"You met my former neighbour didn't you?" Sharon laughed and nodded, never likely to forget Mrs Williams even before she called her a 'whore' and then pelted Provenza with eggs before tackling Andy to the ground the day he moved in. "Only it was her porch and she was in nothing but a black satin negligee and a smile and wouldn't allow me to leave until she'd fed me some sort of homemade chocolate pudding while she sang 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love' at me."

Sharon laughed again. "How very sexy."

"I nearly poured bleach in my eyes and I still haven't been able to eat chocolate since." She laughed at him again, a little shake of her head soon following before she leaned back into him, their faces pressed into the other's neck. Silence fell again as they held each other until Andy began to slowly rub up and down her back, letting her know that he was about to speak and caused her to pull back a little to see his face. As he gazed into her eyes he moved a lock of her hair behind her ear, looking at her very seriously. "So, tell me, how did your red hot date with Behavioural Sciences go?" he asked. "Did you cheat on your test or did you take it seriously?"

She chuckled as much as she was able even though it was a topic of conversation that she didn't much want. "How exactly would I cheat on my test with Behavioural Sciences?" she queried.

"You're kidding with me right? You wrote the questions and the answers babe, that's how" he told her as he playfully pinched her backside to lighten the mood but it did nothing to take away from the complete seriousness of his question. "Did you tell them the truth about how you felt or did you tell them what you knew they wanted to hear from you in order for you to pass and get cleared for duty?"

"Does it really matter?" she replied dismissively.

"Yes, it does. I need to know how worried I should be about you right now."

She shook her head at him and tried to suppress her emotions as more tears threatened to break free, once more being more grateful than she would ever be able to fully express to him that she had someone who took care of her and worried about her after so many years being trapped in a loveless marriage where she became more than accustomed to taking care of herself. Still, at the same time, she didn't want him to worry about her more than he was already, not when he was struggling to hold on himself. She tried hard to stop it but her tears still fell freely. "You don't need to worry about me Andy" she told him softly.

"Well then I've got some bad news for you because I'm going to Raydor, more so since that's my job now." He moved his hands to cup her face. "You are the love of my life, the reason I get out of bed every morning and it is my job to worry about you. I'm going to worry about you Sharon until the day I die." He kissed her on the lips before he tried to kiss her tears away as they continued to fall. "Would it help if you spoke to someone about it?"

She wiped her eyes as she tried very hard to stop crying but without success. "Like who?" she asked. She was going to have to speak to a therapist anyway as part of her clearance from Behavioural Sciences to return to work even if she didn't think she really needed to so she didn't really know who else he would want her to speak to about it all.

Andy shrugged casually. "I don't know, like a Father Stan maybe."

Sharon's immediate reaction was to laugh. Andy loathed the clergy with a passion and as a result she had been forced to practically drag him to Mass with her on occasion. It was also one of the reasons why she had told him the previous Christmas (when he was still a little nervous and wasn't sure if she saw a long term future with him or not) that marriage was on the table between them but an annulment and a church wedding wasn't that important to her to put his mind at ease and because she knew how much to hated the church (and the not so small fact that getting Jack to agree to an annulment so that she could marry Andy was going to be harder than getting blood from a stone). "What?" she asked as she continued to laugh.

Not at all distracted by her mirth he looked at her with as serious an expression as he could muster. "Look Sharon, I don't want to push you into a conversation with me that you don't want to have so if you can't talk to me about it because you don't think I'll understand then okay but if I can't help you deal with this then..."

"Andy," she said to cut him off mid-sentence as her tears began to fall again, "just you being right here with me helps me deal with this more than you'll ever really know." Once more the flood gates opened and she couldn't stop herself from crying even if she wanted to. There was more on her mind than just a lack of guilt for killing a man and not caring but being able to find the words and fully express what she was feeling was at that moment eluding her. "Just having you here with me, that's all I need right now. I just need you my darling boy, I just need you to hold me."

She moved to hug him tightly to her once again, hiding her face into the crook of his neck. There was nothing that she wanted more than for Andy to just hold her from the moment they got home that evening, knowing that the simple act of having his arms around her would make her feel so much better about everything going on inside her head but she had been worried about the dam breaking and never being able to compose herself again if it did, a problem that she was continuing to have even as he held her. Thankfully she was passed that now, her fear gone. He had held her, the dam had come crashing to the ground, she had cried just like he had too for that matter, sobbed even so it was no longer an issue and just the feel of his arms around her had made her feel so much better about everything that it seemed utterly ridiculous to her that she hadn't done it any earlier. She couldn't help but tear up again as she attempted to open her heart about the many many things currently going on inside her head. If Andy couldn't fully get to grips with how she felt about some things, at least telling him about everything else would surely help her as she laid everything out. Or rather she hoped that would be the case but even if it didn't at the very least she wouldn't be keeping anything from him, something she had battled with throughout their relationship up to that point.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat again, seeming more upset than she did earlier. "I need you right now Andy more than ever because I feel completely broken. Broken into a million pieces." He tightened his hold on her, pushing his lips to her shoulder over and over again as she sobbed through her words, it being the only thing he could really do in that moment. "And I just...I just don't know who I am anymore Andy and…"

Before she had chance to continue unloading and tell him all that she wanted to as she poured her heart out to him, he cut in as he was unable to let that sort of confession hang in the air for a moment longer even though he didn't know where she was headed with her train of thought. It simply couldn't wait until she was done before he made an attempt to correct her thinking. "You are Captain Sharon Raydor of the LAPD" he told her clearly as he made sure she heard and understood every word he was saying to her. "You are the most wonderful, kind, compassionate, loving, caring, courageous, sweet, beautiful, funny, sexy and bad ass woman I have ever met in my entire life" he told her as she continued to cling to him as if she would drown if she let go. "That's who you are and not just to me, to everyone, to everyone who has ever met you and that's who you'll be to all the people you've yet to meet too. You hear me? You are an amazing cop and a fabulous mother to all of your kids. How many people would bring home a feral kid like Rusty and decide to keep him? Huh? Not many that's for sure. How many people would go out of their way to offer a broken down, grumpy, selfish alcoholic like me a second chance at work let alone inviting him into your heart and your home? Just you my angel, just you" he said with his voice also beginning to shake as he kissed the side of her head. "You are nothing but compassionate and loving and that makes you the best friend in the world, believe me I know better than anyone babe." He chuckled and was glad to hear he got a little laugh in return despite the way his words were making her cry more than ever. "And on top of that, aside from being my fearless and much respected leader and my best friend, you are the love of my life. That's who you are Sharon, the most amazing woman in this world and the very best and the strongest person I know. That's who you are, that's who you've always been and that's who you'll continue to be even when these doubts and dark thoughts have been completely banished from your mind, no matter what happens. That's who you are and that's who you'll always be."

"Oh how I wish that was still true" she sighed, not believing a word of it.

"But it is babe, but it is, every single word of it. Trust me, no matter what you were forced into doing yesterday or how you feel about it right now, that's who you are and that is the person that I and Rusty and Ricky and Emily and Gavin and Andrea and everyone at work even Provenza, that is who we all love so so much" he told her, his lips pressing against her neck again because he didn't have access to much else. "No matter what you do, you will always be loved by us, by all of us, especially me. Always."

Her breath caught in her throat again, her extreme emotional state clear for him to hear as she tried to get even closer to him. "Oh God I love you" she managed to get out as she almost squeezed the life out of him while she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"I love you too Captain" he replied and happily received a little laugh in return. "I love you so so much."

She sighed again, what she was forced to do a day earlier in that courtroom meaning that she really didn't think she was the person he was so beautifully describing anymore, feeling the way she did she simply couldn't be in her somewhat clouded opinion. "But Andy I don't think I'm that person anymore. If I can't feel some sort of remorse for Wildred Darnell even after taking the life of her son then I'm not that person anymore, I can't be."

"Of course you are. Of course you are no matter what you do and what doubts you have going around inside of your head right now, that's who you are."

She sighed with so much emotion it could do nothing but break his heart. Regardless of how she was feeling, despite not knowing who she was as a person anymore she had absolutely no idea what she would do without the man in her arms and that was despite the fact that she had done nothing but push him away from her over the previous half an hour. "But it sure doesn't feel like that right now. I just don't know who I am as a person anymore Andy, who I am as a police officer, who I am as a Catholic even for crying out loud for a vast array of reasons. I doubt my own sense of what's right and wrong, the justice system, even my faith but...Andy...if you weren't here with me…" She sobbed loudly as she allowed herself to get side tracked. "Oh God Andy I've made us waste so much time…"

With that very off topic statement coming at him from out of left field he tried to laugh a little since he thought it was nonsense. "Hey, hey, hey, you haven't wasted anything" he told her sincerely.

"Oh but I have don't you see?" she again cried into his neck. "I've made you constantly wait for me at every single step along the way and I know I'm really not worth the hassle..."

"Well that's just complete nonsense. Just to get the opportunity to spend an hour with you is worth all the wait and all the hassle in the entire world, trust me, I know." He pulled back a little and forced her to look at him. "Sharon you're the best thing to ever happen to me," he told her before pressing his lips firmly against hers, "and I only wish I could fix this for you."

"Exactly! Oh my God! That's my point exactly. Andy I really don't deserve you, your time, your love, your never ending patience with me. Every time you've tried to take one step forward in this relationship, every single time I've immediately taken two steps backwards and I realise now more than ever just how ridiculously foolish I've been from day one with you because if you weren't here with me right now Andy, as bad as I feel and as confused as I am about who I am as a person, without you here with me Andy, without my beautiful boy by my side I would truly be lost…well and truly completely lost."

It was the second time it had happened in their relationship, where she'd kept him at arm's length, foolishly she now admitted although the circumstances were vastly different to what had happened before. The first time was when she was violently ill on Valentine's Day and her overwhelming sense of embarrassment meant she didn't want him to look at her in that state much less help her but the moment she did, the moment she let him hold her and comfort her, her whole world seemed better. That night, six months later, as she cleaned the kitchen and Andy came to find her she felt the same way and she didn't want him to help her, she didn't want him to even look at her as she sought to contain everything she felt and was just so accustomed to doing it all herself but the moment that she let him and he held her he made her feel like everything would be okay again. After so many years of being alone her life could not be any more different. He was and he always would be her rock and she didn't know how she could cope without him anymore, that thought coming to her several times as the relief and then the guilt that Taylor died instead of him hit her like a sledgehammer.

"You help me my darling boy just by being here with me in the moments when I so desperately need you, even when I try to push you away first" she said quietly.

He sniffed before he replied, her upset causing his own. "But not enough babe. If I can't help you get through this sense of guilt and these doubts you're feeling then speak to Father Stan about it. Maybe he can be the one to help you work through this whole thing. So do it, go to Confession in the morning before work" he encouraged her, seeing it as the best thing she could possibly do for herself in the circumstances.

"I can't. Confession isn't until..."

"Father Stan will make an exception for you at any time of the day or night and you know it. So go and see him." He pulled back a little so that he could look her in the eye. "Please? For me?"

Despite the tears still streaming down her face she smiled at him and managed to suppress a laugh, Andy Flynn being the last person she expected to encourage her to go to church. Her hand came up to stroke his cheek as a little chuckle managed to escape her lips. "You're suggesting that I go to Confession? You? Really?" This time she did laugh which brought a huge smile to Andy's face too. "The man who was so concerned he was going to get struck by lightning at Midnight Mass last Christmas that you told me where your will was kept on the drive over? The man who dislikes all the clergy with a violent passion?"

"Hold on I don't dislike _all_ the clergy," he corrected her, "just that Father Jack asshole for obvious reasons and any Nun that I've ever met in my entire life again for obvious reasons."

"Close enough, and yet you're telling me to go and speak to Father Stan?"

"Hey I didn't say I was going" he replied quickly and making it clear that was not an option although in truth he would gladly have gone with her if it was the only way he could get her there to make her feel even the slightest bit better.

She laughed, opting to test the water since the subject had been raised. "But you could" she said with a smile, part of being an attempt to deflect the attention away from herself for a moment as well as seizing an opportunity when it was presented to her. As good as it felt to get it all off her chest and tell Andy what was going on she also didn't want him to worry about her when he was so clearly struggling himself, something she had rather regretfully missed since the shooting as she tried to hold all of her emotions in for as long as possible at the expense of pretty much everything else except for work.

"Hey I already agreed to once a month as well as Christmas and Easter, let's not push it" he replied quickly before he talked himself into spending every single Sunday pretending he was really listening to Mass when in fact he was actually praying for death.

She laughed. "I know that my darling boy and I appreciate it, really I do" she told him and confirmed it with a kiss to his lips.

Silence hung in the air for a moment but Andy refused to be so easily distracted. "Well?" he asked, not prepared to let the matter drop until she agreed to go and see Father Stan as soon as possible.

"Andy I don't need to speak to Father Stan."

"But what harm would it do?" he quite rightly asked. "If you can't talk to me about how you're feeling, if you don't think that I'll understand then surely it's the next best thing so that you can work this out and begin to feel better again."

"Andy I don't know" she said as her eyes moved away from his to look behind him, unsure that she knew how to seek forgiveness for how she was feeling and despite knowing exactly what Father Stan would say to her, that committing a mortal sin, killing a man like she had would be forgiven in the eyes of God because she did it in the pursuit of justice and to save the lives of others, the only problem being that she was not sorry about it and her only guilt came from not feeling guilty about it.

Andy gently placed his hand on her chin and turned her face to look at him again. "Sharon. For me? Please?" he asked.

"I'll be fine."

"I know you will be but I'm really worried you're not right now babe" he told her again. She looked away from him once more, the look of worry on his face likely to make her crumble as she tried to maintain that, despite what she had told him in the previous ten minutes, she was going to be okay on her own when quite clearly she wasn't. "Hey, hey, hey look at me." She reluctantly faced him again, their eyes locked on each other's. "You're not okay." Once more he stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Sharon, sweetheart I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you, all of us."

 _As they all filed one by one into the courtroom the day before every single member of her division went to check on their Captain to make sure that she was okay first before doing anything else. It was not just that she had been there, right next to Taylor as he was shot and died, a few spots of his blood on her forehead, but also because she had shot Dwight and they how that felt, how it felt to take a life with Sharon never even coming close to something like that since her days on patrol and then she had only wounded a man back then but it was enough to leave her 'emotionally damaged' or so said the therapist they made her see in the immediate aftermath. But their concern only increased over the next twenty four hours as they started to unravel the conspiracy. She was not herself at all but not for the reasons they expected. They all assumed she would feel some level of guilt over what had happened, their fiercely religious Captain with a strong sense of right and wrong and the rules and the value of a human life but Provenza was floored when she told him that she didn't feel any sense of guilt over it and that was what bothered her more than anything else, that she couldn't find an ounce of sympathy or grief for Dwight or Wildred over what she had done to him and it upset her immensely as she struggled to understand who she was as a person any more._

 _Within a couple of hours she has become hard like stone, the old Captain from FID that they had all seen from afar before they really got to know her and she softened in their eyes not just because of Rusty but because they really got to know her as a friend. Despite that every now and then that emotion still came through and they all saw her struggle but they knew that the one person who would be able to help her, Andy, wouldn't be able to do anything about it until he got her home such was their work/home life divide which they had worked so long and hard on and had battled to maintain and protect on an almost daily basis. Both Provenza and Julio had a quiet word in Andy's ear to express their concerns throughout the two days as they worked themselves into the ground, seeing and hearing things from Sharon that Andy hadn't which showed how much she was struggling but Andy said he had it all covered (Julio had been with her and Amy as she spoke to Wildred Darnell in her office and it broke his heart to watch. Likewise when she had confessed rather casually and almost dismissively to Provenza that she didn't feel bad for her actions at all his concern suddenly grew exponentially). Andy was also worried about her and had been from the moment she pulled the trigger but he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything while they were at work (aside from a brief hug in the courtroom when Taylor was declared dead by Dr Morales he kept his professional distance because he knew that's what she'd want) she wouldn't allow it anyway but he'd handle it when they got home finally but he still hadn't been given the opportunity to do that until she had come to him as he sat on the end of the table with the way she had shut herself away from him all evening._

"Me?" she laughed as she stroked his cheek, her sole focus on him and trying desperately hard to forget what she had just told him, telling him how broken she felt. Without meaning to she had been piling yet more worry and stress onto Andy's shoulders when he was clearly struggling himself, wishing she could take it all back in an instant. "Andy you're worried about me?" She laughed again even though it was still the last thing she wanted to do. "What about you?"

Andy smiled, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing it softly. "Sharon I'm going to be just fine" he assured her, a large smile still present on his face as he met her lips. "I'm not going to drink tonight or any other night for that matter. You can trust me."

"I know" she nodded. "I know I can." Although it was a conversation they were yet to have, still desperately wanting him to open up about his drinking and his recovery, but regardless he did have her trust. She was fuzzy on the details on the whole but she also knew that he'd worked far too hard to get sober and to stay sober not only for himself but also to begin to have a better relationship with his children to let it all go without a serious fight.

"Besides you'd feel me getting out of bed if I decided to come in here and finish off a bottle of wine in the middle of the night" he joked.

"Oh I know I would. Let's face it I feel your red hot body going to the bathroom in the middle of the night" she laughed, the drop in temperature that came from Andy climbing out of bed usually waking her rather than the bed dipping as he sat on the edge before sleepily taking to his feet. "But even though I know that and I trust you and I know you have an exceptionally good handle on things I'm still going to worry about you boy because I love you."

"I know but you don't need to." He sighed with it being something on the top of his 'To Do' list, telling her about his struggles with alcohol but he didn't want to do it until the funerals were out of the way and he'd finally unpacked and truly made the condo his home. He met her eye and shrugged, trying to play it as casually as he could because he didn't want her to worry about him on top of everything else she had going on inside her head. Both of them not wanting to worry the other when clearly that was never going to happen. "You can have all the help in the world, all your family and your friends by your side and AA meetings and a sponsor always available and working the steps and taking it one day at a time, one hour at a time even but at the end of the day the only person who can tackle your addiction for you is you." He shrugged again. "I learnt that the hard way, so like you I too have been taking care of myself for a _very_ long old time and even though I do still need you to help me with that from time to time whereas you don't really need me, you don't need to worry about me."

Sharon cringed at his words 'you don't really need me,' since that clearly was no longer the case and she needed him to know that, she needed him to know that she was wrong and she did need him, she needed him more than ever in fact. "I do need you Andy" she told him as she cupped his face. She pulled him closer again, holding him as close as possible. She regretted that she had ever said that to him, the whole conversation feeling like it had happened a lifetime ago given everything that had happened between them since then. She had told him that she'd been taking care of her own best interests for a very long time, over two decades by that point and she didn't need him for that, Andy subsequently believing that she didn't actually need him at _all_ even after they started to date rather than just protecting her at work, him being with her because she wanted him rather than she needed him. However the truth to the matter was she now realised that she did need him, she needed him more than she had ever thought possible, more than she'd needed anyone else in her life since it just wasn't the sort of relationship she had once shared with Jack.

The way that Sharon had said it, despite knowing how emotional she was, he knew that she meant it. Although he wished with every fibre of his being that Sharon wasn't feeling as utterly distraught as she was it was still music to his ears to hear her say that she did 'need' him. In the past she had made it abundantly clear just how much she didn't need him or anyone else but at the time she'd been talking about work and they were still over a month away from their first real date. It also came up for discussion the day that he sold his house, Andy feeling more than a little insecure in their relationship because he still worried that he was almost disposable in Sharon's eyes. She soon corrected his error however. She told him that night as they spoke about their future together, that future that was only just starting, telling him that life had made her much more independent than most in her position and she hadn't really needed anyone for a very long time. But none of that mattered to her because she _wanted_ him. She wanted him in her life and she also needed him too and although he wished the circumstances were different, that Sharon hadn't been so utterly broken and down on her knees for it to happen, he was so very glad to hear it.

"Andy my darling I need you more than ever right now precisely because I'm so used to taking care of myself and I don't want to do it any longer" she told him, that highly valued independent streak never about to up and leave her completely despite Andy's presence in her life but it was wonderful to realise that it didn't need to run her life anymore, that she had someone else to rely on. She kissed him on the lips. "But you..."

"Look I'm not going to drink tonight or tomorrow night or ever again okay?" he told her as he butted in, not wanting her to worry about him any more than she wanted him to worry about her. "That is a promise that I've not just made to you or Nicole or Rusty or Provenza but also to myself. I am going to do everything in my power from now until the day I die not to become that person again" he stated emphatically. "But you are going to talk to someone very soon about this aren't you?"

She smiled and nodded. "If it would make you feel better about everything then of course I will" she told him and completely missing the point of why he wanted her go in the first place.

"No because it'll make _you_ feel better. Please?"

"Okay. Okay. I'll go in the morning and speak to Father Stan. I promise."

It was something that she hadn't wanted to say to him when they arrived home because she simply didn't want to worry him about her more than she assumed he probably was already as well as just a general desire to keep it to herself but in the end she couldn't help but spill her guts to him and tell him how truly lost she felt. The cat was now well and truly out of the bag. She hadn't been exaggerating about it, she did currently feel lost, completely lost and she just didn't know what to do about it. Her grief over the death of Chief Taylor and DDA Rosen was manageable if not all consuming at times since she was powerless to save them despite being armed herself. Likewise her relief that not only was Dr Joe going to be okay but by some minor miracle Andy was completely unhurt as well could also be dealt with in time when it was all over but there were more pressing concerns for her at that moment and they were all to do with Dwight and it was something that Andy was just never going to get to grips with no matter how hard he tried.

Sharon had been a Catholic since the moment she was born and not a Catholic like Andy, she took her religion seriously, it grounded her, it was her support network for the longest time and it made her the person that she was, giving her a sense of right and wrong that had been with her since she was a small girl but that had all gone out of the window over the course of the previous forty eight hours. She had taken a life, a human life, something forbidden in the Bible, a mortal sin and instead of feeling guilty about that she simply didn't care about it at all. Dwight deserved it and she took some kind of satisfaction about being the one to put him down. At a time when she needed it the most she was as far away from her religious beliefs as possible. She didn't believe in her God anymore like she used to or the justice system she'd spent so much of her life trying to uphold and she felt like she had completely lost all sense of right and wrong and at the heart of it, who she was as a person. She felt as lost as a person could possibly be and to compound matters the person that she wanted to talk to about it all the most was the one person she didn't think she could talk to because he wouldn't really understand, the man in her arms, the man imploring her to seek help from the church because he couldn't reach her with his view of the world. But more to the point even if Andy could begin to comprehend her guilt, how could he help her when she didn't know what she wanted and needed to feel better to begin with? Simply telling her that she did the right thing and she had saved lives by taking one herself and she would be forgiven in the eyes of God and her peers was not nearly enough. She needed more. She needed Wildred Darnell herself to confirm that Dwight was a monster and the she did the right thing when she took his life, that her actions were understandable and she forgave her because she had no choice but that was never going to come from a woman grieving over the loss of her only child. Which would only mean one thing, Sharon lost in the wilderness, forever seeking the absolution she was craving but not entirely sure she wanted or deserved it and feeling even more guilty because of that.

Andy smiled, glad that she had agreed to go but still feeling that he may need to drive her to St Joseph's himself to ensure she went. "Thank you." They hugged each other tightly once again as he kissed her neck and shoulder over and over again as if he was reminding her he was still there for her and always would be no matter what. Despite his best efforts Sharon was still clearly very emotional and rather than continuing to get better she seemed to be getting even more upset again as her focus switched onto one of the other things clouding her mind as she shook in his arms and ragged breath after ragged breath escaped her lips no matter how hard she fought to contain it. Assuming it was still all to do with Dwight, Andy regretted bringing up talking to Father Stan at all since she seemed to be back where they started when she first allowed him to touch her that evening. He started to rub her back, hoping it would sooth her. "Look babe I know I don't really understand how you're feeling right now about Dwight and everything but I can still listen if you want to talk to me about it, I can still do that."

"It's not that...well it's not just about that" she clarified.

"Then what? What else has you cleaning at this hour and feeling like this aside from that?" he asked, hoping to get a response that he might be able to help her with or at least try because it was clear that her current distress was caused by something other than grief over the loss of her colleague and friend.

She pulled back slightly and looked him in the eyes, revealing that she had plenty more tears ready to shed and no way to stop them, perhaps even more than earlier. A very slow and shaky breath escaped her lips once more before she sobbed. "It could...it could have been you." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as the tears began to fall freely from them once again, desperate to contain her emotions not only because she didn't want him to see them and worry even more but also because she feared that if she truly let go she would not be able to stop again.

 _It was a thought that hadn't hit her until she was safely in the shower a few hours earlier, completely alone with nothing but her thoughts. With so much going on at work and then even more going on inside her head, some things were initially neglected (such as how the whole situation was testing Andy's recovery) and one of those things was the realisation that if Andy hadn't moved seats for Chief Taylor when he arrived he would have been sitting there. He would have tried to have returned fire first. He would have been nearly knocked over by fleeing spectators. He could have been gunned down and killed by Dwight. She'd spent much of the last thirty six hours seeing Taylor and Rosen and Dr Joe and even Dwight lying on the ground and covered in blood as she replayed the shooting over and over in her mind and never able to stop it from happening. Then suddenly and out of nowhere she saw Andy where Taylor lay instead, his beautiful brown eyes that always danced when he looked at her suddenly lifeless, covered in blood and she simply couldn't breathe. For a moment in the shower she thought she was going to pass out as she sank to the floor before a long loud sob escaped her, thankful once again that the small shower was relatively sound proof from the rest of the condo but for vastly different reasons than usual._

Despite her exhaustion she hadn't been able to sleep because of her guilt over her lack of guilt about Dwight but likewise she also couldn't sleep because of the thought that it could have been Andy and then her guilt because of her relief that it wasn't. She still had Andy, her darling boy lying beside her in bed with his arms wrapped around her and pulling her back against his chest as a constant reminder he was alive. Meanwhile across time a wife grieved the loss of her husband and children grieved for their Father. With her confession to Andy she suddenly felt like she was in the shower again, unable to breathe as the dam well and truly shattered into a million pieces. She had no control over her emotions anymore as they spilled out of her, crying harder than she'd ever done in front of Andy and it was all for him, at the thought of losing him so suddenly before they'd even had chance to really start their lives together.

"It could so easily have been you instead him" she managed to force from her lips as her hands trembled while she cupped his face. She had spent so much of the evening running away from him so that he didn't see her break in front of him but now that she had all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him and never let go ever again. "Dwight, he could so easily have shot you instead." Andy tried his best to smile at her as he wiped some of her tears away with his thumbs, this an emotional response he could fully understand because he felt the exact same way about her, just as relieved as well as guilty that it was Taylor who had died instead of her. "If Chief Taylor hadn't been late, if you hadn't moved seats for him so he could sit next to me, you would have been right there next to me and I just..."

"I know, I know but I wasn't" he repeated over and over again as he pulled her closer and kissed her repeatedly, Sharon clinging to him even more, climbing under his skin if she could find a way.

"I just feel so soul crushingly awful for feeling relieved about that and then that makes me feel even more guilty for Russell and his poor family but the idea of losing you Andy...I just..." she said as her words trailed off and her tears continued to fall freely, simply unable to contain them. "I can't lose you Andy, not yet. I just can't. We've only just got started." She pulled away from him slightly so that she could push her lips to his, only pulling away again when she needed to take a much needed breath. "You know I never meant or expected to fall in love again, not at my age, not after all this time after being on my own for so long and definitely not with the man who was once bane of my existence," she said before she was able to manage a small chuckle, "and I did everything I could to resist it and stop it from happening to me but I've reached the point in my life where I'd be lost without you Andrew Flynn, I'd truly be lost."

Andy pulled her back to him and held her so tightly they almost became one. "I know. I know" he told her as he kissed the side of her head over and over again while he cradled the back of it with his left hand. His voice broke a little as he spoke because of how it could so easily have been her too and it was a thought that had eaten away at him over the previous twenty four hours plus.

 _He had lost her a little since the shooting as she broke into a million pieces in front of him and he could do nothing to help her but when he thought about losing her altogether, when he thought about the way she had taken Dwight down while he still had one bullet left in his clip it made his knees buckle. It hit him while he was getting himself a much needed caffeine boost in the Break Room, having to take a moment to put his hand on the wall and keep himself upright as he fought for his composure before finally returning to work._

"Trust me sweetheart I feel the exact same way about you right now, the exact same way." They continued to cling to each other, the sound of his voice breaking causing her to adjust and bury her face into the crook of his neck so she could kiss him. "I will thank my lucky stars every day for the rest of my life that it was him instead of you babe. But that guilt," he sighed as he felt it too, relieved that it was Lydia suffering across town rather than him which made him feel even worse, "it eats right at the heart of you doesn't it?"

"I keep feeling so relieved that it was Taylor and not you and then I just...I feel so guilty about that too. I feel so guilty about that right now that I can barely breathe." Her breath caught in her throat again as she came very close to hyperventilating with a sense of panic much like she experienced in the shower as he continued to kiss the side of her head to comfort himself as much as to comfort her, feeling the same way.

"I know. Me too. Me too." Andy sighed before he kissed her exposed shoulder over and over again. "I love you so so much Sharon. Never forget that."

"I know. I love you Andy, I love you and I just don't know what I'd do without you anymore. I've always been fine on my own and I've never really needed anyone but I just can't...I just can't live without you anymore. I can't. I can't do it and moreover I just don't want to do it" she told him sincerely in what was a stunning and completely surprising statement of vulnerability coming from the likes of Sharon Raydor. It was a terrifying thing for her to admit out loud, especially at her age, especially with what had come to pass with Jack, forcing her to be even more independent and building immense barriers around herself so that she would never again feel that level of heart break in her life. Agreeing to go out on that first date with Andy was the biggest risk she'd ever taken in her life and Sharon Raydor did not take unnecessary risks. Fourteen months later and it was the best decision of her life.

"Well I hope you're not going to have to for a very long time."

"I'm going to hold you to that" she told him. They just about managed a little laugh each before they pulled back slightly so that their lips could meet in a long, slow, lingering kiss that was filled with gratitude and relief and love but so gentle it was like they were afraid of breaking each other. When they finally pulled apart he wiped away her tears with his thumbs again before he pulled her back to him and against his chest.

Silence once again descended on the darkened living room as they held each other, more than content to spend the rest of the night where they were, them both incredibly upset despite their relief and unable to speak, not wanting to let the other go as they thought of the Taylors across town and how they must be feeling. They knew Lydia and their boys would do anything for just five more seconds with Russell and that made them all the more grateful to have each other, to savour every single moment and not wanting to let them go ever again.

"I never even got chance to ask him about us having a week off together so we could go on vacation" Sharon said after a good long time. "I was going to ask him yesterday after court finished for the day. I was so utterly dreading it." She laughed but it soon stopped. "Now I would do absolutely anything to be able to have that conversation with him."

"Oh to be able to see his utterly horrified expression when we asked for the time off" Andy replied with real humour in his voice, both of them just about able to laugh despite how distressed they still felt. "You know I didn't think anyone could be more uncomfortable than Chief Johnson was when it came to dealing with the more personal aspects of the job and officers under her command dating and stuff but her major freak out over Gabriel and Daniels is nothing compared to how he reacted when we told him we were dating." They laughed again. "Like a deer caught in a set of headlights."

 _Although it needed a little nudge from Andy to do it when they did because she had been so completely absorbed in the case (glad as it turned out that Andy thought of it when he did although in part that was due to him struggling to adjust and narrow his focus since they had started dating. They may not have shared a bed by that stage and were still five months away from that but just catching a whiff of her perfume at work was enough to distract him, an issue that would indeed come back again after the first time they slept together), Sharon was very eager to get it over and done with and inform her immediate supervisor that she was dating within her division as soon as possible. In fact she was as anxious to get it done as Andy was nervous about it, seeing it as perhaps the smaller of the hurdles currently facing them as a couple as they tried to make their new found romantic relationship work (both of them assuming that continuing to work side by side while dating would be the most difficult thing to do but it was quickly proving to be getting Rusty on side with the whole thing since he had suddenly become extremely reluctant and almost weary about accepting Andy into his life as something other than Sharon's friend and colleague and that was despite telling them both to their faces in the past that they'd been dating for years without either of them ever realising it. The whole situation was made even more awkward because Andy wasn't at the condo any more than he had been in the past so not much had actually changed at that point other than the word 'date' was added when they saw each other outside of work)._

 _Sharon had told Andy repeatedly after their first date that they weren't breaking any rules (and if anyone would know it was her) and that neither of them would have to transfer out of Major Crimes so that meant that they could date and continue to work together as long as one didn't affect the other but he still felt more than a little anxious about it (both of them keenly aware that he would have been the one who would have been forced into sacrificing his career and moving back to Priority Homicide if that was the case but in truth he would have gladly transferred anywhere to get the chance to spend the rest of his life with her but the situation was certainly helped by the fact that Provenza was her second in command and therefore having him between them as a buffer in their structure at work). Sharon had been trying to tell Taylor for days about their relationship but the appropriate moment just never seemed to present itself, the only time he remembered that she had asked to speak to him previously about an 'issue within her division' was as they were investigating the deaths of Officers Leary and Tracey and it was hardly the right moment for them to discuss it._

 _Despite the anxiety it was causing the both of them as they awaited the perfect moment to reveal all to Taylor there was one simple reason why Sharon wanted to tell him about what was happening as soon as humanly possible: she desperately wanted that first kiss with Andy but she wouldn't even consider attempting it before she had fully disclosed their change in status first. It was as they sat in Andy's car in the parking garage of her building following their first date that she asked him or rather told him that taking their relationship slowly was deal breaker as far as she was concerned. They could either take things slowly while they not only adjusted to looking at each other more romantically (or at least finally admitted that's what they were doing since they'd both been suppressing those desires for a good long while, one slightly longer than the other but there wasn't much in it) and ensured they could continue to work together and date or it wasn't going to happen at all. Andy agreed to her request almost immediately albeit more than a little reluctantly, stating that if he agreed it was her sole irrational demand for their entire relationship. The only problem was he didn't really know what taking it slow actually meant. How slow exactly? Like it was the 1800s? Or maybe the 1940s? No sex before marriage slow? Or no sex until at least a couple of months slow? Could he kiss her even? He simply didn't know and he wasn't about to ask her such were his all-consuming nerves with her that would still be present over twelve months later. But again such was his fear of rushing her before she was ready, running before they could walk and ruining what he hoped was the rest of his life, he decided that he was going to follow Sharon's lead and leave it all up to her no matter how desperately he wanted to kiss her or move things forward after that._

 _With that in mind and without much thought or caution he had completely surrendered control of their relationship to her willingly and so far in the three weeks that they'd been dating they went to dinner a lot, the movies too and even a walk on the beach but physical contact had been limited. She had played with his tie when she said 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' to him at the start and end of their evenings together, something that she had done long before they ever started dating with it eventually becoming a substitute for a kiss on the lips. Then their last two dates had ended with hugs or more accurately prolonged embraces as they clung to each other and didn't want to let go. The evening that two of their fellow colleagues were pointlessly gunned down in the street he had taken her to Santa Monica pier and they'd ended up walking along the beach with her taking his hand for the very first time and both of them feeling like their hands were made for each other, fitting together perfectly. That was their last date with work getting in the way ever since but as it ended she so desperately wanted to feel his lips dance against hers but she stopped herself, wanting Taylor to know what was going on before that happened._

 _As Sharon and Andy led a rather perplexed looking Taylor to her office he took a step closer to her, suddenly filled with nerves to the point where he worried he might actually be sweating despite it being his idea to tell Taylor at that particular moment in time. "_ _Are you ready for this?" he asked quietly and as subtly as he could, the smile he had when they left Electronics gone and instead was replaced with a worried frown._

 _She smiled at him._ _"_ _Oh most definitely" she confirmed. He smiled back at her enthusiasm, the look on her face infectious, but she couldn't fail to notice he looked more than a little anxious about the whole conversation, the conversation that was entirely his idea at that precise moment in time. She moved closer to his ear as they edged towards her office. "Don't worry, it'll be easy. We're not breaking any rules remember."_

" _And you'd know" he grinned back. Sharon laughed and smiled before she walked straight into her office via the door by Andy's desk while Andy waited for Taylor to go in ahead of him. Seeing Andy come to a halt Taylor stopped too, unsure of what was going on and looking for answers. "After you Chief." Andy held his hand out and Taylor walked in with a puzzled look still very much present on his face, feeling like he was ten years old again when he was being called into his Father's study to be told that his dog had been 'sent to a farm' after an unfortunate incident that involved his Grandfather, a bottle of bourbon and a lawnmower. Following his Chief inside Andy closed the door behind him._

 _The moment she had walked into her office Sharon had turned her laptop around so that it faced the table should Taylor feel the need to sit down shortly (when she sat down and really thought about it she was shocked she was now in a relationship with Andy Flynn and she'd obviously known how close they'd been getting over the last few years. In comparison Taylor would possibly need a paper bag to breathe in). She quickly pulled up the live feed on the news as they waited for the statement from the idiotic Special Agent Shea who was about to make a complete fool of himself, something that Taylor could relate to with the amount of times he was the sacrificial lamb in front of the press for Major Crimes before he became Assistant Chief._

" _So what's all this about?" Taylor asked as he surveyed the two of them standing before him._

 _Sharon and Andy looked at each other. It was the one thing they hadn't actually discussed, exactly how they were going to tell Taylor but Andy gestured for Sharon to take the lead in the conversation since Taylor was her immediate supervisor after all and to be fair he had already told Provenza who was technically his immediate supervisor that he was asking her on a date before he even did it._

" _Erm" Sharon started to say before she cleared her throat and realised that her other office door, the one behind Taylor was wide open and anyone who walked past could potentially hear what was happening. That wasn't to say that her relationship with Andy was a secret by any stretch of the imagination because it wasn't but Sharon was a very private person and until they had some handle on their personal relationship and how that would work as they continued to work together, she wanted her two worlds kept as separate as possible, not least because she knew there was going to be a big long line of people waiting to talk her out of it due to Andy's past and reputation. "Can we close the door Chief?"_

 _Taylor eyed them both suspiciously because for the first time ever Sharon Raydor seemed a little flustered as she spoke to him, Sharon, the woman who was usually so unflappable but who would now need to be lowered to half-mast on Memorial Day. "Okay" he said, drawing out the word so it sounded like it was made up of about one hundred and forty syllables. He turned and shut the door, Sharon and Andy taking the chance to glance at each other, him offering her a reassuring smile while Taylor's back was turned. "Now, would you be so kind as to explain what the hell is going on with you two?" he demanded as he turned back to face them._

 _Sharon cleared her throat, it suddenly feeling dry. "Chief you may remember that I asked to speak to you last week about," she paused as she cleared her throat again and her hand came up to rest over her heart, feeling like she did when she was talking to Rusty about TJ and how friendships could sometimes develop into more, her heart feeling like it could potentially burst from her chest at any moment, not from nerves but because she felt so happy with life, "an issue within my division."_

" _Right and that issue is what exactly?" Taylor asked, still none the wiser what the usually incredibly succinct and intelligent Captain Raydor was trying to say to him._

" _Erm..." she said again as she stalled, looking at Andy and getting another smile in return, getting the courage from his grin and subtle wink before turning back to Taylor. "Dating" she said finally, sounding as confident as ever._

" _Dating?" Taylor repeated and not able to hide his surprise, the word coming out so high it sounded like he was in the middle of a prostate exam._

" _My dating to be exact Chief" Sharon confirmed._

" _And mine too for that matter" Andy added, suddenly filled with confidence and not wanting to leave it all up to Sharon. Silence fell on the office as Taylor looked at the two of them like they had snakes coming out of their ears as he slowly pieced together what they were trying to tell him without them actually explicitly saying it to him, his jaw seconds from falling open from the shock._

" _As you may be aware Chief," Sharon continued, "Andy and I have been very good friends for a few years now but our relationship has erm...progressed since then."_

" _Progressed?" Taylor repeated, unable to say anything else other than parroting everything being said to him but in a pitch about four times higher._

" _Over the last couple of weeks" Sharon stated._

 _Seizing the initiative and wanting to help out since Taylor seemed to be struggling to take it all in Andy took a step forward. "To cut a long story short Chief, I asked Sharon out on a real date and well…" He paused as he grinned like the Cheshire Cat, unable to stop himself as he looked at her so adoringly, too adoringly for work but given the circumstances and how it was all suddenly becoming completely official, he simply couldn't help himself. "Well she said 'yes.'"_

 _Taylor's huge shocked and bulging eyes went back and forth between the two of them for a moment like he was watching an incredibly long rally at Wimbledon._ " _Really? Dating? You two?" he finally managed to spit out. Sharon and Andy looked at each other for a moment again, smiling as they all but confirmed the story they were telling him._

 _He wasn't entirely sure but Taylor thought his eyes were about to fall out of his head and roll away. Dating? Raydor and Flynn? Seriously? He could recall from the top of his head several times he'd witnessed the two of them having great slanging matches in the middle of the Murder Room before she became his Commanding Officer. They hated each other for years and now they were dating? Really?! His eyes quickly scanned the room to look for hidden cameras, assuming that it had to be a joke or something._

 _He went to speak again, not entirely sure what words were going to fall from his lips other than 'What?!' or 'But you hate each other!' but he was soon distracted by the sight of FBI Special Agent Jerry Shea appearing on the screen of the laptop and ready to start his press conference. "Let's put a pin in this conversation for a moment. It's starting" he said as he pointed towards the screen._

 _Sharon and Andy smiled at him nervously as they turned around and tried to focus on the press conference but that was going to be easier said than done especially because they knew Taylor couldn't take his eyes off either them and wasn't listening to a single word Shea was saying now that this bombshell had been dropped on him. It was the first time that something like it had happened, being notified that two officers beneath him were now dating. Of course he offered Gabriel advice about Daniels and was there for him when it ended so badly as the only real ally he had since all the rest were more sympathetic towards Daniels in the circumstances after she transferred but suddenly he understood why Chief Johnson was so uncomfortable with that sort of thing as he finally found the part of his job that he liked the least and he was being made aware of it by Darth Raydor of all people. He could understand it perfectly from Andy's point of view. Sharon was beautiful, classy, intelligent and quite possibly the kindest person he had ever met, the complete opposite to Andy Flynn. It briefly crossed his mind that perhaps Andy had killed Jack for her and he was blackmailing her into it because he would never know what she saw in the womanising, smug asshole who he once considered to be his closest friend. It had to be a dream or a hallucination. Suddenly he couldn't wait to get out of that room and talk to Provenza to get all the inside information and gossip which he was sure to have as Andy's friend. Well, he thought to himself as Special Agent Shea prattled on about how the Clarks had murdered their son for the ransom money, at least he had something to tell Pope the next time he saw him and he was never going to believe it. Raydor and Flynn were suddenly going to be very interesting to watch over the next few months and luckily for him, he had a ringside seat._

They laughed for a moment at the memory of that afternoon but it soon died down and the replacing silence was almost deafening in comparison as they continued to hold each other. She sighed, feeling even more drained that she was before Andy got up but she was better for letting some of that emotion out and doing it in front of him but that had only made her feel all the more exhausted as a result. However since she was still fearful of her dreams and even the flashing images when she blinked, she was determined not to go to sleep.

"I'm sorry Andy. I'm so sorry" she whispered into the crook of his neck. "I've tried so hard to keep it in, keep my emotions in check all day rather than dumping it all on you when you have enough things of your own to worry about currently without mine too and yet I've…I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry but I just can't stop it now." She laughed again, giving him the impression that she thought she was being utterly ridiculous for being so upset and Andy agreed but not for the same reason. Once again he put the blame for Sharon not thinking she could fall apart in front of someone she loved, not even the likes of him squarely on Jack's shoulders.

"Don't be sorry" he told her as he cradled the back of her head before he kissed her, forcing her to look him in the eyes as he spoke so that he could at least attempt to get her to fully believe and take on board what he was saying. "Sharon you never have to hide how you're feeling from me. Never. You hear me?" he asked, looking for any sign of recognition. "I will always be here for you. Always. I am here until the very bitter end with you my love and you never have to hide how you're feeling from me. Not ever. I'm the guy you lean on. I'm the guy that will be here for you no matter what. I'm the guy that loves you to death, the guy who will always love you. I'm the guy you can say absolutely anything to. I'm the guy who will always try to make it better if I can. Okay?" he asked again. "You don't need to hide anything, least of all from me. Okay?"

She sniffed as she pulled back a little further, finally nodding at him. "Not even my feelings on that grey and white monstrosity you insist on wearing all the time?" she asked as she tried her hardest to smile, that particular shirt of his loathed for a couple of reasons, firstly because it was just horrible and secondly because he always seemed to get into trouble when he wore it.

They laughed as he wiped her tears away with his thumbs again, firmly pressing his lips to where they had been to remove the final traces. "Well maybe that and if anything ever happens to the turkey during the holidays but other than that you never have to hide how you're feeling from me."

They laughed again as she nodded, thinking if anything ever happened to the turkey over the holidays she'd have to sedate Andy rather than lie to him about it. She smiled at him as much as she could, moving her hands to cup his face. "I love you" she told him, the emotion clear in her voice before she kissed him on the lips.

"I love you too." He kissed her back before they returned to holding each other tightly. As he held her he couldn't stop his mind from racing, everything coming as thick and fast to him as it was to Sharon. Andy knew that although it wasn't the first time that Sharon had shot someone, it was the first time that she had actually killed someone. His mind instantly drifted to his first time, the first time he took a life and although he didn't feel bad for not letting the death of an asshole at his hand bother him all that much, it was the first time that he drank himself to sleep in order to forget it.

It irritated him, not just that he couldn't wrap his head around Sharon's guilt at her lack of guilt for killing Dwight but that it meant he couldn't help her. That didn't mean he was going to give up trying, determined to at least begin to understand how she was feeling because he loved her. In the end he opted to tell her about his first time to see if that might help her a little because there were some similarities.

He sighed before he spoke, his words when they did come causing Sharon to jump slightly in his arms from the surprise, her mind elsewhere during the silence. "My first one, the first time I shot and killed a man was during my third year out on patrol." Sharon kissed his neck and then pulled back a little so she could see his face while she listened, owing him at least that much as he opened up to her. "His name was David Gomez and when I arrived on the scene he had raped his sister at gunpoint while forcing her friend to watch and was just leaving the house as if nothing had happened on his way to work. His sister, her name was Maria and…oh my God, she had the most astonishing pair of hazel eyes I'd ever seen in my life at that point, she'd called 911 while he was getting dressed. The moment he saw me he opened fire, before I'd even got out of the car so I had no choice but to immediately return fire. I hit him twice in the chest, double tap, and the report said he was dead before he hit the ground but the guy fired at me first and came damn near close to hitting me too so I had absolutely no choice." He paused as he looked passed her as if he was watching the whole incident playing out just over her shoulder. "What I remember most of all though was his sister screaming at me. She'd just been violently sexually assaulted by the guy, she called 911 on him but she proceeded to beat the crap out of me because he was her brother and I'd just killed him." He shrugged. "I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and his Mom too for that matter and I think the guy had a baby boy at home I guess but I had no choice. It was him or me. There was no doubt about it, the guy was a Grade A asshole and he deserved what he got but I felt sorry for his family, for their loss" he told her, still not really getting to grips with how Sharon felt because he felt sorry for the family when Sharon simply didn't, rather than feel sorry for Wildred Darnell she blamed her, looked at her with suspicious rather than sympathy. She nodded but she didn't speak. He didn't think, despite his best efforts, he would ever really understand her guilt at not feeling guilty for taking a life but what he could relate to was how she felt after speaking to Wildred Darnell, someone who understood that you had no choice but at the end of the day they were also grieving the loss of someone they loved. "I'm not blaming it at all but that was the first time I went home and drank until I passed out to be able to sleep, so I get it okay?" She nodded again. "Like me you were just doing your job and you saved lives, you saved my life." She nodded again without a word and he saw that despite his best efforts he really wasn't helping matters, only bringing her mind back to something she desperately wanted to forget and needed to forget for her own sanity if he was ever going to get her to go back to bed and get some much needed sleep.

They returned to hugging in silence again until Andy suddenly winced, hissing with pain and pulled away slightly with one arm, flexing his left shoulder with a grimace. She looked at him with a lot of concern. "What's the matter?" she asked as he continued to grimace as if he was in real pain.

"Oh nothing, don't worry" he replied with a shrug. That however was not Sharon Raydor and she was always going to worry about him when he seemed to be experiencing more than a little discomfort, even more so following his accident and how much of it he kept to himself. She stared at him as she waited for him to crumble and tell her, it didn't take long, that intense glare always making the person on the receiving end give up quickly. "It's just my shoulder, no big deal."

"What's wrong with it?" she asked as her hand moved to it and slowly began to massage it a little. Andy had always had issues with that shoulder since he had been shot in it many years earlier (it was actually one of the first times that she'd been involved with him professionally after he killed a suspect who had fired and hit him first, Andy just as obnoxious to her as she conducted her inquiry and tried to help him as he continued to be for the twenty years that followed) and she had frequently rubbed it for him over the previous twelve months of their relationship, the fact that she once revelled in his discomfort over it because of his attitude towards her not lost on either of them.

"Nothing really just that some asshole took a swing at me today while we were trying to clear out Eagles Nest" he said very casually, not believing that it was a big deal at all.

Sharon frowned. "What? Someone hit you?" She looked at his face with concern, looking for any sign of injury as her fingers traced it gently, almost dancing across his skin. "Why didn't you say anything to me earlier?"

"Because no one actually hit me. I ducked just in time." He laughed as he once again tried to downplay the whole incident but Sharon just stared at him with a frown, waiting for more of an answer than that. He sighed. "It's no big deal I promise. Some knucklehead tried to punch me that's all but I managed to get out of the way." He flexed his shoulder, grimacing again. "I think I twisted myself as I moved."

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to see a Doctor about it?"

Andy laughed at Sharon's overreaction but it was his own fault he realised. If he'd only rang her from the hospital after his initial accident or told her that the Doctor wanted to see him urgently for a follow up or that the drugs he was on to thin his blood were making him feel dizzy she would have a lot more trust in him as far as medical matters were concerned. The fact that she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him in that regard was all his fault and he had no one to blame but himself. "No. No Doctors are needed thank you very much." He kissed her on the lips. "I just pulled it a little as I ducked out the way. I'll be fine."

She stroked his face as she looked at him a little worried, unable to stop herself. "I can't believe someone tried to punch you. What were you doing exactly?" she asked.

Andy shrugged. "Just being myself as I did a little crowd control."

"Oh well now I understand why he did it" she joked, laughing a little as he looked a little put out for a moment before laughing with her. "Would you like me to rub it for you? I've got some massage oil that might do the trick."

He smiled and winked at her. "Maybe later." For the time being he was more than content to stay where he was with Sharon in his arms, more focused on how she was feeling rather than himself and a dull ache that was no reason for alarm but it was definitely a backup plan for later if he failed to get her back to bed any other way, wanting her to get a little sleep if he could. "You know, come to think of it," he started to say as he frowned, "maybe I hurt it more than I realised when Mrs Williams tackled me to the ground last week." Sharon laughed immediately, snorting even as the sight of Andy lying on the floor with his former neighbour crawling up his body never failed to amuse her. "Stop laughing, it wasn't funny."

"Oh but it was from where I was standing" she declared as she laughed again, looking more relaxed and happy than she had done in days. "You do know that Buzz recorded the whole thing right? He's going to put it on a flash drive for me so I can pop it on any time I need cheering up." She laughed again as he sighed, fearing that footage was going to be replayed at every party and family gathering until the day he died. "But look on the bright side, as well as filming Mrs Williams hanging off your leg he also filmed Mrs Williams pelting Lieutenant Provenza with eggs."

"Sure, every cloud" he agreed and making her laugh again. Once more it was music to his ears, his heart swelling to see a genuine smile back on her face, sensing an opportunity to keep her distracted. "What kind of massage oil exactly?"

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "I knew that would get your attention eventually. Erm, I'm not sure." She shrugged with a little smile. "It was a little moving in together present for the both of us from Gavin actually."

"Gavin?" Andy exclaimed with more than a touch of surprise.

"Yes. He dropped by for a drink and a catch up on Tuesday night while you were at your AA meeting."

"You never said anything."

"Well I was already in bed when you got home" she reminded him.

He grinned, letting out a self-satisfied "I remember" before he kissed her long and slow on the lips.

It was something that they were still working on, what would happen on the nights that Andy went to an AA meeting. In the time that they had been together she had seen him just twice after he had been to a meeting, the first when he drove over a few weeks earlier to show her that he was trying to change for her after she agreed to move in with him and she raised the subject in conversation, noting that she never saw him afterwards and he had to be ready to change that if they were going to move in together. The only other time she had seen him was a couple of weeks later when she went to his house to surprise him, a little worried that he had gone to a meeting twice in a couple of days (Jared's relapse and the discovery of how much money Mike made per episode on _Badge of Justice_ sending him in search of a little additional help). In truth it was just easier and made more sense for him to go straight home afterwards because his usual meeting was a lot closer to his house than it was to the condo. These days he faced a long drive home rather than switching meetings which he didn't really want to do but it was going to be an adjustment regardless and they'd faced it that first night with not much discussion about it but an awful lot of sex as they took full advantage of Rusty staying with Gus and the little honeymoon period bubble they were happily living in following the sale of his house. He didn't want to discuss his addiction with her at all if he was honest but he had arrived home all ready to answer any questions she may have had about his evening and what had gone on but that all went straight out of the window as he climbed into bed thinking she was asleep only to discover that she was wide awake and had been waiting for him in nothing but a smile and some Chanel No 5, quickly switching his focus.

"Waiting until I was out before he stopped by huh? Clever" Andy said with a raised eyebrow and in the knowledge that not only did Gavin not like him but he also didn't trust him either.

"No not at all. In fact he was extremely disappointed that he'd missed you" she informed him cheerily.

Andy scoffed. "I highly doubt that."

"I'm being serious here, he was" she stated again. "Since he was sadly out of town over the weekend and couldn't help you move in he wanted to stop by and congratulate us both in person with a little gift" she added, her hands moving up and resting behind his neck.

"Huh. So what? I have his approval now is that what you're telling me?"

"Well he still thinks that I should be spending a little less time with you and more with him and Andrea but Andy you've always had his approval" she told him, it being about eighty percent true even before Gavin helped Andy change his will to include both Sharon and Rusty as well as making Sharon his medical power of attorney.

Andy scoffed again, remembering vividly the moment he was trapped in his car with Gavin and Andrea after an AA meeting (the pair of them lucky not to be shot after they leapt out at him in the darkened parking lot, something that wasn't a good idea before Bobby Harris attacked him let alone afterwards), both snarling at him and with his balls in imminent peril from Andrea's nail file if he ever hurt Sharon. "Not when he was sitting in the passenger seat of my car with Andrea and joining forces to threaten my testicles I didn't." Sharon laughed, even more so because his voice went so unbelievably high it sounded like his testicles were under attack as he spoke. "Approval was the last thing on his mind then, hers too for that matter. By the time I kicked them out of my car they were about five seconds from ripping a handful of my hair out and constructing a voodoo doll to make sure I toed the line with you at all times."

"Oh so that's why he spent so long in the bathroom the other day. He was collecting a DNA sample for a voodoo doll" she cried before laughing hysterically.

"Laugh all you want Raydor but I'm being deadly serious here. If I have a heart attack next week then the first thing you need to do is get a warrant and search everything that pair own or lease to find that doll and remove the needle from my chest."

Sharon laughed again. "They would never do something like that to you."

"You're right. Andrea is just as likely to draw a pentagram on the floor and shout 'I summon thee' four times and get her demon master to do it for her than actually get her hands dirty herself" he grumbled. It had actually crossed his mind a few years earlier when he was watching an episode of _Game of Thrones_ where the Red Woman seemed to give birth to a black, tar, twinkle monster as Sharon would call it, that then went and promptly killed Renly, thinking that Andrea Hobbs probably had the same power.

Sharon laughed again. "Okay, twelve months ago maybe you would have a point while they were still a little unsure about the nature of your intentions towards me but now they both know you better," she said and pausing to kiss him on the lips, "and they're both very happy for us and openly admit they were wrong about you."

"They've both openly admitted that they were wrong about me? They've actually said that?"

"Well not in so many words exactly but it was definitely implied."

"Do you think they could be persuaded to imply it onto a piece of paper that I could frame and keep on my desk at work maybe?" he asked, more than eager to get a tattoo of it if he could.

"I doubt it but it doesn't hurt to ask I guess" she laughed.

"This all sounds great in theory but I don't know babe, Andrea was pretty mean looking with that nail file clutched in her hand and pointing it right at my boys" he said as he glanced down at them and thanked his lucky stars that he still had them both. "I'll be honest, when I told Provenza that I was going to ask you out on a real date I figured he was going to be the biggest pain in the ass and hurdle for us to overcome. Then it turns out to be Rusty and your two minions."

"Lieutenant Provenza really didn't have any problems at all when you told him what you were planning to do?" she asked with a little surprise. Yes by the time Andy asked her to dinner at Serve Provenza had more than softened towards her but it was still a surprise nonetheless given his feelings about disrupting the balance of the division.

Andy smiled at her. "Not one surprisingly although I think at the time he was just sick of hearing about it all the time and wanted it over and done with one way or another even if he was a little worried about picking me up from rock bottom again if things didn't work out between us." She kissed him languidly in response as if she was trying to tell him that his fears, although fully justified at the time, were never going to come to fruition because she loved him long before he asked her out and she was determined to make it work between them no matter what. "But other than that, no" he confirmed as he moved a lock of hair behind her ear. "The guy loves you more than he likes me right now" he said, them both laughing at the thought.

"Is there any way I can get that in writing?"

Andy laughed. "Sure, the next time I have to drive him home drunk from a bar I'll make sure he signs the paperwork before I drop him home." He paused for a moment. "Gavin really has no problem with me anymore?" he asked.

Much to his surprise Andrea had warmed up to him a lot quicker than Gavin initially did but then she did spent a lot of time with Andy at work so that had helped a lot, especially when she started to notice the way Andy looked at Sharon with such love when he thought no one was watching. It wasn't long before Andrea felt so pleased for Sharon as well as being a little jealous because Andy genuinely did look at her with such awe and adoration that she knew he loved her almost as soon as she discovered they were dating but if she wasn't convinced by that, the way Andy smiled at her as he was being wheeled into surgery let her know she had nothing to worry about as far as his intentions towards her friend were concerned.

"No he doesn't but let me remind you that if he did I really couldn't care less about it my beautiful boy because I love you with all my heart and that's all that matters to me" she told him before she pressed her lips to his in a soft and tender embrace. "And not forgetting the not so small fact that he was trying to get me to have a one night stand with you over fifteen years ago so he's never really disliked you all that much."

"Like I would ever forget that" he laughed. "I'm adding that to the list."

"What list?"

"The big list of sex we've missed out on and we desperately need to make up for, and quickly too at that" he announced as seriously as he could, easily making her laugh. "To go in reverse order we've got Valentine's Day, the three months between you showing up at my house in that dress I never noticed you wearing to when we did finally sleep together and now the seven nights of unbridled passion Gavin tried to get you to have with me."

Sharon laughed again. "Seven? How do you work that out? It was a suggested one night stand and nothing more."

"Yeah it would never have been just one night" he stated with equal parts confidence to go with his smugness and arrogance. "Okay you've got the first night, that's one. Now I don't mean to toot my own horn here but I am pretty good at you know, making your toes curl…"

"You'll get no argument from me on that" she confirmed with a laugh.

"Right, I didn't think I would" he said with a waggle of his eyebrows, making her laugh until he had to kiss her quiet. "So with that in mind I'm thinking you'd definitely have come back for more with nights two, three and four coming very quickly afterwards. Then you'd start to worry you were getting too attached to me."

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah. It happens all the time" he said casually and making her laugh again. "It is of course how I've finally managed to wheedle my way into not only your bed but your home too after all this time."

"And my heart" she stated before meeting his lips. "You found you way in there first" she added before she kissed him again.

"Good to know" he smiled before he kissed her back. "And believe me I don't plan on doing anything that gets me evicted from their either."

"I'm glad to hear it" she replied, kissing him again. "So what happened after night number four?" she asked when they broke apart, keen to learn more about this alternative universe where she had taken Gavin's advice and slept with Andy fifteen years earlier.

"Right, after night number four you'd have driven over to my place in the middle of the night to break it off with me because you couldn't sleep and needed to end it but obviously failed the moment I opened my door and you know, smouldered at you," he shrugged with more than a little fake arrogance which again made her laugh, "which lead to night five and morning six."

"I see. And what about seven?"

"One for the road when you finally finish it for good, sending me on my way to pine for you for the rest of my life" he stated matter-of-factly as he looked at her like a puppy dog who was pining the absence of their owner.

Sharon laughed, more than accustomed to the sad eyes of Andy Flynn that _always_ seemed to get him out of trouble immediately. She ran her fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp with her nails the way he liked before she kissed him on the forehead. "It looks like you've got it all worked out" she said as she moved her hands back around his neck again.

"Well I have given it some serious thought since you let slip that Gavin was trying to get you to ride me like Seabiscuit all around Parker Centre" he said and making it sound like he'd giving it the same level of thought as he would a triple homicide and making Sharon laugh at him once again. "And I can't help but think that I would have done something stupid to ruin it back then so you would _never_ have taken that risk by going out to dinner at Serve with me all these years later, therefore I'm so very very glad that you resisted the temptation."

"Me too" she smiled before she kissed him, very relieved that she hadn't ruined the future that now lay ahead for them by having a purely lust motivated one night (or if you believed Andy, seven night) stand with someone she didn't particularly like at the time. "Even though you were _incredibly_ tempting at the time" she joked, them laughing before their lips met again. "I like to think that we might have made a good go of it back then" she mused, not usually liking to think about the road not travelled but sometimes she couldn't help it as she thought about all the extra years she could have had with the man in her arms.

"Sure, until Gavin took out a hit on me."

Sharon laughed and shook her head. Andy had always been very sensitive when it came to him not having the trust and the blessings of her friends and family since he was firmly of the opinion that she could and should be doing a lot better than him, thinking that the people that loved her felt the same way too. She'd told him many times that everyone who loved her would love him too because she did but he didn't buy it. Likewise he still wasn't overly convinced when she told him that she didn't care what anyone else thought of him and their relationship either because they loved each other and that was all that mattered but he didn't want to cause problems in her life, making friendships that she'd had longer than she'd known him in some cases become a little strained as a result of his presence in her life.

"The thing you have to remember with Gavin is I've known him even longer than I've known you" she reminded him with Gavin Baker in her life from long before she even met Jack and therefore he had a ringside seat for everything he had put her through over the years. "He was there on my wedding day. He was there when I had Emily and Ricky. He was there when my marriage ended again and again and again" she shrugged with Gavin being a witness to it all and in the perfect place to try and help her through it. "He looked at you when we first started dating and he couldn't help but see every way that you reminded him of Jack."

"Well that's pretty hard to dispute" he sighed, more than aware that in the eyes of some, Sharon had replaced Jack with a carbon copy.

"Granted but I also know all the ways that you're nothing like Jack, the reasons why I love you with every fibre of my being and finally, admittedly after a bit longer than I had hoped, he sees that too and even if he didn't it still wouldn't matter to me because I love you." She shrugged, really not caring what her friends thought about him as long as her children liked him, which they did, Emily and Ricky in particular thrilled to see her so happy after everything their Father had put her through. "Nothing else matters aside from that." She kissed him on the lips as if she was trying to reinforce her point and end the discussion. "I don't care what everyone else thinks about us because I love you and that's all that matters to me." He smirked at her in response. Sharon loving him should have been the only thing that mattered to him but at the same time he was only human and he wanted the approval of not just their colleagues and Sharon's children but also the approval of her friends too, not for him but because he felt not having it would possibly cause problems between Sharon and Gavin and Andrea and he didn't want to be the cause of any issues in their friendships. Sharon could see the concern in his eyes and knew exactly why it was there, Andy not wanting her to lose the life she had away from him because her friends didn't like him. "Oh Andy my darling, you've moved in with me. You've sold your house. This is it now. You and me together until the very end" she told him and not for the first time, pressing her lips firmly to his again. "Is it not about time boy, that you stopped worrying about what other people think about us and just accept that I will love you until my dying breath in this life and beyond in the next and that's all that matters to me and no one has any intention or any hope for that matter of talking me out of it?" She kissed him again, it lingering even longer this time. "Seriously Andy I wanted Rusty and Emily and Ricky's blessings but I didn't need them. All I needed was you. All I still need is you" she told him and then met his lips again. "Okay?"

"Okay" he nodded as if that was going to be the very last time they had that conversation when they both knew that it wouldn't. He kissed her, it lingering once again as he felt her hands start to travel south down his back but the way he was perched on the corner of the table stopped her once again from grabbing his ass like she usually did. He smiled as they pulled apart. "Here." He stood and then quickly turned them around, switching positions and encouraging her to sit on the corner of the table instead. He stepped between her legs and put his around her as she did the same. Within seconds her hands had travelled down his back and grabbed his backside, squeezing it as she always did as she smiled at him. "Is that better?"

She smiled again and nodded. "Most definitely" she replied and confirming it with a kiss to his lips. With Andy now considerably taller than Sharon was when she stood in front of him he put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her towards him until she rested her ear just over his heart. He looked down and pressed his lips to the top of her head, not moving them for the longest time. Once more they just cuddled in silence until she rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked him, his mind clearly elsewhere given how quiet he was.

"Taylor" he said but rather than sadness appearing in his voice he laughed instead. "Do you remember I told you about Freddie Fisher's retirement party where he had us all turn up in drag?"

Sharon laughed at the memory. "How could I forget it more like? The mental image of my beautiful boy and his best friend in long, flowing and rather sexy dresses while being hit on by two near sighted Japanese businessmen in the parking lot is pretty hard to remove" she laughed. "Are you sure there aren't any photographs from that night? Not even one?" she tentatively asked, desperate to see the both of them in dresses.

"Let's put it like this, there better not be any photographs from that night" he said and fully prepared to kill to get them if photos did indeed exist but laughing again anyway just to get Sharon to join in with him as he continued to lighten the mood and keep her distracted. "If there was just one photo of me with my hand down the front of Provenza's dress trying to even up his breasts so that he didn't essentially have a shoulder boob then I'd never be able to show my face at PAB ever again." Sharon laughed hysterically once again. "My reputation would be in tatters."

"I've got some bad news for you my darling boy, your reputation has been in tatters since the moment you first took me out to dinner."

"Actually I like to think that's been more damaging to your reputation than to mine babe."

Sharon laughed, that the second time they'd had that particular conversation since Andy had come to look for her after finding he was alone in bed but unlike the first time she was all smiles and getting him to shut up and leave her alone was the last thing she wanted. "And I honestly wouldn't have it any other way" she told him, looking up at him until he pressed his lips to hers.

"Me too" he confirmed, kissing her again. "I've thought about that night a lot over the years. We were there a good hour or so before Taylor showed up and joined the party."

"Was he in drag too?" she asked, currently finding it hard to picture Russell Taylor in a dress but that was mainly due to her being unable to think about him at all except for lifeless and covered in blood on the floor of that courtroom.

"Oh yeah!" he nodded before they laughed at the thought. "I'd like to say that he made quite a convincing woman but I can't lie" he said, them laughing again. "Of course the fact that he still had his moustache didn't help matters" he laughed. "He looked just like my Grandmother although he had better legs. Even so he was one circus tent away from being a bearded lady and going on the road with a contortionist."

"He didn't shave at all?" Sharon asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes again but this time from laughter.

"Nope, well not his face anyway, despite how good they appeared I didn't look too closely at his legs for obvious reasons" he said with a slight shudder, them laughing again. "He looked like Freddie Mercury in that video, you know where he's cleaning the house?" Sharon once again laughed as she nodded. "He was the only one out of the three of us who was married at the time so I guess he figured he didn't need to go and buy or rent himself a dress for the occasion either, he went right ahead and took one straight out of Lydia's closet."

"Oh my gosh but she's..."

"About a quarter of his size? Yeah I know" he laughed, Lydia Russell extremely svelte and therefore making it all the more surprising that her husband managed to squeeze himself into any item of her clothing with the exception of her old maternity wear. "How he got in that thing I will never know," he laughed once more, "but it was stretched to hell in about an hour so I don't think she wore it again, they probably had to cut him out of it."

"Ah! Just like a certain pair of pink panties that I can never wear again" she joked as she laughed merrily, laughing all the harder because of the frown on Andy's face, wanting to forget all about that whole incident especially because his balls were so sore, hot and red by the end of the day that he wanted nothing more than to spend the night sitting in a bucket of ice or straddling a frozen turkey. Still looking annoyed Sharon reached up and grabbed the neck of his t-shirt so that he would lower his head and allowed her to kiss him. "What colour was it? Taylor's dress?"

"Like a very pale orange colour with shoes to match."

"He borrowed her shoes too?"

"I hope so because I know to a man we all loved Freddie, that's why we were dressed up after all but if he went out and bought a pair of Jimmy Choo's just for that evening I'd be worried to say the least" he said as his eyes widened and they laughed. "I just remember him trying to play pool in that dress. The way he kept leaning over the table and making one of his breasts roll out and onto the table" he told her, struggling to get the words out as he laughed hysterically at the memory. "And that was without him hiking his dress up and putting his knee on the table to get a better angle at least five times" he grimaced which only made Sharon laugh all the harder. "Jeez it was traumatising."

"Please tell me he wasn't wearing women's underwear too" she asked and immediately regretted it as she feared the answer.

He shuddered, it seeming to go from his hair and right down to the tips of his toes. "Other than a bra to keep his footballs in place I have no idea" he said and still didn't want to know what he had going on beneath his dress any more than he wanted to know what was going on beneath Provenza's that night.

"Footballs?" Sharon repeated.

"Yeah, for breasts" he confirmed and instantly making her laugh again since a couple of small footballs weren't exactly the roundest things he could have used to make up his more than ample bosom. "I know!" he cried. "You've got to wonder if Lydia has some weird ass shaped breasts going on under..." he started to say before stopping as Sharon smiled at him and wondered just how much attention he'd paid to the breasts of his colleague's wife in the past. "Not that I've ever looked at them or even thought about her breasts at all, ever, this is the first time and…"

"I think it's time that you stopped digging now" she told him with another smile.

"But I'm telling the truth."

"Hummm. Of course you are" she replied as she made it sound like she didn't believe a single word he was saying to her.

"Seriously!" he cried and protesting his innocence perhaps a little too much. She laughed at him and shook her head having tortured him enough for one early morning, meeting his lips as if to make sure he knew she was joking with him. "Anyway even with his own underwear on I still saw outlines of things I really didn't want to see when he lined up a shot to pot the eight ball in the corner." He shuddered again and inevitably made her laugh loudly which was one of the reasons why he did it. "I just remember this young college kid who hadn't seen his face when he arrived and was too drunk to notice what was going on in there and walked right up to him to grab his ass" he told her to much laughter again. "God he wanted so badly to cuff him to the bar."

"The young man or Chief..."

"Taylor" Andy confirmed as he continued to laugh. Sharon shook her head with a look of mock confusion. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just thinking, with your utterly fabulous legs on display why would anyone hit on Taylor instead?" She smiled at him, her hands trailing up and down the backs of his thighs for a moment, her nails scratching him as she moved to the inside of his thighs and edged ever closer to his groin.

Andy laughed even as his skin started to break out into goose bumps from her fingernails dragging along his flesh. "Has no one ever told you?" he growled at her. "Flattery will get you everywhere Raydor. Especially with me babe." She laughed at him before her hand moved to hook behind his neck and bring his lips down to hers, meeting in a heated kiss. It lingered for a moment yet again as their lips hungrily devoured each other's. Almost at once it crossed their minds that perhaps a frantic fuck somewhere frankly extremely uncomfortable may send them both off to sleep in a matter of minutes but it was never going to happen in there while Rusty was home and since both weren't in a hurry to go anywhere, they were more than content to end it right there with some panting breaths, smiles and holding each other tightly instead.

Andy kissed the top of her head as her cheek pressed to his chest. "Back in the day when I was still married and relatively sober most of the time…" he said before he paused, "well during working hours anyway, Sandra and I use to go out to dinner with them a lot."

"Who? Russell and Lydia?"

"Yeah, two couples with kids roughly the same age, you know." Sharon nodded having had a couple like that when she and Jack first married and had Emily, spending a lot of time with them and their young daughter. "But as time wore on we sort of drifted apart, you know how these things happen, when you get a divorce your friends find themselves in the position where they have to take sides and you're forced into dividing up the friends like you divide up the record collection."

"Records?" Sharon laughed, Rusty having looked at them like they were speaking a foreign language when Andy mentioned selling his record collection since there was no real room for it at the condo. "These days it's more like fighting over who keeps the Netflix account."

He laughed and nodded in agreement. "How glad I am to be that much older and extremely happy."

"Me too" she confirmed, leaning up to kiss him again. "So what happened?"

"After the divorce they chose me. Well I guess Taylor chose me" he laughed. "Lydia on the other hand didn't have much of a choice in the matter and was more on Sandra's side of things as you'd expect but she was outvoted primarily because of work, so she then decided to try and poison me with some pumpkin soup."

"What? She poisoned you?"

"Not intentionally" Andy shrugged, the bowl of soup she had reluctantly given him when Taylor invited him over for something to eat a week after Sandra filed for divorce, not the freshest and in combination with his hangover soon had his head down the toilet.

"As far as you know" she joked.

"Right" he laughed. "We had some good times together as a foursome before I went and ruined everything." He rolled his eyes at himself and she felt compelled to kiss him, not because he was after any sort of sympathy because he wasn't, he had long since fully accepted that he was solely to blame for the breakup of his family. Instead she did it because she wanted to offer it to him regardless because despite the way he continued to beat himself up over it, he could not be any more different to the man she first met some twenty plus years earlier who had so successfully managed to ruin his life and the lives of his family. "We went to Catalina a few times with the kids, spent a couple of nights camping" he told her before he laughed at one memory in particular. "One night, I think it was the third time we went there for the weekend, I guess I had too much to drink after dinner around the campfire as usual and I don't actually remember going to bed at all but I woke up the next morning in their tent."

"Where were they?" she asked as she laughed.

"They were right in there with me" he stated almost proudly. "In a moment that still haunts my nightmares on a regular basis, almost as much as Sharon Stone trying to murder me does, I woke up with a start and found myself spooning Taylor's legs." They laughed as Sharon's hands instinctively moved from his backside and to the back of his legs again. "My head _way way_ too close to his ass."

"I'm beginning to sense a pattern here."

"What? Me drinking too much and ruining life for everyone I love?"

"No" she stated categorically before kissing him on the lips as an attempt to remove that thought from his mind immediately. "I meant you waking up in bed with one of your male co-workers" she laughed since it had also happened on Provenza's last but one wedding night. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me Andy? Any secret you'd like to get off your chest before we unpack your stuff and the move is finally official?" she teased.

He frowned at her. "Very funny. You're hilarious."

She laughed at his reaction, Andy quickly joining in with her. "Well why did you end up in their tent to begin with?"

"I don't know." She looked at him rather sceptically for a moment. "Honestly I have no idea. I was drunk, it was dark, I got turned around trying to find the flap to our tent I guess, I don't know. The real question is how did neither of them feel me or hear me climbing in with them and getting comfortable?"

"Not to mention your snoring and how freakishly hot you are."

"Yeah well Taylor did wake up sweating profusely. I couldn't look him in the eye for close to a week after that" he revealed in anything but an exaggeration as she laughed again, wishing she was going to be able to have the chance to ask Russell about it herself.

"Where did Sandra think you were?"

"I don't know. Eaten by a bear maybe" he shrugged. "By that point in our marriage she had begun to run out of patience with me, not that I blame her in the slightest" he said with a sad sigh, not wanting to trade Sharon and the life they were building together for anything because the love he felt for Sandra when they got married was nothing compared to how he felt about Sharon but he still wished it hadn't ended the way that it had with so much bitterness and hurt feelings. "Still it was good while it lasted. They were good times."

His head dropped for a moment, the regret never likely to leave him precisely because he was so happy twenty five years later but also because he had let his relationship with Taylor fall apart too but Sharon soon raised his chin with her fingers, slowly pressing her lips to his. "Regardless my darling, it didn't matter what had come to pass between you, all these years later," she said as she stroked his cheek with her fingertips, "he was still your friend at the heart of it all. You only needed to see his face when we told him we were dating to know that."

"Beneath the awkwardness" he joked.

"Right" she laughed. "Indeed beneath the intense and almost agonising awkwardness," she added in anything but an exaggeration before they laughed again, "he was still your friend and he loved you and he was very happy for us." Andy nodded, hoping that was the case rather than certain of it, praying almost that Taylor had departed that world thinking of Andy as his friend. He went to reply, went to say something along the lines of 'I hope so' but he quickly changed his mind, still not wanting any attention on himself because he was sure he'd be okay in the end, as long as he still had the woman in his arms and she was okay, that was all he was going to need to survive.

They returned to just holding each other in silence, Andy's hands gradually creeping higher and higher up her back to hold her to him, her cheek pressed against his chest until she let out a long, slow sigh, sounding more fed up with life than upset. "What's on your mind?" he asked like she had asked him earlier before he kissed the top of her head, his hands going down her back again so that she could pull back and look him in the eye if she wanted to.

She sighed again as she shrugged, her chin quickly coming to rest on his chest as she looked up at him. "I'm just thinking about tomorrow or," she paused as she looked at the watch on her wrist (its presence on her person as she climbed into bed a clear indication that she knew she wasn't going to sleep), "or a few hours from now I guess. Work. Work is on my mind right now."

Work. That four letter word that covered so much for their division, hell the whole of the Los Angeles Police Department right then. The bodies had kept piling up and yet they still didn't have the faintest idea what was going on and how or why. They didn't even know if they'd identified all of the players involved before they could begin to piece it all together but Andy had complete confidence that they would in the end. They never gave up on an investigation, not once and the personal nature of the horrific crime they were taxed with solving ensured that they would go to the ends of the earth to get those responsible for it on death row. Together they would solve it but there was one aspect of it that had started to worry Andy given what Sharon had told him that night.

"Listen," he said as he took her hands in his and he shifted their relationship to one that was slightly more professional for a moment give that she had brought up the subject of work and there was something he desperately needed Captain Raydor to hear, "I want you to do me a favour _Captain_ if you wouldn't mind."

"Captain?" she questioned as she laughed. Before Andy had chance to respond she pulled her hands from his, tugging on his t-shirt until he lowered his head and allowed her to kiss him on the lips. When they parted she wrapped her arms back around him. In what was a shock to both of them they had found working so closely together while dating to be not quite as difficult as they first feared, handling it with ease on the whole so she saw no need to let go of each other just because Lieutenant Flynn wanted to ask his Captain a favour, Sharon being more than able to divide her attention as she held her boyfriend but spoke to one of her subordinates, especially since they were in their own living room and not at PAB as they did it. "What can I do for you Lieutenant?"

He looked at her seriously, that gorgeous smile he normally wore when he looked at her nowhere to be seen as he let her know that for once he wasn't using her rank as a way to get her into bed or make her laugh or anything like that. He needed to talk to her about a serious matter at work and he wanted his Captain's undivided attention away from PAB and before it became an issue. "If we have to do it again over the next few days, if we have to speak to her again I want you to delegate the job to someone else" he told her. She frowned back at him, not having even the faintest idea what he was talking about. Andy sighed as he realised he needed to be much more direct. "Sharon, babe, I don't want you talking to Wildred Darnell again" he said simply.

"Andy..."

"No just listen to me for a minute please." She nodded her compliance even though she wasn't exactly thrilled by the topic up for discussion but did it for him anyway. Andy paused before he sighed, looking for the right words. Although he hadn't been there at the time, firstly Provenza had informed him that Sharon had a brief meeting with Wildred in her office when she demanded to speak to her while he was otherwise occupied and then both Julio and Amy had been to have a quiet word with him when time permitted, both of them telling him just how upset she was by the whole experience. Feeling emotional at work, a case or a victim getting to them was not unusual at all and Sharon was no exception (for example she couldn't help but have a lot of sympathy for Owen Holland when he spoke about the death of his only daughter and explained his reasons for taking out a hit on her psychiatrist, Sharon having no qualms about letting the tears appear in her eyes as she spoke to him in an interview room) but the level of emotion they saw when Wildred left their Captain's office had them both concerned about her wellbeing, concerned enough to tell Andy what had happened so that he would be more prepared to help her when they eventually managed to go home. As such it had been at the back of his mind to ask her to not talk to her again, giving him or Provenza the job to do instead because he knew it wasn't going to do her any good since she was already mentally fragile and that was before he woke up to find her frantically cleaning in the middle of the night.

"I'm saying this to you not just as your boyfriend because I love you and I don't want to see you upset by it but also as your Lieutenant too, I don't want you to talk to her again Captain."

She knew immediately what must have been happening behind her back but knew it had come from a place of love and concern and therefore had no grounds to be mad about it. "Have you been talking to Julio and Amy?" she asked as she searched for an answer she already had. She paused as she waited for a response but none came. "Andy."

Realising that the conversation wasn't going to go anywhere until he confessed all, Andy rolled his eyes before he answered. "Okay they may have spoken to me about you a little earlier but," he said before he shook his head when he realised that Sharon was about to interject, "it really doesn't matter who said what and when and to whom, they only did it because they're worried about you too, like I'm worried about you. Sharon sweetheart, I'm not going to lie to you and say that I really understand all that you're feeling about shooting Dwight right now because I don't but that doesn't matter, if you're truly feeling this guilty or rather not feeling guilty about killing her son even though you had no choice in the matter whatsoever then I don't want you to talk to her again." He brushed a lock of her hair back behind her ear again, the smallest gesture but it was yet another sign of how he took care of her in any way he could when she let him. "Please don't torture yourself, it's just not worth it babe."

She smiled with a little chuckle, unable to help herself. She knew Andy only had her best interests at heart but despite his very best efforts he still couldn't grasp what her problem really was, that she felt guilty simply because she _didn't_ feel guilt for what she'd done. That being said Andy did have a valid point not that she was even going to admit it because regardless of how she felt, she still had a job to do. "Andy but what if we have to talk to her again?"

"Then we have to talk to her again but you'll be watching it all on the monitors in Electronics instead of the Interview Room." Andy could tell just from the look on her face that she was still incredibly reluctant to even consider stepping down in that way but that didn't mean he was going to give up trying to convince her. "You have _three_ Lieutenants at the disposal, one clearly a hell of a lot more handsome, charming, funny and talented than the other two combined," he said with all the arrogance he had lost over the last ten years or so which was precisely why she found it so funny, "plus two Detectives and a Buzz to do your bidding as and when you like." Once again she laughed with a little nod before he kissed her on the lips. "Sweetheart, if you're ever going to start to feel better about it all then for your sake you need to stay as far away from her as possible, for both of your sakes even."

She smiled sweetly up at him. "Andy don't think that I don't appreciate the thought because I do, I really do my darling boy," she confirmed with a kiss to his lips as her hands groped his ass, "but that may not be exactly realistic."

Andy smiled at her response, mainly because he expected to be told how she didn't need him to look out for her at work again, she'd been doing that all on her own for long enough but much to his surprise she didn't. "Maybe not, you might be right and the fact that you were the one that actually pulled the trigger may get her to talk more than the rest of us can but again I'm not saying this to you just as the person who loves you unconditionally, but as an officer under your command, I don't think it's going to do you any good talking to her again if you feel this way." She sighed as she looked away from him, staring into the distance until Andy's finger on her chin drew her back towards his eyes. "You know I'm right about this. You'd say the exact same thing to Amy or Julio or Mike or even me if it was any one of us feeling this way." She nodded with a sigh as she conceded his point but was still utterly determined to do it herself regardless if they did indeed need to speak to Wildred Darnell again. "Right? You'd never dream of sending us in there because you know it wouldn't be good for us." He paused while he waited for her to digest that thought. "Just promise me you'll think about it at least? Please?"

"Okay" she nodded. "I'll think about it. I promise" she added despite having already given it all the thought she wanted to and had dismissed it as an option out of hand.

"Is this an 'I'll think about it' like you said you'd think about stopping using my razor to shave your legs in the shower of a morning or is this an 'I'll think about it' like when I ask if you fancy an early night and the trademark Andy Flynn swirl?" he asked as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sharon laughed. "I don't use your razor any more" she lied. "I haven't done it in...weeks."

"Oh yes you do Raydor and it's more like days rather than weeks just so you know. You've just got better at covering your tracks and drying it when you're done."

Caught once again she shrugged. "Is it that big of a problem? Really?"

"Only when it blunts quicker than usual and I either end up going to work with a thousand and one cuts on my face like I've shaved with a piece of broken glass or with huge patches missing" he told her and making her laugh. "Last week Provenza compared me to a hamster on Rogaine" he added rather grumpily as she laughed again.

"Have you ever grown a beard?" she asked as a way to distract him while she rubbed her hands across his face, the stubble already present scratching her palm in a way she actually rather enjoyed, especially when it was on other rather more sensitive parts of her body. "I bet it would only take you about four hours to grow a good one." She laughed again and despite his best efforts Andy had no way of stopping himself from joining in with her especially because the conversation, despite how serious it had started, had once again resulted in her smiling, laughing and joking.

"Are you trying to change the subject by any chance?" He smiled at her before he answered. "No. No I have never grown a beard or even considered it." He ran his hand across his face. "I always thought I was hairy enough without one. And you?" he asked, wanting to finally get an answer to his request about Wildred Darnell.

"No I've never grown a beard" she replied flippantly before she laughed, getting a frown back from Andy despite the smile on his face. "And I promise you my darling," she said as she put her hand across her heart, "I will never use your razor to shave my legs again."

"Good. And?" he encouraged, still searching for the response he wanted.

"And I will think about not talking to Wildred Darnell again if it's at all possible" she told him even though her thinking on the subject was already done and she'd dismissed it, seeing it as her responsibility to talk to her regardless of her own personal feelings.

"And?"

"And I will go and see Father Stan in the morning."

"Good" he replied, sounding satisfied if not entirely convinced that she would follow through on all of her promises. He kissed her on the lips before nodding "Thank you."

She smiled, desperately trying to suppress her laughter as she spoke. "You're so demanding and authoritative all of a sudden." She kissed him on the lips again only this time it was long and slow, her tongue seeking entry into his mouth before caressing his softly. "It's a bit of a turn on if I'm honest" she winked before she kissed him again.

He laughed when they finally broke apart, Andy always getting turned on to the point of blindness when she ordered him about in the bedroom but this was the first time she had responded the same way. "Oh really?" he asked before she nodded and kissed him again. "Well if there's one thing I've learned it's that I need to be much more demanding and authoritative if I'm going to keep making deals with the master." She laughed as he pulled her back to his chest, holding her even tighter as she responded in kind. He pushed his lips to the top of her head over and over again as he held her, his way of reminding her that he was still there, still alive and with no intention of leaving her alone, only stopping when he finally spoke. "I know you probably don't want to hear this right now given how you're feeling about everything but believe me, I am so very proud of you Sharon" he told her with the emotion clear in his voice as he continued to kiss the top of her head over and over again. "I've never been prouder of anyone in my life as I am of you right now." She sighed against his chest and he knew that he'd made her cry yet again but it needed to be said regardless, she needed to hear him say it. "I feel like my chest could explode I'm so unbelievably proud of you." He waited a moment before he forced her to look up at him, kissing away her tears before he kissed her on the lips. "And I'm not proud just because you saved my life in that courtroom yesterday but because despite everything that's happened and despite how you're feeling as a result of it you've dealt with it like a pro." He kissed her again. "I am so proud of you. So so proud babe."

She buried her face back into his chest for a moment as she waited for her tears to dry up again before pulling back, desperate to see his face, tracing it gently with her fingertips. "Why did it take so long for me to find you?" she asked.

He took her hand from his cheek and kissed her palm. "I have no idea, my desk was close enough to your office" he joked and making her laugh. "I guess you weren't looking hard enough." She nodded as she laughed, never imagining twenty years ago that the sweetest, funniest and most caring man she'd ever met in her life lay hidden behind that impeccably dressed smug and arrogant exterior. Eventually Andy shrugged at her. "You had to wait for me to stop being an asshole first I guess."

She laughed and joked "You know that's never really bothered me."

"Thanks." They laughed as they went back to just holding each other. Andy waited as he searched his brain for the next thing he could say to her that would make her smile, always seeking the next distraction even while still discussing the last and then inspiration hit. "Hey, do you want to hear something funny?" She pulled back to see his face, smiling brightly at him with expectation. "While you were with Behavioural Sciences and cheating on your test..."

"I didn't cheat on my test!" she protested again.

"Yeah whatever Raydor, you forget that I know you too well by now. I know when you're faking." She laughed as he winked at her, as of yet not having any cause to fake anything with him with the exception of liking one of his shirts and that awful John Wayne doorstop that was hidden amongst his as yet to be unpacked belongings. "Anyway as you may have already heard from the LAPD and Major Crimes very own resident vlogger in chief," he said as he alluded to Rusty in his unofficial capacity which instantly made her laugh, "while you were spending the morning with Behavioural Sciences and cheating a little on your test we had a visitor drop by the Murder Room looking for Buzz."

"Jenny Edwards. Yes, Rusty mentioned that she'd stopped by."

"Right but did he also tell you who she asked for when she arrived?"

"Buzz?"

"Not quite" he replied as he couldn't help but smile at the memory and Provenza's over the top reaction in particular. "She walked in there looking for and I quote 'Detective Watson.'" Without needing to be told anything else Sharon laughed, knowing exactly what reactions were sent Buzz's way as a result. "Provenza's jaw nearly hit the floor when he heard her and Buzz scrambled to his feet to push her towards the Break Room" he told her as they laughed merrily together. "He repeated it so loud. You've never heard any two words shouted quite as loud as 'Detective Watson' was this morning" he said as they laughed again. "I thought he was going to have a heart attack."

"Who? Lieutenant Provenza or Buzz?"

"Both actually" he confirmed as they laughed again. "It was definitely a highlight of what has been an incredibly crappy day."

She sighed as her mind was brought back to Dwight and she thought about work and the mountain that still lay ahead of them. "Do you ever wonder why we still do these jobs?" she asked.

"Because you're better at it than anyone else in this department. Plus, without it, without work we definitely wouldn't have each other" he rightly pointed out. She slowly smiled in response and kissed him, feeling as close to retirement as she had ever been in her life that evening but Andy was right, without work they would most definitely not have found each other all those years after first meeting. "Right?"

"Right" she agreed, stroking his face again before she kissed him. "And that alternative universe is simply unthinkable." She kissed him again, being thankful until the day she died that her life had taken such an unexpected turn for the better at a point where she hadn't exactly given up but more accurately had assumed that part of her life was over and she would never find the love of her life because she knew it certainly wasn't Jack. She pressed her cheek to his chest again and took a deep breath as Andy continued to kiss the top of her head, for so long resisting having his arms wrapped around her but just having the scent of him invading her senses gave her a sense of peace that she had never felt before. "Rusty is still absolutely desperate to go and see Dr Joe" she told him after another period of silence, not telling him anything he didn't already know.

"That's perfectly understandable."

"I know but I feel so awful telling him that he can't go and see him."

"Is Provenza still going to see him tomorrow?" Andy asked after a moment or two.

"Yes. Hopefully he'll be a bit more alert and focused than he was when Amy went to see him yesterday. Fingers crossed he might be able to shed some light on Dwight's Father one way or another" Captain Raydor told him with more hope than expectation in her voice.

"Then send the kid with Provenza" Andy suggested with a shrug. Sharon looked up at him with a beaming smile on her face, her pride and joy evident. Without trying to be or forcing himself into that position or even being conscious of it himself, Andy had turned into the co-parent Sharon had not had since the first time Jack left when Emily was just two years old. Over the years since she had welcomed Rusty into her home with open arms she had appreciated the help of both Provenza and Buzz when it came to offering the young man words of advice and giving him someone else to talk to when he didn't want to bother Sharon (especially when his Mother first put in an appearance and he wanted some advice and money to buy her an electric toothbrush) but it was different with Andy now. He was her partner in every single way imaginable, in the good times and the bad and she hoped that Rusty appreciated him too precisely because he never forced his views or his help on him but still he was always there for him regardless. "Provenza can keep an eye on him and just seeing Joe with his own eyes is surely going to put the kid's mind at ease a little."

Sharon continued to smile at him before she simply said "Okay."

Andy winked at her, a little smile of his own tugging at his lips. Although Sharon welcomed his input at any time when it came to her children and adored just having him there to help after she'd done it on her own for so long, Andy had no intentions of pushing his opinions or his advice on her about Rusty, making a conscious decision about it very early on in their burgeoning romance. Andy knew full well that he was never going to have the same relationship with Rusty as Sharon did or even Provenza and Buzz for that matter despite the fact he now lived with him (and not just because of the way he initially reacted to him when they started dating). He also knew he would never share the decision making process either when it came to him and the more challenging moments of his life (although Sharon had in the past frequently come to him for advice and to talk to him about any concerns she had with Rusty when his Mother first reappeared in rehab with extremely dodgy prescriptions and also when she discovered the true extent of the threatening letters being sent to him). However there was no denying that he was now officially Rusty's Step-Father in waiting and that was enough for Andy in the long term. He was happy, thrilled even when he could offer Sharon advice when she came to him especially when he had hardly been Father of the year himself in the thirty plus years since his children were born. He had missed so much of their lives, something that kept him up at night if he allowed it and it was something that he was going to regret for the rest of his life so he savoured the small amount he was able to help with Rusty. Despite how old the kid was (although in some ways he was a lot younger in his years and much older in other ways due to his troublesome childhood) getting the chance to parent again, even in a small way, was an added bonus in his relationship with Sharon, one that he hadn't really anticipated or expected, a bonus that pleased him as much as it pleased Sharon.

"Meanwhile from listening to them talk on the phone I'm pretty sure Gus thinks that Rusty is crazy because he's not dealing with Joe's death at all" Sharon said with more than a little guilt that she was essentially forcing Rusty to lie to his boyfriend.

"Which obviously he isn't because he doesn't have to."

"I know but I've told Rusty to keep it to himself for the time being and I think he's going to. I trust Gus obviously but until we know why Joe was shot first, the fewer people that know he is alive the better" she added and making it clear that it was purely about Joe's safety rather than anything else. Andy nodded in agreement before she returned her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes, continuing to feel better by the second just having Andy's arms around her. He continued to kiss the top of her head until suddenly it snapped up and she gave him the stink eye, pinching his backside rather than her hands just resting on it. "Did you tell Julio to bring those rats into the Murder Room this afternoon?" she asked as she continued to glare at him. Andy laughed instantly which prompted her to jab him in the chest with her finger, taking his laughter as a sign of his guilt. "You did didn't you?"

"No, no, I promise" he said as he continued to laugh which only served to make it look like he was lying. "It was nothing to do with me."

"Really? Because you can see why I'd be suspicious" she said as Darth Raydor quickly put in an appearance and continued to glare at him. "We have a conversation last weekend about my fear of rats and you promised you'd never tell anyone about it and then suddenly there are half a dozen dead rats in evidence bags on his desk. What a coincidence!"

Andy laughed again as the image of Sharon walking through the Murder Room with her hand up to cover her eyes so that she didn't catch sight of them on Julio's desk and almost knocking Provenza flat on his ass popped into his mind. "I know but I swear it had absolutely nothing to do with me" he insisted, his continued laughter making his words seem highly unlikely. Sharon scowled at him with disbelief which only served to make him laugh once again. "Babe, seriously, I wasn't even there when Julio found them. I was out the front of the building trying to stop the gaggle of knuckleheads in attendance from rioting as they heaved various glass bottles at my head because they were being evicted."

Sharon's annoyance vanished in a flash and she looked at him with a lot of concern as he let slip once again how he had come under attack at Nazi World but had kept it to himself. She again studied his face for any signs of injury as she said "They did…"

"Nothing hit me!" Andy cut in quickly before she had chance to fully panic. "I'm fine, I'm fine" he told her before he pulled her against his chest again and kissed the top of her head. "There's no need to panic about it, I'm absolutely fine."

"That's much easier said than done when people are throwing things at you when they're not trying to punch you."

He shrugged as if it was nothing. "It comes with the job."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No one expects you to sweetheart."

Silence fell again until she remembered what she had been asking him before they got side tracked. "You really didn't tell Julio about my rat issues?" she asked, still far from convinced.

"No. I didn't. It was a just a coincidence. I promise babe" he assured her, it being the truth as he kissed the top of her head again while his hands stroked up and down her back. "Your secrets, all of them, are very safe with me" he promised as she looked up at him, allowing him to push his lips against hers again. "Your fear of rats, either dead or alive. The way you snort uncontrollably when you really laugh hard at something. The way that blush slowly creeps up your chest and neck when you're ogling me to within an inch of my life although to be honest I suspect a lot of people already know about that one just from watching you stare at my ass at work all day long." She laughed as she pinched his backside. "That little contented sigh you make in your sleep when you roll over. The way you secretly like to break all of the rules with the best of them" he teased as she laughed at him again. "The reason you got the nickname 'Burning Fire O'Dwyer' in college was because..." He paused as he waited and hoped that she would fill in the blanks for him, pausing in hope more than expectation. Instead she just smiled at him, refusing to be tricked so easily. He shrugged. "Oh well it was worth a try" he said with a sigh as she laughed again. "The fact that you had to wear an eye patch and a riding helmet as a little girl to correct a lazy eye which led to the most perfect nickname I've ever heard, 'Red Beard.'" He laughed at that while she hid her face in his chest out of embarrassment. "But regardless you were still the most adorable little girl I've ever seen" he stated which made her smile up at him again as he continued. "The way you hiccup like an otter having a screaming orgasm," he revealed with the amusement clear on his face as she pinched his backside again, "only it lasts at least a thousand times longer." Sharon laughed again as she shook her head. "What? Am I wrong here?" he asked. "The way you rode your first real boyfriend right into surgery meaning that I take my life into my own hands every time you have your wicked way with me" he admitted and then received the pinch of his knee that he expected. "The way that you love to sleep shop for the most random items. And because of all that, that you've trusted me to share and keep all of those secrets and then some, that I am indeed the luckiest guy alive."

She smiled up at him once more, tapping her lips with her finger and prompting him to drop his against hers. "I love you" she felt compelled to tell him again.

"I love you too." He kissed her again before she returned her cheek to his chest, closing her eyes and just enjoying the way he held her. A few minutes of silence passed by again before he kissed the top of her head, Sharon now feeling much calmer and still in his arms again, the tension in her body almost completely gone and seeming on the whole a hell of a lot better than when he found her an hour earlier. He pressed her lips to her forehead. "How are you feeling now? Better?" He kissed her forehead again before she moved her chin to his chest and looked up at him. He knew that an hour of cuddling and talking to him had not taken away all of her problems or killed all of the demons in her mind but at least she was no longer bottling it all up and hoped that talking about them with him had eased them a little or at least made them seem more manageable.

She smiled up at him, looking like a completely different person to the one he had found an hour earlier. "Much" she confirmed before she lifted herself up slightly to kiss him on the lips. "Thank you" she added and kissed him again.

"But you're still going to see Father Stan tomorrow morning aren't you?" he encouraged.

She smiled and nodded again. "Yes. I'll call him in the morning and see if he has time to speak to me after Mass."

"Good and I could even drive you there if you like?"

"Making sure I go?" she questioned. He smiled at her and shook his head. In truth it was partly to ensure that she actually went but also because he wanted to take care of her and the time it took him to drive her there and back may give her some much needed time to think about everything without having to concentrate on the road. "No that's fine I can drive myself. I appreciate the offer Andy but we can't afford to lose both of us for an hour at work so I'll drive myself."

"Okay. If you're sure."

"I am" she confirmed. She held him tightly again, resting her forehead on his chest as she sighed before looking up at him. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for what? What have you got to be sorry about? Huh?" he asked sweetly before he kissed her on the lips and cradled the back of her head.

"For this" she replied with a shrug as she gave him a less than convincing smile but that was the point. "This isn't much of a moving in together honeymoon period is it?" she pointed out before they both laughed, the last couple of days not being anything like they'd envisioned in a perfect world. "With everything that's gone on over the last couple of days for you to contend with already and then I go and lock you out on the balcony in your underwear too. I'm so sorry."

He laughed. "Forget about it" he told her before he kissed her forehead. She didn't smile back up at him and he could see that she was still mortified by her actions an hour earlier when she locked him outside to get him away from her when all he wanted to do was offer some comfort. "Hey the way I see it is this, you can't have a honeymoon period unless you unpack first and I can't see that we'll have time for that anytime soon so this is just the pre honeymoon period before I get time to unpack and the real honeymoon period kicks in." She laughed and nodded with Andy always having these things worked out in his mind. "Like a filler or a place holder. When this is all over and we've got the assholes that planned this and we've given Taylor the send-off he deserves, you can clean out the closet and I'll unpack and then the honeymoon period starts for real. Okay?"

"Okay. That sounds like a plan to me."

"Good and it'll give you time to prepare yourself for what is sure to be the most epic and toe curling sex marathon of your entire life" he promised which inevitably made her laugh again. "Hey I'm not joking here Raydor" he cried as if he was taking great offence at her mirth. "This is no laughing matter. And let's be honest here, if this whole moving in together honeymoon period is anything like the one we had last Christmas when you finally got your grubby little paws on my body for the first time and refused to let go again then you're going to need to carb up in preparation, you know like you're training for a marathon."

Sharon laughed. "Are you sure it's a marathon and not a sprint?"

"Well that all depends on if I've taken my blood pressure medication that day or not." She couldn't help but laugh again as he waggled his eyebrows at her before kissing her long and slow on the lips, a promise of what was to come in happier and less stress filled times when work settled down. "And when the honeymoon period is over and you're starting to get sick of the sight of me because you're on the brink of orgasming to death..." he started to say but stopped when she laughed again. "Hey don't laugh at that, it's a real thing. It happened to a girl who was dating a guy I know."

"Was that guy called Andrew Benito Flynn by any chance?"

"I couldn't possibly say." He put his hand across his heart. "I am, as you very well know and we've already discussed this evening, the very king of discretion."

"Okay" she laughed before she kissed him.

"So anyway when all of that is done and dusted, I've unpacked my stuff, the paperwork is done on the house and this place and your persistent UTI has finally gone after a mountain of antibiotics," he declared to yet more laughter, "then maybe, just maybe we might finally be able to get those few days away too."

"Assuming that I haven't orgasmed to death before then?" she laughed.

"Naturally" he confirmed as he moved her hair away from her face. "By that point, by the time this is all over I think we're both going to need a few days away from it all."

She sighed. "If it's ever over."

"Oh it'll end believe me. We will work this out, I promise you of that. We will solve it, even if it takes until I retire to do it, will get the son of bitch that planned all of this." She smiled up at him and chuckled. "What? What's so funny?"

"No it's nothing," she shrugged casually as she laughed again, "it's just suddenly you're the optimistic one out of the pair of us."

He laughed and nodded. "Well you had to start rubbing off on me eventually, it was only a matter of time." She laughed at him. "Hey do you know what comes before the honeymoon period?"

"Tell me."

"The first dance." She smiled up at him, blushing a little as he made her stand up from the table, moving her a few steps away from it before he pulled her into his arms so that they could dance. She smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him before he started to sing. " _In the wee small hours of the morning, while the whole wide world is fast asleep,"_ he sang, pausing while Sharon laughed happily since he always seemed to find the right song to fit every occasion no matter what, _"_ _you lie awake and think about the girl and never, ever think of counting sheep. When your lonely heart has learned its lesson, you'd be hers if only she would call, in the wee small hours of the morning, that's the time you miss her most of all. When your lonely heart has learned its lesson, you'd be hers if only she would call, in the wee small hours of the morning, that's the time you miss her most of all."_

As Andy's song came to an end they stopped dancing and she cupped his face to kiss him. "I love you Andy Flynn."

"I love you too Raydor" he winked before he returned her kiss with interest.

"What did I do before I had you here to sing to me all the time? Every time I need it to make my world that little bit brighter?" she asked as her hand travelled slowly down his face and neck, caressing him gently, with her hand eventually coming to rest on his hip.

"And even if you don't want it" he joked because he'd become well acquainted over the previous twelve months with her classic 'I swear to God Andy, if you make one more sound I will murder you' look from Sharon when he'd been trying to distract her by using all of the tools at his disposal while she battled his singing and his smoulder to do laundry or balance her chequebook.

"I'll never not want you to sing to me" she declared.

"I need to write that down somewhere" he laughed.

Sharon laughed and nodded at him before she softly pleaded "Please never stop singing to me" as her hands returned to his face, stroking his cheeks.

"Your wish is my command."

"My fabulous but _fallen_ choir boy" she joked and making him laugh.

"Fallen?"

"Were you or were you not kicked out of the choir for paying a prostitute to buy you and your little friends a smutty book?" she asked with a smile, in Sharon's opinion that being the very definition of 'fallen' without all of the other missions of mischief he got up to as a boy.

"Yeah okay" he replied not at all begrudgingly with a smile since by his own admission he was a complete and utter monster as a boy. "But to answer your question, what you used to do before you had me to sing to you was, you used to terrorise all the poor unsuspecting hungover Lieutenants in the department." Sharon laughed having anticipated that response from him. "Then you usually ate at least five live mice from a cage under your desk as you were reprimanding whichever poor guy was wrongly accused of using excessive force that week. Crushing dreams and being a general pain in the ass" he said with a grin and getting a laugh in response rather than his knees coming under attack.

"Oh I see, that's very interesting" Sharon replied and sounding just like she did when she was humouring Chief Taylor for a brief moment before telling him in no uncertain terms why he was so unbelievably wrong about everything. "Personally I think I was just waiting for you to clean up your act a little and ask me out on a date." She grinned at him as he laughed and slowly nodded, conceding her point. She sighed again as her hand continued to stroke his cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without you any more" she told him honestly for the second time that night, never needing anyone but now that she had him she had no idea how to be alone anymore and quite frankly she just didn't want to.

"Well that's something I hope you don't have to worry about for a very long time" he told her before he kissed her on the lips. "Or at least that's my goal in this life" he confirmed as he pressed his lips to hers again, letting it linger. With her mind and her lips distracted Andy tried his best to subtly nudge her in the direction of their bedroom without her noticing what he was doing so that he could at the very least get her to lie down in bed if not actually go to sleep. Sadly Sharon was on to him immediately and became ridged in his arms, like a toddler going into full starfish mode as their parents tried to get them into a stroller. "Come back to bed. Please" he begged, kissing her again when he realised he wasn't going to get her to move unless he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, something he was going to be unable to do with his niggling shoulder injury.

"I can't" came the immediate reply. She looked so sad as he stared down at her that it all but broke his heart. It didn't take a genius to work out that despite looking and sounding a hell of a lot brighter than she did a couple of hours earlier, she was still worried about going to sleep and the dreams that would plague her for all the same reasons as to why she felt guilty. The problem was she saw so many dead faces when she so much as blinked let alone if she attempted to sleep. She moved out of his arms and edged towards the kitchen again to resume her cleaning once she had made him go and get some sleep himself, not wanting him to stay up all night just because she couldn't sleep, as equally worried about him and his need for rest as he was with her. "Go back to bed, I'll be fine."

Andy remained rooted to the spot, crossing his arms in front of himself and with no desire to go anywhere without her no matter how tired he felt. "I can't leave you out here alone."

She couldn't help but smile at him. It wasn't a big deal in terms of grand romantic gestures or massive sacrifices, just staying awake with someone to keep them company because they couldn't sleep but it was to Sharon. It was something that Jack never would have done not even when they were first married. He probably wouldn't have even gone to look for her that night let alone try, despite the continued resistance, to make her feel better. It was just one of the many reasons why she loved him. "Andy my darling," she started to say as her hands moved to cover her heart, "don't think that I don't appreciate it because I do, I really really do but you can leave me out here" she insisted. "I'll be okay and I would feel so much better if you went and got some much needed sleep yourself."

"No can do I'm afraid" he stated emphatically, going nowhere without her. "If you're staying up then I'm staying up." He stepped over to her in a flash and immediately reached out and pulled her against his chest. No matter what she said he was not going to leave her alone for one main reason, not sleeping would be fine but he knew she'd be continuing her kitchen cleaning rampage the moment his head hit the pillow if not before. "Maybe I can help you clean the kitchen. It won't take as long with the both of us." He sounded genuine enough but he had no intention of cleaning anything. He knew she wouldn't want him to do that, to relax instead because of how tired he clearly was if he was going to insist on staying up with her which was precisely why he said it, knowing she would settle on the couch with him instead in order to stop him.

"Oh no. No way" Sharon replied instantly, no more likely to allow that to happen than she was to go back to sleep herself.

"Why not? I know how to clean a kitchen" he stated with the milk explosion and the dead rat behind the fridge in his former home clearly contradicting his statement.

"That's not what I was saying but rather as you've already reminded me once this evening, you promised to clean it from top to bottom in nothing but an apron and a smile from now on in exchange for letting you move in and since we can't rule out Rusty making another appearance tonight that's not happening" she grinned at him as she playfully slapped his cheeks, that not being the real reason but it was still valid.

Andy's smiled beamed at her as he nodded, Sharon's reaction to that particular topic of conversation, him being naked in the kitchen, so much different to an hour earlier and was yet more proof that she was feeling better about life. "I thought me being naked in the kitchen was unsanitary" he reminded her, his eyebrows waggling.

Sharon laughed before she kissed him on the lips as yet another apology for the way she had spoken to him when he first came to look for her. "I've reconsidered the situation now that I'm thinking a lot more clearly and I've had my boy try to make everything better" she told him before she kissed him again. "Thank you for everything" she told him, each word punctuated by her lips pressing against his. "Thank you." He nodded in response, not of the opinion that he needed to be thanked for simply taking care of the women he loved when she was suffering but accepted it anyway. "Please go and get some rest" she begged.

Trying to draw the matter to a close and send him back off to bed she kissed him one last time before she went back into the kitchen to finish cleaning the cupboards, unable to leave it only half done even though she was a lot calmer than when she started. With the kitchen clean she would then be able to watch TV on the couch and relax rather than continuing to clean anything else. Andy watched her for a moment, more determined than ever to get her to abandon the task altogether if he could. He thought for a moment about the best way to achieve that and which didn't involve what Rusty would undoubtedly call 'inappropriate physical contact in the communal areas' since he too expected to see him again before too long to check that Sharon was okay now and to also ensure he wasn't locked back out on the balcony again. In the end he settled on what seemed to be the most obvious option available to him: attempting to clean himself and therefore getting her to drop what she was doing to stop him while he edged her ever closer to the couch.

Andy moved to the cupboard by the fridge and pulled out a dustpan and brush. Sharon just stared at him for a moment before she asked "What are you doing?"

"Well you won't come back to bed and you won't let me help you clean so I'm going to do some cleaning of my own." She smiled at him, immediately reminded of Emily when Ricky wouldn't let her borrow his Action Man because Barbie was having a party in her Dream House so she stole one of Action Man's jackets and put it on a wooden spoon instead. "See how you like them apples Raydor" he cried triumphantly and more than a little smugly as she laughed.

"You could try unpacking some of your boxes if you want something to do, or at least stack them a little more out of the way" she suggested, knowing that he couldn't really unpack until she had a serious cull of her wardrobe first. "I stubbed my toe again when I got out of bed."

"Well you know what the moral of that story is don't you?"

"Clean out the closet before your boyfriend moves in with you so that there's room to hang up all of his clothes right away?"

"Well that too babe but I was going to say something more along the lines of you should stop sneaking off in the middle of the night."

"Once. I've done it once" she replied since Andy was making it sound like it was a regular occurrence.

"That's once too often in my mind sweetheart" he told her before he kissed her on the lips again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some cleaning to do." With the dustpan and brush in hand he marched out of the kitchen with real purpose and headed straight to the front door.

Sharon watched him with amusement, following a few steps behind him to see where he was going and what he was planning on doing. "What are you going to do exactly?"

"I'm finally going to tackle the nest under this table" he declared as he pointed at it with the brush in his hand. The 'nest' in question was actually nothing more than a rather large dust bunny that was hanging from the underside of the table opposite the front door, a dust bunny that had only come to their attention when they had sat on the floor following Sharon's little breakdown after Elliot Chase had attempted to murder half of her division including Andy. The following morning when her composure had returned she was mortified that she had missed such a large ball of dirt and much to her shame (with work and the big step she'd taken with Andy distracting her) she hadn't thought about it since to remove it, it very much out of sight and out of mind.

"It's not a nest at all" Sharon protested mainly because she hoped to God that nothing was actually living in it. "It's just a…a…dust bunny" she insisted before she stepped closer to him and the aforementioned dust bunny, still keeping her distance in case it actually really was a nest (Sharon may not have feared bugs in the same way that she feared rats but that didn't mean she would welcome them running all over her body).

"Bunny? I don't think so babe" he laughed. "What we have here is a dust wildebeest or a dust elephant or something," he added as he pointed at it, "and it has to go, now." Andy slowly approached the table as if he was worried about making too much noise and waking the monster that lay within before he crouched down to look at it, his knees cracking and making him groan like always as he lowered himself to the ground. Sharon followed to get a closer look at it too but still kept her distance, curious as to what it actually was since she'd pretty much forgotten all about it but with no desire to actually tackle it herself. Andy continued to stare at it from his crouched position, keeping a safe distance and in the back of his mind he wondered if a thousand tiny spiders would run out of it and into his ear before he had chance to move if he poked it.

"Well?" Sharon asked after three or four minutes passed by with Andy just staring at it from his relative safe distance. "What are you waiting for?"

"Well considering that, after closer inspection, it looks less like a dust bunny and more like one of those eggs from _Alien_ , I'm waiting for something to leap out at me and attach itself to my face first." Sharon laughed, Andy's habit of being prone to over exaggeration never failing to amuse her. "You don't think anything is actually living in it do you?" he asked.

"There's only one way to find out."

"I'm going to poke it." He stood up again as he turned the brush around in his hand, holding it by the bristles rather than the handle so he could nudge it but before he could edge back towards it he moved to position Sharon in front of him as he jokingly attempted to use her as a human shield. "Stay right there."

Sharon laughed. "You'd better not be using me as a human shield Andrew Flynn" she warned him.

"No of course not. As if I would!" he protested with great exaggeration. "But if anything runs out of there when I poke it I'm going to throw you at it to keep it occupied while I go and get my gun" he joked. Once more Sharon laughed hysterically at him, that noise being music to his ears as her mood continued to improve by the second.

"Meanwhile I get eaten" she reminded him as she pointed out the flaw in his plan.

"Only in the time it takes me to pop off a few rounds." Sharon laughed as she turned around to face him, her hands coming to rest on his hips after she had tried and failed not to touch him. "Hey if we're really lucky one bullet may ricochet off the table and end up clipping Mrs Rose through the wall" he joked and getting the laughter he expected. "Although thinking about it, what are the chances that she laid this?"

Sharon laughed and nodded again. "Pretty good I imagine."

"Although it's far more likely to be Hobbs than..." Before Andy could go any further Sharon's mouth dropped open and she slapped him around the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked innocently.

"What do you think?"

Taking his life into his own hands Andy asked "Are you seriously telling me you _don't_ think Andrea sleeps hanging upside down from the rafters in a cocoon, eating small children for breakfast and laying eggs after she's devoured whatever guy she managed to trick on a date with her the night before?" Sharon instantly slapped him around the back of his head again in defence of her friend as she tried very hard not to laugh and therefore encourage him. "Ow! Stop hitting me!" he whined for effect rather than in any real pain.

"Then stop abusing my poor friend."

"Hey she was the one that threatened my balls, not the other way around remember."

"Your balls need threatening from time to time to keep you in line" she told him with a smug smile that usually went straight to his groin. As if to reinforce her point her hand briefly slipped down the front of his boxers to pull them out, instantly releasing them so that the elastic snapped back against his waist while she laughed. She kissed him on the lips and then quickly turned them around so that Andy was closest to the nest and she could hide behind him when he turned to face the table again.

"Suddenly the amount of times you kick them in your sleep makes perfect sense."

"I've done it once."

"That I've told you about" he said with a wink.

"Abuse one of my closest friends again and you won't need to tell me. I'll kick them so hard they'll be swollen to the size of basketballs" she promised him.

Andy laughed, believing what she said because he already knew just how hard she could kick and that was only in her sleep. "Trust me you don't need to kick me to make that happen, I just need to put your underwear on again for a couple of hours." They both laughed again as she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as she gazed into his eyes, the way he could so easily make her laugh being exactly what she needed from him that night and given how she felt for many nights to come too before it was all over.

"I love you Andy Flynn" she told him once again, unable to stop herself.

"I love you too" he replied before he kissed her softly on the lips. "Which is why I think you should stand behind me and as far away from danger as I can get you while I poke this nest and see what runs out." He turned around in front of her to face the table, his left arm slung behind him to make sure that she didn't move into the line of fire. He stooped a little lower and moved to poke it with the brush handle before suddenly standing and turning back towards her again. "If any of Andrea's children leap out and eat me in a moment, remember that I love you." She laughed at him as he stooped again to poke it only to suddenly stop. "And tell Nicole and Dan I love them too" he added before trying to poke it only to stop a third time. "And Rusty."

Sharon laughed and pinched the back of his knee. "Will you get on with it."

Andy stood bolt upright as he faced her, his hands on his hips. "You really can't wait to see the back of me can you? You actually want me to have my face eaten by Andrea's children."

"Well rather that than have to empty my closet out to accommodate you" she joked. Andy's jaw hung open with mock offense as she laughed at him, finally kissing his mouth closed. "I'm only joking, my big brave protector" she told him before she kissed him again.

"Okay. Are you ready?"

"I was ready five plus minutes ago." Andy nodded as he turned to face the table yet again, crouching down on the floor before he very slowly and very carefully edged the brush handle towards the offending object that continued to dangle between the table legs. Just as he was just about to poke it for the first time he shouted with alarm as if he was being attacked and making Sharon instantly shout with fright in response. "Andy!" she shouted as one hand clutched her chest and the other smacked him on the back while he laughed hysterically, realising that he was just doing it just to frighten her. "You idiot you scared the hell out of me!"

"I was just making sure you were on your toes that's all" he said as he continued to laugh like it was the funniest thing ever, forgetting all about not wanting to wake Rusty. "Okay here I go."

Once again he crouched down and edged the brush handle ever closer to the 'nest' except on that occasion he finally did poke it very gently. Regardless of how slowly and gently he moved it didn't stop him from shouting at great volume like a monster had leapt out at him again the moment he came into contact with it and once again making Sharon do the same thing instinctively. The 'nest' fell to the floor and broke apart to reveal nothing of note and confirming Sharon's suspicions that it was in fact just a giant dust bunny that had been caught in a cobweb and not a baby hatched by a local DDA. Before either had chance to say anything about it Rusty came marching out of his bedroom with a face like thunder and irritated to say the least. He stood in front of them with a scowl on his face and panting for air as if he had just run up from the ground floor, his way of expressing just how ticked off he was to be woken once again, especially because they clearly weren't arguing but actually laughing. Rusty's scowl only increased in intensity when Andy and Sharon made no attempt to stop laughing despite his presence, the young man becoming even more annoyed by the second because he was woken less than five seconds after falling asleep again, something that hadn't been easy given everything that was going on inside his head that evening and that was before he discovered Andy locked out on the balcony and Sharon cleaning as the tears fell from her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Rusty asked, raising his voice slightly so he could be heard over the noise as they continued to laugh.

Unable to stop laughing and if anything laughing even harder as Rusty continued to glare at them, Sharon hid her face against Andy's back, unable to answer him. Andy shrugged and simply told him "Cleaning."

Although the grumpy expression never left his face, Rusty was actually relieved by what he'd found in the living room the second time he'd ventured out of his bedroom that night. When he heard them both with raised voices and shouting but without hearing what they were actually saying, he had worried that they were in the middle of a heated argument or perhaps she'd locked him out on the balcony once again. He'd gone back to bed the first time extremely upset to see his Mom in a state of such distress (her being able to hide it from him successfully over the years when the actions of Phillip Stroh had reduced her to tears) but just over an hour later, not knowing they were laughing until he stepped foot into the living room, it was like she was a completely different person. She had a smile on her face and she was laughing, her arm around Andy and everything on the surface of it seemed okay again even though he knew it probably wasn't but it was a start at least and the healing had begun. It was in that moment that Rusty once again appreciated Andy being a part of their lives more than he'd ever be able to express. But he wasn't going to say that to them, he had been woken up yet again and by (from the looks of it anyway) Andy being a moron and Sharon laughing at him, him being a bad influence on her once again in his opinion so the frown remained.

"Then what's with all the noise?" Rusty asked.

"Don't blame me, blame your Mom" Andy shrugged as if he taken a vow of silence and all the noise was down to Sharon shouting and laughing and corrupting him rather than the other way around.

Sharon pointed at Andy as she stayed relatively hidden behind him. "He started it" she told him and sounding like she was in trouble with a school teacher, blaming the boy who tried to lift up her skirt during recess as the cause of her violent outburst.

"I don't care who started it! It's nearly four o'clock in the morning" Rusty shouted loudly as he pointed aggressively towards the darkness that remained outside the windows as if the pair of them had somehow forgotten that it was still the middle of the night. "You should both be asleep. I don't want to hear any more about cleaning, or shouting or locking people on the balcony in their underwear" he ordered them. "Go to bed and go to sleep. Both of you! Now!" he told them sternly like he was channelling their respective Fathers and they'd been caught pilfering the liquor cabinet on prom night. Rusty turned with a dramatic huff and headed off back towards his bedroom, not really expecting them to go to sleep, while Andy had clearly got the situation under control and he was thrilled to see his Mom looking and sounding so much better, it was clear that sleep was still going to elude her but he hoped they would at least attempt to keep the noise down. If he was being completely honest he was glad they'd accidentally woken him again because seeing Sharon smiling and laughing and nowhere near as distraught as she'd looked an hour earlier meant that he could attempt to go back to sleep with one less thing to worry about.

The moment Rusty was gone they started to laugh uncontrollably, sorry that they'd woken him but amused nonetheless that they'd been told off like that for the first time since they were in their teens. "We've just been told off by Dad" Andy said as they continued to laugh.

Rusty's door immediately opened again and he knew what Andy had said without even having to hear him, Andy forever calling him 'Dad' when he complained about any excessive noise he was making. "And stop calling me 'Dad'! It's not funny!" Rusty shouted.

Sharon laughed again while Andy composed himself enough to reply. "Yes Dad. Whatever you say Dad! Sorry Dad!" Andy shouted back at him. Seconds later they heard his bedroom door close again despite how much they were laughing, Rusty smiling and chuckling to himself as he climbed back into bed, relieved that Sharon was so much better and that Andy (despite being as annoying as hell) was by her side to take care of her when she was struggling, especially when he could do nothing to help her himself.

Sharon remained behind Andy, still laughing as he removed what remained of the 'nest' on the floor and poked at it with the brush handle. "Well I hope Andrea has laid more of these because this one hasn't survived" he said, giving it a couple of whacks with the handle in case anything was alive in it.

"You know I'm going to tell her what you've been saying about her" she laughed.

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because she'll threaten my balls again."

Sharon shrugged at him, not seeing that as a reason to keep quiet. "That's your problem not mine boy. As I've already told you, they need to be threatened from time to time" she said once again as she waggled her eyebrows at him and laughed at his distressed face before she hugged and kissed him. "As if I would allow her to lay a finger on my boy and anyway you don't have to worry about Andrea. She's all bark and no bite."

"That's not helped" he replied with wide eye alarm, his hand instinctively moving to cover his crotch. "Now I'm worried about her biting them off." Sharon laughed at him as he swept up what remained of the dust bunny into the dustpan before he dropped it into the bin. With the dustpan and brush put back in the cupboard again he turned to see Sharon behind him and reaching for the cleaning cloth. "I don't think so pretty lady" he said quickly as he took the cloth off her and tossed it into the sink. Before she had chance to protest he took her hands in his and tried to pull her towards the bedroom. "Come to bed."

She sighed and he knew it was never going to happen no matter how much he begged her. "Andy..."

"Sharon please, you've got to get yourself some rest." He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, the concern for her written all over his face. "You're no good to anyone if you're exhausted, especially yourself."

"I know but I'm just not tired. You go, I'll be fine out here on my own."

"There's no way I'm leaving you out here alone and cleaning all night." He thought for a moment or two before he smiled. "Come on" he said as he began to lead her to the couch by her hand. "If we're going to stay up we can at least find a movie to watch while we do it. Who knows it might even make you sleepy." Andy sat down on the end of the couch closest to the kitchen and picked up the TV remote as he put his feet up on the table. It was a move that usually annoyed the hell out of Sharon as did people sitting on the coffee table (always thinking about what her Grandmother used to say on the subject: 'The table is meant for glasses not asses') but she knew he was only trying to make himself comfortable so he could keep her company all night. She smiled as she sat down next to him, preparing to curl into his side but Andy had other ideas. "Lie down, come on." He patted his lap and Sharon didn't need to be told twice. She lay down with her head in his lap as he took her hand in his. With both of them comfortable he turned the TV on and began to flick through the stations until he found a movie that they would both find acceptable, eventually settling on _Only Angels Have Wings_. "Here we go, perfect" he said as he put the remote down and moved his free hand to her back, very slowly rubbing up and down as they both watched the film. "You know if we had a TV..." he started to say after several minutes of silence.

"Give it up!" Sharon cried before he had chance to finish. "I've offered to move the spoons but you weren't interested. So that's it. We are never having a TV in the bedroom. I don't want you watching _Sports Centre_ while I'm trying to put a move on you."

"Like that would happen." Sharon looked up at him with a frown and he quickly conceded that she had a more than valid point and he would undoubtedly spend many nights falling asleep in front of _Sports Centre_ rather than while talking as they usually did. "Yes ma'am."

They watched the movie in silence for a few more minutes while Andy stroked her back with one hand until Rita Hayworth appeared on screen for the first time since they'd been watching which made Sharon look up at him instantly. "Maybe he'll say it in this one. She is called 'Judy' after all" she shrugged.

"I've told you he never said it" Andy replied as he shook his head. "Not in any of this movies. It must have come from a Tony Curtis impression or something."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. He never said 'Judy, Judy, Judy.' Well not in a film anyway" Andy told her with great confidence.

"When we retire we'll have to watch all of his movies and find out for ourselves."

He smiled down at her. "That sounds like a plan" he agreed before he lowered his head and planted a kiss on her forehead as his hand returned to stroking her back again, an attempt to make her go to sleep. "But what happened to Flynn and Provenza Pet Detectives when we retire?" he asked. "I was going to start looking for an office for us to rent" he joked to inevitable laughter. "Have you changed your mind?"

"Yes. I want to spend our retirement doing whatever we want, when we want."

"I see. And what does that involve exactly?"

"Anything," she replied, "as long as I get to do it with you." She turned her head slightly to look up at him before she tapped her finger to her lips. Andy took the hint immediately and lowered himself to enable him to kiss her long and slow on the lips.

"I think I could be persuaded to get on board with that idea" he smiled. She laughed at him, assuming as much herself as they both talked about and planned a future retirement one day that involved them doing nothing but catching up on all the time and adventures they missed out on when they were younger as their marriages ended. Both of them with a long list of things they wanted to do when they no longer had work to occupy their time, all of them things they wanted to do with each other.

Andy kissed her again, Sharon's hand going up and into his hair for a moment before they turned their attentions back to the TV, her head in his lap as they held hands and he slowly stroked her back. Five minutes or so of silence fell between them before she pushed her lips to his knee and whispered "I love you" just loud enough for him to hear.

It was about the tenth time she had told him that since he climbed out of bed. It had almost become like a compulsion for her that night. Andy was alive. Andy was alive and unharmed. He was still there with her more by luck than judgement, the randomness of that sending a chill down her spine whenever she thought about it and she could not stop thinking about it. She still had him and that made her want to tell him how much she loved him as many times as she could while she still had the chance, neither of them knowing what was around the corner for either of them, living their lives to the fullest while they still could.

"I know. I love you too."


	38. Chapter 38

_Once again I'm going to start by thanking everyone for reading the last chapter and special thanks to eelise187, 098, jujuone23, MkSC, mullallygurl, sundishine2, Elaine Huang, Thaleis Von Paris, seaford71, MaxiP99, Cris and the two Guests for leaving such lovely and welcomed reviews. I would continue to write this story down regardless because one day I hope to read it myself but it heartens me to know that others are reading and enjoying it too. I'd very much appreciate your thoughts on this chapter because it's no exaggeration to say I've put a hell of a lot of time and effort into it and I'm rather pleased with it. If you want to find me on Twitter I'm DHPLover._

 _This chapter takes place at the very end of_ _ **White Lies Part Two 5x12**_ _and is self-explanatory. It could work as a stand-alone story if not for a fair number of running gags in it._ _ **Note**_ _: This chapter does use one piece of_ _ **M**_ _type language at the very beginning and I step right up to the line in a couple of flashback sections (the second of which I had only intended to write a few lines about but the more I remembered what I'd written about it in previous chapters I decided to expand on it a little more) which means I'm well out of my comfort zone writing that sort of thing but I wanted to give it a go but came to a halt before anything happened._

 _A lot of the dialogue for this chapter was written nearly two years ago after the episode first aired (in particular the chat they have about Rusty and the 'D' word) with all Andy's random facts coming courtesy of the_ _ **QI Elves**_ _. Andy also tells a rather revolting and ridiculous story in this chapter and I'm ashamed to admit it is one hundred percent true but it happened to me and my Godfather on New Year's Eve 1988 instead when I was about 8 and if you find it unbelievable right now you should imagine what my teacher said when I told her about it when I returned to school after the holidays. I'm relatively sure she never asked 'What did everyone do over Christmas?' in her classroom ever again._

 _This is the longest chapter to date at over 73,000 words and is very silly, fluffy and without an ounce of plot in it so tea is needed more than wine this time around. According to my timeline the action takes place very early on the Wednesday morning with Sharon going to Confession sometime on the Sunday (two days after the shooting) which means they'd been living together for eleven days._

 _As usual I don't own any of these characters etc etc._

 _Enjoy._

 **At the End of the Day - Chapter Thirty Eight**

Andy rolled over in bed with a little contented moan escaping from the back of his throat before he woke up with a start when his hand didn't land on a warm body beside him, his head snapping up from his pillow as looked around as best he could. He was alone in bed but more importantly than that, a hand sliding across the sheet revealed that Sharon's side of the bed was cold meaning that she had been gone for a long time and once again he'd been too dead to the world to notice. He craned his neck and squinted to look at the clock on Sharon's nightstand. It was just shortly before three o'clock in the morning, yet again. He flopped back down against his pillow with a sigh, his hands coming up to cover his face.

"Fuck!" He sighed again. "I'm going to have to start cuffing her to the God damn bed."

Although Sharon had been chattier that evening over dinner, her appetite for food and for a normal evening in with him and Rusty slowly returning, pillow talk had still been somewhat limited, Andy so tired that he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow but she still wasn't herself. It was the fourth night in a row that Andy had woken up in the wee small hours and found himself alone, the bed beside him cold and meaning that she had snuck off and away from him as soon as he had gone to sleep. But unlike the first night when she went on a wine, guilt and grief filled cleaning spree and eventually locked him out on the balcony to get him away from her for a few moments, the second time he had found her curled up on the couch and watching _The Way We Were_ with a large glass of wine _._ She was unable to sleep that night but still he did finally manage to get her to go back to bed with him again once the film had finished (not prepared to leave her alone with Robert Redford in his uniform even if he was only on TV) but how long she actually stayed in bed with him afterwards he didn't know. She was at least lying next to him when their alarm went off the following morning even though she didn't look like she'd just woken up, her hair far too tame for that.

On the third night when he woke up and discovered himself alone he found her sitting on the balcony, propped up in a chair and wrapped in his green bathrobe with the hood up, looking like she was preparing for a boxing bout as she sipped on a large cup of tea. He took it as a small sign of improvement that her chosen beverage was camomile tea rather than a bottle of red wine unlike the previous two nights. Despite the apparent improvement it still took him a couple of minutes before he found the courage and ventured outside to join her, the fear that it may have been some sort of elaborate ruse to lock him out again as she battled, largely in vain, to stop taking her anger and her upset out on him. He joined her anyway and she was honestly glad of the company despite how much she wanted him to go and get some much needed sleep himself. That night he couldn't get her to move at all and despite sounding better she still wasn't one hundred percent back to her old self so he sat behind her, pulling her against his chest while he wrapped his arms around her and looked at the view on the horizon until he eventually fell asleep through sheer exhaustion but Sharon stayed awake, her mind still unable to switch off and allow her to recharge her batteries. Rusty found them still sitting on the balcony when he got up the next morning, Sharon's bright and cheery exterior only serving to increase his fear over her mental wellbeing despite the reassurances that Andy continued to offer him.

Sharon had actually started to remind Andy of Nicole a little bit. To his eternal shame he wasn't around for most of her childhood due to work and then his drinking which led to his divorce but while he was in her life and relatively sober (most of the time anyway), Nicole was the very definition of a 'Daddy's Girl.' Bedtime dictated that Andy (if he wasn't at work) was the one that had to put her to bed and read her a story, possibly even twice. The problem was she would never stay in bed for very long. On an average night she'd usually put in her first appearance about ten minutes after he had kissed her goodnight and put on her nightlight. Only wanting 'Daddy,' Andy would pick her up and take her back to bed again but by the time he made his way back to the living room and turned to sit down, Nicole would be standing right behind him again, following him with all the stealth of a ninja. That was how it felt with Sharon during those restless nights only without the same kind of bedtime stories being involved.

With another exasperated sigh, his frustration clearly showing, Andy slowly climbed out of bed and padded his way towards the bedroom door, more than a little unsteady on his feet and still groggy from being mentally and physically exhausted, not just from all that had happened over the previous few days but the lack of sleep too from his frequent trips to the living room to find Sharon in the middle of the night. On his way to the door Andy once again kicked one of the boxes piled in the corner containing his belongings that they'd still yet to find time to unpack, work well and truly getting in the way of clearing out the closet. That made it forty six times he'd kicked one of those boxes since moving into the condo eleven days earlier, surely he pondered, some sort of record.

As had become tradition Andy hopped up and down on the spot for a moment as he held his toe, it becoming his ritual like finding Sharon missing over the previous few days, if anything his annoyance only becoming worse because he kept doing it without thinking, his foggy brain clearly at work. "Shit!"

He carefully felt his toe, it getting more sore and swollen by the day (lucky not to have broken it already and wearing a pair of clown shoes to work seeming all the more likely before the end of the week if he banged it one more time) before he set off towards the living room with a slight limp. He briefly closed his eyes as he moved, desperately hoping not to find her cleaning again. Much to his relief Sharon was sitting in the chair closest to the television and looked truly at peace with herself for the first time in days but even so she was still staring into space with her right hand to her temple and shaking her head ever so slightly, a worrying sign of her continued mental unrest over everything that had happened and the challenges that continued to face them at work.

He very slowly and very quietly walked over to her, trying to keep his voice low when he spoke so as not to startle her since it was clear she didn't have the faintest idea she was no longer alone. "Sharon" he said, his voice a low rumble as he approached her.

"Oh" Sharon said in response as she looked up and handed him her hand as he knelt down beside her, a smile etched on her face as she looked at him adoringly. There was no denying that she was sad that she had probably woken him once again but she was utterly delighted to see him nonetheless.

Despite the fact that Andy had been staying the night more often than he hadn't over the months that led up to him finally moving in with her officially (usually staying there every night except when he went to an AA meeting across town since they decided to move in together), having him there more permanently was still so new to her and much to her surprise it was a constant source of joy despite her nerves about it. She really had worried a lot in the very beginning, just the idea of completely sharing her life and her home with someone other than her children for the first time in over twenty years. She worried she would feel suffocated by him (or vice versa), in need of an escape so that she could breathe and it would end up straining their relationship more than it would enhance it especially since they lived _and_ worked together but she was extremely relieved to say that hadn't been the case. Yes they'd only been living together for a grand total of eleven days and they were still in the midst of what could best be described as a 'honeymoon period' (despite the shooting in the courtroom) so the real test was still to come when life settled back down but regardless she was extremely happy by what they had achieved up until that point and she utterly adored having him there with her permanently, sharing her life completely with him although how long that was going to last she wasn't quite sure, but she was going to enjoy it while she could.

It was actually hard for her to believe that it wasn't all that long ago that she insisted they didn't share a bed during an active case, telling him on more than one occasion that she needed to focus on the task at hand without distraction to get her mind working properly and he was the very definition of a distraction when he was in her bed. But that was the point. Andy, in her home, in her bed, in her life was the perfect distraction even when she didn't realise she really needed one. She had missed him when he wasn't there and that was despite spending all day together at work, missing her boyfriend and how relax she felt just by having him sitting next to her on the couch. Despite her nerves that still lingered on the subject of living together, having Andy there in her life, in her home, in _their_ home as it now was permanently with not even the sanctuary of work to hide from him was simply bliss…as long as he continued to stack the dishwasher properly, never left the toilet seat up, put his shoes away and any wet towels and agreed that, even though they never ran out of things to talk about, that a companionable silence was not the worst thing in the world for two adults who loved each other.

"You okay?"

"Yes." She nodded at him, a very big, bright smile on her face as she sought to make sure that he could see it was a genuine smile and therefore he didn't need to worry about her because she was not only looking but also feeling an awful lot better than she had been. "Did I wake you?"

He shrugged slightly as he said "No, I rolled over," before pausing to push his lips to the back of her hand, "and you weren't there." The tone of his voice was nothing but kind and loving, showing not even the smallest hint of the frustration he was feeling due to her frequent moonlight trips away from him. She nodded at him with another smile, unable to hide how pleased she was to see him even though she'd rather he be asleep. "You still troubled with shooting Dwight?"

"No. I can feel it now." He frowned at her as he nodded and tried his hardest to understand, the pair of them never likely to be on the same page (no matter how hard he tried and he really had tried his hardest to understand) when it came to her guilt over her lack of guilt at killing a multiple murderer but the rest of what she was feeling he could fully grasp. He was unable to hide just how pleased he was that he had been able to help her in a small way while the rest was left up to Father Stan who was more than able to help her realise what she needed in order to move forward in her life. "I still don't trust Wildred Darnell" she confirmed, Andy leaning back and away from her a little while he still clutched her hand tightly in his, more focused on what she had to say as her Lieutenant rather than the love of her life for a brief moment as it was clear that was who see needed right then even though they were dressed for bed and in their living room. "But Detective Nolan said that Graff may have a partner, and these murders have weight." She gestured with her free hand like she could almost feel it in the palm of her hand. "A weight I was having trouble feeling until today. So my question is, who is that heavy? Of all the people we've connected to this case, who is that heavy?" Sharon's mind raced for a moment as she stared into the distance with unfocused eyes, continuing to search for an answer, doing it on her own if she needed to because with the loss of Chief Taylor as well as DDA Rosen, it was a crime that she had taken very personally.

Andy frowned at her as he continued to hold her hand. He was beyond pleased that Sharon not only looked but also felt so much better while at the same time Captain Raydor seemed to be making some real progress in the case too but it was three o'clock in the morning and neither of them had slept all that much over the previous five nights in a row and if he was ever going to get her the rest and relaxation that she so clearly needed then he had to get her back into bed and provide her with a suitable distraction to enable her to clear her mind and finally go to sleep.

"Which is a great question _Captain_ and one we really need to find the answer to and quickly at that but right now _Sharon_ we're at home and we're most definitely off the clock." With an adoring smile she laughed at him, conceding his point in the matter with a little nod of her head. "It's also just gone three o'clock in the morning so I definitely think you should come back to bed with me." Despite still kneeling on the floor he tugged at her hand in an attempt to make her stand.

"Oh Andy I'd only keep you awake if I did" she told him as she smiled at him weakly. Unlike the first time he had woken in the middle of the night and found her missing and cleaning the hell out of the kitchen, she had left their bed this time solely to ensure she didn't wake Andy up with her continued tossing and turning as she struggled to find a way to sleep.

"You still can't sleep?" he asked her a little pointlessly given that if she could sleep, she would be asleep. She shook her head a little sadly, wishing she could but had sadly long since accepted it just wasn't on the cards for her in the foreseeable future. "Well if it's not about Dwight, do you want to tell me why?"

She sighed as she battled long and hard to not get emotional about it all, thinking that she had shed enough tears of late and although more would be fully justified, allowing herself to get that upset again wasn't going to help her sleep. "I can see it every time I close my eyes."

"Taylor?" he asked. He asked the question because it was the same thing that he saw every time he closed his eyes, Taylor getting shot and being unable to stop it and then Dr Morales trying his hardest to save him while he just stood there and could do nothing to help.

"Taylor, DDA Rosen, Dr Joe, Dwight. The list goes on and on" she shrugged. "I see it all." She shrugged again, having spent the previous few days battling long and hard to try to think of anything else when she closed her eyes, picturing the faces of her children and Andy's smile and imagining all the holidays and vacations she was going to enjoy with them in the future instead but in the end nothing seemed to work. The happy and exciting images always faded away and were quickly replaced by Taylor's lifeless eyes as they stared up at the ceiling.

"Okay" he nodded, an air of finality about it and understanding fully before he kissed the back of her hand again, realising that sleep wasn't going to be on the cards for them that night yet again unless he could find a way to really distract her first. Thankfully, distracting Sharon Raydor was something he was really rather good at, it his speciality. "Well what can I do about that?" he asked with a suggestive smile.

Sharon continued to smile back at him adoringly, appreciating the thought more than he would ever really know but she also wanted him to get some rest for his own sake and that meant him going back to bed without her. "Nothing Andy I'm fine. I don't want to keep you awake again so go on without me, I'll be fine out here, honestly I will" she told him with another smile.

He smiled back at her, not prepared to leave her alone should the demons come back with a vengeance and take over her mind again in his absence. "Well that all sounds great but I wholeheartedly disagree with you so, before you feel the need to start obsessively cleaning the kitchen again or I don't know painting the living room," he joked and being greeted with the inevitable laughter he was expecting, "or whatever I think you should come back to bed with me and yammer my ear off until the sun comes up instead. What do you say?" Without waiting for an answer he took to his feet, his knees cracking again as he groaned at the ache before he attempted to pull her towards him. Sharon remained seated, not moving so much as an inch. "Come on" he added softly when he saw her reluctance, nodding in the direction of their bedroom.

"Are you sure?" she asked, not wanting to keep him awake.

"Yes I'm sure. I'm fine. Sleep is over rated and I'd much rather talk nonsense in bed with you anyway." He winked at her as he tried to pull her to her feet once again.

"Okay." With that Sharon stood, taking to her feet a lot more gracefully than Andy did, not that it was at all surprising but even just getting up from a chair Sharon Raydor still managed to do it with grace and elegance. Once up and standing directly in front of him she pulled her hand from his and gently cupped his face, kissing him deeply on the lips and wanting him to know just how much she appreciated and loved the way he took care of her. Even when she fought so hard against it like she did a few nights earlier when she locked him out on the balcony, she still appreciated the thought and the effort. "Thank you" she told him before she kissed him again. "I love you my darling boy."

He winked. "I love you too babe" he replied before he kissed her back. "Come on."

Andy turned out the lamp on the end table before he put his arm around her waist and they slowly moved back towards their bedroom, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as they moved, leaning into him as much as she could, exhausted but still not at all sleepy. As they approached the bedroom door Rusty rather cautiously came out of his room, having heard the noise and being more than a little worried about her once again and what she was potentially cleaning this time (or perhaps even finding Andy locked in the hall outside their front door in his underwear this time or maybe even naked). Just like Sharon and not at all surprisingly, Rusty had also found sleep to be rather elusive as he worried about Dr Joe as well as grieving the loss of Chief Taylor. Although Rusty and Taylor weren't exactly close by any stretch of the imagination, Taylor had helped him over the years, not just with his vlog but in essence keeping him alive and in Sharon's care during his time as a material witness when Emma Rios in particular wanted him literally any place but Sharon's condo. But Rusty was still a young man, a young man who had spent a great deal of time with little to no family around him and as a result Taylor was actually the first person he had ever known who had died, the sudden fragility of life hitting him like a sledgehammer to the gut especially since both Sharon or Andy could have so easily died instead. On top of that Sharon was also continuing to worry him, the way she was dealing with things since she took a life, having never seen her so distressed and that was enough on its own to keep him awake.

Andy caught sight of Rusty immediately out of the corner of his eye but Sharon didn't, the young man having experience in staying out of the way and going unnoticed over the years and so hid just out of sight. Andy held his hand up, eventually giving him the thumbs up to tell him that everything was okay and he could handle the situation from there like he had done of the previous few nights since the shooting. Andy saw it as his job now that he lived with them, to take care of Sharon so that Rusty could sleep, to take care of them both when they needed him. Rusty nodded and went back to bed, closing his door without making a single noise.

Once they stepped into their bedroom, Andy allowed Sharon to go on ahead as he shut the door. He watched from his position with his hand on the door handle as she removed her robe and draped it over the armchair in the corner of the room before she climbed back into bed, putting her glasses on her nightstand. Just as she was getting comfortable and about to completely slide under the covers she noticed that Andy was still stood on the other side of the room, just watching her. "Aren't you going to join me?" she inquired.

"Sure, but I was just looking for something to strap you in with first."

Sharon laughed at him, accepting his point but couldn't help but see his words as a thinly vailed sexual innuendo. "Oh yes? Like what exactly?"

"Well I was thinking that I could maybe cuff you to the headboard or alternatively I could just strap your wrists up with my ties instead. Maybe put a little bell around your neck too" he suggested and easily making her laugh again, his tactic for the rest of the evening already clear, hopefully laughing her into a deep and peaceful sleep if he played his cards right. "You know anything to stop these little midnight flits to the living room without my knowledge."

"Oh really? Are you sure it's not just to give yourself a cheap thrill?"

"Oh believe me babe, it wouldn't be cheap if that was my intention. There is absolutely nothing whatsoever cheap about Sharon Raydor, I promise you that" he practically growled.

Sharon laughed again as her cheeks flushed from the compliment. "It's not like it's a regular occurrence and I only get up so that I don't disturb you. There's no reason why both of us should be awake all night" she explained, wanting to make it clear that she was running away from her dreams so as not to wake him up rather than running away from him specifically.

"Sweetheart I'd gladly have you wake me up at any time of the night so I can help take your mind off things and attempt to make you feel better rather than sleeping right through it."

"Then get in here with me" she said as she patted the bed beside her. Andy smiled and crossed the floor quickly, giving his pile of belongings a wide birth before he climbed into bed. Once he was settled on his back and comfortable Sharon cuddled up to him, putting her head on his shoulder and laying her hand on his chest above his heart, his arm around her. They lay in companionable silence for a few moments before she looked up at him and kissed his chin. "You can go back to sleep if you want. I don't mind."

"And if I did you'd only run away into the living room again and besides I want to talk to you" he told her before he suddenly yawned, his evident tiredness contradicting his words.

Sharon laughed at him, if his long yawn didn't let her know that he was lying then the way she could see his nostrils flaring in the darkness did. "Then why are you yawning?" she asked him.

"You haven't said anything interesting yet. Come on Raydor, entertain me a little!" he all but demanded. Sharon laughed and immediately pinched his knee, causing him to playfully yelp a little before he kissed the top of her head.

"Hey I was more than content to just sit in the living room for a couple of hours rather than disturb you. You're the one that propositioned me here," she reminded him as she poked him in the chest with her finger, "so if anyone is going to be doing any entertaining here, it's you boy."

"Propositioned huh? Well then I'm definitely not going to sleep now." She laughed at him as her left leg slung over his, effectively pinning him to the bed as his hand moved to her back and he kissed the top of her head.

As she pinned Andy to the bed beneath her it was worth noting for the record that Sharon Raydor was traditionally not much of a cuddler. She didn't mind the odd five minutes in bed or on the couch in front of the TV, savouring being held lovingly in the embrace of someone she adored but on the whole she had never been one for too much contact in bed when she wanted to go to sleep. Nor was she a particularly clingy person either, needing that constant contact with another person (except when she was feeling particularly unwell and violently sick of course). That all changed with Andy Flynn. It wasn't just that she loved him more than she'd ever loved anyone and therefore wanted to be near him, it was the warmth that radiated from him and the soothing and peaceful breathing behind or below her which made her feel more relaxed and content than she had ever been in her entire life up until that point. The problem was simple, Jack was never a cuddler, feeling suffocated and in all fairness sometimes the way that he breathed and snored so loudly meant that she spent many nights fantasising about killing him, therefore wanted to keep her distance as much as possible from him. With Andy though she felt peaceful, content and lying in his arms was far from too overwhelming like it had felt with Jack, it instead being the best way for her to sleep much to her surprise. Once again it was another example of Sharon not thinking she liked something because she had learnt to live without it while married to Jack and then decades on her own.

"Did erm…" he said quietly before he paused, his reluctance to say what was on his mind abundantly clear to her. "Did going to church and speaking to Father Stan make you feel any better?"

Sharon smiled up at him, it was easy for her to tell from the nervous way that he asked the question that he was a little worried about it and in fact it had been nearly forty eight hours since she had stopped by St Joseph's before work very early on the Sunday morning to talk to Father Stan about the many demons waging war inside her head. Andy had seen with his own eyes that she seemed a little lighter since she had been to Confession but he had yet to pluck up the courage to ask her about it until that moment. In truth his delay in asking was mainly because they'd both been so exhausted the previous two evenings that they'd gone straight to bed once again without the usual lengthy round of pillow talk that had become so common between them since they started to share a bed. Then when they were awake in the middle of the night and either watching TV or sitting on the balcony together he didn't want to ask her because it wasn't exactly going to relax her as he aimed to get her back into bed to attempt to sleep. Even as he finally asked her the question he still knew it wasn't the perfect time to ask, them lying in bed and him coming up with plans on how to make her relax and sleep but it was still a question that needed to be asked regardless, if for no other reason than getting it all off her chest may make her feel a little better.

"Yes. It did. Lots in fact" she told him before she pressed her lips to his pyjama clad chest as his hand continued to move slowly up and down her back. "Thank you for suggesting it and pushing me into going to see him" she added before she kissed the bottom of his chin again. "I'm not entirely sure I would have found my way there on my own this time without it" she confessed.

Her guilt over her lack of guilt at taking the life of Dwight Darnell was still causing her to call her faith and her moral compass into question, losing a part of herself in the process. As a result of that she had never felt more apart from the church in her life because her actions and more specifically her response to those actions had made her feel unworthy of God's or even Father Stan's forgiveness. As she waited patiently for Father Stan to join her in the Confessional she quickly realised that without that little push from Andy, him imploring her to go and speak to him, she doubted she would have ended up there at all. In the end it had helped her more that she initially realised, her relationship with Father Stan over the years enabling him to understand exactly how she felt, letting her know what she needed and from whom to finally feel it and get over what she had done and how she felt about it. She had felt better just talking to him but speaking to Wildred Darnell earlier in the day had really done the trick, with her offer of forgiveness and understanding being what she desperately craved but hadn't realised she needed before then.

"You're welcome" he replied between gentle kisses to her forehead. He was still determined not to ask any more about it or push her on the subject for the time being at least as he sought not to start another argument since he really didn't understand and he didn't want to upset her further. "See I can have really good ideas from time to time" he said instead.

Sharon laughed as her leg that was already thrown over his moved up a little higher to the point where she was almost completely lying on top of him. With how she was feeling over the course of that week, she needed that connection with him, not just his warmth and to feel his arms around her but also to feel him beneath her, his heart beating in her ear as a constant and very welcome reminder that she still had him.

"I know you do my darling boy but don't worry, I'll be sure to let Lieutenant Provenza know all about it tomorrow morning." Andy laughed as he kissed the top of her head again. It took her another couple of minutes to continue with her train of thought, wanting to share that part of her with him even though she was finding it extremely difficult to express it in a way that he would understand given how they clashed on the subject. "We managed to talk everything through and despite how I felt when I went in there Father Stan was very helpful. He helped me realise what I needed to move forward with life and I do surprisingly feel a lot better about the whole situation now."

"Good" he replied with a nod before he kissed the top of her head again. He wasn't going to push her for any more information because firstly what she said to a Priest during the Seal of Confession was her own damn business and no one else's, not even his. Secondly he knew that it wouldn't help matters. There was obviously a lot more to it, they could all see that but one of her biggest problems was her lack of guilt over taking a life and he knew they would never be on the same wave length in that regard. He would never understand her guilt because he didn't think she should have any in the first place. Even though that wasn't the main issue there was no chance of them really ever getting past it first and then covering all other aspects on her guilt later so he felt that under the circumstances it was best to leave it up to Father Stan to deal with while he remained there for her in every other way, listening to her if that was what she wanted from him, the one true constant in her life aside from the church and needing to lead her back there if he could.

As silence settled between them again she started to play with the buttons on his pyjama top, her fingers caressing them as she moved up and down his torso very slowly, touching each and every one. It was actually the first time she'd been in bed with him in a pair of pyjamas and she enjoyed the novelty of it, their presence a sign that he was no longer just an overnight guest but rather a member of her family. She looked up at him, biting on her bottom lip while building up to another confession of her own. "I may have also spoken with Father Stan about you a little" she finally said as she continued to chomp on her bottom lip, a look that screamed guilt but also had an air of mischief about it.

"May have?" he questioned.

"Definitely did."

Andy laughed, his hand continuing to move up and down her back. "Okay. What? What did you say to him about me? I hope you said nothing that'll damage my reputation."

Sharon laughed, knowing he was joking. "Well regardless of the real reason that I was there to see him, it was Confession after all and I now have something rather serious to confess to him." The playful way she spoke had his shoulders relaxing, not consciously aware that he had physically reacted to her confession but it was clear from her tone that a bombshell was not about to be dropped on him. "I told him that I have recently started to cohabit with a man to whom I'm not married" she told him as her eyes sparkled like she was the getting one of the biggest thrills of her life from breaking some of the rules of not only her church but more importantly rules that her Grandmother would go ballistic about. In truth that slight tinge of Catholic guilt she felt every time she indulged in sex out of wedlock with Andy paled into insignificance compared to how turned on she got from the idea that they were now 'living in sin.'

He laughed again, enjoying the return of the very playful Sharon who had very sadly been missing since the shooting, coming back to him little by little, inch by inch every day. Despite the improvement she wasn't yet the Sharon that only he knew, the Sharon who laughed and joked with him in bed for hours before they went to sleep every night.

"And what punishment did you get for that egregious sin?" he asked while trying his best not to make it sound like he was grumbling too much about it in case he unwittingly talked his way into couple's counselling at the church one day precisely because they were indeed now living in sin and he very much enjoyed that fact. "Four Hail Marys? Seven Our Fathers? Or have you been excommunicated now?" he suggested. "If you're about to break it to me that we've got to attend some sort of couple's counselling with Father Stan every week then I'm warning you now, you're better off telling me that sort of news while you're completely naked."

Sharon laughed again as an idea started to form in her mind, an idea she'd enjoy tormenting him over for her own amusement for a little while. "No. It's nothing like that although the whole idea of couple..." she started to say as Andy's face dropped, the horror hitting him like a frying pan to the face that he'd jokingly suggested it and now he was going to be subjected to it without complaint in order to keep the peace. She couldn't help but laugh at him, Andy looking truly distraught despite him doing his best to hide it. "Oh I'm only joking" she laughed loudly as Andy breathed a massive sigh of relief (even though, if he was being completely honest, he would attend that sort of thing if it was what she really wanted, not that he was ever going to tell her that). "It seems that since you're also Catholic and not to mention divorced too, Father Stan didn't see it as much of a problem." She shrugged again, actually very pleased that she had received a 'rubber stamp' of approval on her relationship with Andy which she hoped would ease any lingering thoughts in the back of her mind going forward about her behaviour with him 'out of wedlock.' "So, that's that."

"Really?" he asked and not hiding his surprise from her. He knew from personal experience that Sharon wasn't going to let the opinion of the church stop her doing things, for example she had slept with him and he had moved in without even considering getting married first but at the same time he knew what having the permission of the church meant to her which meant she grabbed it with both hands when it was available. "He had no problems with it?"

"None at all. We are all good in the eyes of...well not the church as a whole exactly but certainly with Father Stan."

"Huh!" was all Andy could say in reply as he nodded, his surprise still there for her to see. "That's good since I've basically already sold my house and I no longer have anywhere else to go except my storage space or maybe my car."

"And don't you forget it either" she teased with a poke to his chest before laughing again. "You don't think Lieutenant Provenza would take you in for a few weeks out of pity?"

"Why are you planning on kicking me out sometime soon?"

"That all depends on if you stop bowing to my every whim or not" she teased again as her hand moved slowly down his chest and danced back and forth across the top of his pyjamas pants. "You made some pretty big promises to me last week when I agreed to let you move in here after your house sold." She raised her head so that she could kiss him on the lips, it lingering for a few moments. "And believe me, I fully intend to make sure you keep your end of the bargain." Andy laughed and nodded, that a deal he would gladly live with. After they settled down again he just looked at her for a moment, admiring her with a smirk as his eyes went up and down her gorgeous satin clad body, Sharon looking even more beautiful than ever in his eyes and she was only lying in bed. Once again he just simply couldn't believe his luck, his luck of getting her to look at him twice outside of work let alone allowing him into her home and her heart. She frowned at him, confused by the goofy looking expression on his face as he gazed at her. "What? What's that look all about?"

"Nothing," he said with a casual shrug, "it's just I finally move in here with all of my clothes coming with me and suddenly you stop wearing my shirts to sleep in and produce this..." he paused as his hand gestured up and down her body, "this satin magnificence. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he asked before she laughed and her cheeks began to flush.

 _The night that they slept together in the same bed for the very first time was filled with a steady stream of unfortunate moments, most of which were highly comic on the whole but nonetheless each one only served to make them both laugh and as a result made them relax a little more. The biggest and most embarrassing errors of them all came in the shape of unfortunate slips of the tongue brought on my extreme nerves and in Andy's case, all of the blood from his brain being directed to where it was more urgently needed to help him 'rise' to the occasion so to speak. But before they even made it into the bedroom Sharon was mortifyingly under the assumption that Andy was going to need Viagra when he mentioned taking a pill after she had asked him to spend the night (that pill actually used to lower his blood pressure) and then later Andy was under the equally mortifying assumption that pregnancy was still a real risk (and not just because of his self-proclaimed 'Super Sperm') and much to his horror he realised that he didn't have a condom with him (assuming that there was zero chance they'd end up in bed together as they left PAB that evening, the thought never even crossing his mind for a second as he obediently followed Sharon's painfully slow lead in their relationship, in fact not even thinking that sex was a remote possibility when Sharon was in the process of asking him to spend the night), prompting the debate in his mind over the merits of getting dressed again and running out to get one and praying to God that Sharon hadn't changed her mind (or fallen asleep) when he returned versus wondering if a plastic sandwich bag would work as a fitting substitute._

 _When they finally stopped talking and laughing (the best thing about their relationship as she would later find out being how easily they were able to laugh with each other, more so when they were in bed) about everything and finally got down to the act of consummating their physical relationship things went better than either of them ever dared dreamed for a first time, both of them keenly aware that it wasn't always the case and it could end up being an unmitigated disaster. Thankfully it simply wasn't an issue and everything went like clockwork, something they were both rather relieved about. When the afterglow faded, Sharon had peed (having to think about stopping UTIs before they arrived one of the things she hadn't missed about sex during her painfully long abstinence, the second being the mess. It was actually the first time she'd had to deal with that particular issue since Ricky was born. After his birth she insisted that Jack use a condom, stating it was a 'belts and suspenders' type of scenario and being extra careful since they couldn't afford a third child but the truth was she just didn't trust him any longer and wanted to ensure she didn't catch anything from him. Well past the menopause and trusting Andy implicitly when he told her he had a clean bill of health, that first time with him was the first time she'd had sex without a condom in over thirty years. She had certainly not missed the excessive bodily fluids in that time, not even wanting to think about them to be fair, but it was oh so worth it in order to really feel him) and a contented sleep started to call them, spending their first night together properly in each other's arms the rather unfortunate misunderstandings returned with a vengeance and made them both more than a little anxious again._

 _Sharon was keen to go to sleep if not fully clothed in her usual pair of comfortable pyjamas then at least in something and wanted Andy to do the same should Rusty suddenly want her in a hurry in the middle of the night for any reason (which was not a common occurrence by any means given that he wasn't five years old unless Jack was trying to break into his room but Sod's Law meant that the first time she had Andy finally spend the night in her bed and they both went to sleep naked as the day they were born then Rusty was bound to walk in feeling unwell or after hearing a strange noise and thinking that Phillip Stroh was hiding in the bathroom). Fresh from the first orgasm that either had experienced with another person in a very long time, it was actually a good long while before Andy finally moved off her, Sharon holding him in place and asking him not to move yet, having missed that weight on top of her as she clung to him, the man who was the love of her life and had come to realise just a few hours earlier that he felt the exact same way. Andy didn't object, rolling next to her being too much effort at that point in time anyway (realising that if the building caught fire he would die a very happy man since his legs had well and truly gone). Andy pushed his lips to every part of her body that he could reach as she relaxed and ran her hands up and down his back and then into his hair, scratching his scalp in the way she knew he liked._

 _When he eventually had to move and they'd both used the bathroom, Andy spooned up behind her but didn't yet realise (because of the sheer exhaustion and both of them feeling ever so slightly overwhelmed by the whole evening) that long talks in bed where going to be a very big part of their future, the inevitable 'Was it worth the wait?' nervously escaped Sharon's lips, terrified of the answer she was about to receive but needing to ask anyway. Andy initially laughed which calmed her nerves somewhat before he confirmed 'It was so worth the wait' which had Sharon quickly agreeing and all was right with their little corner of the world until she rather cautiously whispered 'Andy, can I ask you a favour?' Leaping to the wrong conclusion almost immediately Andy was under the false assumption that she was just about to ask him to leave because of Rusty and her not wanting him to see him in the morning and realise he'd spent the night (when in reality they ended up meeting at around 4am in the kitchen instead anyway, the cat well and truly out of the bag even if she had wanted to keep it a secret from Rusty), preparing to get up and leave._

 _Sharon soon cleared up the misunderstanding as Andy tried to pretend that he wasn't upset that she was essentially trying to throw him out on his ear after everything that had happened between them since they left PAB, telling him emphatically that he wasn't going anywhere but she needed to get dressed and unlock the bedroom door just in case (although if the kitchen meeting had not happened and Rusty had experienced some sort of very early morning crisis and came bursting into her bedroom and discovered Andy in there then they could only imagine how much he would have screamed, screaming until he was sick she imagined). Andy was more than a little relieved despite feeling like an old fool and more than a little embarrassed, preferring to sleep in something anyway so he had no issue at all in pulling his t-shirt and boxers back on. He quickly found them on the floor before he pulled them on and then unlocked the door again. Just as he was in the process of asking if he could get Sharon's pyjamas for her to save her getting out of bed again he turned to see her slipping on his dress shirt and doing up a couple of buttons, the single sexiest thing he had ever seen in his life._

 _Sharon claimed at the time that his shirt was closer than her pyjamas and that's why she had slipped it on instead (to also save him the effort of digging in the drawer of her bureau since all she wanted was for him to get back in bed with her and lay in his arms for the first time). The truth was however, that she had always loved sleeping in a big shirt like that, liking how it offered her freedom of movement while she inevitably tossed and turned in her sleep like she was possessed by the devil (something that Andy would learn all about in the coming hours as she beat him time and time again and eventually gave him a black eye with her elbow in her sleep). She used to sleep a lot in one of Jack's shirts but after he left her that first time she didn't want his shirts anywhere near her as a constant reminder of his absence any more than she wanted to buy her own just to sleep in, switching back to pyjamas again._

Since those first few night with Andy she had either slept in a shirt she had stolen from him or one of his t-shirts (which were also stolen from him it must be noted), feeling like the very definition of a cliché but she really didn't care, she felt more comfortable when she slept in one of his big and baggy shirts, not to mention that she felt cooler in one with the hottest person on Earth usually pressed against her back with his arm draped over her but moreover she just liked doing it. That all changed however when she asked him to move in with her at the condo and her sudden desire to try to make more of an effort for him rather than taking him and their still growing relationship for granted once they started to live together so that meant coming to bed in something satin and very sexy. Not that she really needed to given that he practically drooled over her in pretty much anything so the only reason she went to such great lengths was because she wanted to, to make herself look nice for him, to make an effort for him because she loved him.

Sharon had always taken great pride in her appearance, feeling good when she looked good but more than that her chosen career path meant that enough people disliked her at work, the least she could do was ensure she looked good while being badmouthed by all and sundry, her appearance not giving them extra ammunition on top of everything else. Plus her self-esteem was virtually none existent and got smaller and smaller every time Jack left her. The whole situation was then compounded further by everyone at work knowing what had gone on between them, seeing Jack staggering out of bars at all hours with a different blonde, stick thin twenty something year old woman on his arm every time which meant the gossip about them both was rife in Parker Centre (one of the reasons why she treasured her privacy with Andy so much). The least she could do was maintain her dignity and ensure she looked good regardless, like anything thrown in her direction was nothing more than water off a duck's back.

Sharon chuckled to herself as her hand unconsciously moved down her satin clad body, rather enjoying the feel of her new night-time attire on her skin despite how much she liked to sleep in one of Andy's shirts. "You like it?" she asked.

"Like it? Are you kidding me?" he cried before he laughed at the understatement, 'like' not even coming close to describing how he felt. "This is the single sexiest sight I have ever seen in my entire life. You look so breathtakingly beautiful and you're just going to bed. How is that even possible?" Still not used to Andy's compliments (with part of her hoping she never would be so that she didn't start to take them for granted), Sharon couldn't help but blush, her cheeks warming quickly as she chomped on her bottom lip. "Plus you know your legs look amazing in it" he added, Andy not able to tell her how beautiful he thought she was without giving a special mention to her legs at least once. "If I didn't know it before I sure as hell know it now."

"Know what now?"

"That I am without a shadow of a doubt the luckiest son of a bitch on the face of God's green Earth" he told her sincerely, still not able to believe his luck. With Sharon looking up at him he couldn't help but push his lips to hers, languidly moving together.

Sharon laughed when they pulled apart, her fingers once again playing with the buttons on his pyjama top. "Smooth talker" she winked and not for the first time before she kissed him again.

"I'm just making sure you don't find a reason to kick me out anytime soon" he joked. "I have to prove my worth to you" he added and then kissed her again.

"I had the same thought actually" she replied. He looked at her a little confused as she ran her hand back down her satin covered body again. "Since I'm now sharing my life and my bed with a boy again," she clarified as her hand moved to stroke his cheek, "and full time too at that I thought I'd better start making more of an effort for him."

He grinned at her, still adoring every single time she used that word to describe him. "With a boy?" he repeated, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

"Oh yes" she confirmed before she kissed his lips. "My beautiful boy" she added before she kissed him again. "I don't want your eye to start wandering a little because I'm not making an effort now that I've finally got you exactly where I want you and I start to let myself go or something" she joked.

He laughed. "Well that's never going to happen babe. You," he said before he paused to move a stray lock of hair from her face, "are it for me Raydor, until death do us part." He pressed his lips to hers as a way to confirm it, the two of them staying nose to nose for a moment when they broke apart. "And for the record since you've gone to such efforts just for me I'd like to confirm that I love it," he told her as his hand continued to move up and down her back, "like a huge amount," he added as his eyes bulged and she laughed at him, "but you could come to bed in a garbage bag and you'd still be the most beautiful creature on the face of this Earth."

She laughed again as she looked up at him adoringly. She sighed. "You really do have a way with words Andrew Flynn" she told him as her words were punctuated by kisses to his jaw. "When you're not using pigeon Italian to woo me of course" she laughed, Andy quickly laughing and nodding in agreement. "I really like these by the way" she said as her hand stroked down his pyjamas, it again having a novelty factor because aside from when he stayed at the condo before and after his surgery it was actually the first time she had ever seen him in any.

He looked down at himself, beyond boiling hot by that point because of them but he saw them as more of an olive branch than anything else. He sighed and shrugged as he told her "Yeah well the last time I went to find someone in the living room in the middle of the night they locked me out on the balcony in just my underwear and I nearly froze to death." She laughed at his exaggeration although she still hated herself that she had done that to him especially since he just wanted to help her at a time when he was also suffering but she had been too blind by grief and guilt to notice it. "I thought I'd better start dressing a little more appropriately just in case there was a repeat performance when I came a looking."

Sharon laughed a little again, more embarrassed than anything about her behaviour a few nights earlier. "I know." She began to play with the buttons on his top again, avoiding his eye as her embarrassment level peaked. "Andy I am so so sorry I did that to you. I promise it'll never ever happen again."

He smiled. "Well then it was worth it" he replied, dragging her chin up so that she would look at him and he could plant another kiss to her lips.

She looked away again, avoiding his eye for a moment as she felt uncomfortable about what she was about to say to him but conceded that she needed to say it to him regardless, she owed him that much at least. "I'm sorry, I know I haven't been myself over the last couple of days and I..."

"You don't need to explain" he stated very matter-of-factly when he cut in. "I understand. Believe me Sharon if there's one person in this world that you don't need to explain yourself to or apologise to it's me. I am always going to be here for you no matter how you're feeling and what you've done. I'm _always_ going to be here for you. Okay?" he asked, pushing his lips to the top of her head.

She nodded as she once again realised that despite some of the similarities they had on the surface, Andy and Jack could not be any more different to each other at that point in their lives, the one always there for her even in the moments when she tried so hard to push him away and the other barely even there in the good times. "Okay" she nodded.

"Good."

She stroked his cheek as she gazed up at his face from her position on his shoulder, the stubble she found there delightfully scratching her fingertips. Andy may not have really understood how lost she felt over the previous few days or her guilt over her complete lack of guilt when she shot and killed Dwight but regardless he was _always_ going to be by her side, always ready to listen and to find a way to help her even if he couldn't do it himself like he had done when he encouraged her to go and see Father Stan. For Sharon it was probably the thing that was taking the most time to adjust to in her relationship with Andy (despite the experience that came with being his friend over the years before they started to date properly), for so long being in a relationship with a man who never even attempted to try to understand her at times and then up and left the moment things got bad or when he got a little frustrated with her. Andy would always try even if he just couldn't understand because he loved her and he wasn't going anywhere. He was a real partner in her life in the true sense of the word and with every passing moment she spent with him she began to realise just how lucky she was to have him in her life, how lucky they both were to have found each other given that they started off their relationship in extremely combative circumstances.

"God I love you" she told him as she continued to gaze up at him adoringly.

"I love you too" he confirmed with a kiss to her lips.

She continued to just study his face in silence for a moment, her eyes travelling along every single line across it as she smiled at him. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For taking care of me better than anyone ever has in my entire life, even when I try to resist it. For always being there for me. For being the one person I can always rely on no matter what." She shrugged as her words tailed off, thinking that she could go on and on until she was horse listing all the reasons why she felt such gratitude to have him in her life. "For everything."

Her hand moved to stroke his cheek again but he quickly caught it and brought it to his lips to kiss her palm. "There's no need to thank me, that's my job in this life" he said with a little shrug.

"From past experience that doesn't mean that people still hang around when they're met with a little resistance."

"That's because those people are idiots" he cried. She couldn't help but laugh given the way he said it, really emphasising 'idiots' so she knew who he was referring to. "I'm never going anywhere babe, even if you try to make me. You're stuck with me now."

She sat up a little and kissed him on the lips again. "Thank you" she repeated. Andy went to protest, to tell her that he didn't need to be thanked for taking care of the love of his life but she stopped him with a finger to his lips. "I know, I know but still, thank you my beautiful boy." She kissed him again but this time it was long and slow, his hand moving into her hair until they broke apart. She settled down on his shoulder again as they lay in silence until her head suddenly snapped up to look at him. "But just to go back a little for one moment, you came to bed in your pyjamas and you didn't know for certain I was going to get up then" she pointed out as she looked at him quizzically since she was pretty sure that was not the real reason that he had come to bed in his pyjamas for the first time in their relationship.

Andy shrugged. "Yeah well after I moved in properly Rusty not so subtly let me know once again that he was ever so slightly fed up of seeing me walking around every morning in just a t-shirt and my underwear."

Sharon frowned, unable to hide her annoyance at what she was hearing. "Why? What did he say to you?" she asked.

"Something along the lines of 'Don't you ever wear clothes?'" he said before he laughed about it and letting her know that it didn't bother him in the slightest even though Sharon looked less than impressed by the whole affair, his laughter ending when he realised that fact. "I took it as a hint to cover myself up a little more while we go through this rocky..." he said before he paused and thought of the appropriate phrase to use, "transition period shall we say."

"Transition period?"

"Yeah, you know the next couple of months as he gets used to me living here officially."

She smiled at him. Despite her annoyance at Rusty dictating dress code to one of the two people who were now paying the mortgage together, at the same time she was also pleased that Rusty was thankfully now completely accepting of Andy not only being in his life but also in his home. "Well in my opinion, since it was his idea in the first place that you move in here with us rather than buying a house together, I think he's already there." She continued to smile at him because she knew how much he craved the acceptance and the blessings of all three of her children which he now had but her smile quickly turned back into a frown again. "But more to the point, let me remind you that this is your home now Andy. It's _your home_ as much as it is mine or even his for that matter. You're not a visitor here anymore, you're not an overnight guest, you're not here as just my boyfriend." Her hand went back to his cheek again, his hand quickly coming up to take hold of it so that he could push his lips to her palm as she spoke. "You are officially a member of this family now, a member of my family, of Rusty's family and when you are here you are in your own home, in _our home_ my darling boy _._ Never forget that." She kissed him on the lips, letting it linger to reinforce her point. "And soon, when we finally find the time and work stops getting in the way of us living our lives, your name is going to be added to everything to make it official too. So what I'm trying to say is, if you want to walk around the place in just a t-shirt and your boxers at any time of the day or night then just do it because you're home."

Andy smiled at her mischievously, his eyebrows waggling. "You just like to ogle me."

She grinned back, playfully biting at his jaw a couple of times. "Possibly but that's not the point I'm trying to make here" she confirmed. Andy laughed as she propped herself back up on her elbow for a moment to make sure that he was listening to her and taking in what she was telling him. "Being considerate and respecting Rusty's wishes as much as possible is one thing Andy but pandering to him and constantly allowing yourself to feel uncomfortable because of a few complaints from someone who, let me remind you by the way, doesn't pay the mortgage around here is another thing entirely."

Andy couldn't help but look at her rather surprised. To Andy it wasn't a big deal at all and he'd do a lot of things within reason as a way to keep the peace with his would be Step-Son as they adjusted to living together and had assumed that Sharon would also feel the same way so he couldn't help but be surprised by her response.

"So in this debate you're taking my side?" he asked.

"Always and not just because I love to ogle you over breakfast whenever opportunity presents itself." They both laughed again before she stroked his cheek, desperately wanting him to take what she was saying seriously as she continued to try her hardest to make him feel comfortable in his new home since he had moved in with her. "Andy if this is ever going to work now that we've made this step you need make yourself at home. Don't make yourself uncomfortable because it's what you think Rusty or I want from you. Okay?"

He smiled and nodded. "Okay, not a problem but I'll probably give him until the end of next week, you know lull him into a false sense of security and then they're gone" he joked and making her laugh.

"But aren't you hot in these right now?" Her hand moved up and down his chest again. It was hard for her to tell when he was feeling hotter than usual (for example if he had a fever from a bout of man flu) because he was always hot to the touch, every single part of him but he very rarely sweated or complained about it, still given how he always slept with his feet and legs out of the bed, it was hard to believe that he was wearing a pair of pyjamas in bed and not overheating.

Andy puffed out his cheeks, absolutely dying he was that hot and feeling like he was sitting on the surface of the sun. "You have no idea. I'm boiling in the bag here" he complained.

Sharon laughed. "Then take them off. Right now!" She clapped her hands together and then rolled off him to encourage him to strip and make himself more comfortable. "You've never needed to sleep in them anyway, just put them on if you leave the bedroom if that's what you want to do."

Andy smiled and jumped out of bed with an awful lot of energy given how draining the previous few days had been to him and he'd had very little sleep. He started to unbutton his top as Sharon propped herself up on her elbows to watch him, a very dirty smile making its way to her face. Noticing the way he was being watched he stopped. "Are you ogling me right now?"

"Always. It's practically a full time job on its own, ogling you my boy." Andy laughed as he continued to undo the buttons, only doing it a lot more slowly as if he was performing a striptease just for her. He only stopped when Sharon looked on her nightstand and then opened the drawer, just stopping short of putting her glasses back on to see as she rooted around inside.

"What are you looking for?"

"A dollar to throw at you?"

"Just a dollar? A lousy dollar for this? For all of this?" he asked as he gestured the full length of his body as if he was going to remove his clothes and reveal a body like Thor.

Sharon laughed. For a guy who acted on the surface like he had confidence literally oozing from every single pore, he sure sucked his stomach in around her an awful lot, especially when he was partially or even fully naked. "Well now that you've moved in I don't feel the need to pay as much anymore when I'm enjoying the show" she teased.

"Oh I see but what happened to making an effort now that we've moved in together?"

She shrugged. "I meant in regards to my night-time attire and not how much I'll be willing to pay you in the future for doing your duties as my," she paused and then sighed, making it sound more like a little aroused moan, "official live in lover."

He grinned and winked at her as he removed his pyjama top. "I knew you'd start to love my official title sooner rather than later" he joked and getting a little laugh. "You know it might even look good on the name plate on my desk. I could do with an upgrade after all these years. 'Detective Lieutenant Andrew Flynn: Major Crimes and Live in Lover'" he said as he winked at her again.

Sharon laughed again (thinking that perhaps that might be a good gag gift to have him made in time for Christmas even if it only lived in his desk drawer at work rather than anywhere a bit more public for all the world to see) as Andy quickly removed his pyjama pants and unceremoniously dumped them on the armchair in the corner of the room on top of Sharon's robe with zero intention of putting them back on again even if he had an early morning trip to the kitchen before he showered. Feeling a lot cooler he climbed back into bed, Sharon waiting for him to lie down and get comfortable again before she lay back on his shoulder, his arm around her.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much" he confirmed with a kiss to the top of her head before they lay in silence for a few moments, that only being interrupted when Andy kicked his legs out from under the covers and into the cooler air, sighing from being far too hot as he did it. She laughed at him before he looked down at his legs sticking out from under the covers. "You know I'm starting to develop a major complex about my legs the way he keeps complaining about them all the time." Sharon laughed at him again as he raised his legs slightly so that he could see them better. "I mean are they really that hideous?" he asked as Sharon laughed again. "I always thought I had a rather good set of legs."

"Oh you do my darling boy, believe me, you definitely do." She kissed him on his cheek as she laughed, her foot moving up and down his leg after slinging it over him again. "I love them almost as much as you love mine" she joked, her mind instantly going to the moment that Andy first ran his hands and his lips all over them, the night they first slept together.

 _There was no denying that Andy Flynn was somewhat obsessed with her legs, being unable to take his eyes off them for more than five seconds at a time in the weeks after they first slept together and after taking a few years longer than he had initially hoped for, he finally had his suspicions confirmed that her legs did indeed go on forever. Likewise he also found it more difficult to keep his mind and his eyes off them after he knew just what it felt like to have them wrapped around his waist. In the weeks that followed them sleeping together that first time Sharon had to stop wearing skirts and dresses to work until she was certain that Andy could keep his mind and his eyes off them before Chief Taylor caught him staring once too often and brought their professionalism into question. In fact Andy was so in love with her legs that the first time he saw her completely naked he still focused on her legs more than anything else, especially in the lead up as she tried to eradicate some of her all-consuming nerves by stripping in front of him as he watched._

 _They were both incredibly nervous that first time they slept together, Andy secretly even more so than Sharon despite the cool and calm exterior that he tried to show her because of what he perceived to be her_ extremely _high expectations of him given all of the rumours that had circulated about him at PAB over the years, feeling under intense pressure to serve up a plethora of multiple orgasms from the get go, like he'd be breaking a contract with her otherwise. When they finally made it into the bedroom, Sharon very slowly and calmly leading Andy in there by the hand, a nervous and trembling hand that is, the whole act more sedate that the frantic and passionate stumble through the door with lips and hands moving everywhere like they'd both envisioned in the months that lead up to it, their abundance of nerves clear for both to see despite their best efforts to hide them. It had hit both of them very early on, this was it. There would be no going back after taking this step together even if they wanted to. For Sharon, making love with her friend, her Lieutenant, crossing that barrier, if it didn't work out between them then there was no way they could ever go back to being just very good friends like Andy had promised Taylor when they informed him of their 'change in status' and that's what scared her most of all. Losing Andy completely by taking that step with him and it not working out was terrifying because she had come to realise that she could simply no longer live without him anymore._

 _After closing and locking the bedroom door behind her Sharon remained with her back pressed up against it, staring nervously up at Andy with her bottom lip stuck between her teeth, almost making it bleed, while Andy's eyes scanned the room as he took several deep and calming breaths. If he was being completely honest his nerves were so bad in that moment that he feared he may end up locked in her bathroom for the rest of the evening before long, his nerves making him break out into hives or something like Cary Grant at the end of_ That Touch of Mink. _He had been in Sharon's bedroom before, as recently as that evening in fact when he went to get her Uggs for her. Andy had the habit of going to fetch them for her as he waited for her to come home from work before and after his surgery, Rusty joking on many occasions that Andy was very reminiscent of a dog the way he waited for her, holding her slippers except that Andy had a pair of salad tongs in his hand to pick them up since he wasn't allowed to bend over before the clot was removed. When he had been in her bedroom in the past, he hadn't been in there very long, much like when Sharon was in his bedroom on the way to the bathroom, neither wanting to appear like they were snooping and in truth he didn't want to spend too much time in there until he was invited in to spend the night, avoiding 'spoilers' you might say. But despite having seen it all before (even at a fairly high speed) the room looked different. The only light with the exception of the moon coming through the blinds was the lamp on the left hand nightstand, Sharon having the foresight to put it on when she excused herself to go to the bathroom an hour or so earlier, already deciding that it was the night when they were finally going to sleep together no matter what, even if she had to oil herself up and throw herself at him to get him to take the hint and therefore as well as putting the lamp up she also changed her underwear, putting on a pair of panties that didn't scream 'Untouched by man for close to a decade.' It was far from set up for a romantic evening, none of the candles and soft music playing that she'd planned in her mind over the months leading up to that point but that only seemed to make it all the more perfect. It was happening naturally rather than forced and therefore it was all about them being together for the first time rather than what was around them._

 _When Andy turned to face her he smiled, more than aware of the tension in her shoulders that matched his own. Finally she smiled back at him as he took a small step towards her. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, a blatant signal about how he was feeling given the step they were about to take together._

" _I don't know about you but I'm suddenly as nervous as all hell right now" he told her sincerely as he laughed about it, not wanting to laugh but his nerves simply made it unavoidable._

 _It had been quite the turnaround in the time it had taken them to walk from the kitchen and into her bedroom. After starting off nervous and frankly stunned (in truth she could have knocked him over with a feather he was that surprised by it all) when Sharon invited him to spend the night with her in her bed (a feeling that only increased when a few seconds later she wrongly assumed that the pill he needed to take was Viagra rather than his blood pressure medication), he was suddenly calm while Sharon went the other way, practically trembling with nerves while she watched him take his medication. Now in her bedroom his nerves had come back with a vengeance, something that he'd waited so long for, patiently waited for at that, to be able to show her just how much he loved her and he wasn't entirely sure his nerves weren't going to get the better of him. But he needed to be honest, needed to tell her how he felt because he was pretty sure she felt the same way and he hoped that by telling her that, it would make them both relax a little more._

 _Sharon laughed and seemed to relax a little more almost immediately as a result of his words and his confession, glad that he felt the same way that she did. "Then that makes two of us" she admitted, them laughing together this time. "We make quite a pair, don't we?" she added with a very nervous and shaky sigh before they laughed again. Despite their laughter Andy could see that Sharon was still tightly clutching the door handle behind her until her knuckles were practically starting to turn white, doing the same thing as she'd done in the kitchen moments earlier as she clung to the fridge handle and watched him while he took his (suddenly much needed) blood pressure medication._

 _Andy took a step closer to her which made her breath hitch, part from the anticipation and part from the sheer weight of her all-consuming nerves because it really was finally about to happen, they were finally about to consummate their relationship. He raised his hand and slowly and gently allowed his fingers to stroke her cheek, trying not to crowd her and add yet more pressure to the mix while at the same time being unable to keep his hands off her for a moment longer._

" _Look Sharon, we don't have to do this tonight you know" he told her quietly and sounding like he genuinely meant every single word._

 _It was the second time he'd said it to her in the space of a couple of minutes, saying the same thing when he realised just how nervous she suddenly was in the kitchen despite being the one to ask him to spend the night. Both times he couldn't believe the words that were falling out of his mouth when he was being offered sex with the love of his life for the very first time, having never said 'No' to anyone over the years. He loved her and he wanted her, he'd wanted her for so long that he could barely remember a time when he didn't feel that way but he was never going to push her into anything she didn't want to do even if it did mean going home with balls so blue he could barely sit down._

" _I can go home or I can still stay the night and we can just go to sleep" he suggested, offering her more than one way out if she had changed her mind._

 _She smiled at him as she felt her knees go a little weak, wanting him all the more for the way he had now twice offered to go home right then without (at least to her) complaint. Her hold on the door handle loosened a little. "Yes we do" she replied emphatically._

" _But…"_

" _Andy," she smiled as she blushed a little more, "it's time." She bit on her bottom lip as she sighed once again. "I love you and it's long past time that I showed you just how much."_

 _He could see in her eyes that the uncertainty and the caution that was there before had gone and instead it was replaced with want and need and adoration. She was nervous and a little worried even but it was time and she wanted him. He nodded in reply, unable to keep the smile from his face as he closed the gap between them, standing right in front of her so that they were essentially sharing the same air and she could feel the heat that radiated from him, her chest beginning to heave with anticipation. His hand slowly came up and cupped her face. Oh so gently he brushed his lips against hers before pulling away slightly, her hands still behind her, one still clutching the door handle as if she would drown if she let go._

" _We're going to take this nice and slow" he told her. Once more the tone of his voice and the love that she saw in his eyes made her knees weak and her throat dry. She wanted him, oh God did she want him but she needed to let go of the door handle first. "Okay?"_

 _Andy didn't know precisely how long it had been for Sharon but he knew it had been a while and hurting her by rushing was at the forefront of his mind, knowing there was a very good chance that their first time was potentially going to be more discomfort than pleasure for her on the whole but likewise it had also been a long time for him too and therefore not only did he_ need _to go slow to avoid what could essentially be called a 'teenage virgin explosion' and embarrassing himself if his abstinence caused him control issues, but he also wanted to go slow to savour every single second of the first time with the love of his life. This was going to be his last ever 'first time' and he knew that. He'd already had his last ever first date and his last ever first kiss, both of which were made all the more special because he knew going into those events that he was experiencing them with the love of his life and they were indeed his last 'firsts.' He may not have liked it in the beginning (loathed may actually be the more appropriate word as he let his frustration get the better of him at times when he felt like their relationship had come to a complete stop) but going slow had become their 'thing.' They had taken their whole relationship up until that point so ridiculously slowly, making it so much easier for them to work together and date that he saw no reason to change it, wanting them both to savour and enjoy every moment of it because they were never going to have another first time, this was it for the rest of their lives but more than that, he had waited so long for that moment, he was not about to rush it._

 _Sharon nodded before she could speak, clearing her throat a little. "Okay."_

 _Andy nodded back, a large smile on his face as he inched his lips back towards hers, both hands moving up to cup her face before they finally kissed. It started off very chaste and slow and gentle until Andy finally deepened it. Their lips moved deliberately against the other's until they needed more and his tongue made its way into her mouth at the same time as his left hand moved to wrap around her waist in an attempt to draw her away from the door, a deeply satisfied moan coming from her throat as a result. They stayed like that for a minute or two, their lips hardly parting as it continued to build slowly. Finally, and just when they both thought it was never going to happen, Sharon released her almost vice like grip on the door handle (Andy hoping beyond hope that she wasn't going to use a similar tight grip on the more overly sensitive parts of his anatomy in the coming minutes)._

 _Sharon's hands moved to his hips, drawing him closer before slowly making their way around to his back and underneath his jacket as they always did, her chest pressing flush against his. She could feel him smiling against her lips as a result almost immediately, unable to not smile back at him in the circumstances. In need of a little more air they regretfully broke apart but that only meant Andy had the opportunity to give her the same goofy looking smile she fell in love with as he winked at her and their foreheads came to rest together._

 _Her hands started to move again, once frozen but suddenly almost restless, travelling back around to his stomach, almost dancing on their journey before they very slowly moved up along his suspenders until she reached his shoulders, instantly slipping his suit jacket off. He took his hands away from her for a moment to allow it to fall down his arms and to the floor, neither one concerned with picking it up again until morning. Keeping her eyes locked on his, another nervous smile on her lips, she took hold of his tie just like she had done at Nicole's wedding when she dragged him to the dancefloor by it to force him to dance with her, only this time she dragged him towards her bed by it, slowly moving backwards with a different dance entirely in mind._

 _When her legs finally met the end of her bed she let go of his tie, straightening it as she always did even though it was going to be removed and flung across the room shortly, her eyes locked on it while his hands moved back to her hips, his thumbs moving in little circles once again as if he was trying to calm her nerves. Unable to delay the inevitable any longer Sharon looked up and met his eyes, her hands moving up to touch his cheeks before they slid down to his shoulders and then around his neck, her fingers running through his hair at the back of his head. Andy remained motionless save for the way his thumbs continued to slowly make circles on her hip bones, despite how much he wanted to touch and kiss every square inch of her he remained painfully patient, waiting for her to make the next move as he had done throughout their entire relationship thus far. Eventually she did, stepping up onto her tiptoes to crash her lips against his in a searing and frantic kiss, practically devouring each other._

 _Slowly and gently Andy edged her backwards until she sat and then lay down at the foot of the bed, Sharon reaching up quickly to grab his tie again and pulled him down to join her, already missing the feel of his lips against hers. He obliged instantly, not that he had much choice in the matter with the way she pulled on his tie like he was a dog on a leash who was about to cock his leg up a flowerbed, collapsing next to her in a heap before their lips came back together again._

 _They stayed like that for the longest time as, true to his word, Andy made sure that they continued to move at a snail's pace not only because they were both nervous but also because now that he finally had her where he wanted her after so much time waiting and his accident derailing them when his health got in the way, he wanted to savour every single moment, every sight, every sound, every taste, every touch, every sensation as their lips moved languidly together. After a while and with Sharon's hands moving up and down his back and into his hair, fisting one and then the other as she moaned into his mouth, Andy finally moved his own, unable to keep them off her body for a moment longer. Using one arm to prop himself up as he loomed over her, starting with his other hand just resting on her waist, making sure that she didn't run away from him but it slowly moved down to her hip and then along her leg, finally getting his hands on the part of her anatomy he'd spent so much of her previous twenty years plus that he'd known her staring at longingly, her skin softer and smoother and silkier than he ever dared imagine before his hand sneaked up and underneath her dress, forcefully grasping her hip. In response Sharon moaned into his mouth again, her whole body already on fire and they hadn't done much more than kiss, her nails scratching his scalp until she suddenly and rather abruptly pulled back from him. As Sharon closed her eyes tight and bit on her bottom lip once again, her nerves more than evident, Andy could only think the worst and wanted to kick himself for pushing her too hard too quickly. Why didn't he keep his hands on her waist? Why didn't he let her make the first move? Why? WHY?! For the love of all things Holy, WHY?! Then suddenly and much to Andy's surprise she smiled at him, her hand moving back down to his cheek._

 _Sharon closed her eyes again and swallowed. She was nervous, possibly more nervous than she had ever been in her life and that had nothing to do with her Grandmother's words of wisdom running through her mind. 'Sharon! Keep your knees together and your hand on your Moo-Moo!' It wasn't just the idea of having sex again for the first time in a long time although it was a major factor and she certainly wasn't frightened by it (unlike her first college roommate Mindy who was probably still frightened by the sight of a penis to that day) but it was a big step for her and it was a big step for_ them. _She loved him, he was the love of her life, she was sure if it and she couldn't help but feel the pressure on both of their shoulders as they moved forward. Bad sex with someone you'd known for a couple of months was disappointing but not the end of the world. Bad sex with the love of your life after waiting months, even years for it was a complete and utter disaster in her opinion and she worried they would struggle to come back from it if that was the case. She was relatively sure that sex hadn't changed in the years since she'd last been naked with a man, feeling a little like Tom Hanks in_ Sleepless in Seattle _and the conversation about 'tiramisu' but she was still rather anxious about it. On top of that she had nerves about the state of her body, being naked in front of someone (other than her Doctor) for the first time in a long time was a very big deal. She was far from Jabba the Hut in a wig and glasses but likewise she was also far from the twenty something year old Goddesses that Andy was accustomed to sleeping with, women who hadn't raised two children and didn't have breasts that looked like they were try to run away from each other. She took another deep breath and decided that there was only one way for her to combat her nerves about everything including her body and letting someone, her best friend her and colleague, see her naked for the first time in a long time and that was just to get it over and done with, like pulling off a Band-Aid except with more nakedness and hopefully a little less pain._

 _She sighed again as she registered the worried look of Andy's face. She knew what he was thinking, that she was about to call the whole thing off and send him packing, sending him home in desperate need of a very cold shower. She smiled again before pressing her lips gently against his twice, a promise for more and hoping to let him know that their evening was far from over._

" _Andy…" She paused as she sighed again, the words suddenly stuck in the back of her throat just like 'I love you' had been for so many weeks as it became dry like the desert. "It's been a_ very _long time since I last…" She closed her eyes tight before she continued as if not seeing his face would make it easier to say the words out loud, all of this despite the fact that she'd already told him once in the kitchen. "Andy it's been a depressingly long time since I last…you know." She laughed at herself and was relieved to see him smiling at her when she opened her eyes again, moving his hand back to her face and hoping to offer no pressure whatsoever despite having very little blood left in his brain and therefore was no longer thinking all that clearly._

 _Her revelation wasn't exactly breaking news to him. He had figured as much based on a few conversations they'd had here and there over the years of their friendship without everything that she'd said to him subsequently to explain one of her many reasons for wanting to wait a little before moving their relationship along so slowly. But it had been a while for him too so he understood her nervousness in that regard completely but like he'd already told her in the kitchen when her trembling hands made him realise just how nervous she actually was, it was just like riding a bicycle, once you know, you never forget (the fact that he'd already said 'bicyclist' rather than 'bicycle' to her before she led him into the bedroom revealing that he'd already stopped thinking with his brain and that only served to make her laugh and relax a little more). It was going to utterly kill him to end their night right there, in fact he worried that he balls were about to explode one way or another but he loved her so if that was what she wanted, he would end it there and go home even though he_ desperately _didn't want to._

" _I just…" she said before she paused again, looking at his tie for a moment before meeting his watchful eye, "I just need to do this my way for a moment, okay?"_

 _Andy looked at her a little confused but nodded anyway. "Okay" he said finally. He had no idea what that meant, just like he didn't really know what 'slow' meant when she made her irrational demand in his car after their first date ('slow' turning out to mean a 'painful act of self-imposed celibacy that lasted five long, torturous months' but of course at that point he had no idea at all that Sharon had been trying and failing to put a move on him several times before his accident) but he was willing to go with it to make her feel comfortable and move things forward, letting her take the lead in whatever way she wanted, knowing that not only was she accustomed to it but moreover she just liked taking control of a situation._

 _Sharon placed a hand on his shoulder to make him move from his position looming over her, allowing her to stand. Andy obediently rolled onto his side as he watched her closely, his eyes never leaving her for an instant as she moved. She stood, moving very slowly onto unsteady legs (of the opinion already that it wasn't going to take much more before she could barely stand at all, coherent thought soon joining her legs in abandoning her and stopping her from running away from him), making her feel like a new born foal but hoping she looked a lot more graceful, aiming for sexy but knowing full well that wasn't going to happen. It's far too hard to look even remotely sexy when you're on the verge of wetting yourself with nerves. She didn't look particularly graceful either but Andy was never going to say anything about it because he barely noticed, she was already the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his entire life._

 _She moved to the nightstand on the left hand side of the bed and removed her glasses, half so that they didn't get in the way and break when things got moving again and half because she wouldn't be able to clearly see the disappointed look on Andy's face when he saw her naked body for the first time. As she removed them she suddenly thought about turning off the lamp, thinking she was going to look a lot better in near darkness. She suddenly wished she'd had the brains and the foresight to light some candles in there a little earlier in the evening instead, thinking that everyone (even her) looked better in candlelight. Beginning to overthink practically everything she thought that if she turned the lamp off to hide her body in near darkness Andy may take it the wrong way and she was avoiding seeing him in all his glory rather than the other way around. She was suddenly desperately hoping for a power outage before she removed her dress, the darkness protecting her a little but the damn thing stayed on and she couldn't wait any longer. Feeling more than a little flustered she ended up doing neither one thing or the other, leaving the lamp on and placing her glasses on the shade, letting them dangle (as she would discover a few hours later when she went to search for them after she was woken by Andy shouting in pain following her elbow to his eye)._

 _With another deep and calming breath she moved around the bed to stand in front of her bureau, her eyes locked on Andy as he followed her movement. She may have been without her glasses which made Andy a little blurred around the edges, just like how she felt about her body it must be said, but she could still clearly see the expression on his face, one that was completely neutral as he wondered what she was about to do next while he continued to allow things to be done 'her way.' Standing well out of his reach she took another deep breath and began to very slowly slip off her cardigan. This was not a striptease. It was not slow and sexy with the occasional sway of her hips in order to tease him and get his engine running (it was already running, it was on the verge of overheating and exploding). Neither was it particularly rushed to get it over and done with either but it was what she needed to do to get over her issues by presenting herself to him in all her glory and in one go rather than inch by inch as he explored her body. She knew it was perhaps unfair to him but Andy would have plenty of opportunities to remove her clothing piece by piece in the future, to travel her skin with his lips and his tongue as he did it, but for now this would have to do. She dropped her cardigan to the floor just like she had done with his jacket, not bothering to hang it up because they simply didn't have the time for that, they'd already waited long enough._

 _Another deep breath followed as she reached behind her and very slowly began to pull down the zipper on her dress, the grey material hugging her body tightly all day and accentuating every single curve that was about to be unleashed. Her eyes were clamped shut as it slowly pooled at her feet before she stepped out of it and fully exposed herself to him for the first time, battling long and hard to stop herself from folding her arms in front of her chest to hide her body. She wasn't completely naked, she still had her underwear on (underwear that looked a hell of a lot better than what she left the condo in that morning), leaving that for the man still patiently propped up on her bed to remove but it was enough for her to get over her initial insecurities._

 _To Sharon it felt like hours ticked by as the room remained still and silent but it was more like seconds as she stood before him in just her underwear, her eyes shut, her heart seemingly beating so loud it was almost deafening and without Andy moving or saying a word. She was just beginning to wonder if he'd fallen asleep or jumped out of the window when she forced her eyes open to look at him. What she saw through her slightly blurred vision was Andy still lying in the exact same position, his expression still nothing more than neutral, not having moved so much as an inch with the exception of him starting to tug on his earlobe for some strange reason (it taking her a few more months before she worked that one out), staring at her in complete silence. She waited patiently for a few moments longer, hoping for any sort of reaction but Andy still didn't move or say anything, Sharon quickly beginning to feel more than a little exposed and even frustrated under his intense gaze. It was a move solely to calm herself and try to eliminate her lingering insecurities that she had about her body, removing her dress the way she did but it only served to make her look all the more confident and sure of herself in Andy's eyes and therefore even more attractive, his fingers itching to touch her even more as he tried to remain motionless with the exception of the way he was turning his ear bright red, wanting the go-ahead from Sharon before he moved._

 _Sharon was just about to have a full blown panic attack for the first time since she was in pigtails and preparing for show and tell when she noticed that Andy's eyes had darkened significantly and revealed just how much he wanted her._ He _wanted_ her _regardless of her age and numerous imperfections and the amount of time she had forced him to wait for her. Despite what Sharon thought about herself and her body (all of her worries and insecurities Jack's influence once again) she was still in excellent shape for someone even half her age, rounded in places that she wasn't when she first met Andy and she had literally stolen his breath away in that dark, damp corridor of Parker Centre just like he now was but that only made her all the more appealing to him. She was more real to him as a result and not like the fantasy she assumed he had in his head about her given the time she had forced him to wait to get them to that stage._

 _Andy's eyes remained fixed on her legs for the longest time, his eyes wide and the size of saucers, moving up her body so painstakingly slowly as he remained propped up on his elbows and stared at her hungrily. Feeling impatient and anxious and more than a little exposed given that she was standing there virtually naked and all he was missing was his jacket, she felt compelled to push him into a response one way or another._

" _Well?" she asked. Despite her very best efforts to suppress it she still sounded frustrated. She wasn't angling for a compliment or for him to say that he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life but some sort of response would have been nice rather than the way he just continued to stare at her, looking like he was a sandwich short of a picnic._

 _Without saying a word Andy stood and walked over to her, his eyes finally meeting hers and tearing away from her legs. Her breath hitched again as he approached. "Good God, you are so beautiful" he told her in a low whisper, almost like a growl and it instantly had her knees buckling underneath her, only staying upright because Andy cupped her face and kissed her so deeply it was a wonder she didn't melt on the spot._

 _When they finally pulled apart, he grinned at her. "I especially like these" he said as his eyes moved downwards, her following his gaze and assuming that he was talking about her breasts or more likely (knowing Andy Flynn like she did) her legs given the way he had stared at them after her dress fell to the floor. She was wrong. She was oh so wrong. Sharon's eyes widened in absolute horror as she realised that, rather regrettably, she was still wearing the pair of Ugg boots that Andy had fetched her to put on when they got home that evening, her usually always putting them on when she took off her heels following a long day at work but which she had forgotten all about the moment she had decided that was the night they were going to finally take that next step forward and consummate their relationship._

 _Encouraged by Andy's laughter Sharon likewise laughed hysterically at how utterly ridiculous she looked, both of them eventually having to shush the other as they continued to laugh so that they wouldn't wake Rusty. The last thing they needed in that moment was to wake him up with their laughter and have him walk in to see what all the noise was especially since he didn't know that Andy would be staying the night. But more importantly than that, although Andy was only missing his jacket, Sharon was missing almost everything and she_ really _didn't like Rusty disturbing Dr Joe in the middle of the night, especially when he was not capable of making anything other than high pitched, horror filled, screeching noises as words eluded him. Still laughing hysterically but trying to be quiet, Sharon rested her forehead on his chest as he gently kissed the top of her head and his hands came up and landed on her hips. That was it, the catalyst, touching her naked flesh for the first time as a surge of excitement and electricity shot through the both of them, speeding up their heart rates instantly. Although they would end up in fits of nervous laughter again and again, including when Andy brought up the subject of contraception, in that moment everything stopped being funny. Sharon lifted her head from his chest before their lips met again, colliding together as his hands moved and splayed across her rear, pulling her flush against him until Sharon pulled away a little, very keen to get her Uggs off since, in her opinion, it was far from the sexiest look in the world although Andy thought she pulled it off well._

 _Seeing her intent immediately, Andy stopped her when she went to bend down to remove them. "Allow me" he growled almost possessively, another shot of desire surging through her body as a result. He may not have got to remove her dress on that occasion but he was absolutely going to remove her footwear for her, especially since it would give him a chance to run his hands up and down her legs at his leisure, something he'd wanted to do for the longest time. He very slowly dropped to his knees, ignoring the way they cracked and ached, kissing his way from her neck to her stomach as he lowered himself to the ground and then moved his lips agonisingly slowly from her hip to her ankles once settled on his knees, doing the same down each leg as he removed her Uggs. Feeling like a pool of Jell-O as his lips and fingers continued to caress her skin, Sharon was forced into putting her hand on the top of his head to steady herself, feeling him smile against the inside of her thigh as a result. Finally free from her rather fetching footwear and left in just her underwear Sharon offered Andy her hand to help him back up off the ground but Andy was quick to shake his head at her in response, giving her a typically cheeky wink. He had plans for his hands, none of which included her holding them to help him to his feet. His hands reached out and slowly trailed back up her legs, tracing every square inch of them as he practically growled again and he worked his way back up, his lips caressing what his fingers didn't._

" _You have no idea how long I've wanted to run my hands up these legs" he told her as he slowly inched his way back into a standing position._

 _Even with her chest barely concealed and heaving dramatically from the anticipation, Andy still couldn't take his eyes off her legs, practically drooling as he got back up on his feet. At that point he had what was one of the goofiest looking smiles on his face that she had ever seen, making it hard for her to tell precisely what was really going through his mind at that moment although she had a fairly good idea and it was the same thought going through hers. In fact at that stage in their relationship she had only seen him look stupider twice before, the second time being when she responded with 'Fine' to his offer of dinner at Serve but the first time was long before they were even friends let alone dating._

Shortly after what fondly became known as the 'beanbag incident' Andy's attitude changed towards her quite a lot, as did the attitudes of the rest of the Major Crimes division in all fairness (Provenza even going as far to give her a little smile and nod of approval when he had previously been planning her retirement party). This abrupt change in attitude didn't just manifest itself in Andy picking up the beanbag and keeping it in his desk (it still sitting in his desk drawer five years later much to Sharon's surprise and utter delight it must be said) but also in the little smiles and nods that headed her way along with generally being slightly less obnoxious to her than he had been in the twenty years that led up to that moment.

Two days after Sharon had more than proved her worth with a gun and following the end of another very long day she was making her way back to her car in the parking garage when she just so happened to notice Lieutenant Andy Flynn walking about twenty paces ahead of her and clearly headed in the same direction. Then he saw her. Not Sharon, but a stunning little redhead wearing nothing more than hot pants and a bikini top and probably only about a third of his age if that. She was on the other side of the street and walking in the opposite direction, coming towards them and it was obvious to Sharon that Andy couldn't take his eyes off her, only seeing him in profile but it was enough for her to see the most ridiculous expression on his face that she had ever seen (or at least until they started to date and then she started to see it a lot more regularly), Andy practically drooling over her until…WHAM! He walked face first straight into a telephone role, breaking his sunglass immediately and (as she would come to discover the next day) giving him a very large and nasty looking black eye. Sharon laughed, trying her hardest to stop with a hand across her mouth as she slowly approached him and began to walk past. Too busy cursing to himself, wincing with pain and inspecting the damage to his sunglasses Andy failed to notice 'Darth' behind him right away but was horrified when he finally saw her and realised that she'd obviously seen the whole thing, glaring at her and spitting out 'Something funny Captain?' Once again she could only laugh gaily in response, shaking her head at him before she said 'Nothing at all Lieutenant, nothing at all' and then continued on her merry way.

The following day found a distracted Sharon already in the elevator with her head buried in a file when Andy and another Officer she hadn't met before stepped inside without either of them noticing the other (several years later she would later go on to know this Officer very well indeed as Andy's buddy in Operations, Clint). She wasn't paying much attention herself to what was going on around her until she heard 'What happened to your eye?' and then a very familiar sounding voice reply 'Some asshole punched me yesterday.' Her head snapped up immediately to confirm her suspicions as she battled hard to stifle her laughter as much as possible, biting her file to stay quiet. When they arrived on the ninth floor and Andy stepped out of the elevator, he immediately heard the familiar and much dreaded sound of high heels clicking on the floor behind him which forced him to turn and come face to face with Darth Raydor herself, standing behind him with an incredibly large grin on her face after clearly hearing the whole conversation. In truth his eye looked awful, far worse than anything that was to come from the bathroom floor tile or even Sharon's errant elbow for example. Much to his surprise she didn't say a word about his eye, his lie or what had happened the day before, instead she just nodded and said 'Lieutenant' and then made her way passed him and into the Murder Room. It was the second time in a couple of days that Andy came to realise that Darth Raydor wasn't anywhere near as bad as he first thought she was, a kind soul to go with those utterly fabulous legs (especially when they were spread a little for balance because she had a beanbag gun in her hands) and that _huge_ stick up her ass.

 _When Andy met her eye again he put his hands back on her hips, desperate to touch her all over but while still waiting for her to make the next move and not prepared to derail her if she had anything else in mind as far as her 'I need to do this my way' plan was concerned. He didn't have to wait long. She moved her lips to his ear, sucking on his lobe for a moment as he closed his eyes and his grip on her hips tightened._

" _I think you're a little over dressed" she told him on a whisper into his ear before she pulled back and pecked him on the lips. "Allow me."_

 _With slightly trembling hands still she slowly undressed him. Like Andy she had been waiting a very long time for that moment, to finally get her hands on his bare skin and with plenty of time to kill, so she was determined to take full advantage and take her sweet time while Andy watched with rapt attention, his hands clinging on to her hips when he wasn't raising or dropping his arms to help her get him out of his suspenders, dress shirt and then finally his t-shirt, stealing quick kisses if she got too close to him as he allowed her the time and space to ensure she was comfortable. With his t-shirt falling from her fingers and to the ground, Andy left in just his pants and shoes, she just stared at him for a moment before her fingers and then her lips travelled the length and breadth of his chest, moving across his skin just like he had done with her legs when he removed her Uggs earlier, covering every single scar he had. She had seen him shirtless once before but it was still a surprise to see how thick and expansive the hair on his chest and down to his stomach was._

In the immediate aftermath to his accident and the several cracked ribs he sustained from the impact with the ground, Andy initially struggled to get his own t-shirt off the following evening without wincing, the problem only compounded further when he flat out refused to take any opiates. With the rest of the division searching Noah's bedroom to find the murder weapon and the money he stole from the illegal card game and then with the help of Hobbs getting the deal agreed and signed, Sharon was free to accompany Andy to the hospital in the back of the ambulance and then stay with him until Rusty drove them both back to the condo, giving him _zero_ choice in his final destination. The Doctor had told them both that Andy needed care and supervision and that was what she intended to give him whether he liked it or not. Andy thought about arguing with her but he knew better even by that point in their relationship. The simple fact was he didn't want her to mother him, to see him as weak and feeble and someone who was a burden that she had to take care of even if only for a couple of weeks following an accident but at the same time he was in a lot of pain, it hurt him to even breathe so it wasn't like he had a lot of choice in the matter. When they arrived at the condo he was desperate for a shower but he was struggling to even get his tie off because of the pain from head to tie so Sharon naturally offered her assistance. The situation was not ideal for either of them to say the least, neither expecting the first time she got to slowly peel his clothes from him to be when he was too injured to do it himself (or indeed anything else for that matter). She stopped short of helping him remove his pants with Andy able to help himself from there, which was a slight exaggeration on his part but he was absolutely not going to allow the first time she got to see him naked to be a night he could hardly breathe without crying out in pain as he battled long and hard at the same time to stop his body from reacting to her touch, focusing on the pain and the idea of Provenza in a bikini to stop that from happening rather than the very slow and tender way she lifted his t-shirt up and over his head, her fingers lightly brushing his skin as she moved. As for Sharon, well she tried to make it look like her eyes were permanently fixed on his and not on anything else but she saw his chest, the muscles up his arms and across his shoulders, wanting to know what it felt like to run her hands and her lips all over him until…it was a thought that was going to have to wait until he was better and wait she did until just over a month later and she finally got to remove his t-shirt again but this time in her bedroom and this time it could and was about to go much further.

 _She ran her hands all over him, touching everything she'd so desperately wanted to the last time but he was simply too injured to even attempt it. His chest was undoubtedly hairier than she remembered, his necklace almost glistening in it but that only meant she liked it and him all the more. Jack's chest was the same or at least it was when they first met until he started to wax it, something that became a regular occurrence for him much to her displeasure. Over the years Gavin had been big into 'Bears,' vocally so and the hairier the better in his eyes, once telling Sharon that he could 'never be with a man who waxed more than I do.' Sharon quickly began to feel the same way about Jack, him spending more time in the bathroom and in front of the mirror than she did. All men between Jack and Andy (none of whom she was proud of sleeping with not just because she had broken her marriage vows for nothing more than meaningless sex and caused her Grandmother to turn in her grave for having sex at all let alone with a man that wasn't her husband while she was still married) barely had time to get their pants off much less anything else, Sharon wanting a man-made orgasm from them and nothing more and so sent them on their way almost immediately afterwards (and not just because one man, 'Weird Harry' as he affectionately became to be known, neighed like a horse as he climaxed and another immediately burst into tears and sobbed long and hard over his Mother)._

 _The following night as they indulged in their first real round of pillow talk and she scratched her nails up and down his chest for the first time, she would ask if he'd ever waxed it out of curiosity, but in that moment as she looked at him, natural woollen sweater and slightly rounded belly and all, he was the single sexiest thing she'd ever seen in her entire life. As her fingers continued to slowly trace his chest she took a deep and calming breath but that only meant she inhaled the scent of him a little more. 'Oh God he smells good' she thought to herself as she groaned but then again he always smelt good in her opinion. She'd thought about it a lot over the years. Back when she was working for FID and she was done listing all of his bad qualities she had to admit (aside from being the most handsome man she'd ever seen in person) that not only did he dress better than any man she'd ever met before but he also smelt so so good too._

The first time she confirmed up close and personal just how good he smelt was at Nicole's wedding when she forced him into dancing with her. With a couple of glasses of wine in her to loosen her tongue Sharon would later admit that part of the whole 'misunderstanding' with Nicole and Sandra was her fault because of the way she danced with him, deliberately picking a slow track to drag him to the dancefloor before she wrapped her arms around him in a way not too dissimilar to how Nicole was dancing with Dean. She knew full well what she was doing and that it would look like they were much more than friends to his family, especially because of the way she ran her hands up and down his back and buried her face into the crook of his neck (despite telling him to introduce her as 'my friend Sharon,' the very moment she saw the way his former in-laws looked at him it made her want to give them something to talk about, to show that someone liked him, the person he had worked so hard to become was a long way removed from the alcoholic Sandra divorced). But none of that mattered to her at the time, she was fully embracing and enjoying the rare opportunity to dance with a handsome man, a handsome man who smelt divine and was on the fast track to becoming a very good friend. She held him close the entire time as they danced, partly because she didn't want him running away to sit on his own in the corner again and partly because she just wanted to. Eventually she forced him into doing the same thing when he finally felt brave enough to hold her the same way as she was holding him, his hands landing on her back and his eyes drifting closed.

 _Being that close to him, holding him securely in her embrace and breathing him in was just intoxicating back then at what was the very start of their friendship. Two and a half years later with him standing shirtless in her bedroom, his hands still gripping on to her hips, his chest and broad shoulders right there in front of her and ready for exploration, he smelt even better and if nothing else she felt she could quite happily spend the rest of her life just holding him in her embrace and breathing him in._

 _Sharon was instantly hit by how warm he was. It wasn't exactly something she didn't already know, she'd been cuddled in his embrace on the couch on many occasions leading up to that point and she'd felt just how warm he was underneath even with his shirt and a sweater on. Without his shirt he felt so warm that to the touch her fingers almost tingled as they came into contact with his chest. There was an awful lot that she going to enjoy first but she suddenly couldn't wait to fall asleep in his arms for the first time, his warmth a comfort and guaranteed to lull her to sleep just as quickly as their exertions beforehand and the fact that she was going to sleep with the man she loved in bed with her for the very first time would do._

 _In all honesty actually sleeping with Andy, falling asleep with him lying next to her in bed was just as significant a step to her as consummating their relationship and letting someone other than a Doctor see her naked was. In the two decades between Jack and Andy she never allowed anyone to actually spend the night. With all of them she was looking for an orgasm and nothing more. She wasn't looking for a relationship. Despite Jack being gone and never coming back (despite repeated attempts and occasionally succumbing to his charms) she was not looking for love and she felt truly awful for breaking her marriage vows but she also had an itch that needed to be scratched desperately and once it was she sent them on their merry way with thanks. Likewise when she foolishly did allow Jack back into her bed for the night over the years since he left that last time she always regretted it almost immediately, usually before he'd finished and kicked him out seconds later. Sharing a bed with Andy was new and scary but it was something she was looking forward to and in all fairness Andy was in a similar position. He hadn't slept in the same bed with someone (other than Provenza on his last but one wedding night) since his divorce, always 'fleeing the scene of the crime' so to speak as soon as his latest conquest had fallen asleep so he was looking forward to it just as much as Sharon was (just like he was looking forward to the moment she spent the night at his house for the first time, completely alone)._

 _As her hands continued to move up and down his torso and just when she was beginning to think that Andy didn't have any of the same insecurities that she had she felt him suck his stomach in, eliciting a little chuckle from her and a few kisses all the way across his waist as a result until he released it again and relaxed. To her he was perfect, scars, belly and all and she was determined to spend the rest of the night proving as much to him, but first she had to remove the rest of his clothes._

 _Before she had time to stoop and take off his shoes and socks so she could get rid of his pants he did it for her, kicking his shoes to one side with a quick flick (making the position of one of them on the nightstand in the middle of the night all the more baffling as to how it ended up there) before pulling his socks off one by one and discarding them in an equally haphazard way. It was a ridiculous thing for her to focus on, the fact that Andy took his socks off but it was genuinely important to her. After Emily was born Jack_ never _took his socks off in bed and it drove her out of her mind. Towards the end of their marriage he would claim that he left them on because Sharon had cold feet to go with the rest of her ice cold body and frozen heart but he kept them on long before things started to disintegrate between them. Being naked with the exception of a pair of black socks was not the sexiest sight in the world (about as sexy as underwear and Ugg boots in her opinion) and neither was sex with a man in nothing but socks either although if anyone could carry that look off it was the man she was currently slowly undressing but Jack certainly couldn't and yet he wondered why she wasn't interested in sex towards the end (the socks certainly a contributing factor but it was mainly because of his drinking, his gambling, his cheating and all round vile and obnoxious attitude towards her)._

 _With Andy left standing in just his pants and underwear, his hands still resting on her hips but his teeth gritted together, taking every single ounce of focus and self-control he had not to take over and take charge of the situation, desperate to run his hands and his lips all over her but still waiting until she was ready, still in a state of disbelief that it was finally about to happen (Sharon thinking that the man honestly deserved a medal as he proved once again that he had the patience of a Saint), Sharon moved her attention to them, her fingers dancing down to the button and the zipper as his suspenders remained dangling by his sides. She looked him in the eye and smiled at him as she popped open the button and slowly but tantalisingly pulled down his zipper, Andy smiling back at her. His hold on her hips loosened as she bent over slightly to lower his pants and helped him extract his feet from them. The first thing she noticed was his boxer shorts, baggy and stripped using all the colours of the rainbow and then some. Robin and Justin had demanded that they be allowed to buy them for him for his last birthday, them looking utterly ridiculous especially on someone his age but the moment he unwrapped them she knew he'd wear them just for the boys even though they'd never see him in them, Sharon chuckling at the sight of them. Repeating his earlier motion, her fingers slowly dragged up his legs again until she was greeted by his obvious desire for her that was barely concealed by his novelty boxers. Indeed Viagra was certainly not needed and because of that the need to go slow and take her time suddenly evaporated into the night sky. She wanted him and quite clearly he felt the exact same way. She wanted him desperately, she wanted him right then and there, so the moment she was fully upright again she crashed her lips against his in an instant, the force of which almost knocking him off his feet as his hands moved back to her hips and then around to her ass. Eventually they pulled apart, that same ridiculously goofy smile back on his face as her hands travelled up and to his shoulders, moving around to the back of his neck._

 _Sharon nodded at him before she kissed him gently on the lips and then rested her forehead against his, both of them with their eyes closed for a moment as they shared the same air. "Okay" Sharon said as she exhaled. That was it, she had seized control of the situation to make it easy for herself but she was done now. Her still growing list of insecurities, although not completely gone, had certainly decreased in size because of the way he looked at her, the way his eyes drank her in with such love and desire (and not to mention what the sight and feel of her had done to the arrangement of his boxer shorts) meant that it was time that she stopped running their relationship and they finally became equals, proceeding from that point on together. She nodded again. "Okay" she repeated._

 _Andy nodded back and very slowly moved in to kiss her before her hands on his shoulders suddenly stopped him dead in his tracks. The frown on her face meant that once again he was expecting her to call the whole thing off so he was naturally stunned when he processed the words that fell from her lips seconds later._

" _Would it be a bad idea to check your blood pressure right now?" she asked him, her face screwing up anxiously as she waited for an answer, realising that it wasn't exactly the best time to bring the subject up but at the same time she was also scared to death about killing him. Over the previous month and a half she had stressed about his health if he so much as sneezed in a way she deemed too violent so in comparison an orgasm was going to have her reaching for a defibrillator just in case, especially since not even a month had passed since he had surgery._

 _Andy's mouth dropped open as he struggled for words for a moment, not really sure himself why he was so surprised by what he was hearing. "What?" he said finally, his voice an awful lot higher than usual._

" _Just to be on the safe side" she clarified with a small shrug. Andy couldn't help but laugh at her, thinking that only Sharon Raydor would pause sex to take his blood pressure on the odd chance he may keel over. Sharon battled not to laugh with him, wanting him to take her suggestion seriously for his own sake but eventually she succumb to it, her head briefly resting on his shoulder. Seizing the opportunity Andy kissed her on the cheek and snaked his arms around her waist to ensure she couldn't so easily wriggle away from him again. "You did have lifesaving surgery less than a month ago remember" she reminded him as if he was likely to forget. Sharon pulled back a little so that he could see her face and realise she was being deadly serious and her suggestion needed to be addressed before things were going to go any further. "I just want to make sure I don't kill you and not only because I don't want to explain to our children and Lieutenant Provenza what we were doing when you died."_

 _As much as Andy wanted to smile at her use of 'our children,' talking about them as a whole and the united family they were quickly becoming, he couldn't stop himself from laughing at her and the idea that she could kill him with sex (not yet aware that she had ridden her first real boyfriend right into hernia surgery). His laughter in the face of what was a very serious subject meant that Darth Raydor soon put in a surprise appearance, intent on getting him to agree to what Sharon wanted for his own sake. Sadly it didn't work. Little did she know that was the worst thing she could have done at that moment because as a result he was never going to take that look at work seriously ever again with his mind undoubtedly going straight back to those moments as they stood virtually naked and what they were about to do if she used it on him in the future._

" _Sharon," Andy said quietly as he cupped her face and gently brushed his lips against hers, "I understand and believe me I appreciate your concern but trust me, what we're going to do is_ very _beneficial for my blood pressure." Seeing no need for further discussion since he was right and his Doctor had told him as such (thankfully when neither Sharon or Rusty were in the room) he moved to kiss her once again but she pulled back a little to move out of his way while still keeping her hands on his shoulders. Andy laughed before he sighed, realising they needed to have the conversation if they were going to move any further forward. "Okay fine but answer me this, where are you going to get a blood pressure monitor from while in nothing but your underwear at close to Midnight in Los Angeles?"_

 _Sharon's mouth opened and closed for a moment as she searched for an answer, eventually and rather reluctantly conceding that he had a valid point and it was something she should have thought of a hell of a lot earlier. Before she opted to quickly get dressed again and go out and find one (although where that would happen neither knew) or thought of anything else to derail them, Andy covered her lips with his, hungrily devouring them as his hands slipped down to her backside before he suddenly lifted her up as easy as anything. Sharon squealed and then laughed against his mouth as she did what he'd been dreaming about for a very long time, she wrapped her legs around his waist while he turned them and walked them slowly towards the bed._

Sharon's cheeks began to flush a little as her mind drifted back to that first time and the first time he really drooled over her legs until she was brought back to the present and the man with his arms around her who was still trying to laugh her into a blissful sleep.

"Wow! That much?" Andy laughed, of the opinion that if Sharon loved his legs anywhere near as much as he loved hers then she spent a great deal of her day thinking about them instead of working. Sharon laughed at him before he kissed her on the top of her head and began to rub his hand along her left leg as far as he could reach, making it down to her ankle before working his way back up again. "But is that just to you or is this something that is discussed about me behind my back at work?"

Sharon laughed again, shaking her head at the complete moron she adored who could make her cry with laughter one moment and then make her knees weak the next. "Are you asking me if other people at work openly discuss with each other over the water cooler what a fabulous pair of legs you have?" she asked.

"Yes" Andy nodded as if it wasn't a ridiculous question in the slightest. "You know like guys feeling jealous about them and women wanting them pressed up against their own in bed" he added and making her laugh again. "You know, stuff like that. Well? Do they?"

For a moment Sharon struggled to speak she was laughing so hard. "Oh of course they do Andy. All the time! It's a wonder anyone gets any work done at all. In fact I hear that Chief Pope is going to send out a memo next week to ask people to put an end to it once and for all and to start to focus more on work again because they're causing such a distraction. You don't have the same briefings as I do but the unsolved crime statistics have gone through the roof as a result" she proclaimed before laughing at herself again.

Andy gave her a withering look, trying his hardest to look annoyed while he waited for her laughter to subside. "Are you making fun of me?" he asked, trying not to smile and reveal that he was only joking.

"Of course not my darling. Why would I make fun of you and your fabulous legs, legs that are no doubt famous the world over?" she crooned before she laughed into his chest.

He frowned at her. "I'm going to ignore that" he replied grumpily before he paused for a brief moment. "How would you rate them?" he asked, raising them into the air again so that he could look at them.

"Rate what?"

"My legs."

Sharon laughed again, unable to stop herself. "What like out of ten?"

"No of course not because I mean I already know that they're a ten, maybe even an eleven" he joked, smiling at her as she laughed again. "I meant more like in comparison to the rest of my body, how would you rate them in comparison to my other assets?"

"On well in that case I'd say they're definitely in the top five of your best features."

"Top five?"

"Yes. First comes..."

"My ass" he cut in quickly and causing Sharon to laugh once again. Oh how she adored that man. Without fail Andy always managed to find the perfect way to not only distract her from whatever was troubling her in that moment but to also make her laugh, laughing until all she really cared about in the world was the happy little bubble they inhabited together. Sharon had thought about it a lot over the previous twelve months and she had concluded that she had never laughed that much with anyone before, not even Jack who she had to admit was very funny and charming when they first met and he put his mind to it. But Andy just knew how to make her laugh, seemingly without much effort on his part and it was one of the many reasons that she so quickly became his friend after she got to really know him and then found herself in love with him, Andy basically laughing his way into her heart and into her home. "You have this unholy obsession with my ass Raydor, though not that I blame you in the slightest, it is rather magnificent."

Sharon laughed again, her leg moving further across his waist and almost pinning him to the bed which inevitably led to his free hand moving down to it again, just resting it on her knee while the other continued to stroke her back. Andy may have been hot ninety percent of the time but he never once complained in the slightest when she would drape herself over him in bed, loving it just as much as she clearly did. "Oddly enough your backside was not what first attracted me to you" she revealed.

"Oh that came later?" he asked innocently.

"Yes" she laughed. "That came when I _finally_ got my hands on it the first night you stayed over here with me."

"So you'd just admired it from afar before then? Imagining what it looked like under my pants? Stuff like that?"

"If you like" she laughed again, tears now forming in her eyes she was laughing so hard.

Andy tried to look annoyed at her continued laughter but it was very hard to hide his smile and the sense of relief that Sharon not only looked but sounded so much better than a few days earlier. "Will you stop laughing at me and take this seriously please" he demanded.

"Okay I'll try my very best" she promised with her laughter suggesting otherwise.

"Good, thank you." He paused for a moment before he asked "So if it's not my ass then what is it?"

"First up is your smile" she told him as her fingers traced his lips. "The beautiful smile I fell in love with. The smile that makes everything in life seem so much brighter no matter what and which _always_ gets you out of trouble even when I'm on the verge of murdering you." With that they both laughed, Andy nodding in agreement since it had saved him more times than he could count in his life thus far. "Your secret weapon" she confirmed with a kiss.

"Okay, then it's my ass?"

Sharon laughed. "No, then it's your eyes. These big brown, soul searching pools that I can and do frequently find myself getting lost in" she told him before she kissed him again.

"Okay, next."

"This isn't going to give you a big head I hope?"

"Oh it's too late for that babe" he said almost arrogantly and making her laugh again. "That ship sailed _long_ ago. So come on, what's next on the list?"

"Well it's not so much a physical feature but rather a characteristic that I have found is simply impossible to resist."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"It's the way you make me laugh. You told me on the day of the move that you had a little crush on me following Nicole's wedding, after I dragged you to the dance floor by your tie," she said before he nodded, confirming what she'd said, "well my boy I had more than a little crush on you too by the time you'd dropped me home and we said goodnight and it was all because of how you made me laugh that evening." She kissed him on the lips, it lingering again. "Despite everything you were feeling and how nervous you were and the fact that I was supposed to be the one there for you and not the other way around, you made me laugh that evening like no other."

He smiled, the sound of Sharon laughing at him being his current addiction of choice and one he didn't intend on ever giving up. "But mainly it's my ass right?" he asked jokingly and making her laugh before she kissed him again.

"You really can be a colossal idiot at times but that just makes me love you all the more" she laughed again. They returned to just cuddling in silence for a few moments as she gazed into his eyes until Andy yawned long and loud. "If you want to go back to sleep I don't mind."

"I'm not going to sleep. I'm not tired."

"Yes you are, you're absolutely exhausted and we both know that you'll be snoring in under ten minutes unless you have a very big distraction" she told him.

"Nope. Not going to happen Raydor" he said almost defiantly and more determined than ever not to go to sleep until she had drifted off peacefully.

"Andy you can go to sleep standing up in the middle of the Break Room when you're not even remotely tired." He went to object, to tell her that she was exaggerating but Sharon quickly brought her finger to his lips to stop him. "Don't even bother, it was only four weeks ago that Rusty found you asleep in the kitchen with your finger on your phone and a coffee cup still in your hand. He thought you were dead. You nearly gave him a heart attack" she reminded him and making them both laugh as they recalled Rusty's panicked 'Mom! Mom! Is Andy dead?' echoing around the condo.

"Yeah well I was talking to Provenza so it's only to be expected that I would be bored into having a quick power nap while he bleated on repeatedly at the other end about Patrice's sister."

"What about Patrice's sister?"

"I don't know. It was something to do with her dogs and a yard party and a pair of shoes he can't wear ever again, I don't know" he shrugged, missing the best part of the story after he fell asleep, something he would regret if only he knew what Provenza had been trying to tell him.

"But you never usually fall asleep at the drop of a hat at all? That was all down to the Lieutenant" she laughed.

"Yes! It was!" Andy cried and making Sharon laugh again, not believing a single word. "Hey, I may not be twenty anymore but I can still go all night when I need to."

"In the Murder Room maybe when you're hard at work and the adrenaline of the moment is pumping through your fabulous fur covered body but not when you're already flat on your back in a bed you can't" she reasoned although she had seen with her own eyes him having a very fleeting cat nap at his desk in the middle of the night when they'd been working for forty eight hours straight, everyone usually succumbing for a few moments here and there, not that it was a problem and never once picking any of them up on it.

"Don't worry about...did you just say 'fur covered body'?" he asked. Sharon laughed which only served to make him glare at her even more, his fake sense of great offense making her laugh hysterically once again.

"I actually said fabulous fur covered body" she corrected. "There's a difference."

"Is there really?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

He eyed her suspiciously for moment, Sharon fully aware that he wasn't being serious and he was only doing it to make her laugh. "Yeah well don't worry about my stamina Raydor, worry about your own right now" he stated, the idea that Sharon would fall asleep before him making her burst out laughing. "I can keep going all night even without a pill."

"What pills? Amphetamines?" she joked. They laughed again but Sharon quickly stopped, abruptly so. She pressed her lips to his chest as she sighed sadly, her face moving back into the crook of his neck.

Andy rubbed her back for a moment in silence before asking the question. "What's the matter? What's on your mind?" he all but whispered before kissing the top of her head again.

"I'm sorry but I still can't help but feel guilty about everything" she told him before she sighed and took a big calming breath of him.

"Look Sharon I know we see things very differently when it comes to Dwight and other associated dirt bags that we come across on an almost daily basis and what you had to do the other day, I know that but you can still always talk to me about it. I'll always be here to listen to you to hopefully make you feel a little better even if I don't quite fully understand how you feel" he told her, always willing to listen no matter what.

She moved her head back and onto her pillow for a moment so that she could smile up at him more easily, her leg and arm still draped over him. "I know. I know you are and don't think I don't appreciate it," she said before she kissed him on the lips, "but that's not what I meant."

"Okay. Then what? What else have you got to feel guilty about, huh?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked with a sigh, receiving an uncertain shrug in return since Andy had no idea what she was talking about. "Here I am in bed with you. You've just moved in. We're just starting our lives together and we're laughing about your pyjamas and your fur covered body…"

" _Fabulous_ fur covered body" he corrected her.

Sharon laughed despite the serious point she was trying to make. "Right, but across town…" she said before her words trailed off and all she could think about was the Taylors, knowing that likewise they probably weren't able to sleep either with life _never_ the same for them ever again. This new and exciting adventure she was just starting with Andy in comparison to how Russell and Lydia's adventure was now over never failing to make her feel guilty because of how happy she felt.

Andy nodded as he suddenly understood what she was trying to say to him. "I know. I know." He held her even tighter to his chest and kissed to top of her head as she moved to lie on his shoulder again, not for the first time taking a deep breath of him as her face moved into the crook of his neck. He easily understood how she felt because he felt the exact same way, feeling all the more grateful that he still had Sharon in his life precisely because Lydia Taylor was now alone and grieving across town. "But we'll take care of them, we will. If there's one thing that the LAPD does better than anyone else in this world it's taking care of its own. And he wouldn't want you to not laugh anymore just because he's gone." He kissed the top of her head again. "I've known Russell Taylor my whole career, from my very first day on the job even. He'd want us to get this whole mess figured out, lock up the assholes responsible, throw away the key, have the appropriate time to grieve and then live our lives. That's what he'd want," he rightly pointed out before kissing the top of her head again, "not for you to feel guilty or to miss out of life because he's not here. Right?" he reasoned.

"Right" she agreed. "You're right but it just feels so hard."

"I know" he said before he kissed her forehead. "I know."

They went back to just cuddling in silence again, savouring the feel of the other while they still could, Andy's eyes eventually falling closed in the hope that she was about to drift off to sleep. He was wrong. She turned to look up at him. "Are you asleep yet?" she asked quietly in case he had even though a helicopter landing on the roof would fail to wake him.

"Nope" Andy replied as his eyes snapped open again and he kissed her on the top of her head as if to prove it, more determined than ever not to fall asleep.

"You sound sleepy."

"It's just my bedroom voice" he growled and making her laugh. Her hand, as it always did, moved to underneath his t-shirt to rake her nails across his chest, not just because she knew how much he loved it but as a thank you for staying awake with her even though he was so tried himself. "Don't worry if it arouses you to the point of madness, it's a common side effect" he joked, again almost growling his words. Sharon laughed as she swotted his chest beneath his t-shirt and he kissed her on the top of her head.

They lay in silence again, Andy's eyes closing as he let out a deep breath, making no attempt to go to sleep as Sharon's nails went up and down his chest while she stared into space. "Did I hear you talking to Jason on the phone earlier?" she asked finally. "After dinner?"

"Yeah. He has a couple of houses in the Hills he thinks we should try to take a quick look at" he told her with a yawn before he shrugged far too casually for someone who was supposed to be interested in that sort of thing. "Perfect for us as a family apparently."

"Uh-huh" Sharon replied, her response really drawn out and revealing her confusion and, it must also be said, her suspicion. Andy laughed at how unbelievably suspicious she sounded, Sharon looking and sounding exactly like Chief Pope used to back in the day when Brenda started a conversation with the words 'Lieutenants Flynn and Provenza.' "So what's the catch?"

Andy shrugged before he answered. "I don't know, he didn't say. A freeway right through the kitchen maybe" he suggested to the sound of much laughter. "Perhaps a graveyard in the bedroom." Sharon once again laughed at him but it was easy for her to tell from his tone that he still wasn't really all that interested in moving again, especially not so soon, he had moved in with her and that was enough for the time being but it still begged the question 'Why was he still looking at houses?' if he wasn't that interested.

"They sound lovely."

"Yeah right, anyway I told him we were kinda in the middle of things at work and I'd call him back when we have more time."

She looked up at him with surprise once again, not really sure what he was thinking anymore when it came to looking for a house, telling her one thing but contradicting it with his actions. "But I thought you said you'd be happy if we stayed here instead."

He smiled at her through the darkness. "I did and I am." He kissed her on the top of her head again as if to confirm it and to put her mind at rest that he wasn't about to go all house crazy again since she continued to worry about the stress of it all given that he had decided to take it all on his shoulders without asking her for help.

"Then why is Jason still searching listings for us if you've no intention of buying?"

"Why? Because that gigantic asshole waited until I'd shown both you and Rusty around every square inch of that place and got you all excited about living there with me before he told us about the God damn black mould!" he cried. Sharon laughed as she quickly realised that he was _never_ going to let that go until the day he died, just like his (frankly sick) _Badge of Justice_ obsession. "That asshole more than deserves the run around for a while just so I can get a little even with him." Sharon laughed again, shaking her head. "But like I've said to you before, should Jason find another house just like that one in the same price range but this time without the murder victim in the pool and black mould everywhere then," he paused as he shrugged casually, "maybe we take a look at it."

In truth Andy was more than happy and content to stay at the condo for the foreseeable future and even beyond. At the end of the day all he wanted was to live with Sharon and Rusty (going to great lengths to always include Rusty when he said something like that so that they would both understand that he wasn't trying to push the young man out) and to share in their lives with them, to call them his family, he really didn't care where, which he thought he had already made abundantly clear to her when he suggested it and hoped that moving in together right away was an option (though at the time neither Sharon or Rusty were even close to ready for that step). All he wanted to do was live with the love of his life and her son, to live with his family, to him everything else was just background noise though if a dream house did suddenly appear then they'd be foolish not to at least take a look at it.

"Okay. It sounds like a plan to me." Sharon paused for a moment before she looked up at him, nervously chewing on her bottom lip before she asked the burning question. "You're really happy here?"

He smiled at her before he gently pushed his lips to her forehead. "I am deliriously happy here babe, believe me, I couldn't be happier." He met her waiting lips as if he confirm it, a little contented hum coming from the back of her throat before he added "But to fair I'd be happy any place you are."

She smiled at him again. "Is it starting to feel like home yet?"

"Anywhere that you are feels like home to me."

Sharon laughed at how unbelievably corny Andy could be when he set his mind to it while still believing every single word he said. "Smooth talker" she laughed as she kissed his chin. "You really can charm the birds from the trees can't you boy?"

"Oh you have no idea" he said with an exasperated sigh which made her laugh, Andy making it sound like the worst thing on earth. "It's like a scene from _The Birds_ or signalling the end of days or something when I really turn it on." Once Sharon's laughter had died down they went back to just cuddling in silence, Andy's hand moving up and down her back to let her know that he wasn't going to sleep and instead he was trying to think of something to say that they keep her entertained as they waited for dawn to break. Then inspiration hit him. "When I moved into what is now thankfully my former home," he started to say, Sharon smiling at him and kissing his chest, just as thankful as he was that it was now his former home, "and I started to unpack and you know make the place my own, I found something more than a little unexpected." With her interest peaked she lifted her head to look at him with a mixture of amusement and dread written across her face since his stories frequently took an unexpected and often sinister turn much to her horror. "Directly under the sink in the bathroom I found a very small, very old looking metal box, no bigger than my thumb and with the initials 'CB' engraved on the top. Now obviously I assumed it had been accidentally left behind by the previous occupants of the house. It was wedged right behind a pipe and completely out of sight, I mean I only saw it myself because it glinted when I shined my flashlight under there to find where the pipe was leaking so naturally I just assumed they'd left it behind in error given where it was. Anyway I opened it up to see if it was anything they might want back and you'll never guess what I found inside."

"What?"

Andy smiled before he answered, knowing full well she was going to recoil in horror. "It was filled to the brim with teeth."

"Teeth?"

"Yep."

"Human teeth?"

"Human teeth. It was practically overflowing with nothing but children's teeth."

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried, suddenly wondering what the hell had gone on in that house before Andy moved in.

"I know right, terrifying" he laughed. "Now once I'd gotten over the initial shock at my horrifying discovery and stopped screaming long enough to draw breath," he explained as she laughed again, "I quickly picked them all back up from the floor where I'd accidentally scattered them like confetti at a wedding," he said as she laughed again, "and put them all back in the tin again all the while as I desperately tried to work out which incident was the creepiest thing I'd ever seen in my entire life, the box of teeth in my new bathroom or the time I arrested a guy who was running down the street in Boyle Heights wearing his wife's head as a hat." Sharon laughed again as she shook her head, thinking that the time she witnessed him accidentally kick a severed head several yards across a beach like a soccer ball when he was distracted by Nicole on the phone was top of her list by a long way. "It was the teeth obviously" he confirmed finally with her laughing once more. "Anyway I got to thinking that maybe they were the previous owner's kid's teeth or something and they might want them back since they'd kept them like that, treasured you know?" She nodded, having the first teeth that Emily and Ricky lost along with a lock of their hair in her storage space along with Emily's first ballet slippers and hundreds of drawings and cards they'd made her over the years in her collection of most prized processions. "So I found out where their mail was being forwarded to and I carefully wrapped the tin up and posted the box back to them" he said before he paused. "Then a week or so later I was talking to the lady across the street and I find out the previous owners didn't have any kids."

Sharon's head snapped up, her horror apparent. "What?"

Andy laughed. "I sent some strangers a box of random human teeth."

Her horror subsiding Sharon started laughing hysterically, drawing a smile to his face. "Did you include a note?" she asked once she was capable of speech.

"Kind of. I wrote on a Post It 'I thought you might want these' and stuck it to the lid of the tin" he said and making her laugh again, Andy quickly joining in with her. "At the time I figured they'd realise that the new owner had obviously sent them until I realised they didn't actually belong to them" he explained as she continued to laugh. "I kept expecting Taylor to call me into his office at any moment and ask me why I was mailing random body parts to strangers." Sharon continued to laugh, unable to stop, Andy laughing with her as a result. "I knew you'd like that story."

"I don't think 'like' is the appropriate word here Andy" she told him with another chuckle. "I wish you'd told me this sooner."

"Why?"

"Because on one particular evening I spent a great deal of time lying on that floor with my head wedged between the wall and the toilet bowl" she reminded him as he laughed, their only Valentine's Day as a couple so far memorable for several reasons, not least for how violently ill Sharon was all evening. "I'm starting to worry what some of the former owners used to get up to in there."

"It's best not to think too long and hard about these things. Or tell Provenza in case he starts to look into it and then before you know it a pot plant mysteriously moves in the middle of the night and you consider calling in a priest" he said extremely casually.

Sharon looked at him baffled but highly amused for a moment. "What?" she asked. Andy shook his head and laughed back before they settled down again, her head landing on his shoulder again while her nails scratched up and down his body. As they lay in silence her eyes scanned the darkened room, that one bone of contention coming back to her mind again and forcing her to voice it. "Do you think we should redecorate in here? Try to put your stamp on the room?" she asked.

No matter how many times Andy told her that he didn't care about home furnishings and he was perfectly happy and content in his new home the way that it was Sharon still continued to worry that with the exception of his clothes (when they finally had chance to unpack all of his belongings) it didn't look like he lived there at all. She had begged him to at least bring his ratty old armchair to replace the one they already had in the bedroom, not just to make it feel like his home but also because it clearly had sentimental value for him but Andy being Andy, he just continued to shrug his shoulders and repeated that he didn't care about any of it. The truth was (and although Provenza would claim he was whipped even though he had no right to say that with what Patrice did to their house when she moved in) he liked living surrounded by Sharon's possessions. She had excellent taste, far better than his anyway and despite the abundance of ballet paraphernalia (which he admitted Nicole's boys loved on the few occasions they'd been over) it was the one place he had felt most at home for years (except for the Murder Room), even before they were dating. It just felt like a home to him and he was more than happy there as it was.

Andy laughed. "My stamp?"

"Yes, to at the very least make it look like you live here too. Right now the only signs that you share this room at all are you bathrobe and your reading glasses" she rightly pointed out and ignoring the pile of boxes in the corner that contained his belongings that were yet to be unpacked, the pile so big it virtually had a mountain goat on the top. "So? What do you say?"

Andy shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, if that's what you want."

"I was thinking more along the lines of because it's what _you_ want."

Andy smirked, it being at least the tenth time they'd had that particular conversation since he'd moved into the condo eleven days earlier. "Okay. I've actually been thinking about this a lot recently" he said as he continued to grin mischievously.

Sharon smiled brightly up at him with excitement, her joy that Andy might finally be about to agree to it making her dismiss the smile on his face, the smile that screamed 'I'm not to be trusted.' "Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"And what do you have in mind?" she asked. In the back of her mind she was a little worried that something utterly hideous like his John Wayne doorstop (something that lurked within his boxes in the corner and she was planning on dropping down the garbage shoot while he was at an AA meeting one night in the near future) was about to be suggested but if she was being perfectly honest she didn't really care. She loved him, adored him, even his frankly shocking taste in home furnishings and just like how he loved living surrounded by décor that screamed 'Sharon Raydor' she wanted to live (in the bedroom at least) surrounded by a little décor that screamed 'Andy Flynn.'

He smirked again before he spoke, Sharon missing it completely and therefore being totally unaware of what was about to come. "Well firstly I think we need some huge mirrors from floor to ceiling, you know because who doesn't love to watch themselves make sex faces right? Then I thought maybe we could have a revolving heart shaped bed, maybe even a vibrating one. Black satin sheets. Then of course we could use a sex swing from the ceiling and a camera set up in the corner of the room because multiple sex tapes at our age are a must right? We could even get rid of these boring old doors and replace them with saloon type doors like we're living in the old West. Plus a spittoon would be a nice touch and of course some sort of porn mountain next to the toilet for when guests come over. What do you think?"

She just stared at him for a moment, far from amused. "Is that it? Are you done?" she asked as he laughed and she gave him a withering look, Sharon waiting for him to shut up before she continued. "As side splittingly hilarious as this is can you be serious for just one minute and give me a sensible answer please?"

Andy laughed again and kissed her forehead, hoping the gesture would stave off his knees coming under attack. "Sharon I've already told you, I don't care about any of it. I don't care how we live or where we live for that matter, just as long as I get to live with you and the kid." He shrugged again. "End of story. The colour we paint the walls just doesn't matter to me in the slightest but living with you, living with my family does." He kissed her on the lips as if to confirm it. When they broke apart he found her smiling at him. "What?"

"How do you always manage to find the right thing to say in every situation?"

"Years of putting my foot in my mouth, saying the wrong thing and getting into trouble I guess" he suggested. Sharon laughed and nodded in agreement, knowing first-hand how he had finally managed to stop getting himself into trouble with his mouth running off, at least some of the time anyway when implants weren't involved. "Plus, as I've already told you, your kids gave me a user's manual after our second da…" Before he could finish the sentence he came under attack, Sharon pinching his knees before she gave him a playful slap across his chest. "Ow! You're always beating me!" he whined as he smiled at her.

She pinched his knees again as he laughed and squirmed beneath her, unable to run off because he had him effectively pinned to the bed. "That's because you deserve it."

He wrapped his arms around her even more tightly to stop the assault on his knees while he continued to laugh. Eventually they began to settle down again in silence until Andy asked "So that's a 'No' on the revolving bed then?"

Sharon sighed before she pulled her hand from under his t-shirt and moved to quickly pinch and tug on his chest hair that was peeking out from the neck of his shirt. "What do you think?" she asked, giving him a pointed look.

He laughed as he rubbed his chest, letting out a whiny "Ow!" She kissed him on the lips a couple of times before they both laughed and settled back down again, her hand going back under his t-shirt with her nails raking up and down his skin in a slow caress. Yet again silence descended for a short while as his hand moved up and down her back to match what she was doing to his chest. Andy adjusted his legs a few moments later, kicking the remaining covers off his feet even more before inadvertently snagging his big toe on his other leg and briefly snapped it back awkwardly, the same toe that had repeatedly kicked the pile of the boxes at least four times a day since he moved in. He grimaced and hissed with pain. "Ow!"

"What's the matter with you now?" she asked with a biting tone, thinking he was still complaining about the way she had attacked his knees to make a point rather than being in any genuine pain.

"Nothing."

Sharon looked at him with a frown and waited for him to answer her, the whole not telling her that his medication was making him dizzy (and EXTREMELY dizzy at that, not to mention that his Doctor had told him to come in immediately when they discovered the blood clot which he also kept to himself) prior to his collapse in the bathroom meaning that she _always_ waited for an answer if he even slightly grimaced (just like she had done a couple of nights earlier when his shoulder started to hurt again following his clash with Detective Nolan in Nazi World). When it came to his health it was the only trust she didn't have in him much to the surprise of many who always assumed she would be more cautious when it came to his fidelity given his rather chequered history with women, often seeing more than one woman at a time for as long as he could get away with it (Mark Hickman's outburst in the Murder Room being one hundred percent right about that) back when he was still drinking after his divorce. At the time it was as simple as him looking for a little meaningless sex to fill the void in his life left by Sandra and his children.

Andy sighed with more than a little frustration that she didn't trust him about his health but he only had one person to blame about that and he knew it. "Okay, fine." In truth it wasn't that big of a deal, he had just banged his toe once again but he'd only done it because Sharon was yet to even contemplate emptying the closet and she had enough to worry about right then without that too before he broke a bone. "I stubbed my toe on all of that crap in the corner of the room when I came to look for you earlier."

Sharon laughed before she repeated "'All of that crap in the corner'?" Andy smiled at her, his amusement clear because that was the second time he had heard her curse in a couple of days much to his continued surprise but elected to keep quiet about it since the last time he brought attention to it he ended up being locked out on the balcony for half an hour in just his underwear. "Do you mean all of your worldly possessions? All of that crap?"

"Yes that's what I mean, all of that crap."

She laughed before she sighed and lifted her head to look at it across the other side of the room, just making out the outline of the mountain in the near darkness. She sighed at it again, the pile slowly starting to gather dust it had been there that long.

"Are you ever going to find the time to unpack and move in here with me properly?" She looked up at him. "I can't help but feel that this situation looks awfully temporary, far too temporary for my liking. It's making me nervous."

Andy laughed, having once said something very similar to Julio about returning to his old desk following his anger management suspension. "Oh believe me, I'm not going anywhere babe" he promised before he kissed her long and slow on the lips, sealing his declaration. "I know the plan was to do it all over the weekend but we were somewhat busy at the time."

"Were we? I never noticed" she joked.

"Yeah right, well I guess if we haven't had a day off before Saturday and we're not at work I'll try and do it then."

"So until the weekend it's just one suit at a time?" she asked, feeling guilty for her part in him not yet being able to move in properly, it clearly bothering her a lot more than it was bothering Andy.

"It looks that way but mainly because I can't fit anything else into your closet at the moment until you've had a major clear out."

"'Your closet'? Don't you mean 'our closet'?" she corrected him.

"Not at the moment, no. That's definitely still _your_ closet and that's _my_ pile of crap in the corner until we can find time to join forces."

Sharon laughed, admitting that he had a point. "Okay, point taken. First day off, we tackle it all together no matter what. I'll clean some space in the closet and the bureau and then we can squeeze yours in."

"It's a date" he nodded before he kissed her on the lips.

"Is it bad luck that you've not unpacked?"

"What?"

"Your stuff. Is it bad luck that we've not found time to unpack it all yet?"

Andy laughed. "Oh yes, clearly, of course it is. Didn't you know all bad luck comes from the strategic placement of boxes? Its proven fact" he insisted while she just stared at him decidedly unimpressed. "Frankly I'm surprised that we're both still alive to tell the tale."

"Are you done?"

Andy laughed and kissed the top of her head. "No Sharon, I don't think that not unpacking is bad luck. Trust me, our world is not about to come crashing down around our ears because I haven't unpacked. I'm not about to drop dead as a result." He kissed her lips. "I promise" he said before he kissed her again. "Anyway it's not so bad living like this right now. I managed to pull my pyjamas out of there at first time of asking tonight" he told her. "Be grateful you're so lucky, I could have come to bed in a Santa suit instead."

She laughed again before she told him "I see no problem with that" while her eyes sparkled and met his lips in a long and slow kiss, not denying that the sight of Andy Flynn walking out of her bathroom on Christmas Day in a Santa suit made her knees weak.

"I didn't think you would" he laughed before he kissed her back. "You have a Santa fetish, do you know that?"

"It's not a Santa fetish at all" she protested.

"Then what is it?"

"It's an Andy Flynn looking incredibly sexy in virtually anything including a Santa suit fetish" she told him, kissing him again. "There's a difference."

Andy laughed. "Oh I see."

"And speaking of things you look _incredibly_ sexy in," she said and making him laugh as hers nail stopped at the waistband of his boxers and slowly ran back and forth along the top of them, "is your uniform in there somewhere?" she asked, pointing at the pile in the corner.

"Of course."

"Do you know where?" she asked before she sighed a little sadly. "I was thinking about getting Rusty to drop them both off at the dry cleaners tomorrow so that they're all ready in time for the funeral."

Andy nodded, holding her closer to him as the mood between them shifted towards their sadly departed friend and colleague once again, none of them really able to grieve properly until the case was over. "Good thinking. I'll dig it out in the morning." He kissed the top of her head as his mind drifted back to his friend. "Have you heard when it is yet?" he asked as his lips remained pressed to her scalp.

"Yes. Chief Howard said it's going to be a week on Tuesday." She sighed sadly again. "I just hope we have some answers for Lydia and the boys by then, not that it'll be any consolation for them if we do."

"Don't worry, we will. I'm sure if it."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"Yeah well your sad lack of confidence is just because you don't know my badass Captain" he said as if he wasn't describing the woman currently in his arms and making Sharon laugh. "If anyone can figure this whole mess out in the next few days it's her. She could probably do it singlehandedly. We probably slow her down."

Sharon laughed. "I see. Is that what you'd have said about her five years ago when she was running a different division and you were obstructing her every chance you got?"

"Maybe not" he conceded. "I would have said something more along the lines of 'Oh my God! How unbelievably sexy does Darth Raydor look with a beanbag gun in her hands!' Then I'd probably have said a little something about how good her legs looked."

Sharon laughed and shook her head. "What a surprise!" She again laughed before she raised her head from his shoulder and turned her attention back to the pile of boxes in the corner. "Is all that stuff just shoes and clothes?" she asked, biting her bottom lip for a few moments as she feared she might have to wave goodbye to a lot more of her much cherished wardrobe than first thought to squeeze all of his stuff in.

"No not all of it. There's a little pile of crap that needs to be dumped in the back of the closet and forgotten about too."

Sharon laughed, distracted from her original fear that she was going to have to part with half of her shoe collection for a moment. "What like?"

"You know," he shrugged casually, "just general crap." Sharon looked at him, her eyes almost burning into him as she waited for a real answer and rightly assuming that he was trying to hide something from her. "Stuff like my calendar and crap like that, you know, nothing that important."

Sharon frowned at him, more than a little confused. "A calendar?" Andy nodded and then closed his eyes as an attempt to end the conversation right there and then without it going any further but Sharon refused to be so easily fooled. "Why would you put a calendar in the back of the closet?"

Andy shrugged again, trying to be as dismissive as possible. "Because it's out of date" he told her. He then closed his eyes even tighter as if he was pretending to go to sleep and that would result in the end of the discussion but Sharon was on to him and was feeling a little like a dog with a bone, not prepared to let it go without a fight. She propped herself up onto her elbow and just stared at him, his nostrils starting to flare like he was about to breathe fire and therefore tipping her off that he was trying and failing to keep something from her.

"Then why keep it?" she asked. Andy didn't answer or even open his eyes, his attempt to make her believe he was asleep fooling no one (even though he could fall asleep at the drop of a hat and she knew that). "I know you're not asleep," she said as she poked him in the chest, "so you might as well just tell me."

Andy sighed as he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. From the corner of his eye he could see that Sharon was looking at him with great interest and she could see that he really didn't want to answer her which made her all the more desperate to get to the truth. Andy sighed again when he realised he had no choice but to spill his guts to her, finally turning his head to the left to see her. "Because I'm in it okay" he finally admitted.

Sharon immediately sat up, her interest peaked more than it had been for a very long time. "What?" she laughed. "What do you mean you're in it?"

Andy sighed again as he rubbed his face with his hands and knowing full well what was about to happen and the story he was about to tell was going to be the best thing that Sharon had heard in a very long time. As reluctant as he was in that moment to tell her he suddenly wished he'd thought of it a couple of nights earlier as a distraction when he found her sobbing while frantically cleaning the kitchen. Sharon was about to go crazy and as embarrassing as it was going to be for him, her joy would make it all worthwhile in the end, without a doubt.

"Okay." He sighed yet again before smiling at her very alert and intrigued face. "You know the charity calendars that the LAPD do every year for the memorial fund over the holidays?" Sharon nodded with her brow furrowed, not putting two and two together yet. "Yeah well I got hit up to be in it the one year."

Sharon's smile slowly grew. "What? You were in the LAPD charity calendar?" Andy nodded and hummed his confirmation in reply. "And you kept it?"

"Of course I kept it. How often do you get to appear in a calendar?"

Sharon thought for a moment as she wasn't entirely sure why he was so reluctant to tell her about it and why he'd never mentioned it to her before, clearly being proud of it if he'd kept it. "Why have you not told me about this before?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's never come up before."

"Well what are you wearing in it?"

"Huh?" Andy replied dumbly as if he had not heard the question.

Sharon smiled at him and laughed with the way he was deliberately trying to play dumb and stalling letting her know she'd accidentally stumbled across something very good indeed as the pieces started to fall into place in her mind. "In the calendar, what are you wearing?" she asked again as her smile started to grow by the second. It was at that point that she realised that those particular calendars usually involved the selected officers wearing next to nothing except a smile and maybe a pair of fluffy handcuffs. It was not the sort of thing that she normally liked especially when women were involved, finding those sort of calendars crass and sexist with the way men drooled over them highly degrading to women (especially since she was once the LAPD's Women's Coordinator until Major Crimes meant she had a lot less free time and handed the job off to a colleague) on the whole but Andy being in it had got her mind racing with lots of tantalising possibilities and she was suddenly in complete favour of them.

Andy smiled a little shyly at her. "My hat."

Sharon's face suddenly erupted and he wasn't sure that he'd ever seen her smile like that before, or not since Taylor had died at least. "And?"

"And what?"

"That's it?"

He grinned. "It wasn't on my head."

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried loud enough that she was lucky she hadn't woken Rusty. In a matter of seconds she jumped up, turned on the lamp on her nightstand before grabbing her glasses and leaping out of bed, approaching Andy's pile of boxes like she was a little girl on Christmas morning who was getting ready to tear into all the presents Santa had left her. "Where is it?" she asked as she stared at the pile, the dozens of boxes meaning she had no idea where to start her search.

Andy laughed as he sat up in bed to watch her on her treasure hunt, having seen her like that in the past when she was looking for her Christmas and Birthday presents only this time she seemed even more excited. He smiled at her again, it was a side of her that only he and her children were fortunate enough to see, a fact that made it all the more special. "Look at you! I haven't seen you this excited unless a glass of wine or Robert Redford in a Navy uniform was involved" he laughed.

"That's probably because you'd never told me you'd posed completely naked for an LAPD calendar before."

"I wasn't completely naked" he corrected. "I've told you, I was wearing my hat. That makes all the difference."

Sharon hummed before she said "I'm sure." Not waiting for him to give her any clue as to where she might find it Sharon started to open the boxes looking for it but found mostly shoes to begin with, still firmly of the opinion that Andy owned more shoes and clothes than she did and perhaps they both needed to have a cull of their wardrobes before they joined forces in the closet. "Where is it?" she finally asked as her frustration grew.

"I don't know" he lied. "It's in there somewhere."

Suddenly Sharon's frantic search paused as she started to imagine what the picture looked like when another thought popped into her mind. She lifted her head and frowned at him as the wheels turned in her mind, looking like an animal around the watering hole when they sensed a predator in the area. "When was this?" she asked. "It's certainly not been in the last ten years or so or I would already know about it. How old were you exactly?"

Andy paused before he answered. "Twenty seven" he told her and was immediately rewarded with an aroused groan escaping from Sharon's lips, a groan the likes of which he had never heard from her when she was that far away from him before. Andy laughed. "Are you okay over there?"

Before she answered Sharon started to dig through the boxes with even more haste, the incentive to find it now all the greater given the age he was when the picture was taken. "I will be when I find it" she told him.

With the cat well and truly out of the bag Andy felt he had no real choice but to tell her where it was despite feeling like a pool of Jell-O in comparison to how he looked back then, one of the many reasons why he was always trying to suck his stomach in around her when he was in a state of undress and could get away with it, Andy always caring a hell of a lot more than Sharon that he was a little soft around the middle. "Try that box against the wall" he suggested.

Sharon smiled at him as she opened the box in question very slowly like she was teasing him, finding it almost immediately leaning up again the side of the box so that it wouldn't crease. She grinned at him again as she closed up all the boxes again, pushing them all back into the corner and out of the way before she brought it back to bed. She sat next to him above the covers with her legs crossed and it on her lap.

Once settled and comfortable she looked at him. "So come on then? What month?"

"You're not interested in the rest?"

She grinned at him again as she shook her head, having zero interest in any one else other than her Andy. "Nope. Just you. Just my beautiful boy."

Andy laughed and nodded. "July. I was Mr July."

"And they went with just a hat rather than some sort of Fourth of July theme?"

"It was suggested but when you're completely naked the last thing you want close to you is any sort of flame or sparklers" he replied with a shudder.

Sharon laughed. "Especially with your track record of fire related disasters" she joked before she leant forward and kissed him on the lips, quick and chaste it was a thank you for telling her about it when it was clear that he really didn't want to.

Settling down to the task at hand Sharon opened the calendar just enough to see the dates on the bottom of the page but not the pictures themselves because she simply wasn't at all interested in looking at anyone else other than the man lying next to her. When she reached July she stopped and smiled at him, the beginnings of a smug smile appearing on his face before she took a very deep breath and finally opened it up.

Sharon's eyes widened almost immediately as they landed on the image before her. There he was in all his glory, her Andy Flynn aged just twenty seven and indeed wearing absolutely nothing except a smile and his hat covering his unmentionables. His hair was longer than he had it now, jet black and slicked back with more product that Rusty used. He was tanned all over (his chest waxed it must be noted for the record) and his muscles glistening with the oil he was presumably covered in before the picture was taken. Even a neutral would have to admit that he looked indescribably beautiful, like he was carved out of marble and perfect in every single way.

On one of the many mornings since they'd finally seen each other naked and Sharon had been forced to tell him off once again for sucking his stomach in around her, he had rather regretfully told her that he had once been able to do his washing on his abs and it was by no means a lie. Just looking at that picture she realised she could have done the washing for the entire building on his stomach. Add to that the look on his face was one that she knew all too well over the last year since they had started dating, it was the simply irresistible smoulder that, when she saw it, usually had her underwear off and her legs wrapped around his waist before she even registered what was happening to her.

He looked utterly beautiful in that photo and as she continued to gaze at it with wide eyes a noise escaped from her throat that made it clear to Andy that this was as close as she had ever come to having an orgasm without Andy even laying so much as a finger on her. Most people acknowledged that Andy had always been a very handsome guy, the first time Sharon had ever seen him (when he was fully clothed it must be said but he could wear a suit like no other which made him seem all the more attractive to Sharon especially) some twenty plus years earlier she thought he was without doubt the most handsome man she had ever seen in person (an honour he would go on to share with a rather famous actor that Gavin had set her up with a few years later on a blind date. Gavin had asked his friend to take her out for the evening as a favour to get her feet wet dating again once it became clear she was never going to take Jack back but didn't want to file for divorce just yet, an actor she really didn't want Andy to know she'd had dinner and a very brief kiss with for fear she'd never be able to watch his movies again such was his highly amusing and exaggerated jealous streak when it came to her and other men). Some fifteen years earlier than that and he looked even better and that was just his beautiful face and big brown eyes.

In a fleeting moment when she looked at that picture and thought about something other than sex it crossed her mind that it was no wonder that he had literally piles of women almost throwing themselves at him if they'd all seen that particular photo of him. With that in mind it made it all the more surprising to her that he'd been completely faithful to Sandra during that time and as their marriage started to fall apart but it was something she was never going to say to him such was his worry about the issue and Sharon not trusting him. Where women were concerned Andy had a reputation of that there was no doubt but a lot of it he had gone to great lengths to tell her was completely untrue. It was very important to him that not only did Sharon know that but also his kids (not that Daniel believed him for a second) and Sandra too for that matter, that he never even came close to sleeping with someone else while he was still married. Despite the offers (a lot of which were a direct result of that photo) he had _never_ cheated on Sandra. In fact he never slept with anyone else until his divorce was finalised, something that neither Sandra or indeed Sharon could claim about themselves. Andy knew Sandra didn't really believe him (bringing it up at Nicole's house on Christmas Day when she set about attacking Andy as much as possible for example) but he always maintained his innocence and had said the same thing to Sharon when they started to date for real in case she ever worried about his wandering eye (and indeed wandering something else for that matter). Andy hadn't exactly been faithful between the end of his marriage and Sharon, he freely admitted that to her long before Mark Hickman mentioned his habit of cheating on his girlfriends in the middle of the Murder Room (that comment not bothering Sharon in the slightest unlike Andy who stressed about it for days and Provenza who was livid about that more than anything else including being accused of mummifying at his desk) but he had never cheated on the woman he once loved and the one that he did love even though the sight of him in that photo made his first claim seem a little harder to believe for Sharon.

Sharon couldn't take her eyes off that photo like she was mesmerised as she planned where she was going to keep it now that she knew of its existence (also planning on how she could subtly show Gavin without Andy finding out about it because she needed to brag a little and even more so because Gavin had once openly admitted just how hot he thought Andy was), well out of the view of her son obviously because there was no way Rusty wouldn't think he was gorgeous when he first saw it until he realised who it was and that was just going to be downright awkward and possibly result in an extra appointment with Dr Joe each month for several years.

Sharon's smile continued to grow by the second as she turned towards the more mature version of Andy Flynn she had in what was now their bed. He was a lot older, greyer and, much to his regret, he was a lot heavier (something that Sharon was forever telling him not to be stressed about because she didn't care about it. Andy was fit, going to the gym twice a week at least and that was just his body shape and she loved him for it) but to Sharon he was so much better in every way imaginable and she was oh so glad she had that Andy in her life while still very much appreciating the younger version on paper when she could. However, with that being said looking at that photo she could see how much Daniel looked like his Father, that photo could almost be him but since the subject of his son was still more than a little delicate it was an observation she would wait to point out.

Sharon closed the calendar, sliding it very carefully into the top drawer of her nightstand and letting him know without words that, like many of his shirts and the odd pair of shorts, it was now hers and he had no choice in the matter at all. She took her glasses off and put them back on the nightstand but much to Andy's surprise she didn't turn the lamp off again. Instead she lay down, sliding back under the covers before she rolled towards him, looming over him as she propped herself up on her elbow and traced his face with her fingertips with the help of the light like she was studying him, never getting tired of seeing him smiling up at her especially as he lay next to her in bed and illuminated by the soft glow of the lamp. With every square inch of his face mapped out by her fingers she kissed him long and deep on the lips, leaving them both breathless by the time they broke apart and his hand buried deep into her thick mane.

"See I told you I could do my washing on my stomach back then" he said with a wink.

Sharon laughed and nodded. "And as I've told you many times before we have a washer dryer for that and I have other much better uses for you" she told him once again and then kissed him as if to reinforce her point.

"Oh God I hope so" he practically groaned, eliciting the inevitable laughter from Sharon as she kissed him again. When they broke apart Sharon discovered that his face was a little screwed up as if he was in real pain. "Can I just ask the one favour?" he said tentatively before she nodded. "Please don't keep it where people can see it like you do with that stupid letter."

Sharon sighed and rolled her eyes, her aggravation clear. "It's not a stupid letter" she told him for the hundredth time.

"Please?" he begged, not allowing himself to be side-tracked.

"Oh don't worry. This is just for me" she told him. "I promise" she added and confirmed it with a kiss to his lips. "Plus the more people that see it the more will want to try and steal you away from me" she joked.

"Well that'll never happen."

She leant back down kissed him slowly before telling him "Thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"For sharing your life with me, all of it, even the more embarrassing bits you'd rather I didn't know about" she said with a little chuckle.

"Well it's not like I have much choice is there? It's a well-established fact that I can't keep anything secret from you Raydor."

"Except for Barstow?"

"Right, except for Barstow."

Sharon paused for a moment and just stared at him, once again thinking that her intense gaze may make him finally crumble once and for all and tell her what happened. "How bad can it really be?" she asked when it was clear his lips were sealed.

"You'll never know."

"You're so mean to me" she pouted.

"Leave to live with it" he shrugged.

Sharon laughed before she settled back down on his shoulder again, her hand immediately going back underneath his t-shirt while his very slowly returned to stroking her back just like he had done a few nights earlier as they watched TV in the wee small hours of the morning in an attempt to make her fall asleep. He pressed his lips to the crown of her head a couple of times before she looked up at him and kissed his chin after playfully biting it a couple of times first. "Tell me a story" she requested.

"Tell you a story? What kind of story?"

"Anything. Something that you've never told me about before."

"Okay. Let me think" Andy said as he began to rack his brain. Silence fell as he tried to think of what to tell her that she would find funny but wouldn't disgust her too much, his options certainly limited on that front.

"Nothing to do with women please" she said after a moment.

"But I thought you liked those stories." At the heart of it Andy was often very shy when it came to openly talking about his history with other women, especially to Sharon because he was so ashamed of some of his past behaviour but on the whole she usually liked to hear about what he got up to with girls when he was a boy and turning into a man.

"I do and as much as I love hearing about all the trouble little Andy got into with girls as a teenager I'm really not in the mood for those sort of tales right now."

Andy smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Finally starting to get jealous, huh?"

"Oh shut up" she told him to a ripple of laughter as he kissed the top of her head again. "And nothing else to do with random body parts in rooms I've spent a lot of time please."

"Well that's a shame because I had a great story about the severed toe I found in the drain of my shower" he said as casually as he could. Sharon looked at him utterly horrified as he laughed, not sure if he was telling the truth or not. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Okay, give me a second." He thought for a moment, trying to come up with the perfect story that would not only amuse her but also distract her from the demons still waging war inside her head. "Have I ever told you about my Uncle Seamus and his teeth?" he asked finally.

"What's this sudden obsession you have with teeth?" Sharon said as she laughed.

"It's just a coincidence, I promise. So have I told you about it before?"

"I didn't even know you had an Uncle Seamus much less anything interesting about his teeth" Sharon told him. "Your Dad's brother I assume from the name?"

"Yep, he was Dad's brother so Irish. Well Uncle Seamus, he was..."

Sharon held her hand in the air to stop him in his tracks. "Wait before you go any further I have a question."

"Just the one?"

Sharon laughed. "I'm sure I'll have plenty more later. But for now it's just this, if you had Uncles and Aunts who were, I'm assuming, living in the same State if not City as you and your parents, then why did you have both sets of Grandparents living with you?"

"Well as much as my Mom and Dad hated their in-laws...and each other too for that matter..."

"Andy they can't have hated each other all that much, they did have seven children together after all" she reasoned, thinking that proved how much they loved each other even if they didn't really show it in front of their children a lot of the time.

"I think you're mistaking love with being Catholic and horny babe" he replied. Sharon laughed as she nodded, accepting his point. "Anyway as much as they hated their in-laws with the fire of a thousand burning suns," he said and making it clear that it wasn't even the smallest exaggeration as Sharon laughed, "they were family and as far as family was concerned in my household, you did everything you could to take care of them even if they did irritated the crap out of you."

Sharon smiled at him, her family being a lot like his in terms of closeness and how they were always there for each other regardless but that was where the similarities ended, still to her it did sound like something she very much wanted to be a part of, to be a member of his very large family. "I think I'm going to like being part of your household" she told him before he kissed her on the lips.

He grinned at her. "Me too" he confirmed before he kissed her back.

"Since he was your Dad's brother was he also crime...adjacent shall we say?"

"Not exactly. Uncle Seamus was more the reason why my Dad and as a consequence me and my brothers were crime adjacent" he explained. Once more Sharon laughed and shook her head, realising more and more each day that she was sharing her life with a man who could so easily be spending the rest of his life behind bars if he hadn't been put back on the straight and narrow (the story of how that happened being explained to her as they sat on the floor by the front door after Elliot Chase had come perilously close to murdering him) and she was incredibly relieved that he had been put on the path that led him to her. "My Uncle Seamus as it turned out was really quite high up in the Irish mob" he confessed.

"Oh my God!" Sharon cried with horror.

"A little fact I've obviously kept to myself over the years that I've been working for the LAPD."

"And with good reason." She sighed dramatically before she said "I'm living with a felon."

Andy laughed, Sharon making it sound like he was Al Capone. "Are you regretting letting me move in with you now that you know I was once related to the Irish mob?"

Sharon laughed. "Not at all. If I'm honest it's a bit of a turn on" she told him as her nails really started to scratch up and down his chest before she kissed him long and slow on the lips.

Andy smiled as they pulled apart. "Oh really?"

"Really" she confirmed as her eyes sparkled and she kissed him again.

"That figures. Rich..."

"Oh my God! We were never rich!" Sharon shouted for at least the thousandth time since they'd become friends, Andy laughing once again at her outrage which was precisely why he said it in the first place.

It was a common topic of conversation between them, Andy pointing out the significant differences between how they grew up and inevitably exaggerating about it. Although his family were poor, he did have more toys than a stick with some cat shit on the end like he claimed and likewise Sharon's family were wealthy (you only had to look at where she lived and what was in her wardrobe to realise that it came from a trust fund and money left to her rather than from a police salary) but if you listened to Andy then Sharon grew up with golden chandeliers, had her own personal butler on hand twenty-four hours a day and ate crushed up diamonds on her cornflakes when the truth was that the O'Dwyers were a little better off than 'comfortable' financially but nowhere near as rich as he joked.

"Yeah okay, let's just pretend shall we that when you were a kid your parents weren't so rich your Mother practically ovulated Faberge eggs" he joked. Sharon laughed but on the whole just decided to ignore him about it because she knew arguing with him would only encourage him more. "Really rich, well-educated, Catholic girls with ponies always like to go for a bit of rough as far as men are concerned just to piss off their Fathers."

"In this case it would be my Grandmother and for the hundredth time it wasn't my pony!" she cried at him, knowing the more she argued the point the more he would continue to say that sort of thing to her. The pony in question was her friend's horse (only owning a riding helmet as a child because of the dizziness she experienced due to her lazy eye and resulting eye patch) and she rode it about three maximum but that didn't stop Andy from teasing her about it.

"But I am your bit of rough?" he asked.

"And don't you forget it" she told him with a poke to his chest. They both laughed before they kissed, her nails scratching his chest and making him practically growl into her mouth. It was true, all of it. Andy Flynn was her very own bad boy, her bit of rough and she loved him all the more because of it, getting turned on by the mere idea of the opposite worlds they came from. "One of the perks of being a really good girl all of your life is getting to fall head over heels for a very bad boy" she told him which made him laugh, his hand grabbing her ass. "And the PAB grapevine keeps telling me that I have picked the baddest of the lot" she grinned, meeting his lips.

"You don't believe them do you?"

Sharon shrugged. Some of the stories she'd heard about him sounded just like the sort of thing that Andy would do while others seemed way off the mark. In the end however it just didn't matter to her, none of it did because the Andy she knew, the Andy she had invited into her home and into her heart had never given her a reason not to trust him and that was all that mattered to her. "Sometimes but I also trust you my darling, I trust you implicitly because you've never given me reason not to" she told him emphatically.

"And I don't intend to either."

"Then that's enough for me" she told him, kissing him again. "But anyway, teeth!"

"Anyway his teeth right" Andy said before he paused to remember where he'd got to in his story. "When Seamus was younger he was a boxer, this was just before they all moved to America en masse, you know fleeing the Garda or whatever" he explained and not at all joking about it. "He was a good boxer too by all accounts my Uncle Seamus but for some reason he would never raise his guard to defend himself during a bout. He said pain didn't bother him and guarding himself was a complete waste of time and energy" he shrugged. "He preferred to get hit in the face time and time again because he didn't want to waste energy defending himself. So not surprisingly by the time he was nineteen he didn't have a single tooth left in his mouth."

Sharon laughed as she said "Ooh he sounds lovely."

"He was a good looking fella even if I do say so myself but only when he was wearing these big expensive pair of false teeth. And I'm talking huge here. He looked like a nut cracker" he explained as he gestured with his hand, making each of them sound bigger than his fist.

"How did he afford those?" she asked when her laughter subsided. "When was this?"

"I'm not sure. As a guess? Late 1930s maybe so these things were rare and ridiculously expensive. He paid for them from his winnings and gambling on his fights."

"Gambling on his fights?" Andy nodded which made her roll her eyes. "Let me guess, he might have known when he was going to get knocked out?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"He may very well have done, yes" he confirmed while she laughed. "Anyway so here he is with, by this point, a very old but still fairly expensive pair of false teeth on New Year's Eve nineteen sixty...two, something like that. Now my family always spent New Year's Eve together no matter what and well I'm sure you can guess what they got up to every year."

"A large family that was a mixture of Irish and Italian? I'm sure alcohol was involved."

"And a lot of it too plus the occasional fist fight after midnight but on this night in particular my Mom insisted on forcing everyone to play a game instead of just drinking all night."

"So what did you play?"

"Poker except there was no money involved and instead you had to drink a shot when you lost a hand" he stated rather proudly.

"Oh God" Sharon laughed. "I think I know where this is headed. Is it too late to pull out of this whole arrangement?"

"What? Living with me?"

"Yes."

"Not a hope in hell Raydor" Andy told her as he tightened his grip on her and kissed the top of her head. "Now if there was one thing my Dad knew how to do better than anything else, other than setting a new land speed record every time he heard a police siren or impregnating my Mom of course."

"Oh of course" Sharon laughed.

"The one thing he could do better than anything else was cheating at cards so my Uncle Seamus didn't stand a chance. Now my Uncle could drink with the best of them, like he had a hollow leg even just like the rest of my family. I'd go as far to say that he was even better than me in my prime but on this night in particular after losing hand after hand after hand to my cheating Father he was without a doubt drunker than he'd ever been in his entire life" he explained as she laughed again. "Midnight came and went and they kept going until a little after one in the morning when I had to give up my bed so that Uncle Seamus could lie down."

"That was very good of you."

"Yeah well I'd only just climbed up the drain pipe and through the window so it wasn't that big of a deal, I wasn't asleep" he said casually with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But very tired from your many exploits I imagine" she laughed.

"Naturally. So anyway he was lying on my bed groaning and clutching his stomach as the room spun when he called me over and went 'Hey AB...'"

"Wait, AB?" Sharon asked as she cut him off mid-sentence.

"Yeah, Andrew Benito" he clarified. Sharon instantly went to laugh, still not believing Andy when he insisted that his middle name really was 'Benito,' him silencing her with a finger to her lips. "Do not even think about laughing at that" he warned. "It was what he used to call me."

Sharon laughed anyway, unable to stop herself. "Just to get side tracked for one moment if I may since we're touching on the subject, Nicole informed me on the day you moved in here that you always told her as a child that your middle names, and I do mean plural here, that your middle names were 'Bonzo Tiger'" she told him as she gave him a little Darth Raydor glare for good measure, hoping that might make him tell the truth. At one point in their relationship Sharon would just kiss him in order to bend him to her will, Andy pretty much agreeing to anything she wanted or spilling his guts instantly as a result (Sharon having the same tendency to crumble when Andy rubbed her feet, as unaware of it as he was) but she had recently discovered that a little flash of Darth was as equally effective.

Andy smiled and laughed to himself, not aware before that moment that Nicole still clearly remembered what he'd told her when she was no more than four years old. "Ah well that was just a little white lie to make her laugh" he explained.

"And telling me that your middle name is 'Benito' wasn't a little white lie to make me laugh?"

"No because it's the truth" Andy insisted.

"Then why don't I believe you?"

"I have no idea. It's probably down to you being overly suspicious after spending too many years working in Professional Standards" Andy suggested.

"Oh I'm sure that's what it is rather than because this whole thing is utterly ridiculous" she laughed, still not believing him no matter how many times he insisted it was the truth.

"No because it's what it is, I promise you. My middle name is 'Benito' because my Mom had a serious crush on Mussolini" he said once again.

Sharon laughed. "Of course she did, I mean who wouldn't? If we're being completely honest here you're handsome enough in your own inimitable way but you're nothing in comparison to a bald headed fascist are you?" she joked, shaking her head as she laughed.

"It's a good job I know when you're joking with me Raydor" Andy replied grumpily.

"Am I?" she joked before laughing again. "I'm sorry but the whole thing is just so utterly ridiculous."

"Why is it? It's my name."

"And yet I've not seen a single piece of paper at work or at home that confirms it."

"Then..." Andy said before he paused. He was about to tell her that all of his important documents were in his safety deposit box and that she was more than welcome to go with him the next time he went to the bank and see for herself except the box now also had something else in it, it contained the engagement ring he bought so very early and some might say hastily (Andy would disagree) in their relationship and until he was ready to ask her the question he wasn't going to allow her anywhere near that place.

"Then what?" Sharon prompted, a little puzzled by the way he had fallen silent.

"Then...," he said again as he searched for something else to tell her, "ask Sandra about it at Christmas when they come here. She knows the truth, she'll tell you."

"No Andy, no!" Sharon cried, horrified by the suggestion. "I'm not going to ask your ex-wife those sort of questions about you for goodness sake, no!"

"Why not? What's the big deal? It's only like asking a previous owner about mileage and fuel consumption on an old car or something" he suggested, not seeing the issue at all.

Sharon laughed. "Exactly, that's my point" she cried with laughter. "Andy I won't ask her that sort of question precisely because she was your...your last owner," she joked as they laughed, it as good an expression as any, "and I don't want her to think that firstly you lie to me..."

"Which I don't, never have done, never will do" he insisted.

"And secondly that I don't know you as well as she clearly still does."

"Which is absolutely not true." He just stared at her for a moment, looking into her eyes as his hand came up to gently caress her cheek with her fingertips. "You know me better than she ever did and I like to think that we've only just got started" he told her before dropping his lips to hers.

She smiled at him, unable not to smile back when he looked at her like that, the smile on his face and gazing at her so adoringly. "You really can sweet talk your way out of most things can't you?" she asked him.

"Well I certainly try my very best" he told her with a kiss. "Actually on second thoughts, don't ask Sandra about it at Christmas."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want Rusty to overhear the conversation."

"What?" Sharon laughed.

"Why do you think I told Nicole it was 'Bonzo Tiger' rather than the truth? If Rusty finds out my middle name is Benito then before long Provenza knows followed by everyone else and then it's the only thing I'm ever called at work" he explained more than a little grumpily as Sharon laughed. "And don't even think about telling either of them about that or about Andy Pandy either" he warned her.

Sharon grinned mischievously, her nails running back and forth across the waistband of his boxers again in a tantalising fashion. "Oh really? And how are you going to stop me?"

"Easy. I have two words for you. Red. Beard" he stated clearly before he grinned at her victoriously. In truth Andy had absolutely zero intention of telling anyone about the rather unfortunate nickname Sharon earned at school or the reason why, realising that he was in a very fortunate position to be told about it in the first place with her not even telling Jack or her children about it.

She frowned at him as she raised her head off his shoulder a little, her hand stilling. "Is this how we're starting off our new life together," she asked, "by you threatening me and trying to blackmail me into keeping quiet?"

"A little bit. Maybe" he said as he laughed before he kissed her on the lips and she laughed with him. "Why don't you believe me? It's my name."

"Because it's so ridiculous" she said again.

Andy shrugged. "I don't know what else to tell you, my Mom liked Mussolini."

"Exactly" Sharon laughed.

"You should have tried being me and having to grow up with it. As soon as the school yard found out about it my life as I knew it was over" he told her with no hint of exaggeration.

"Why? What happened?"

"Aside from the laughter and the name calling? They used to beat the crap out of me. I'd be in class having my knuckles whacked with a cane for using my left hand in the morning and then I'd go outside during recess and get repeatedly punched in the eye because Ritchie O'Brien's Uncle got killed by an Italian in the war, like because of my name he thought I was Mussolini's nephew or something" he explained with a roll of his eyes. "Then we'd be playing stick ball and suddenly some wise ass would decide that because I was the 'wop' in the group I had to switch sides half way through the game like they did during the war. It was a nightmare!"

Sharon laughed while at the same time she felt his cheek, feeling so sorry for him and the way he had to grow up, explaining a lot about his combative attitude as an adult. "So what did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I beat the crap out of them in retaliation before my Mom forced me into attending ballet classes with my sister because I was always getting into trouble with my fists when it was all her fault to begin with!" he complained, still annoyed about it nearly sixty years later.

Sharon laughed as she continued to stroke his cheek and thought of her childhood of large family picnics and her friend's pony, the complete opposite to Andy's upbringing where he literally had to fight to survive. "Oh my poor boy."

"You say that, you say 'Oh my poor boy' and look all sympathetic but we both know that given the chance you'd be telling Provenza and the guys all about my middle name as well as 'Andy Pandy' and then I'd never hear the end of either of them" he joked.

"I take great offence to that!" Sharon hit back, giving his chest a little slap.

"Why? It's true."

"No it isn't."

"Oh really? Then how about all the other times you've told them things that I didn't want them to know about?" he asked, thinking his point had already been made.

"Like what?"

"Like me setting my menu on fire during our first date."

Sharon laughed, unable to dispute that she had told almost everyone they knew about it in the year since. "Andy my darling, explaining to our friends why we couldn't go back to Serve on our anniversary is hardly telling the world all of your secrets. What else?"

"I'm thinking."

Sharon laughed. "Then you'll be thinking for a very long time because I've never told anyone anything you didn't want them to know. You said the other night that my secrets are safe with you well guess what? Your secrets are safe with me too" she told him, kissing him on the lips to confirm it.

"Yeah okay" he agreed before he paused as he thought of another way he could prove to Sharon what his middle name was without taking her to his safety deposit box since it was deliberately omitted from his passport and driving license. "You should have asked Lizzie when we were in New York. She would have told you."

"I didn't think about it. At the time I was far too busy hearing dozen of other embarrassing stories about my darling boy to ask about your middle name. I need to make a note to ask her the next time she calls."

Andy frowned at her, already alarmed by the amount of time Sharon spent talking to his sister on the phone since they met on their weekend getaway in New York. "Why? How often does she call you?"

"More often than I'm sure you'd like" she grinned before she kissed him on the lips. "'Benito'" she added, laughing hysterically as she kissed him again.

"Do you really think I'd lie to you?"

"No, not lie to me exactly. More like that you'd be a little creative with the truth in order to make me smile which it certainly has done" she explained as she laughed again.

"Okay granted but I promise that is my real name, Andrew Benito Flynn. Maybe one day, a little way down the road I'll stand up in front of everyone we know and love and say it out loud and prove it to you" he said as he winked at her, hoping that she would get his meaning without having to elaborate further.

She smiled at him as she blushed and bit down on her bottom lip, her nerves over the topic of conversation evident. She remained silent for the longest time, Andy just about to panic when she brushed her lips against his, the contact so gentle that it was hardly even there. "Maybe" was all she could say in response to his promise for the future with a little shrug of her shoulders, the same answer as she gave Rusty when he asked, his disgust more than clear to her, if he was one day going to find Andy sitting at the table eating breakfast in his robe without any warning. Sharon kissed him again, deepening it and desperately wanting to add 'I'd like that' to remind him and sooth any concerns he may have that they weren't on the same page as far as their shared future was concerned but opted against it once her fear kicked in since they'd already taken a big enough step forward recently without pushing him into that before they were really ready, but that wasn't to say she didn't mean it. "Okay" she said, kissing him one last time. "Carry on with your story."

"Where did I get to?"

"Your Uncle was calling you."

"Right. Yeah so anyway my Uncle called 'Hey AB. I'm going to throw up. Get me something to chuck up in'" Andy said in a near perfect Irish accent to imitate his Uncle, a talent that Sharon had never heard before.

"This is a charming story."

"Just wait it gets better. So I look around and I can't give him my trash can because it had a hole in it so the only thing to hand was my school bag" he explained, the smile on his face making it look like he was telling a story about his athletic prowess in his youth rather than a story about vomit.

"Your school bag?"

"Yeah. So I emptied it on the floor and gave it to my Uncle. A couple of minutes later the vomit was practically pouring out of this thing as he gave it back to me so I run with it to the bathroom and poured the contents down the toilet and flushed."

Sharon laughed, already knowing what was coming. "I think I know where this is heading."

"Just wait. So I go into my sister's room and switch book bags with her..."

"What?!" Sharon cried. She looked at him stunned for a moment before she gave him a quick smack across his chest for the sake of his sister who she had become so fond of since she first met her at the start of the summer.

"What? It was covered in vomit. What did you expect me to do with it?" Andy asked.

"Oh I don't know, clean it maybe" Sharon suggested. In was in that moment when she suddenly remembered a similar incident with Ricky when he was roughly the same age. He had gone on a field trip with St Joseph's so she had packed him a lunch. She found the box three weeks later under his bed (while retrieving a sock which was crusty to say the least rather than snooping), his food completely untouched as they floated in a pool of vomit.

"Too much effort" Andy dismissed without any thought. "It was much easier to switch it with my sister's and leave her wondering what the hell happened" he explained as he laughed to himself, Sharon feeling compelled to join in with him despite the way she was shaking her head at him.

"What did she do when she found out?"

"Let's just put it like this, I woke up the next morning, unable to see and with the heavy smell of vomit in the air."

With that Sharon laughed hysterically once again, her face pressed into his chest to muffle the sound a little so that she didn't wake up Rusty. "She put it on your head while you were sleeping?" she asked once she was capable of speech again.

Andy nodded, looking very pleased with himself. "She did indeed."

"And to think you didn't wake up. What a surprise that is!" she told him with sarcasm almost dripping from every single word. He stared down at her far from amused as she laughed, her hand moving to poke him in the ribs a couple of times before she returned it to under his t-shirt, her nails continuing to trace lazy patterns on his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" he replied with a roll of his eyes. "So anyway after I flushed it I went back into my bedroom to see my Uncle and check that you know he was okay and everything and he said to me 'What did you do with that bag AB?' So I told him what I'd done and that I'd flushed it and that's when he starting screaming at me because his teeth had fallen out of his mouth and into the bag while he was being sick and I'd accidentally flushed them down the toilet" he announced with a smile.

Sharon laughed hysterically once again as Andy joined in, still finding the whole thing funny all those years later. "What did you do?" she asked finally.

"What do you think we did? We spent the rest of the night with all the drains up in the street and holding candles and flashlights down them trying to find his teeth" he explained, the sight of his extended family lying at regular intervals throughout the neighbourhood and shouting at each other 'FLUSH!' as they passed the message up the line at three o'clock in the morning only adding to their reputation as a family of troublemakers.

"Did you find them?"

"No, they were long gone. Some alligator in the sewer probably had them."

"So what happened?" Sharon asked as she continued to laugh.

"He ate nothing but soup for about three weeks until he got some replacements and made me run errands for him around the neighbourhood as a punishment."

"Errands?" Sharon asked suspiciously, already dreading the answer.

"Trust me babe, you don't want to know" he replied, never asking what was in the various small packages he was delivering to some rather seedy looking individuals but nevertheless he had a fairly good idea.

Despite her perfectly justified levels of horror Sharon laughed because given how hard and frankly horrific the majority of Andy's childhood had been (and that was just the things she knew about, having no idea about the way his Father used to beat him) he told his stories with such humour that she felt like she was there with him at the time. "The fact that you weren't killed as a teenager and I have you at all is a minor miracle" she told him as she laughed again, it starting to get a little loud from being so wrapped up in their conversation and had forgotten how late it was and that Rusty was fast asleep.

"Good story?"

"Oh, a very good story" she confirmed as she continued to laugh and for a brief moment acted like she didn't have a single care in the world rather than having spent the last week with a black cloud permanently hanging over her and looking at times like she was literally holding her breath.

Andy laughed along before he tried to shush her, kissing the top of her head as he did it. "Keep the noise down or you'll wake the kid up" he reminded her. "Let's not add waking him up at all hours of the night to the list of reasons why he doesn't like me."

Sharon lifted her head from his shoulder, stunned to say the least as her laughter ended more than a touch abruptly and she stared at him in disbelief. "Andy. What are you talking about?" she asked, almost starting to sound upset that Andy was under the impression that Rusty didn't like him much less love him but rather tolerated his existence. "He likes you. Of course he likes you. Surely you know that by now?"

"No he loves you more than anything in this world so therefore he puts up with me, that's a lot different to actually liking me" he concluded, not sounding that bothered by it but more just stating a fact as he saw it.

Propping herself up on her elbow while she addressed this subject, not prepared to drop it until she managed to convince him otherwise, Sharon's hand started to move up and down his chest again. "That's not true at all and you know it" she said more in hope rather than expectation. "Of course he likes you, well when you're not trying to annoy him at least and," she said before she paused and poked his chest with her finger again, "he's hugged you twice recently, don't forget that."

"I think he was just trying to steal my wallet that second time" he joked and making her laugh again. They just lay in silence for a moment, Andy giving it some serious thought. He never saw it as an issue, Rusty didn't need to like him as long as Sharon loved him and as a result he wasn't going to let it bother him. "You really think the kid likes me?" he asked a few moments later. He wasn't after sympathy or compliments or to make trouble between Sharon and Rusty (although that was never going to happen, the love they had for each other and the way that she had saved his life giving them an unbreakable bond and no one was ever going to get in the middle of), it was just that Andy genuinely didn't think that Rusty liked him all that much, feeling like he tolerated his existence in his life and now his home because Sharon loved him and therefore he made the effort for _her_ which was very different to him actually liking him in the true sense of the word.

"Yes. Of course he does!" she cried, her shocked face saying a lot more than her words alone. "What makes you think he doesn't?" she asked, thrilled by how well they'd been getting on at late, at least from her point of view anyway.

"Well firstly there's the fact that I've tried and failed to take away the only home the kid has ever really known and loved to move into some hell hole held up by black mould and dead bodies" he pointed out, Rusty not at all happy when the idea of a move was first brought up by him, thinking he was planning some sort of sit-in protest at one point to stop it from happening.

"That's not entirely true" she replied quickly. "A few months ago maybe you may have been right but he genuinely started to show real interest in moving to some place bigger before you sold your house and you informed him that you'd changed your mind about the whole thing for the foreseeable so that's one off your list for starters" she proclaimed, fully prepared to listen and then dismiss every point on his list for the rest of the night if need be so that she could convince him that he was wrong. "And the next reason?"

"The main reason."

"Oh yes? And what would that be?"

"The big one. The biggest of them all. Huge. Massive. Insurmountable even" he added.

"What?"

He grinned at her before he answered, in full knowledge that he was about to get himself into trouble but wanted to say it anyway. "The fact that I'm _banging_ his Mom" he said smugly as his hand drifted south to cup and then squeeze her ass before he gave it a little slap.

Sharon couldn't help but laugh despite the crassness of his words. "Well that, I'm sorry to tell you, he'll _never_ get over or used to..."

"And neither will Ricky I guess" Andy surmised.

"That is very true but more to the point, let me tell you this now, if you use that word again in reference to me and, what I consider to be, our hugely enjoyable and satisfying sex life, the only thing you'll be 'banging' over the next couple of months is the balcony door when I lock you back out there again" she told him simply, giving him a little Darth Raydor glare for good measure to ensure her point was well made. Andy laughed and nodded as he strained to press his lips to her forehead while she still loomed above him. "And this time you'll be completely naked" she added as a final warning as she pinched his knees. "Despite that small and unavoidable snafu he does like you, really he does" she told him sincerely as her hand moved to stroke his cheek. "He loves you Andy. I hoped you knew that by now."

"I wouldn't go that far and say he loves me but I guess you're right he has hugged me twice recently but I could have died before each time so that's probably why" he shrugged.

"That's not the real reason."

"Yeah you're right. I still think he was trying to steal my wallet that second time. Or my car keys. Or maybe both" he joked.

Sharon laughed before she told him "Don't be so negative, it's true, he loves you." Andy continued to look at her less than convinced while she remained propped up to look him in the eye as the conversation took a more serious turn. "Have you given it any thought about how you're going to respond when he calls you 'Dad' for the first time?" she asked. Almost instantly Andy burst into laughter, laughing harder than Sharon had a few moments earlier. "Don't laugh at that! I'm being serious here" she told him as she took a swipe at the back of his head, Andy laughing so hard he had to hold onto his ribs, the whole thing becoming too painful.

"What? You've got to be kidding me" Andy said after he finally stopped laughing.

"No, I'm not. What are you going to..."

"Listen Sharon, with all the will in the world there is more chance of Provenza giving birth to a live unicorn in the middle of the Murder Room than there is of Rusty ever using the 'D' word to describe me" he insisted, the thought never even popping into his head once over the previous twelve months plus that they'd been dating.

"Dirt bag? That's two words" she joked.

"Trust me, it's not going to happen."

"I think you're wrong" Sharon told him simply, as unlikely to be convinced otherwise as Andy was or at least that's how it seemed.

Andy shrugged dismissively since he couldn't see Rusty ever saying anything like that to him but Sharon knew him far better than Andy did he reasoned so if anyone would know it would be her, but he still didn't believe it. "If you say so" he shrugged again.

She gave his ribs another swift but forceful poke with her finger before she settled back down on his shoulder again. "I do say so" she insisted with an air of finality about it all. "I'm not saying that it'll happen next week or next year even but it will happen, mark my words boy, it will happen someday."

"Sharon he still calls me Lieutenant when you're not around and sometimes even if you are if we're being honest here" he reminded her.

"Granted but just think about it for a moment, ten years from now when we're both retired, older, greyer and incontinent…" she started to say before Andy's laughter cut her off.

"Oooh what a beautiful image you paint. I can hardly wait. I can almost taste the Flomax already" he joked.

Ignoring him, she continued. "Ten years from now when he comes to you for advice because he's having a tough time with his editor..."

"Hold up a second. Editor?" he questioned with a smug smile. "I thought you said the other week that he was starting to sound more like a lawyer these days. In fact you even put money on it. Have you changed your mind?"

"Oh shut up" Sharon told him as she pinched the back of his knee, never liking to admit that she was wrong but was still firmly of the opinion that wasn't the case when it came to the various wages they'd placed on Rusty's future. "Ten years from now when he comes to you for advice about his editor or his client or the District Attorney or whatever and he says 'What do I do Dad?' what are you going to say to him?" she asked, genuinely thinking that it was a possibility given that Andy was the only real positive Father figure he had and was ever going to have in his life.

"Is this before or after I've swallowed my tongue from the shock?"

"Will you take this seriously please?" Sharon demanded.

Andy shrugged. "Oh I don't know babe. I guess I'll try to help him out as best I can and then completely ignore what he'd said to me because I'm a guy and that's what guys do" she said very casually as he pulled her close once again and pushed his lips to the top of her head.

"You're hopeless" Sharon said with a shake of her head as she tangled her left leg with his again, returning to her previous and extremely comfortable position on his shoulder.

"Where are you in this scenario by the way? Why isn't he coming to you with this problem?"

"Oh I'll have left you by then" she answered quickly as her hand moved back under his t-shirt again, her nails raking up and down his chest while she pressed her lips to his jawline. "I'll be living with my twenty one year old sex slave called Raul in our beach house on Maui."

Andy laughed. "Oh really?"

"Absolutely. Don't get me wrong Andy, I mean I do love you but you have already started to annoy me since you moved in" she stated with the humour clear in her voice while he began to laugh. "I'm sure after five years I'll have given up completely and be looking at a," she paused as she continued to kiss along his jawline to his chin, "much younger model."

"I haven't even unpacked yet and already I'm annoying you?"

"In my defence have you met you?" she joked. Andy's mouth immediately dropped open with fake offense, making it look like he'd just been stabbed straight through the heart. Sharon laughed as she kissed him. "Oh I'm joking. Why would I want to trade you in for someone a third of your age when you've promised me a steady stream of multiple orgasms whenever I want them?"

"But if I struggle to keep up with demand you'll go and find your man Raul on Maui I guess?"

"Something like that" she laughed before she cupped his cheek. "Oh Andy my darling boy I wouldn't trade you in for the world" she assured him before she met his lips.

"Even though I don't have a beach house on Maui?"

"Absolutely. Who needs a beach house anyway? Let's be honest here, sand gets everywhere and after my fifth UTI in three months I'll be utterly exhausted anyway" she joked.

"Oh sure! Meanwhile while you're off riding Raul right into an operating theatre, I'm back here nursing my broken heart and taking care of all of the parental duties" he complained without really registering what he'd just said.

Sharon smiled at him before she stroked his cheek, a little choked up. "Parental duties?"

He smiled and nodded when he realised how much those two little words meant to her, that he clearly would still be there for Rusty even if she wasn't one day. "Yeah."

"Have I ever told you how much I love having someone to share 'parental duties' with again?" she asked, unable to hide the smile on her face.

"Well it's not like I do a lot around here."

"You don't need to do a lot. You just have to be here when he needs you" she told him, not asking for any more where Rusty was concerned and yet delighted that Andy would step up without a second thought if the need arouse. "Like when he needs some advice on how to deal with the DA for example."

Andy laughed again. "Care to make a wager?"

"What kind of wager exactly? We're already betting on whether he switches his major to law or not" she reminded him.

"And I look forward to taking that twenty bucks off you when he shows absolutely no interest in the law whatsoever and continues on his path which leads him to become a journalist" he stated with supreme confidence.

"Do you have any idea how much it'll annoy him if he finds out how often we bet on him?"

Andy smiled, a smile filled with mischief. "Only if someone tells him."

Sharon sat up quickly to look him in the eye, a finger pointed in his face. "But no one is going to tell him are they?" she stated.

"Of course not" he insisted while that mischievous smile remained.

Satisfied that he wouldn't say anything to Rusty she lay back down again. After a few more moments of silence she asked "What kind of wager?"

"How about the winner gets an additional irrational demand?" he suggested.

"I hate to point this out Andy but if he never says it to you, you won't have chance to use your additional irrational demand because you'll be dead."

"That's a fair point" he conceded as morbid a thought as it was. "Okay we have to have a cut-off point, say something like ten years from now. By the time that we celebrate our eleventh anniversary," he said and prompting a beaming smile from her because of the way he always thought long term about their relationship (not that it should have come as a surprise to her since they were living together after all and yet it was still a lovely surprise), Sharon pushing her lips to his chin, "if he hasn't said it to me then, I get another irrational demand."

"And if he does say it, I do."

"Okay."

"It's a deal" Sharon confirmed as they shook hands as best they could without moving too much. "You just have to hope that we both remember this conversation ten years from now and that you haven't tried to die on me again before then."

Andy laughed before he crossed his heart with his free hand. "I promise you Sharon, I am not going to try to die on you again for a very long time" he told her, a promise that he was going to struggle to keep but regardless kissed her on the lips as if to confirm his intentions as far as jumping on moving vehicles was concerned.

"See that you do" Sharon replied, curling into his side even more. They remained like that for a few minutes in silence, just holding each other, their hands making lazy patterns on the other while Sharon occasionally pushed her lips to his chest. "I'll put money on him saying it to you eventually" she said after a while, having spent those few minutes of silence thinking about the vastly improved relationship between the love of her life and her youngest son. "You are the only Father figure he's ever going to have Andy" she stated once again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Andy replied dismissively.

"Don't 'Yeah, yeah, yeah' me like that, you are" she told him once again with a pinch to his knee. "I'm being deadly serious here."

Despite Sharon's best intentions it was an uphill battle to make Rusty see Andy as a member of his family rather than just her boyfriend or even her husband one day. The cruel fact of the matter was that history and misunderstandings were the foundations upon which Andy and Rusty built their somewhat rather rocky relationship in the very beginning. There was simply no denying the fact that Rusty had an extremely traumatic history when it came to 'Mom's boyfriends' (the complete opposite to Emily and Ricky who had never met a single person Sharon was involved with between Jack and Andy and therefore loved him almost instantly) and that instinctively made him extremely weary of Andy even though he knew him very well before they started to date. Despite Sharon never giving him cause to fear for his stability in the only real home he'd ever known it still worried him that he may be asked to leave one day because of Andy, not expecting to be abandoned at the zoo again but more along the lines of being encouraged to spread his wings and leave the nest earlier than he'd like before he started to outstay his welcome after getting in the way too much. All of that was nonsense of course but Rusty was in long term therapy with Dr Joe for legitimate reasons.

Then there were the little misunderstandings between them that didn't help matters. For example when Rusty brought Gus to the Murder Room that first time so that Sharon could break the bad news to him about Mariana's death, Andy told him that he'd done a 'Hell of a job' but the way that he said it to him made Rusty think that Andy was pissed at him for just dropping it on Sharon rather than giving her any kind of advanced warning (something that Judge Grove had encouraged him to stop doing and likewise he had told Sharon to 'let it be a surprise' if he identified her). In truth Andy's heart broke for not only Gus but also for Sharon in having to deliver that devastating news. At the time of the case and Slider's arrest it hit Andy hard and in the end he was the one that insisted they have a little memorial for her because he didn't like the idea of her being wrapped up and dumped in the 'Burrito Room' but of course Rusty didn't know that. He was around a lot of their investigations over the years but at that particular time in his life, when Mariana was murdered his focus was on Jack offering him a part time job as a way to poke him for information on Sharon's love life and the not so small fact that Sharon wanted to adopt him. All of that meaning he didn't show his usual levels of interest in the case they were working on except for the nature of it giving him pause for thought in terms of his adoption.

However all of the eye rolls, the smart remarks and put downs, the muttering under his breath and suspicious looks that headed his way didn't bother Andy in the slightest. Andy took everything that was thrown at him like it was water off a duck's back because he loved Sharon and that was that. As far as he was concerned and trying his hardest to see it from Rusty's point of view he knew that he was encroaching on Rusty's territory and he was fully prepared to wait him out which he'd done and was now reaping the benefits, living with them and having a very good relationship with Rusty on the whole.

Andy laughed, not believing he was having that particular conversation. "What's brought this on all of a sudden?" he asked.

"I don't know. I was just thinking about Chief Taylor's boys and how they must be feeling right now" she replied quietly, never going too long without thinking about Russell's family no matter how hard she tried. Andy kissed the top of her head as he held her even tighter, knowing that she still needed it. Eventually she looked up to meet his eye. "You know even when we're older and greyer…"

"And incontinent" he added.

"Absolutely" she agreed as they laughed. Once more she made sure that her eyes were locked on his as she spoke. "Even when we're older and greyer and a touch incontinent I'm still going to want you" she told him before she kissed him long and slow on the lips.

"Even with no teeth?" he asked when they broke apart.

"Especially with no teeth" she confirmed with a little chuckle before kissing him again.

"We'll get Rusty to put everything in the blender for us. If we're not gumming it we'll be drinking it through a straw" Andy stated nonchalantly and making her laugh.

"I'm still going to be chasing you around the bed when we're in our nineties."

"You think I'll need chasing then?" Andy asked.

"Why? Because you're so so easy or because you're likely to be attached to an oxygen tank and not running anywhere by then?"

"Both I guess."

She laughed. "Probably not" she agreed before she kissed him again. "And for the record since we're on this subject, when we're older, greyer and incontinent I'm still going to need you too" she added, her eyes locked on his until she closed them to kiss him. "It doesn't matter what I said to you in the past before we were together, I'm always going to need you Andy Flynn. Always" she confirmed, kissing him again. She'd said it to him before, the day he sold his house and then again a few days earlier as he consoled her in the living room but it was still worth repeating. It was true that she didn't need anyone in her life either at home or at work and she hadn't for a very long time. In truth she still didn't need anyone, but Andy wasn't just anyone any more. He was the love of her life and she most definitely needed him now, she needed him more than she ever felt possible.

Andy had nothing to say in response. He'd already made it clear many times just how much he loved her and how much he needed her in his life. His life had changed dramatically over the previous twelve months plus but she was now the reason he got out of bed every single morning and the fact that it was abundantly clear that she felt the same way about him made his heart feel like it was skipping a beat.

Silence fell between them again as Andy continued to stroke her back while his lips pressed to the top of her head and Sharon essentially clung to him, throwing her leg even further over his. "Rusty will never ever call me Dad" he said finally.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well for example, the other day at work when he thought Dr Joe was dead, he went straight to Provenza to talk to when he walked into the Murder Room rather than me that's why" he stated, thinking that Rusty saw Provenza more as a Father figure rather than him.

In truth it was Provenza who went to him rather than the other way around because he was used to dealing with Rusty in such situations and doing so before Andy had chance to move let alone register what he needed to do. With Sharon out of action until she was cleared by FID and Behaviour Sciences he was in temporary charge of the division and as such took it upon himself to do all he could for her during that difficult time even dealing with her son. Plus in the back of Provenza's mind he knew full well that Andy would be worried about Sharon like he was worried about her and again took it upon himself to spare Andy that conversation since he had enough on his plate already.

Not being there at the time because she was still talking to her old friends at FID (and rather frantically washing the blood from her forehead), Sharon had no idea what had happened when Rusty arrived at PAB but it was easy for her work out the reasons why it had been the case. "You can't read anything into that Andy. That was probably only because he's just used to having that kind of conversation with him rather than you" she reasoned, seeing nothing negative in Rusty's decision.

"I guess" Andy replied, still far from convinced not that it particularly bothered him.

"Plus at the time he was worried about you too, he told me, because you were there with me and in the line of fire when it happened."

Andy looked at her more than a little surprised, under the impression that Rusty's upset over Dr Joe and Sharon and even Taylor would be a big enough distraction so that he simply wouldn't give him a second thought. "What?" he asked, not hiding his surprise.

Sharon nodded at him with a smile, confirming what she'd just told him. It was true that when Rusty first walked into the Murder Room that day his attention was obviously on Dr Joe (who he thought was already dead) and to a slightly lesser extent on Taylor (although he was obviously very upset about his death too). But after he had spoken to Sharon alone in her office and she had explained that Joe was alive but it was a secret, he slowly began to see past his worry for Joe as it became clear to him why Provenza had said what he did to him and that his Mom really was struggling with what had happened, it slowly becoming clear the reason why too. It wasn't just that she had seen the carnage unfold before her very eyes, she was there in that courtroom, Andy was too, they were both there as Dwight went on his murderous rampage. They could have died. Both of them. He could have lost his Mom and his would be Step-Dad within seconds of each other without having the chance to say goodbye. Rusty couldn't even remember if he'd said goodbye to either of them that morning when they left for work. It was a thought that winded him as he asked if she was okay before hugging her and nearly squeezing the life out of her.

With Sharon seemingly okay (on the outside at least), Rusty turned and looked at Andy through the glass and asked her the same question about him, 'Is he okay?' Rusty had openly admitted that he had grown to like Andy as he took charge 'Flynn sitting' before and after his surgery. Forgetting how he felt about him, it was clear from how Sharon reacted to his brush with death that she really did love him and he was in his life to stay and as a result he realised he had to make more of an effort with him instantly and accepted him as a big part of his life from then on. But it was as he looked at Andy through the glass of Sharon's office and realised that he could have died a couple of hours earlier that it hit him that he actually now loved Andy. He did. He really did. Yes he annoyed him a lot of the time and he made fun of him and he certainly wasn't funny and he would shed in the bathtub and he ate the weirdest and the grossest food but he loved him. He _loved_ him. Without even realising it himself Andy was now the Dad he'd never had but always wanted and he did love him in his own way. It was a feeling he had never experienced before, least of all because it was for a man after he had experienced such a long and awful history with men. He turned back to Sharon to ask if Andy was okay too. Sharon had smiled at him, the only smile he would see on her face for close to a week and told him that he was fine, that they both were and it was then that Rusty said it 'Why is it only in the face of tragedy that you come to realise how much you love someone?' Rusty could have been saying it about Dr Joe or indeed Taylor but he was looking directly at Andy through the glass as he said it so Sharon knew, giving him a hug for a moment but opting not to make a big deal of Rusty's little heartfelt confession. It was on her mind to tell Andy when the opportunity presented itself and Andy's insecurities as far as Rusty was concerned was the perfect time.

"He told me in my office the other day" she started to explain. "He was naturally really upset about what had happened to Dr Joe and Chief Taylor too of course but after he took a moment to think about it he was just as equally freaked out that we both," she paused as she stroked his cheek, "and I do mean _both_ of us my darling boy, that we could both have been shot and killed ourselves." She met his eye again because she wanted him to listen to her and believe what she was saying not just to make him relax in regard to his constantly evolving and on the whole improving relationship with Rusty but because it was the truth. "He loves you Andy, even if he doesn't always know it, even if he doesn't always show it, so please don't think otherwise." Her point made she kissed him, Andy deepening it rather than saying anything in reply.

They settled down again after a moment with Sharon's head on his shoulder as a more than comfortable silence again settled between them. It was clear to Andy by the way her nails continued to rake up and down his chest that she still wasn't even remotely capable of sleep so he began to rack his brain for something to entertain her with. After a few minutes he smiled.

"Did you know..." he started to say before Sharon's laughter cut him off, this topic of discussion already making her smile and he had hardly said anything.

"Oh this should be good" she said as she got a little more comfortable so that she could see his face and give him her complete and undivided attention. "Go on" she encouraged once she was settled.

"Did you know that after a male honeybee climaxes, you know when he's getting his freak on with the Queen bee" he clarified, stopping to make sure she understood.

Sharon laughed. "I understand. What about it?"

"Well when the male honeybee climaxes during sex his testicles explode and his penis is ripped off" he stated matter-of-factly. Sharon instantly collapsed into a fit of laughter the likes of which he had never seen before and Sharon laughed a lot with him, making him laugh with her in the end. "What? That's true. It's a scientific and indisputable fact" he maintained.

"Oh I don't doubt it" Sharon replied as she continued to laugh.

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Because one of us needs to quickly find a pen and write this down. On Wednesday the 22nd of September 2016 at roughly," she paused to look at the time on the clock on her nightstand, "4:13am we have had the most bizarre conversation of them all" she declared as they laughed. "Thank you Andy, thank you" she told him before she gave him a long and lingering kiss on the lips. "Thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"For being you and for making me laugh more in the last fourteen months that we've been together than I have in my previous sixty years combined."

He smiled at her, as pleased as he was smug about it. "You're welcome" he said simply, his words punctuated by dropping his lips to hers. "It's a noise I will never ever grow tire of hearing."

"What?"

"The sound of your laughter" he told her with a kiss. "It's my new favourite drug of choice and one addiction I don't intend to give up in a hurry."

She smiled at him for a moment before softly making the plea "Please don't ever stop trying to make me laugh" and then pressed her lips to his.

"I don't intend to" he confirmed before he offered a plea himself. "Don't ever stop wanting me to make you laugh." It was definitely a request she intended to follow through on, if not for her than for him. Again a comfortable silence fell between them, not taking their eyes off the other until Andy suddenly said "It would be oh so worth it though."

"What would?"

"Having your junk explode after sex" he declared as if he had given it some serious thought over the years before he reached his conclusion. Naturally Sharon couldn't help but laugh, always amazed by some of the utter nonsense that fell from Andy's mouth while they were in bed, it a bonus of falling in love with him that she never anticipated. "Especially with you. It would be oh so worth it with you" he growled with a wink in what was quite possibly the most bizarre compliment ever bestowed upon the woman in his arms and he'd once told her she was as 'beautiful as chicken feet' in pigeon Italian.

"But a bit messy to clean up afterwards."

"I didn't say it didn't have a down side and quite a big one at that" he joked, Sharon laughing at him again. "But I assume I'd be passed out from the blood loss as well as the _unimaginable_ pain so cleaning up the mess would be the least of my concerns" he rightly pointed out as she continued to laugh. Andy waited for her to quieten down before he said once again "Did you know…" but had to pause again as Sharon laughed hysterically, bringing a massive smile to his face. "Did you know that chainsaws were originally invented as a medical implement for Doctors to use during childbirth?"

This time Sharon grimace as she laughed, drawing her knees together a little as she thought about the pain of giving birth naturally let alone with the use of a chainsaw to perform what she assumed was a fairly brutal and fatal C-Section. "I think I had a Doctor who took that route when I had Ricky" she joked. "Not that I really needed one or even a chainsaw for that matter by the time he took his first breath in this world. Ricky successfully managed to rip almost everything below my waist to shreds all on his own, he didn't need any help. It was nearly two weeks before I could sit down properly again or at least without cursing and wanting to cry" she stated very matter-of-factly. It was only when she finished her trip down a very painful memory lane that she looked up and saw the horrified grimace on Andy's face, the detail she'd gone into almost making his eyes water. She laughed at him. "What? You're the one that brought it up."

"I know and despite how shocked I am to be admitting this especially out loud and to you, but I have to admit that Jack was right, listening to your birth stories really is like picturing your favourite bar burning down" he said a little unwisely.

Sharon laughed as she smacked him across his chest. "Don't agree with him!" she cried as she smacked him again.

"Ow!" Andy whined as he rubbed his chest. "You're always beating me!"

"Well you deserve it."

"But it's true, even though I can confirm from personal experience and after having spent a hell of a lot of time enjoying the hospitality of that particular _bar_ over the last ten months," he grinned, Sharon laughing at him while slapping his chest again, "that the renovation work done on that favourite place of mine in the years afterward is so unbelievably good that you'd never know it completely burnt down to the ground twice in a relatively short period of time."

Sharon laughed again despite the fact that such a reaction was only going to encourage him. "I'm not sure if I should be taking that as a compliment or slapping you senseless right now."

He winked at her, pulling the sort of face that she wanted to slap ten years earlier but now quickly made heat pool at her core. "Oh it's definitely a compliment babe, believe me" he told her as she continued to laugh and shake her head. "It's definitely a compliment." He dropped his lips to hers before he had chance to talk his way into sleeping on the couch for the following week and then asked "When is Ricky next flying down here by the way?"

"I'm not sure, he hasn't said. Christmas if he can't get here any sooner I guess. Why?"

"So that I can beat the crap out of him for hurting my girl so badly" he said as seriously as he could but it still made Sharon laugh as she shook her head. "I assume they kept you in for a couple of days after you had him?" Andy asked. The topic of Ricky's birth had been up for discussion a few times between them, both of them liking to talk about their children being born so that obviously meant Andy was fully aware of what a let-down Jack was that day and how perilously close she came to giving birth in her car while stopping at a set of lights.

"You assume correctly but you know it was different back then. These days women seem to leave hospital ten minutes after giving birth" she observed.

Andy paused before he asked the next question on his mind, always wanting to know about the more difficult parts of her past so that he could make sure he was so much better than that, that he was the man she deserved after everything she'd been through over the years with Jack. "When He-Who-Cannot-Be-Named," he said, pausing slightly as Sharon laughed over Andy's continued reference to her ex-husband like he was Voldemort and saying his name out loud would result in him suddenly appearing, "eventually sobered up, how long did it take the asshole to come by and visit you both in the hospital?"

"It was the same day. He was there before the sun went down I'll give him that but I asked them not let him in to see me under any circumstances." Sharon sighed, still more than a little sad about the whole thing but she would always talk to Andy about it if he asked her a question. "With the surge in hormones I was already emotional enough without having to see him too. I'll be honest with you, I would have strangled him with the IV tubing if they'd let him in."

Andy laughed for a brief moment before he just stared at her in awe, Sharon raising her kids on her own when he struggled to do it with Sandra and he just didn't know how she did it. His hand continued to move up and down her back for a moment before he continued with what he knew was a difficult topic of conversation. "Can I ask you a personal question?" he said finally.

"Always."

"After he left you that final time, how many times did you, you know, almost take him back?" he asked and deliberately treading very careful like he was walking through a field of landmines.

"You want to know how big an idiot I was right?"

"No, not at all. I want to know just how big of an asshole he was to walk out on you after being so fortunate to be taken back again and again. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said quickly, "but you've mentioned him being there and the kids have said things and I..."

Sharon kissed him to silence him. She knew that it was just a genuine interest to know the exact path she had taken that had brought the current incarnation of Sharon Raydor into his life. He had told her all about his marriage over the previous couple of years, how it ended, when Sandra finally gave up on him (minus some details here and there about his drinking which he was still yet to sit down and tell her all about, still waiting for the right time so that he could tell her everything) and so was naturally curious to know more about the life that she shared with Emily and Ricky so that he could know them even better.

"Twice. Twice after he left and took everything" she said and making no attempt to hide the shame she felt in her voice. She sighed before she continued. "The first time I took him back it came with promises and dating and several bundles of twenty dollar bills that I knew he'd won gambling but at that time I took it for the kids because we needed it. That time he was back for a little under two months before he showed up in the middle of the night, drunk off his ass obviously and just as abusive and then vanished in a poof of smoke the next day. The second time was for less than an hour and ended with me pulling my gun on him to ensure he left and didn't come back. After that and a break of just over five years without us seeing or even hearing from him it was two nights on the couch for the sake of the kids but it was over between us."

If she was being honest with herself it was something she didn't want to admit to or even say out loud because she had slept with him on more than a few occasions since the first time she offered Jack her couch to sleep on in the old house for two nights at a time (not wanting him in one of the bedrooms and keeping him as close as possible to the front door) and then relenting and offering him the spare room at the condo before Rusty arrived. She didn't want Andy to know (although she suspected he already did) how weak and pathetic she was at that time, allowing someone who had betrayed her so badly back into her bed because she was embarrassed by it. When he was there it was easy and he was familiar and it was something she just couldn't stop herself from doing when she had an itch that needed scratching because he was fairly good at scratching it but moreover he was there and available. Jack could always be so charming when he put his mind to it which made it easier to fall into bed with him despite always instantly regretting it the moment they were done (and sometimes even before then) but she usually let him finish, not bothering to fake an orgasm if she came to her senses before he climaxed, always pushing him off her and escaping to the shower to remove all traces of him on her skin instantly. It was why he assumed a repeat performance was on the cards the last time he stayed there (and it now really was the last time following the divorce and getting involved with Andy), at first put off his stride a little by the presence of Rusty and then he slowly began to realise that Sharon had changed since the last time he had seen her. She was a lot more confident about herself and she knew what she wanted out of life and that was most definitely not him.

Of course Jack saw their whole relationship very differently, always thinking that they were a little like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, without a shadow of a doubt the loves of each other's lives and as equally unable to live with each other as they could without. However Sharon did not see it that way. She had been patient with him (far more patient than Sandra was with Andy at least), she gave him the time and the space to grow up a little for her and their children but he didn't. She half expected that he couldn't but that seemed to let him off the hook slightly for his behaviour. Far from being the love of her life she had fallen out of love with him the day that Ricky was born and his selfish and drunken behaviour meaning their son had nearly been born in her car. She tried afterwards to see if she could forgive him, to give him another chance and they battled on valiantly for another couple of years but he soon left, taking their money with him. After that she was no longer waiting for him to get his life together and come home to her for good and had taken off her wedding ring to prove it years before, his ring still on his finger right up until the divorce as he hoped she'd change her mind before it was too late.

Andy just nodded at her, offering no judgement at all. "I guess you think it was pretty foolish of me?" she asked, interpreting his silence as disapproval.

"Not at all. I think it was because, despite everything, you loved the guy and you wanted to believe him and believe that he could change for you" he told her simply before he kissed her on the lips. "You deserve so much better."

"And now I've got it" she replied with a smile and then kissed him back. "Thanks to you."

"I certainly hope so."

"Oh I know so, trust me, I know so" she confirmed emphatically and then once again sealed it with another kiss to his lips, Andy definitely an upgrade as far as she was concerned even though Jack had once accused her of 'trading down.'

"What did you do with Emily? After Ricky was born? I assume she didn't stay with you over night at the hospital?"

"Well thankfully I knew a nurse who worked there, I used to see her all the time during Mass at St Joseph's, and she kept her entertained for me for a couple of hours until Gavin came to collect her, so he had her overnight until I was sure Jack was capable of taking care of her again" she explained before she descended into a fit of giggles. "He had the worst timing too. He walked straight into my room while the Doctor was still inspecting my stitches" she told him as she continued to laugh, Andy quickly joining in with her. "You have never seen anyone go that white that quickly before. He made a noise like Minnie Mouse climaxing" she said, Andy barely hearing her through her laughter, making him laugh all the more especially because of the choice of expression she used, something he would never have imagined falling from her lips in the years before they became friends.

"What did he say?"

"Before or after he fainted?"

"He fainted?" Andy asked, not really sure himself why he was so surprised by that fact.

"He sure did" she confirmed as they continued to laugh. "He still refers to the whole saga as the 'Lady Garden Incident'" she added, the two of them laughing harder than they'd ever done before.

"Yeah well the guy is not exactly in the vagina business is he?"

"The vagina business?" Sharon laughed as she shook her head. "That is not a different career option aside from pet detective after retirement let me tell you now" she told him as they laughed again. "You're _much_ better off as a pet detective, believe me." He nodded in agreement as Sharon's mind went back to the moment Gavin's eyes rolled back in his head and he hit the floor with such force it felt like an earthquake. "When he finally regained consciousness and they'd ruled out a concussion and given him a couple of stitches to the back of his head he compared it to watching a horror film and he instantly became a vegetarian as a result."

Andy laughed as he kissed the top of her head. "The guy doesn't know what he's missing."

"Oh I think he does" Sharon laughed as Andy looked at her with curiosity, prompting her to elaborate further. "He's experimented once or twice with women in the past" she revealed.

Andy's eyebrows instantly flew upwards, looking more than surprised. "Really?"

"Oh yeah."

"Not with you I take it?" he asked, trying his best to hide any jealousy he might be feeling if that was the case.

"Would it matter if it was?"

"Yes! Of course it would matter!" Andy practically shouted as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever said. "It's bad enough I know Jack had his paws all over you once or twice let alone Gavin Baker."

Sharon couldn't help but laugh, as annoying as Andy's jealousy could be she also found it highly amusing because his concerns were so ridiculous. "But he's gay!"

"I don't care if he's gay" Andy replied, his voice taking on that really high quality again when he was extremely annoyed by something, getting more annoyed because he was greeted with laughter. "Look Sharon, a guy is a guy regardless of whether they're gay most of the time or not" he stated as she continued to laugh at him. "So? Was it?"

"Was it what?" she asked, deliberately playing dumb just to draw out his agony even more.

"Was it you?" he asked with renewed vigour. With Sharon deliberately playing dumb just to mess with him he sat up a little as he desperately searched for an answer. "Did you sleep with Gavin? Are you the mystery woman?"

Sharon laughed hysterically, this being the exact reaction she was expecting from him but for the sake of his blood pressure she knew she had to put him out of his misery. "Of course it wasn't me! I would never jeopardise a close friendship like that for some hugely enjoyable but ultimately meaningless sex." She smiled at him, her choice of words used just to tease him further.

Instead of taking the bait Andy just smiled back at her. "Why not? You did it with me" he rightly pointed out.

"Ah well that's the exception that proves the rule and anyway," she said before she took a big fistful of his t-shirt and pulled him down towards her to kiss her lips, "I was already head over heels in love with you when we first slept together so although it was hugely enjoyable, it definitely was not anything close to being meaningless sex and nothing more." As if to prove her point she kissed him again, swallowing his moans as her tongue scraped across the roof of his mouth. "So boy, I clearly wasn't jeopardising anything except perhaps my reputation at work with all of my former colleagues in Professional Standards" she laughed, laughing all the harder because of how pissed Andy looked as a result.

"Gee thanks" he grumbled. Sharon just laughed before she kissed him to let him know that she was only joking, something he already knew. "So who was it?" he asked as he lay back down and Sharon settled on his shoulder again.

Sharon sighed, already regretting bringing the subject up. "If I tell you you've got to swear to me that you'll never breathe a word of it to anyone, least of all to them. Okay? Understood?"

"Yes" Andy nodded.

"Promise me."

"I do, I promise."

Sharon sighed before she answered, it being clear she was having second thoughts about the whole thing but it was too late to turn back time. "It was Andrea."

"What?!" Andy cried at such volume that the word echoed around their bedroom. Andy sat up animatedly with it clearly being one of the best things he had ever heard in his life and as a result sending Sharon flying off his shoulder. "Andrea Hobbs?! Gavin and Andrea slept together?"

"Yes. Twice in fact. In the summer of 2002."

"Oh my God! And he survived it?"

Sharon immediately smacked him across his shoulder, not prepared to allow the name of one of her best friends to be dragged through the mud like that even if it was the love of her life. "Andy!" she shouted as she smacked him again.

"What? It's a reasonable question to ask" he replied as he rubbed his shoulder and laughed. "I always assumed she instantly killed after mating. Wrapping the poor dude up in a cocoon to eat at her leisure or something along those lines" he said unwisely and was instantly given another smack around his shoulder. "What?"

"And you wonder why I've never told you about this sooner."

Andy lay back down before he pulled Sharon back onto his shoulder, wrapping his arms around her. "I don't believe this" he said with his disbelief evident before he shuddered. "Well that's an image I'll never be able to get rid of."

"You didn't have to picture it" Sharon laughed.

"It's not like I've done it on purpose. It just popped in there from out of nowhere and now all I can think about is Andrea's tattoo."

"Andrea doesn't have a tattoo."

He grinned at her. "She does in my mind. She has my name in a little love heart" he said with a wink, sounding incredibly arrogant as he did it.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Of course she does because she's always been your number one fan" she pointed out.

"I wish I'd known this a year ago."

"Why?"

"Because it would have given me some ammunition and a little something to deflect the attention and knock them out of their strides while they were threatening my testicles if I ever even thought about making you cry" he stated, still annoyed by how close Andrea got to his 'boys' with her nail file as they took it in turns to threatened him about his behaviour, not that they needed to, he had no intention of ever doing anything to hurt her.

Sharon laughed as she watched his hand unconsciously move to cover his crotch. "Then you're very fortunate that they never came after you following your attempt to be an over the hill action hero aren't you?" she told him with a smile.

Andy looked at her shocked for a moment before he sat up to loom over her and look her in the eye as her head lay back on her pillow. "What?" he said like he'd just heard the most surprising thing in his life. "I made you cry when I fell from that car last year?" he asked with genuine surprise.

On the surface of it, it seemed like an utterly ridiculous question to ask, assuming that his girlfriend wouldn't be upset when his life literally hung in the balance but throughout the whole experience Sharon had successfully been able to get her emotions in check around him because she simply didn't want to add him worrying about her and how upset she was on top of everything else going on. Aside from when she initially visited him in hospital when he collapsed in the bathroom, she only truly let her emotions out when she was at home, hardly sleeping and on the night before his surgery going and sitting on Rusty's bed as she held one of Andy's shirts in her lap and inhaled his distinctive scent that still clung to it. Rusty found her when he went to the bathroom, opting to sleep on the couch rather than in his own bed because it was currently Andy's and he wanted it waiting for him when he was finally released from hospital. She had obvious tears in her eyes and he tried as best he could to comfort her like Provenza tried the following day as he held her hand while he was in surgery but that was it. Everything else she kept to herself and was only released when she was alone in her bedroom with the door closed and Rusty fast asleep.

"When you collapsed several times and had to have lifesaving surgery? What do you think?" she asked rhetorically. Andy looked at her a little lost for words for a moment since she had hidden her torment and upset from him at the time so well. He knew she was worried about him obviously but not to that extent, the smiles and laughs and the 'Andy, I'll wait for you' as he was wheeled away for surgery fooling him completely. "Yes," Sharon said with a little sigh as she slowly stroked his cheek, "oddly enough I did shed a tear or two over you last year when I thought you could be snatched from me before we'd even got started."

Again Andy just stared intently into her eyes, never wanting to put her through something like that again. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to his chest, kissing her long and slow on the lips as his eyes slipped closed. "I love you you know" he told her when they pulled apart.

"I do" she replied with a kiss. "I most definitely do know that" she told him before she kissed him once again, it lingering a little longer.

"I mean how did that even happen?" Andy cried after a moment.

Sharon immediately frowned, jumping to the wrong conclusion for once. "What? You falling in love with me?" she asked dryly and preparing to attack his knees in retaliation if he was to answer in the affirmative shortly.

"No. Andrea and Gavin sleeping together."

Sharon laughed as she quickly realised that Andy wasn't going to drop that particular topic of conversation for a _very_ long time to come. "I'm not entirely sure if I'm honest with you but I imagine vast quantities of wine were involved somewhere along the road" she told him with it being a conversation she wasn't so keen on having with either of them in case she was told certain intimate details that she desperately didn't want to know about two of her closest friends.

"You've not asked them what happened?"

"Of course I haven't asked them!"

"Well don't come to me with half a story Raydor!" Andy cried rather animatedly and more than a little frustrated at the lack of information heading his way. "I need details here! Details!"

Sharon laughed at him. "I'm so sorry. I should have thought to myself roughly fourteen years ago 'You know what? Just on the off chance I happen to lose my mind one day and start dating Lieutenant Smug Hot Pants himself, I should find out exactly what events led to two of my friends sleeping together. In fact I should get a full transcript and possibly even some sort of drawing done by a sketch artist'" she told him dryly.

"Thank you" he replied enthusiastically as if Sharon had just agreed to record the whole encounter in the event of a repeat performance which inevitably made her laugh at him. "Keep that in mind from now on please in case it happens again." Silence fell again but the way that the smile on Andy's face seemed to grow by the second meant that she already knew what was coming and she had no way to stop it. "'Lieutenant Smug Hot Pants'? I always knew you'd ogled me for years Raydor. I knew it" he said as he lay back down, drawing Sharon back onto his shoulder

Sharon laughed with a roll of her eyes, accepting that she had walked right into that one. "No I didn't" she insisted and trying to her hardest to stop being drawn into yet another argument about it even more so because Andy was right and she had frequently looked him up and down during the years between their first meeting and going to Nicole's wedding with him.

"Yes you did. I know these things" he insisted, sounding as smug as he did arrogant.

"No you think you know these things but in reality what you really know, you could write on a grain of sand" she told him with a pinch of his knees as he laughed. "She did tell me one thing but…" She paused before she shook her head, having second thoughts about telling him anymore. "No never mind."

"Oh come on! You can't leave me hanging like this! What were you going to say?"

She sighed as she put a hand on his cheek to make him look her in the eye. "If I tell you you have to promise that you will never breathe a word of it. Okay?" she said, it a demand more than a request.

"Okay. I promise."

Sharon sighed again. "Andrea may have let it slip after a bottle of wine or two that Gavin..." she said until she paused, having more then second thoughts about it before finally opting to just spit it out. "That Gavin might have three testicles."

"What?!" Andy cried again as he laughed himself silly, easily making Sharon join in with him.

"Andrea said it was one of the weirdest things she'd ever seen in her life" she added as they continued to laugh. "In fact she said it was 'utterly disgusting' and it turned her celibate for six months." They laughed again, Sharon even more so as she recalled the way that Andrea told her all about it over a bottle of wine, comparing his undercarriage to a snake with three pool balls wedged in its mouth.

"What...how...like three together in a row?" he asked, struggling to picture it in his mind.

"No Andy. He has two where they belong and another hanging behind his right knee" she told him sarcastically as she rolled her eyes since it was one of the stupider questions he had asked her during their relationship. "Of course they're in a row!"

"Hey it's not such a dumb question."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, I meant were they in a row or in a sort of clump?"

"She never went into that much detail for obvious reasons" Sharon replied with a slight shudder at the memory of it all. At the time when Andrea told her all about it she was both intrigued and horrified by the rather unexpected topic of conversation between them as she drank more wine than usual to get over the trauma of it all.

Andy was silent for a moment before he simply said "Wow!"

"Yes I know. There's a man out there who probably has sperm more super than you do" she joked and laughing all the harder for the way that he glared at her, Sharon always in trouble for bringing his so called 'Super' sperm into disrepute.

"My super sperm are not to be mocked" he told her grumpily.

"Okay" she laughed in reply.

"I'm being deadly serious here Raydor. You're taking a terrible risk every time you take advantage of me without protection."

Sharon grinned, already having the perfect response. "Well there's an easy way to solve that" she replied extremely casually as her eyes sparkled at him, the mischief on her face evident.

"I hope you're talking about birth control" he replied instantly as his voice took on a very high register again as if he had just taken a kneecap to his crotch.

"Of course not" she assured him. "Surely no birth control can suppress your potency, even using more than one method at a time" she suggested, her laughter following immediately afterwards as she pressed her face into his chest, her body shaking like a paint mixer.

For a brief moment Andy had to bite on the inside of his cheek so that he didn't laugh with her, trying his hardest to seem annoyed and offended by the jibe. "Are you mocking me?" he asked finally when her laughter had reduced to something more like an amused titter.

"Not at all," Sharon insisted, an amused lilt still in her voice, "just stating that if it's such a risk then at our stage of life our only recourse is complete abstinence." She let that thought linger in the air for a moment as she tried not to laugh at his rather horrified face. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that I won't miss not just the sex and that release but also having that connection with you but if needs must, cold showers and lots of hand holding it is" she stated like the deal was done and his crotch was never going anywhere near her ever again. She smiled up at him, having realised many months earlier that the only way to stop him from bring up how potent he thought he was (especially since he had zero evidence to back it up) was to threaten him with never having sex again, at least not with her.

"Yeah right" Andy laughed as a smug smile of his own settled on his features. "There's not enough money in the world to pay you to leave me alone Raydor."

Sharon shrugged. "Whatever makes you sleep better at night boy."

Fairly confident that she was only joking (although he certainly wasn't going to push her on it and therefore that meant the subject wouldn't be raised again for a couple of months at least) Andy laughed again, his mind drifting slightly to an alternative universe he knew would make her smile. "Can you imagine the look on Rusty's face if he was told he was getting another baby sibling?" he said with Sharon instantly laughing as much as he was about the idea.

"Well all you'll be able to do is imagine it because if by some freak of nature it were to happen, you'd be swiftly murdered and I'd be trying to poke pieces of your body down the garbage disposal" she warned him, long since passed the menopause meaning that if it were to happen Andy wouldn't live long enough to know about it.

"There is no doubt we'd have made one good looking kid though babe had this started thirty years ago" he commented and not for the first time making it clear that he wished they'd have found each other a hell of a lot earlier than they did, not that Sharon felt any differently but rather preferred to focus on their future rather than the past they didn't have as a couple.

"Admittedly but if it was born with a head as big as yours," she said as she pinched his chin with a little smirk, "I'd have been unable to sit again until we were waving them off to college so you _still_ wouldn't be having sex, well with me at any rate, for a very long time."

Andy laughed for a second before he pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closing as they just shared the same air for a moment. "And who would I be having it with instead?"

"I wouldn't want to speculate" she replied with a little shrug.

"Only you sweetheart" she said softly before he covered her lips with his. "Only you" he said again with another kiss thrown in just to confirm it.

She smiled up at him as his forehead rested on the top of her head again, his eyes slipping closed for a moment. She pushed her lips to his chest and let out a contented sigh, her own eyes closing for a moment as she just lay in his arms, feeling as comfortable and as at peace with her little corner of the word as she had done for days. Although she didn't really need them she still appreciated Andy's little declarations of fidelity when he frequently offered them to her, him repeating them because he wanted to make sure that she knew she could trust him. He didn't need to, she knew she could, knew everything he said to be true and that he really did only have eyes for her, that she could and did trust him implicitly when it came to his fidelity (it more of a moot point these days because of his age but at the same time it was hard to teach old dogs new tricks and he certainly had a history of cheating since his divorce was finalised), relaxing about it in a way which surprised a lot of people who had seen him in action, people who didn't know him like she did.

Suddenly Andy's head snapped up as he started to laugh. "Oh my God" he managed to get out as he continued to laugh, his laughter causing Sharon's even though she had no idea what they were actually laughing about. "Can you imagine what would have happened if Andrea had got pregnant from one of their trysts?"

"Trysts?"

"Oh yeah, this is definitely a 'tryst' type of scenario here" he confirmed, with two friends (one of them gay) sleeping together not falling under the heading of an 'affair' so it had to be a tryst. "Although to be fair it would probably be the other way around and she'd implant eggs in him that would burst..." Before he could finish his thought he received an inevitable slap across the side of his head. "Ow!" he cried as he rubbed it. "What was that for?"

"You know what that was for."

"That hurt."

"Well you deserve it. Stop making fun of my friends!" she told him with another firm tug on his chest hair.

"Oh because you _never_ make fun of my friends" he laughed. She wanted to deny it but he did have a point, Sharon reluctantly acknowledging that she did make just as much fun of Provenza and their relationship, frequently calling him his 'boyfriend' when she could get away with it outside of work. "The love child of Andrea Hobbs and Gavin Baker" Andy pondered once again. "Jeez! That would be a kid in a hell of a lot of therapy. But incredibly well dressed too."

"Please don't say anything to them about it, especially Andrea" she pleaded. What followed was inevitable, Andy smiling at her in such a way that she regretted saying anything to him about it at all. "Andy, I mean it, don't."

"Of course I won't. I treasure my balls too much to say anything to them. They may attack."

"Exactly. Think of the health of your nether regions if you won't do it for me. Think about their continued protection" she advised him, fully prepared to give them a quick kick of her own if he dared even hint that he knew the truth to either of them.

Andy grinned as he nodded, another thought hitting him. "Did you know..."

"Oh God!" Sharon laughed, wondering what random piece of nonsense was going to fall from his lips next.

"Did you know that hippos can retract their testicles to a foot inside their bodies to protect them from rivals?" he stated as if he'd told her nothing more unusual than 'the sky is blue.' Once again Sharon laughed, her face pressed into his neck. "What?"

"And you tried to do the same thing to protect you from Gavin and Andrea I take it?" she asked as she looked for the common thread in their current conversation.

"No" he said as innocently as he could which meant that she missed the sly look he was giving her from the corner of his eye, knowing full well that he was setting himself up to be attacked again but simply couldn't help himself. "They used to do that of their own accord some five years ago plus whenever I heard your voice coming towards…" He didn't get any further before Sharon viscously pinched the back of his knee in retaliation, not caring in the slightest that he was joking. "Ow!"

"Well once again let me say, you deserve it" she told him, Andy laughing in reply as he kissed the top of her head. "Andy why exactly do you know so many random facts about the genitalia of various animals?" she asked finally, that a sentence she never expected to utter but then again she never expected to be lying in bed with Andy Flynn while he told her about bees exploding after sex, her life changing for so much the better by offering to go to Nicole's wedding with him.

Andy shrugged in reply. "I don't know. I just find it interesting."

Sharon laughed, that a response she expected from the often goofy love of her life. However her laughter didn't last long as her face slowly contorted into a grimace and her mind went back to the secret she had foolishly shared with him about Andrea and Gavin. "Please don't tell them you know" she pleaded once again, pushing her lips to his chin.

"I won't, I won't. I promise" he assured her but with the wicked smile on his face telling a completely different story, a smile she knew all too well, a smile that meant he was not to be trusted.

"Andy!" she said as a warning, not needing anything else to put her point across.

"What? Why would it really matter if I did anyway?" he asked. Sharon went to reply, went to tell him that of course it would matter because she had been sworn to secrecy but before she could he spoke again and diverted her focus. "Like you haven't told them overly personal stuff about me in the last twelve months."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I dread to think what the three of you talk about late at night around a bottle of wine or five" he told her and sounding far more grumpy about it than he actually was.

"What? That has never happened" Sharon protested.

"Oh yes it has."

"Name one time."

"Okay if you want specifics, how about the day after your birthday this year. I went over to Provenza's for a couple of hours so that the three of you could have your little birthday get together without me intruding on your nail painting and your drinking games," he joked and was met with inevitable laughter once again, "and when I came home you were all sitting round the table, drunker than I'd ever seen any of you and cackling like those three witches in Shakespeare's whatever it was."

"We weren't talking about you" Sharon insisted as she laughed.

"Then why did the room suddenly fall silent the moment I walked in? Huh? Answer me that" he said as he cupped his free hand to his ear so that he didn't miss a word. Looking just like a goldfish Sharon's mouth opened and closed repeated as she struggled to come up with a reason as to why they stopped talking the moment he walked through the front door since they had indeed been talking about him and his particular skill set with his hands after the wine had for once loosened her lips. "Come on! I'm all ears."

"Well they're my friends" she said to justify her behaviour. "It's only natural that I talk about what's going on in my life with them, and what's going on in my life is you."

"Right and so it's only natural that you'd tell your boyfriend about what's going on in your friend's lives too."

"Yeah I don't think they'd see it like that."

"So what have you told them about me?" he asked, suddenly sounding concerned.

"Oh you know, just this and that" Sharon replied with a shrug and deliberately teasing him.

"No I don't know. That's why I'm asking and I'm currently so utterly terrified."

Sharon laughed again as her hand started moving up and down his chest once more, hoping that the sensation would distract him or at least placate him. "You've got nothing to worry about I promise. I've only ever told them good things and they're both suitable impressed with what they've learned."

"Oh yeah? Such as?"

"Such as after I've had two or three large glasses of wine I may have let slip just how good you are at certain things" she told him in a sultry whisper while her lips pressing to his neck punctuated every word and her hand slipped into the waistband of his boxers to tease him a little.

Refusing to be distracted by such blatant manipulation tactics and not wanting her to think he could be so easy bribed with sex (even though he could and frequently had been), he frowned at her like he was actually rather annoyed and gave her pause for thought. Her worry, as it turned out, was short lived, the twinkle in his eyes letting her know that he didn't really care all that much as long as she only told them good things. "You'd better be talking about my cooking skills" he grumbled.

"What does it matter if I'm not? Does it not enhance your reputation?

"They're spreading it around?!"

Sharon shrugged far too casually for Andy's liking, almost flippant about the whole thing. "I've really no idea" she told him and sounding all innocence and light to the point where he actually started to worry. Andy's jaw immediately dropped open with a genuine sense of horror. Although he didn't want to encourage it he had no issues with Sharon telling Andrea and Gavin anything overly personal about him, seeing it as perfectly natural to talk to two of her closet friends about the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with but the idea that they could be spreading it around was truly horrifying. "Oh Andy!" she laughed before she planted a kiss to his worried face. "How well do you know me? Do you really think it's likely that I've been discussing our sex life with people? Even with people I love? Really?"

It was a lie but she sold it well enough to fool him or at least to stop him from fretting about it. Sharon hadn't gone into great detail despite the ever constant demands for information coming her way from Andrea and Gavin because that just wasn't her, it wasn't her style, Sharon always a very private person. That didn't mean to say that the odd story didn't escape her lips, it was only natural and since they started dating she was so obscenely happy she wanted to talk to her friends about her life. It took nearly a bottle of red wine to loosen her lips but when it did she told Andrea and Gavin all about the events of that first night with him. They both knew that something had gone on, Andrea seeing Andy's black eye the next morning and had tried to get some details from her in her office but to no avail and that was without the added spring in her step and the ever present smile on her face giving the game away completely. When they finally got something out of her (sitting across from her at the dining table like they were in an Interview Room at PAB, ensuring her glass never got too empty) they were not disappointed. She bragged a little, well she bragged as much as Sharon Raydor was capable of bragging about the more intimate parts of her life, because not only was Andy Flynn ridiculously good in that department and they were at it like rabbits in those weeks around Christmas but also because it had gone so unbelievably well for a first time with someone new. However the real reason that she told them that their relationship had progressed was because she had come to realise that Andy was indeed the love of her life and he'd written her a letter saying he felt the exact same way about her which meant she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. She had found who she was going to spend the rest of her life with and she just wanted to tell someone about it even though Andrea and Gavin weren't all that interested in that part despite being pleased for her, only interested in sex stories and none were really that forthcoming no matter how much they begged her for all the gory details.

"That's true," Andy acknowledged, "you can barely talk about it with me." Once again she took a quick swipe at the back of his head, disagreeing with the insinuation. "What are you smacking me for this time? It's true!"

"No it isn't."

"Oh yes it is! I'm not talking about some of the filth you come out with in the middle of things when your eyes darken and words tumble from your lips that would make even the crudest of sailors blush" he clarified, the love of his life most certainly not backward in coming forward when it came to sex, knowing what she wanted and getting it too. As if one cue Sharon laughed instantly as she hid her face into his chest from the embarrassment since she knew it all to be true. "Or when Darth Raydor suddenly puts in a rather dramatic but certainly very welcome appearance in the bedroom and she basically orders me to go 'Harder!' or 'Faster' or 'A little to the right!' in a tone which means I'd be foolish to ignore her even though, I'll be honest, it kind of feels like I'm in the midst of a threesome as a result" he joked. "Thankfully I'm more than used to taking orders from her at work" he went on as he kissed the top of her head. "I'm talking about in a quiet moment when nothing is going on and we're just relaxing and you tell me 'You know I really liked it last night when...' before your words trail off and you start making high pitch squeaking noises that only dogs can hear as you hide your face in my shirtfront and your cheeks turn bright red" he pointed out with great humour. Once again Sharon had no answer other than to laugh as her cheeks blushed and thus proved his point, everything he'd said one hundred percent accurate even though she was embarrassed to admit it. "That's what I'm talking about. I always know I've done something right although I've absolutely no idea what it is."

"I'm not that bad" Sharon insisted.

"Oh yes you are and you know it" he grinned as his free hand moved to her leg that was comfortably thrown over his, his fingers dancing up and down her thigh. "Case in point, that first night we spent together, you woke me up early the next morning by repeatedly poking me in the face because there was something you, and I quote, 'badly needed' me awake for," he reminded her, the memories of that encounter causing her to blush again as she laughed, "and yet a few hours later we were in the kitchen getting ready to leave for work and you said to me something along the lines of 'Now I know what talents you have' without being able to elaborate any further before you hid your face in my chest again and then fled to the bedroom to get your cell phone to call Provenza and lie to him about why we were going to be late. Remember?"

Sharon shyly sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, a move that let Andy know that she was a little embarrassed while at the same time usually making all the blood in his body quickly rush south of the border. "Vaguely" she finally replied with a little shrug.

"Vaguely?" he laughed, the look on her face telling him all he needed to know. "Yeah right. So you admit I'm right about this?"

"No I don't, not at all" Sharon insisted and not just because she hated it when he proved her wrong (mainly because on the rare occasions when it did happen he usually wouldn't stop gloating about it for several weeks). "Look it's not that I'm...it's just...I don't know" she said with a sigh. "I guess away from the heat of the moment I just get a little..."

"Embarrassed?"

"I was going to say tongue tied because that sounds less ridiculous than admitting I actually feel embarrassed by mere words in the aftermath…when I've just…you know" she said and once again being unable to finish the sentence and proving his point further.

"Screamed your orgasm loud enough that Mrs Rose has called a condo board meeting to complain about you?" he suggested playfully and finishing her sentence for her with a rather smug smile, always rather pleased with himself when Rusty was out and he managed to get her to truly cry out her release. It annoyed her when Andy was right and she simply couldn't deny it but she still opted to give him a quick swipe around the side of his head. She practically buried her face into his chest again as he laughed and kissed her hairline. "I don't think it's ridiculous at all" he told her very softly. When that failed to get a reaction from her he moved his hand to her chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "Okay look, I know you're not a prude babe, not by _any_ stretch of the imagination" he assured her just in case she was at all worried about how he saw her given that he knew Jack had used her shyness as a weapon to justify his behaviour at times. "And when it comes to sex I don't think I've ever communicated better with someone in my life," he stated and genuinely meaning it, "so I think the way you get a little embarrassed with me in the aftermath is one of the most wonderful things about you and what makes you the person you are, the person I love and I most certainly wouldn't have you any other way."

He smiled at her with another little shrug, more than satisfied with the state of their sex life as it was, even more so because of the way that Sharon could become embarrassed with him in the aftermath. Sharon moved off his shoulder and propped herself up on her elbow, tracing his lips with her index finger for a moment before she practically devoured them, her tongue running across his teeth in a way that made him moan into his mouth and his hand moved to bury into her hair. When the need for air forced them apart he just smiled up at her, not having any complaints with his life with her and had no qualms about telling her as such as often as he could. Sharon lay down again, virtually lying on top of him with her chin resting on his chest. A companionable silence settled again as his hand continued to run through her hair and she just stared lovingly at him.

"Jack thought I was a prude" she said with another sigh after a few moments of silence, secretly worrying that Andy thought the same thing especially since she had forced him to wait so long before they moved their relationship forward.

Sharon hadn't honestly believed it at the time because she knew Jack well enough to realise that he was using it just as a way to hurt her, twisting the knife in her heart and to justify the way that he would repeatedly cheat on her with anyone who had a pulse. Despite knowing that and shrugging it off it still had an effect on her, the more that he said it, the more she slowly started to believe it. Part of the blame for the way she was, private and reserved when it came to discussing her sex life was because of her upbringing. She came from a very traditional Catholic family with a Grandmother who thought a penis was how the devil got inside you. Sharon (and her Mother) grew up being repeatedly told that sex was something a woman had to endure for the sake of your husband and if you wanted children but they most certainly were not going to enjoy it, making it a minor miracle that Sharon had ever been conceived with those words ringing in her Mother's ears from a very early age. For a long time Sharon believed her too, contemplating becoming a Nun as a very young girl when her friends wanted to grow up to be princesses or unicorn breeders. Omar Sharif in _Funny Girl_ first made her think that perhaps her Grandmother was wrong, then she went off to college and after her first orgasm she began to feel very sorry for her Grandfather. With that in mind and with her spending so many years as a child being told that 'sex is between you and the person doing it to you' (assuming that her Grandmother would lie perfectly still and silently pray until it was all over) that it was hardly all that surprising that as an adult it was something that she simply didn't talk about openly. In the early days with Jack she was more open but as their marriage fell apart that all came to end, not wanting to talk to him at all let alone about sex. After that she still kept everything to herself, not wanting anyone to know that she'd invited Jack back into her bed as she already knew how stupid she was without having the likes of Gavin and Andrea say it too. Likewise any dalliances between Jack and Andy weren't up for discussion, uncomfortable admitting that she had broken her marriage vows even though she had been abandoned by her husband, plus who in their right mind would honestly want to brag about sharing a bed with a man who neighed like a horse as he climaxed? (Though Sharon did eventually end up telling Gavin about it after half a bottle of wine since he had set them up to begin with and couldn't understand why she didn't want to see him anymore, lying to him when he said 'Please tell me you at least got a semi decent orgasm out of it,' the headboard barely moving let alone the earth) It was just something she had never openly spoken about to anyone and just like how living with someone other than he children again was going to be an adjustment to her, that was too but luckily for her the love of her life had turned out to be the most loving and patient man she had ever met in her entire life.

"Well Jack was and still is a gigantic asshole" he stated which earnt him a small chuckle and a gentle but lingering kiss to his lips. "The woman I know is definitely not a prude," he said as his hand continued to run through her hair lovingly, "not in any way shape or form. She just on occasions struggles to pay a compliment or to request something specific she might like...and I'm not talking about orgasms here by the way. She has no problem demanding those and writing them into the conditions for allowing her boy toy to move in with her." Sharon laughed again, her face momentarily being hidden in his chest out of sheer embarrassment since once again it was all true, she knew what she wanted and she got it, even if she had a rather shy and quiet way of asking for it. "But when it comes to requesting something specific she might like later at nine thirty in the morning in her kitchen, naturally she gets a little tongue tied" he said and not seeing it as a big deal in the slightest since they still managed to communicate extremely well with each other on the subject, if anything finding it all the more charming and only made him love her more.

"How do you know me so well?" she asked. It felt like a cliché, like something you'd hear in an awful Hallmark movie during the holidays when a department store Santa would finally realise that his best friend, a perky blonde who woke up every morning with perfect hair and makeup and cooked elaborate breakfasts that people would leave as they rushed to work, was the person he was meant to be with but it was true. Sometimes it really did feel like Andy knew her better than she knew herself, loving all of her little quirks because they made her the person he fell in love with.

"Because I'm lucky enough to have your trust," he said before she covered his mouth with hers and then he added, "and your heart."

"I think I'm definitely the lucky one" she insisted, kissing his chest and taking a big deep breath of him. "Which is why I may, and I don't want to by the way," she said with her hand across her heart like she had been water boarded, "but I think I may have to…show Gavin and Andrea that calendar." She grimaced as she expected Andy to complain quite loudly about it but instead he just rolled his eyes, already resigned to the fact that they were going to see it and he had no choice in the matter. "So that I can brag about how beautiful my boy is" she added, meeting his lips as her hand snaked back under his t-shirt again, her nails scraping down his chest and making him grunt a little.

"Was" Andy said when they broke apart, seeing himself as anything but beautiful when he looked in the mirror.

"Was and still is" she stated categorically, kissing him again as if to prove her point. Yes she wore a pair of rose tinted glasses when she looked at him just like the rest of the world did when they looked at their own partners but that didn't make it any less true. Both of them were far from being in the prime of their lives physically but those sort of insecurities all melted away when they saw themselves through the eyes of the other. Sharon was truly terrified the first time she was naked in front of him, the main reason why she elected to just strip and get it over and done with because not only was she in her sixties but Andy was used to dating women less than half her age. However the way that Andy looked at her, the way he worshipped her in mind, body and soul with every fibre of his being made her feel like she was in her twenties again. Andy was the exact same way, getting a little ego boost every time she called him her 'beautiful boy' or variations on that which made him feel like a kid again…while still sucking in his stomach though admittedly. More than once he had sung to her _You Make Me Feel So Young_ as they danced in the living room while Rusty was out for the evening, the lyrics _'You make me feel so young, you make me feel there are songs to be sung, bells to be rung and a wonderful spring to be sprung and even when I'm old and grey I'm gonna feel the way I do, today 'cause you make me feel so young'_ being as close to the mark as they could possibly get making it seem like they had been written just for him to sing to her in that moment.

"So I can show them?" she asked him with it not sounding like a question, but rather a statement of intent and he was going to have very little choice in the matter. "Okay?"

"You're saying that like I have a choice. Do I?"

"Not really no" she answered honestly, laughing at his extremely unimpressed frown before she kissed his lips a couple of times as if that would make up for it and reluctantly get his permission. She had spent decades listening to stories from Gavin about his latest conquest and seeing photos of the man in question on his phone, usually dressed in next to nothing with muscles quivering and flexing, so she was naturally looking forward to casually letting it slip into general conversation that her Andy, her beautiful boy was once a former LAPD pin up before showing him the evidence and watching his eyes pop out of his head. If Andy was being honest with himself, although he didn't particularly like it he didn't expect anything less once Sharon had seen that calendar but that didn't mean he was going to encourage it.

Slightly concerned that by showing Andrea and Gavin that photo and them having plenty to say about it to him it would sadly lead Andy to accidentally on purpose revealing that he knew about their experimental romps, she sought once again to get him to swear not to tell anyone about it. "Andy _please_ don't say anything to them about sleeping together. Gavin won't care one way or another but Andrea will" she told him, Andrea mortified about the whole experience because it was so awkward after that first time and yet it didn't stop her from doing it again. Andy just scoffed at her, teasing her as much as he dared with no real intention of mentioning to anyone (even though Provenza would be very interested) simply because he would never betray Sharon's trust like that. "She has feelings you know."

Andy scoffed again as he tried his hardest not to laugh. "If a snake bites Andrea Hobbs, the snake dies" he replied quickly.

The result was immediate and not entirely unexpected, Sharon pinching the backs of his knees and making him squirm beneath her. "Stop making fun of my friends!"

"Why? You make fun of mine" he said again.

"No I don't!"

"Actually I guess that's true." He rolled his eyes as he thought about it for a moment, the way that Provenza seemed to charm his way into the hearts of most people. "Whether it's you or Chief Johnson, _everyone_ has a soft spot for Provenza no matter what the guy does, like he exudes this irresistible charm that makes everyone love him and usually marry him meanwhile it's muggings here," he said as he jabbed himself in the chest, "who takes all the shit."

Sharon laughed at him. "Oh my poor Andy Pandy" she cooed as she stroked his cheek and then pushed her lips against his. "Always in the dog house with everyone and it's never ever his fault."

"It's not! It's always Pro..."

"Oh please my darling, let's not have this debate again" she said before his protest turned into a full blown rant about how he was always the innocent party and yet Provenza found a way for him to take all the blame. "You're both as bad as each other, end of discussion."

Andy didn't respond other than to grunt as Sharon dropped down next to him again, her head on his shoulder and her leg slung over his while her fingernails continued to rake up and down his chest very slowly. "I still can't believe she didn't eat him afterwards" Andy said of Andrea after a few more moments of silence, unable to stop thinking about it. "I would have put money on her swallowing him whole and maybe picking her teeth with one of his bones" he suggested. "A finger maybe before turning his other hand into a back scratcher or his skull into an ashtray."

Sharon was desperate to laugh at him but managed to hold off, not wanting to encourage him as she took a deep breath to compose herself. "I'm sure many people said the exact same thing about me and you" she speculated and expected some smart remark to fall from Andy's mouth shortly. It was only when Andy surprisingly remained silent that she looked up at him, a frown occupying his features and unsure as to why she would think that anyone would say something like that about her, about the woman he'd got to know better than anyone else over the previous five years that he'd been directly under her command.

"Why would they?"

"Andy this can't come as a surprise to you surely" she said as she settled back down again. "You don't need to pretend, I heard all the rumours when Jack moved to Vegas, about how I'd ripped off his balls before I swallowed him whole."

"I wish you had."

Sharon chuckled at him before admitting "Not as much as I do" and making him laugh with her. "But I'm pretty sure lots of people were very surprised to see you walking around and seemingly unharmed after we first slept together."

"Are you forgetting about my black eye, ringing ear and incredibly bruised balls?"

"No but I wish you would."

Andy laughed, him forever teasing her about the way she beat him during their first night together and not likely to stop anytime soon either. "But more to the point babe how would anyone know that was the first time we slept together?" he asked.

Sharon shrugged nonchalantly. "Word of mouth maybe" she suggested. Andy remained silent in response which once again caused her to look up at him. He stared back at her absolutely baffled with no idea how people would know what had happened that night with the obvious exception of Rusty but he wasn't likely to open his mouth about Andy staying the night for the first time to anyone other than Emily and Ricky. He would only have told them to share his horror about finding Andy in the kitchen in the dead of night in his underwear too so it wasn't like many people knew. Sharon looked back at him equally baffled but this time by his surprise at her assumption. "Andy are you seriously telling me that you _didn't_ fill Lieutenant Provenza in on what happened that night?" she asked.

Andy shook his head simply. "No."

Sharon sat up a little again to look him in the eye. "Seriously? No water cooler bragging about it?" she asked, always assuming that he told Provenza about it as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Andy shrugged again. "No. Not with you." Sharon looked at him frankly stunned by what she was hearing. She knew he wasn't going to shout it from the rooftops because firstly he loved her and he obviously respected her and therefore he knew she was such a private person and almost shy when it came to her personal life and her relationship with him, not seeing it as anyone else's business but their own. But moreover he just wasn't that kind of guy anymore. Ten years ago maybe he might have run his mouth off when he had sex with anyone who would let him and Provenza pretty much did likewise but not the man she had invited into her bed that night, the man she loved (Provenza turning the same way when he met Patrice to the extent that Andy didn't even know they were dating until she walked into the Murder Room with her suitcase). However not telling his best friend about what had happened that evening and how their relationship had _finally_ progressed was nonetheless very surprising to her.

"I'm not saying he wasn't able to work it out for himself, he is a Detective you know" he told her and making her laugh. "I guess he probably knew that we hadn't slept together before my little accident because he, like everyone else in the God damn world or so it seemed, had managed to work it out from me sleeping in Rusty's room rather than in your room before and after my surgery" he said with a little exasperated sigh and a roll of his eyes. He was still annoyed about it nine months later. Knowing Sharon like he did he had tried so hard and to his credit succeeded to be as discreet as possible during those first few months, from the outside it being hard to tell that they were dating at all but one little accident at work and his resulting sleeping arrangements while he recovered inadvertently let the world and his wife work out that nearly five months into their relationship they still hadn't slept together. "So when we showed up at work together the next day, you know late and I had a black eye..."

"And we were forced to tell the truth to Chief Taylor to save our careers."

"Exactly" he laughed. "So after that I'm pretty sure he managed to work it out without me having to say anything about it to him."

Sharon's smile beamed brightly as she listened to him. As awkward as it would be as his Commanding Officer, Sharon had still expected Andy to tell his friend what had happened as soon as he could so she was utterly stunned to realise that he really hadn't, that Andy was the gentleman she thought he was. "You really didn't say anything to him at all?" she asked.

"No" he smiled back at her. "Well not really" he then admitted with a little shrug and was immediately greeted with a roll of her eyes, it all being too good to be true that Andy would keep their private life completely private. "It's nothing bad I promise" he told her when he realised she was taking it the wrong way and he needed to clarify matters. "I guess before everyone rolled out that morning he took me to one side as he was putting on his jacket and he quietly said something along the lines of 'I take it the circumstances which led to that black eye have something to do with that letter you gave me to hang on to?'" he explained.

"And what do you say?"

"I didn't say anything to him," he said with another nonchalant shrug of his shoulders like he saw his discretion as no big deal at all, "I just dropped a nickel in his jar to pay for something I'd printed." Once again Sharon's smile slowly grew from ear to ear, it meaning so much to her that he hadn't told his friend all about it and, more specifically, her the moment she fell into a blissful sleep. "Then he asked me if you felt the same way about me."

"Really?"

He nodded as he smiled back at her, Provenza more of a sentimental old romantic than he appeared on the outside. "Even though he's told me since that he already knew how you felt before then which is why he held your hand the entire time I was in surgery."

"I guessed as much myself" she confirmed, smiling brightly once again. At the time Sharon knew that Provenza had held her hand that afternoon for his sake as much as for hers with him just as worried about Andy but that didn't make the gesture any less significant to her, appreciating it more than he would ever really know. In that situation it didn't take a genius to work out that Sharon was already in love with him from the way her eyes lingered on him as she battled to not tear up while he was wheeled away and around the corner into surgery, her colleagues and friends gathered around and seeing for themselves that despite hardly being able to tell they were together from the way they handled themselves at work, it had gone beyond just dating, they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. The only exception was Provenza himself who had (unfortunately in his opinion and he had spent an awful lot of time vocalising his displeasure) been forced into having a ringside seat for the whole saga since he asked the question 'So how was the wedding?' and was frankly shocked when he heard 'It was wonderful! Sharon and I had a great time.' After initially worrying about Andy ending up with a broken heart since their relationship only lived inside his head for longer than they'd been together, he could see Sharon was in love with him before that first date at Serve.

"And what did you say to that?" she asked.

"I put another nickel in his jar" he confirmed, Sharon laughing at him again before she very gently deposited a kiss to the side of his mouth. "He got all he needed to know from that."

"He didn't ask you anything else?"

"Not a word and he hasn't asked me about anything since then either" he confirmed, not that he would have told him much anyway, both of them becoming extremely tight lipped when they started dating the love of their lives. "He just smiled at me and shook my hand and that was that. So if everyone knew what happened that night it didn't come from me babe, I didn't say anything."

"Not verbally sure, but I'm pretty sure you were still the one to give the game away" she told him without elaborating further until he looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face, not at all sure what she was referring to. "People probably worked it out from that overly ridiculous goofy smile on your face" she told him with a gentle slap to his cheek. She laughed at the memory for a moment and the way she had to avoid looking at him at work in the days that followed them crossing that boundary together because of the ridiculously happy and frankly smug smile on his face kept bringing a flush to her own cheeks, unable to stop thinking about the reason why he was so happy.

"Why would they?" he questioned with a frown still occupying his features. "It's not that unusual for me to smile at work is it?"

"No of course not," she confirmed, "but that sort of ridiculously goofy smile sure was and that was without the little added spring in your step for the next month." She pinched his knee as he laughed and nodded. She didn't blame him in the slightest for showing just how unbelievably happy he was at the time, actually rather pleased about it because not only was she the cause but she also felt the exact same way, nevertheless it did somewhat give the game away that their relationship had progressed. "Oh and let's not forget that you looked _so_ happy it was like you'd been snorting something illegal."

Andy laughed, that fact indisputable. "Yeah well, sorry Raydor but I simply couldn't help myself, I was obscenely happy."

"I did notice" she replied, her smile once again spreading from ear to ear.

"Well in my defence it was the greatest night of my entire life" he told her and not for the first time, his voice nothing more than a low rumble that instantly had her cheeks turning a lovely shade of red. Their lips came together as she melted into him once again before he added "And for the record it was most definitely worth the wait" and kissed her again. "But do you know what the best part was?" Sharon shook her head as her eyes remained locked on his, the evening in question having an awful lot of highlights not least Andy giving her the letter he wrote from his hospital bed and then _finally_ telling her 'I love you' for the first time so it was hard to narrow it down to just one moment that outshone the rest. "The fact that it wasn't at all like I'd imagined it."

Sharon's smile grew again. "Oh really? Is that a fact?"

"Oh yes. It was _so_ much better than I ever dared dream" he told her, his voice nothing more than a growl. Sharon's response was instant, kissing him long and languid on the lips, his big hands going into her hair and ensuring she didn't run away from him until they were both more than a little breathless. When they finally broke apart she buried her face into his neck again as he held her tightly, her lips pressing to the small mark that was the only evidence of his surgery. Eventually the silence was broken with laughter after Andy stated "And believe me I'd imaged it a lot," the humour in his voice making it sound like he'd thought of little else from dawn until dusk for several years. "I'm talking since Nicole's wedding type a lot." Sharon laughed again as she sought his lips, herself not willing to confess that like Andy, she had climbed into bed the night of the wedding and gone to sleep thinking about how good he smelt and how good it felt to have his arms wrapped around her as they slowly danced together, unable to stop herself from wondering if he was as good at 'horizontal dancing' as he was vertically on the dancefloor. "But anyway," he said with a little contented sigh as he turned his attention back to where the conversation began before they got side tracked once again, "I had nothing to fear that first time. I knew there was zero chance you'd kill me because, as I have already proven to the world and quite recently in fact, I'm immune from such things...unless I'm thrown from a moving car."

Sharon laughed, Andy's claim that he was impervious to illness and injury somewhat having the dampers put on it due to the vast amount of time he'd spent in a hospital bed over the previous twelve months. "Oh really? Then why did an eighty six year old lady, no bigger than Mark tackle you to the ground and hurt your shoulder a couple of weeks ago?" she asked with a smug little smile, her point well-made and not expecting a rebuttal.

Andy shrugged as Sharon laughed at him. "It was a fluke" he insisted. "She caught me off guard and I lost my balance." He shrugged again rather dismissively but that only caused the rather sickly pain he'd been experiencing in his shoulder to come back again and making him battle not to grimace, a sickly pain that he had been downplaying to Sharon to ensure that she didn't stress about him and insist that he had a couple of sessions with a chiropractor.

"If you say so" she replied.

"I do say so but that's not the point. The point is there is no denying that on Valentine's Day you kissed me on the lips, with tongue may I add, a kiss which lets be fair tasted an awful lot like vomit," he said casually before his knees were inevitably attacked, "and I didn't catch it, therefore I'm impervious to these things."

Sharon looked at him far from amused, not just because he still found the sight of her with her head in the toilet bowl so highly amusing but that, regardless of what he said, he was such a huge hypochondriac most of the time, imaging he had everything from a ingrowing toenail to being on the verge of a stroke while he recovered from his surgery before Patrice had chance to set him straight. "I'll be sure to remind you of that the next time you're hiding from Rusty when he has a head cold" she said dryly, Andy virtually walking around the condo with his handkerchief permanently pressed over his nose and mouth the last time.

Knowing better than to protest any further about it, Andy pressed his lips to the top of her head as she again settled on his shoulder with her face into the crook of his neck and a very comfortable silence descended. "It was so be worth it though" he said finally, his comment coming completely out of the blue.

"Are you talking about your...your unmentionables exploding again?"

Andy laughed with Sharon once again proving his point that she got a little embarrassed using particular words and phrases of a sexual nature, even around him, for example even unable to say the word 'penis' to him at the same moment as she had his own in her hand. "'Unmentionables'? Are you getting tongue tied again?" he laughed as Sharon just shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. "I meant if you had tried to swallow me whole the first time we slept together" he told her with a wink, his knees once again coming under attack as he laughed. Andy dropped his hand to her chin and lifted her head to make her look at him. "Just to have that one time with you," he said softly before he gently brushed her lips with his, "it would have been oh so worth it."

She laughed against his lips before she said "If you're waiting for me to say 'thank you' for that...attempted compliment you're going to be waiting a very long time."

He laughed again, pressing his lips to her forehead as her hand went back under his t-shirt. "Did you know..." he said again, his lips against her forehead as she laughed. It was in that moment that Sharon was reminded of the evening they had Christmas drinks with Provenza and Patrice and a very nervous Andy, in an attempt to stop himself from putting his foot in his mouth (and yet he still ended up doing it anyway before the evening was over), regurgitated dozens of random facts like it being illegal to kill a hedgehog with a machine gun in the UK instead. "Did you know that the male scorpion fly uses its penis to swat away spiders?" he asked as if it was common knowledge and featured on the SATs. A second later and Sharon had burst into laughter, her hands over her face as she rolled onto her back in an attempt to not wake Rusty. "What? What are you laughing about now? This is scientific fact" he cried again like he was truly offended by her laughter when in reality the sound of her laughter was still music to his ears.

Sharon continued to laugh as she battled to speak, her words coming out a little breathless as a result. "Where are you getting these from?" she asked, the words barely discernible due to her laughter. "'The Big Book of Penises'?" she giggled. No sooner were the words out of her mouth then Andy's jaw dropped open with shock, probably looking more surprised than if he'd walked into the Break Room and found Provenza trying on a dress. "What?" she asked him once she had managed to get her laughter under control.

"Nothing I just don't think I've ever heard you use that word before Captain Tongue Tied" he teased, being able to count on one hand the amount of times he had heard her curse or use any sort of crass or sexual language away from a work environment in the twenty plus years he'd known her especially since he had just laughed at her use of the expression 'unmentionables' instead of anything else.

Sharon laughed. "Which word? Book?" she asked, deliberately playing dumb.

"No" Andy said before he raised his head and looked around as if he was making sure they were completely alone before he mouthed "Penis" at her with great exaggeration. Yet again Sharon couldn't help but laugh at him, hiding her face into his chest to stifle the noise as she fisted his t-shirt. "You're making me blush" he added when she started to calm down, giving his face a quick fan with his hand. "I'm usually completely naked and lying flat on my back before that kind of filth comes out of your mouth" he again teased as his lips barely left her forehead.

"Oh shut up" Sharon laughed. "Don't you know any non penis related facts?" she asked when her composure had been fully restored.

"Sure I do. I know other things too."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Like for example that sloth sex only lasts about two minutes." No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Sharon went to respond. Anticipating the joke about his stamina or lack thereof that was about to head his way he quickly put his hand across her mouth to silence her. "Don't even think about it babe" he told her as she laughed beneath his hand. "Unless you want me to start bringing a stopwatch to bed with me?" he added and not at all joking as he removed his hand and kissed her on the lips.

"I wasn't going to say anything" she insisted but clearly lying.

"Sure you weren't."

Sharon laughed again, still hiding his face in his chest while he just smiled. Sleep still didn't look like it was going to be on the cards for either of them that night but at the very least Sharon looked and sounded better by the second. "So what else have you got?" she asked after she caught her breath.

Andy thought for a moment, searching his brain for any fact that didn't include a penis but was still good enough to amuse her. "Did you know that a whale's vagina can be big enough to walk through?" he asked, barely finishing before she laughed hysterically again, her sides beginning to hurt. "Hey you asked for non penis facts and that's what I've given you" he stated and feeling very pleased with himself.

"I know Andy but honestly I was hoping for something that didn't involve the genitalia of various mammals" she laughed, that a sentence she never expected to say in her life.

"Then you needed to be more specific. I'm not a mind reader Raydor" he cried but with great humour in his voice so she knew he wasn't being serious. "Okay did you know that the first occupational disease ever recorded in medical literature was 'chimney sweep scrotum'?" Once more she laughed, tears beginning to form in her eyes and making it impossible for Andy not to join in with her. "What? It's true."

"And what was it exactly?"

"I don't know. I didn't read any further" he said with a slight grimace and shudder. "That much information was already enough to put me off my breakfast."

"Oh so this type of book is your idea of breakfast literature?"

"Hey I had to find something to entertain myself with in the mornings while I was still single" he said as if he had spent every single moment between his divorce and going to Serve with her just waiting for her to love him, doing whatever he could to pass the time. "It's all right for you, you had Rusty to keep you entertained during those years."

"I wouldn't call his frequent and lengthy complaints about being a witness and his security detail entertainment unlike your big book of penises."

"That wasn't the title" he laughed with a shake of his head.

"Then what was it?"

"I don't remember. ' _A Hundred Facts To Keep Your Girl Laughing When She Can't Sleep'_ maybe" he told her with that sweet little smile she found so irresistible.

She kissed him softly on the lips before confirming "Then it was a real stroke of luck you read it when you did."

"Don't I know it" he winked, slowly returning the kiss. "Did you know that potato aphids will not have sex if they sense a drop in air pressure?" he asked casually once again like he was asking her nothing more unusual than 'Did you know that water is wet?' as she laughed again. "No mile high club for those guys" he noted with a mischievous waggle of his eyebrows. As Sharon continued to laugh, a thought occurred to him as a lascivious little grin put in a more than welcome appearance. "Have you ever...you know?" he asked once she was capable of responding without laughing.

"What? Joined the mile high club?"

"Yeah" he nodded as his fingers started to stroke back and forth on her hip. "Have you?"

"What do you think?"

Andy laughed and nodded, firmly of the opinion that it wasn't the sort of thing that she would ever have done in her life, not because she was unadventurous in that respect (she had after all been extremely easy to convince that sex in the back seat of his car was a good idea at their age for example) but because of how things had ended with Jack some twenty years earlier and not having a real relationship to speak of since then, or rather at least not one that included joint air travel to even have the opportunity. "It's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do in those ridiculously tiny bathrooms" he said as if to indicate she hadn't missed much, having come very close to knocking himself out after one ill-advised encounter.

"It's not so bad in first class" Sharon replied on a sigh and so nonchalantly he could have missed it if he wasn't paying attention. As it so happened Andy was very much listening to every word she had to say, his mouth dropping open as he stared at her with shock and just a dash of arousal as he realised he was so very wrong about her. "What?" she asked him rather innocently.

"How do you know that?"

Sharon shrugged, again trying to look as casual as possible. "Maybe when we finally get away on that little vacation we've been talking about," she said as her hand came up to stroke his cheek, "I can show you." Andy didn't respond other than to grin at her, his mind whirling as he loved Sharon all the more for the way that she continued to surprise him on an almost daily basis. "The look on your face" she laughed.

"God I love you Raydor" he said finally, an expression of such heartfelt longing on his face that it almost brought a tear to her eye. He wriggled out from beneath her, Sharon's head landing on her pillow as he rolled her onto her back and loomed over her with a fair amount of intent. Seconds later their lips met, Sharon's hands moving up to wrap around his neck as a little moan built up in the back of her throat. When they broke apart his lips moved down the long column of her throat and to her chest before he stopped abruptly, settling above her, shifting his position not because he was trying to initial anything but because her head on his shoulder was causing that sickly pain to return but he didn't want to make a big deal about it and worry her. "Did you know," he said as she laughed again, "that the Hungarian equivalent of the bogeyman is the Copper-Penis Owl." As Sharon again descended into a fit of laughter he busied himself tracing his lips along her collarbone, her feeling him smile against her skin. "Which sounds much more frightening if you ask me."

"Well that depends on what it does when it sneaks out from under your bed and gets you I suppose" she suggested.

"It gives you chimney sweep scrotum I guess" he said with a shrug, Sharon laughing again as his lips resumed their very slow journey across the skin on her shoulder. "This one will really interest you, I know it will" he announced between kisses until he raised his head to look her in the eye, an amused twinkle very much present. "Did you know that the word 'orchid' comes from the Greek word for 'testicle'?" More laughter followed as Andy nodded towards the purple orchid that sat on Sharon's nightstand, the orchid he had given her as a present that first Christmas they were friends following the ballet with Sharon keeping it by her bed without a second thought either way, liking it to be the first and last thing she saw every day even when they were just starting out their friendship. "You my dear, have a lot of very colourful testicles in this apartment."

"It's just as well, most people at work think I have enough of them kept in jars in the desk drawers of my office anyway" she said in anything but a joke.

"Is that where you'd keep mine if I ever stepped out of line?"

"Of course not. They'd be made into earrings immediately" she told him before leaning up to playfully bite at his chin.

Andy laughed and nodded. "Good to know."

Sharon moved to wrap her arms more securely around Andy's neck as he continued to loom over her, the lower half of his body resting between her legs. She sighed. "Why didn't we do this sooner?" she asked and getting a little confused hum from Andy in return. "Why didn't we just accept that Rusty and Nicole were right all along and that we were dating back then and moved forward at Christmas last year instead of waiting? Why was I too stupid to not have another six months of this at least?" she said with an exasperated sigh, her right hand moving to stroke his cheek as she gazed up at him.

Andy smiled at her, his smile quickly turning into his trademark smoulder as he growled "Are you talking about sex again?" Sharon sighed and rolled her eyes at him, not because she was of the opinion he wasn't funny but because she knew Andy was about to go on one of his 'I'm more than just a piece of meat' rants and she'd have to wait until he was done before telling him what she had actually been talking about. "It's always about sex with you isn't Raydor?" he grumbled as if he was constantly being taken advantage of and he was hardly ever vertical. "I'm just a piece of meat with eyes, here to satisfy your never ending sexual needs aren't I?"

With one arm still looped around his neck Sharon smiled and pointed at her eyes. "What about 'My eyes are up here'?" she reminded him.

"Right. My eyes are up here," he said as he pointed at them, "and not on my ass you know. I'm more than just a great pair of buns in a suit."

"Great?"

"Okay, spectacular pair of buns in a suit."

"Are you done?" she asked through her laughter.

Andy thought for moment, searching his brain for anything else he could say that would make it seem like Sharon only wanted him for his body. Finally he nodded. "For now."

"Good because that's not what I meant at all" she insisted. He looked at her suspiciously with a rather large smile as he waited for her to crumble and admit that he was at least a little bit right. "That's not _solely_ what I meant" she admitted. They laughed, Andy relishing his small victory before he dropped his lips against hers, it once again lingering for some time as her fingers ran through his hair and scratched his scalp. "I meant why didn't we go out on a real date sooner? Why didn't we go out on a real date after the ballet and having Nicole here for dinner? Why did we wait another seven months?" Her right hand moved to gently slap herself on the forehead as if she couldn't help but dwell on how utterly stupid they had been to not act upon their feelings earlier than they did, a thought that hadn't been far from her mind since Taylor died in front of them and she focused on how much time she'd made them waste when life was so finite. "Why on earth did we wait so ridiculously long to do this when it was clear to practically everyone we knew, everyone that loved us that we were already dating and obviously had feelings for each other?"

"Oh well that's an easy question to answer."

"Is it? Then why? Tell me."

"Well to begin with," he said before he paused, planting his lips against the base of her throat, "you know how nervous I am right now about ruining what I have with you and destroying our relationship and how incredibly irritating you find it?"

Sharon stroked his cheek again as she shook her head. Even if it took forever she was going to make him understand how she really felt on the subject because 'irritating' wasn't even remotely close to being accurate. "Let me stop you right there. Andy I don't find it irritating at all," she insisted, "I just find it so unbelievably frustrating and I'd wish you'd relax more about us because if I hadn't already made it clear to you, I am not about to and never will end this relationship between us. You don't need to be nervous or to worry about it all the time. I'm with you until the very end Andy Flynn," she told him as she cupped his face with both hands, "whether you want me or not." Andy laughed as he nodded, that situation being highly unlikely. "I promise you that and I need you to finally accept that fact and relax. Okay?" she asked, hating that Andy always seemed to feel like his days could be numbered if she one day changed her mind about him, that they weren't equal partners in their ever growing relationship but he was there only until she had enough of him.

"Okay" Andy nodded, leaning down to meet her lips. "I'll try my very best."

"You've said that before."

"And I'll probably say it again too but I promise you, I am working on it" he confirmed with another lingering kiss to her lips. "Well anyway, like I was saying, if I'm still this nervous right now as I lie in _our_ bed, in _our_ condo with you in my arms," he started to say, Sharon smiling up at him as her nails scratched his scalp as she enjoyed hearing him say those sorts of things now that they lived together, "just imagine for one second how unbelievably nervous I was back then when I had absolutely no idea how you really felt about me and ask again why I didn't ask you out on a real date any sooner."

"You really didn't know how I felt about you after Nicole came to see me at work?" she asked him, it not being the first time they'd had that particular conversation but it had never been made clear just how clueless Andy was as she instantly started to look at him differently as a result.

"Well not exactly. Deep down I hoped, or more accurately I guess, I prayed," he corrected himself and earned a little chuckle, "that you might like me in the same way that I liked or rather loved you but let's face facts here sweetheart, you didn't exactly react well when the truth came out after Nicole's visit. I thought you were going to hit me at one point."

"So did I" she revealed, them both laughing at the thought.

Sharon smiled at him as she thought about what had happened some two years earlier when the truth finally came out. Just the knowledge that Andy had been telling his family that they were in a relationship, lying to them and lying to them about her made her blood boil, coming very close to smacking him when she offered to help him tell Nicole the truth. But when she calmed down, when she took some deep calming breaths and really thought about it her cheeks instantly began to flush in a very good way, them only growing warmer when she realised she couldn't ignore the feelings she had for him anymore, for Andy, for her friend. That didn't mean to say she was going to act on those feeling in the near future however, acknowledging what a huge risk it would be to even contemplate entering into a relationship with him. Still, despite all that, she couldn't stop herself from looking at him differently, looking at him more romantically as a result of his lie while still feeling so very angry with him, that anger lasting until Nicole came over for dinner.

Sharon sighed, her eyes locked on his as he continued to loom over her. "I was so angry with you that day, just thinking about the way you'd been lying about me to everyone." It didn't come as a surprise to her when Andy's eyes dropped with embarrassment, still mortified by not only his lie but that he was caught so very publically, but Sharon soon put an end to it, dragging his face to look her in the eye again. She smiled at him as she stroked his cheek, pulling him down to kiss him on the lips. "But more than anything I was embarrassed and more than a little confused by everything" she revealed for the first time, getting a confused look in return. "You were my friend Andy, my closet friend in the world even and I just didn't know what to do. I know I tried to push you away at the time and I'm sorry for that but I was in a state of shock, at not just that you'd lied to Nicole about what was happening between us but because it made me realise that not only did you probably have feelings for me but that I also had feelings for you too and realising that at my age, after being alone for so long and not just feeling that way for my friend but also someone under my command," she said as she briefly closed her eyes, "was utterly utterly terrifying. It just seemed easier at the time to push you away and scowl at you as much as possible" she admitted with a shrug, them both laughing as a result.

"You could have said something to me about it you know" he pointed out, the two of them only discussing it twice before they started dating, once in her office when she all but ordered him to tell Nicole the truth and then when Nicole came to the condo for dinner, them both trying their hardest to forget it ever happened after that.

"I know I could but at the time I was more likely to throttle you with my bare hands rather than anything else" she replied with a little glare as he laughed, still a little annoyed about it all over eighteen months later and despite them living together. "I just didn't know what to do for the best but don't forget we still went out to the movies the day after the ballet," she reminded him, "and I freely admit I deliberately kissed you on the lips under the mistletoe to give you a little hint as to how I really felt at the Christmas Eve party in the hope that you might make a move now that everything was out in the open."

"Right I know," he shrugged before he pressed her lips to her breast bone, still not believing his luck that he was allowed to do such a thing, "but without some sort of really blatant hint as to how you felt I was still afraid."

"Afraid?" Sharon asked with a furrowed brow, Andy she knew not afraid of anything. He nodded, the whole conversation more than a little uncomfortable for him but it was a conversation worth having as they discussed the road that led them to where they were. His discomfort over it however was clearly apparent to her, Andy busing himself by peppering her chest with gentle kisses rather than meeting her curious eyes. "Afraid of what?" she asked, her nails scratching his scalp as she made it clear that she was expecting an answer and wouldn't be distracted by his ministrations.

Andy avoided answering for a moment, his head bowed as his lips pressed just above her heart. Finally he looked at her, offering a lopsided grin as a way to deflect away from what he was about to say. "Losing you" he shrugged. Lost for words for a moment, she moved her hands to the back of his neck, forcing him to lower himself and meet her lips. It was long and slow, an attempt to remind him that she wasn't going anywhere. When they broke apart her hands moved back into his hair, lazily scratching his scalp and making it stand on end even more than sleep had done while his lips moved back to her chest. "Don't get me wrong here," he said with his voice slightly muffled as he spoke against her chest, "it was one hundred percent a conscious decision on my part. At that point in our...," he raised his head briefly as he sought the appropriate phrase, "somewhat complicated relationship shall we say," he offered with a grimace and making her laugh, "not thinking there was a hope in hell that you felt the same way about me despite that kiss under the mistletoe at the party I decided that I'd rather keep you as my friend and my Captain and spend as much time with you as I could rather than lose you and the friendship we had together if I asked you out on a real date and you said 'No.'"

"But why would I say no?"

Andy shrugged again, his chin coming to rest on her chest, his forearms taking his weight so that he didn't crush her. "Like I said babe, regardless of that kiss, you really didn't react well when you found out I'd been lying to Nicole about us."

"Then why did you finally ask me?" she queried, never having discussed why he picked that particular ordinary day in July to change the course of their lives for so much the better rather than any other.

"I couldn't wait any longer," he told her with two more quick kisses being planted to just above her heart, "and just being grateful for what I had wasn't working for me anymore. I really didn't want to lose you from my life but I also had to know how you felt about me." He paused before he continued, his forehead resting on her chest, breathing her in for a moment as her nails continued to scratch his scalp. When he met her eye again he smiled brightly. "You only get one life, sometimes not for that long and after making such a hash of mine over the previous sixty plus years leading up to that point I was determined to at least attempt to put that right while I had the chance and that meant biting the bullet and asking the most incredible woman I'd ever met in my life out to dinner on a real date. I knew I was already in love with you long before I asked you to Serve and after seeing so many lives cut short at work I finally decided that I needed to find out one way or another how you felt about me." Sharon couldn't help but tear up a little at his words, Andy kissing her on the lips as they both thought about what was now the greatest decision of his life and they'd only just got started. "If there really was no hope of you feeling the same way then I needed to know that so that I could at least _attempt_ to move on as best I could without you."

"And what if I had said no? What if I'd panicked at the word 'romantic'?" she asked, still incredibly relieved that it hadn't happened since she could quite easily have freaked out about it.

Andy laughed more with relief than anything. "Or what if you hadn't realised it was a date?" he offered as they both laughed. "Don't think I didn't wonder about that myself in the days that came before I finally managed to pluck up the courage to ask you." He shrugged again. "I figure I would have needed a clean break and probably asked for a transfer out of Major Crimes. It would have been the only way to get you out of my system for good, not seeing you at work every day although that didn't seem all that likely. I will never get you out of my system" he told her, his eyes almost burning into hers before he kissed her. "Not ever" he virtually said against her lips. "So I would have transferred out of the division even though I suspect Provenza would have tried everything within his power to stop me from doing that to keep me where I was and at his beck and call."

"And if I'd said 'No' and Lieutenant Provenza had managed to convince you to stay with us?" she asked, her voice breaking a little and clearly getting very emotional by what he was saying, her eyes filling with unshed but nonetheless happy tears.

"I would have stayed at my desk outside your office, casting longing glances over my shoulder every chance I got to see if I could maybe guilt you into it one day" he declared, pulling his best puppy dog expression as she laughed. "I would have spent the rest of my life loving you from afar...well as afar as my desk is from your office."

Sharon laughed as she nodded and wiped her eye with the back of her hand while he dropped her lips back to her chest. "What happened to me being 'high maintenance'?" she asked before they both laughed, Andy once joking with her that the reason why he hadn't asked her out following Nicole's visit was because she was too high maintenance for him when in fact it was just because he was terrified, even more so following her reaction to the lies he'd been telling about her. "That's what you said."

Andy shrugged and grinned. "I lied" he confirmed, Sharon laughing and nodding at him as she stroked his cheek with her thumb.

She gestured with a nod for him to come closer, her lips waiting for his. "I love you my darling boy" she told him when they broke apart, remaining almost nose to nose as they shared the same air.

He smiled dopily, causing her to chuckle. "I know that now" he confirmed with a wink. "And for the record, I love you too" he told her in nothing more than a whisper, a prelude to their lips crashing together.

Sharon wiped another stray tear from her cheek and then told him "I'm so very very glad you asked me out on that date" before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her, his face buried into the crook of her neck as he battled not to crush her with his full weight, that position beginning to hurt his shoulder just as much as Sharon lying on it was.

"Me too" he confirmed as he pulled back after she finally loosened her hold on him. His lips once again trailed slowly across her collarbone before he pulled back to meet her eye. "But you could have always asked me out on a date instead you know" he pointed out as he looked to lift the blame a little since they could have been together seven months longer than they had. "This is the twenty first century after all, girls can ask guys out on dates."

"Not according to my Grandmother."

Andy laughed and nodded. "Yeah well according to your Grandmother you should also have stabbed me in the crotch with a knitting needle the first night I slept in this very room so I don't think her opinion on the subject would have mattered all that much."

"Only because I couldn't find a knitting needle to bring to bed with me" she told him, her eyes sparkling with menace and making him laugh in reply. "That's why I kneed you in the crotch instead and pretended I was still asleep and oblivious to your screams."

"I knew you'd done that on purpose" he jokingly grumbled as he attempted to settle a little more comfortably on his elbows, continuing to loom over her. Sharon laughed, her nails still scratching his scalp as she hooked her left leg over his as he lay between them. "Did you ever even consider asking me out instead?"

"Yes I did."

"Really?" Andy asked with surprise, getting a little nod in reply. "And?"

"And I'm sure it won't come as a surprise for you to learn that you weren't the only one who was scared about moving things forward between us" she revealed and prompting Andy to drop his lips to hers again. Her mind drifted for a moment to the night she tried so very hard to move things forward between them, her second aborted attempt to get him into bed some months before they finally did which just so happened to also be the night before he fell from a moving car. "Do you ever think about what might have happened that night before your accident if you hadn't been rolled out?"

Andy shook his head with confusion. "What do you mean? What night?"

"Well if my memory serves me correctly and I'm pretty sure it does, we were at your house having dinner when Lieutenant Provenza called to tell you to join the rest of the division at the hospital. Or to be a little more accurate we had finished dinner and were sitting on your couch," she said before she paused and smiled up at him, her cheeks starting to flush a little from the memory, "I had my tongue down your throat while your hands were under my blouse and it _finally_ felt like you were just about to unhook my bra and..."

Realising which night she was referring to Andy frowned, looking just like he did that night when he saw Provenza's name appear on his cell phone caller ID when it started to ring, panting furiously. "And my God damn cell phone rang! Provenza!" he cried with annoyance. Sharon laughed instantly, having already anticipated that Provenza was about to get all of the blame for the interruption. "Even when the guy didn't know we were fooling around together he still found a way to keep us apart."

"It's not like he killed any of our victims himself" she laughed.

"I know but I still prefer to blame him when I can, it makes me feel better."

"Believe me Andy, I'd noticed" she laughed. "So, early November time last year, about a month and a half before we did finally sleep together for the first time, what do you think would have happened if your phone hadn't rang?" she questioned, at the time genuinely thinking that their evening was going to end with them in bed together and then twenty four hours later Andy had been in hospital twice, had cracked ribs and could barely breathe much less anything else.

"I don't usually like to deal in what ifs" he said with a shrug, it being something that he had taken on board in AA with his life and his addiction what it was and he couldn't change the past, only change who he was and what he did in his life moving forward. "What happened happened and I'm sure some people would say it all happened the way it was supposed to and it all happened for a reason" he said matter-of-factly before he smiled down at her. "But in this instance I'm not one of those people" he said with a wink and making her laugh. "I don't know" he shrugged. "It would have been up to you I guess."

"Why up to me?"

"Well let's face it, when you did ask me to spend the night with you I immediately thought you meant on the couch rather than you know, in here with you" he reminded her to much laughter once again. "It seems I'm really not that what you'd call, quick on the uptake as far as you're concerned, especially when you're putting a move on me."

"That's an understatement" she laughed.

"Yeah right, I know. Plus you know I was still beyond nervous at that point. My hands were staying exactly where you could see them...or rather where you could feel them on your back and _well_ away from the most important and let's face it, away from the fun parts of your body," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows, "until I had explicit verbal and maybe even written permission to send them exploring on their merry way around the bases."

Sharon laughed again. "And yet the fact that I was straddling your lap with my tongue down your throat and palming you through your pants wasn't explicit enough?" she asked, at the time beginning to think that Andy just didn't find her attractive since he kept his hands in such annoyingly safe areas of her body at all times, feeling like she was going to have to physically place her breast in his hand to get him to cop a feel.

"Not for what I needed, no" he admitted, them both laughing about it. "To be perfectly honest you didn't have my full and undivided attention at the time."

"Oh really?" she asked with surprise. "And what pray tell were you thinking about as I wasted some of my best moves on you?"

"Mainly Provenza in a Speedo."

"What?" Sharon laughed.

"I didn't want to rush you which I know now seems utterly ridiculous given what was happening," he said and rolling his eyes at his own stupidity, at the time Sharon trying her hardest _to_ rush him, "so I was trying to do whatever I could to stop my body reacting to what you were doing."

"Oh my God!" Sharon laughed, suddenly realising why Andy wasn't responding beneath her in the way she wanted.

"I know" he said with an utterly disgusted grimace. "It's a huge shock we've ever managed to sleep together at all with that image popping in to my head every time you kissed me" he added with a horrified shudder, Sharon laughing at him. "It still pops in there now and then. Do you have any idea how hard it is to maintain an erection with that image hammering on the door of your subconscious and desperate to break in?" he asked, Sharon once more laughing hysterically at him. "It's hard or rather it isn't if I can't get rid of the image." She laughed again before she kissed him, just checking to see if his mind would indeed drift to somewhere he'd much rather forget all about. "Go away Provenza" he said against her lips. Sharon's laughter broke them apart, Andy sighing instead, his regret over some that had come to pass with her evident. "It won't come as a surprise to you to learn that there are many many things that I've done in my life that I now deeply regret. You know like drinking too much, failing both Sandra and my children, not being there for them financially and emotionally when they were growing up, being a general asshole to everyone and even not asking you on a real date any sooner than I did, but not picking up on what were some pretty blatant hints sent my way from you that it was time to move things along is also pretty high up on the list."

Sharon smiled as she stroked his cheek. "I see, so you now finally admit that you were totally oblivious to my hints rather than them not being clear enough?"

"I think it's about fifty fifty babe." Despite knowing full well what the consequences would be and that the backs of his knees were under threat of being attacked, Andy crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out in what was his imitation of her infamously bad sex eyes that she'd used on him to hint that she wanted him to put a move on her in the months before they finally slept together. In truth he still thought they were pretty bad eight months later but at least he knew what they meant. As expected Sharon's retribution was swift and painful, pinching the backs of his knees and causing him to squirm on top of her. "Okay, maybe it was a little more like seventy-five twenty-five" he said before he paused. "With your sex eyes obviously being the seventy-five." Inevitably his knees came under attack again as he laughed. "What do you think?" he asked finally as her hands came to rest on his backside, partly because that's where they usually ended up and partly because it would enable her to pinch him much quicker should he step out of line again.

"About what would have happened that night if you hadn't rolled out?"

"Yeah, what do you think would have happened since you know I was pretty paralysed by fear most of the time and you were leading the charge so to speak?"

"I don't know" Sharon replied once she'd stopped laughing at him. "If you want me to be completely honest with you I wanted you to be the one to initiate sex that first time."

"Why?"

"Because at the time I didn't feel that our relationship had been on...I don't know, that it hadn't been on an even keel shall we say before we reached that point" she explained.

"How so?"

"Look it's like this, I know you were the one that started all of this by asking me out on our first real date to begin with but I was the one that insisted we take everything so slowly after that. I'm the one that took your hand that first time as we walked on the beach. I was the one to say or rather scream 'I love you' first" she reminded him as they laughed. "I was the one that did everything first or at least that's how it felt to me at the time, how it still feels to me if I'm being honest, like I'm somehow in charge at home all the time as well as being in charge when we're at work when we are supposed to be equals, equal partners in a real relationship." Her hands moved back up to his neck again as he couldn't fail to notice just how serious she appeared about the whole thing. "There has never been a discussion about...well anything like we agreed in the beginning and that made me feel and still makes me feel like I have all the power in our relationship and you are always secondary."

Andy smiled at her, trying his hardest to alleviate any fears she may have on the subject because he didn't see it like that from his point of view. "Trust me babe, I've never seen myself as secondary in this relationship, I promise" he declared, pushing his lips to her shoulder a couple of times as if to prove it. "And honestly I never minded waiting for you, I still don't mind waiting for you and you didn't take all the power, I willingly gave it to you, fully aware of what I was doing. I did it simply because I didn't want to rush you."

"Because I was the one that insisted we take it slowly in the first place. Would you have done it otherwise?" she asked. Andy had no answer to that because Sharon was right, he only waited as patiently as she did because she had asked him to. If she hadn't then he would undoubtedly have been putting a move on her inside of a month (waiting perhaps a little longer than usual because of how intense his nerves were and how much he loved her). "I felt to make our relationship more even you had to be the one to initiate sex that first time."

"Which was never going to happen" he said a little ruthfully.

"I noticed" she confirmed, the pair of them thankfully able to laugh about it. "I guess it doesn't really matter now because we got there in the end" she offered, Andy agreeing judging by the way he met her lips. "But I do hope that I would have eventually sent you a clear enough signal that it was time." Andy didn't answer but rather just looked at her sceptically. "Or maybe not" she conceded, them laughing again.

"Regardless it was still a gigantic pain in the ass driving to the hospital that night and leaving you behind."

"Surely if it was that big of a pain then you wouldn't have jumped on a moving car the following afternoon would you?" she asked rhetorically with a little glare.

"Hey I wasn't expecting her to keep driving and then hurl me across the parking lot at high speed you know" he insisted, Sharon just rolling her eyes at how stupid he had been. "It may have derailed us for a few weeks but at least I got to spend the next night here with you" he said, looking at the bright side and being able to laugh about it. "Admittedly and I'm sure this won't come as a huge surprise, I hadn't exactly anticipated that the first time I stayed here it was going to be down the hall in Rusty's bed instead of in here in yours but hey, you play the hand your dealt."

"Okay, so if I hadn't asked you to stay with me that night, if I hadn't all but demanded sex before I exploded from too much built up sexual frustration," she said in anything but an exaggeration as they laughed, "you would never have made a move on your own?"

"I don't know, probably not."

"Really?"

Andy nodded. "I think so yeah."

"But did it not cross your mind at all that I might want sex? That our relationship was more to me than just hand holding and the occasional make out session when Rusty was out?" she questioned. "That I did want you for something other than just a little companionship?"

"Yeah but..."

"But what?"

"I was afraid" he said simply with a little shrug. "It was as simple as that. I know it's a lame excuse but it's all I've got." Sharon went to object but he continued before she had chance. "Look Sharon it's like this," he sighed as he looked away from her for a moment with him about to discuss something difficult that he'd much rather forget and he'd not really said to her before, "not a lot of people have stuck around in my life and I'm talking in general here and not just when things got tough okay? And I know that's partly if not completely my fault and I have fully accepted responsibility for that and for what I did and how that effected the people I love but," he met her eyes as he lowered his voice, a tenderness there that had her melting beneath him, "I was in love with you from the very moment they cleared away the appetisers before the ballet that first time." He let that thought sink in for a few seconds before he continued. "I really was Sharon. I think I was probably in love with you from the moment you dragged me to the dance floor by my tie at Nicole's wedding but it just took me a while to realise that's how I felt because of my nerves." He laughed nervously with Sharon quickly joining him. "And although I wanted more between us back then and I wanted more between us the day before we told each other how we felt and slept together that first time and if I'm perfectly honest I still want more between us now," he declared, causing Sharon to shuffle a little awkwardly beneath him for a moment in case the current topic of conversation had unwittingly pushed him into a proposal before either of them were really ready, "but I felt then as I feel now," he paused, gazing into her eyes, "I would be happy and content for the rest of my life just being able to kiss this hand," he said as he brought her right hand to his lips and kissed it, "if I couldn't have any more rather than losing you altogether. Just being able to have you in my life in any way I could would have done it for me, like it was before I asked you out on a date. I didn't want to risk that to have more and be greedy because you're the love of my life and I would have taken any scraps I was offered even though admittedly I have always eventually pushed for more." He shrugged again. "That's why."

"And yet you asked me out a real date anyway" she said, his actions contradicting his words.

"Yeah well, I reached a point where I just had to know."

She lifted her head to meet his lips, devouring him as her hands went back into his hair. "Never let it be said that you don't have a way with words Andrew Flynn" she told him, kissing him again and gently forcing him to roll back onto his back.

"What can I say? You turn me into a poet Raydor" he said as he opened his arms and waited for Sharon to settle into his side with her head on his shoulder again, her not needing to be told twice, missing the slight grimace on his face as he got comfortable. They lay in silence again for a while, both of them wide awake, Sharon's nails raking up and down Andy's torso under his t-shirt while his hand moved up and down his back. Eventually he kissed the top of her head, an indication he was about to speak. "So, this last minute vacation we're going to disappear on before the end of the month..."

Sharon sighed loudly to cut him off, thinking she was more likely to fly to the moon than for the two of them to both get time off at work in the near future given what had happened. "Do you really think that's likely with everything that's happened?" she asked, sounding extremely pessimistic.

"Absolutely and not just because I now want to try the first class mile high club with Sharon Raydor" he growled with his lips pressed against her forehead and making her laugh. "The way I see it is this, by the time this is done and we've got these assholes behind bars we're going to deserve a few days off, all of us for that matter."

"But the new Chief..."

"Won't be appointed for a very long time. In fact I can't see it happening this side of the holidays" he said confidently despite the way that Sharon looked at him less than convinced. "Look Pope never rushes these things. When he finally became Chief of Police, Taylor was the obvious choice to succeed him as Assistant Chief, right? Can you think of an obvious replacement this time? Because I sure don't other than you of course." Sharon thought about it for a moment and then shook her head, realising that he was right, about the first part at least, not even remotely interested in the job and much preferring Fritz to keep it since they got on so well and he had an obvious interest in keeping not only Major Crimes going but not making any significant changes to it because of Brenda. "So that can only mean Chief Howard is going to have the privilege of dealing with all this crap for a good while longer and I doubt he'll have any issues with us having the week off."

"Maybe."

"Just maybe?"

"For now. Andy I really don't like dealing with hypotheticals. Once this is all over, well, we'll see then."

"Okay" he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

As he pulled away he just stared at her for a moment as she rested on his shoulder. It was no exaggeration to say that she seemed like a completely different person to the one he had found in the living room in the midst of a cleaning frenzy a few nights earlier. He had kept his questions about how it had gone with Father Stan to a minimum because he knew she'd gone there to talk about something that she didn't think he would understand although he was always going to listen to her if she wanted to talk to him about it. Whatever he had said to her, it had obviously done the trick although he also suspected that Wildred Darnell telling her that she understood that she had no choice but to kill Dwight had played a great part too. With that in mind he had just one question to ask her to put his mind at ease a little even though he knew it had the potential to upset her.

He kissed the top of her head again as he held her a little tighter, wanting to surround her with his warmth while they had what was sure to be an uncomfortable conversation. "Are you feeling better? You seem better" he said quietly, kissing her forehead again and again. It would be quite a significant exaggeration to say that all the clouds had lifted from her mind over the previous couple of days but she was certainly brighter. On the whole she did seem better about killing Dwight and dealing with her lack of guilt as a result as well as taking a life for the first time which was what was really plaguing her mind to such extremes in the immediate aftermath but things like Taylor's death, not being able to stop it and feeling so guilty for being relieved that it was him who died rather than Andy weren't going to go away any time soon but they both knew they would with time. Those feelings manageable with Andy and Amy feeling the same way, feelings that everyone could understand.

Sharon paused before she answered, really thinking about how she felt so that she could give him an honest answer. "Yes. I do" she said finally and sounding very positive about it. Andy remained silent, sensing that she had more to say once she'd pondered on it for a moment longer since he didn't want to derail her. "Speaking to Wildred helped, a lot more than I expected if I'm honest."

Andy nodded as he listened. It was only as he watched Sharon speaking to Wildred on the monitors in Electronics (ignoring Chief Howard's question as to whether Sharon should be in there talking to her at all) and heard Wildred say that she understood that Sharon had no choice but to shoot Dwight and Sharon's emotion laden response, her breath hitching as her voice wavered slightly as she thanked her that he started to understand more about what was going on inside her head. It was a cliché but it was true to say that opposites did attract and Sharon and Andy embodied that expression in almost every way. They shared some of the same interests but the only other similarity they had aside from work was how much they loved each other so he accepted that they were probably never going to be on the same wavelength when it came to her devotion to her religion and the way they saw the justice system. To Andy the people they encountered at work were always going to be dirt bags and it frustrated him to no end that he couldn't see it from Sharon's point of view especially because she was struggling so much with it and therefore he couldn't find a way to help her himself but it seemed he had managed to help her in the end by pointing her towards the church and although Father Stan didn't give her everything that she needed, he had helped her find the path that led her to it in the end, getting the understanding from Wildred that she craved but didn't really know she needed. The resulting change in her had been remarkable, if only he could now get her to have some sleep.

"I can feel it now" she said and repeating herself from when he first found her in the living room only this time referring to her emotional state rather than the case. "But more to the point, I want you to stop worrying about me" she told him, trying to meet him eye.

"Sorry Raydor, that's not going to happen. That's my job now and anyway I like worrying about you. It reminds me how unbelievably lucky I am to have you."

"I've told you before, I think I'm the lucky one" she said as she moved to prop herself up on her elbow, stroking his face lightly with her fingertips. "But forget about me, this shouldn't all be about me. How are you? How did it go with Matt the other day?"

Andy's sponsor Matt had arrived as expected for coffee in the Break Room with him two days after the shooting on the Sunday afternoon. Thankfully he had time to just hang out and wait for him because as expected Andy had trouble getting five minutes away from work with finding the time to use the bathroom a struggle in those first forty eight hours. The length of time that he was waiting however enabled a chance meeting between him and Sharon for the very first time, not that Andy knew anything about it. Sharon had gone to make herself a cup of tea, still waiting for her final clearance to go anywhere other than the morgue and was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't pay much attention to the strange man lurking in the corner of the Break Room. Matt on the other hand recognised her immediately, he'd seen enough photos of her on Andy's phone over the previous couple of years. Seeing that she was fairly distracted by her own thoughts he tentatively and quietly called her name before explaining who he was. Despite everything going on inside her head she was utterly delighted to finally meet him, hugging him tightly and repeatedly thanking him for everything that he did for Andy, not least for coming to see him on a Sunday rather than being with his family.

"Yeah it was okay. I said I'd give him a call in a couple of days" he said almost dismissively before he noticed the concerned look on her face, her clearly waiting for him to say a little more on the subject than that to put her mind at ease. "What?"

"You need to take care of yourself too Andy" she told him, the implication being that she clearly didn't think that he was, focusing too much on her.

"And I am. You've got nothing to worry about babe. I promise. Between Matt and myself we've got it covered" he declared with a wink.

"Okay" Sharon replied, sounding less than convinced given that a couple of nights earlier he had told her how much he wanted a drink but taking him at his word. She lay back down on his shoulder, her hand once again going under his t-shirt. "He was a lot taller than I imagined" she said finally.

"What?"

"Matt, he was an awful lot taller than I had expected him to be."

"When did you see him?"

"Before you did" she confirmed, a little amusement in her tone. "I went into the Break Room to get myself a refill on my tea and he recognised me immediately. We had a nice little chat."

"You never told me."

"Probably because we've had virtually no time to discuss anything even remotely personal for the last couple of days" she reminded him, it being one of the reasons aside from not wanting to upset her as to why he hadn't asked about Father Stan before that evening.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Just this and that" she said casually and fully aware that it would tease him. He looked at her more than a little worried. "You can lose the concerned face Andy, it was all perfectly innocent. After thanking him for everything he does for you and saying how nice it was to finally put a face to the name he said it was nice to meet me too and told me that," she paused as she smiled up at him, "you'd never looked happier."

"Oh I see. He was giving you a big head was he?"

"Just a little" she laughed.

"Did you ask what's his wife's name was?"

"No I didn't" she said as she laughed again. Nearly twenty one years earlier when Andy and Matt first met he was introduced to his wife but never paid much attention to her name, a fact that became a problem over the years when Matt started to be his sponsor and their relationship reached the point where he could no longer ask without coming across like a complete asshole, calling her 'Fancy Pants' instead because she always wore yoga pants covered in crystals. "You'll have to go on calling her Fancy Pants until you have the courage to ask yourself."

"I can't. It's been too many years."

"Then I guess you're stuck aren't you?" She smiled up at him again, since Andy continued to keep her at arm's length from his recovery it made a nice change to see a small window into that part of his life. "It was very nice to meet him and to thank him."

"He's a good guy."

"A little like you" she cooed. He smiled at her before he moved in for a kiss but after the briefest of comings together he pulled away rather quickly and winced with pain. "What's the matter? Your shoulder still?" she asked with concern.

"No. That's fine" he lied, it still aching like hell, even more so because she was lying on it but he didn't want to worry her. "My tooth still hurts me from the other week" he said as he rubbed his jaw a little, in truth his whole lower jaw throbbing. "I'm starting to think it wasn't the explosion."

"Imagine."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Know it all" he grumbled, Sharon insisting he should go to the dentist the first time he complained about it but he dismissed her concerns and continued to blame the explosion from the Colsons shaking something loose.

"You're going to have to go and see the dentist."

"I know. I'll add it to the list."

"List?"

"Yeah, the list of things that I'm going to do when I finally have time. There's a trip to the dentist, helping you clean out the closet, unpacking, getting all of the paperwork for here sorted and that's without the house sale needing to be finalised" he listed off.

"If I were you I'd add swinging by the old place to air it out a little in case that smell has hung around after your fridge left" she said not at all delicately, Andy's house still smelling like hell in her opinion.

"Yeah I've thought about it but I could do without being attacked by the crazy next door again" he said and making her laugh. "Speaking of crazies, did Provenza," he started to say, having to pause when it made her laugh, "did he tell you that Buzz thinks he's found the Bill Jones he was looking for?"

"No. No one said a word" she told him, pleased but surprised.

"Well I guess they both figured you have enough on your plate right now and it could wait until he was certain it is him."

"How did he find him?"

"The LAPD Library of Annuals." Sharon's smile beamed as she listened to him, so pleased that Buzz was doing so well and with such very little assistance too. "He found a William Jones who went to the same school as Hecht. And get this, the guy has a juvenile record too."

"So it's really him?"

"I think there's a very good chance, yes. Provenza is going to try to get a hold of his records tomorrow."

"I'm so proud of him."

"Well he learnt from the best" Andy said smugly.

Sharon remained silent for a moment, a grin on her face before she took the bait. "I assume you mean you and Lieutenant Provenza?" she asked finally.

"Actually I meant just me" he clarified, Sharon laughing again. "Well I guess we'll see in a couple of hours and where his juvi records lead Buzz next."

Her mind brought back to work again she sighed, it now no more than a couple of hours away and neither of them had slept nearly enough. "What time is it?" she asked.

Andy lifted his head to look at the clock on her nightstand. "A little before five."

Sharon sighed again. "We've got to get up in a couple of hours" she said with another sigh. "I wish I could sleep."

"I know" he said as he kissed the top of her head and then suddenly had an idea. "Here, let me try something." He stretched out his free arm to grab his phone from the nightstand, bringing it to his face and tapping away at the screen with his thumb.

Sharon watched him as he tapped away, unable to see what he was looking at. "What are you doing?"

"Googling ways to help you sleep" he stated and earning a little laugh. "Who knows, I may find something that does the trick." He searched a few pages in silence before finding a list that looked like it may be of some help. His arm around her shoulders started to squeeze her a little more tightly as he settled on a page. "Okay, suggestion one," he said and reading from his phone, "you need to lower the temperature in the bedroom." He paused as he dropped his phone to his chest. "Huh! I guess that means you'd get more sleep if I slept on the couch."

"Not on your life Flynn" she told him emphatically as she grabbed hold on the bottom of his t-shirt to ensure that he didn't even so much as think about running off anywhere. "You are staying right here in this bed. If you think it's difficult for me to sleep right now, trust me it's nothing compared to how hard it is when you're not lying next to me. What's the next one?" she said, gesturing at his phone.

Andy brought his cell phone back to his face, lighting it up as his thumb moved the page up to the next item on the list. "Yoga" he stated, returning his phone to his chest.

Sharon laughed, shaking her head with a little disbelief. "Nice try but I'm not buying it. This is supposed to be helping me sleep not giving you a cheap thrill because you like to stand behind me and watch while I'm doing the downward facing dog."

"It's true" he laughed. "Look." He held his phone in front of her face even though he knew full well she wasn't going to be able to read it without her glasses. Sharon just nodded, not wanting to move so just took his word for it, suspicious though she was about it. "So that's a no on the yoga then?"

"Definitely. What's next?"

Andy looked at his phone again, smiling when he read the next item on the list. "Avoid naps during the day" he told her with great humour as his lips pressed to the top of her head.

"Of course!" she laughed. "We're currently dealing with one of the most heinous series of murders this department has ever had to deal with. Naturally I have time to nap during the day."

"I always knew that's what you got up to Raydor when your blinds are closed" he joked as she laughed. He looked back at his phone again as he found the next suggestion. "The next one is easy."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Listening to relaxing music in bed" he growled, waggling his eyebrows at her as she laughed and he dropped his phone back down to his chest. Andy cleared his throat before moving his lips to her ear, Sharon closing her eyes as she prepared to relax and listen to him sing to her. " _My love must be a kind of blind love, I can't see anyone but you. Sha bop, sha bop"_ he sang, easily making her laugh at him. " _Are the stars out tonight? I don't know if it's cloudy or bright. I only have eyes for you dear. Sha bop, sha bop. The moon may be high but I can't see a thing in the sky, I only have eyes for you. I don't know if we're in a garden or on a crowded avenue. Sha bop, sha bop. You are here and so am I. Maybe millions of people go by but they all disappear from view and I only have eyes for you."_ His song over, Andy moved in for the kill, caressing his lips carefully against hers as her hand came up to cup his cheek.

When they broke apart she just stared at him with a smile, nose to nose and no more than an inch between them. "Please my darling boy, don't ever stop singing to me" she begged him before she kissed him, that being a promise he could quite easily keep.

"I promise, only as long as you don't ever stop wanting me to sing to you" he confirmed as their lips came together again. Their lips still moving slowly against the other's and her eyes closed, Andy briefly opened his own and asked "Are you asleep?" against them.

"No not yet" she laughed, moving to kiss his neck again.

"It was worth a try" he shrugged. "Okay onto the next one." He looked at his phone again, skipping past a couple of suggestions that involved too much effort and he knew wouldn't work anyway such as changing the bedding or going for a run before he found something suitable and smiled. "Apparently you've got to get yourself comfortable."

Sharon laughed again. "I fail to see how I could possibly be any more comfortable than I am right now here in your arms" she said, her hand moving back up his t-shirt again as he pulled her against his chest a little tighter. As Andy turned back to his list Sharon started to laugh again, pressing her face into his neck even more to stifle the sound.

"What's so funny?"

"This just reminds me of something" she said with a slight giggle.

"What?"

Sharon shuffled back slightly so that she could more easily see his face, knowing that she was about to get a strong reaction to her little confession. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, making him groan. "The night of our first real date" she said as her nails began to move a little quicker up and down his chest. "As you're now well aware I was obviously a little bit cautious about what to do and what to expect that night at Serve because I wasn't one hundred percent sure if it really was a date or not."

"What percentage were you by the way?" he asked.

"That it was a real date?" she asked, Andy nodding in return. "I'd like to tell you I was about ninety-nine percent certain but it was more like twenty or thirty" she said in what was not a lie exactly but more like an exaggeration. At the time of their first date and the ambiguity of the invitation that featured the word 'romantic' for the very first time, Sharon _desperately_ wanted it to be a date but the closer she got to the time when Andy was due to pick her up she got less certain about it (the wine she'd polished off to control her nerves not helping matters in the slightest). By the time Andy stepped into the condo she was only about five percent sure she was heading out on a first date with her best friend. Andy laughed at her, himself only about five percent sure that she knew he'd asked her on a real date before she plucked up the courage and just asked him. "Anyway Rusty noticed immediately that I was perhaps a little more on edge than usual for dinner with my friend Andy so I had to tell him why I was so flustered."

"What did he say?" he asked a little cautiously and given the way that Rusty initially acted with such hostility towards him when they started to date expected him to be begging her not to go through with it.

"Oh he thought the whole thing was utterly hilarious as you'd expect."

"Actually I expected him to lock you in your bedroom so that it wouldn't happen at all given the way he reacted to me during those first few months."

"I think that came later when he realised that we were serious about each other and dating and suddenly he was dealing with his Mom and her evil boyfriend again" she said, her hand continuing to move up and down his chest as she once again sought to ensure that Rusty's initial bout of reluctance had nothing to do with him personally and everything to do with the men who had been involved with his 'other' Mother when he was still a child.

"So what did he do?"

"He took out his cell phone and Googled 'How to tell if you're on a date or not' while you were waiting for me by the door as I put my flowers in a vase" she confessed.

"I see" he laughed. "Great minds think alike and all that. What did it say?"

"It was largely inconclusive with some of the questions it asked and I was not about to discuss it with anyone else which is obviously why I had to ask you over dinner instead."

Andy laughed, his relief that she asked the embarrassing question never diminishing since he questioned if they would be lying in _their_ bed together at that moment in time if she hadn't sought clarity when she did. "I wouldn't care so much about my own stupidity and not making myself clear to you about what my intentions were but when I told Provenza a couple of days earlier what I was going to do, that I was going to ask you out on a real date and foolishly wanted a little moral support from him, I even said that I was going to make sure that I called it a 'date' and not going out as friends or with family and then it was the one word I didn't use" he cried, his frustration at his own idiocy still apparent.

"I know but being a Detective I did rather like trying to work it out for myself" she told him before she kissed him. "What's next?"

Andy looked back at his phone and frowned. "Turning off all electronic devices. Well that'll have to wait until we've finished with this list. Okay next is aromatherapy." He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows. "Time to crack out the massage oils that Gavin gave you."

Sharon hummed, certainly tempted by the idea. "That requires moving and I'm currently too comfortable to want to go anywhere" she said, kissing his neck and letting him know that she didn't want him to go anywhere either.

"Okay so we put a pin in that one and I get to massage the crap out of you before bed tomorrow night."

"I look forward to it" she laughed.

"Drink a soothing beverage" Andy read from his phone. "Glass of warm milk maybe? Or a big glass of wine?" he offered, more than willing to go and get whatever she wanted if it meant she might get a couple of hours of sleep.

"Not right now."

"Yeah, we've both reached the stage in life where each drink after 7pm is an extra two trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night" he said with a sigh, Sharon laughing again. "Or today at work even given the time" he pointed out with less than a couple of hours left in which to sleep. "Next is read something which is this list obviously" he said dismissively and quickly starting to run out of ideas. "Next is trying to stay awake."

"I've been doing that for the last couple of hours and oddly enough I'm still awake."

"Good point." He looked back at his phone and declared "Visualise something that makes you happy."

Sharon smiled and kissed his chest. "Oh that's easy. I'm currently thinking about the picture of you in that calendar" she purred as her smile continued to grow. "I'm going to spend an awful lot of time thinking about that picture in the future, possibly when you're at an AA meeting or too tired for anything else" she teased, biting at his jaw.

Andy laughed, assuming as much himself before he suddenly frowned. "Please tell me you're not going to frame that picture like that stupid letter from the hospital?" he all but begged her.

Sharon sighed, about to repeat herself for what seemed like the hundredth time since he gave her the letter. "Firstly let me say once again that it's not a stupid letter at all, it's the greatest thing I've ever been given in my life aside from my children" she told him and fully aware he was rolling his eyes at her. "And secondly if I'm to avoid scarring Rusty for life and ensuring he never looks you in the eye again I'll have to keep it somewhere that he won't ever see it."

"Okay fine" he sighed. In truth he didn't care all that much about it and if he was really that bothered by people seeing it he wouldn't have done it at the time or told Sharon about it or even kept a copy of it but he was still keen for it to be kept just between the two of them regardless of how good he looked in it. "Is thinking about that picture making you feel sleepy?"

"No, it's not." She laughed to herself as it became very clear that a little colour had made its way into her cheeks, visible even in that light. "It's making me feel ever so slightly flushed amongst other things" she revealed, her left leg that was still thrown over his moving her foot up and down his calf.

Andy dropped his phone back on his nightstand before he sat up on his elbows a little. "Oh really?"

"Really" she replied, her eyes sparkling at him.

"Then I think you're going to really love the last suggestion."

"What is it?"

"Sex" he stated with a waggle of his eyebrows as he slipped from beneath her.

Sharon smiled up at him. "Oh well then in that case I think we should definitely give it a try. Even if it doesn't work it'll be a lot of fun to give it a try."

"Oh what the hell! I'll take one for the team if it means you can get a couple of hours shut eye." Sharon laughed at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck but she was soon silenced when Andy rolled her onto her back and loomed above her, crashing his lips against hers. She arched her back and moaned into his mouth as his right hand drifted to her leg, drifting slowly upwards until he could lift her nightgown and grasp her hip. The moment she felt his hand firmly grabbing her flesh she laughed against his lips which caused him to pull back and frown at her. "Are you laughing at me when I'm trying to put a move on you?"

"A little bit, yes." Her hands moved into his hair as she explained, ensuring that he didn't go anywhere. "I was just thinking, that first night you stayed here, after I'd whacked you in the eye..."

"You mean after you assaulted me?"

"It's not like I did it on purpose."

"That's not what you said earlier" he reminded her.

"Oh well that was different. The knee to your unmentionables was obviously one hundred percent deliberate but the elbow to your eye was completely accidental" she said as she slowly moved her fingers to trace the area under his eye where the bruise had been. "Anyway after that and when you came back to bed with your ice, I remember that I straddled your lap to look at it a little more closely to inspect the damage and despite what we'd been doing before we went to sleep you were still too nervous to even so much as leave your hand on my hip for too long. And now...well..." They smiled at each other as his hand kept moving, practically dancing up and down her hip. "I think what I'm trying to say is, as much as I've enjoyed my life and my life with you up until this point, and as difficult as this last week has been and will continue to be, Andy this is the happiest I have ever been in my life" she told him before lifting her head off the pillow to kiss him on the lips, meaning every single word of it and then some.

"Me too."

After taking a little longer than usual, the signature Andy Flynn 'Swirl' and a couple of intense orgasms later and Sharon was finally in a deep and peaceful sleep for the first time since the night before the courtroom shooting. If only it was going to last more than a couple of hours but it was a start at least. In stark comparison with Sharon curled into his side and sleeping soundly, Andy struggled to drift off himself, kept awake by a sickly pain that seemed to move at will between his jaw and his shoulder, blaming the explosion and a combination of the tackle by his former crazy neighbour Mrs Williams and ducking out of the way from Detective Nolan, after all, what else could it be?


End file.
